Experimentation is good. Haven’t we always heard that?

Mason Wong is creating something different in Sacramento’s dining and drinking experience. In a sea of chain restaurants and overpriced comfort food, Wong is bringing a fresh dining experience with the possibility of a “no cover” night of dancing attached to it.

Two steps into Ma Jong’s Asian Diner, located at the corner of 15th and L streets, transports you into an Asian village with the style and flavor of a contemporary bungalow. The restaurant is stream-lined and sleek with lots of available seating.

“The décor is pretty unusual,” Wong said. “I wanted to go after a village atmosphere with an urban and modern flair.”

The furnishings may be visually stunning, especially in the evening, but the food’s presentation fails where the tables and paper lamps over achieve.

I ordered three dishes – Vietnamese salad rolls, shanghai spicy chow mein and crispy honey walnut shrimp with brown rice. All of these tasted fantastic, but visually left me wanting more, like an incompetent lover.

Ma Jong’s features flavors from Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and China, according to the restaurant’s website. The recipes on the menu are inspired by the Asian grandmothers of each of these cultures.

The salad rolls were my first endeavor. Four plump, neatly arranged rice-wrapped rolls greeted me. They were stuffed with shrimp, pork, rice noodles, carrots and mint. Wong, who prides himself on his 20 house-made sauces, paired these rolls with a deep plum-colored tangy concoction that complimented the rolls well.

The intricate flavor details of his sauces make his food distinct. His chow is nothing without his glazes, marinades and dressings.

“Our sauces are carefully put together at the beginning of every week,” Wong said. “It’s how we’re able to keep everything consistent.”

The shanghai spicy chow mein was second on my list. Wong featured this dish as a special and its popularity begged for a spot on the menu. Noodles can be boring, but these weren’t. Chili flakes peppered this dish as well as julienned carrots and zucchini.

“The shanghai chow mein originates from Shanghai and has a little spiciness,” Wong said. “It’s not always a dish you find at a lot of restaurants and a lot of tasting and sampling went into it.”

The finale was a dish full of more of the culinary experimentation Wong mentioned – crispy honey shrimp that can be ordered with brown or white rice. The shrimp were lightly fried and painted with a honey-based glaze. Candied walnuts garnished the plate and added a dimension Pan-Asian food rarely plunges toward. One side of the plate was covered with a heaping serving of rice.

A refreshing advantage to Ma Jong’s is the option for brown rice as aforementioned. As a connoisseur of all foods Asian, I’ve dealt with the peril of constant white rice. Healthy alternatives make us like you more, Mr. Restaurant. With these tiny touches we feel like you care. Oprah would be proud.

So would Travel Channel’s Anthony Bourdain.

Travel is what ultimately brought new ideas and flavors to the creators of Ma Jong’s.

“That’s how we came up with the menu,” Wong said. “Over 30 years of traveling through New York, L.A., Miami, Chicago, and we took all of our experience and put together a menu that we thought was going to be the best selection and most attractive to our customers. There are a lot of Chinese restaurants, but we put out an attractive menu and are consistent.”

Feeling a little bloated from your mandarin beef salad? Perhaps it was orange peel chicken. How about dancing the night and your troubles away at the super fancy Park Ultra Lounge?

The nightclub and lounge that touts a $20 cover charge for entrance can be waived with the purchase of an entrée from Ma Jong’s. With your choices ranging from $5.25 to $9.75, that appears to be savings in your pocket, poor college student. Simply make sure to show up in your best Forever 21 halter-top. And if you bring your boyfriend, be certain his shirt’s a button-up as the nightclub has a dress code.

Wong opened The Park in September 2005 with the simple mantra of “eat, drink, play.” The intended experience hopes to be a trifecta of casual dining with Ma Jong’s upscale, modern American cuisine with Mason’s and a posh nightclub with the Park Ultra Lounge.

All three establishments are weaved into one accessible building.

Briana Monasky can be reached at [email protected]