Move over Pick-Up-Stix. There’s a new wok in town raising the sizzle on those American-tailored Szechwan and Hunan dishes that can still be considered safe ethnic eating, but which are unmistakably lively in terms of ingredients and flavor.

City Wok fills the chow mein gap in Mission Hills with a squeaky clean, triple-storefront space made sunny by big windows and blond-wood accents. Diners enjoy full wait service that is fast, efficient and friendly. And they can add a lot more variety to their meals by choosing half-order portions.

Aside from the usual Chinese standbys such as Broccoli Beef and Kung Pao everything, the menu offers a few refreshing alternatives that you probably won’t find when canoodling your way through the chain joints.

The appetizer list, for example, features a memorable Stuffed Asian Eggplant packed solidly with minced chicken, shrimp and vegetables. With several to an order, the eggplants are shaped like long narrow logs and emerged quickly in hot oil. The result is a crisp, semi-bitter outer skin that pairs beautifully with the fillings as well as the accenting ginger sauce.

A plate of eight steamed Szechuan Dumplings, stuffed with non-funky chicken, took away any desire we had for Spring Rolls. These are a much nicer option, although if you’re expecting a slow burn on the tongue, you’ll need to request the kitchen’s homemade chili oil on the side, which to some degree is also tame.

In fact, everything we ordered marked with that ominous star for “hot” didn’t scald our mouths as we would have liked. Some might call this “Asian food for sissies,” but the restaurant’s devotion to fresh ingredients, cooked to remarkable perfection, compensates for any lack of heat.

The Spicy Chili Bean Shrimp proved a striking example. The plate contained a heavy load of super-fresh Blue Lake string beans that were soft to the bite, yet distinctively firm on the outside. They were mixed with sweet curly nuggets of cut-up shrimp along with Serrano chilies, onions and fresh garlic – all tossed in a delicate salt-and-pepper house sauce.

An order of Sesame Chicken was less outstanding, given that the glaze on the chicken tasted neither spicy nor sweet. A liberal teaspoon of the aforementioned chili oil successfully perked things up.

If there was ever an Asian restaurant where I liked a pork dish – this is it. I normally find the meat too tough and stringy for human consumption due to overcooking. Here, the Hot Shredded Pork we chose offered a juicy, tender texture. It’s mixed with colored bell peppers, water chestnuts and woodear mushrooms, and served in a glistening “spicy” brown sauce that could have been made hotter had we requested more red chilies be thrown into the wok.

Among the less run-of-the-mill specialties that you’ll find in this modern setting include Shanghai Potato Scramble (stir-fried with mild peppers, ginger and green onions), plus Curry Squash, Chinese Pepper Steak and a Tofu-Edamame Stirfry that is finished off with a light wine sauce and fresh ginger.

The drink list features a couple of Asian beers such as Tsing-Tao and Sapporo, as well as the unexpected Stella Artois from Belgium. Sake and about 10 different wines are also available.

City Wok’s new San Diego location arrives on the heels of three other locations that have enjoyed success in Palm Desert, Studio City and at the Trump 29 Casino in Coachella. And though it’s a far cry from the hardcore Asian eateries you’ll find located along Convoy Street in Kearny Mesa, the food is a heck of a lot better compared to those places serving egg rolls on plastic plates.