For years we have driven up Rt. 1 and past the blue building, with large white hands using chopsticks to eat a perfectly painted picture of sushi. Finally, we, along with our friends Megan and Marianne, decided to buck up and give Seven Seas a shot.
The exterior of the building is kind of tattered, but walking in is a pleasant surprise. The decor is that of any standard Chinese restaurant: pink linen table cloths, large round tables, lacquered wooden chairs and plenty of space. Not to mention the random Broadway instrumentals going on in the background. Seven Seas is not a dining destination for most Terps. Many of the diners were well-above middle age, with their families or on dates. But we added some youth to the scene.
We started our dining excursion with the standard round of drinks. A mediocre Strawberry Daquiri for Allyson that lacked any robust flavor either in fruit or alcohol; a “Seven Seas Secret,” a blend of “fine rum” and 7 juices, that was actually pretty generic tasting without much pop – definitely not the mind eraser it claims to be. Megan ordered the Blue Hawaii, a sweet tropical blend that was Alex’s favorite. Marianne ordered the Pina Colada, which was excellent as far as coladas go, a fine balance of pineapple juice and coconut.
But away from the alcoholism… Alex decided to gross everyone out at the dinner table with her order of Five Flavor Intestines off of the Authentic Chinese Menu Appetizers. Seven Seas publicizes this secret menu online, but unless you specifically ask for it the menu remains hidden behind the hostess’ station.
Alex had no qualms pretending she spoke Chinese to our befuddled waiter who did not believe a girl like her would seriously want to order intestines. The offal appetizer appeared as a series of springy, curly transparently white pieces of innards. They were doused with a burnt orange colored sauce that made the dish. It was sweet, sour, tangy and spicy all at the same time. However it did not mask the subtle flavor of the intestines, which tasted faintly of pork, yet had a smoky aftertaste. The texture is cartridgey and chewy, which can be hard to get used to (ask Allyson, in an effort to prove her parents wrong about being a picky eater she boldly took a bite, and never will again based on texture alone. It feels exactly as expected from intestine: chewy, crunchy and slimy). Overall for Alex, it was a clean interpretation of the nasty bits.
Allyson ordered a Tuna Sushi appetizer, which again shocked the waiter that she would want sushi and not a roll – all this questioning got a little annoying. The tuna was fresh and flavorful, accompanied by a few slivers of spicy ginger and even spicer wasabi.Combine all three with the sticky ball of rice and you get an ideal morsel. They also didn’t skimp on portion size, giving nice long and thick filets of fish.
Dinner began with Marianne’s Vegetarian Roll platter. Brought out with the appetizers, she had to wait a moment for the rest of us to get our meal. The veggie rolls included avocado, cucumber and mystery vegetable-stuffed pieces. We debated the mystery and ended up with either caramalized onions or eggplant – not very definitive hypotheses. She said the rolls were good, but the side seaweed salad didn’t satisfy her taste buds, nor ours. We left the entire plate of sickeningly seasoned overcooked seaweed sitting on our table.
Megan thought she went boring when ordering the Sesame Chicken, but oh was she wrong (say in porn-star voice). This classic Chinese-American dish was done right by Seven Seas, especially in an area that is lackluster in excellent takeout staples. The chicken itself was not overly breaded but still had that perfectly crispy crust with a small layer of air between the crust and the meat. After the lovely crunch, the meat itself is all white and moist (Allyson gags at the word, but not the juiciness of the chicken). The sauce was not too sweet nor overly gloppy, yet still clung to the chicken with its cornstarch-laden thickness. The chef allotted the perfect amount of sauce to make each bite savory and marinated well into the chicken. The broccoli on the side was steamed nicely and added an extra crunch to the dish.
Allyson ordered the Seafood Pan-Fried Noodles to mixed results. Craving scallops and shrimp, it seemed like the perfect combination of seafood, veggies and crunchy-thin noodles. The noodles were crispy and nicely marinated in the white garlic sauce, and the shrimp and scallops satisfied her palate. However, the scallops were a little skimpy, flimsy and thinly cut. And the cod-fish (we’re guessing cod, the menu lists it as “fish”) was overcooked, chewy, fishy and tough for most pieces. However, Alex enjoyed the flavor of the cod, saying it was a mild flavor that took on the sauce, which hid any fishy quality in her opinion.
Alex again tried from the authentic menu, ordering the Shredded Pork in Hot Sauce, which actually had more bean curd than strips of pork. However, the meat minority was superbly juicy and fully absorbed the chili-garlic sauce. Even the bean curd (aka tofu) tasted almost meaty, enhanced by the awesome sauce. Her one criticism of the dish was that she wishes there were more textural varieties. The scallions were sauteed to the point of limpness and the dish could have used an addition of crunchy chilis for a more balanced-mouth feel. While Allyson’s tongue craved something to quell the spice of the sauce, for Alex and all spicy-eaters, the spice was right.
There are probably hundreds of dishes we didn’t try at Seven Seas, the menu is huge and overwhelming, especially when you include the authentic one. But despite a few lows, the high points were significant enough to make us want to return. Of all the Chinese/Japanese (it is a combo-pack) restaurants in the area, this seems the most authentic.
Service – poor, our waiter was inattentive, absent and absentminded when it came to asking for drink refills or the check.
Atmosphere – good for large groups, yet still quiet enough for an intimate meal, informal.
Price – Very fair, drinks were only about $4 and most entrees are $10-$15
Food – 3.6 out of 5
Keep it Tasty,
Allyson and Alex
Photography by Allyson Dickman, Videos by Alex Rush
P.S. We began this post at 10 p.m., it is now 11:13, because of Allyson’s spelling inadequecies … and that’s probably not even spelled correctly.
That tuna looks delicious, and I REALLY want sushi now! I’m really upset to hear the seaweed salad sucked
I’m surprised at the rating just because it seemed like there were more downs than ups, but you’re the ones who experienced it first hand haha Nice post though, weirdos!
Think of the ratings as an “in terms of” system lol. in chinese food everywhere this wouldn’t get a 3.6, in chinese food in CP (shanghai… china golden, etc.) it gets inflated