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College Park's Seven Seas restaurant is entering 2010 with the same vision for authentic, quality Chinese and Japanese cooking that it opened with 20 years ago.

A Route 1 landmark, Seven Seas is owner Kitty Shen's second restaurant; the first Seven Seas opened in Rockville in 1987 and is run by her brother-in-law. Shen said business in College Park has a slow season when students are busy, and combined with the general economic health, this makes for some tough times. But she still has a bevy of regulars that come for the Chinese specialties not common at other restaurants, and most of all for the quality of food and service.

"It's different from the other Chinese restaurants," Shen said. "[At other restaurants] the chef is not up to the standard to make these kind of dishes."

Most popular among Asian diners, but also increasingly among other ethnicities, are the buffet-style family meals on the Chinese menu. For between $95 and $170, a party can feed six to 10 people with a myriad of traditional choices — salted crispy shrimp, pork tripe with pickled cabbage soup and chicken with basil sauce in the six-person menu, or stewed beef brisket with brown sauce and black mushroom with heart of bok choy in one of the 10-person menus.

Some dishes on the Chinese menu may be unfamiliar, like duck blood and bean curd in a chafing dish ($9.95) or pork intestine with rice wine in a hot pot ($10.95), but more familiar dishes on the same menu include Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce ($7.95) and Kung Pao chicken, "authentic-style" ($8.95).

Shen herself encourages intrepid diners to try some of the more popular items on this menu, such as chicken in rice wine ($9.95), seafood casserole ($14.95) or steamed black codfish ($18.95).

For others, the classics are all here: General Tso's chicken ($8.95), shrimp Szechuan ($10.95), pepper steak ($8.95), sweet and sour pork ($8.95) and plenty more. Shen's standard menu is still more extensive than many Chinese restaurants, with sections for not only beef, chicken, pork and seafood but also duck, lamb, bean curd and a popular vegetarian section.

There are vegetarian versions of General Tso's ($8.95), orange beef ($9.95) and a customer favorite, the vegetarian Yellow Bird ($9.95), with Napa cabbage, mushroom, bamboo shoots and dried bean curd wrapped in bean curd sheets and sautéed in a sweet-savory brown sauce with broccoli.

Being at the heart of a college town, Shen noted that sushi is extremely popular among younger diners. Sushi and sashimi are offered at the sushi bar, as an appetizer, entrée or as a party platter. Japanese appetizers also include miso soup ($1.50), edamame ($3.95) and tempura ($5 vegetable, $6 shrimp).

Sushi bar prices range from $3.25 to $5.50 for two pieces, and sushi meals include combinations with rice and salad, such as chirashi ($12.95) or a "bento" combination with tempura, sashimi or sushi, rice ball and salad for $13.95.

Customers can try much of this at excellent value if they visit between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. any day of the week for the sushi/dim sum buffet. For only $6.95, they can choose from sushi rolls and other Japanese entrees as well as Chinese dim sum and more. Other specials encourage more dining daring: there are 20 percent off deals for senior citizens on Mondays, and 20 percent off vegetarian/low fat items on Tuesdays, sushi and sashimi on Wednesdays and tempura on Thursdays.

That's plenty of incentive for anyone with a desire to skip the same old Chinese takeout and dine in at Seven Seas, where every dish offers a unique opportunity to taste truly authentic Asian cuisine.

Seven Seas

8503 Baltimore Blvd., College Park

Phone: 301-345-5808

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sushi bar closes 30 minutes before closing time.

www.sevenseascp.com