RESTAURANT REVIEW : Hard-to-Find Oriental Seafood Inn Is a Can’t-Miss Delight

It’s easy to miss a little gem like Oriental Seafood Inn. Almost everyone does.

I did. I drove by. I walked by. I drove by again. Finally, I spotted it, sandwiched in between Angkor Cambodian restaurant and a large office building somewhere on Ventura Boulevard. There is nothing here to make the average passer-by even look up, and only an eagle-eyed pedestrian would notice the small blue sign on the sidewalk.

The restaurant is a quiet, unprepossessing place. At first, I was a little put off by the quiet. About the only thing audible was the faint whine of an air conditioner. The decor put me off a bit too: plastic chairs, polyester tablecloths. The only atmosphere was provided by a small fish tank next to the door, filled with live lobster and Dungeness crab.

But then the food started to arrive, and the atmosphere improved amazingly. This chef can cook! He is a Cantonese from Hong Kong, whose specialties are fresh lobster, crab, clams and fish in traditional Cantonese sauces. These Cantonese offerings are nicely balanced by a variety of spicy northern dishes. All the dishes are prepared in a simple, authentic manner, and all of them taste really fresh.

Because freshness is at a premium, don’t be put off if you discover that some things on the menu are not available. That is usually a good sign in Chinese restaurants, a sign that most things are cooked to order. On two occasions I tried to order shrimp balls and barbecued spare rib appetizers. No such luck.

But I didn’t miss them. One night, I started with two chicken appetizers. Minced chicken had been mixed with diced bamboo and water chestnut, so three distinct textures were felt on the tongue at the same time. It was served in lettuce cups with a plum sauce that was a perfect foil for the filling. Paper-wrapped chicken (broiled, marinated chicken in a foil wrapper) was crisped around the edges where it stuck to the foil, fragrant with ginger and garlic. The only thing that could possibly have improved the dish was if the chef had used real parchment in the preparation.

About the time you finish the appetizers you should be ready for an entire lobster, steamed with ginger, braised with black bean sauce or sauteed with a light garlic sauce Shantung style. At $9.95 for an entire lobster (mine was easily a pound and a half), this must be the best deal on Ventura since Thrifty served 10-cent ice cream. I opted for the garlic sauce and ate the whole thing, picking at the shell with a tiny fork and dipping the meat into the delectable sauce. When there was no more, I ate the sauce, too, spooning it into my rice bowl with gusto.

Many of the dishes here are completely straightforward, yet they are not dishes you see in ordinary Chinese restaurants. Both shrimps and scallops, for example, are sauteed with green asparagus, a wonderful combination. The slightly undercooked scallops come in a salty bean sauce, with asparagus that is firm and crispy. The shrimp dish uses an enormous amount of fresh water chestnut and chopped-up macadamias, making it immeasurably rich for a Cantonese palate. It’s about perfect for me.

The long list of dishes that you’ll want to try here include sizzling black pepper steak, orange flavored chicken, and elegant vegetable dishes such as braised string beans and sauteed spinach. Steamed fresh fish are not listed on the menu, but be sure to ask about them. I was lucky enough to find out that fresh flounder was available; eating it turned out to be sheer bliss. The milk-white flesh was sweet and tender, served in a spicy soy sauce with scallions and red pepper. It was as good as any I’ve eaten from Mon Kee to Monterey Park.

As I ate my fortune cookie, I reread the menu and mused about the irony of the restaurant business. Oriental Seafood Inn is so good it should be crowded every day. Twice I had it to myself. Manager Jimmy Lee isn’t thrilled about the situation. “We are pretty busy at lunch,” he said, looking ruefully around at his empty tables, “but the dinner business is so slow I’m thinking about closing up.”

Hang in there, Mr. Lee. The dinner crowd may discover you yet. I, for one, won’t have any trouble finding your restaurant again.

Recommended dishes: minced chicken with bamboo and lettuce, $8.50; macadamia nut with shrimp, $13.25; live lobster, $9.95; scallops with asparagus, $10.50.

Oriental Seafood Inn, 16161 Ventura Blvd., Encino, (818) 907-0427. Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Saturday; dinner from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday. Beer and wine. Street parking. American Express, MasterCard and Visa accepted. Dinner for two, food only ($25 to $40).