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Even the hardworking folks who usually eat soggy cafeteria sandwiches at their desks will jump at the chance to join an expedition to Seafood Port, which can brighten the dullest of days. Heretofore, no one but the venerable Sifu and his apprentice, Grasshopper, knew the ancient secret of ordering the perfect meal at Seafood Port, but on this trip I was determined to learn it from them.

While the rest of us slurp our complimentary hot and sour soup, Sifu begins the order with the lightly breaded salt and pepper pork chops, with some green onions and jalapeno bits sprinkled over the top for extra flavor. This is often accompanied by deep fried chicken, which has wonderfully crispy skin and is served with a dish of salt and lemon, or deep fried calamari in a distinctively sweet batter.

Proper meal feng shui requires that Sifu balance the tasty fried stuff with something like a delicate pea sprout with garlic or an order of perfectly cooked green beans. Next follow a few dishes with a spicy sauce, like garlic shrimp or my favorite, kung pao fish. Grasshopper can’t get enough of the rich, gingery lamb curry.

On our most recent visit, we tried some new dishes. The first was a shrimp in lobster sauce with peas, carrots and egg, which we found rather bland and mucilaginous. The other was steamed sole, served with roe in a fragrant sauce. This we found extraordinarily tasty, as evidenced by the photographs below.

Fish: before.	Fish: after.

Lunch ends with a bowl of tapioca with seaweed, mung beans and coconut milk and a fortune cookie, which more often than one might expect will peg someone as the next to be promoted! The cost for this feast? Only $7.50 each, including tax and tip. Sifu’s wisdom truly knows no bounds.

Seafood Port, 21180 Hawthorne Blvd., Torrance, CA 90503. (310) 370-8478.

By Maribeth (see more of her posts).