A great Chinese-style seafood meal with no fish-by-the-pound penalty

A whole Striped Bass, steamed with ginger and scallion, was the centerpiece of a wonderful seafood meal last weekend at Lotus Cafe, the Chinese BYO in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Unlike newer and pricier Chinese competitors, Lotus Cafe doesn't have "seafood" in its name.

But the Hackensack BYO's menu offers plenty of heart-healthy fish and other seafood.

And lovers of fresh whole fish won't be charged by the pound, as they will at Aquarius Seafood Restaurant in Fort Lee and Lan Garden in Ridgefield.

As usual at Lotus Cafe, me and my wife ordered too much food at a late afternoon dinner last weekend, including seafood soup, seafood dumplings and a whole striped bass, one of the tastiest fish around.

Our fish, steamed with ginger and scallion, was arranged artistically on an oval platter, and looked like it weighed 1.5 pounds ($28.95).

Whole flounder also was available, and the kitchen will fry your choice, but we prefer steamed fish with its light sauce.

Brown rice also is available at no extra charge. We took home leftover soup, dumplings and fish.

Seafood Soup for 2 is packed with squid, shrimp, scallop and fish cake, plus a few vegetables, and the broth isn't overly salted ($7.95)

You can order eight shrimp-filled Seafood Dumplings boiled or fried ($7.95).

We also ordered Sauteed Chinese Star Squash, a delicious side dish ($10.95).

At exactly 5 p.m. the servers at Lotus Cafe bring out the tablecloths.

Details

Lotus Cafe, 450 Hackensack Ave., in the Home Depot Shopping Center, Hackensack; 1-201-488-7070. BYO, large parking lot. Free delivery within 3 miles ($12 minimum).

Reservations recommended on weekends.

Ask for a separate menu listing multi-course, price-fixed dinners for 4, 6, 8, 10 and 12 people (6 to 12 courses for $79 to $358, plus tax and tip).

Fort Lee welcomes more Asian restaurants and the return of dim sum

The only thing missing during dim-sum service at Aquarius Seafood Restaurant in Fort Lee are servers calling out the Cantonese names of the dumplings and other delights they are hawking.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I enjoyed dim sum lunches at Silver Pond for close to 15 years before the Chinese seafood restaurant ended a 25-year run on Main Street in Fort Lee.

Now, the owners of Aquarius Seafood Restaurant have completely renovated the space and brought back a dim sum menu with nearly 50 items priced from $2.95 (Small) to $9.25 (XX Large).

The servers at Aquarius roll carts around the dining room, trying to entice customers to take as many steamer baskets or plates as possible, and it's easy to order too much.

Each basket or plate usually holds three or four items.

At lunch this week, I loved the pan-fried chive cakes, shrimp rice roll, and a trio of green dumplings stuffed with spinach and a little shrimp.

When the dining room is full, the noise level is annoying high.

Aquarius also has a large Cantonese-style menu, including live fish, which Silver Pond also offered.

After Silver Pond closed, the dim sum void was filled in 2015 with the opening of Lan Garden, another Chinese seafood restaurant, at 88 Route 4 west in Ridgefield.

Lan Garden serves dim sum all day and into the night. At Aquarius, dim sum can be ordered until 3 p.m.

Spinach and Shrimp Dumplings ($4.25).

Shrimp Rice Rolls ($4.25).

Pan-fried Chive Cakes ($3.50).

Aquarius Seafood Restaurant offered a lunch special of Emperor Abalone for $55 on Monday.

Details

Aquarius Seafood Restaurant, 230-34 Main St., Fort Lee; 201-592-8338. Open 7 days. Serves liquor. Metered parking on street or in large municipal lot.

Website: Dim Sum and Live Fish

Other new restaurants on Main Street in Fort Lee include T-Swirl Crepe, above and below.

Picnic is a Korean-owned sushi restaurant.

Yea Jip, which offers traditional Korean cuisine, is next door to Picnic, but isn't open for business yet.