Happy 2011!

We would like to wish everyone the best of luck for the new year! May it be filled with fortune, happiness and health for you and your loved ones.

Plan Budget-Friendly, Healthy Meals

With the rich foods you'll be having at all the upcoming holiday parties, you might find yourself wanting lighter healthier meals. We've compiled a list of websites that will help you stay on track with healthy meal planning:

Healthy Chinese recipes from Eating Well.

EatingWell’s healthy Chinese recipes are makeovers of traditional favorites, such as Sweet & Sour Chicken with Brown Rice and Scallop & Shrimp Dumplings. Skip the white rice—instant brown rice is quick and more nutritious—and you’ll have a crowd-pleasing meal ready in no time.

(Us: A great resource for all kinds of Chinese/Asian inspired dishes. Scroll all the way down for more recipes.)

Daily Meal Planner from Meals Matter.

Our daily meal planner makes it easier to prepare healthy, economical meals at home by helping you organize recipes and meals for each day. You can contribute your favorite recipes to Meals Matter and then plan your meals for the week by adding them to your daily meal planner. If you don’t have a recipe to add you can also write in what you plan to eat for any given meal.

Cheap and Healthy: 15 Nutritious Foods for About $2 from WebMD.

How do you eat a nutritious diet while keeping your grocery budget low? The good news is that cheap food isn't necessarily unhealthy food.

You can cut food costs by eating more meals at home, and by making sure they feature some of the healthiest foods from your supermarket -- foods like whole grains, vegetables, and beans.

Enjoy the festivities and happy eating!

Dish of the Month - Tofu and Crabmeat in a Paper Pot

We debuted this dish two years ago, and it's been one of our more popular Paper Pot dishes. Silken tofu, carrot shreds and crabmeat simmered in a light broth with just a hint of white pepper is simply delicious! While the paper "pot" looks as if it's only there as decoration, it is actually absorbing some of the fat from the soup (which is already low in fat content) as you eat. Win!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving! We are open today!

A Few Good Tips For Sticking to Your Healthy Diet

More useful, expert tips can be found on Helpguide.org

# Fill up on colorful fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are the foundation of a healthy diet. They are low in calories and nutrient dense, which means they are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber.

Try to eat a rainbow of fruits and vegetables every day and with every meal—the brighter the better. Colorful, deeply colored fruits and vegetables contain higher concentrations of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants—and different colors provide different benefits, so eat a variety. Aim for a minimum of five portions each day.

Some great choices include:

• Greens. Branch out beyond bright and dark green lettuce. Kale, mustard greens, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage are just a few of the options—all packed with calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A, C, E, and K.

• Sweet vegetables. Naturally sweet vegetables—such as corn, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, yams, onions, and squash—add healthy sweetness to your meals and reduce your cravings for other sweets.

• Fruit. Fruit is a tasty, satisfying way to fill up on fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Berries are cancer-fighting, apples provide fiber, oranges and mangos offer vitamin C, and so on.

Dish of the Month - Chicken and Broccoli

Other places make this dish with a sweet and starchy brown sauce, so we saute white chicken meat and broccoli in a light, white sauce. At lunch, ask for steamed white or brown rice if you don't want the extra calories from fried rice. Cooked with fresh, locally grown ingredients!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

Ten Tips on Healthy Eating

This list is compiled by the President's Council on Fitness and Sports:

1. Start your day with breakfast.
Breakfast fills your "empty tank" to get you going after a long night without food. And it can help you do better in school. Easy to prepare breakfasts include cold cereal with fruit and low-fat milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit, whole-grain waffles or even last night's pizza!

2. Get Moving!
It's easy to fit physical activities into your daily routine. Walk, bike or jog to see friends. Take a 10-minute activity break every hour while you read, do homework or watch TV. Climb stairs instead of taking an escalator or elevator. Try to do these things for a total of 30 minutes every day.

3. Snack smart.
Snacks are a great way to refuel. Choose snacks from different food groups - a glass of low-fat milk and a few graham crackers, an apple or celery sticks with peanut butter and raisins, or some dry cereal. If you eat smart at other meals, cookies, chips and candy are OK for occasional snacking.

4. Work up a sweat.
Vigorous work-outs - when you're breathing hard and sweating - help your heart pump better, give you more energy and help you look and feel best. Start with a warm-up that stretches your muscles. Include 20 minutes of aerobic activity, such as running, jogging, or dancing. Follow-up with activities that help make you stronger such as push-ups or lifting weights. Then cool-down with more stretching and deep breathing.

5. Balance your food choices - don't eat too much of any one thing.
You don't have to give up foods like hamburgers, french fries and ice cream to eat healthy. You just have to be smart about how often and how much of them you eat. Your body needs nutrients like protein, carbohydrates, fat and many different vitamins and minerals such as vitamins C and A, iron and calcium from a variety of foods. Balancing food choices from the Food Guide Pyramid and checking out the Nutrition Facts Panel on food labels will help you get all these nutrients.

Dish of the Month - Wonton Noodle Soup

Enjoy shrimp wontons, watercress and thick egg noodles in a low-fat chicken broth soup. One delicious bowl is perfectly filling for either lunch or dinner.

Chinese School Field Trip to Seven Seas

Chinese culture centers and Chinese language schools in MoCo know us from our efforts at educating the community about Chinese culture. That's why Dragon World Chinese School principal Hsiu-Lan Wu brought her students to Seven Seas for lunch and a conversation with Edward and Corinna about the healthy traditions of Chinese cuisine.

The students, American-born Chinese youth aged between 12 and 17, heard about the benefits of a five-color diet. Many asked intelligent, thoughtful questions. We had a wonderful time hosting them!

Dish of the Month - Jellyfish Salad

Ever been stung by a jellyfish? Now it's payback time, as we serve jellyfish salad appetizers. Ours includes thinly shredded scallions tossed with sesame oil, salt, a dash of sugar and a little soy sauce. Not only is it sweet revenge, but a delicious starter when you're in the mood to be adventurous.

Upcoming Events at Seven Seas

Mid-Autumn Festival - September 22, 2010

The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival is the Chinese version of Thanksgiving. There are different folk tales of how this holiday came to be celebrated, and if anyone is interested in the stories, they can be found on 'trusty' ol' Wikipedia.
We will be coming up with specials for the day of the festival, so keep a lookout for them on this blog.

Rockville Restaurant Week 2010

Seven Seas is participating in Rockville Restaurant Week 2010 this year! We are offering pre-fixe, $8/lunches and $15/dinners from October 4 - October 10.

Check out the menus:

A Multicolored Diet Is A Healthy Diet

Seven Seas' co-owner Corinna Shen has been on a mission to champion healthy eating habits for many years now. In 2008, she wrote a special column for the Epoch Times on finding balance through a five color diet. She first explains the benefits of a colorful diet from a traditional Chinese viewpoint, then relates it to modern, Western nutrition guidelines.

The traditional Chinese viewpoint:

In Chinese culture, food and medicine are closely related. The practice of traditional Chinese medicine places great emphasis on achieving balance in one's body for the regeneration of the body's systems and organs. This balance is referred to as yin and yang. An important aspect in attaining a balanced yin and yang is a well-rounded nutrition with at least five varieties of colors.

While the principles of yin and yang are relatively unfamiliar to the Western world, the Chinese have been practicing it since the 3rd century. Over 3000 years ago, the Yellow Emperor wrote in his classic book on internal medicine, Huangdineijing, that if people wanted to obtain health and longevity, they should eat food with "five colors, five tastes and five fragrances."

Recipes for Beef and Broccoli

Seven Seas Beef and Broccoli lunch special

If you're looking for an easy dinner recipe, beef and broccoli is the one. It's hearty, tasty and doesn't take much time at all. Perhaps you already have a recipe that you follow for this dish! But there's one thing that should be pointed out about many recipes online - many of them instruct you to coat the beef in a starchy sauce and deep fry. Why obscure the taste of fresh, quality cuts? Our chef suggests that you skip this step altogether.

This recipe doesn't use the deep-fry method. If you'd like for the beef to be a little more flavorful, marinate it with pepper, soy sauce and a little rice wine before cooking.

And then there's this video that shows you the ultra-shortcut way of making this dish. Video's a bit grainy, but still useful.

Quick and Healthy Beef Broccoli Recipe

Limited Quantities Of Six Pound Lobsters In Our Tanks

Hey everyone, we just wanted to let you know:

 

Six-pound lobsters are at Seven Seas!

Sellout risk: Very high.

Sale price: $12.50/lb
Regular price: $24.99/lb

We only have 3-4 of these lobsters left, so please call to reserve.

Other fresh catch that just arrived are:

Soft shell crabs
One crab: $9.95
Two crabs: $16.95

Red snapper $14.95/lb

Authentic Noodle Soups

Noodle soups are a staple in authentic Chinese food. There are so many different varieties of delicious noodle soups across China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and other countries with large Chinese populations that it's practically impossible to document. What we can do is introduce you to some of our favorites, and hopefully you'll like it as much as we do!

Dish of the Month - Chinese Seaweed Salad

You might be familiar with Japanese seaweed salad, but what about Chinese-style seaweed salad? Is there a big difference? Absolutely. Japanese style seaweed salad is marinated in a sweet, vinegar sauce and sesame oil, while Chinese-style seaweed salad is tossed with salt, garlic and shredded carrots. It's also more dense in texture. Whichever you prefer, Seven Seas serves both!

Sweet & Sour Pork Recipe

Seven Seas' Sweet & Sour Pork Lunch Special

Sweet & Sour Pork Recipe

This is a great recipe because it teaches you how to make the sauce from scratch. Make sure to read page one of this article on sweet and sour pork to get a full understanding of the author's approach. The comments have some very helpful tips too.

We're Open After Last Night's Massive Storm. Come Check Out Our Specials

We'd like to apologize for closing and ending our dining services early last night when the storm hit.

Luckily, we have fully recovered from our power outage and are open for your dining pleasure.

Since this is the start of a new week, we have new specials for your enjoyment. Here are few mouth watering seafood dishes:

Jumbo Half Shell Pacific Oyster in Black Bean Sauce
Lobster Pumpkin Soup
Lobster in Melon Salad
Real Crab Meat & Avocado Salad.

Enjoy!

Dish of the Month - Lobster with Ginger and Scallions

Seven Seas customers love Thursdays because of our fabulous lobster special. Purchase one lobster at regular price (priced per pound) and get the second of equal or lesser value, on the house! 

To make good use of this deal, specify to your waiter the approximate lobster weight that you'll pay for. Remind your server that you want lobsters that are as equal-sized as possible. They'll show you the lobsters you ordered and inform you of the weight.

Then specify what sauce you want cooked in! Favorites include ginger & scallion, black bean sauce and hot sauce. And even if it's not Chinese-style, we'll steam it whole and serve with just butter - if that's what you want!

Happy Fourth of July to All!

Happy Independence Day America!

Seven Seas' Wedding Catering at the Baltimore Aquarium

Congratulations to Jenny & Mo on their nuptials last Saturday at the Baltimore Aquarium. Seven Seas had the pleasure of providing a family-style dinner for the reception.

A rose bouquet crafted from parsley and thinly shaved carrots.

Dish of the Month - Crispy Shrimp Dumplings

Hand-made by chefs on a biweekly basis, this is one of our popular appetizer dishes. Our catering clients love serving these fried shrimp dumplings at their parties. An easy crowd-pleaser and perfect anytime.

Father's Day Prix Fixe Menu

Father's Day is here! Make use of our special prix fixe, 5-course menu for just $18.95.

$18.95/per person

茶:選一: Choice of One Tea

菊花茶 Chrysanthemum Tea

桂花烏龍茶 Sweet Osmanthus Oolong Tea

湯選一: Choice of One Soup

餛飩湯 Shrimp Wonton Soup

酸辣湯 Chicken Hot & Sour Soup

雞茸玉米湯 Chicken & Corn Soup

香菇肉羹湯 Rou-Geng* & Mushroom Soup

*肉粳(Rou-Geng) Chicken Strip Coated with Shrimp Paste

頭抬選二: Choice of Two Appetizers

上海春捲 Spring Roll

涼拌哲皮 Marinated Jelly Fish

紹興醉鷄 Shaoxing Wine Chicken

台南蝦捲 Tainan Crispy Shrimp Roll

蘇州燻魚 Shanghai Style Smoked Fish

蒸餃/鍋貼 Pan Fried or Steamed Dumpling

主菜選二: Choice of Two Entrees

辣子鷄丁 **Chili Chicken

海珍蟹餅 Broiled Crab Cake

芒果酥牛 Crispy Mango Beef

放羊吃草 *Lamb with Cilantro

秋葵小炒 ** Squid, Pork and Okra

松子魚捲 Crispy Pine Nut Fish Fillet

笑鳥鮮蝦 Laughing Bird Shrimp with Cashew

黑椒小牛犢 Veal & Mushroom in Black Pepper Sauce

甜點: Dessert

幸運餅 Fortune Cookie

香蕉春捲Banana Spring Roll with Ice Cream (Vanilla, Chocolate, Green Tea and Red Bean)

$9 Sake Sampling At Seven Seas

Sake Sampler Set $9

Try our manager's weekly picks of one warm, one chilled and one unfiltered, quality Sake.

Our selection of sakes include: Gekkeikan, three types of Sho Chiku Bai, Momokawa Pearl, and Yaegaki Nigori. Try them out!

Memorial Day Surf & Turf Platter

Surf-Turf Combo Platter $18.95
Try our combination platter of Laughing Bird shrimp and hanger steak served with fresh seasonal vegetables and steamed jasmine rice. Platter is available for this weekend only.

Laughing Bird Shrimp.

A few more details:
The hanger steak is prepared by allowing it to stew in beef broth, soy sauce and spices until it is tender. Hanger steak is known to be a very flavorful cut.

The Laughing Bird shrimp is firm and meaty with a noticeably sweet and taste. This shrimp is perfect for the Cantonese-Shanghai cooking style that relies on fresh ingredients cooked with mild ingredients and a light sauce, allowing for the natural flavor of the shrimp to take center stage.

What is Laughing Bird Shrimp?

 
We are delighted to discover this truly enticing Laughing Bird Carribean White Shrimp and want to share it with you.

Laughing Bird shrimp is produced in a family-owned farm in coastal Belize, which we like, because Seven Seas is also family-owned.

The difference in taste compared to other farm-raised shrimp is obvious, due to the way Laughing Bird shrimp is farmed and handled.

No preservatives, antibiotics or hormones are used, and the shrimp are fed a nearly 100% vegetarian diet. When shipped, they are chilled but never frozen.

An added benefit to Laughing Bird shrimp is the farm uses methods that minimizes impact on the environment. Thus, nearby mangroves and coastlines remain untouched by this operation.

Our staff sat down for a taste test and the decision was unanimous. Stir-fried in a light, Cantonese style scallion-garlic-chicken broth sauce, the delicious and clean flavor of this sweet, fleshy shrimp really stood out to everyone. The vibrant color of the shrimp makes for attractive presentation too.

Outstanding, quality shrimp that is responsibly produced. Exactly the kind of ingredients that we try to incorporate into our dishes at Seven Seas.

Dish of the Month - Spicy Chinese-style Maine Lobster

Fresh Maine lobster stir-fried with ground pork, onions and red chillies. Have it as a birthday treat or as part of a family-style meal for a special occasion.

New $5 Menu

Everyone's been tightening their belt and we've had to as well. So we get that it's hard to spend $7-10 on lunch, that's why we're rolling out a $5 menu with quick and filling dishes.

Give Mom A Treat on May 9, 2010 For Mother's Day

Dear Friends,
 
Give mom a break from her endless duties and treat her to a delicious meal! We have our prix fixe menu for just $16.95 per person. The menu includes new seasonal dishes to choose from. Reservations are currently being accepted.

We hope to see you on Mother's Day! 

Don't forget! It's on May 9, 2010

Recipes for Chicken in Black Bean Sauce

This month, we're featuring the chicken stir-fried in black bean sauce, a favorite of our customers. Once again, we've collected a few of the best recipes from around the web to share with you.

If you aren't familiar with black beans, here is a short description, followed by a recipe.

You can view the following video to get excellent step-by-step instructions on cooking chicken in black bean sauce. Note that the chef recommends using wings or dark meat. If you prefer white chicken meat, sliced boneless breasts is the way to go.

And finally, we have one more recipe worth sharing. We like it because it's the closest to our own. This is a non-spicy recipe, but all you need to do is throw in some sliced jalapenos if you want some heat in your dish!

From Allrecipes.com

Dish of the Month - Sushi

 

We are a Chinese restaurant, but we do offer a small selection of sushi made by our very talented chef Yu. Our sushi platters are popular as hors 'd oeuvres for cocktails, weddings and dinner parties. California rolls and tuna rolls are pictured above. Take a look at our Japanese menu for other items.

Easter Specials

We want to celebrate Easter and this wonderful with weather with you! So come and dine with us, as we have a special promotion good only for this Sunday, April 4.
 
The offer:
Order two of our Year of the Tiger $16.95/person meals and get one lobster dish at half price.

Also:
Don't forget that there is still time to use the online coupon code MDNSS to get 10% off online orders of $15 and above. Code expires April 10, 2010.

Happy Easter everyone!

Catering An Elegant, Seven-Course Dinner

House parties. Family-style wedding dinners. Field trip lunchboxes. Corporate party buffets. Seven Seas has done it all, but it's not as often that we're asked to cater a plated, six-course meal. Pictures from this dinner at the Twin Oaks Estate in D.C. will give you an idea of what we can do for you.

Dinner menu

Edward checks that the lobster salads are properly prepped

Lobster & Seafood Salad

Scallops & Squash In Chicken Soup

Cucumber with Peanut Sauce & Japanese Seaweed Salad

Carved Peking Duck

 

Recipes for General Tso's Chicken

The exact origins of this dish is a bit of a mystery. Nevertheless, it's become a staple in American Chinese cuisine. We're sharing a video and recipe link on how to make this dish in case you'd like to try making it at home.

 How to Make General Tso's Chicken

And here is an alternative recipe with very high ratings from people who have tried it. Click the image below for the full recipe.

Recipe from Food.Com

But if you're craving some General Tso's chicken and simply have no time to make it yourself, we serve it piping hot with a side of broccoli and rice!

Seven Seas' General Tso Chicken Lunch Special

Bon Appetit!

Online March Madness!

We're celebrating March Madness and the arrival of spring by giving you a 10% off any online order totaling $15 and more.

Use coupon code MDNSS. This is a multiple use coupon and expires April 10, 2010.

The expiration date CANNOT be extended, so don't miss out on this promotion!

Please note:
This is an ONLINE ONLY promotion and we cannot accept this  coupon for dine-in meals or takeout/delivery order placed in person/by phone. But don't feel left out, here is a coupon for you to print and redeem.

Enjoy your spring!

Dish of the Month - Golden Cornish Hen

Our Cornish hen dish is marinated with garlic and other seasonings before roasting. Served hot, the hen is crispy and juicy all at once, allowing the garlic and other flavors to shine. A wonderful dinner party dish. Available by request.

Folding the Perfect Duck Crepe

Our Peking duck recipe may be a secret, but we're glad to show you how to roll the perfect Peking duck pancake.

1. On a flat Chinese-style crepe, arrange the necessary ingredients -- shredded fresh scallions, duck meat, crispy roasted skin and a splatter of Hoisin sauce.

2. Ensure that you have the right proportion of ingredients. Too much will break the crepe and make for messy bites. Then, roll the crepe slowly so that none of the ingredients fall out of the crepe. Your crepe should look like a small, open-ended burrito.

3. Alternatively, you can fold the crepe into a flat cone shape to create a "pocket." It could get messy, but faster than rolling!

Which method do you prefer, rolling or folding?

Chinese New Year Dinner at the Governer of Maryland's Mansion

Seven Seas catered to the annual Chinese New Year party at the Maryland governor's mansion. The expertise of our chefs provided the party with creative food art displays and a delicious spread.

Happy Year of the Tiger

Year of the Tiger - 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, 1938, 1926, 1914.

Tigers are physically powerful, gracious, independent and brave, they are extremely bold animals. They are friendly and loving but can also selfish and short tempered. Tigers seek attention and power; frequently they are envious in a relation. Tigers live dangerously which often leads to trouble. They are intolerant, take risks and are always searching for excitement. Tigers are also instilled with a good dose of courage. People that are born in the Year of the Tiger are generally well liked because of their charismatic personalities. 

Often, failing at a given duty or being unproductive in his personal or professional life can cause a Tiger to experience a deep sense of depression. A Tiger is always at their happiest when they endeavor to climb the ladder of success. Attaining the top spot is his foremost purpose; being in a position of power is her ultimate goal. They are quick learners, need to be challenged and often prefer to work alone. Some Tigers tend to change careers more frequently because they get bored quite easily. They are natural born leaders and perform at their best if working towards positions of power and influence. So once there is no further room for progression, they will often move on to something else.

Excerpts taken from http://www.yearofthetiger.net/

Double Celebrations At Seven Seas in February

This coming weekend is a big one, with the double celebration. Chinese New Year Eve is on the 13th, Saturday, and Chinese New Year & Valentine's Day on the 14th, Sunday.

We have special menus planned for parties of all sizes. Check out the individual 5-course meal below, perfect for a romantic dinner date. Special menus for bigger groups can be found in the party menu section.

The big snow storms are over, so put away your canned soups and dry food! Come out of the house and have a nice hot meal at Seven Seas. We look forward to seeing you this weekend for the festivities!

Year of the Tiger New Year
Valentine's Day
Five Course Menu
$16.95 per person

茶:選一: Choice of One Tea
菊花茶 Chrysanthemum Tea
桂花烏龍茶 Sweet Osmanthus Oolong Tea

湯選一: Choice of One Soup
香菇肉羹湯 Rou-Geng* Soup
當歸鴨湯 Dang-Gui* Duck Herbal Soup
排骨酥湯 Pork Rib & Turnip Napa Soup
齌菜雲吞湯 Shepherd's Purse Wonton Soup

***肉粳(Rou-Geng) chicken strips coated with shrimp paste.
***當歸 (Dang-Guai) Commonly known as "female ginseng." Strong herb flavor.

頭抬選二: Choice of Two Appetizers

蟹肉雲吞 Crab Rangoon

紹興醉鷄 Shaoxing Wine Chicken

台南蝦捲 Tainan Crispy Shrimp Roll

蘇州燻魚 Shanghai Style Smoked Fish

苔條花生 Roasted Peanuts with Seaweed

           紅燜烤麩 Braised Gluten with Woodear and Peanuts

主菜選二: Choice of Two Entrees

海珍酥鷄 Crispy Chicken

辣子鷄丁 **Chili Chicken

粟子燒雞 Chicken with Chestnuts

芒果酥牛Crispy Mango Beef

放羊吃草 Lamb with Cilantro

三菇六婆 Gourmet Mushrooms

海珍蟹餅 Seven Seas Crab Cake

秋葵小炒 **Okra, Pork and Squid

烤羊小排 Broiled Frenched Lamb Chop

蝦仁豆苗 Baby Shrimp with Pea Leaves

甜點選一: Choice of One Dessert

糖年糕 Sweet Rice Cake

桂花糖藕 Sweet Osmanthus, Lotus Root & Sweet Rice

各式冰淇淋 Ice Cream (Vanilla, Chocolate, Green Tea, Red Bean, etc.)