MARY FURR -- Dining Out

June is the big month for family gatherings, for weddings and for

graduations. One place to consider taking the family is the N.Y. Seafood

Buffet on the southwest corner of Edinger Avenue and Goldenwest Street in

the Expo Design Center, where big tables and booths nourish the exchange

of family news, as well as appetites.

Here everyone can design his or her own entree from the stir-fry center,

the double-sided steam buffet and iced fruit trays, where variety and

freshness dominate.

The dining area on one side has booths and family tables, in the center

are the steam buffets and to the right is the large banquet room that

seats up to 120 diners. It all seems twice as large, with the wall to

ceiling mirrors reflecting the beautiful flower-filled rooms --

artificial perhaps, but so colorful and festive that they invite you to

have a party.

Begin by choosing one of the four fresh salads, and then proceed to Line

A (lunch $4.85, dinner $6.99), where the prepared Vietnamese foods are.

There you’ll find baked chicken breast, tiny chicken legs that are

perfect for a child’s hand, a wonderfully flavored baked pork chop, good

egg foo yong patties and a tray of mixed mushrooms -- droopy headed straw

ones, shiitake and fat enoki.

The short spring rolls are filled with minced meat, and the longer flaky

ones are filled with shredded cabbage and carrot. There’s a fried

vegetable rice mix and hot, snowy steamed rice, a flavorful noodle chow

mein and some wonderful light, puffy rice chips.

Another choice is Line B (lunch $4.55, or $6.35 with Line A for lunch),

where you select from a colorful selection of uncooked vegetables and

meats -- green string beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower and frozen

curls of beef and chicken -- to take to a big wok, where a chef adds a

swirl of vegetable oil and mild, medium or spicy seasoning to cook it

with a handful of sesame seeds, Mongolian barbecue style.

For dessert, there are slices of the freshest, sweetest cantaloupe and

honeydew melon, strawberries and pineapple.

Helpful Manager Jose Sosa guides people through the process; however,

labels on the buffet trays would help in making the selections.

Owner Thomas Trinh says one of the newest menu items is an eight-course

fish dinner for two ($20.99) that provides a variety of fish

preparations, from fish salad to fish wrapped in Hawaiian “lot” leaf and

ending with fish porridge.

Daily after 5 p.m, N.Y. Seafood Buffet comes alive with music in the

beautiful banquet room, where there’s a small dance floor. With the

mirror-covered walls and myriads of flowers, this could be Cinderella’s

ballroom.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments or

suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI

N.Y. SEAFOOD BUFFET

WHERE: 6840 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach

HOURS: Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; Dinner 5 to 10 p.m.; Closed

Tuesday.

CALL: (714) 842-7262

MISC.: Friday, Saturday and Sunday dinner price is $18.99 with lobster

and crab.