Tempura

Busan Sushi is an entirely delightful hole in the wall. There are four tables or so and a sushi bar in the first room in from the door, and about eight tables in a second room, which is decorated with one large fan, two screens and two seashells in a goldfish bowl.We visited twice, just two of us. The second time around, our waiter greeted us by name. I no longer carry an American Express card, and on our first visit we hadn't brought cash. Because we live not far away, the restaurant took our check.

The Orient, 319 York Road, Towson, 296-9000. This downtown Towson restaurant offers a great number of Chinese dishes and a sampling of Japanese fare. The Appetizer Tempura ($4.95) from the Japanese menu was a beautiful, tasteful way to begin; a wicker basket brimmed with wonderfully breaded vegetables and a couple of shrimp. Unfortunately, the rest of the meal was not as enjoyable. Our soups and entrees lacked flavor; we had long waits between courses and when the waiter was around, he seemed in a hurry not to be. $$moderate.

The Orient is a bit misleading. From its name, one might think this downtown Towson restaurant offers cuisine from across a continent.It does not.It offers a great number of Chinese dishes and a sampling of Japanese fare. There is an attractive sushi bar separate from the dining room.Except for a mixed appetizer tempura plate, my husband and I stuck to Chinese dishes on a recent visit to The Orient. And except for that tempura, what we had was mostly run-of-the-mill. At higher than run-of-the-mill prices.