A pan-Asian restaurant on the edge of the Italian North End might seem incongruous, but this casual spot is no ordinary Chinese restaurant. It serves excellent renditions of the usual dishes, and the kitchen also has a flair for fresh seafood. The pan-Asian selections and sushi are just as enjoyable as the Chinese classics. Start with wonderful soup, sinfully good crab Rangoon, or fried calamari with garlic and pepper. Main dishes range from nine kinds of fried rice to scallops with garlic sauce to the signature "Ocean Three Treasures," shrimp, calamari, and scallops in a scrumptious sake sauce.

Be sure to ask about the daily specials -- bitter Chinese broccoli, when it's available, is deftly prepared. Lunch specials, served until 4pm, include vegetable fried rice or vegetable lo mein. You can eat in the comfortable main dining room or near the bar, which has French doors that open to the street. Although it's opposite a trolley stop, Billy Tse doesn't have an especially touristy clientele -- the neighborhood patrons obviously welcome a break from pizza and pasta.