Fusion Taste is a Chinese/Japanese restaurant conveniently located in Arlington Center at Broadway Plaza. Fourteen of us went there for the October Arlington List dinner, giving us a chance to try a wide range of dishes. Dinners at area restaurants by members of the email list have been a tradition since 1999.

The ambiance of the restaurant is welcoming, with several seating areas to accommodate larger parties. It has a full bar and, in general, the serving staff was friendly and provided good service to our party.

Uri started with hot-and-sour soup, which had a good balance of sour and heat, but was not remarkable. Linda ordered spring rolls, expecting the fresh style, but they were fried. Overcoming her disappointment, she tried some, but found them to be pretty ordinary.

Other members of our party ordered Crab Rangoon, egg drop soup and other appetizers. The general feeling was that everything was satisfactory, but nothing was really outstanding.

For main courses, most people ordered Chinese with one couple ordering sushi. They were very pleased with the quality of the sushi and the variety of the pieces.

Uri ordered Shredded Beef in Chili Sauce and found it to be under spiced. He requested chili oil, which brought up the heat level to his liking.

Linda ordered Sesame Chicken, which she liked, but, again, it was not up to her usual standards for Chinese fare. It was crispy and had an abundance of sesame seeds, but the sauce lacked flavor.

One woman ordered a salmon special with vegetables, whose sauce was overly sweet. Another man ordered a shrimp dish and commented that he found the shrimp to be mushy.

We felt the prices were average for Arlington; however, the overall value, given the fair quality of the food, was not good. Several people in our party agreed with our view that the food was just OK but not memorable.

Pricing $$ (on scale of 1 to 4 dollar signs)

Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m., Sunday, noon - 10 p.m. Fusion Taste Restaurant, 303 Broadway, Arlington, MA 02474; 781-641-2388

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