Music of unfathomable variety for Karaoke, big screen TV, $3.95 specials to appease the appetite and plenty of parking can be found at Chopsticks Express, 2651 E. Burnside.

Manager David Chow stresses the parking is more than ample, the $3.95 food special is exceptionally reasonable and the book of songs and artists offered by the two Karaoke engineers is phenomenal.

Dean Stephens takes charge of Karaoke Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, while Ken Paul does duty each Wednesday and Thursday. They both make sure that anyone who likes to participate in the music may have a chance to do so. When Chow explained they have lots of new songs, he offered a huge notebook to validate his claims. Indeed, there are a LOT of songs, everything from Springfield and country to country rock.

On the wall in the restaurant hangs a plaque indicating that 1998 is "The Year of The Tiger." It also points out that "Tiger people are aggressive and courageous" as well as "candid and sensitive."

Following along in this oriental motif, Chow indicates the menu is made up of healthy Chinese cuisine, not only at the Burnside location, but also at the Milwaukie site, 1801 S.E. Main Street in Milwaukie. However, this Chopsticks Express serves only food, whereas the one on Burnside has a full service bar, complete with all the video games and designated state-regulated games. Another favorite at the lounge is "the Pounder", a pound of beer, served for $1.50 until 7 p.m. While music is on tap from 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, it is extended from 8 p.m. until 2:30 a.m. each Friday and Saturday.

Dining hours are 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday; the food special at $3.95 is served all day up to 2 a.m. Pool enthusiasts will also be able to take advantage of their talent.

Now, in addition to going into the restaurant and partaking of the healthy Chinese food, you can take an order-to-go home. Some of the offerings include teriyaki, mandarin, spicy and sweet and sour chicken; in fact there are 14 chicken dishes, nine beef offerings and seven dishes featuring pork. There are dishes for those who wish only veggies, mixed vegetables, steamed veggies, szechuan broccoli and stir fry string bean. Not to be left out, is the seafood side with shrimp as the main ingredient featuring black beans, vegetables, broccoli, sweet and sour shrimp and cashew shrimp, to mention only a few.

Now, if that isn't enough, there is a long list of side orders such as egg roll, barbecue pork, potstick-ers, oriental chicken salad, to mention but a minuscule number of the 19 items available. Then there are soft drinks along with all the other standards and desserts of ice cream, cookies or muffins.