Midterm season is upon us. Papers, tests and long stretches of late nights without sleep can weaken the best of immune systems. You can drink all the orange juice you want, but you just can't protect your roommates from catching "that bug that's been going around." By now you've picked up their hacking coughs and sniffling noses. The idea of eating the usual Asian chicken wrap makes your already-sore throat constrict with aversion. You've eaten nothing for days except for pre-packaged soup. You definitely can't eat the same horrid junk that you've survived on throughout the semester: take-out, dining hall mystery meat, pizza and more take-out. It's time to get out of bed and eat some real food.

Although admittedly rather far from your Cup of Noodles-stocked dorm room, Beijing Star at 835 Main St. in Waltham offers some of the only authentic Chinese food in the area. Located directly across the street from Hannaford and next to Arcadia Restaurant, Beijing Star is a hub for Chinese locals looking for home-cooked goodness.

The restaurant offers two menus: the Americanized menu and the Chinese menu. The Americanized list boasts the usual litany of noodles and rice dishes ($10 and under). You'll find cheap lunch specials for $7.50that offer such Americanized classics as orange chicken and chicken with cashews. The sesame chicken ($11.95 at dinner) is a huge portion of breaded chicken coated in a well-balanced sweet and savory sauce that is infinitely better than what any Chinese take-out place would deliver to campus at 2 a.m. If you are craving Americanized Chinese food, Beijing Star's version is certainly a cut above the rest of the options in the area. Be aware that you will have to order white rice separately ($1.50).

True connoisseurs at this quiet restaurant, however, will always order off the pink Chinese menu. The proprietors definitely speak Beijing-style Mandarin first and English second. The siblings who own the restaurant are, in fact, from Beijing, and their menu represents their distinctly northern Chinese heritage. They offer authentic Chinese homestyle cooking that would satisfy any picky Asian grandmother.

The appetizer buns are reminiscent of grandma's snacks from my childhood, but are, sadly, very likely pre-packaged, commercially bought products. The steamed pork buns ($3.75) have a slightly dry but flavorful pork filling. The surrounding dough is soft and warm, but will seem familiar to those who have wandered through the frozen food section of their local Asian supermarket. The scallion buns have a quirky braid of soft white dough, but despite the small flecks of scattered green, they actually have minimal scallion flavor. More importantly, they are most definitely the same brand of frozen buns that my grandmother keeps stocked in her freezer. Authentic, yes, but they were still frozen foods at some point.

Ignore the culinary cultural dichotomy and the reheated frozen food. Drag your infirm roommates to the dimly lit Beijing Star dining room. Ask for the "pink menu" through your congested haze. Order their soup noodles. The Beijing Star soup noodles have been reviewed by gastronomists from all over the area. Anyone who hasn't published a review is trying to keep them a secret from you.

Regardless of whether your comfort food as a child was mac and cheese or chicken noodle soup, while in Waltham, Beijing Star can provide your new personal comfort food. The home-made noodles are thick and irregular, a sign that they are rolled and cut in-house. They are cooked perfectly and are overflowing in a bowl of flavorful soup. A huge bowl of beef noodle soup is $9.25, and the seafood version is only $8.75. The soft, tender beef contrasts perfectly with the chewy noodle texture. The beef option has a very flavorful dark beef stock, while the seafood bowl mixes scallops, shrimp and squid in a clear seafood stock. After these noodles, you will never call P.O.D. Market cup noodles even remotely Asian-inspired.

Some Americans might balk at their idea of Americanized Chinese food as anything closely resembling comfort food, but rest assured, this is not typical sweet-and-sour anything. For a stuffy nose and a queasy stomach, the noodles at Beijing Star are a simple, delicious meal that will not sit too heavily on your weakened system and leave you with leftovers for when you're resting back in your dorm room. For healthy, hungry foodies, Beijing Star offers authentic Chinese food. Even for those who are familiar with the more typical southern Chinese food often found in the U.S., the northern flavors offered are a special experience of spicy, soul-warming dishes. Don't settle for substandard 2 a.m. Americanized Chinese food. For a true taste of the Beijing experience, explore the "pink menu" at Beijing Star.