Category: Asian

AlbuquerqueNew MexicoRating: ExcellentThai

Thai Boran – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:34 AM

Many of us with a puerile sense of humor can probably recall giggling like silly school kids the first time we visited a Thai restaurant and perused a menu. We went straight into the gutter the first time we came across such foods as phat prik and fuktong curry. Even after learning that “phat prik” is actually a stir-fried chili dish and “fuktong curry” is a pumpkin curry, the sophomoric among us couldn’t order these dishes with a straight face. It gets even worse when we actually learned how to pronounce the names of Thai dishes. Not even Bob Newhart could order “cow pod guy” (chicken fried rice) or “cow pod moo” (pork fried rice) with his usual deadpan delivery.…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSeafood

East Ocean Chinese & Seafood – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

In 2022, Freddie Wong posted a TikTok video that went viral on several social media platforms. In the video, Wong, purports to find the most “authentic” Chinese food by utilizing restaurant review website Yelp in a unique way.  “The easiest way to find authentic Chinese food, assuming you’re living in a major metropolitan area, is to go on Yelp and to look for restaurants with three-and-a-half stars,” declared Wong in his TikTok video, which garnered an astonishing 7.2 million views in only two days. “Exactly three and a half, not three, not four. Three-and-a-half stars is a sweet spot for authentic Chinese food.” Again, the assumption is based on living in a major metropolitan area where there are a preponderance…

AlbuquerqueBakeryCoffeeNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSandwichVietnamese

Banh Me & You – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno8:47 AM

According to The Tanner Food Group, a a food consultancy focused on international trade, industry preparedness and regulatory activities, there are now nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants stateside.  Food Scientist Michael Murdy, founder of robustkitchen.com attributes the  popularity of Vietnamese food to the “wide range of flavors and textures associated,” specifying that “the combination of sour, sweet, savory, and spicy flavors, as well as the use of fresh herbs and vegetables, makes Vietnamese food particularly attractive to people.” From among the nearly 8,000 Vietnamese restaurants on this side of the pond, it’s a good bet many of their menus are graced with banh mi, the sandwich melding French and Vietnamese flavors and techniques.  I first encountered the banh mi during one…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseJapaneseKoreanNew MexicoRating: ExcellentSushi

East Asian Kitchen – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Perhaps more than anyone I’ve ever met, my Singaporean friend Ming Lee (God rest his beautiful soul) regarded people by the content of their character, not by physical characteristics.  So, it surprised me to hear him joke “we all look alike.”  It was an unsolicited admission that even he couldn’t always discern the cultural genesis of Asian people he met.  He also joked “at least I can always tell where an Asian restaurant’s food comes from.”  Ming was a bona fide gastronome who introduced me to the cuisine of Singapore and Malaysia.  Like me, he disliked restaurants in which overt homogenization of Asian food was apparent.  Sure, different culinary cultures across Southeast Asia have borrowed from one another over the…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseNew MexicoRating: Excellent

Red Chilli House – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Red “Chilli” House…doesn’t “Chilli” read like a misspelled word that knocked a spelling bee contestant out of the competition?  Or like someone added one too many letter “l’s” to the already misspelled word “chili?”  Actually, that spelling (which some of us purists consider Texan) is by design.   The delightful Chinese restaurant sporting that appellation–which opened its doors in June, 2024–wouldn’t change it.  Among other things, it illustrates just how important Capsicum is in some provinces of China, particularly Sichuan and Hunan. Capsicum, as most New Mexicans know, is the genus to which all chili (chile in New Mexico) peppers and bell peppers belong. The fruit of the capsicum plant contains a chemical called capsaicin, the active ingredient that gives…

AlbuquerqueJapaneseRating: GoodSushi

Ichiban – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno3:43 AM

In an episode of Friends, Joey Tribbiani starred in a commercial released only in Japan for Ichiban men’s lipstick. His friend Chandler’s response upon viewing the commercial: “he really is a chameleon.” In Japanese, the word “ichiban” means “number one” or “the best” and can be used either as a superlative (as in the highest of quality or the very best choice) or to denote precedence or numerical order. The fictional Chinese-American detective Charlie Chan, for example, called his eldest son “number one son.” Whether meaning to denote the highest quality or precedence (ranking) among other restaurants, any dining establishment calling itself “number one” is making a pretty audacious claim.  That may be especially true if that claim is made…

AlbuquerqueAmericanDog FriendlyFusionNew MexicoRating: Very Good

Fuego 505 Rotisserie & Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno11:01 PM

“I have become obsessed with cooking meat over fire. I get prepared for it. I make sure I’m hungry before I cook it. The smell of the smoke and the aroma of the crackling meat ignites some ancient genetic memories. It makes cooking and eating significantly better.” ~Joe Rogan, Podcast Host Those of us with a carnivorous bent can relate to Joe Rogan’s ode to cooking meat over fire.  There’s absolutely nothing as mouth-watering as the heady aroma and melodious sound of meat searing on the grill or sizzling in a pan.  An argument can easily be made that nothing evokes a wanton lust more than smoke perfumed by meat as it wafts toward our anxiously awaiting nostrils.  The sounds…

AsianLaoNew MexicoRating: OutstandingRio RanchoSushiThai

Vong Sushi Thai and Laos Cuisine – Rio Rancho, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:01 AM

Grammatically any of the following is correct:  Laotian cuisine, Lao cuisine or the cuisine of Laos.  Just don’t ever call it “Laosy cuisine.”  That would not only be a malapropism, it would be wholly inaccurate.  The cuisine of Laos is among the most dynamic and delicious in Southeast Asia, if not the world.  One of the reasons Laotian cuisine doesn’t receive the accolades it deserves is because of its neighbors.  The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia bordered by Myanmar (formerly Burma), China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.  To some extent, these neighbors (at least China, Vietnam and Thailand) have surpassed Laos on the world’s culinary stage–not necessarily because their cuisine is superior, but because it’s…

AlbuquerqueAsianNew MexicoRating: ExcellentThai

Hot Pink Thai Cuisine – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno5:36 PM

Black socks and sandals, mixing plaids and polka dots, middle-aged men wearing trousers up to their nipples, T-shirts that accentuate the “spare tire” look, fat guys wearing culottes… If there’s a fashion faux-pas out there, you can bet some of us XY-chromosome-enabled fashion Luddites have committed it and then some. When it comes to fashion, many of us are as clueless as a pirate wearing two eye patches. There is, however, one fashion statement we won’t make. Among the six to seven shirts hanging (wrinkles and all) in our closets, none will be the color pink. Nor will they be salmon, carnation, rose, Amaranth or any other shade of pink fashionistas invented in an effort to get us to wear…

AlbuquerqueAsianJapaneseNew MexicoRamenRating: Outstanding

Oni Noodles – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno2:06 PM

In retrospect, the monsters and bogeymen who frightened impressionable children of my generation were pretty lame. Perhaps the most lame of them all was Frankenstein, a lumbering behemoth who walked around with his arms outstretched like a sleepwalking Shaquille O’Neal. Frankenstein snarled and growled a lot, probably because Gene Hackman poured hot soup on his lap. Then there was that pasty-faced vampire Dracula who could be repelled with garlic (which explains his aversion for Italian food). Dracula couldn’t even enjoy New Mexico’s 310 days of sunshine without sizzling and hissing like a strip of bacon. In comparison Japan’s monsters are pretty badass. Godzilla, a foul-tempered prehistoric sea monster prone to  tantrums destroyed Tokyo several times and was pretty much impervious…

AlbuquerqueAsianChineseNew MexicoRating: N/R (Not Rated)

Fei’s Cafe – Albuquerque, New Mexico

Gil Garduno12:12 AM

Some say the map of China looks like a chicken.  The province of Sichuan in Southwest China would be right in the stomach of that chicken.  That’s fitting because the cuisine of Sichuan is internationally renowned for its liberal use of spice.  What characterizes Sichuan from the other regions of China is its use of Sichuan peppercorn, chilies, and the ability to take even the most mundane of ingredients to create fabulous dishes.  There’s a term for the flavor profile associated with Sichuan cuisine.  It’s the word “mala” which translates to “numbing spice.”  The “ma” portion of that term comes from the use of Sichuan Peppercorns (which are actually in the same botanical family as citrus, not chilies).  Sichuan peppercorns…