Category: Asian

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2008Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseSushi

Taka Sushi – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Just as you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, you shouldn’t judge a restaurant by its exterior facade…or even its interior for that matter A good example of this is Taka Sushi, a venerable Japanese restaurant on the city’s southeast quadrant. From the outside, Taka Sushi lacks the polish and veneer of its competitors, appearing more like a remnant of the 1960s with dated paint and austere signage. It isn’t much better when you step inside. Clutter (or “casual and homey” as Scott Sharot called it in his terrific tome New Mexico Chow), not feng shui, seems to define the restaurant’s decorating style. Leave the spit and polish to trend followers who are impressed with over-the-top flamboyance (can you…

CaliforniaMalaysian

Spice Islands Cafe – Mountain View, California

Gil Garduno

During a two-hour layover en route to a business meeting in Silicon Valley, I managed to devour every single delectable word of Garlic and Sapphires, the raucously entertaining bestseller to be by Ruth Reichl, erstwhile restaurant critic for the New York Times.  The book–woven with the same incomparable alchemy with which she crafts her restaurant reviews–was transcendent in its ability to paint vividly palpable pictures with unmatched clarity and flair. I can only hope a modicum of that alchemy rubbed off on me because the Spice Islands Cafe, the first restaurant I visited after reading the book, deserves the Ruth Reichl treatment.  Not being Ruth Reichl, I’ll probably subject you to my usual parochial repertoire of tired adjectives in describing…

Closed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenNew MexicoRio RanchoThai

Hong Thai – Rio Rancho, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Cloistered in the tiny, nondescript Lujan Plaza shopping center and away from the maddening traffic cavalcade that has become Rio Rancho Boulevard, Hong Thai operated for nearly a year (since April, 2005) before we knew it existed (our first visit was in March, 2006). We thought the shopping center’s southwest corner was still occupied by a mediocre Chinese restaurant. Boy, were we ever in for a treat. Hong Thai is superior in every way to its predecessor whose claim to fame seemed to be cramming throngs of non-discerning diners into a small space for a mediocre buffet of Americanized Chinese favorites (lots of fried, candied stuff that all tastes the same). Family-owned and operated, Hong Thai features cuisine from both…

Closed in 2010FusionGone But Not ForgottenLas Vegas, Nevada

Chinois – Las Vegas, Nevada (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

It’s been well established that world-famous chef and restaurant impresario Wolfgang Puck can talk the talk. Chinois, a critically acclaimed fine-dining fusion restaurant located in Santa Monica, California is, in the estimation of many, proof that he can also “walk the wok.” So successful was his original Asian and French influenced fusion restaurant that he launched a branch within the confines of the people watching Mecca of the Forum shops at Caesar’s. Prior to visiting Chinois, I read several reviews in which fulsome praise was lavished on the über celebrity chef’s Asian masterpiece. I’ve been accused of hyperbole, but compared to what I read about Chinois, my favorable reviews are understated. One reviewer proclaimed Chinois as “quite possibly the best…

AlbuquerqueBuffetChineseClosed in 2011Gone But Not Forgotten

Yen Ching – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Have a yen for Chinese or Korean cuisine? Can your appetite be sated only by the nasal-clearing, smoldering heat of Szechwan style cooking? Are the cravings that consume you affixed on succulent sushi and eye-watering wasabi. If all four of these options sound good but you can’t make up your mind, there’s only one dining destination that–under one roof–can satisfy your appetite for all these palate-pleasing Asian cuisines. Yen Ching, a popular Northeast Heights restaurant named for a city in Northern China, specializes in Chinese, Korean and Szechwan cuisine and has an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) Japanese sushi bar to boot. Yen Ching is a veteran in Albuquerque’s cramped competition for Chinese food customers, launching nearly 20 years ago in the venerable…

AlbuquerqueClosed in 2007Gone But Not ForgottenJapaneseSushi

Eurasia Bistro & Sushi Bar – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

In an ideal world, the culinary connotation of the term “Eurasia” would be a fusion of the distinct cuisines of both continents available all under one roof under which culinary adventurers would be like Venetian explorer Marco Polo tasting all the Silk Road has to offer. We should have realized that while the continents of Europe and Asia may be connected as a land mass (certainly not geopolitically), an Albuquerque restaurant featuring the cuisine of both continents is still far too novel a concept. While Eurasia turned out to be a misnomer, this contemporary Japanese restaurant may turn out to be one of the better, albeit more expensive restaurants launched in 2005. Situated on the site of the now defunct…

ArizonaSandwichVietnamese

Lee’s Sandwiches – Chandler, Arizona

Gil Garduno

For years, the American viewing public has been subjected to the bombardment of the airwaves with the exploits of Jared. Once a corpulent fellow who weighed 425 pounds, Jared metamorphosed into a 190-pound shadow of his former self largely through a calorie reduction effort comprised principally of submarine sandwiches proffered by America’s most prolific sandwich chain. Many of us caloric overachievers regard those commercials with skepticism–not that Jared could lose so much much weight, but that any sane person could eat such a mediocre sandwich twice a day for an entire year. I could understand it if Jared’s sandwich diet was comprised instead of banh mi, the unrivaled Vietnamese sandwich that surpasses any chain produced submarine sandwich in America. Banh…

AlbuquerqueAsianClosed in 2007FusionGone But Not Forgotten

Cafe O – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Within a few weeks after its launch in late 2003, it seems all the restaurant critics for Albuquerque’s periodicals had waxed poetically effusive about Cafe O, a novel counter eatery whose menu purports to offer a “taste of the world.” Considering those food critics are all women, I pictured genteel dainty sized portions of water cress embellished finger foods and flavored teas served on real china. Although tea was an integral part of the menu, it certainly wasn’t served on fine china and it definitely wasn’t your standard American tea. It’s boba tea which proved to be such a huge success that the proprietors Vi Luong and his wife Hoa launched a boba tea franchise that’s setting Albuquerque on fire.…

Closed in 2012Gone But Not ForgottenOregonThai

Typhoon – Portland, Oregon (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Among restaurant critics the term “edible art” is so overused it’s become trite, but it really is an apt description for the incredible Thai cuisine crafted by chef Bo Kline. Hailed by Bon Appetit as “one of the hottest chefs in America,” Kline has become somewhat of a regional impresario with six successful Typhoon restaurants in the Pacific Northwest. Kline’s restaurant’s menu is inspired by the humble pushcarts of the peasants and the opulent palaces of her native Thailand where an incomparably delicious balance of sweet, salty, sour and bitter flavors in all their glorious combinations, subtleties and exotic explosiveness has been perfected over the millennia. At Typhoon, traditional dishes share the spotlight with cutting-edge nouvelle cuisine in an inviting…

AlbuquerqueAsianClosed in 2007FusionGone But Not Forgotten

Asia Restaurant – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

Proprietor Nan Nguyen and his wife launched Asia Restaurant in April, 2002 and have experienced steady, if not spectacular customer traffic.  Repeat business from faithful patrons in a small, intimate setting with only 12 tables give the Nguyens the opportunity to get to know their clients. Although both from a small village in South Vietnam, Nan worked for years in a Chinese restaurant, hence a menu offering both Vietnamese and Chinese food.  Our inaugural visit was shortly after the restaurant’s grand opening and typical of Albuquerque, the restaurant was packed with curiosity seekers. We were the only diners during our second visit and had a splendid time discussing the nuances of Vietnamese cuisine.  After learning of my affection for durian,…

AlbuquerqueAsianClosed in 2007FusionGone But Not Forgotten

California Witches – Albuquerque, New Mexico (CLOSED)

Gil Garduno

California Witches, “where you can taste California” is the brainchild of two Korean born California transplants who happen to like witches–not the Wiccans who practice ritual observances of seasonal and life cycles or the repulsive old women credited with usually malignant supernatural powers. They assured us they don’t practice the arcane arts, but like “white” magic as practiced by television characters such as Sabrina. Our hope was that they were practitioners of culinary magic. Chef Rachel Park owns three other California Witches restaurants in Los Angeles so she and her owner cousin must be doing something right. A great start to a meal at Witches is one of the 20 boba teas and slushes. The bottom of each glass is…