Category Archives: Asian Fusion

Cress Restaurant

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***** (5 stars)

This is one of the greatest restaurants in Central Florida. The chef, a multiple James Beard nominee, combines various ethnic influences to create an imaginative array of tastes. Our favorites were the fish tacos, vegetarian plate and the curry. The vegetarian plate alone had a half dozen delightfully inventive items.

The ambience is both trendy and romantic, and service is extremely professional. Best of all, the prices are extremely low for the quality on offer. Many of the small plates are under $10 and servings sizes are generous. There is also a well thought out wine list.

Cress Restaurant
103 W Indiana Ave
De Land, FL 32720
(386) 734-3740
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cress-restaurant-de-land

Hawkers Asian Street Fare

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***** (5 stars)

I love the menu variety at Hawkers, which has almost any pan Asian food you can imagine. Favorites are the Roti, which comes with a bowl of delicious curry for dipping, the summer rolls (nice and light) and the Banh Mi sandwiches with Korean bulgogi beef (two Asian cuisines in one!) Great beer list with some interesting stouts and porters, one of the most extensive selections in town.

Hawkers Asian Street Fare
1103 Mills Ave N
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 237-0606
http://www.yelp.com/biz/hawkers-asian-street-fare-orlando

RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen

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***** (5 stars)

Amazing decor, and great food. I love being able to get Thai, Vietnamese and Indian cuisine all in one place. Favorites were the summer rolls, samosas and short rib vermicelli bowl. The two or three course lunch is a great deal. It was our server, Jordan’s, first day, and she did an amazing job.

RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 552-9988
http://www.yelp.com/biz/rocksugar-pan-asian-kitchen-los-angeles-2

Yuki Hana

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***** (5 stars)

Another amazing sushi fusion place on the east side of Orlando! We sampled a large portion of the menu at a decadent Saturday lunch, and everything was excellent. Some of the fish is flown in from Japan, and it shows. I particularly liked the lightness of the Vietnamese roll, which contained three types of fish, lettuce, wrapped in rice paper and topped with crushed peanuts. Very creative, fresh and delicious sushi and sashimi.

Yuki Hana
3635 Aloma Avenue
Oviedo, FL 32765
(407) 695-8808
http://www.yelp.com/biz/yuki-hana-oviedo

Kabooki Sushi

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***** (5 stars)

I’ve had sushi all over the world, from Tokyo to Los Angeles, New York and Nobu in London. But I’ve never had better than here at Kabooki. We had the omakase, where you put yourself in the chef’s hands. He came to the table to assess our tastes, and then repeatedly to check on each dish. Everything was stellar, but the real stunner was the sashimi platter, where the perfection and simplicity of the fish left us in awe. Each was served with a different tiny dot of sauce and sprig of micro green. The accompanying wine pairing was generous and high quality. This will become our weekly pilgrimage. It’s unbelievable to find this quality of sushi in Orlando.

Kabooki Sushi
3122 E Colonial Dr
Orlando, FL 32803
(407) 228-3839
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kabooki-sushi-orlando

Go 4 Food

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***** (5 stars)

Great little place on a side street in Chinatown. Clean, friendly, and superb food. Lunch is an incredible bargain for under $7, but we chose to explore the main menu, which is also reasonably priced.

We tried the Salty Egg Yolk Shrimp, Dungeness Crab Curry, and the French Beef. All were excellent.

I would have liked the shrimp a bit crispier; it’s definitely worth $2 extra to have it shelled.

If only the crab could be shelled! It was our favorite dish because of the rich spices in the curry, but it was an absolute mess to eat because it’s a whole crab covered in curry sauce, and you have to crack the shells; but hanging onto something covered in hot, slippery sauce is a real challenge. They can do other proteins with this sauce, and that’s what I’d get next time.

I’d definitely get the French Beef again. It was wonderfully tender cubes of beef with an aromatic crust. No Frenchmen were harmed in the preparation of this dish.

This is definitely a non-touristy place to have great food in Chinatown.

Go 4 Food
212 W 23rd St
Chicago, IL 60616
(312) 842-8688
http://www.yelp.com/biz/go-4-food-chicago

Dos Ricco’s

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***** (5 stars)

I love Korean barbecue tacos. The mixture of cuisines is perfect. Dos Ricco’s makes a great one. The Regular taco comes on a corn tortilla, while the Korean version comes on a flour tortilla. However I would ask for the corn tortilla with their Korean selection.

The service is super helpful, which really makes it a joy to visit the place. Be aware that it’s not really a sit down restaurant, as there are only stools for about 10 people in the small ordering and eating space.

Dos Ricco’s
6445 S Cicero Ave
Chicago, IL 60638
(773) 284-9088
http://www.yelp.com/biz/dos-riccos-chicago

Sola

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***** (5 stars)

This is a great place for Asian fusion, and also a wonderful Sunday brunch spot. The food is quite different between those two menus, and fittingly the atmosphere inside and outside is very different, too. The trendy energy inside would be perfect for lunch or dinner, while the sidewalk on this quiet, tree-lined side street is perfect for brunch.

We shared several dishes: ham and cheese french toast, smoked fish scrambled eggs, and an Asian chicken salad. The salad was light and refreshing, with exotic greens and just a touch of very flavorful dressing. The smoked fish scrambled eggs was good, the highlight being a dollop of very flavorful cream cheese, and some nicely cooked hash browns, but I probably wouldn’t order that dish again. The best was the ham and cheese french toast, which reminded my of a Montecristo sandwich. It was slathered with fresh strawberry preserves that contained a hint of five spice. There wasn’t a bite of that dish left on our plates!

Service was friendly, with food delivered by an efficient team, and prices are quite reasonable. We’ll definitely return for brunch, lunch and dinner.

Sola
3868 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60613
(773) 327-3868
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sola-chicago

Emeril’s Tchoup Chop

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**** (4 stars)

This is Emeril’s other restaurant at Universal, and I actually like it better than the original Emeril’s. While there is an Asian twist to most items, it is more a fusion of different cuisines, and there are lots of interesting flavors. The room is absolutely beautiful, with a long lily pond down the middle, high reedy ceilings and dramatic lighting. It’s usually not as noisy as you might expect from the soaring roofline. Prices are reasonable for a tourist hotel restaurant. This is a surprisingly good choice for pre-show dining before going to a concert at Hard Rock Live, because you can take the boat there and save the exorbitant valet parking charge at Citywalk.

Emeril’s Tchoup Chop
6300 Hollywood Way
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 503-2467
http://www.yelp.com/biz/emerils-tchoup-chop-orlando

Thai Silk Restaurant

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**** (4 stars)

God place for lunch, with a fairly diverse lunch menu. We tried the curry, the Pad Thai, the laab (minced chicken), and Yum Nua (essentially the same as laab with beef). All were good. Service was friendly although not speedy. The front desk was also friendly, and the place was fairly popular. I like the fact that even the mild preparations had a lot of flavor, with fresh cilantro and lime flavors. A good bet for a nice, light light.

Thai Silk Restaurant
6803 S Kirkman Rd
Orlando, FL 32819
(407) 226-3272
http://www.yelp.com/biz/thai-silk-restaurant-orlando