Cafe Asia
614 Water Street
Phone: 410-528-1925
Price: $12-$20
Location: Power Plant Live!
Hours: Mon.-Wed.: 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Thur.: 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
Fri.-Sat.: 11:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m.
Sun.: 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
Be careful when looking for the entrance to Cafe Asia. The Ruth's Chris Steakhouse sign flashes brightly before you, almost causing you to miss this trendy pan-Asian restaurant. The unassuming, low-profile outside is similar to the inside dZcor. Dim lighting reveals Japanese-inspired tables and seats, low to the ground, that line one side of the restaurant, while nothing but sleek metal chain curtains separate tables from each other. Opposite the tables are two bars, one in the front and one farther to the back of the restaurant. The cozy atmosphere of the restaurant almost allows one to go there just for the "experience," but thankfully the food is just as good as the dZcor.
There is quite an extensive sushi menu from which to pick your favorite combinations of raw fish, either in sashimi style or sushi style. The soft shell crab tempura rolls are delicious, and the portions are sizable. Other appetizers on their menu include Vietnamese spring rolls, summer rolls and even Chinese "ravoli."
Entrees representing many styles of Asian cuisine are on the menu, from lemongrass chicken to spicy Thai cooking. Many of the dishes include a choice of shrimp, chicken, or beef as the principle ingredient to the style that is prepared.
I tried the ppangdang, a grilled chicken dish with indonesian soy sauce that was well-cooked with the sauce being a very nice complement to the tender chicken itself. However, only five pieces of chicken on skewers are served, which may not be enough for one person, and especially not for two.
There are also a variety of noodle dishes. The Vietnamese lemongrass chicken noodle dish is, in effect, a type of pho dish with a lemony flavor to the broth and tender chunks of chicken mixed in with the rice noodles. Sha Cha Chicken Noodle Soup was another noodle dish, with thick udon-like noodles in a heavier broth. Both dishes were large and gave a good quantity of food.
The dessert menu was small, but the fried banana with ice cream was a pleasant surprise. The crispiness of the banana on the outside and the tender inside went very well with the vanilla ice cream. It was the most expensive dessert, at $4.25.
The prices for the main entrees ranged from $10 to $16, while the noodle dishes were a bit cheaper at around $8 to $10, depending on what type of meat was preferred with the broth.
The restaurant's atmosphere did a lot for the food. The food was good, and had it been served in any other Asian-style restaurant, it would have remained just as good. But the ambiance created by the interior design gave CafZ Asia a more contemporary and trendy look, and even the food seemed chic and trendy. Be sure to make reservations if you plan on eating there during the weekend, or it will be packed. Word has obviously spread that CafZ Asia is a hip place with great food.
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