Review: A grand tour of Asian cuisine

Photo by KELLI STANKO, Special to the Daily News

Sushi Mori Plate at Pan Asian & Sushi.

Photo by KELLI STANKO, Special to the Daily News

Chicken Drunkin Noodles at Pan Asian & Sushi.

Photo by KELLI STANKO, Special to the Daily News

Crispy Whole Red Snapper, sauteed Asian vegetables sweet and mild tamarind sauce at Pan Asian & Sushi.

My love affair with Asian food started when I was four and my parents took me to a Chinese restaurant is my hometown of Milan, Italy. Later on I tried, and loved, Japanese food and became a sushi addict. One by one I started exploring all the other cuisines of Southeast Asia from Indonesian to Korean, from Thai to Vietnamese. Turns out I love them all. So it goes without saying that I couldn’t have been happier when I saw Dave Wong’s Pan Asian & Sushi opening a stone’s throw away from my house a few months ago.

Pan Asian is small but tastefully decorated — the ideal spot to have a quick lunch with friends but also a great place for a quiet, romantic dinner. Prices are reasonable, portions are generous and the owner and staff are exquisitely kind and welcoming — all of which makes dining at this cozy restaurant a true pleasure.

The menu is incredibly varied and it showcases a plethora of dishes from Japan, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea and Malaysia. Specialties include sushi, stir-fries, curries and barbecued steaks, on top of a solid base of appetizers, salads and soups.

I opt to order the Vietnamese vegetable summer rolls ($7.95), a light and refreshing option that is packed with flavor but won’t leave you feeling stuffed. Crispy lettuce, crunchy bean sprouts, fragrant basil and mellow vermicelli noodles are wrapped tightly in rice paper and served with a tangy tamarind and apricot sauce. The rolls look beautiful — the white sprouts, the orange carrots and green basil are artfully placed in layers inside each cylinder- and they are a crunchy delight. The tamarind and apricot dipping sauce adds just the right amount of sweetness to each bite and enhances the flavors of the fresh vegetables.

The filet mignon pho ($5.95) is also an excellent choice to start your meal. After only a couple of spoonfuls my pho-loving dining companion, an extremely picky eater who loves the Vietnamese soup, can’t stop raving about it. The broth is spicy and pungent with star anise and cinnamon, the filet mignon is thinly sliced and tender and the rice noodles and bean sprouts round up this simple, comforting dish.

Thai food lovers will love the chicken with basil sauce ($11.95), a great rendition of the classic stir-fried dish. Sweet holy basil, garlic, tomatoes, string beans and chicken are cooked in spicy chili sauce and served with jasmine rice. It’s a satisfying dish, spicy as ordered, made with fresh ingredients and cooked to the right point, where chicken is tender and vegetables are pleasantly crisp. The dish, as all other stir-fried specialties served at Pan Asian, is also available made with tofu ($11.95), beef (also $11.95) or shrimp ($15.95).

Another winning choice is the Singapore noodles with chicken ($12.95). A street specialty of Singapore — but popular throughout other countries in Southeast Asia — this curried noodle dish is an old favorite of mine and I always appreciate seeing it on a restaurant’s menu. Thin rice vermicelli is sautéed in a rich yellow curry powder with bean sprouts, onions, scallions and tender chicken breast. With an extra sprinkle of crushed red pepper the dish is hot and succulent, just like on the streets of Singapore.

Pan Asian also serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and offers most of the same dishes served for dinner for a lower price and a few interesting combos that include an appetizer, a hot dish, a salad and some sushi rolls. The red curry chicken combo ($11.95) is one of the most appealing selections. A rich, coconut milk-based curry features cashew nuts, mango, sweet peppers and basil

The drunken chicken noodle ($8.95) is also an appetizing lunch choice. The name might make you think that the noodles are cooked in some type of alcohol, but the nickname of this yummy dish refers to the fact the spiciness of the noodles makes you reach for several refreshing sips of beer. It’s not as hot as I thought it would be, but it’s a solid dish, perfect for a filling lunch.

A meal at Pan Asian wouldn’t be complete without some cheesecake tempura ($6), bites of creamy cheesecake dipped in tempura batter and quickly deep fried to golden perfection. Leaving the dining room, the sweetness of the dessert still lingering pleasantly in one’s mouth, one can only think about coming back soon to try yet another greatly prepared Asian dish.

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