It seems like everyone who’s ever worked as an executive chef anywhere has the dream of one day opening his or her own restaurant. Many do, and of course not all of them succeed.
We hope that the Taste of Asia restaurant founded by the former head chef at Vero’s Fujiyama Steak House will make it. This upscale Asian fusion eatery opened at the beginning of the year in Sebastian’s Village Square just south of Main Street off U.S. 1, a little more than five minutes north of the Wabasso Bridge.
Relying purely on word of mouth, Taste of Asia had a good winter season, is now “just trying to survive” in the lean summer months, but is looking forward to an even better next winter season. Because of the cozy ambience, a great selection of tasty Asian fusion dishes and outstanding friendly service, this new restaurant is definitely worth a visit.
Taste of Asia ambitiously offers five different cuisines, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Thai, but it doesn’t go overboard offering 50 overwhelming selections for each. Mostly it sticks to a handful or less of specialties in each country’s cuisine, apparently limiting itself to what the chef knows he can do well, which looks like a smart strategy.
For example, only three Korean plates are on the menu, two of which are bulgogi and dol-sot-bibimbap beef dishes, and from Vietnam pho noodles or bun soup are offered. Old Chinese standbys include sweet and sour or General Tso’s chicken, but sake asparagus shrimp is an additional specialty of the house.
The Japanese hibachi dinners, which are cooked in the kitchen, not at your table, range from $13.95 for chicken to $27.95 for a lobster and filet mignon combination, and Japanese selections also include tempura and teriyaki dishes.
Thai offerings include the well-known pad thai as well as Thai-style curry – red, green or panang with a choice of meat or tofu
On a recent Saturday night visit, we were warmly greeted by the proprietor’s wife (the ownership couple is Chinese), who patiently and in excellent English answered all our multiple questions about the menu without making us feel dumb in the least.
We started with a glass of Pinot Grigio for my better half Christine and a Singha beer imported from Thailand for me although the next time we go, Christine was totally convinced to have some sake instead of wine. During our meal, the proprietess offered us a free tasting of five different kinds of cold sake ranging from mild (4% alcohol) to stronger (16% alcohol) some mildly fruity flavored, others drier.
For starters we ordered two summer rolls ($5.95) with shrimp in a soft wrap with a peanut sauce, and a plate of six coconut shrimp ($8.95) consisting of jumbo, butterflied shrimp, very light, with a delicious home-made coconut sauce – yummy! Next time we’ll try the nashugiyaki, a sliced eggplant appetizer which was also highly recommended.
The dinners all come with a ginger salad, which my better half chose and found “delicate,” with the dressing not overpowering at all, or soup, which can be miso or traditional Japanese clear soup with chicken broth, mushrooms and scallions, which I found extremely tasty.
For my main dish, I ordered Thai style panang curry ($14.95) with scallops that came with jasmine rice, which for me had just the right degree of heat – enough to bring out the flavor without making he steam come out of my ears.
Christine found her hibachi filet mignon and salmon ($21.95) melt-in-your-mouth tender for the filet, while the salmon was served in a nice in teriyaki sauce with stir-fried vegies and fried rice on the side.
For dessert, we chose the mochi ice cream dish consisting of six half scoops – three different flavors in a sticky rice wrap ($4.95); fried cheesecake was available as another choice.
Taste of Asia has a simple, elegant décor with thread screens separating some of the tables. Capacity is fairly small with eight tables inside and four others outside overlooking a fountain, so once the season starts, you might want to make reservations. All dishes are also available for takeout.
Our bill for dinner for two with drinks, appetizers and dessert came to about $85 with tax and tip, which puts Taste of Asia in a category of upscale Asian restaurants, but the portions were generous and the quality of the food gave us no buyer’s remorse whatsoever.
The 32963 restaurant columnist, Tina Rondeau, is spending a couple of weeks checking out dining establishments in Northern Europe. Her reviews will resume in our Aug. 27 edition.