Asian Food and Cooking

An Open Letter to Mot Hai Ba: The Upcoming East Dallas Vietnamese Restaurant

Dear Mot Hai Ba: You better bring it. There is a massive hole in Dallas' dining scene that you could exploit, and I know if you do this city will be all the better for it. The announcement of your coming existence in a Culture Map blog post was a welcome one, and your creators, Jeana Johnson and Co ... More >>

Redneck Sushi -- A Guide to Triple-Fusion

Now, let's say you want to combine the heavy, meat-based joys of barbecue with the relatively light, raw fish-based delights of sushi. You're clearly having a boring day. Nothing's gone right for you so far. You tried combining Vietnamese and Mexican food. That fell down at the pho burrito. Korean a ... More >>

50 Percent of Seafood Sold in Texas Mislabeled, New Oceana Study Reports

Oh, Dallas. Something is fishy at our sushi restaurants. Katharine Shilcutt at the Houston Press has been digging through a new Oceana Study, and it doesn't say very nice things about the sushi we're eating. That snapper you covet, sumptuously draped over carefully seasoned and packed rice, may ve ... More >>

If You Haven't Stopped Into Kazy's Recently, You Really Should

When I was sitting at the bar at Lucia, slurping down exceptional hand-made pasta dressed in a creamy sea urchin sauce and garnished with salty, toasted breadcrumbs, I asked chef David Uygur where he got the uni. The chef gave me a sort of surprised and sarcastic look as he told me Kazy's up in Rich ... More >>

A Reader's Christmas Wish for the Dallas Dining Scene

Every once in a while someone mistakes Scott for a food expert and risks ruining dinner by trusting him to answer to a burning question. Got a question about food or restaurants? Send it via Twitter @scottreitz, email or in the comments. An email I received last week has me in a Christmas funk. A r ... More >>

The New Korean Fusion

Bulgogi meets tacos, and nachos, and hot dogs, and more.

Mughlai's Gem

A North Dallas Indian restaurant captures the spirit of home.

Firexbox Doesn't Ignite the Taste Buds -- or Other Body Parts, Luckily

You'd think that there's no way that Firexbox could be the name of a restaurant, but you'd be wrong. When I first saw it, I thought, "Surely there's just a typeface issue here with their logo and they mean Fire Box with chopsticks in the middle and that design element just went wrong." But, nope. Th ... More >>

Monica Greene's Nueva Cocina Opens This Evening: Will Serve Sushi

We first told you about Monica Greene's departure from Aca y Alla to open up a restaurant in Oak Cliff just before summer. Now the restaurateur has released new details about the space on Cedar Springs Road that will have a soft opening this evening, with a grand opening scheduled August 7. Nueva ... More >>

Omi's Procession

A Korean grill's banchan offers an endless display of flavor.

Chicken Tikka Masala Pizza at India Chaat Cafe ... Say Whaat?

The words "Desi-style pizza" beckoned me with a neon glow from the front window of India Chaat Café, a small, brightly lit restaurant tucked into a strip mall at Preston and Frankford. I walked in expecting Americanized, watered-down food, or maybe the Bollywood version of Pizza Hut, and was surpr ... More >>

Dalat's Pho Goes Late Night

A new Vietnamese restaurant enters the after-hours game.

The City of Ate Interview: DaLat Owner Khanh Nguyen on the Power and Problems of Pho

Khanh Nguyen had a successful career as a local attorney when he decided to take a little time off, a sabbatical of sorts, between projects. During that time, he immersed himself in traditional Vietnamese cooking, spending months trying to perfect various recipes, mainly concentrating on pho, which ... More >>

Real Japan at Mr. Max

With blacked-out windows and a big sign with an ambiguous name that could be a front for anything, Mr. Max may not look like much from the outside, but step through the doors and you're transported to the other side of the globe.

At China Mex, the Dream of Fusion Power Is Still Just a Dream

China Mex Grill 8367 Park Lane 214-468-4645 Times I shook my fist at the China Mex menu: 25.4 Number of shrimp I ate (out of a possible 500): 2 When China Mex opened in the old Taco King location on Park Lane, I was optimistic. I have giant-lazy-Susan love for Chinese food, and Mexican food knows ... More >>

The Cheap Bastard at Chaucer's, the Land of Sushi, Drawbridges and Hooters Rejects

Creepy business dudes drooling on servers count: 8 Bard count: 0 Chaucer's Sushi & Grill came up several times when I internetted "cheap sushi Dallas." So I checked out their website, and let me tell you, the Chaucer's website is more amazing than any website I have ever seen or will ever see. It i ... More >>

Moon Wok: It's Not Bad, You Know It, It's Not Really, Really Bad

She says she wanted to try the food, but we think Cheap Bastard stopped by Moon Wok just to have an excuse to break out her fedora, single white glove and sequined ruby dancing shoes. You can find the place at 8670 Skillman St., 214-221-8888. Times I drove by and said to myself, "Ha. Moon Wok," bef ... More >>

It's Time Dallas Got an Indian-Food Truck

Dear Potential Food Truck Entrepreneurs of Dallas,Please, for the love of Krishna, start an Indian food truck. Please park outside my favorite bars late at night (Deep Ellum would be a good spot) so I can fill my neglected belly with your spicy flavorful goodness. There's just something about the wa ... More >>

Jiro Dreams of Sushi: A Must-See Doc For Every Food Lover (and Especially Chefs)

"Always strive to master your craft." The closing words of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, which opens today at the Magnolia and Angelika Theaters, would make sound advice for any trade. But thrust upon the shokunin, the master sushi chef, they invoke a certain umami for the soul that's as inspiring as it is ... More >>

At Pho Is For Lovers, Wishing Meatless Monday Was Pork Banh Mi Tuesday

When it comes to pho, that glorious Vietnamese noodle soup perfect for curing hangovers and head colds, I'm almost religiously devoted to the huge steaming bowls served up at Vietnam Restaurant on Bryan Street. However, when I heard that the semi-recently opened Pho is for Lovers on Upper Greenville ... More >>

Private | Social | Ramen! | Oh.

My first run-in with Private Social came just after the restaurant, helmed by Top Chef alum Tiffany Derry released its lunch menu. I noticed the noodles right away. Leslie Brenner and I had been begging Dallas for a proper Japanese noodle house, but it has never materialized. Perhaps a decent hot bo ... More >>

Mumtaz's Indian Lunch Buffet Was Built for Meatless Monday

Weary of soy protein and veggie burgers from Meatless Mondays gone by, I had set my sights this go around on exotic flavors and spices. My search for bargain vegetarian nirvana took me to Mumtaz, an Indian restaurant located in a generic Richardson strip mall at Campbell and Central. I'm typically ... More >>

At Vietnam in East Dallas, a Brief Lesson in How to Make Pho That Doesn't Suck

Vietnam in East Dallas is the quintessential hole-in-the-wall spot that serves up amazing, traditional pho. And when Chef Matt McCallister mentioned this 16-year-old eatery as one of his favorites in a recent interview, it was time to revisit. The particular pho in the photo above is No. 79 from V ... More >>

A Sushi Roll Goes to Space (Video)

A Washington, DC-based sushi chain recently released a promotional video about shooting a sushi roll into space. Getting sushi into the stratosphere should be easy enough. A weather balloon was used to take a chair into space for a very similar commercial. Still, the video seemed a little fishy. ... More >>

Royal Wok: Ignorance is Bliss, Unless You Can Read Chinese

Each week, the Cheap Bastard goes looking for a new place to eat a meal for less than nine million dollars. This week, she rolls the dice at Royal Wok, 2560 Royal Lane, 972-488-8282, and doesn't crap out. At least not right away. Massage parlors nearby count: 18 Waterfall mural count: 1 The news a ... More >>

What Good is Rohst Without Fire?

If Greenville Avenue's latest wants to conjure Korea, it needs to turn up the heat.

Get Your Roll On

Crimson Asian Cuisine Now Serving Pho in West Village

Lauren Drewes Daniels​Crimson Asian Cuisine opened last week at corner of Blackburn and McKinney in the West Village, serving pho and other Vietnamese dishes such as stir-fries, rice noodles and spring roles. The atmosphere is on the casual side. Not fancy, but nice. There's a decent size pati ... More >>

At Amruth and the Taj Chaat House, a Lesson in Learning From Ingredients

Lesson No. 1: Show up hungry.

Sushi & Rice Express: Alice Drives Through Like Evel Knievel's Bastard Child

​Sushi & Rice Express 8131 Forest Lane 214-575-7090 Other cars in the drive-through count: 0 Wet towels air-drying right next to the drive-through menu count: 50 Drive-throughs? Good. Sushi? Goooood. Put them together and you have Sushi & Rice Express. I slow-clap my chopsticks at you, Sushi ... More >>

Pho Colonial Brings Pho to Main Street on Wednesday

​Last minute invitations often result in accidental food discoveries. Last night a friend asked me to join her for dinner, which turned out to be the "soft opening" of a new restaurant in her downtown neighborhood. As City of Ate reported back in January, the creator of Steel is bringing a Vi ... More >>

LA Burger: Korean, Mexican and American Food Make Grand Alliance in Irving

​After months of drooling over the hedonistically obscene images of burgers, tacos and other meat and carb pornography my friends had been sending me, I finally had the chance to check out the source of their obsession: LA Burger.Along with a whimsical selection of traditionally western burgers, ... More >>

Pho is for Lovers? We Thought it Was Good for a Cold.

Photo by Kristy YangPho is for Lovers bahn mi: Tasty pig, great bread.​Pho is for Lovers. I'm still on the fence about that name. Given the restaurant's location at Lovers Lane and Greenville Avenue, it's clever and cute. On the other hand, I normally associate pho with Vietnamese mothers, nas ... More >>

Pho Bang For Your Buck: The Search for Perfect Pho Heads Back to Garland

​Pho Bang and I have a sliding doors sort of relationship. My mom tells me I ate there with her as a permed tot, but of course I don't remember that. (The perm part is more of an intentional denial.) When I moved back to Dallas a few years ago, I would make concerted efforts to drive to Ga ... More >>

Walking the Wok at Asian-American's Birthplace

Kristy YangR&G Lounge's humongous Dungeness crab. We'd hate to see the one that got away.​(Here's part two of travelin' woman Kristy Yang's Walk the Really Long Wok from the Bay Area. Coming up shortly, something about Asian food closer to home. Check out last week's California Wok here.) San ... More >>

Sushi Star: Just a Happy Little Neighborhood Sushi Bar

​Happy Eating highlights restaurant happy hour food menus, pointing you to the best deals out there. This week, we're doing happy hour neighborhood restaurant-style at Sushi Star. Where: 5956 Royal Lane When: 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday The Scene: This is Preston Hollow's quiet neighbo ... More >>

Nammi's Vietnamese Food Truck: A Bit Pricey, but Convenience is Key

Kristy Yang​The Nammi food truck officially got rolling (poor pun intended) last week to much Internet fanfare. Social media was abuzz for the traveling Vietnamese food truck specializing in banh mi and Asian-influenced tacos. I was able to check out the colorful vehicle last Thursday and walk ... More >>

Mayuri Makes a Move

​Earlier this month, Mayuri, "one of the oldest Indian restaurants in the DFW area," according to its owner Lalith Thota, moved from its location at Highway 114 and O'Connor Boulevard, where it had been serving diners for 14 years. Mayuri now serves its "typical ethnic Indian food," including ... More >>

Vijay Sadhu's Newest Venture Takes The Fear Out Of The Exotic

West Village's Malai Kitchen: Asian Fusion Hobbled by Growing Pains

The good news is that Malai Kitchen is a vast improvement over Tom Tom Noodle House, the Asian-styled restaurant that once occupied West Village. The less than good news is Malai restaurant still faces some growing pains. ​Asian fusion can be catastrophic, but compared with Tom Tom, there is ... More >>

Ku Sushi and Japanese Cuisine: Ringside at Sushi Night Fight

The fried egg atop Ku's Dolsot Bi Bim Bop wasn't the only thing that sizzled.​No date with a guy last week. Instead, I went to dinner with two of my girlfriends at Ku Sushi and Japanese Cuisine. The sushi restaurant ranks as one of my friend's and her husband's favorite Preston and Forest neig ... More >>

D'Vegan: Making Meatless Choices Easier

​For weeks, my newly born-again vegan friend had been badgering me to try a new restaurant called D'Vegan. Catering to the Vietnamese Buddhist vegetarian community, the restaurant is only six weeks old. The self-proclaimed "green" eatery sits in the food court space between Hong Kong Supermark ... More >>

Oishii Renames Beloved Off-Menu Sushi Roll

The first thing one receives at Oishii Sushi & Pan-Asian Cuisine is a large laminated menu and paper menu overflowing with sushi options. But if you sit at the sushi bar, there's a small, wall-mounted chalkboard above the chopping and dicing sushi chefs. The very top of that chalkboard reads #42, an ... More >>

Shinsei: Turning Diners into Disciples

Pho Tay Do: Venturing Out of Chinatown for Fiery Vietnamese Soup

Kristy YangPho Tay Do's bun bo hue​The second most popular Vietnamese noodle soup, behind only pho, is arguably the fiery and fragrant bun bo hue. The vermicelli dish originated in the central Vietnamese city of Hue and gets its signature taste and aroma via chilies and lemongrass. Word is, t ... More >>

b.b.bop Rice Bowls: There's Asian Fusion and There's All Over the Asian Map

Photos by Kristy YangOutside b.b.bop's new location at Lovers and Greenville.​b.b.bop Rice Bowls confuses me. The Carrollton-based restaurant opened a Lovers Lane/Greenville location recently, and several friends on separate occasions suggested I try it. Admittedly, when I heard about the concept, ... More >>

Fill Your Super Bowl in Arlington. You're Going to Be Stuck in Traffic Anyway.

​As much as we hate to admit it, technically, the Super Bowl is being held in Arlington. So in honor of the big game in the little city west of us, here's a list of some Asian eateries to visit in Arlington. For banh mi: This is a toss up. Most locals are loyal to Ba Le on Browning. Indeed, ... More >>

Ramen Republic: New Denton Eatery Isn't an Authentic Noodle House, but It's Not Bad

​"Dallas, huh?" a Michigander friend asked me upon hearing I'd moved here. "Bet you don't get much sushi." Actually, I corrected him, there's extraordinary sushi here. Sushi's the perfect fit for Dallas, a city with a bustling airport, a growing Asian and Asian-American population and an affe ... More >>

It's Axiomatic: Good, Inexpensive Sushi Makes Us Happy

​Each week, Happy Eating highlights a different restaurant happy hour food menu. This week we are in the Knox-Henderson neighborhood to check out a Dallas sushi hot spot. Where: Sushi Axiom, 2323 North Henderson Ave. When: 4:30-7 p.m. Monday-Friday. The Scene: Happy hour time is quiet and ... More >>

Lemongrass: Pho and Fusion Fit for a Mom

Pho even a mother could love​When I visited Lemongrass last summer, I promised owner/sometimes chef/always waiter/emergency dish washer Khoa Nguyen that I would return in the winter for a bowl of the restaurant's pho. With the cold weather setting in last week, I figured it was the perfect tim ... More >>