Best Asian Style restaurants in the country.
 

Forgetting the chains like Roys and PF Changs and the variouos Vong spinoffs, what are the best Asian restaurants you know? Thank you.

Sam Wo, Chinatown, San Francisco!!!!!

Little Saigon area in Garden Grove CA has lots of great Vietnamese places.

When you say "Asian" are you talking about Chinese?? Japanese?? Korean?? Thai?? Indian???? Authentic or Americanized??

Leanna, you must be my age. Sam Wo, indeed! Oh the memories....

PF Changs is a chain but technically, even though there are many, Roy's is definitely NOT a chain. The cuisine, which is Asian influenced-fusion, and not solely Asian, is not corporate fare dictated by some CEO, such as the case of chain restaurants so let's clear that misnomer up right now. Each chef at each Roy's has lots of discretion for personal creativity and menu choices. In addtion, NO, we don't want to hear from the wannabes like Clovis Kim who have dined there once, said they didn't like it and then all of a sudden raved...puhleeze, give us a break with your pretend opinions and suggestions.

Now for the real Asian, which is a silly question because you can find them anywhere and everywhere. How about a regional suggestion. The Pasadena area has incredible Asian cuisine. Nobu is something our family loves. We've dined at his L.A., Malibu, Las Vegas and London locations and all were amazing.

TravelTess....There is no place quite like Mr. Wo's is there? No atmosphere what so ever...and grumpy help that finally warm up and then become family.

I send all my pals there and they call me and say.."OH MY GAWD!! will we die of food poisoning??? Then they call me back and say......"OH MY GAWD...the food was fantastic and the bill was like NOTHING!!"

Everytime we go up to the city....first nite in....we hit Sam Wos!!! :)

Im hungry just thinking about it!!! :)

The Slanted Door, French Vietnamese in San Francisco.

I enjoy Indian food and seek out Indian restaurants when traveling. I now work p/t at a hotel owned by a young Indian couple and they often bring in some great vegetarian dishes. We have an Indian restaurant on premises, but the food doesn't compare with the home-made goods.

I agree that by asking about "Asian", you're leaving responses wide open. How would you reply to "Best American Restaurants"? I've avoided mentioning restaurants by name, as "Best of ___ in the Country" for any category is "overkill" and seems to turn into contests to see who can outdo others.

Pan Asian: Sy Thai. Locations in Birmingham, MI., and St. Clair Shores.
Some like it hot, some do not.

First of all being part of a "chain" does NOT mean poor quality. I think Roys is terrific. It has great sauces and creativity and it is very well rated. We also thing well of PF Changs which we tried in Seattle and in our home near the Chicago area. I will not be "chained" or confined by the context of this message. :S-. That being said in our area there are several fine Asian restaurants. "Taste of Thai" is a small, family run, restaurant on Golf Rd. in Schaumburg, Ill. which has consistently fine food, balanced sauces and good service. For Chinese try Yu's Mandarin which has quite a following though that does not include us because the service there can often be surly. Food is good however. We prefer House of Hunan. The food is as good IMHO and the service is far better.

Asia Kitchen in San Antonio, TX.

http://www.asia-kitchen.com/

Southern California probably has the best variety of Asian restaurants in the US. High-end Japanese is king here in LA. The Nobu empire in the US started here, after all, with his flagship eatery Matsuhisa (and Nobu Malibu came later). The slightly overrated Katsu-ya and the renowned Urasawa are purer sushi joints (with the latter having an omakase that will stun and amaze, if only for the $250+ average price tag).

The best Chinese is scattered throughout the area (Din Tai Fung in Arcadia, Yujean Kang's in Pasadena, Five Feet in Laguna Beach, etc.).

We have specific neighborhoods historically settled by certain nationalities, with specialty cuisines as well:

-- Japanese: Little Tokyo (downtown LA), Sawtelle corridor of West LA, Torrance

-- Chinese: San Gabriel Valley (look for the 626 area code!), Chinatown (a bit for the tourists)

-- Vietnamese: Little Saigon neighborhood of Westminster

-- Korean: Koreatown (downtown LA)

-- Thai: Hollywood (east part), North Hollywood

-- Cambodian: Long Beach, especially on Anaheim Ave.

-- Indian: Artesia, especially on Pioneer (the Little India area)

-- Filipino: Cerritos

I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Anyone else...?

In Philly... Suzanna Foo's.

Pearl in Peterborough, New Hampshire, believe it or not. The owner is constantly traveling to Asia, and the regularly changing menu features outstanding dishes from all different countries, made with the freshest ingredients available.

Is "Asian style" the same as "Kosher style?" In other words, not? (Sorry - still grumpy on Monday.)

I suspect Sam Wo is lacking the - how do you say? - ambience? - provided by Edsel Ford Fong, who terrorized generations of female diners upstairs, and who made many draftees on weekend leaves from boot camp at Fort Ord think that their drill instructors back at the base weren't so bad after all.

As for me, best "Asian style" places in the country are distinctly down-market: Sam Choy's cafe in an industrial park near Kona airport on the Big Island, and on the other side of said island, the Ocean Sushi Deli in downtown Hilo.

Oh Gardyloo - Edsel used to ask me if I wanted wine, then, knowing that I wasn't old enough say "water, you drink water, instead." The food was lousy, the kitchen was disgusting and Edsel, oh Edsel...what a treasure. Good ol' Sam Wo's...bad food but what fun.

Yujean Kang's in Pasadena - now that's a great restaurant. I've already written about Nobu and Roy's. I've met Nobu at Matsuhisa this year. He's such a nice guy and what an artist in the kitchen. his Peruvian influenced sushi is amazing.

I'll second Susanna Foo's in Philadelphia. Also, Nan is an excellent BYOB Asian fusion restaurant in University City Philadelphia.