LexEat.com
Asian
Your
Guide to Fine Dining
in Lexington and Kentucky
| Asian |
| Statewide |
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LexEat.com Asian Your
Guide to Fine Dining |
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Arirang
Garden |
Asian Wind |
Fulin's |
Koreana |
Mongolian
Grill |
Planet Thai |
Thai Orchid |
Mai Thai |
Pho BC |
| We have separate categories for Chinese, Japanese and Indian restaurants, so Asian covers all the rest. But Asian takes in a lot of territory : Mongolian, Thai, Vietnamese, Korean and Malaysian. This is a fascinating, wild, varied and lively cuisine. You have to be careful with these menus. When they mark an item with a star or asterisk for extra hot or spicy, they're serious. If you're not experienced with their cooking, you should err on the side of caution. They have their share of exotic foods : tongue, squid, tripe, iced black coffee with chilled milk, avocado shakes, lemon grass, peanut sauces, fried wonton skin, bamboo shoots, hot basil, and a generous use of curry and ginger. Some of these restaurants have a very traditional look, with lots of space and an extensive menu. Some are tiny, in remodeled fast food outlets, with only a dozen tables and a one page menu. But they're all worth a visit, and several have generated their own passionate following, who frequent them for lunches or weekend dinners. Asian restaurants are not nearly as expensive as some of their rivals in other cuisines. One of their distinguishing characteristics is the main course plus an array of side dishes, usually six but sometimes seven or five, depending on nationality. At the bigger and better Asian restaurants, artistic presentation will be very important, but the smaller establishments don't have the table space for it. However, color and arrangement are always considered. Asian food is probably the world's most photogenic. |  |
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Planet Thai opened in xxx. That's not so long ago, but it's the grandaddy of local Asian restaurants. The facility, on the corner of Nicholasville Road and Dennis Drive, consists of one large dining room with a saltwater aquarium in the middle. Its menu would take a year to sample thoroughly. It offers 90 dinner items plus 11 appetizers, a beverage list and desserts. With each entree you have a choice of meats, side dishes, and degree of heat. The menu opens with a dozen Appetizers, goes on to Soups and Salads, and is then divided into Curried Dishes, Noodles, Rices, General Entrees and House Specialties. If you're a big seafood lover, you'll be in Heaven, with all the Squid, Shrimp, Mussells and Scallops worked into the appetizers, soups, and main items. But there are many vegetarian dishes. 2417 Nicholasville Road. 373-8269. Planet Thai is a quarter of a mile inside New Circle Road, or a mile downtown from Fayette Mall. |
| Mongolian Grill is quite a show. It claims to honor Mongolian national hero Genghis Khan. Khan and his men turned their shields over their campfires each night and heated dinner on them during their invasion of China. A thousand years later, you walk around various cafeteria tables, picking meats, seafoods, veggies, sauces and other items. You hand them to a griller, who spreads them on a hot steel shield and turns them with giant metal tongs. The grillers continuously chant a Mongolian war song, the wallpaper has an Asian warrior theme, and a soundtrack echoes hoofbeats, war cries and drums. However, behind all this theatre, there's some serious food lurking. You can pile your shield high with tuna, shrimp, calamari, steak, and whatever else you want. Khan and his men probably did not enjoy the soups, desserts or Starbucks coffee available to you, but it does enhance the dining experience. |  |
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Thai Orchid was new in 2007 but the Veerasethakul family that runs it is not new to the business. They ran a popular Frankfort restaurant for a decade. The Orchid is a small, intimate eatery specializing in chicken dishes. There's Chicken Satay, Chicken and Basil, and Show Me Spicy, which is Chicken and Vegetables with the heat considerably lessened for Kentucky palates. They do interesting things with green curry and hot coconut milk, and of course there are various rice dishes. Pad Thai is a traditional Thai item, but The Orchid mixes their bean sprouts into the dish rather than incuding it as a side as do most other Thai restaurants. Obviously, this changes the flavor mix. The menu here is not as extensive as its rivals, but the service is excellent and prices are in the $10-15 range. 1030 South Broadway. 288-2170. Heading South on Broadway from downtown, Thai Orchid is back in the plaza behind the Sonic Drive In, on the left about a mile from Rupp Arena. |
| Koreana is run by two of the most experienced restauranteurs in Lexington. Husband Dae has been a chef in both Korea and New York City, while wife Yong has worked the business side at several restaurants, including 14 years at Nagasaki Inn. Koreana emphasizes freshness. All its ingredients are fresh daily : meats and vegetables from local outlets and Korean items from New York. Korean cuisine differs from its Asian neighbors in that each main dinner item comes with six sides, usually served in separate small bowls. The star of the show is Kimchi, a spicy, pickled vegetable mix. But there will also be a radish salad, bean sprout salad, and three others according to what's available and what you choose from the menu. The seafood soup is a meal in itself, with everything from octopus to sea urchin. The Lees have Americanized their cooking so it is not terribly spicy, but certain items are marked, and if you want heat, you can get it. 2360 Woodhill Drive. 268-8781. From downtown, go out Richmond Road, turn North onto New Circle Road, stay in the right hand lane, take the very first right turn, and turn right again into Woodhill Plaza. Koreana is on the left "L" of the plaza. |  |
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Asian Wind opened in 1995 so is second to Planet Thai in longevity among Asian eateries. It is basically a Chinese restaurant with Thai, Vietnam and Malaysian dishes added. Asian Wind is a favorite among local vegetarians, who consider its menu the second best in town, behind only Alfalfa's. But one of its most famous ingredients is George's Hot Pepper Sauce, which is used mostly on meats. Another Asian Wind characteristic which has endeared it to local food purists is its refusal to use Monosodium Glutamate, which clogs so much Chinese cooking along with American arteries. Of the Chinese stops in Lexington, Asian Wind is the low cholesterol, low sodium alternative. House specialties include stir fried duck, sesame chicken, and por lo mein. 3735 Palomar Centre Drive. 223-0060. At the corner of Harrodsburg Road and Man O War Boulevard. As you drive out Harrodsburg Road from downtown, watch for Wellington Way coming in from your left. Turn right on Wellington Way and it will take you into Palomar Centre. |
| Arirang Garden is Lexington's upscale Korean restaurant. Prices are in the $15-20 range and the menu is extensive. The food is excellent and the decor very classy. If you have more than two in your group, they will cook your order at your table. The traditional Korean array of side dishes accompanies each dinner, and among the sides will be rice and various vegetables. You can get beef, pork, chicken, squid, shrimp or tongue fixed in various ways. There's a Friday and Saturday All You Can Eat Buffet beginning at 3 pm. The lunch menu offers various casseroles and soups for $8. They consider Korean Barbeque their specialty. |  |
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Fusion is currently the
only Vietnamese restaurant in town. It is in a former Lee's Famous Recipe
outlet and holds only 12 tables. The menu is not extensive, nowhere near
its other Asian rivals. But the food is outstanding. The meats are beautifully
grilled. The soups are very flavorful, either delicate or robust. The
various sweet, sour and salt flavorings are blended artistically. The
menu offers Soups, Meat & Rice dishes, and Meat & Noodle dishes.
The Vietnamese apparently consider soups a major food group. The Fusion
menu offers several, but the crowning glory is the Combination Pho. It
contains broth, noodles, various kinds of meats, bean sprouts, mint and
basil. This is a meal in itself, and would be a fine lunch. Fusion is
the best place in town for that odd Asian Iced Coffee, made with strong
black freshly ground beans and frosted milk. Starbucks can't touch it,
but you can't drink more than a cup without being wired until tomorrow.
919 Winchester Road. 246-1500. From downtown, head out
Winchester Road. As you pass the Jiff Peanut Butter plant, look for Fusion
on your left. |
| I. Ching bills itself as "Asian With Attitude." We'd rather describe it as Upscale Asian Fast Food. The menu is a mixture of Japanese, Mongolian and Manchurian. You study the offerings, place your order, pick it up at the counter and find a table or booth. The atmosphere includes lots of glass, wood and polished metal. The menu offers several wraps, salads, and noodle entrees. You can get chicken, lean beef, shrimp or veggie meals. Probably the best item on the menu is the Salmon, but the Calamari is also tempting. Appetizers include egg rolls and pot stickers. Beverages are limited to iced tea, lemonade, or bottled water. Hamburg Place. From downtown, follow Vine Street out to its end, cross East Main and continue on Winchester Road. Follow Winchester Road all the way out a mile past New Circle Road. Turn right onto Sir Barton Way, and stay on that until you see Johnny Carino's and Mongolian Grille on your right. Turn left, then left again, drive through the interior plaza, and find I Ching to your left at the far end. |  |
Mai Thai is a taste of Thailand heavy on seafood. Appetizers include the usual egg rolls, shrimp and squid items, but we prefer their 11 soups, particularly the Kao Lao (beef soup with meat balls and bean sprouts), Chicken Bamboo (which also includes mushrooms and onions), and Tom Yum (lime juice, shrimp, squid, mussels and scallops in lemon grass). They offer five salads, three with squid, shrimp and mixed seafood. Eight noodle entrees give you a choice of wide, narrow, clear, and fried, with peanuts, bean sprouts, broccoli, mushrooms, basil, and your choice of meats. Of seven curry entrees, we like the Red Sea (coconut milk, snow peas, basil, squid, shrimp and mussels). Eighteen stir fried items satisfy just about any taste, but the 15 specials are what the kitchen takes the most pride in. We like the Ginger Fish, Eggplant Squid, and Asparagus Shrimp. Mai Thai was forced from its former UK location by the Medical Center expansion. As the photo at left shows, it has reopened at 130 West Tiverton. Drive out Nicholasville Road past Fayette Mall and turn right onto West Tiverton, then turn left into the strip mall. |
| Pho BC is the city's newest Vietnamese restaurant. The Vietnamese mix vegetables and meats with noodles and cook them as a soup so you eat the entire meal from a bowl. Their word for this noodle based soup is Pho, thus the name for this restaurant. Rather than much smaller soup bowls, their bowls are what Americans call Mixing Bowls, so when you order a Large you'd better be hungry. Many people will be satisfied with a Small. With no seasoning, Vietnamese cooking is flavorful but bland. They offer you options on heat and at your table are various seasonings. If you're big into egg rolls, you'll love these. If you're not going to order one of the main course soups, the appetizer Crab Asparagus Soup is outstanding, and the Egg Flower Soup is a tempting alternative. However, the real soups are the big main courses. Of those, we like Seafood Soup, but Steak Soup, Vegetarian Soup, Meatball Soup, Brisket & Flank Soup, Pork Soup and Spicy Beef Soup are delicious. If you really don't like soup, try the Vietnamese Pancake, Fried Squid, or Curried Chicken. Even beverages are an adventure here. We love the Coconut Milk, Litchi, and Soy Bean Juice, and several of our members enjoy the Hot Milk Coffee, sort of an Asian Cappucino. 176 West Lowry Lane. From downtown, go South on Upper / Limestone / Nicholasville Road, turn right on Lowry and look for PhoBC on the right. |  |
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Fulin's Asian Cafe is one of the new Fusion restaurants, serving Asian food that is a blend of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean and Vietnamese. The ratio appears to be 50% Chinese and about 10-15% of each of the other nationalities. But some of those other segments provide the best items. Their best entree is a Thai casserole served in a clay pot, and the appetizer list is dominated by Japanese Sushi. We're not huge Sushi fans, but Fulin's does a great job with it, particularly the Dream Roll (shrimp, avocado, cucumber, flying fish eggs, crab meat and ginger). Of their 12 Soups, we like the Hot & Sour best. Don't miss the Seaweed Salad and Squid Salad. As with all Chinese restaurants, Fulin's divides the basic menu out into Soups, Beef, Pork, Seafood, Veggies, and Lo Mein. But we think they do their best with Chef's Specials and Casseroles. Dragon and Phoenix (chicken and shrimp, each in a special sauce), Happy Family (scallops, shrimp, chicken, beef, pork and vegetables), Shrimp & Scallops, Seafood Combo (lobster, crab meat, shrimp, scallops and veggies), and Pineapple Seafood (shrimp, crab meat, scallops, lobster, mussells, pineapple, red pepper, onion, carrots and bamboo shoots) are among the best entrees of any restaurant, Asian or otherwise, in Lexington. And their Casseroles are also great : Seafood Curry (shrimp, scallops, mussells, squid, bean sprouts and vegetables), and the Mixed Veggie. |
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