Asian

One will quickly notice that though there are many Asian restaurants on this blog - there are not many Chinese restaurants. Even though the Triangle has quite a few of both chain and non-chain restaurants, it is really hard to find one truly worth writing about. Sure PF Chang's and some of the other big chains will suffice if you have a craving for General Tso's chicken or something similar - but if you really want something in the style of real Chinatown's (NY, Boston, LA, San Fran), you'd be hard pressed to find it.... unless you look inside the local Kroger's on Fayettville Rd in Durham. Across I-40 from the Streets at Southpoint, this little mom and pop shop easily outdoes any of the other local Chinese restaurants that we've tried. The name is East Coast Express.... which does not do justice to their food.

Located just to the right of the rightmost entrance, this store is run by a couple; they apparently used to only many restaurants, and have since decided to focus on providing good food out of their little stall within Kroger's. The English menu is pretty standard and self explanatory - the Chinese menu is plastered all over the wall and display case. Unfortunately for non-Chinese reading folk, including myself, you'll have to make some friends with some people who do. One suggestion that the lady at the counter made was to take a cell-phone camera picture of the pieces of the menu - and show it to someone who can read the language; crazy, I know.

We've tried an assorted set of dishes there - both eating at the tables right there next to their stall, and taking the food home. Our top recommendations - Hong Kong style wonton soup - the wontons are made with a small piece of shrimp and pork - they are not like anything else I've had in the area. They have seafood fried/crispy noodles - crispy noodles served with a generous helping of fresh vegetables and seafood; I'm not sure if it is on the English menu. Everything we've tried there tastes like it comes out of a top Szechuan chinese restaurant - what they don't have in decor, they make up for in value and quantity.

East Coast Express / Chinese Food


East Coast Chinese Food
202 NC Highway 54
919-806-8899

There is a small area of shops behind the area of the old Southpoint Mall (now Sams and Target) in Durham, off of University Dr. This area has Saladelia, Neo-china and a few other small places. About a year ago, we noticed a new restaurant called "Twisted Noodles." There are no real Asian noodle shops in the area, so we popped our head in to take a look at the menu. The restaurant was clearly a Thai restaurant, with prices more appropriate for a 5-star shop. Not quite what an Asian noodle restaurant should be...

We were in the area again last weekend, and on a whim, decided to take another look at the menu. This time, the prices were much more appropriate for an Asian noodle shop... so we decided to try it out.

The decor remained simple with accents of bamboo and a large salt water aquarium. The kitchen, or at least a portion of the kitchen fills the back wall of the restaurant.

We ordered the Tom Yum with shrimp (spicy lemograss soup), the Twisted Crying Tiger (probably equivalent to a spicy beef salad at other restaurants) and the Tom Kha noodle dish. The Tom Yum was brought out promptly, and nice and hot (see recent Thai Cafe review)... and it was SPICY! Probably the spiciest we've had locally, but well within what we could tolerate. The shrimp were nice and large, and they didn't remove the lemograss or ginger (you probably want to remove these before eating). Overall, we were pretty happy with the soup. The presentation of the beef salad was simple; the grilled beef was placed on a bed of lettuce, with a dipping sauce. While we've had a better beef salad's, the dish was accepatble, and served as a good second appetizer. The Tom Kha noodle dish was spicy, and well balanced. While I personally don't love rice noodles, for those who do, it'd probably be a great choice.

Overall, we were quite happy with the change in the prices - down to a much more acceptable level. If you are in the mood for a home cooked feel to Thai food at a reasonable price - the Twisted Noodles is a great Durham residents!

Twisted Noodles
4201 University Dr
Durham, NC 27707
(919) 489-9888

At first glance, the name of this restaurant sounds like a health food store - it isn't necesarrily clear which culture or ethnicity, though. Soup / noodle type shops are fairly common in Asia - often they represent "comfort food". One of my absolute favorite movies about food - Tampopo explores the relationship between food and life - in the widowers opening of a noodle shop in Japan.

A lot of Korean food is what I would refer to as comfort food - it is warming to the body and soul, has a variety of tastes that really address the fundamental flavors (sweet, salt, bitter, sour, umami) and spiciness. Vita Goal Tofu addresses this in the form of a small little restaurant - once you step inside, you are transported to a mom and pop shop that could be anywhere in Korea. Decorated with ethnic memorabilia from Korea, the restaurant probably doesn't seat over 50. The menu is simple, and focused on what they do best - hot pot type foods; brothy spicy concotions that warm the body the way a good chili or chicken soup may. While they do serve other Korean favorites (barbecue, pancake, etc.), the soups are the must try.

We ordered the korean shrimp pancake, and kimchee tofu soup, and a kimchee pork soup. Other flavor options were available, including seafood. The pancake dish came out quickly - it is sort of like a savory pancake based on rice flour; relatively filling, especially for an appetizer. Like all Korean restaurant meals, the side dishes were rapidly brought to the table - tiny portions of different "appetizers" - kimchee, pickeled cucumbers, radish, bean sprouts, etc.

The tofu soups were wonderful - full of spicy goodness, they were a great meal on a cool night. If you don't like spiciness, it is possible to get them toned down a bit. Barley tea is served with most meals - it is not meant to be sweetened, however. Yum!

Unfortuantely, the restaurant does not have a website - so you'll have to head over to the 54/55 area (just south of 54, east side of the road, close to the hot dog store). Next door is a Korean grocery market also!

Vita Goal Tofu
2107 Allendown Dr.
Durham, NC 27713
919-361-9100

Waraji for authenticity, Little Tokyo for flavor, Sushi Thai for quantity, Sushi Blues for people watching. A new kid is in town... a bit far away, but it may be worth the drive.

We were in the Triangle Town Center area, and decided to stop by a newly opened sushi bar by the name of "Mizu" - or water, in Japanese. I have to admit, by the time we found the place, I began to seriously doubt that this was going to be a Japanese restaurant worth the drive. Thankfully, I was quite wrong.

The decor is simple, and dominated by the sushi bar in the center of the restaurant. The sushi bar has a train around it, with the train carrying plates of sushi that you can choose at your leisure; this is in addition to the full sushi menu. This is known as a "sushi go-round" or kuru kuru sushi - the only other local restaurant with this concept is in Chapel Hill - Kurama Sushi & Noodle Express. Its really the fast food version of sushi - while fun for kids of all ages... it doesn't mean you'll be presented with good sushi.

We stuck with our normal sashimi for two plus a roll or two approach to a new sushi restaurant. This is a fast way to sample the quality of the sashimi, and hopefully, the creativity of the sushi chef. We weren't disappointed. The sashimi was delightfully fresh - it has been a while since we've had sushi that tasted so fresh locally. Furthermore, the quality of the fatty tuna was incredible - truly like butter on your tongue. Wow! The rolls were delightful, and full of flavor - definitely worth having again.

The knifework of the person who prepared our sushi (the non-Japanese) chef was a bit disappointing; though this did not impact the taste of the food, we had hoped that the Japanese chef had done the actual preparation.

Overall, the restaurant was definitely worth returning to.... can't wait to have some more of their fatty tuna!

Mizu
10750 Wakefield Commons Dr.
Suite 101
Raleigh, NC 27614

Every once in a while, I am asked about good Thai food. I once made the mistake of taking an out of town visitor from Washington DC to the Thai Palace in Chapel Hill... overpriced and under-flavored, especially compared to the options available in DC. I had gotten wind of a good Thai place on Capital Boulevard... but had yet to notice it while driving through that area. About 5 years ago, there was a good mom and pop Thai restaurant there, but it had long since closed.

We finally had a chance to seek out Sawasdee Thai a few weeks ago. The word "Sawasdee" is apparently a loose translation of "welcome" and is a standard greeting in the Thai language. More specifically, you are supposed t say "Sawasdee Krap" to a male and "Sawasdee Ka" to a female; there is also a standard hand position to this greeting... but I digress. The small little restaurant located on a corner of a strip mall with an asian grocery store across the parking lot. The door opens to an inviting warm small restaurant; clearly self decorated, and yet pleasantly homely. The style is an unusual mix of colors; not Disney'esque, and not unpleasant, but unusual to say the least. Seating options are also just as eclectic - with a small short soft seats, bench seating and actual color tables. Once again, hard to describe, but not unpleasant unless you dislike colors. Elements of Thai culture are interspersed in the decorations.

Our waitress was very pleasant, and quick to offer recommendations when asked. In particular, when asked about the Fall specials, she had a slightly far away look on commenting on how the soft shell crab dish tasted just like the dish in Thailand. Needless to say, that was first on our order list. The three flavored grouper was unfortunately eliminated. Chicken satay and the beef salad were our appetizers. The dishes were quickly brought to our table; our first pleasant surprise was that the rice was formed in little shapes; a teddy bear including rounded belly, and a fish. The chicken satay was made with white meat; two sauces were brought out with it. Large pieces with great flavored sauces - yum! The grilled beef salad was also great, with mostly cucumbers and onions. The dressing/sauce was flavorful without being overly spicy - everything well balanced. Finally - the soft shell crab. The sauce was spicy, thickened with an egg sauce, and just spoke of home cooked Thai food. I've never been to Thailand... but I've never been closer than that moment I took the first bite. We polished off all of the food easily... and though our waistlines regretted it, our tastebuds surely did not.

The only disappointment was the thai tea; it had a slight bitterness to it, and was not quite as smooth as I've tasted it at other places. Thia may be simply be due to the amount of sugar they use, however, as sugar cures anything.

We will be back... maybe see you there?

Sawasdee Thai
3601 Capital Blvd Ste 107
Raleigh, NC 27604
Phone: (919) 878-0049

It has been a while since we've been to Little Tokyo.... to celebrate the return of rain to central NC (and because our power went out), we decided to return again.

Not much has changed about the restaurant itself over the last year; we waited about 10 or 15 minutes before they were able to seat us on a Saturday night. We ordered the sashimi sampler and a couple of rolls; always a fair way to get a good variety of fish.... and at most restaurants, its usually a good deal that allows you to really sample the restaurants specialty rolls. Soft shell crab in the form of a spider roll is always one of my favorites, and is also usually a good test of the kitchen also.

Two "free' appetizers were delivered promptly to our table, the tuna tataki (two thin tuna pieces with seaweed salad and Little Tokyo's signature spicy flavoring, and the seafood appetizer. The seafood appetizer is minced fake crab with some tuna, roe, salmon in a creamy spicy sauce, served in a scallop shell, on a little flaming bed. The best variation of this that I've personally seen is in Boston, at the Ginza, where they serve this as an appetizer with scallops. At least you can't beat the price at Little Tokyo.

The sashimi was fresh, with reasonably sized pieces. Our rolls, consistenting of a spider roll and the dynamite roll were good and solid. The rice was a touch less than perfect, but very few non-Japanese chefs make perfect rice. Service was fast and friendly, and overall, our experience was wonderful. The "free dessert" was a bit questionable - the ice cream was great, but stacked in the middle of white bread made it a bit strange. I recommend skipping the white bread part.

Overall, Little Tokyo remains our favorite sushi restaurant in the area - while it is not "perfect"; its consistent flavors, fresh fish with reasonable portions make it our comfort Japanese food.

Little Tokyo
1401-J SE Maynard Rd
Cary, NC 27511
Phone: (919) 467-5011

P.S. The little Japanese grocery store is just around the corner, as is one of the better seafood markets in the area!