Four Asian Restaurants We’re Digging
I love Asian food.
Like really, really love Asian food.
From melt-in-your-mouth dumplings to spicy curry sauces, I literally cannot get enough, and this past weekend I got my fill at the Winter Asian Night Market at The Bomb Factory in Deep Ellum. The event featured 14 up-and-coming Dallas chefs and restaurants, and I wanted to share a couple of my favorites with you – and you might have to drive a bit to try one or two.
(Full disclosure, I brought along two of my meat-eating foodie friends to help).
Khao Noodle Shop
4821 Bryan St.
After several years of hosting pop-ups throughout the area, Chef Donny found a home for his rice noodle shop in an area where Southeast Asian refugees call home. Located in Old East Dallas (across from Jimmy’s), this cozy eatery has a menu full of recipes inspired by his childhood. And while the restaurant isn’t afraid to include ingredients such as intestines, it also has vegan options – which I tasted at the event and was blown away by the depth of flavor. What’s also impressive is the chef’s commitment to being a conscious business by sourcing their ingredients from local community gardens and farmer’s markets and reducing their environmental footprint inside the kitchen and out.
Four Sisters
1001 S. Main St., Fort Worth
Now, this is one I didn’t try (I’m vegan), but my friends said the shaky beef (filet mignon) skewers were stomp-your-foot-on-the-ground amazing. In fact, my friends hugged the chef on the way out and are already planning a road trip to Fort Worth for seconds. What they particularly liked about the skewer was that it was packed with flavor, had great texture due to the crunch of fried garlic, and wasn’t dry (which is what they expected).
Ichigoh Ramen House
2724 Commerce St.
If you ever ate at Tonoshii Ramen in Deep Ellum, you might not return to the location. We feel you. But, there’s a new team and a new name (not a sign, though) at the Commerce Street eatery, two veterans of Ippudo ramen in New York City. The best way we can describe their Spicy Tonkotsu Rame would be to say it’s like a warm hug. That broth could be bottled and sold as a drink, and we’d buy it. The noodles, which obviously were made in house, were also a highlight.
Bowl Mami
2701 Old Denton Road, Carrollton
If you eat plant-based, you probably know how hard it is to convince people that vegan food is delicious. And while I could give you a long list of foods to tempt them with, the jackfruit Asian tacos from this superfood bar would be a stellar example. The shop recently opened in Carrollton, and the chef/owner said many of the recipes are passed down from her mother and grandmother.
Some other standouts from the event include the dumplings from Asian Mint, the “phoritos” from Cris and John, and the creamy shaved ice from Snow Baby.
