Asian Dining in Austin: Five Places

I am a big admirer of all types of Asian cuisine, which is fitting as I am half Japanese. Some friends and have have our Asian Supper Club where we try new places or happily go to an old standby such as Sunflower Vietnamese.  Here's a look at five "new to me" places that I have been in the past six weeks, one with the Asian Supper Club!

Fat Dragon, 8650 Spicewood Springs Road
At the intersection of Hwy 183 and Spicewood Springs is a large strip mall on the southwest corner that is probably is the most diverse in all of Austin. Looking at restaurants alone, you've got Asia Cafe, Chen's Noodles (two of my faves) and a bunch I haven't been to: Uzbeki, Nepalese/Indian, Cajun, Mexican and cupcake place. You gotta love Fat Dragon for its logo alone! They opened over the summer and I was there in October. Overall, we loved it and I really look forward to going back. (WHY are you so far away from me?!)

Cute little dragon!

Pork belly bun or gua bao; very meaty portion of pork which was well-rendered and nice + crisp.

Dry-fried green beans, always a favorite.

Lamb cilantro dumplings. These were amazing, and I would probably love them even more by ordering them pan-fried next time. I love lamb and I don't think I have ever had a lamb dumpling. I want a LOT of these right now! Have heard from a friend that the lamb cumin dumplings there are also incredible. (Pork, chicken, beef and vegetarian ones also on the menu.)

Soup dumplings or xiao long bao. They apologized when bringing these out to us and said the dough was too thin, so they had already torn and the soupy liquid had mostly leaked out. (They did bring us some egg rolls for the trouble.)
 They did TASTE good though.

Het Say, 2121 E. Oltorf Street
In another strip mall (between Burton + Willow Creek, a couple blocks west of Pleasant Valley) is Het Say, which opened in August 2017. The gentleman that brought out most of our dishes said he was the owner and many of the recipes were his grandmother's.  While the majority of the menu is Vietnamese, there are some Thai and Singapore noodle dishes and Chinese appetizers available. The stars of the show were the Vietnamese home style dishes under house specials.

Grilled pork bún (vermicelli) bowl. The pork had really good flavor but was a touch dry.

Another pork belly bun!  This one wasn't as meaty as the one at Fat Dragon, but still good.

Chicka-rones, or fried chicken skins! Fairly crispy, some had bits of meat still attached to the skins.
 I think I liked these more than others in our group. 

Bánh mì sandwich

Lemongrass tofu vermielli

Braised pork belly, in a clear broth made from coconut juice, ginger, fish sauce and spices.

Braised catfish, with a similar broth as above but with more of a ginger kick that I LOVED! The catfish is bone-in which makes it a little difficult to eat but the nourishing broth was so worth it. Can't wait for this on a cold day.

Lin Asian Bar + Dim Sum, 1203 W. 6th Street
Open since February, Lin operates out of an old house on the south side of W. 6th, and seeks to be a more health-conscious Chinese restaurant. I loved the look and decor of Lin, and enjoyed sitting at the counter overlooking the kitchen.

From the counter looking back to the front door and bar.

Private dining room to the side of the kitchen that would comfortably seat 8 - 10 people.
 I loved the wooden screen doors and peeked through one of the openings. 

A glass of Riesling went well with this meal.  I have a Boomerang of the ladies making shumai
 but I can't figure out how to post it here!

Shanghai soup dumplings -- these had more of a vinegary taste than what I have had with
 soup dumplings before which was a little unexpected for me. 

Dan dan noodles -- I really enjoyed the peanut sesame sauce, but the noodles themselves were overcooked. 

This eggplant dish was one of our favorites on the night. However it's not on their online menu and can't remember the exact description; I believe it was with ground venison, pork, and beef. Long thin strips of Asian eggplant were coiled together and topped with the sweet sauce containing the meat.

Hawaiian Sesame Chicken with grilled pineapple. This one was a bit of a let down, as the sauce was overly sweet and the pineapple was used more as decor rather than as part of the dish.  The chicken was fried well though.

Salt and pepper tofu, my favorite of the night. This came out screaming hot and was hard to eat at first! Nice crisp outer layer gave way to pillowy silken tofu. Very nice with a little of the eggplant sauce too.

Laterns on the front porch.

Umi Sushi, 5510 S. IH-35 (northwest corner of 35 + Stassney)
I've long heard good things about Umi but had never made it there. A friend and I made it for happy hour, where a variety of items are on special.

Tuna, salmon, and yellowtail sashimi

Shrimp and veggie tempura; the tempura batter was a bit heavier than what I am accustomed to,
but we both liked it! Very crunchy. 

Kani puffs (imitation krab eggrolls, more or less) and sesame chicken skewers.

Spicy crab roll

Crunchy shrimp hand roll 

We were seated on the bar side of the restaurant, which was pretty much your stereotypical bar decor. But the main restaurant had some beautiful kimonos and other Japanese decorations; I'd love to go back for a full meal.

DFG Noodles trailer, various locations
AKA Dang Freakin' Good Noodles, I caught up with this trailer for lunch one recent weekday. Check their website for where to find them.

The Golden Nuggets, fried chicken with sambal chile sauce. Looking back at their menu,
 I think this was supposed to be over their Firecracker rice, but this was straight white rice. Hearty serving for $9.

The Scholar -- vermicelli noodles with pork, ham, fried egg and more! Very tasty. 

Now the curry sauce that came with the roti bread was incredible. Our group ended up with two containers of curry, one a bit spicier than the other, but not majorly so. I ended up taking the leftover sauce home and made chicken empanadas with it. The sauce on it's own is not the most photogenic, but trust me, it had great depth of flavor!

So there's my recent tour of Asian spots around town. What are your favorite Asian dishes and places to go?

PhoNatic

Went to a dinner tasting at the PhoNatic in Southpark Meadows last week. With five spots around town, there's bound to be one near you with their fresh offerings. (And shhhhhh! Director of Operations Joe Prior told us there's an eastside location in the works!) Owners Pat and Sara Lee first opened Pho Saigon in 2006, and then went on to build the Chinatown complex in North Austin, where they own the MT Market grocery store. PhoNatic came along in 2011, with the "desire to make Vietnamese food more inviting and less intimidating, in a fast casual environment." I think they've succeeded!

Thanks to PhoNatic for the dinner; all views are my own. Here's a look at what we sampled.

Nicely wrapped spring rolls with shrimp and peanut sauce

Banh mi sliders, a nice twist on the traditional Vietnamese sandwich

Salt and pepper tofu with a sweet chile sauce

Oxtail pho; good flavor from the meat, but a bit hard to eat

The 212 Pho (eye round steak, brisket, tripe and tendon); maybe not my most favorite meat combo!

Chicken pho with super-fresh veggies (they do have one pure vegetarian pho on the menu as well)

Vermicelli (or bun) bowl with lemongrass beef

Pat's Plate, with egg roll, pork, and fried egg over jasmine rice

Grilled chicken vermicelli bowl at top, and the runny yolk from Pat's Plate on the left.

Check out PhoNatic's website for locations and menu details. Fresh and flavorful!

New (sorta) Asian Spots in South Austin -- Ramen Tatsu-ya and LuLu B's

** Editor's note: LuLu B's closed in 2016

As a fan of all kinds of Asian food, it's often hard to live in South Austin as most of the quality Asian places are up north. Fortunately, things are changing, and we now have Ramen Tatsu-ya's new location on South Lamar, and Vietnamese trailer LuLu B's has expanded, going brick and mortar on South Congress.

Ramen Tatsu-ya's southward march has been highly anticipated and well-documented in social media. Located at 1234 S. Lamar, they are just south of the Alamo Drafthouse complex. The remodeled exterior of their spot is certainly more pleasing to the eye than the strip center that houses the original, and they've done visually stimulating things to the interior without breaking the bank with their extensive use of plywood. I really love the huge dragon mural along the back wall, and overall, there is much more seating than at the other locale.

And as for the food. Still excellent. RT is known for their hearty pork broth-based ramen, or tonkotsu. The broth takes on a cloudiness from the bones simmering for hours on end to make the broth. A bowl of this stuff will fill you up. Fortunately, for lunch, they offer the chicken broth, which is definitely lighter but still hearty and delicious. This is what they call "ol' skool" which comes with chasu (pork belly), ajitama (soft boiled egg), nori (seaweed), bamboo shoots and green onions; extra toppings can be added if desired. The ramen noodles are tender, but have some springiness to them, definitely toothsome.

Take note, they only do the chicken broth at lunch and the pork broth at dinner; a vegetarian ramen is offered during Sunday dinner. They don't to do "to go" orders as they don't want the integrity of their product to suffer while waiting for you to consume it, but containers are available if you can't finish everything on site.

LuLu B's has always been my go-to banh mi in South Austin, and I think for a long time, they were the only banh mi in South Austin. Their trailer under the huge oak at South Lamar and Oltorf has always been popular for lunches, churning out spring rolls and bun (vermicelli) bowls along with the banh mi. But their hours were always limited, and I can't count the number of times I would have stopped there to pick up dinner on my way home from work had they been open past 4 pm. It's all changed now, as they moved into an old Mexican restaurant at 3632 South Congress. From their Facebook page, their hours appear to be 11 am - 3 pm, and 5:30 - 9 pm.

The decor in the new spot is fairly sparse, and when I was there the menu board was hard to read (purple on black isn't a high contrast to see the writing) but the food still delicious. I met a friend there for lunch and we split the Chinese sausage summer rolls, which were the recommendation of the person taking orders. Don't think I'd had sausage in a roll before, but I'd totally eat it again! And their Chinese BBQ pork banh mi is so dang good -- lightly sweet with great char-grilled flavor. Usually I'll eat half and save the rest for later, but on this day, I ate the entire thing.

Now that they are open for dinner, I can't wait to go check out some of their specials they've been posting about. Oh, and they're cash only right now. So don't go to north Austin, stay right here, down south for some awesome Asian food!

Dang Banh Mi

Dang Banh Mi held a soft opening/media preview just prior to their official opening on July 21st. I was invited to attend, but have not been paid for my opinion. Located in the strip center at the southwest corner of 183 and Burnet Road, DBM is part of the Plucker's family. The owners (three non-Asian Texans) have long been fascinated with Vietnam, and over the course of several trips, found what they considered to be the best banh mi in the country, and its proprietor, Phuong, was willing to impart her culinary secrets. They are definitely trying to make authentic Vietnamese food.

Love the whimsy and color scheme of the interior, as well as the light fixtures, but it doesn't scream "Vietnam" to me.

The menu board.

We started with a spring roll and som tum (green papaya salad), which is more of a Thai item, but is also eaten in Vietnam. Really loved the peanut sauce (almost as good as my own, so I am picky!) ;)

DBM was overly generous with their portions for this tasting! First off was a sampling of three of the banh mi: chicken, the original with four types of pork (belly, tenderloin, ground, and housemade pate), and oxtail.

A big beefy bowl of pho; I missed a star anise aroma to the broth.

A huge bowl of pork bun, which a delicious nuoc cham sauce (fish sauce, typically with added lime juice, sugar, chile, and shredded carrot).

What I felt that DBM did best were the sauces: peanut, their Dang sauce (sriracha/chile sauce), and the nuoc cham. All three were excellent. They are bottling and selling the sriracha and also a hoisin sauce, which I did not try.

I would be curious to know why they've decided to open a banh mi shop in North Austin, in very close proximity to places like Tam Deli and Thanh Nhi, which are authentic Vietnamese restaurants that have banh mi for about half the price (though smaller portions too). I wonder if they should have opened up along someplace like South Lamar or Sunset Valley where there are no other banh mi offerings. (Not to neglect my beloved Lulu B's trailer on South Lamar and Oltorf; love their food, just wish they had longer hours.) And who is the target audience? If they're trying to reach people who are too intimidated to go to an authentic ethnic restaurant, then they may have succeeded. Time will tell.

Pho Thaison

I had to run errands down in Southpark Meadows last week; I still bemoan the existence of this behemoth strip mall (Road Rash, as my mother would say). For those of you who weren't here in the late 1990s, Southpark Meadows was a somewhat remote, lovely, open piece of land where outdoor concerts were held. I saw Dave Matthews and Lilith Fair, and now I see Wal-mart, Super Target, and a ton of restaurants. *Sigh* 

Glad I looked at the map of SM before I left home so I could plan my errands. I find the signage and navigation down there difficult, especially when you're not real familiar with the area. Fortunately, Pho Thaison is on a corner with a big sign, so it's an easier landmark to find. A friend has told me about the location near Mopac and William Cannon; they actually have six locations in the Austin area!

At about 1 pm, there were a couple tables of patrons, but within 10 minutes, I was the only person in the restaurant. (I swear I didn't smell bad!) I ordered the B2 bun bowl to eat there, and a pork banh mi sandwich and C6, Singapore beef, to go.

The B2 is grilled pork with a crispy egg roll over the vermicelli rice noodles; a kicked-up fish sauce is served along side. For $8, there was a LOT of pork, and it was really good. Sliced thinly, probably marinated, and then grilled, it's tasty. A little on the tough side, but the sweetness from the sauce, and the grilled flavors really come through. Egg roll was fairly bland, but not greasy, and the carrots lightly pickled.
When I got home, I unwrapped my other dishes. The banh mi was very large; ok, I know you can't tell from this picture, but it was probably a good 8 - 9 inches long! It's filled with the same pork and pickled carrots, along with some cucumber, jalapeno, and cilantro. It could have used a touch more mayo or sauce on it, but again, their pork is delicious. The bread was perfect for this kind of sandwich, because it was a bit crusty and flaky on the outer part, but not so it tears the roof of your mouth up. The banh mi do no appear on their regular menu; there was a sign holder at the table with a few banh mi offerings, and I think this was under $5 -- SO worth it!

Now for as good as these two pork dishes were, the Singapore beef fell short. Way short. I picked it because my friend has told me she really likes their Singapore dishes, but I couldn't remember which protein she usually gets it with. (Probably the pork!) I was a little hesitant to order it because it's on the "burning spicy" section of the menu. See all those red chile flakes in the picture? Got you nervous, huh? There was literally no flavor to this dish. And I ate it the following day, so you'd think the heat would have intensified a bit. Nope. It's basically beef with broccoli in a thin, (tasteless) brown sauce. I didn't eat much of it. And the beef was tough.

Pho Thaison was very clean (including the restroom), and the food came fast. Of the four people I saw who worked there, they were all Latino/Hispanic, not a Vietnamese or other Asian in sight. I asked how long that location had been open, and apparently it's been there four years. If you're in the Southpark Meadows area, it's definitely worth checking out, just stick to the pork dishes.