Thursday, April 09, 2009
Cafe Asia: The Far East comes to Bonsack
Larry Bly
Larry Bly runs an ad agency and does freelance writing in the Roanoke area.
Recent columns
I'm looking at the menu of the snazzy new Cafe Asia, in, of all places, Bonsack, when I notice that the Cafe Asia is part of a chain or franchise.
So I ask the owner, Fan Chen, how this came to be. He explained that it's really not a "chain", per se, but rather a family run series of restaurants in and around Baltimore. He decided to leave the big city and locate in more civil climes.
Thus the Bonsack address. Baltimore's loss is Bonsack's gain, Hon.
The Cafe Asia is a smallish, but elegantly appointed restaurant on one end of the Bonsack Kroger Shopping Center, right next to the ABC store. One is immediately impressed with the stylish front bar/dining area, then the long and elegant main dining room with its stylized wallpaper, lush and deep booths, and bamboo paneling and hardwood floors. The purple booths add much needed color to the monochromatic décor.
Oh, and they serve food, too. Chen and his staff are always bowing, always whisking away dirty plates, and always refilling drinks without request. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly, and despite a language barrier (they have problems understanding OUR Bonsack-eze) are quite chatty.
Orders were taken promptly and our shrimp tempura arrived shortly thereafter, surrounded by tempura veggies and lots of nice sauces for dipping. One may order a variety of tempura-style veggies, chicken, and shrimp.
Finding the lunch menu on the to-go menu was much easier than on the fancy regular menu for some odd reason, so my guest and I kept it simple and had the bento box, which featured steamed rice, broccoli and carrots, egg roll, sushi, and Schezwan-style chicken. It was sizzling hot and served with ginger and wasabi. Very fresh, great presentation.
We also started with a hearty miso soup. Other soups offered include hot and sour, wonton, shumai, and sea treasure soup (crabmeat, scallops, and jumbo shrimp in a creamy broth).
The bar serves as a staging area for their sushi and sashimi chef and the menu is substantial. Sushi and sashimi is a la carte and you may choose from nearly 50 items. A special menu for checking off your choices definitely speeds the process.
Once you locate the lunch menu, aside from the announced daily special (which was the Bento box) you'll find a list of favorites, all in the $6-$8 range: Schezuan chicken, chicken with garlic sauce, beef with green peppers, General Tso's chicken, shrimp with snow peas, lo mein noodles and tempura, just to name a few.
Dinner entrees, stir-fried dishes, special Maki, and healthy noodles range from around $10 to $20, but include huge mounds of food. Asians don't eat like this. Americans do, which is why we're all a bunch of tubs.
I found it interesting that there are two types of calamari for starters -- fried calamari with Chinese five spices, and grilled calamari which really looks enticing, though I've not tried it.
Other starters are spring roll, Edamame (soybeans in the shell, lightly salted -- it's good -- I've had it before) cho cho beef (not to be confused with choo-choo beef, hit by a N&S train), pot stickers, and Kimchi, which is Korean. I first had Kimchi when serving in the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army while in Korea. It's an acquired taste: spicy, pickled veggies thrown into an earthen pot and buried out back for about six months. Maybe it's been Americanized for our delicate constitutions. I don't know and won't venture to find out.
There is full bar service and lots of vegetarian fare, including four salads and lots of tofu and bean curd combinations.
Oh, and you'll just love the hot hand towels they bring around both before and after each meal. They were originally designed for the sushi-eaters, but extended to all clients just to be fair. Lovely.
So I ask the owner, Fan Chen, how this came to be. He explained that it's really not a "chain", per se, but rather a family run series of restaurants in and around Baltimore. He decided to leave the big city and locate in more civil climes.
Thus the Bonsack address. Baltimore's loss is Bonsack's gain, Hon.
The Cafe Asia is a smallish, but elegantly appointed restaurant on one end of the Bonsack Kroger Shopping Center, right next to the ABC store. One is immediately impressed with the stylish front bar/dining area, then the long and elegant main dining room with its stylized wallpaper, lush and deep booths, and bamboo paneling and hardwood floors. The purple booths add much needed color to the monochromatic décor.
Oh, and they serve food, too. Chen and his staff are always bowing, always whisking away dirty plates, and always refilling drinks without request. The staff is knowledgeable and friendly, and despite a language barrier (they have problems understanding OUR Bonsack-eze) are quite chatty.
Orders were taken promptly and our shrimp tempura arrived shortly thereafter, surrounded by tempura veggies and lots of nice sauces for dipping. One may order a variety of tempura-style veggies, chicken, and shrimp.
Finding the lunch menu on the to-go menu was much easier than on the fancy regular menu for some odd reason, so my guest and I kept it simple and had the bento box, which featured steamed rice, broccoli and carrots, egg roll, sushi, and Schezwan-style chicken. It was sizzling hot and served with ginger and wasabi. Very fresh, great presentation.
We also started with a hearty miso soup. Other soups offered include hot and sour, wonton, shumai, and sea treasure soup (crabmeat, scallops, and jumbo shrimp in a creamy broth).
The bar serves as a staging area for their sushi and sashimi chef and the menu is substantial. Sushi and sashimi is a la carte and you may choose from nearly 50 items. A special menu for checking off your choices definitely speeds the process.
Cafe Asia
3940 Valley Gateway Blvd, Bonsack (Kroger shopping center)
(540) 206-2298
- Lunch and dinner
- Full bar
- Lots of vegetarian choices
Dinner entrees, stir-fried dishes, special Maki, and healthy noodles range from around $10 to $20, but include huge mounds of food. Asians don't eat like this. Americans do, which is why we're all a bunch of tubs.
I found it interesting that there are two types of calamari for starters -- fried calamari with Chinese five spices, and grilled calamari which really looks enticing, though I've not tried it.
Other starters are spring roll, Edamame (soybeans in the shell, lightly salted -- it's good -- I've had it before) cho cho beef (not to be confused with choo-choo beef, hit by a N&S train), pot stickers, and Kimchi, which is Korean. I first had Kimchi when serving in the 82nd Airborne Division of the Army while in Korea. It's an acquired taste: spicy, pickled veggies thrown into an earthen pot and buried out back for about six months. Maybe it's been Americanized for our delicate constitutions. I don't know and won't venture to find out.
There is full bar service and lots of vegetarian fare, including four salads and lots of tofu and bean curd combinations.
Oh, and you'll just love the hot hand towels they bring around both before and after each meal. They were originally designed for the sushi-eaters, but extended to all clients just to be fair. Lovely.
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