Best Asian Restaurants: Northwest By Far East

Best Asian Restaurants: Cantonese Fish House

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Hing Loon
Not even the cruelly fluorescent lighting in this Chinatown throwback diminishes its affable welcome nor the hold it has on the legions of fans who live for its bubbling hot pots and smoked duck. If Cantonese seafood is Seattle’s largest Chinese restaurant category, Hing Loon delivers its broadest representation—much of it directly out of the live tanks gurgling in the corner.

Who’s here A thousand regulars, who know that the 50-plus sheets of paper taped to the wall list the day’s specials—and know to stick with them.
Don’t miss Seattle’s best squid in black bean sauce.
Pssst The Loon is a big after-the-party haunt, hopping till 2am Fridays and Saturdays.

Hing Loon, 628 S Weller St, International District, 206-682-2828

Sea Garden
Get beyond the entry, with its clutter and its crab tanks—the room looks unchanged since the ’40s, which is odd since it opened in 1981—and you’re in for some of the most authentic, tightly executed, and clockwork-consistent Cantonese seafood in town.

Who’s here Everyone, all hours (it’s open till 3am weekends). We prefer it on lazy Sunday afternoons, when tables are as free as the street parking.
Don’t miss The best black bean crab in three states.
Pssst That crab always grabs headlines, but Sea Garden’s squid dishes are its most authentic—particularly the crispy shingles of salt and pepper squid fired with chilies.

Sea Garden, 509 Seventh Ave S, International District, 206-623-2100

T&T Seafood
This solid spot, an overlit sprawler beloved of Chinese expats, serves Szechuan and Cantonese fish dishes with spotty service but consistent execution. Sea bass dishes rock, from the sizzling black bean to the salt and pepper, loaded with garlic. The place is great for groups, many of whom can be seen gathered around huge tureens of shark fin soup.

Who’s here North Enders. This stretch of Highway 99, anchored by the Chinese supermarket Ranch 99 next door, is Edmonds’ international district.
Don’t miss The lobster is the big deal here, but we think the honey walnut prawns—that scourge of many a lesser joint—manage to transcend their mayonnaise-bomb reputation into the realm of crispy, juicy, and expertly balanced.
Pssst They just added weekend dim sum.

T&T Seafood, 22511 Hwy 99, Edmonds, 425-776-3832

NEXT: Best Chinese

Best Asian Restaurants: Chinese

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Paul Kooiman

General Tso’s chicken with noodles.

Food Styling: Tyler Rebman
Prop Stylist: Gabriel Trivelas

Chiang’s Gourmet
There’s something for everyone in this converted root beer stand off Lake City Way and its sister in Renton, off menus marked Szechuan, Chinese (heavy on the Taiwanese), Vegetarian, and American. The last is not Chiang’s at its finest, so if you’re on the moo shu trail, head elsewhere.

Who’s here Chinese families galore.
Don’t miss Terrific homemade noodles; green onion pancakes.
Pssst Taiwanese breakfast, with its sweet soybean milk and Chinese doughnuts, happens weekends 10am to 3pm.

Chiang’s Gourmet, 7845 Lake City Way NE, Lake City, 206-527-8888 and 17650 140th Ave SE, Renton, 425-235-8877; chiangsgourmet.com

Red Lantern
The talk of Chinatown is the contemporary new Jackson Street bistro with the sleek interior and the red lanterns, where Shanghai favorites are interspersed with a few Korean rarities. The ID has never been a date-night destination, but here’s a bona fide contender—with decorative pretensions, $12ish price tags, and a fine bar to boot.

Who’s here Lots of groups of Chinese celebrating at the big round tables in the back, with always a few homesick Koreans digging into fermented black bean ja jang noodles.
Don’t miss Crispy green long beans with black beans and minced pork; perfect basil-lime shrimp, lightly crusted and bursting with juice; tender honey spareribs, suffused with wood smoke. East-meets-West desserts add black tea to creme brulee and red tea to tiramisu, to masterful effect.
Pssst Szechuan aficionado? Things might not be quite hot enough for you here.

Red Lantern, 520 S Jackson St, International District, 206-682-7211; redlanternseattle.com

663 Bistro
The workingman’s cafe with the bistro sheen may look like a Chinatown storefront (this block’s a bit dodgy), but inside, the clattering and brightly lit 663 is really a Hong Kong–style cafe—and, in our view, the best of that genre in town. Here live gentle Cantonese wontons and terrific barbecued meats and a surprisingly mean curry; the city’s best pea vines and a glistening haystack of pan-fried chow mein noodles studded with seafood.

Who’s here Seattle celeb chef Tom Douglas, for one. Adores the joint.
Don’t miss Salt and pepper chicken wings; boxed lunches from the BBQ takeout corner of the restaurant.
Pssst It’s open (and packed with young partyers) till 3am weekends—but night owls know to get their orders in before 2 to beat the barflies.

663 Bistro, 663 S Weller St, International District, 206-667-8760

Yea's Wok
The pastel Newcastle strip mall storefront with the bubbling aquariums earns high marks in both its parallel universes: the Americanized one, where old General Tso finally gets the respect he deserves (the fried chicken dish is nuanced and tender, loaded with chilies and fresh vegetables), and the authentic Chinese one, which inclines toward stunning Taiwanese preparations.

Who’s here About half and half Caucasians eating off the standard Hunan/Szechuan/Mandarin menu, and Chinese natives enjoying a much more interesting one.
Don’t miss Asking your waiter to surprise you with at least one dish off the Chinese menu, even if it involves pork blood. And it might.
Pssst Lines stretch out the door weekend nights (they only reserve for large parties); weeknight tables are more accessible.

Yea’s Wok, 6969 Coal Creek Pkwy SE, Newcastle, 425-644-5546; yeaswok.com

Best Chinese Soup Dumplings

The coup represented by Bellevue scoring the only Northwest outpost of the revered Taiwanese chain Din Tai Fung cannot be overstated: Upon its Lincoln Square opening this fall, waits were clocking in at two and three hours. The reason? Quite simply the finest xiao long bao, or Chinese soup dumplings, in the universe. From the creamy entryway—this is one high-end dumpling house—you can see behind the glass 20 or so young chefs hand-rolling, filling, and decoratively pinching the tender-fleshed little morsels, whose pretty swirls will arrive at your table in their round bamboo boxes, to be plucked out with chopsticks, then placed carefully upon a soup spoon. Pierce the pale dough with your chopstick; the spoon bowl will flood with the savory broth. That’s your cue to put the whole glorious mess in your mouth and thank God there are nine more in the box.

Din Tai Fung, 700 Bellevue Way NE, Ste 280, Bellevue, 425-698-1095; dintaifungusa.com

NEXT: Best Dim Sum

Best Asian Restaurants: Home-Style Japanese

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Paul Kooiman

Hamachi, maguro, unagi, ebi, sake, and tako sushi.

Food Styling: Tyler Rebman
Prop Stylist: Gabriel Trivelas

Izumi
Elevating its Totem Lake strip mall by its very presence, the cozy, wood-clad Izumi is swathed in tradition, from classical music to old-country waitresses in kimonos; from sukiyaki dinners—soup, salad, sunomono, and rice included!—to the eminent Shito Kamioka behind the sushi bar, where he’s presided for over 25 years.

Who’s here Tables full of Japanese businessmen.
Don’t miss A big unctuous chunk of black cod in a caramel-lush teriyaki sauce, artfully presented with carrots and pea pods and a bowl of perfect rice.
Pssst Shito-san does up a fine omakase—but don’t look to Izumi for dazzling innovation. Come for the classics.

Izumi, 12539 116th Ave NE, Kirkland, 425-821-1959; izumikirkland.com

Maneki
It does not get more old-school in Seattle than the century-old Maneki, a homey haunt of homely delights kept in line—and lines—by a couple of no-nonsense aunties and traditional Japanese cooks.

Who’s here Ever since Amazon employees discovered the place, the crowd has skewed young and hip.
Don’t miss Monkfish liver if it’s in season—look to the whiteboard for daily specials—either braised or sliced cold over shredded daikon with ponzu sauce.
Pssst Yep, there’s a sushi bar—40 years ago sushi maestro Shiro Kashiba introduced Seattle to sushi here—but Maneki shines brighter for its bar snacks and home-style entree combos.

Maneki, 304 Sixth Ave S, International District, 206-622-2631; manekirestaurant.com

NEXT: Best Japanese Izakaya

Best Asian Restaurants: Dim Sum

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Jade Garden
All right, so Seattle is no mecca for the Chinese small-plates-on-rolling-carts breakfast feast known as dim sum. That said, Joy Palace (see The True Taste of Asia) and Jade Garden do it best—and, as if to prove it, the wait in line for Jade Garden runs 40 minutes most weekends. The reason? A huge selection, from standards like fluffy barbecue pork buns to exotics like chicken feet, arriving steaming hot where hot is warranted.

Who’s here A whole lot fewer bodies if you arrive between opening at 9am and about 10:30am.
Don’t miss Uncommonly flavorful pan-fried daikon radish cakes.
Pssst Uh, clean freaks beware—Jade Garden has a lot in its plus column, but pristine quarters ain’t among them.

Jade Garden, 424 Seventh Ave S, International District, 206-622-8181

NEXT: Best Filipino

Best Asian Restaurants: Filipino

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Kawali Grill
Our region boasts tons of Filipinos—they’re the fourth-highest foreign-born population in the county—but oddly few Filipino restaurants. This joint on Rainier is our best, run by a chef whose food tastes authentic and full of love as Manilan home cooking. Pork dominates the Spanish-influenced menu: pork belly, pork hocks, pork chop. Plus a little oxtail. Vegans need not apply.

Who’s here A good deal of the time in this dingy diner, hardly anyone. But takeout is huge here.
Don’t miss Pandan fried chicken—plump, juicy breast and thigh meat with the right crunch and a hint of sweetness from the coconut-ginger-soy marinade.
Pssst The flat-screen TV is tuned permanently to reality TV on the Filipino Channel; you can decide if that’s a draw or the reason takeout’s so big.

Kawali Grill, 5300 Rainier Ave S, Columbia City, 206-723-6179; kawaligrill.com

NEXT: Best Home-Style Japanese

Best Asian Restaurants: Japanese Izakaya

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Kaname Izakaya and Shochu Bar
Scarlet lanterns reading “Izakaya” light up the doorways of Tokyo snack bars, beckoning wary workers with early-evening belts and bites. Two such oblong fixtures dangle outside Kaname, where worn hardwoods and lager-promoting table tents feel as spot-on as the menu—fried chicken, chilled tofu, snowball-size panko-crusted croquettes—and the focus on shochu, an earthy spirit made from potato, barley, or rice that they sip like crazy in Japan.

Who’s here The downtown white collars who hop the light rail from University Street Station to the ID for an early happy hour.
Don’t miss That happy hour, from 5 to 6:30pm daily, features the bar’s best snacks for $2 to $4.50.
Pssst Rationalize away the fried food by sipping shochu (Kaname has eight kinds), just 15 to 20 calories per ounce.

Kaname Izakaya and Shochu Bar, 610 S Jackson St, International District, 206-682-1828

NEXT: Best Korean

Best Asian Restaurants: Korean

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Paul Kooiman

Prawn in chili paste.

Food Styling: Tyler Rebman
Prop Stylist: Gabriel Trivelas

Joule
Their menu is a cosmopolitan globetrotter, but Joule chef-owners Rachel Yang and Seif Chirchi infuse the food with signature Korean flavors—deep, dark, and dank as a Wallingford basement, with spicy pings of chili pepper running interference against funk overload.

Who’s here The whole dang neighborhood likes to cheer up inside this noisy, butter-hued cafe. Make a reservation.
Don’t miss The kooky kimchi remixes—pear, shiitake, kohlrabi—and the BBQ board where a grilled version of the fermented cabbage serves as crunchy vegetal counterpoint to sweet chili sausage and silken short ribs.
Pssst Yang and Chirchi are now having fun with their food in Fremont, too: Pan-Asian street food joint Revel opened on North 36th Street this December.

Joule, 1913 N 45th St, Wallingford, 206-632-1913; joulerestaurant.com

Korean Tofu House
When the cramped and carbon-stinky Korean Tofu House spread out into the space next door, it secured proper ventilation in the process. You may still endure a midday wait—tofu houses are the thing in Korean food right now—but you’ll no longer leave smelling like you’ve spent your lunch break around a campfire.

Who’s here Korean college kids looking for a taste of home for under $10.
Don’t miss Kimchi beef sundubu jjigae is a gurgling concoction of bubbly broth and tofu funked up with fermented cabbage. It’s meaty in essence if not in actuality—just a few slices float around the soup.
Pssst When the woman comes by and offers to crack a raw egg over your clay pot of stew, nod. It adds a viscous richness to the hearty soup.

Korean Tofu House, 4142 Brooklyn Ave NE, University District, 206-632-3119

Old Village Korean Restaurant
Most Korean BBQ spots have switched to electric, but Old Village’s dark booths deliver genuine authenticity, thanks to the old-school charcoal grills for browning the raw bits of bulgogi, marinated beef and pork, that servers slice up (with scissors!) at the table. Diners bop around to ’80s tunes (Madonna!) and try to decipher the mysteries of a muted news broadcast beamed in from Seoul.

Who’s here Young families whose smallest members love the robotic grill hoods that descend from the ceiling to cover the heating coals.
Don’t miss Anything grilled. Eat meat or opt for a medley of mushrooms.
Pssst No need to fight over the macaroni salad. If you fall for a particular side dish ( banchan ) and run out, ask for more. Servings are unlimited.

Old Village Korean Restaurant, 15200 Aurora Ave N, Ste D, Shoreline, 206-365-6679

Best Sundubu Jjigae

No two bowls of sundubu jjigae (soft tofu stew)—Korean comfort food at its burbling, fermented finest—are the same. That’s because just like Americans do with our stews, Koreans toss in theirjjigae, whatever proteins and vegetables they happen to have around. Beef or seafood and kimchi (fermented cabbage) are mainstays, and seasoning tends to include garlic and red pepper. Like most Korean dishes, sundubu jjigae is served with a bowl of rice along with up to 12 banchan, small dishes of communal snacks that may include cut-up savory pancakes, macaroni salad, pickled squid, pickled sprouts, or—as at BCD Tofu House (an international chain with a local outlet at the H-Mart food court in Lynnwood)—a whole fried fish. BCD churns out rich, sort-of spicy (want more heat, just ask for it) stews, with prices topping out around $10. Don’t plan to eat again for at least six hours.

BCD Tofu House, 3301 184th St SW, Ste 210, Lynnwood, 425-776-8001; bcdtofu.com

NEXT: Best Laotian

Best Asian Restaurants: Laotian

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Paul Kooiman

Soba noodles with sesame oil, seaweed, and Thai chilies.

Food Styling: Tyler Rebman
Prop Stylist: Gabriel Trivelas

Savatdee
The proprietors of this spotless Roosevelt refuge are Lao, but much of the menu is Thai; it can be hard to tell where one ends and the other begins, since Issan (northeast Thailand) was originally part of Laos. Laotian dishes tend to be earthier and less sweet, notably a pungent, shrimp-paste-infused version of shredded green papaya salad.

Who’s here Globally curious Caucasians, who come to try novel Lao dishes and some of the best Thai cooking in town.
Don’t miss On the Lao menu, gai yang, curried game hen, and toam kaim moo, stewed pork in sweet soy sauce with veggies and boiled eggs, sister to classic Vietnamese thit heo kho.
Pssst Savatdee, with the V pronounced like a B, means “hello.” Let on that you know a bit about Laos and that you think it should get Issan back, and you might get extra prawns in your stir-fry.

Savatdee, 5801 Roosevelt Way NE, University District, 206-331-9666

Viengthong
The decor is tropical shabby chic, and the service diffident. But the food is welcoming—warm, oily, and pungent, with Thai standards and Lao specialties sharing the menu. Sticky rice, the chewy, comforting regional staple, served in wicker baskets, is the glue—almost literally—that holds it all together.

Who’s here Native speakers—this is Southeast Seattle.
Don’t miss Crackling sweet-and-sour deep-fried fish and a heaping portion of piquant, tangy, slightly briny squid salad.
Pssst It’s cash only, closes at 8pm…yet still they keep coming.

Viengthong, 2820 Martin Luther King Jr. Way S, Mount Baker, 206-725-3884

NEXT: Best Malaysian

Best Asian Restaurants: Malaysian

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Paul Kooiman

Chicken and red curry soup with wakame seaweed salad.

Food Styling: Tyler Rebman
Prop Stylist: Gabriel Trivelas

Malay Satay Hut
With its faux tiki decor, Malay Satay Hut is the city’s Malaysian go-to—a Little Saigon strip mall stalwart (with a satellite in Redmond) and a menu traipsing through at least five Southeast Asian countries. It’s a sin not to start with flaky roti canai dipped in potato curry sauce, washed down with a thick mango shake.

Who’s here Everyone from burly white guys ripping apart black pepper crab to a Malay family of six, with Dad ladling out fish-head soup for the brood.
Don’t miss Traditional Hainanese chicken rice—the touchstone for any Malaysian restaurant. Ask for white meat, so tender it cries during romantic comedies.
Pssst Singapore, once part of Malaysia, boasts a population of foodies, and you’ll find plenty of Singaporean transplants here. That’s your certificate of authenticity.

Malay Satay Hut, 212 12th Ave S, International District, 206-324-4091; 15230 NE 24th St, Redmond, 425-564-0888; malaysatayhut.com

Satay
The story behind this brand new place is as good as the satay: Two college buddies backpack through Southeast Asia and develop an addiction to Malaysian street food. With the help of a Malay auntie, they recreate the scene—bright red walls graffitied with local lingo—and their favorite dishes, all under $10: curry puffs, roti canai, red curry, and the best satay in Seattle—crispy and juicy with homemade peanut sauce.

Who’s here Expats and scruffy backpackers reliving their days spent sucking down satay and Singha beer in a Kuala Lumpur alley.
Don’t miss The curry puffs—both the owners’ top pick and ours.
Pssst There are only a handful of tables, so consider grabbing takeout or getting a stool at the counter.

Satay, 1711 N 45th St, Wallingford, 206-547-0597; satayseattle.com

NEXT: Best Sushi

Best Asian Restaurants: Sushi

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Paul Kooiman

From top: Spider roll, salmon roe, rainbow roll.

Food Styling: Tyler Rebman
Prop Stylist: Gabriel Trivelas

Japonessa Sushi Cocina
Why yes, those are jalapenos cradling your snow crab legs and eight-spiced tuna. It may be downtown’s sushi cocina, sexing up Japanese food with Latin inflections (chili ponzu, mango shiso glaze), but purists take heart: The chef is the seasoned Billy Beach—Umi alum and onetime Kushibar owner—and the sushi is consistently more substantive and solidly prepared than all the noise might suggest.

Who’s here Hot young things, packing the bar.
Don’t miss Toothsome agedashi tofu and tempura-fried brie, followed by a monstrous Street Fighter II roll.
Pssst When isn’t it happy hour here? Even midday diners get deals, including $4 rolls and $8 sashimi.

Japonessa Sushi Cocina, 1400 First Ave, Downtown, 206-971-7979; japonessa.com

Kisaku
Warm and sweet as the inside of a yam, Kisaku offers the deep skill of sushi craftsman Ryuichi Nakano along with the sort of neighborhood hospitality that welcomes toddlers to the sushi bar. With shy grace Nakano-san presents an unusual diversity of seasonal delicacies—cod sperm sacs, green sea urchin—along with more usual suspects, then under-charges for them.

Who’s here Must be neighbors, because street parking in this Tangletown tangle is near nonexistent.
Don’t miss Sitting at the bar to enjoy Nakano-san’s selection in the form of chef’s choice omakase. Non–sushi eaters should order the mackerel in syrupy miso sauce, a revelation.
Pssst Nakano-san (@kisakusushi) tweets his daily fresh sheet!

Kisaku, 2101 N 55th St, Ste 100, Wallingford, 206-545-9050; kisaku.com/kisaku

Shiki
The most unpretentious sushi bar in Seattle is the tchotchke-riddled province of Ken Yamamoto—a guy so modest and genial it’s hard to believe he has a license to kill you. (See below.) Even non-death-defying diners should perch at the sushi bar and put themselves into the master’s able hands: His fish is consistently prime, his variety exemplary, the authenticity quaint.

Who’s here Japanese TV on the flat screen is just part of the attraction for homesick Japanese.
Don’t miss His “name-your-price” omakase, where he’ll load you up with however much of the freshest raw fish of the day your amount—starting at $25—will buy.
Pssst Ken-san is one of just 17 chefs in the U.S. licensed to serve fugu, raw puffer fish that can lethally poison you if prepared incorrectly. It’s $220 per person—seems like they should pay you, but what do we know—and in season right now! Lucky you!

Shiki, 4 W Roy St, Queen Anne, 206-281-1352

Shiro's Sushi Restaurant
Shiro Kashiba was the first to bring sushi to Seattle (see Maneki in Home-Style Japanese) and arguably the finest, known for turning this region’s underwater bounty into pristine sashimi, dazzling in its simplicity and flawlessly cut. And although he’s no longer sole owner (he sold to the I Love Sushi people), the aesthetically flavorless Belltown room still delivers sushi that’s anything but.

Who’s here The fortunate. Shiro’s is pricey.
Don’t miss Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Fridays—when the impish maestro himself mans the sushi bar. Put yourself in his hands and watch him go.
Pssst Shiro-san has trained a number of Seattle’s best sushi chefs, including those at such beloved institutions as Hana, Miyabi, Sushi Kappo Tamura (see below), and Shiki (see above).

Shiro’s Sushi Restaurant, 2401 Second Ave, Belltown, 206-443-9844; shiros.com

Sushi Kappo Tamura
Taichi Kitamura’s sleek, serene new sushi/omakase space on Eastlake is rapidly giving the elder-statesmen in town a run for their money. Sushi-philes love Taichi-san’s impeccable sourcing, how he nabs the freshest ocean smelt or albacore just at their ephemeral best, his approachable charisma at the bar. And—unusually in a sushi house—cooked food is equally attended to here, like black cod collar in sweet mirin boshi, or pan-seared scallops with tender Mishima Ranch short ribs over mustard greens.

Who’s here A fleet of servers who really know their food.
Don’t miss Taichi-san’s omakase, or chef’s choice, dinner. Best in the city right now, folks.
Pssst Pay attention to the rice. The ratio of rice to vinegar to sugar must change seasonally, which Kitamura exploits to delectably firm effect.

Sushi Kappo Sushi, 2968 Eastlake Ave E, Eastlake, 206-547-0937; sushikappotamura.com

NEXT: Best Szechuan