Best of the City 2009

The Global Edition

Edited by Jessica VoelkerWith contribution from Eric Scigliano, Kathryn Robinson, Karen Quinn, Matthew Halverson, Alex Girma, James Ross Gardner, Kelley Frodel, Laura Cassidy, and Steve Wiecking

Dining

Photo: Courtesy S. Sakaguchi

Japanese ramen at Samurai Noodle

Japanese Ramen

For all its eggy homeliness, ramen has become the star of some pretty fashionable menus. SAMURAI NOODLE does it best, in a decidedly unfashionable hole-in-the-wall in the Uwajimaya building (get your parking validated in the lot). Best of the best is the tonkatsu, a savory brew abrim with tender pork and woodsy mushrooms; the whole bowl a rich-as-Croesus slurpfest. As of mid-June, a second location in the University District was set to open in July. Samurai Noodle, 606 Fifth Ave S, International District, 206-624-9321

Japanese Sashimi

The quality of Japanese-style raw fish has undergone a sea change in Seattle since Shiro Kashiba arrived from Japan in 1966. Trained at one of Tokyo’s premier sushi houses, Kashiba gave Seattle its first sushi at Maneki, and still gives us some of its freshest, at SHIRO’S SUSHI RESTAURANT. Happily, great sashimi can now be enjoyed in joints all over town, but what continues to make Kashiba’s exceptional is the flawless freshness of the fish (which arrives from many sources, including Mutual Fish and Uwajimaya); his giddy showmanship behind the bar; and his status, having trained many of his competitors, as the maestro of Seattle’s sashimi set. Shiro’s Sushi Restaurant, 2401 Second Ave, Belltown, 206-443-9844; www.shiros.com

Chinese Dim Sum

Some major trajectory vaulted Janet Lau from the Cantonese village of her childhood, where her family didn’t even own a bicycle, to the helm of the finest local dim sum restaurant, TOP GUN. Her father played a key role (he opened a restaurant in downtown Bellevue after they arrived). So did the restaurateur she married (owner of Bangkok House and the original Top Gun). But by the time Lau and her husband unveiled the Bellevue Top Gun in 2000, she was fully in the driver’s seat, making sure the daily dim sum was varied and fresh—the honey walnut prawns are not to be missed—and ensuring that the sparkling, almost formal room appeals to those who don’t dig on dim sum dives. Top Gun, 12450 SE 38th St, Bellevue, 425-641-3386; www.topgunrestaurants.com

Chinese Provincial Fare

Good sign number one: Both locations of CHIANG’S GOURMET look awful from the outside. Good sign number two: Everyone in there’s speaking Chinese. Good sign number three: There’s a standard menu and a Chinese menu—and upon the latter one finds wondrous things like cattle tendon and tofu of strong odor. Chef and owner William Chiang prepares dishes from his native Taiwan, along with Shanghainese (don’t leave without trying his chewy-thick homemade noodles) and Szechuan specialties. Chiang’s Gourmet, 7845 Lake City Way NE, 206-527-8888. 17650 140th Ave SE, Renton, 425-235-8877; www.chiangsgourmet.com

Vietnamese Banh Mi: Downmarket

Every one of the Vietnamese delis clotting the busy corner of 12th and Jackson—the heart of Little Saigon—sells banh mi, but SEATTLE DELI nails it. Built on crispy baguettes (thank you, French colonials) the sandwiches come loaded with fistfuls of carrot, daikon radish, cucumber, jalapeño peppers, and cilantro. You choose the meat—go for grilled pork—and they’ll smear in just enough mayonnaise. Seattle Deli, 225 12th Ave S, International District, 206-328-0106

Vietnamese Banh Mi: Upmarket

BAGUETTE BOX sandwiches are banh mi the way the Hulk is a mild-mannered physicist. But Vietnamese-born Eric Banh’s burly versions do trace back to the sandwich of his youth. There’s the Le Panier baguette. There’s the meat—not grilled whatsit but glistening hunks of drunken chicken, braised pork shoulder, roast leg of lamb. And if embellishments run to organic greens and caramelized onions and capers and fresh tarragon in lieu of daikon and cilantro, they deliver similarly bracing collisions of flavor and texture. Baguette Box, 1203 Pine St, Capitol Hill, 206-332-0220. 626 N 34th St, Fremont, 206-632-1511; www.baguettebox.com

Next: Where to find more Asian cuisine

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Published: July 2009