Cafe Asia - Great North Raleigh find on Strickland Rd!
Tom McCahill
I am excited by a local restaurant for the first time in a while.
It was with some reluctance we tried this place last week. I say that
only because the name, Cafe Asia sounds almost like it could be a
national chain, or at least it sounds Americanized enough that I
thought I might not enjoy the food.
The location would work out well for us in terms of convenience if we
ended up liking the food. It is on Strickland Road, right next to
Eastern Buffet (the shopping center with Lowe's Foods and Goodberry's
Ice Cream).
So myself and two friends took the plunge.
To my surprise, I had some of the best Thai food I have had yet in the
area!
It is truly an Asian fusion place (thus the generic name), meaning
they have Thai, Japanese (with of course sushi (including a sushi
bar), Vietnamese and Korean dishes on the menu.... Actually quite an
extensive menu with some unique variations on the fare you find at
other Asian places in the area. I don't see "Lobster Pad Thai" on the
menu very often, much less on the same menu as "Barbecued Korean
Lamb"! However, if you have ever eaten at an asian fusion place where
the chef gets a little TOO creative, morphing your favorite dish into
something entirely different, fear not. This was definately not the
case with the thai dishes we ordered, tradtion was preserved but done
right by them.
Given the diversity of the menu, I was not expecting much from the
Thai offerings... I later learned that this restaurant is a
sister-restaurant to Lemongrass Thai, another N. Raleigh spot where I
always enjoy the food. Perhaps that explains why my food was so
delicious :)
If food from these regions appeal to you, or you just like sushi bars,
I would encourage you to check it out. I've only been once and I
cannot really say I tried enough items to get a full sampling of the
menu, but I will definately be back!
Perhaps first and foremost, I hope this place does well, because I've
wanted a good Thai place in a convenient location to my house for a
very long time.
Daniel B. Martin
> ... some of the best Thai food I have had yet in the area!
Thank you for this glowing review. Please tell the price for your
meal, or the price range for entrees. Cost may be no object for you
but it is an important consideration for some of us.
Was the seating comfortable?
Was the service good?
Was the dining room reasonably quiet?
Daniel B. Martin
Tom McCahill
<daniel88...@earthlink88.net> wrote:
>On 07/27/2010 07:38 PM, Tom McCahill wrote:
>> ... some of the best Thai food I have had yet in the area!
>
>Thank you for this glowing review. Please tell the price for your
>meal, or the price range for entrees. Cost may be no object for you
>but it is an important consideration for some of us.
I snagged a menu while I was in so below I will paste a sampling.
Prices range from "typical" I think to a little on the high side for
some of the fancier dishes.
- Shrimp Pad Thai - $7.95 lunch serving or $12.95 dinner serving
- Indonesian Egg Noodle - $10.95 dinner $7.95 lunch
- Vietnamese Beef Pho - $7.95 lunch (I assume same for dinner, dont
see it listed there)
- Siam Duck $16.95 Dinner
- Roasted Egg Plant with Soft Tofu - $7.95 lunch, $10.95 dinner
- Chicken Teriyaki - $12.95 Dinner
- Thai Chicken Drunken Noodle - $7.95 lunch, $12.95 dinner
- Spicy Cashews Nut Chicken - $11.95 dinner
- Lobster Pad Thai - $18.95
- Barbecued Korean Lamb - $22.95
- Mahi with Fresh Ginger - $15.95
- Thai Coconut Soup - $3.95
- Miso Soup - $3.95
- Seaweed Salad - $4.95
- Thai Grilled Beef Salad - $8.95
- Ikasansai (Japanese squid salad) $5.95
That's only a sampling of the menu, they also have a huge selection of
sushi, with some of the regular rolls you see other places, and many
specialty rolls (some with custom names like Strickland Roll, Wolfpack
Roll, etc), and in some cases you can order Maki Sushi or Hand Roll
style. As I said they have a full-on Sushi bar on the left side of
the restaurant, so they seem to be just as invested in the sushi side
of the business as the thai/viet/korean etc dishes.
As far as portions I found them to be ample. The check was about $70
after tip for three hungry adults, so figure about $20 each for a good
dinner plus tip.
>Was the seating comfortable?
Perfect.
>Was the service good?
Excellent.
>Was the dining room reasonably quiet?
Yes, almost TOO quiet. I think not a lot of people know about this
place right now, you almost have to be cruising the strip mall parking
lot looking for it, and I dont think they even have a website. They
are probably only getting collateral business right now from people
who are headed to Eastern Buffet (which has been there a long time)
and notice it right next door. There were only two other tables with
any customers when we were there on a weeknight, and its a big place
in terms of interior room and number of tables -- if they grow they
will be able to handle it no problem :) But then again we got there
kind of late, not sure what it looks like during regular dinner time.
Hope this helps.
Tom McCahill
Side note - check recent US mail coupon packets if you live within
reasonable distance of this place if you're planning to check it out.
They've been sending out some coupons with options for either 15% off
total bill or buy 1 get 1 free sushi specials.
Tom McCahill
available online. I have to keep this valpak search in mind next time
I eat anywhere, Cafe Asia or otherwise.
http://www.valpak.com/coupons/display/Cafe-Asia/27571/923729/922427?vpref=8coupons
Tom McCahill
Just an update, we went a few days ago, and I enjoyed it again. The
only reason I would update my original feedback in this post and
others in the thread is to say that this time we went during normal
dinner hours, and it looked like they were doing a normal dinner-hour
business (reasonably busy but no waiting for tables), so I have every
reason to believe they will stick around (thats a good thing).