Asiana

I stumbled upon Asiana, a new Thai restaurant, almost by accident when the restaurant I was planning on having lunch at was closed on a Monday. Asiana is locate in the former Hopsing's location on Edwards Road right across from the well known Xavier University watering hole, the Pilot Inn. In addition to the regular Thai favorites, they have some not-so-common selections along with a full sushi bar. My lunch companion and I decided to sample some sushi and a few appetizers. We started with a Screaming Roll 2, which offers your choice of either yellowfin or tuna, combined with chili sauce, cucumber, and scallion wrapped with sushi rice lightly coated with sesame seeds. The chili sauce was not overwhelming, instead nicely combining the different flavors and textures. For 6 pieces at $5.95, it is a great bargain. From the appetizer menu, we ordered Edamame, Tod Mun, and Tofu Triangle. Edamame is a green vegetable soy bean, harvested at the peak of ripe ... more

I stumbled upon Asiana, a new Thai restaurant, almost by accident when the restaurant I was planning on having lunch at was closed on a Monday. Asiana is locate in the former Hopsing's location on Edwards Road right across from the well known Xavier University watering hole, the Pilot Inn. In addition to the regular Thai favorites, they have some not-so-common selections along with a full sushi bar. My lunch companion and I decided to sample some sushi and a few appetizers. We started with a Screaming Roll 2, which offers your choice of either yellowfin or tuna, combined with chili sauce, cucumber, and scallion wrapped with sushi rice lightly coated with sesame seeds. The chili sauce was not overwhelming, instead nicely combining the different flavors and textures. For 6 pieces at $5.95, it is a great bargain. From the appetizer menu, we ordered Edamame, Tod Mun, and Tofu Triangle. Edamame is a green vegetable soy bean, harvested at the peak of ripening just right before it reaches the hardened time. As an appetizer, the pods are lightly boiled in salted water then the seeds are pushed directly from the pods into the mouth with the fingers. It's sort of like eating peanuts from the shell. The Tod Mun consisted of 8 half-dollar sized fried cakes made of minced fish and shrimp. The consistency is between that of a crab cake and hamburger, chewy yet tasty. Tod Mun is served with peanut sauce containing diced cucumber and carrots. For those who enjoy tofu, the Tofu Triangles were heavenly. 7 triangle of tofu are lightly fried, giving that perfect combination of crunch on the outside and soft, warm, moist tofu on the inside. This dish, which is best enjoyed after the tofu cools a bit, is also served with the peanut sauce that traditionally accompanies Pad Thai. We got out of there for around $20 for two, which is amazing in a sushi restaurant. Dinner entrees range between $10 and $15, where sushi prices are the same whether you are eating lunch or dinner. There are also sushi sampler meals that range from $15 to $26. less