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ENTERTAINMENT
GOOD EATS: Taste of Asia brings new flavors downtown
The new Taste of Asia restaurant offers unique asian architecture throughout the restaurant Wednesday, October 8, 2008, across 3rd Avenue from the Holiday Inn. This restaurant also has locations in Teays Valley and South Charleston, and it sells various kinds of Asian food Ñ Hibachi, sushi, Thai food, Chinese, etc.
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON — A restaurant that began in Charleston has expanded with its third location, this time in downtown Huntington.
Taste of Asia opened late last week on 3rd Avenue across from the Holiday Inn Express. It is located in the former Feast of the Dragon location, but Taste of Asia provides a diverse offering of Asian cuisine. The restaurant serves a variety of Japanese, Thai and Chinese dishes.
“My parents and family members in the Baltimore area are all in the restaurant business,” owner Sylvia Tang said. “They run similar three-in-one style restaurants which we didn’t have in West Virginia yet, so I brought the concept here.”
Tang opened the first Taste of Asia location in 2002 in South Charleston. The success of the first Taste of Asia location led to a second opening in Teays Valley in 2004. On Saturday, Tang and Michael Cheng opened their third Taste of Asia franchise in downtown Huntington.
The Huntington location is divided into three different sections with two different menus. There’s a sit-down dining room offering a variety of Thai and Chinese dishes, a sushi bar and Hibachi tables where eight customers at a time can watch Japanese cuisine be prepared.
“We are the first restaurant in the area to offer Thai food,” Tang said. “We are selling a lot of the Pad Thai noodles, which are usually topped with shrimp, though you can pick another meat if you like.”
The restaurant also offers four different types of curry: red, yellow, green and Panang. An order of Panang Thai costs $11 while different curries range from $11 to $15. Lunch portions of curry range from $8.99 to $11.99.
The lunch, which runs from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., offers familiar Chinese dishes such as lo mein noodles, General Tso’s chicken and broccoli sautéed with brown sauce costing between $4.99 and $6.99. For $9.99 customers can order a combination of two sushi rolls (ranging from tuna maki to salmon skin) and a choice of soup or salad.
“We employ different chefs in different departments. We have two sushi chefs in the front who focus only on preparing the sushi,” Tang said. “We have different cooks for the Chinese and Thai dishes. We also have four different Hibachi chefs. Each section has its own kitchen.”
Customers who visit the Hibachi section are treated to multi-course dinners. Each entree comes with soup, salad, fried rice and vegetables. Entrees range in price from $10.95 for an all vegetable meal to $24.95 for lobster. There are a number of different combination meals, the largest being the Tokyo Deluxe for Two. Costing $59.95, this combination is a feast featuring shrimp, lobster tail, scallops, filet mignon and chicken. A full bar offers a selection of wine, imported ale, and cocktails specializing in sake-based drinks. Desserts include mochi ice cream, a Japanese ice cream (in green tea, red bean, and mango flavors) in a rice ball and tempura cheesecake.
Taste of Asia is open from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, and until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Sunday hours are from noon until 9:30 p.m. Cash and all major credit cards are accepted.
Carry-out service is available.
Customers looking to reserve tables for groups can call the restaurant at 304-781-2222.
For information on catering, contact the owner at 304-395-1486.
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