Tasty Asian fare at Metro West

When a new restaurant opens just around the corner from your home you need no further excuse to go and check it out.

On a recent weeknight I decided to visit the Asian Bistro with my wife, Liz, to see if this was somewhere we’d want to add to our restaurant repertoire.

The Asian Bistro found its home at the old Mrs. Boomers building in the Metro West shopping center. It looks pretty similar from the outside but the renovations inside have considerably changed the atmosphere shifting away from a dimly lit bar scenario to a much brighter restaurant setting. Booths line the wall of the large open-spaced restaurant with a few tables in the center, which we thought could’ve been divided into smaller more cozy sections. Or, maybe we’ve just been watching too much “Extreme Makeover.”

We ordered take-out from the Asian Bistro last month and had enjoyed the dishes we selected. So this time we thought we’d go in and make a night of it to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary.

That recent night of celebration also coincided with the restaurant’s first night of having their liquor license. They offered domestic and some imported beers. They had not decided on the wine selection so they asked us to help out by sampling the wines in order to help them choose the best.

We especially liked the fact that they serve a combination of Vietnamese and Chinese food. Anything that brings some new and different culture to Dothan can’t be a bad thing, so we ordered from the Vietnamese menu to try and expand our tastes. For our appetizers I ordered Cha Gio which translated into Vietnamese egg rolls, and my wife ordered Goi Cuon Chay, which included deep fried tofu wrapped in rice paper with vermicelli and served with a peanut sauce. My rolls were fine, but nothing out of the ordinary. My wife really enjoyed her rolls despite the fact they looked like some kind of alien larva with the transparent rice paper and chunks of tofu resembling nothing that looked remotely appetizing. However, despite their odd appearance she said she’d definitely order them again.

For the main course we again ordered off the Vietnamese menu. I ordered what’s easily referred to on the menu as V38 or Com Ga Nuong Sa, which translated into rice with grilled chicken lemon grass. I’ve never had Vietnamese, so I’m not sure about its authenticity, but it tasted like a good smoked chicken and rice dish.

Liz ordered Mi Xao Thap Cam, which sounded exotic but turned out to be fairly standard Chinese fare. On the previous trip to Asian Bistro she had ordered Bun Tom Nuong, which is rice vermicelli with shrimp over lettuce — a much better-tasting dish than the Mi Xao Thap Cam item. 

For dessert, we ordered the banana roll which is crispy fried bananas served with ice cream. It was an awesome ending to the meal, and possibly one of the best combinations of tastes and textures we’ve experienced in a dessert.

The service was good and the portions were big with plenty to take home for the next day’s lunch.

It’s very reasonably priced and just around the corner from home, so we have added it to our list of places to go when you’re starving and too lazy to cook.

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Asian Bistro
Location: 2855 Ross Clark Circle, Suite 100, Dothan.
Phone: 446-0660
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Monday-Saturday (expected to open seven days a week after July 12)
Rating: Three stars out of four