DuPont
Federal Way
Fircrest
Lakewood
Palace Restaurant and Cafe
Than Brothers
Olympia
Tacoma
Coconut Thai — South
East West Café — South, North
Galanga Thai Cuisine — Downtown
Happy Dragon — Sixth Avenue
Indochine Asian Dining Lounge — Downtown
Oriental Noodle & Grill — West
Peanut Sauce — South
Vien Dong — Lincoln District
Wendy's II — Central
Wild Orchid — Sixth Avenue
CEBU
Step inside Cebu, sit under the canopy of lights and get ready to taste Filipino and other pan-Asian delights like they were meant to be — finely crafted, spicy, and full of flavor and aroma. 9408 Martin Way E., Olympia, 360.455.9128.
COCONUT THAI
The full gamut of Thai cuisine — over 50 items. As you start checking off the list, try the cashew chicken loaded with nuts, and the Thai angel. 3213 South 38th St., Tacoma, 253.671.8238.
EAST WEST CAFÉ
The Thai, Vietnamese and Korean restaurant with the usual suspects — curry dishes, garlic chicken, pad Thai — but these aren’t cookie cutter creations. 2516 N. Proctor, Tacoma, 253.756.5092; 5319 Tacoma Mall Blvd, Tacoma, 253.475.7755.
GENGHIS KHAN MONGOLIAN GRILL
Build your own bowls by choosing your own meats, spices, vegetables and sauces, then march over to a massive grill where grillmasters, um, grill it. Return as many times as you want. Load up on beauteous earth bounty — sliced white mushrooms, thinly sliced onion, zucchini and jalapeno rounds, snow pea pods, mung bean sprouts, julienne carrots and celery, fat pieces of dark green onion and bok choy, chunks of obviously canned pineapple, bright red tomato and broccoli. The buffet even had slabs of pearly white tofu and tasty, perfectly cooked yellow yaki soba noodles. 31448 Pacific Highway S., Federal Way, 253.529.4050
LINK: Full Review March 12, 2009
GALANGA THAI CUISINE
This restaurant balances the four great flavors of Thai cuisine — hot, sweet, salty and sour — to create dishes that are simple without being plain, complex without being mannered. 1129 Broadway, Tacoma, 253.272.3393.
LINK: Slow Burn — Drunken noodles with chicken
HAPPY AT THE BAY TERIYAKI
While teriyaki is the mainstay, this restaurant devotes a fair portion of its menu to Chinese selections — more so than other teriyaki restaurants. 4040 S. Orchard, Fircrest, 253.564.4707.
HAPPY DRAGON
Considered the best Chinese in Tacoma with Mandarin, Szechuan and Huan in the house. 5104 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.759.0800.
HWANG-DO SEAFOOD NOODLE
We never eat at Hwang-Do when we're in a hurry. Not that the service is slack or the kitchen is poky, we just don't want to rush. We want to chat over the little bowls of banchan. We want to make time for pork mandugook or an order of dumplings. We want to take our time mixing up our beef ankle soup in a boiling black cauldron, watching the ingredients mingle, and then really enjoy every savory bite. We also want to avoid getting sloppy and getting it all over our shirts. Good thing Hawng-Do is open til midnight; we might be there a while. 3615 Steilacoom Blvd. S.W., #102, Lakewood, 253.581.0985.
LINK: Full review April 16, 2009
HONEY PIG
It’s where Koreans chow down; that says it all. If the massive menu overwhelms, we suggest choosing the jung sik — a prix fixe meal of 12 or so small dishes. They also feature Korean barbecue. 9104 South Tacoma Way, Suite H, Lakewood, 253.581.1200.
INDOCHINE ASIAN DINING LOUNGE
Beautiful, spacious restaurant that features a stunning separate lounge, two comfy waiting areas, round tented tables for large parties, private wall-screened suites for intimate dining, and three subareas within the main area. Five types of rice and curries, six noodle dishes, seven types of satays and wok dishes, eight house specialties, and 13 appetizers offer extreme, but balanced flavors. 1924 Pacific Ave., downtown Tacoma, 253.272.8200.
LONG BEACH CAFÉ
Long Beach sports an extensive, delicious menu — mostly Vietnamese and Thai, but there are also Korean and Indonesian entrees, as well as dishes from other culinary regions. Delicious. 10114 Bridgeport Way, Lakewood, 253.565.3269.
ORIENTAL NOODLE & GRILL
Tasty Asian cuisine served in a beautifully decorated setting. There are nods to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, Malaysia, and East India — though mostly to Thailand. The most expensive item is only a refreshing $16.95 for Homok, a red curry seafood dish of shrimp, scallops and calamari in a coconut shell. Start with the honey walnut prawns. Asian and domestic beer and wine. 1620 S. Mildred St., Suite B, Tacoma, 253.565.1921.
LINK: Full review May 7, 2009
PALACE RESTAURANT AND CAFÉ
The open concept décor mixes dark woods, purple and yellow halogen lighting, and modern touches with hokey red ribbons on plants, Korean advertisements and Korean programming on large plasma screens. The Palace’s menu is divided between noodle dishes, seafood, chicken, barbecue, lunch boxes and casseroles. The casseroles take 25 minutes to prepare so they prefer you call ahead. The sweet soy-sugar and garlic sauce is seared into the barbecue short ribs. Full bar with exotic cocktails, Korean liquor and beer. 8718 S. Tacoma Way, Lakewood, 253.581.0880.
LINK: Palace's Ra Bok Ki on Spew
PEANUT SAUCE
While there are more than 120 items on the menu, plus nightly specials, it's the curry — calibrated for the adventurous eater, with plenty of spice and heat to spare — that has us coming back to this Thai gem. 5003 Tacoma Mall Blvd., Tacoma, 253.475.4889.
PHO HOA
This noodle house offers huge bowls of heartwarming elixir. 1600 S.W. Cooper Point Rd., Olympia, 360.754.1601.
SUPER BUFFET
There are Chinese buffets, and then there is the Super Buffet in DuPont. 975 Ross Ave., DuPont, 253.912.8889.
THAN BROTHERS
Than Brothers have a good Vietnamese thing going, especially the pho soups. 10435 Pacific Ave. S., Tacoma, 253.548.8886; 8515 South Tacoma Way, Lakewood, 253.582.5120.
VIEN DONG
The menu is extensive and the dishes superb. The red curry with prawns is hearty and hot, but washes down well with an iced French coffee. Their noodle soups are superb. 3801 S. Yakima, 253.472.6668.
WENDY's II
Wendy Au has been serving Vietnamese food in Tacoma since 1986. While its meats and seafood dishes are worthy, its veggie options, and there are many, are equally popular, especially lemon grass tofu. Speaking of lemon grass, the lemon grass chicken made with real lemongrass and a happy dose of fish sauce is a must try. Try the bubble tea shakes. Lunch and dinner delivery available. 5015 Tacoma Mall Blvd., Tacoma, 253.471.0228.
WILD ORCHID
They cleverly balance sweet with spicy as demonstrated with the curry duck — exceptional. The curries are expertly blended and well-spiced. Full bar, too. 3023 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.5889.
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