Asian Good Eats (Denver)

[fooey]

I just moved to Denver and am striking out on all restaurants Asian.

I'd really like to know great places for:

1. Chinese (pref. with a Chinese menu, not Americanized "Sesame Chicken" Chinese), prefer Schezuan over Cantonese, but let me know anything that's great).

2. Pho (there has to be a great Pho-taurant here!) and other Vietnamese

3. Thai

4. Sushi

5. Indian

6. Miscellaneous SE Asian (Indonesia, Malay, Laotian, etc.)

Thanks!

[lotuseedpaste]

I have just learned that Chopsticks has moved to Greenwood Village instead of the former location at Mississippi and Federal. Also, they have dropped some of the authentic dishes from the menu and upped prices.

[tatamagouche]

That SUCKS. Why would they do that? I thought they got a fair amount of traffic specifically because of their more authentic menu? Maybe they don't expect to down there?

[ClaireWalter]

Re " Chopsticks has moved to Greenwood Village ...Also, they have dropped some of the authentic dishes from the menu and upped prices." and "Why would they do that? "

Jingification, perhaps?

[SeattliteChower]

For pho, I think Pho 95 on Federal at Mississippi is the best.

[eade]

1. Sichuan: China Jade at 12203 E Iliff Ave. China Jade is authentic Sichuan.

It is the only non-Cantonese, non-Fujianese, non-Taiwanese, and non-American Chinese restaurant we have found in Denver. And it is truly the real deal Sichuan. What a happy find. Be sure to get the plastic menu; they give a fake paper American Chinese menu to gringos.

2. Pho. We are still working our way up Federal, but so far Pho 95 is good. Pho 95 is not quite as good as our favorite place in Queens, but we are not complaining. Most all of the pho places on Federal are decent though, so you may want to do the pho crawl and make a decision yourself.

3. Non-sushi Japanese: First place goes to Domo at 1365 Osage St. Go for the lunch teishoku, it is cheaper than dinner and the food is plentiful. Runner up, it is rather like an izakaya (not specializing in sushi) is Kiki's on 2440 S Colorado Blvd.

[tatamagouche]

Kiki's, really? Drive by it all the time; would've guessed from the outside it was just a Cali roll go-to. Interesting!

And dang, I didn't realize CJ was Szechuan, though I've heard good things in general. Nice to know.

[SeattliteChower]

I think Kiki's is pretty good too for udon and tempura on a cold night. I did not think the yakisoba was anything special and wouldn't recommend the sushi over other places.

[eade]

Yep. Don't judge an izakaya by its noren.

Well, Kiki's doesn't have noren, but that is ok.

Inside Kiki's we feel like we are in a typical city casual restaurant that you might drop by for a bite to eat after you get off the train and are going to walk home; you almost expect to hear a Tokyo JR-sen train rumble above your head.

They have made a few compromises on the menu to cater to an American audience, and it is kind of odd they don't have draft beer, but it is overall solid, serviceable and authentic.

[tatamagouche]

Well, you seem to know your Asian. I'll be sure to try it! Thx!

[air]

I'm planning on giving ramen a shot the next time I'm in Denver - to be honest there are more options available than what we have in Dallas!

How is the ramen at Kiki's? I've also read about Oshima Ramen, but no direct reports from anyone on chowhound. Don't mind being the guinea pig if need be.

[tatamagouche]

1. Not much Szechuan here, as has been noted. I like King's Land, Chopsticks, Heaven Star (though that's on notice for various legal troubles); a lot of people love Super Star; I hear positive things from a trusted source about China Jade and JJ's.

2. There's lots here, especially along Federal; I like Saigon Bowl, but there's lots more to try...believe Sheehan at the Westword just covered his 10 faves.

3. Real Thai is hard to find here. I haven't had any yet personally, but I hear again from a trusted source that despite the name US Thai is very good.

4. It's hard to deny the best in town are also the priciest and busiest: Sushi Sasa, Sushi Den.

5. India's Pearl is damned good. A little more upscale, worth it. Even a decent wine list due to the fact that the owners are in the distrib. business.

6. Very little of this around here—but the one outlet I know of is very good: Jaya Asian Grill. Largely Malaysian/Indonesian. Great duck.

Here are links to a few blog reviews about the above places; a few others are reviewed there as well.

http://www.denveater.com/denveater/2008/05/kings-land-no-f.html

http://www.denveater.com/denveater/2009/01/comparing-apples-oranges-not-if-the-oranges-suck-saigon-bowl-v-jasons-thai.html

http://www.denveater.com/denveater/2008/07/sa-sa-sushi-oh.html

http://www.denveater.com/denveater/20...

[fooey]

Thanks tata. That should get me started.

Is dim sum near Pacific Ocean (Asian Grocery) worth a visit? Other dim sum?

[tatamagouche]

I've not been to PO, but believe it's right next to Heaven Star...

The biggies for dim sum are pretty much the ones mentioned, plus Star Kitchen, where I've yet to go. But maybe lotusseedpaste will weigh in on this, as she probably has...

[lotuseedpaste]

I have to confess that I haven't hardly been into Denver at all in the past year. Is that POM still open on Alameda? In which case, are you referring to Kings Land or to Super Star? Both of them are worth checking out, if they are still there.

There is another POM (larger and nicer imo) up in Broomfield, which is next to Heaven Star.

If you want Korean, I hear you should head over to Aurora. I haven't had any good Korean on the north side of Denver. Also in Aurora and near the Korean places is an H-Mart, if you are looking for groceries.

[tatamagouche]

Yeah, I was referring to the one in Broomfield...

Far as I know, KL and SS are both still there, but I haven't followed up on that in a while...

[fooey]

Looks like there's a similar topic, but it's somewhat dated.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/350378