CHEAP EATS: Asian Chinese buffet surprises diners with sushi
By Jennifer Christman (Contact)
LITTLE ROCK — Chinese buffets are places we only go for business (and usually not even then if we can help it), not for pleasure.
We’re only willing to go out for food that suffers from too little heat and too much oil if work requires. And if work is footing the tab.
So the fact that we actually visited the recently opened New Asian Chinese Restaurant - near the Maumelle border in a new North Little Rock Shopping Center - on our time and dime after our obligation was over says a lot.
The spacious eatery looks like a Chinese buffet - a very clean one, with bright illumination from ceiling fan light kits and with seating at tables and at booths that have see-through Asian-inspired dividers separating parties. Walls are decked with Asian art and neon signs.
The restaurant features abuffet of a half-dozen tables and a Mongolian grill section and menu of more than 100 items. But New Asian isn’t just a Chinese restaurant; it also serves some Japanese food.
While we were not as inspired by the majority of Chinese buffet choices, we were impressed withthe assortment of all-you-caneat sushi that was quite good, especially for the dinner price tag ($8.99 for adults, $4.99 for kids ages 4-10. The lunch buffet is $6.99 for adults, $3.69 for kids ages 4-10; children under 4 eat free. Sunday buffet is $8.99 all day). We pay $8.99 for just one roll at some places.
Offerings changed from night to night, but there was a decent variety of fish on rice - like raw salmon, raw tuna, cooked shrimp and cooked, sweetly sauced eel. Admittedly we were a bit apprehensive about eating raw seafood at a buffet, and we couldn’t know for sure how long anything was there (we did see some sushi being assembled in the kitchen), but what we sampled tasted fresh. We enjoyed the sushi rolls, like the California, made with some degree of fake crab, avocado and rice wrapped in seaweed, and the Crunchy Shrimp - essentially a California roll with fried shrimp instead of the crab. We couldn’t believe this caliber of sushi (not quite up to full-service Japanese restaurant standard but better than the made-daily grocery store standard) was available for the asking price. And neither did other diners who we heard asking if the sushi was indeed included.
Our only complaint was that the sushi area, which was stocked with plenty of soy sauce and wasabi (they’ve also got Sriracha hot sauce - you just have to ask), had no labels. We might have wanted to try the roll with the wild orange center if we had known what it was.
New Asian’s buffet inventory was bountiful, if standard. Much of what we sampled - the sesame chicken, the green beans, the dumplings - were slick and lukewarm. The hot and sour soup, while steaming, was not particularly spicy or tart. Beyond Chinese food, there were American items (such as pepperoni pizza, twice-baked potatoes, fried potatoes, mini hot dog bundles and fried apple pie), fruit, salad, cocktail shrimp and dessert including soft-serve ice cream.
Those who prefer their food not only cooked but hot can head straight to the Mongolian grill, build a bowl from a raw bar of meats and vegetables and hand it to the cook. As the cook was the same gentleman I had pestered for the Sriracha sauce, he knew I liked spicy and added the perfect amount of a garlicky, peppery sauce to my shrimp, mushrooms, onions and broccoli.
New Asian also has a menu, not that we or any of the other diners eating near us on busy Wednesday and Friday nights elected to use it. Dinners start at about $5.45 for Vegetable Fried Rice and go up to $10.95 for a Seafood Combination. Lunch combinations, served with soup and fried rice, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., cost $5.50 to $5.95.
New Asian Chinese Restaurant Address: 11701 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock Hours: Lunch 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday; dinner 4:05-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 4:05-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday; Sunday buffet 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Cuisine: Chinese and sushi buffet, Mongolian grill Credit cards: AE, D, MC, V Alcoholic beverages: No Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: Yes (501) 753-9888
This article was published Friday, October 10, 2008.
Weekend, Pages 81 on 10/10/2008
