The Greater Reno Grub and Gripe Group held its latest Chowdown at Crawfish Asian Cuisine in Reno and the meal was spectacular, one of the best the group has ever had. We stuffed ourselves on gourmet food – not one bad dish in the batch – and the bill, with a 20 percent tip, came to $40 each. Everyone was happy.
For me, three dishes stood out. One was a baked Chilean sea bass done in a honey barbecue sauce. I think I picked up mild flavors of garlic and ginger set off by a mild sweetness. So few restaurants in Reno can get fresh fish but this was both fresh and perfectly good. Fall apart in your mouth good. It is definitely a dish I will order again if it’s on the menu.
The second dish were the lamb chops. A few weeks earlier I had gotten the black pepper lamb on a sizzling hot plate at the restaurant and it was excellent. The lamb chops were even better. Again, perfectly cooked. So good our group of 11 ordered a second plate to make sure everyone got one who wanted one.
The third one was pea greens in garlic sauce. Pea greens are the part of the pea plant we usually throw out as we eat only the peas. I loved this dish as soon as they set it down on the table as a wonderful fresh pea aroma wafted past me. It was quite tasty.
But the quality didn’t end there. Others raved about the crab and corn soup. There was a nice seafood flavor blend with fresh corn flavor.
We started the meal with boiled crawfish and boiled shrimp with each of their sauces. I liked all the sauces but I think my two favorites were the one with garlic and the one with Thai sauce. It’s a good idea to wear bibs as breaking apart the crawfish and shrimp can get pretty messy. Make sure you rip off a good supply of paper towels beforehand.
When you order crawfish or shrimp you can also order a side of garlic noodles. They are quite tasty, as other online reviewers have noted, and worth the money. One in our group was a chow fun fan so we ordered a vegetarian chow fun and it was also quite tasty. The noodles were perfect and it had other delicate chow fun flavors.
We also got duck and the group finished that with no problem.
Service was excellent. My water glass was never empty.
The owners, Ken and chef Da, came out at the end of the meal and chatted with the group. We appreciated the meal.
Want even a better endorsement than something from me? The owners of Fourth Street Bistro stopped by and got an order to go while we were there. When the operators of one of the best Reno restaurants stops by and gets food that means they must be doing something right.
The restaurant has crawfish in the name and the boils are a good choice there, but after exploring the rest of the menu I can say there’s plenty to bring you to Crawfish Asian Cuisine besides the boils.
Crawfish Asian Cuisine
1296 E Plumb Ln Ste H (Costco shopping center)
Reno, NV 89502
(775) 622-6802
Agreed; it was a great meal! I have a confession: when I invited my husband I played down the fact that it is primarily a Chinese restaurant...as he is not a big fan of that cuisine. I instead told him about the boils; knowing that he always loved the New Orleans versions of crawfish and barbecue shrimp. Well, I'm happy to report that he was VERY happy: comparing the cajun-spiced shrimp to the barbecue shrimp at Pascale Manale's (a dish that he craves and MUST eat every time we go to NOLA:-). He said it was the best shrimp he'd had west of east Texas, and vowed to go back soon for more. Which is fine with me, because I can order those lamb chops and have them all to myself:-). Great meal; thanks for organizing!
Wonderful post Steve. Sounds like a great dinner. Wish we were there. Almost makes me want to leave Florida and come back to winter.
Hardly much winter this year, Andy, unfortunately. Actually, the night we went was the first night we had solid rain in, well, a long time. Which was good not only for the rain, but because it was good rainy day food. I especially enjoyed the soup. And although DH claims not to be a fan of Chinese food, I think its really that we don't get many great options here in town. He did mention on the way home that along with the shrimp he would love to go back for some more of those pea greens and another bowl of the crab/corn soup...:-)
It was good enough, Andy, that we should probably schedule another trip for later in the summer after you guys get back.
Thanks for the nice words.
Had some errands in Reno yesterday and after filling up the tank at Costco I passed by Asian Crawfish and remembering Steve's post I had to check it out. Apologies to Steve as I would've called you to join me but it was last minute and I didn't have much time. Would've loved to have been able to try a few more dishes with the extra body.
That being said, I started with the happy hour special of fried pork intestine. It had a nice crunch along with the soft interior of the intestine. I enjoyed it but it wasn't quite as porky as my other favorite innards such as trotters or pigs ear. I always like to try hot and sour soup as an indicator of how the rest of the food will be(don't bet the farm on this indicator) and theirs was outstanding. I continued with an appetizer portion of the soft shell crabs which were light crispy on the outside and beautifully moist inside. I finished(actually only half finished) with a combo Hong Kong Noodle dish, with crispy chow mein noodles and a wonderful brown sauce and barely cooked veggies and meats. I loved that the sauce was savory as opposed to the sweet globs offered in what I call the typical "suburban" Chinese restaurant. Would've loved to get some crawfish but didn't want to take the time or deal with the mess. Will be back for that and also to try their Peking Duck, among other things. You used to have to go to Sacramento or San Francisco to get this kind of food. Arnold said it best-I'll be baaaack!
Well I rolling into town last night to get this a try and was joined by Steve and Janet as well as few buddys (non hounds) who came with me from the bay area.
We order a wide range of food with some of dishes already discuss here.
I found the dishes to be well prepared and compareable to the better Chinese offering in the Bay Area.
What I like was that Ken and Chef was well to make anything I requested and I asked some very hard Cantonese dishes and they said they could so I will be back.
I like the lamp chop as they cooked to prefection with a little red in the center.
The sea bass was just cooked when it was starting to flake but not yet so it was not over cooked.
We had fish maw and crab soup which something to most of the party but I found the broth to have depth in favor a sign that the broth was cooked a slow cooked broth many hours of slow simmering.
I also like the Mango tapioca which a light coconut mik laced with mango and orange pieces very refresh.
I found the crawfish (spicy), prawns (mild), boiled chicken, stir fry pea spourts with crab, Peking Duck and the other dishes to good but not outstanding.
I will be back soon to check out their menu.
The best part of the meal was meeting old friends again. I has been too long.
I enjoyed the dinner with Yimster, Janet and others. For me the highlights again were the baked Chilean sea bass and the lamb chops. The only thing I didn't like was the steamed chicken. It was a lot like Cantonese chicken with an odd texture and cut I don't like. I do like Cantonese duck, for what that's worth.
by Jen Wheeler | Need a spring vegetable guide to what's in season? Consider this your spring produce cheat sheet—complete...
by Rachel Johnson | Whether the kids are still distance learning or returning to a classroom, with school back in session...
by Kelly Magyarics | You’ve sprung for a gorgeous piece of enameled cast iron cookware; protect your investment by cleaning...
by Debbie Wolfe | Home chefs love wood cutting boards because they are durable and reliable. Wood boards are attractive...