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Recommended Restaurants: Asian

Price Guide: $ = less than $15, $$ = $15 - $35, $$$ = $36-$50, $$$$ = over $50

  • Price estimates are based on an average dinner for one, excluding drinks, tax and tip.
  • Listed restaurants accept major credit cards unless otherwise noted.
  • Symbols: L = lunch, D = dinner, BR = breakfast, B = brunch, R = reservations required, V = valet parking, W = wheelchair accessible, P = private room, BQ = banquet facilities.
  • Star Guide: 4 stars = superlative, 3 stars = excellent, 2 stars = very good, 1 star = above average. (Note: No stars will be assigned to a restaurant until it has been newly reviewed.)


Cambodiana's

2156 University Ave., Berkeley     MapIt!
(510)843-4630
$$/L Mon-Fri/D daily/W/P

Lim Su Ke and his chef and wife, Bopha Pol, offer an array of inspired French-influenced Khmer classics. Pol, a master of sauces and marinades, prepares such dishes as grilled lamb chops infused with lemongrass, ginger, and chili. Vegetarian and seafood specialties include chaktomuk steamed or stir-fried with mixed vegetables, country-style smoked eggplant, and catfish or salmon curry. Reservations recommended. Beer and wine.

Ginger Island

1820 Fourth Street, Berkeley     MapIt!
(510) 644-0444
$$-$$$/L Mon-Sat/D daily/B Sun/W

On a sunny day with the windows open and the patio full, Ginger Island can almost feel like a beachside café in the tropics. The menu reads like a sampler of dishes from around Asia and the Pacific islands: spring rolls, wontons, noodles with curry sauce. As for the namesake rhizome, the perfumed and hot gingerroot shows up in many dishes. The homemade ginger ale in particular is not to be missed.--Diablo

House of Sake

1716 North Main Street, Walnut Creek     MapIt!
(510) 930-8811
$-$$/L Mon- Fri/D daily/W

Sushi is a main attraction at the House of Sake, though--as might be expected--there's plenty of attention given to sake as well. The rice wine so well known for being served hot is also delicious cold, especially with sushi or sashimi.--Diablo

Pickled Ginger

100 Brannan St., San Francisco     MapIt!
(415) 977-1230
$$/R/W/2 Stars

Chef Andrew Toy smoothly plays to our current infatuation with pan-Asian and fusion cuisines; the plump Chinese dumplings in a gingery broth, crisp chicken lumpia with a habit-forming yogurt curry sauce, and smoky sea bass on soba were among the highlights. The Filipino pansit with tiger prawns was a little overdone and the adobo chicken not as vinegary as a Filipino cook might have made it, but was good nonetheless and reasonably priced at $12. The resident mixologist serves up a slew of vodka infusions and other concoctions, some with pickled ginger. (Rosa)

Sorabol

1546 Bonanza Street, Walnut Creek     MapIt!
(510) 938-5959
$/L/D daily

Sorabol may be tiny and the lights bright, but it's also cheap, fast, and true to the scale and format of its Asian counterparts: the noodle shops of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. The real deal here is the soup, a deep, broad bowl of egg noodles in steaming broth, loaded with vegetables and a selection of meats. When you're not in a soup mood, opt for the Korean barbecue.--Diablo

Szechwan Garden

1651 Botelho Drive, Walnut Creek     MapIt!
(510) 938-8384
$-$$/L/D daily/W

It's a little bit of work to find Szechwan Garden, located as it is through a passageway in a small mall, but the detective work pays off. You'll dine in a comfortable room overlooking the lush greenery of a creek, and sample dishes from an MSG-free menu. Hot and spicy is the route to take if you're in the mood.--Diablo

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