TheAsian Festivalis on Saturday, and if you like food and haven’t been, you’re making a big mistake. The event fills up Century II with a wonderland of sizzling, spicy succulent Asian cuisine from more than a dozen countries.
Wichita has a pretty good array of Asian restaurants, with the best representation coming from China, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Japan.
What’s your favorite type of Asian food in Wichita? And which local restaurant serves the best version of your favorite?
Fans of Wichita’s flagship Vietnamese restaurant at 1103 N. Broadway may have noticed during the past several weeks that the place was sign-less. Some killer wind attacked a few weeks ago and did the old sign in.
But a new, yellow-er one is now in place. And it looks pretty wind resistant, doesn’t it?
Incidentally, I found out on a recent visit that Saigon owner Hanh Bui is the coach of a Vietnamese soccer team that’s apparently pretty talented. There he is, the official looking one in the front row.
Hanh Bui: Master of the No. 49 and of the soccer field.
A delicious offering from Manna Wok, 4865 E. Harry.
A year ago, local food fan Richard Bowman read one of my dining stories that reprinted local restaurant owner and foodie extraordinaire Tanya Tandoc’s favorite restaurants and her favorite dishes at each of those restaurants.
Bowman felt like he was stuck in a lunch rut, so he invited a couple of buddies to join him on a quest to eat their way down the list. For the past year, Bowman would get together with his Doug Ballard and Joe Wilson on Fridays and try out one of the places on the list. They’ve now traveled completely through it, and on Friday, they’ll go to Tanya’s Soup Kitchen for their final meal to mark their accomplishment.
Bowman told me that he and his buddies really enjoyed the quest and found several new eateries they would never have tried otherwise. Among his new favorites: Manna Wok at 4865 E. Harry. “I’d driven by that place for years and had just never stopped,” he said.
Bowman and his crew are going to have their picture taken with Tanya on Friday, and he promises to share a copy.
I heard from a reader this morning who wanted to know who makes the best spring rolls and/or pot stickers in town. She’s having a dinner party for 12 and needs to supplement the menu with something she doesn’t have to make.
I love Saigon’s spring rolls, which are fat and fresh and bursting with shrimp, rice noodles and fresh herbs. They’re pretty inexpensive, too. But I know that Wichita, with its large Asian population, is literally springing with spring rolls.
Celebrate with a plate of something hot, steamy and served atop a pile of rice. And by watching my friend Jaime’s video, shot live today at the very delicious Saigon, 1103 N. Broadway.
Pei Wei at 2441 N. Maize Road will distribute cards good for a free Korean BBQ Beef entree to diners who visit the restaurant today and Thursday.
The cards are redeemable starting Monday, when the restaurant debuts the new dish, and are good through Feb. 6.
The new dish features beef sauteed with green apples and red peppers and is said to have a sweet and smoky flavor. For more information, call 316-729-7285.
