Good Chinese food is like good Italian food: It’s all about the sauce. And at this downtown restaurant, they know sauce.
The secret ingredient — in Chinese food, not Italian — is usually oyster sauce, a thick and savory goop. Kitchens that go with low-end stuff end up with bland brown gravy that’s mostly soy sauce.
But joints like Asian Bistro (8537 Georgia Ave) know what’s up. If they indeed use oyster sauce, they hit it in the right proportions. They also work the fresh scallions and ginger, two more ingredients that crappier restaurants tend to skip.
The combination lo mein ($13) is a lush pile of soft, squishy noodles tossed with firm bites of chicken cutlet, beef and shrimp. The kitchen eases up on the julienned vegetables, especially celery and cabbage, which many Asian restaurants use as filler.
Throw in just enough of that rich brown sauce to coat the noodles, and that’s good eats. That same sauce works wonders for the tender stir-fried chicken with bright, crisp broccoli ($12).
The menu also has a large selection of Japanese dishes, mostly of the raw fish variety. Selections from the sushi bar have not yet undergone The Penguin taste test.
The clean dining room looks out onto Downtown Silver Spring’s metered lot. Not much of a view during the day, but dazzling at night, when the Discovery building lights up. The service is courteous and startlingly quick.
Asian Bistro doesn’t deliver and its prices are higher than those at other Chinese restaurants. Then again, you get what you pay for.
Asian Bistro, 8537 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, (301) 589-0123.
Originally published Jul 11, 2007.
August 21, 2008
19 Comments at "Dining: Asian Bistro"
I keep going back for their sushi. Among the freshest I have ever had, which is strange for a restaurant that doesn’t exclusively serve Japanese food.
This place stinks. Don’t go there — so that I’ll always be able to get a table.
You missed the boat by not trying the sushi.
I always thought the sushi was sort of mediocre. If I’m gonna spend money for sushi, I’ll go to Sushi Taro on 17th.
I go there all the time for the sushi, and it’s quite good. I get great service, thought that might be partly because I’m a regular and tip a lot.
I love Asian Bistro - both sushi and the chinese menu.
I went for sushi several times when they first opened and was less than impressed with the freshness and the construction. Sushi shouldn’t smell fishy, and the rolls shouldn’t fall apart before you can get them to your mouth.
Since then, we’ve been going to Sushi Jin on Fenton. It’s not all that cheap, but everything is always fresh and the atmosphere and service are a bit more relaxing. Maybe I’ll try Asian Bistro again based on the other reviews here, though.
I give this place 8 out of 10. Agree with the commentary above, but can also add the sushi is quite good, and I know my sushi. Much better than Sushi Jin, which I’ve tried at least 3 times.
This is one of our favorite places because of its good food and proximity to the AFI. At first we were turned off by the decor — it looked like a typical Hellsworth dump that put a premium on making sure they good wipe baby puke off their furniture — but fortunately it’s much better than it looks. They also make good drinks and have an incredible vegetarian menu.
[...] meat and crisp broccoli florets. Its robust flavor is nearly on par with those at downtown’s Asian Bistro, while its massive portion offers more bang for the [...]
Great review! The Chinese food at Asian Bistro is terrific, much better than nearby Oriental East. Definitely go back for the sushi. And the service is top-notch … at our last visit, our server gave us free coffee liqueur shots at the end of our meal!
Maggie, everyone gets those free shots. :) But I agree, Asian Bistro is great.
On a related topic: has anyone else here ever tried preserved tofu (also known as pickled tofu, though that’s a bit of a misnomer)? It’s amazing. Kind of like a soft pungent cheese, e.g., blue cheese. You can find it as HMarket in Wheaton. Just an FYI on something I can’t believe I’ve lived without all these years.
Good review. I think this is a safe place for quick takeout. You can pick up for some spicy tuna rolls for lunch or the General for dinner; quick and standard and reliable for basics.
I find Asian Bistro expensive and not worth it - after getting very sick (spare you the details) from their veggie tempura - I’ll not return there.
Two comments. One - in my experience Asian Bistro has been mediocre at best. If I couldn’t walk there, I’m sure I would never go. Two - good Italian is NOT about the sauce. Just the opposite, it’s about tasting the pasta! The pasta should not be overwhelmed by the sauce.
I think Asian Bistro has gone down hill. I used to go there all the time, but I went about a month ago and it was not good. The sauce on my veggie chicken and broccoli was congealed and looked like it had been sitting out for a long time before I got it. My friend’s orange chicken looked old too. I was really disappointed because it has always been so good. Maybe they were just having a bad day, but I haven’t been back since.
Bad news, Asian Bistro fans. The place is under new ownership, and when we went there this past Saturday night, we thought the food was not nearly as good as it used to be. In fact, it was just okay. Moreover, the old owner failed to pay his liquor license taxes, so now the place is temporarily unable to serve any alcoholic beverages — wine, beer, saki, cocktails — and the restaurant chose not to advertise this particular fact with a sign on its door. We were really disappointed as we’d had a hard day and were looking forward to a couple of Mai Tais, or at least a beer, but by the time the waitress told us about the license, we’d already messed with the silverware and drank the water and generally felt it would be rude to pick up and leave.
We might go one more time to see if they just had a bad chef that night, but one more mediocre meal and we’re writing the place off.
I was there late last week, and the Chinese food seemed okay. Will check it out again in the future.
+1 to Springvale Roader. The takeout order of cashew chicken we got Friday was not up to par with what we had been used to from AB–chicken parts of indeterminate origin, no veggies. Even the brown rice seemed different. Looks like we’ll have to look for a new chinese fix.
Holler back.