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Friday, April 25, 2003

Mackenzie Carpenter, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Two years ago, two brothers, both restaurateurs, tired of the hyper-competitive world of Pan-Asian cuisine in the Pacific Northwest and decided to strike out for new territory.

	Review: Cafe Asia WHERE: 5833 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill PHONE: 412-521-2080 HOURS: Lunch, Tues.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. noon-3 p.m.; dinner, Tues.-Thurs. 4:30-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 4:30-10 p.m.; Sun. 4:30-8 p.m. Closed Monday. BASICS: A mix of Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese cuisines, a k a Pan-Asian. Decor is Asian-minimalist, the food is tasty, especially the curries. Inexpensive, with entrees ranging from $7 to $16. BYOB. Visa and Mastercard accepted. No reservations on weekends. Seats 50 inside, 12 outside. Wheelchair accessible. No smoking. Critic's Call:

So the young men came East -- in part because a third brother teaches math at the University of Pittsburgh, and in part because, according to Tuan Nguyen, one of the brothers, "you only have about 12 or 13 Asian restaurants here -- not including regular Chinese places."

Only?

At any rate, the result is Cafe Asia, an inexpensive little restaurant in Squirrel Hill that mixes the bright, lively cuisines of Thailand, Vietnam and Japan in an attractive, if slightly cramped setting. And given the crowds that have flocked there since its opening two months ago, the Nguyen brothers' decision to move here seems to have paid off.

Despite a generally depressed restaurant market, Pittsburgh diners seem to be craving more and more Asian food. Sushi places are proliferating -- even on fast-food-choked McKnight Road -- and restaurants like Lulu's Noodles and Cafe Susu are wildly popular with Oakland students. Then there's Soba, utterly sleek and terribly expensive, in a class with some of the city's finer restaurants.

Cafe Asia is a lot cheaper than Soba, and not as cutting-edge -- there's no lemongrass-goat-cheese risotto here -- but it is sleek, too, in its way. The decor is tastefully minimalist: A single spotlight focuses on an exotic sculpture in an otherwise blank expanse of purple, as diners huddle under lampshades made from palm fronds.

But it's a cafe, after all -- it's loud, and the tables are pretty much squished together, and the kitchen and the waiters seem to still be trying to find their rhythm, no doubt overwhelmed by the crowds. It was certainly action-packed the night we were there: The swinging door to the kitchen was the scene of a collision between one waiter coming in and the other coming out, complete with the sound of crashing dishes on the other side of the door. Later in the evening, there was a loud thwack in the dining room, and a few minutes later two busboys are carefully carrying a broken glass tabletop back into the kitchen.

Maybe because of this kind of mayhem, on two different nights, service lagged. An appetizer of Goi Con ($3), fresh Vietnamese spring rolls in chilled rice paper, showed up quickly, but then there was a good 17-minute wait before the Vietnamese crepe appeared -- a lovely crunchy egg crepe cradling gently sauteed shrimp, mushrooms and sprouts with pickled radish and carrots as a condiment.

In fact, the dishes came when they were ready, which meant that they didn't come all at the same time, so some in our foursome found ourselves chowing down on our entrees while the others watched and waited. But never mind. The food at Cafe Asia is diverting enough to make you forget how long it took for you to get it. Dishes are served on rustic, square-cut pottery bowls, with ingredients of good quality -- there are no cheap cuts of chicken here, the beef is tender, and the lightly fried soft-shell crabs were sweet and meaty (although I found the barbecued pork, served with a noodle dish, to be a little gristly).

Cafe Asia's chef, Ben Nguyen, who catered meals for Microsoft founder Bill Gates when in Seattle, mixes the alluring spices of three different cultures to great effect. Ginger, lemongrass, soy, Kaffir lime leaves, cilantro and chili -- they're all here, in vivid combinations. The green curry -- so named for the color of the chilies used -- was hot and potent, while the Penang, or red curry, flavored with coconut and Kaffir lime leaves and gingery galangal root, was flowery and lush.

Indeed, the complex, well-made sauces are the stars of Cafe Asia's menu, although this isn't a place for folks with peanut allergies -- there are peanuts on the salads, and in the sauces, from the excellent chicken satay appetizer ($5) to the Pra, a red peanut curry with spinach and a choice of chicken, meat or tofu.

The menu is not as large as many Asian eateries, and that's on purpose, Tuan Nguyen says. He and his brother Ben aimed for balance and selectivity. There are old standbys like pad Thai ($8 with meat or chicken; $9 with seafood) or chicken teriyaki ($9) and more unusual offerings, like Bun ($7), a Saigon-style noodle bowl, which, in contrast to frequently stir-fried Thai cuisine, mixes fresh crunchy vegetables, cold vermicelli rice noodles and a choice of barbecued meats with a savory dipping sauce. Indeed, for noodle connoisseurs, there are thick Japanese wheat noodles , rice noodles, crystal noodles, in large, dinner-size soups, in salads and stir-fried. For salad lovers there are generously sized salads topped with charcoal-grilled beef, pork and chicken, and spiked with exotica. The Crying Tiger beef salad ($8), for example, features chile, mint, basil, cilantro, green and red onion, ground roasted rice, lime juice and fish sauce. Phew!

For those in search of a singular, knockout entree, my choice would be the Salmon Shoo Shee Pia ($13), which I would order every time, if I could.

It's not that the salmon was anything special -- very few restaurants serve anything other than farm-raised salmon, which is easily available at the supermarket for one-sixteenth the price. But it was nicely roasted in banana leaves, and the curry sauce was rich and layered with flavors, mostly with that indelible perfume of Kaffir leaves -- a kind of wild lime -- that the Nguyens order fresh from a supplier in Washington, D.C.

Cafe Asia is BYOB, and there's a fee of 50 cents per glass provided. Those looking for a nonalcoholic restorative can order any number of Asian beverages, from teas, green, brown rice or oolong, to juice: coconut, mango or pineapple. Desserts, too, are full of surprises: the sticky rice with custard ($4) was nutty, sweet and addictive, and the deep-fried green tea ice cream ($4) was fun to eat, if a bit on the bitter side.

For those wishing to dine on Pan-Asian cuisine in more authentic surroundings, when it's hot and humid, just wait a few weeks. Cafe Asia can seat about a dozen people at tables under large umbrellas on the sidewalk outside, which will make what is definitely a cozy dining experience a little roomier, and perhaps even more fun.