CONTRIBUTED BY SARAH FORTE
Asian House Front
Quick! Name a Vietnamese dish! Did you say pho? Or maybe spring rolls? Now, quickly, name a Thai food! Green curry or red? Am I making you hungry yet? Lucky for you, I have just the place – Asian House!
Asian House was first suggested to me by an Okinawan friend and, after just one visit, we had to spread the word to several of our other friends. Located just south of Camp Foster, it’s an easy drive from most military bases on island. The restaurant is not huge (22 seats), but like many things Okinawan, the ambiance feels like home.
Asian House Inside
Asian House specializes in Vietnamese and Thai cooking. The menu goes on and on but variations of pho, as well as red and green curries keep popping up. Pho is a fine rice noodle soup found in northern Vietnam as well as some parts of China. It might be a noodle, but it’s on the opposite side of the family tree from soba. It is thin and translucent where as soba is thick and opaque. Also in the soup are bean sprouts and thinly sliced green onions, cilantro, and basil. If pho is what you’re after, you can order chicken, beef or beef tenderloin in medium and large servings or in a set. Prices range from 680¥ for a single medium bowl of chicken pho to 1380¥ for a large dinner set.
Asian House Soup
If pho is only distantly related to soba, Thai curries are the second cousin-once removed from Japanese style curry. Green Thai curry gets its color from lime and basil leaves. Asian House adds traditional eggplant, chicken, mushrooms and coconut milk. Where you find green curry you usually find red curry made with red chilies, and Asian House is no exception. Prices range from 890¥ for a single bowl to 1380¥ for a large dinner set.
Asian House Set
Speaking of sets, they are worth the price for a chance to try the spring rolls. Vietnamese spring rolls are also known as salad or summer rolls. Never fried, the translucent rice paper wrap shows off the shrimp, lettuce, carrots and herbs inside. Served with a zingy peanut sauce, healthy food never tasted so good. The rolls are available as part of many of Asian House’s sets or on their own.
Asian House Drinks
We went in at lunch time (1100-1400) and found each lunch set is only 1000¥ and very filling. The menu seems to have no end with sets, single items, drinks and desserts. Next time I might try “Vietnam’s Special Sandwich” (spicy pork, ham, cucumber, with pickled daikon and carrots), which our friend raved about after his visit. Children’s sets are available and the prices are all reasonable. The staff spoke very good English and English menus are easily available. If you are interested in a little extra shopping, many of the beautiful hand-painted dishes are available for purchase near the register. They have a stamp card for frequent customers and offer double stamps on Wednesdays!
Hours:
Lunch: 1100-1400
Dinner: 1400-2200
Closed on Sundays
Phone: 098-896-0833
Payment: Yen, MasterCard and Visa
Directions: From Kadena, Lester or Foster, follow 58 south. Turn left onto 81. Asian House will be on your right just past the San A. There are a few parking spaces just in front of the restaurant or along side streets.
They also take US Dollars too!
We went here last week and were very disappointed. I don’t know what people are raving about. The food (pho and pad-thai) were so-so, not authentic at all. The pho noodles were not the authentic vietnamese noodles, they instead used a starchy-glass type noodle. Their hoisin sauce was watered down and the pho broth was too herby. The worst part is that we ordered the kids meal fried rice set. The fried rice was spoiled. When they brought it out, the sides looked dried out so it didn’t even look appetizing. My daughter took one bite and had to spit it out. We brought it to their attention and nodded and apologized, but didn’t credit us for it or bring us a new one.
We found it very yummy! Great lemongrass tea, the pad thai was very good.
Excellent food, The Green Curry was very authentic, great service. Will definitely go back.
We all appreciate your impute however you must remember that most Japanese cooking, especially in Okinawa, is “home cooking”. There is no recipe it is just what they have been taught. Just like the Italians and Sicilians and the Chinese. You sound like a spoiled son that cant get over what his mother made. Everyone has great memories of food that they “assume” to be authentic however it’s the cooks choice. Embrace the difference and allow your children to do the same.
and yes I meant input
First off, I am far from spoiled. I enjoy and appreciate what my mother makes. I understand that I am in Japan and the food/taste will be different from what I am used to. But HO, you are basically saying that anyone can put a bowl of any type of noodles with beef in it with whatever flavor they want and call it “pho”. It’s like saying the Italians will use penne pasta and put tomato sauce on it and call it “spaghetti”. Besides that point, they served us spoiled (I repeat spoiled) food. And for sure this is not a taste thing, unless fried rice is suppose to have a sour taste to it that a 4 yr old that loves fried rice can’t even eat it. Or maybe they grew up making or eating spoiled rice, if thats the case, then I guess my fried rice was authentic.
I had their pad thai and the chicken tasted ‘off’, a bit sour. I wouldn’t go back for Thai food here. Even though the service was good and the interior was interesting. Jai Thai would get my return service, not Asia House.