Category: Asian

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Asian Cafe 43 Taiwanese

Cafe 43: Three Cup Chicken from Facing East

Whoever is in charge of choosing how to feed Microsofties is doing a great job. Friends recommend Facing East to me over and over. Now, it’s conveniently serving food in Microsoft Cafes.

The menu is simple, but flavorful. You can choose a bento box of Beef, Chicken, Pork, or Tofu.

I went for their Three Cup Chicken.

The bento comes with

  • Rice
  • Three Cup Chicken
  • Pickled Cucumbers
  • Pickled Vegetables
  • Marinated Egg
  • Sauteed Vegetables

There’s also some spicy pepper sauce. I use it sparingly, just enough to remember I’m alive.

The Three Cup Chicken reminds me of Chicken Adobo, which is probably why I like it so much. The chicken is salty and savory. The peppers, green onion, and basil help to offer diverse bites.

The sides also shine. The vegetables are seasoned well, and I think have ginger. Usually, a side of vegetables feels like a low effort after-thought. These I gladly eat.

Just look at the soy sauce soaking into the egg. The flavor is soaked into the white and balances well with the yolk. I’m not a big hard boiled egg fan, but these are fun to eat.

There are some pickled vegetables underneath.

This bento hits all the good flavor points: savory, salty, spicy, and tangy.

My co-workers and I eat this often. I can easily recommend trying this if you’re in Cafe 43. It’s between ~$10 to ~$14 depending on the protein you choose.

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Asian Cafe 40 Korean

Cafe 40: Seoul Bowl

Delicious Funk is a fitting description for Seoul Bowl. Fermented Pickle flavor oozes throughout the available toppings. Chewy rice, melt-in-your-mouth meat, and crisp vegetables make it hard not to love the Seoul Bowl.

My bowl was built with:

  • White Rice
  • Bulgogi Beef
  • Caramelize Onions
  • Asian Salad
  • Korean Kimchi
  • Cucumber Kimchi
  • Yum Yum Sauce
  • Korean Hot Gochujang

Previously, I’ve tried combinations with the Spicy Pork and Pickled Radish as well.

The food served at Cafe 40 isn’t as photogenic as their food truck. Your taste buds still get to experience a flavorful funky beat. If you’ve ever witnessed the feeding of Microsoft employees, you know it’s like trying to play Plants vs Zombies.

My beef was sweet, tangy, and fully cooked. It just lacked the luscious caramel tan Seoul Bowl is able to obtain at their food truck and restaurants.

Seoul Bowl advertises their bowls as “healthy”, which I hope is true, because this is food that makes me happy. There’s enough vegetables to convince me.

The Cucumber is my favorite. It’s the perfect funky pickle. The Korean Kimchi comes in a close second. The Cucumber has a crunch to it, where the regular kimchi is punchy in flavor not texture. Pickled Radish is good, but sometimes it’s more radish flavor than pickle. If you like crunch, you’d like the pickled radish.

For a top notch experience, I recommend going to their food truck or restaurants. I’ve eaten Seoul Bowl at multiple cafes, so obviously I’d recommend it and eat it again. At ~$14, it’s more of a treat than an everyday meal.

But then again, maybe you’re like me, and it’s okay to treat yourself everyday.

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Asian Cafe 25

Cafe 25: Lemongrass Pork Banh Mi

I love Vietnamese food. To be less specific, I love East Asian food.

Tropical East Asian food perfectly blends sweet, sour, and savory. Rickshaw at Cafe 25 does just that.

Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich. If you ever felt your Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki wasn’t well balanced, Rickshaw’s Lemongrass Pork Banh Mi would be its more sensual cousin.

Ordering the Lemongrass Pork Banh Mi gets you:

  • Banh Mi Sandwich
    • Pork
    • Pickled Carrot and Daikon
    • Jalapeno
    • Cilantro
    • Cucumber
    • Spicy Mayo
    • Toasted Bread
  • Salad
    • Spring Greens
    • Spinach
    • Pickled Carrot and Daikon
  • Lemongrass Dressing
    • God’s Gift to Humankind

I’m not sure if Cafe 25 bakes its own bread. Some of the Sub Shops on campus do. The bread has a nice sponge and is toasted beautifully on the grill (just look at those tan lines!). The crust has a good chew.

Inside, the pork and pickled vegetables offer an experience that feels kind of naughty. You have the savory pork with a nice perfectly burnt char flavor dancing with the sweet and tangy pickled carrot and daikon. The jalapeno adds a kick and reminds you you’re alive, while the cucumber helps mellow and balance everything out.

Make sure to add some of the Lemongrass Dressing. I’m not sure what’s in this elixir from the gods, but it’s sweet and tangy in all the right ways. Part of me wants to know how this would taste with gin and soda water, and another part of me knows I shouldn’t drink on the job.

The dressing goes great on the sandwich. It goes great on the salad. Any remaining amount also goes great as a shooter at the end of the meal.

I can’t write enough about the dressing. I’m worried it’s a one-sided inappropriate relationship, so I’ll stop, but the dressing is great and makes the meal.

At $8.80, I’d eat it again. Cafe 25’s Lemongrass Pork Banh Mi touched my taste buds in all the right ways. Cafe 25 has a nice outdoor seating area with a water feature. This sandwich–and the dressing–are perfect for eating outside on a summer day.