South East Asian flavours come alive here

Eating has to be a pleasurable experience, always. And South East Asian street food has never ever stopped short of tantalizing our taste buds. Foodies will be spoilt for choice at the Asian 5's (an offshoot of Lemongrass Thai restaurant near Lamcy Plaza) new outlet in BurJuman. The place brings a fine mix of delicacies from five South East Asia countries, all under one roof, and keeping in mind that November marks World Vegan Month, the chefs have been inspired to create delicious plant-based stuff for vegan foodies.

Asian 5 offers a jamboree of cuisines and flavours including Thai, Singaporean  Chinese, Vietnamese and Indonesian. Expect to see a menu with all your favourites, as well as some new additions like their fried chicken or smoothies made with fresh fruits - no pastes or artificial additives and 100 per cent vegan. Their Vegan menu feature dishes absolutely free of animal products, but bursting with flavours. You could try the veggie Shumai or Vegan Laka or Soba Noodles.

It was also heartening to know that the brand is in active pursuit of providing more sustainable dining experiences by choosing to do away bottled water. They serve only filtered still water in glass tumblers. We were highly impressed by their commitment to sustainability. Even their takeaways and menu cards follow the rule. No plastic doggy bags or glossy menu cards, it's all done in organic brown paper.

The décor was interestingly done by mixing rustic and modern items. Earthy, natural looking wooden tables and rustic, metal dinner plates enhanced the joint's overall street food theme.

Its interiors, bright and earthy, yet industrially chic, with splashes of colourful art to reel you in, but without doubt it's the food and friendly staff that scored high for us at  this cozy eatery. We ordered a mix of dishes to try out cuisines from different regions.

Among them, the Singaporean Laksa, an excellent choice to start with - a coconut-based curry and noodle soup, was delicate and comforting, and dynamically flavoured with subtle notes of lemongrass and Laksa leaves.  

We ate our way into the main course with dishes like the Pad Men Mamuang - wok-tossed chicken and cashew nuts served with Jasmine rice and Pad Thai - wok-fried noodles with tofu and bean sprouts. Almost all their dishes blissfully combined sweet, salty and umami flavours with an edge of spice for a delicious impact on our taste buds.

Their Gyoza - pan fried crescent chicken dumplings paired really well with a side of tangy, soy sauce. Then there was the Peking duck which went down well with the combined sauces.

We ended the meal with Banana Wontons - golden brown, crisp wontons as delectable as ever, stuffed with the sweet tartness of banana and complimented with generous scoops of homemade dairy-free coconut ice cream. It was divine!

A shout out to fellow vegans in the UAE as well as those looking out for healthier options. They will surely rejoice at Asian 5's vegan indulgences throughout the month.
michael@khaleejtimes.com

• Food and Dining