Ten Asian Bistro (Newport Beach, CA)
written by Trevacious. Last Updated 3/27/07 22:26 [American]

I found this restaurant somewhat as a surprise because I was being taken out to eat "sushi". I had no idea that I would be visiting a place as chic as this--clearly evidenced by the lighting, decor, and patrons--but nonetheless I found myself sitting among a room lined with waterfalls, constantly changing colors, and a huge Buddha.

Ten Asian Bistro is a part of the Ten Restaurant Group, featuring a lounge and restaurant & bakery in close proximity. In fact the whole group of businesses is more of a conglomeration of trend conveniently clustered together. Good thing I wore my work clothes because I would have felt way out of sync with the Newport Beach crowd if I was here in anything less than business-cas.

Besides never being bored because of the constantly changing color-scheme of the joint, their food wasn't that bad either. They offer a decent selection of Japanese (sushi) and Chinese (think P.F. Chang's) stuff. I would have claimed this food as completely non-authentic (indeed they cheated on the type of beans used in the XO Chinese Long Beans) except for the fact that a large Asian party was seated next to us. Hey, that's gotta count for something.

Besides that, I'm not sure how seriously I can take a place that serves Lemon Chicken and employees the typical O.C. post-teen as the hired help. However, a few things were done right. The Tobiko caviar that adorned the rainbow roll wasn't a bad touch; I actually found the mushroom and eggplant roll (with a tomato coulis) rather innovative; and the winner of the night was the crispy rice sushi with spicy tuna and jalapeno--coming in first, of course, because it sure was new to me.

As far as sashimi goes, they keep with the current trend of dousing the fish in some sort of tangy-spicy sauce. In this case, they put salmon and/or halibut on a plate and drizzle it with hot yuzu-soy olive oil. Not a bad touch, especially since the creamy and pure olive oil worked wonders for the salmon. Equally delicious were the lobster crepes but, hey, what doesn't taste good with a coconut curry sauce on it?

If I was more vogue, I'm sure I'd be here more for the happy hour specials and the mingling. If not that, Ten Asian Bistro is still good for a meal with a few fresh ideas, invigorating atmosphere, and hanging around with that charming Newport Beach crowd.

Dress: business casual.
Cost: $30 - $60 per person
Website

Overall: 7