Okay, we’ll admit it.  We’re not savvy enough and haven’t really put forth the effort to understand the differences in Eastern Asian cuisine.  And since we have no interest or plans to travel there any time in the next millennium, there’s a pretty solid chance we’ll never soak up the different cultures to appreciate what cuisine comes from where.  We’re aware there are little pockets throughout the metro area that specialize in this type or that type but, again, call us lazy Americans.  There’s really 2 types in our little bubble – sushi and Chinese.  Pedants that litter all the blogs with their favorite Thai, Mandarin, or Korean spots, fire away.  We’re so happy your purist approach is meaningful to you but we’re perfectly happy with our fusionistic approach to it, thank you very much.  But, as a site that makes fine dining recommendations, we felt obligated to spend a few minutes googling to give us the tree top version of what comprises Asian cuisine.

Asian-nation.org breaks it down as follows (and, yes, we’re paraphrasing). 

Northeast – China, Korea, and Japanese. 

Chinese – most prominent.  Southern styles emphasize freshness and tenderness.  Northern (it gets colder there) dishes are oily and use lots of vinegar and garlic.  Japanese – emphasizes the use of deep frying (tempura) and raw foods.  Korean – centered on grilling or sautéing and the use of chili spices.  All of these cuisines pretty much use soy sauce in everything.

Southeast – includes Thailand, Viet Nam, Indonesia. Focuses on aromatic and lightly prepared foods using stir frying, steaming and boiling with delicate spices and seasonings like citrus and herbs.  Instead of soy, they use a lot of fish sauce and lemon grass.  Also use more curry than the Northeast, typically based on coconut milk.

And everybody uses ginger, garlic and rice.

Well, okay, that wasn’t that hard.  We basically hammered out thousands of years of culinary tradition in less than 10 minutes (God bless Google). 

Based on how many of our reviews are tasting menus, you know the team here at snootyfoodie likes options.  The more options the better.  And since we are painting this entire culinary genre with a great big ole foodie paintbrush, we’ll back off our typical thrashing of restaurants that try to do many things well instead of focusing on a specialty.  At least in this instance, we are more than okay with the idea of a restaurant that approaches their menu with the same thought process we do.  Of course, the fusion label puts a nice, bright bow on this slightly dysfunctional package and allows curious, interested (but not overly concerned) foodies like ourselves to do one stop shopping for our Eastern Asian fix.  Sushi, satay, fried rice, pad thai, kung pao, lo mein – it’s all here.  So let’s get to the food.

The sushi (only served for dinner) is all quite good, going down familiar territory with rolls you’ll find at basically any sushi house in Dallas.  One roll that is off the beaten path and stood out to us was the Yellowtail in Heaven roll.  It has hamachi, cream cheese, avocado, and fresh jalapenos inside.  They deep fry this and then drizzle both cool and spicy sauces over the top.  It definitely has enough heat to open up your sinuses so having your favorite Japanese beer on standby is not a bad idea.  Sashimi, kind of the same idea.  The routine offerings are there and they’re fresh.  Another Yellowtail was memorable here too.  A half dozen generous slices of super fresh hamachi are fanned out on a plate and twirled with Yuzu and bits of jalapeno and scallions.  A cool seaweed and citrus salad is mounded up in the middle of the plate.  Nothing crazy in the preparation, just a well executed dish with lots of bright flavors.

You’ll see soft shell crabs a few times on the menu and we would urge you to order them somewhere.  The appetizer offering is one whole soft shell, deep fried and dressed with a spicy aioli.  If you’re a fan of soft shell, you’ll likely agree these little wonders don’t warrant or need any exotic presentations.  It needs to have a crunchy texture but light enough batter where you can taste the malleable shell and meat.  So no more than one or two other flavors and it’s a winner.  I mean, why try to make this guy something he’s not.  He’s clearly comfortable in his own skin.

Despite all the we’re neophyte Asian eater caveats above, if there is one soup we are self proclaimed experts on, it is Tom Yum, and Asian Mint’s is one of the better ones we’ve had.  The spicy, limey broth with lemongrass slapping you in the face is soul satisfying.  And those cute little whole mushroom stalks dancing around?  Fuggehdaboutit.  It’s almost worth getting sick so you can slide into Asian Mint to get a bowl of this stuff to help you find your center.      

Oh, my my my do we love Pad Thai?!  Their original menu just had a lone Pad Thai on it.  As demand increased and the carb craze hit its stride, they’ve expanded to an entire section dedicated to the greatness of PT.  You’ve got the classic (our personal favorite in the city) served with an ultra flavorful tamarind sauce, shrimp, chicken, peanuts, etc.  Then they’ve got the Woon Sen which is essentially for you folks looking for a half way house on the whole carb thing.  They make this with clear noodles that apparently have a lot less carbs than the rice ones.  No Sen, you guessed it, means no carbs so you basically get everything but the noodles.  Hey, it immediately makes us feel like a better and healthier person ordering a dish called No Sen!  Sticking with noodles, their Pad Kee Mow is muy bueno.  Say it again – pad kee mow = muy bueno.  We flip flop between chicken and pork but both are great and their spicy chili sauce is just warm enough to get your attention but won’t leave your nose running either. 

Our heads are typically turned by the house specialties so we honestly haven’t tried any of the fried rices.  In fact, the only “Chinese” dish we’ve tried is the Mongolian beef which, again thanks to our friends at Google, has nothing to do with traditional Mongolian cuisine.  Rather the term Mongolian is meant to mean exotic.  Anyway, with the perfectly sliced flank steak and just right blend of sweet and savory in the sauce, Asian Mint’s version will make you forget the one you’ve been ordering at PF Chang’s.

So, with all the renditions of all the classics from all the regions, there are three House Specialties that really separate Asian Mint from the other rice and noodle joints.  I have no idea how authentic any of these are but, regardless, they’re genuinely delicious.  Two sea bass dishes – 3 Flavored and Basil Crispy are out of this world.  The 3 Flavored is a sautéed bass filet served atop jasmine rice and surrounded with mushrooms, ginger and green onions.  Their famous 3 flavor sauce is dribbled over the top of the fish.  You will not have 1 bite of this left on your plate.  Believe that.  The Basil Crispy is pan seared to get a nice crust.  Served atop the same scoop of jasmine rice, it’s the basil sauce over the top of the fish that makes this an over the top dish. 

Our other favorite is the Garlic Quail.  Two whole quails are pan fried and glazed with a sticky soy garlic sauce.  Yes, you’ll need the courtesy wet wipes when you’re done with this one.  Over rice and served with an Asian slaw, this is just a fabulous dish.  And, great presentation – it really looks like the quails are doing the whole pro athlete chest bump thing.

Asian Mint also defines itself as a dessert bar and we’ll never fault a place for working hard to serve fabulous desserts.  The orange mandarin cake is nice, light, and summery with a pineapple whipped cream topping.  The custard with sticky rice is very good too.  But their most popular and the one we continually go back to is the Green Tea Ice Cream cake.  Green tea cake is layered with green tea ice cream and topped off with a layer of smoothed real whipped cream with a tiny little dollop of the ice cream on top for good measure (along with their signature mint leaf).  No fake flavors here either.  You can really taste authentic green tea.  This dessert is great any time of year but is out of this world on a hot summer day, particularly when following one of their spicy entreés. 

Some find it strange that Asian Mint serves the famous illy Italian coffee and have an impressive little espresso/cappuccino set up.  I have no idea if there are quality Asian coffees out there but illy is some of the best in the world so no qualms here.  I can also tell you (not from experience I promise, just a rumor I heard :P) that they can shake up a pretty mean martini at Asian Mint.  The wine list is also better than most of the fusion restaurants around with a good selection of spice friendly whites.  Their specialty cocktail menu deserves your perusal as well. 

Like the wait staff, the atmosphere is cheery, bright and friendly.  White tables and chairs are offset with colorful green walls and understated Asian prints (not the hokey geisha girl posters and Buddha statues you see elsewhere). 

Judging by the continual line out the door, not too many people are put off by their jack of all trades attitude toward the world of Asian cuisine.  If anything, their approach is a blessing to people like us.  For those with an extensive knowledge of the intricacies of the different regions and food types who get jazzed to drive across town for the best this or that…high five!  For now at least, we’re more than a little content to find Asia’s best all in one place.