In rural Arkansas, it may be easy to find Chinese food, but finding quality Chinese food can present more of a challenge. After a friendly waitress placed a house specialty of lightly braised chicken and shrimp, cashews and vegetables on the table in front of me, my hope for Searcy’s restaurant community began to form.
Asian Bistro opened seven months ago and is located at 1513 West Pleasure Avenue in a renovated Pizza Hut building.
The restaurant’s menu includes an assortment of sushi rolls, with prices starting at $3 for the 24 basic roll choices, ranging to about $11 for specialty rolls. If you are feeling community pride, try a Searcy roll made of tempura shrimp, crabmeat and avocado.
The large menu includes a large entree section. My friends and I enjoyed everything about our meal, especially the spicy Mongolian chicken and a standard, but delicious, chicken with broccoli. More adventures options include bean curd country style, eel and octopus. Regardless of what you choose, portions are large enough to share and everyone in my group left with a to-go box stuffed with enough food for another meal.
One of the highlights of the night was an appetizer of steaming hot crab wontons. Priced at only $3.50 for eight pieces, a visit to Asian Bistro would not be complete without them.
The service is quick and helpful, with the only problem being that sometimes the waitress tried to hurry our meal too much. For example, before I had a chance to sit in the booth, I was asked what I wanted to drink.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is relaxing and a nice change from campus. The owners maintain a traditional oriental feel with classy Asian decorations and avoid the common Chinese restaurant mistake of going overboard with a tacky array of pagodas and Chinese lanterns. The lighting provides the perfect amount of dimness; the restaurant is bright enough that you can see what you are eating, but dark enough to create a relaxing and calming mood.
The restaurant was not extremely crowded, but they do have loyal patrons. At the end of my meal, I ran into a Searcy resident, originally from Atlanta, who was waiting on a to-go order. She said she visits Asian Bistro at least two or three times a week and it is the only Asian food she has found in town to satisfy her city taste buds.
The combination of affordable prices, a quiet atmosphere, quick service and authentic-tasting food makes this restaurant an ideal place for a weekend date.
The servers did not give us fortune cookies at the end of my meal, but I am sure that my future will include another visit to Asian Bistro.
