I Asian Cuisine Top-Notch Addition to Caldwells Restaurant Scene

Tucked away in a strip mall on Passaic Avenue is the Caldwells newest top-notch restaurant, I Asian Cuisine.

Located in the spot formerly occupied by David’s Deco-tessan at 555 Passaic Ave., this powerhouse, yet unassuming, restaurant is small enough for a quiet lunch or dinner or a family-style dinner.

When we arrived on a recent Sunday afternoon, the restaurant had just opened. That didn’t stop the waitstaff from immediately pushing together tables and rushing to get us seated and comfortable.

We enjoyed looking at the beautifully prepared menu, which features Thai, Chinese and Japanese foods.

Our meal began with appetizers. We ate family style and enjoyed sharing our orders of tempura ($7), boneless spare ribs ($7) and Yakitori ($5).

The tempura, a dish featuring fried shrimp and vegetables, was crispy and delicious. It was gracefully topped off with a huge onion ring.

Many restaurants serve boneless spare ribs, but I Asian’s ribs are a step above. The ribs are grilled in Hoisin barbecue sauce and are served over a bed of lettuce. The taste is exquisite and the meat is prepared using the meaty part of the rib with little fat and cooked to perfection.

The Yakitori, or grilled chicken with Teriyaki sauce, features meaty pieces of white-meat chicken perfectly seasoned and doused in the sauce. I Asian doesn’t skimp on portions and the Yakitori is a good example of that policy which could easily have been an entrée.

We wanted to enjoy the full variety of I Asian’s menu for our entrées, so we decided to get a mélange of foods and share them so everyone could enjoy.

I Asian offers Hibachi dinner specials ranging from chicken breast to scallops, salmon to filet mignon. The Hibachi meals all include a clear soup, salad with ginger-sesame dressing, noodles and rice.

Two of our guests chose the specials – the salmon ($18) and chicken breast ($18) – and were thrilled with their choices. The accompanying salad included cucumbers and lettuce along with carrot strips and a modest amount of dressing.

The salmon resembled a salmon steak and was well-prepared and tasty. The brown rice was nicely seasoned and included vegetables. The chicken breast was a large portion and was cut into small pieces. It was juicy and tasty with a brown sauce mixed in.

Another entrée was the aptly named sushi pizza ($12)—pieces of tuna, salmon, spicy tuna and spicy salmon layered on top of a pita-like bread with crunchy tempura and a special sauce. The dish is served like an actual pizza, but in six “slices” and topped with generous portions of well-prepared sushi.

For anyone seeking Chinese food, I Asian has that too—the usual standards and a few surprises.

One person in our group ordered the General Tso’s chicken. The dish came with a good-sized portion of chicken in a not-too-spicy brown sauce, rice and broccoli. Everyone who sampled the dish was impressed with both its preparation and taste.

One thing the staff at I Asian isn’t afraid of is special orders. One person in our group wanted the chicken with broccoli ($10) with white meat chicken and white sauce.

The staff was accommodating and our guest enjoyed the meal because of it. The chicken was tasty although the broccoli did arrive a bit al dente.

For a last entrée, our guest ordered the tasty gants roll ($16), a fusion dish featuring shrimp tempura, spicy king crab meat and avocado inside, tuna, salmon, yellowtail with mango sauce on top.

Some items to note about I Asian Cuisine:

■ The restaurant just opened within the two weeks. While there, we overheard several other guests comment they had previously been to the restaurant several times since the opening.

■ The restaurant encourages diners to use chopsticks, even going as far as making easy-to-use versions for children and those who are uncomfortable with them. I Asian also offers traditional forks and knives for those who request them.

■ The restaurant features a large unisex bathroom that was well-lit, clean and welcoming. It is also handicap accessible.

■ The restaurant serves alcohol and has a bar on premises.

■ Ample parking is available in the lot in front of the restaurant.

■ The restaurant is offering 20-percent off all bills for the first month.

I Asian Cusine
555 Passaic Ave.
West Caldwell
973-808-2288