Since moving back I am overwhelmed with all the Asian food choices, especially in the Asian District.

I live nearby and want to start exploring but not quite sure where to start. Don't care about authenticity or atmosphere, just delicious food.

Thus far I've had Guernsey Park and Chae and loved them both. Sala Thai is on my list.

I like everything, so help me out here... What places should I try first and what should I order?

I enjoy Lido and Golden Phoenix. For Indian food, which some consider to fall under Asian, I love Taj.

Thanks, I will try all of those.

I also want to go into Lee's Sandwiches and try a bunch of things there.

And I'll also go to the grocery store at 25th & Military.

Fung's Kitchen is a bit pricier, but OMFG, it's well worth it. Also, Chow's Chinese on May gets fabulous reviews.

Szechuan Bistro located along the southside of Memorial behind the OnCue at the corner of Memorial and Western. And I second Chow on May. Both are fabulous. Chow is more authentic Chinese, meanwhile Szechuan has a little more. I eat SB weekly for lunch.

I totally forgot Fung's. Lee's is pretty good. I've never been to the grocery though I know a few people who use it.

I second Chow's and Fung's and I also like Grand Village on 23rd near Shepherd Mall.... Been years since I ate at Golden Phoenix but I remember it being good.

My go to for Thai is Panang but I haven't been to a lot of other Thai restaurants.

As for Vietnamese... I have yet to find one I didn't like.... They all seem to have their own personal characteristics.

Definitely try Pho Lien Hoa off 23rd and Francis...just bring cash though. I would second Golden Phoenix as well.

I love Chow's over here on May close to me ( I pick up from them probably weekly)
Golden Phoenix is where I like to go to sit and eat there they have a huge menu and that is where we will be having Christmas Dinner.
Banana Island is great to and its in the shops to the south of Super Cao Nguyen.

Szechuan Bistro located along the southside of Memorial behind the OnCue at the corner of Memorial and Western. And I second Chow on May. Both are fabulous. Chow is more authentic Chinese, meanwhile Szechuan has a little more. I eat SB weekly for lunch.

Chows is the most authentic imo. Fung's Kitchen has the only legit dim sum on the weekends. Golden Phoenix has a great and extensive menu. Lots of great pho choices as well: Pho Cuong, Pho Lien Hoa. Szechuan Bistro is most excellent.

Chows is the most authentic imo. Fung's Kitchen has the only legit dim sum on the weekends. Golden Phoenix has a great and extensive menu. Lots of great pho choices as well: Pho Cuong, Pho Lien Hoa. Szechuan Bistro is most excellent.

Welcome to the site -- great first post. Please post more.

What about Japanese?

Specifically, who has some really good chicken teriyaki? This is one of my favorite dishes and prefer they nicely grilled type vs. the stewy type.

Banana Island is great to and its in the shops to the south of Super Cao Nguyen.

Has Banana Island improved recently? It really went downhill after they moved from where Taj is on 23rd street now and I finally gave up on them after my last visit at this location.... I really loved them at one time but based on my last visit and reviews I've seen from others... I've really been hesitant about giving them another go.

I'll echo Chow's for Chinese.... I still need to make it to Fung's. I've only been once, but Szechuan Bistro was very good, just kind of a hike for me.

Sala Thai and Tana Thai are both great.

Pho Lien Hoa and Pho Van are my go-to's for Vietnamese

For Japanese, there's Mushashi's/Shogun's and Sushi (Tokyo Sushi is my favorite), and Ramen

There are plenty I've left out or haven't tried, there's an overwhelming amount of Asian restaurants around OKC

I tried Go-Go Sushi as it's right around the corner and the roll I had was good but I really need to try their teriyaki and other dishes.

Definitely try Pho Lien Hoa off 23rd and Francis...just bring cash though. I would second Golden Phoenix as well.

Agree on Pho Lien Hoa.

Chow's does a great job with pan-fried rice. Most places here aren't great at it. Also they are good with seafood. I've been told that (as others mention above) that it is the most authentic, but having not been to China I wouldn't know. And of course even in China there are many different regions with different cuisine

It does make sense to me, however, that most places here are aiming for an American palate. Also, I don't think the Chinese population here is especially large, and most of the places representing as Chinese are actually Indochinese/Vietnamese, of which there is a VERY large population. And of course when many of these people arrived in the 70s and 80s Vietnam was not a really popular place with Americans, so many enterprising Vietnamese immigrants opened "Chinese" restaurants, which was much more in OKC's cultural comfort zone. Glad that in the past decade or so these operators have felt comfortable enough coming out from behind that fiction and being openly Vietnamese, Thai, etc. It has really opened up the Asian food scene.

I've only tried Chow's once, and left disappointed. I can walk there from home, and had hoped to love it, but I think I may have just ordered wrong. What would you all recommend there? I'll have to try some of the fried rices that BBQ referred to.

I've only tried Chow's once, and left disappointed. I can walk there from home, and had hoped to love it, but I think I may have just ordered wrong. What would you all recommend there? I'll have to try some of the fried rices that BBQ referred to.

one of my favorite dishes is Green Bean Chicken. if you like garlic you will love it.

Has Banana Island improved recently? It really went downhill after they moved from where Taj is on 23rd street now and I finally gave up on them after my last visit at this location.... I really loved them at one time but based on my last visit and reviews I've seen from others... I've really been hesitant about giving them another go.

I have not been in a month probably. but It was good

Agree on Pho Lien Hoa.

Thirded. (Fourthed?)

I recommend trying out Chow's and Dot Wo Garden which are both on May. I know Dot Wo Garden has a separate menu if you ask them that has more authentic dishes. My family and I have enjoyed going there for many years back when the same management/owners were at the Portland location. Some of our favorites are clay pot chicken, egg drop soup, mushi pork/chicken (moo-she, not sure on the spelling), egg rolls, grilled lemon chicken, peking shrimp, sweet and sour chicken just to name a few of our favorites. I went to the website and they don't have the full menu as on there. I hope this helps!

Pho Lien Hoa for pho. Panang for Thai, no other Thai place compares. Manna for Indian hands down. Chows for Chinese hands down. Fung's or grand house for Sunday lunch. There is no awesome Japanese but Tokyo puts out amazing sushi on a quiet & stale atmosphere. I loooove shogun's in north park mall. It's so old school, so cheap, so good. Until recently the filet & lobster 5 course meal was $33

Bistro VII also does a good job of just about everything. Golden Phoenix and lido is worth mentioning but not for Chinese food. The Vietnamese style dishes rule here.

Thai Kitchen! Pete, you can walk there in like 5 seconds. Fantastic authentic Thai. The owner is Thai and his wife is Burmese I believe. It's legit.

Mad props to the poster above re: Manna - solid, solid Indian food. No, not Taj.

I like Thai Delight but they are in Norman.

Canton Restaurant on NW 29th & Mac. Hands down the best egg rolls in town, and the Sweet and sour chicken is incredible. It's old school and o so good....

I like Thai Delight but they are in Norman.

Also in edmond. GOod to know I haven't missed anything. Agree with the majority of choices here.

I tried Go-Go Sushi as it's right around the corner and the roll I had was good but I really need to try their teriyaki and other dishes.

She has done really well selling sushi..... She just paid cash for her new house......11950

...and Dot Wo Garden which are both on May. I know Dot Wo Garden has a separate menu if you ask them that has more authentic dishes.

I have only been to Do Wo Garden once and I enjoyed it... I had the Mu Shu Pork and the server brought it out to my table and put it all together right in front of me with two teaspoons... I was pretty impressed with his skill to fill and roll the pancakes without ever touching them with his hands and it earned him a significant tip.

Main reason I had never stopped there was because of it being in an old Golden Corral I assumed it would be a buffet... Was very happy when I walked in and saw it was a sit down restaurant.

It's not in the core but Himalaya's in Moore is the best Indian food here in my opinion. But I just recently discovered Sheesh Mahal on 50th-ish and May, which to my knowledge is the only true made to order Indian/Pakistani restaurant in the City, and what I tried there was excellent.

It's not in the core but Himalaya's in Moore is the best Indian food here in my opinion. But I just recently discovered Sheesh Mahal on 50th-ish and May, which to my knowledge is the only true made to order Indian/Pakistani restaurant in the City, and what I tried there was excellent.

Thanks for the rec for Sheesh Mahal. Been by it several times and the reviews on Yelp are very good; tops in OKC for Indian food.

I'll put this at the top of my list.

I've been wanting to try Sheesh Mahal. I pass it all of the time but always forget.

I've only been to Sheesh Mahal once but I'll also give it the thumbs up... What I had was definitely tasty.

I will probably get thrashed for this but for decent lunch buffet, we hit Thai House 2 at 23/Walker. Also like Taj for lunch buffet. Was in Thai House 2 this week and they have opened up the windows so it isn't dark and started repainting inside. Both places have clean, diversified buffets.

I like Thai Kitchen downtown also but they have a very small buffet and it gets hit hard at lunch so they have a hard time keeping food on the buffet line. We try it about every six months and it is the same every time.

Looks like Tokyo on 23rd gets pretty good reviews for Japanese.

Anybody have thoughts?

Looks like Tokyo on 23rd gets pretty good reviews for Japanese.

Anybody have thoughts?

On 23rd or Western?

On 23rd or Western?

Sorry, Western.

Sorry, Western.

When I go to Japanese restaurants I am going for sushi so I can't speak to any of their entrees, but the quality of their fish is the best that I've had in OKC.

Sorry, Western.

Yeah, most people I know who have eaten sushi in Japan seem to strongly prefer Tokyo. I haven't, so I enjoy sushi from a few different locations perfectly fine. But I agree that Tokyo is excellent sushi. My only complaint is that at times the place does have a fishy smell, which is not really desirable in a place serving raw seafood, if you ask me.

One other place I will recommend will probably not resonate with or even be recognized by most people here, But I really like Mandarin in Del City. I don't think there is anything very authentic about the food, but it always TASTES fantastic. Best chicken fried rice in the metro, IMO. The place is an OLD SCHOOL Chinese restaurant, almost in a cartoonish, Charlie Chan sort of way. But the food is very fresh and tasty. I also recommend the Hawaiian Chicken, which is super-lightly battered, almost tempura-style, They batter and fry the entire breast and then when done they cut it into narrow strips, so that the delectable, light crust is falling off of the chicken while you eat it. It's absolutely fantastic.

Yeah, most people I know who have eaten sushi in Japan seem to strongly prefer Tokyo. I haven't, so I enjoy sushi from a few different locations perfectly fine. But I agree that Tokyo is excellent sushi. My only complaint is that at times the place does have a fishy smell, which is not really desirable in a place serving raw seafood, if you ask me.

Having been to Japan (but by no means a sushi connoisseur, since I don't love raw fish lol) I love Tokyo. Been there twice this month. Their sushi is fantastic -- def our favorite place in the city -- and they definitely seem to be the most authentic Japanese restaurant I've had around here. Always get some sake while there. I finally tried some of their non-sushi dishes and got a Tokyo Box with chicken teriyaki. Was $18 but came with a ton of food and was delicious. They also have donburi, yakisoba, etc. which is not something I often see offered at other places.

Really appreciate all the recs and discussion.

I've already got a long list of places to try.

One other place I will recommend will probably not resonate with or even be recognized by most people here, But I really like Mandarin in Del City.

HAHA... Yeah I pretty much agree with your assessment on Mandarin.

While I don't think it is as good as it once was... When I was a teen back in the 80's. We would save up just to make a special trip into Del City to order the garlic fried chicken at Mandarin. It was always a special occasion for me and my friends that would do it.

My wife and I have spent a lot of time in the Asian District but we seem to frequent the same restaurants over and over!

Golden Phoenix has the best authentic Chinese food, the best BBQ Pork and the biggest menu. The service generally isn't the best.

Taj is my go-to place for Indian food. My wife prefers Goppuram (NW 23rd & Meridian).

Pho Lien Hoa has the best Pho in town. There is a shop next door that makes their own tofu. Ask for mushroom tofu fried. Cash only.

Fungs is fantastic but we don't go there very often anymore since we prefer Golden Phoenix.

Lee's has very good appetizers in the hot food case. Their crab rangoon, pork fried spring rolls and chicken wings are awesome!

Schezuan Bistro is close to us and it's fantastic food. Jumbo shrimp with X.O. Sauce is my favorite dish but also fish in sweet and tangy sauce. We've never been disappointed in the food here.

House of Hunan at NW 178th & Santa Fe is also a favorite. It's a traditional sit-down Chinese restaurant, more on the Americanized side of things but all of their dishes are a bit different than most Chinese restaurants.

The Sushi Bar at NW 178th & Western is our favorite Sushi place. The Naughty Girl roll is my favorite but we primarily go there at lunch time for the bento boxes. Chicken Katsu is our favorite.

I don't eat a lot of Thai food but my wife prefers Thai House (two locations, both on NW 23rd). I like Panang 2 (on May near Quail Springs) and Lemongrass at NW 178th & Santa Fe. Lemongrass' "Lemongrass fried rice" is too die for!!!!

We prefer Grand House for dim sum although the quality has gotten more inconsistent.

On a totally different note, any bakery items from La Baguette will be outstanding. We frequent the restaurant on North May (near Grand) but Grand House sells some of their goods near the checkout counter (which is why I thought of it).

Tamashii Ramen - soooooo good, I don't think they do chicken teriyaki, though.

Saii - crazy sushi rolls, not too authentic, I don't think, but it's the one we go to (at least until we try Tokyo House in the next couple of weeks).

^

Wow, thanks for that excellent write-up.

I am loading all these places into a list on my phone so when I am near any of them I can remember the places to seek out.

Oh! I forgot about Szechuan bistro on west memorial! The only other "authentic" Chinese place in town. I like golden Phoenix but it's a Vietnamese joint in my book. Like lido in its glory days. Szechuan reminds me of San Francisco where there's the Americanized menu, which is excellent. And the mystic Chinese menu, which isn't translated and if you try to order from it the server will say "no, you won't like it." Until you insist and then unknowingly order a bowl of pig nipple soup, which actually happened to me in San Fran.

Tamashii ramen is good, don't skip over the appetizers even though a bowl of noodles is a gut-buster. Still do yourself a favor and do shoguns. Take a group and be sure to drink lots of beer and sake.

In the raw, while not super traditional, has awesome sushi and entree's. Jeff Chanchulenne recently tweaked their menu and the Mains have really turned that place around the last few years.

^

Thanks for the remind about In the Raw... I was actually invited to a tasting there a couple of weeks ago and couldn't attend.

I've heard great things about their new menu.

THere's a place in Edmond that's smaller but also has an americanized chinese menu and an authentic chinese menu. I believe it's called wa-ha-ha

THere's a place in Edmond that's smaller but also has an americanized chinese menu and an authentic chinese menu. I believe it's called wa-ha-ha

WA-HA-HA is just South of 2nd street on Memorial in Edmond. My wife has heard it's good but we've never tried it. It's located in an 80's style Taco Bell building. We'll have to try it someday.

Szechuan Bistro has a dish we order as an appetizer but we can't find the name of it. It's like the third or fourth item on the specialty menu at the back and it's somethink like wonton in spicy sauce. An order is about $4-5 and it's basically about ten small, steamed pork wontons in a slightly spicy chili sauce with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. If you can find it on the menu, we highly recommend it!

All great suggestions so far. Agree on Pho Lien Hoa for pho, Chow's for authentic Chinese, and Guernsey Park for fusion. Those 3 are our go-to places. Been wanting to try Szechuan Bistro as I've heard a lot of great things, but it's just so out of the way. Got burnt out on sushi a long time ago, so I never seek it out anymore, but Tokyo was always the best quality, IMO.

Not sure if anyone else would agree with me on this, but I have eaten a lot of pho in other cities and I feel like every time I have it, it seems to be better than anything we have an OKC. Whether it's Dallas, Denver, Seattle, or California, I always found a place that has kind of blown me away. Not sure if it tasted so good just because I was craving it at the time, they loaded up the msg on me, or if the broth was really that much more flavorful. But I felt like those places are better than what we have. Used to think Pho Lien Hoa always had great broth, but the most recent time I went, I felt like it was lacking in flavor. Hoping it was a fluke.

My wife and I went to Szechuan Bistro today (all this talk got me to craving it) and I suggest anyone who goes there order "C3A Pork Wonton In Spicy Sauce" as an appetizer. It's $4.95 for twelve small won-tons in a slightly spicy chili and maybe soy sauce. They have sesame seeds sprinkled on top and everyone we've bought them for has loved them.

If you are feeling really daring, try "C38 Hot and Spicy Pork Intestine and Sliced Fish In Clay Pot". This is chunks of pork intestine (my wife likes those...I won't even try them) and big chunks of fish fillet cooked in a red, soupy sauce that is a bit on the spicy side and it makes your tongue tingle when you eat it. I think it's the Szechuan pepper corns in it.

"C50 Sliced Fish in a Tangy Sweet Sauce" is large chunks of fish lightly battered and fried in a lemonesque sweet sauce. It's sort of like the lemon version of sweet & sour dishes but somehow totally different. Everyone we've introduced to this dish also loved it.

Finally, "C35 Jumbo Shrimp Sauteed with X.O. Sauce" is my favorite. It's thinly sliced green bell pepper, jalapeno, celery and bean sprouts with about 6-8 jumbo shrimp in X.O. Sauce. This one is hard to describe because it has a slightly charbroiled taste and the vegetables are sauteed to a just-still-slightly-crispy perfection.

As you can tell, I'm very enthusiastic about Szechuan Bistro and we've never been disappointed in anything we've tried there.

Chiming in about Szechuan Bistro as well. It became my go to place when my friend (he's Chinese & claims it's the best in OKC) introduced me to it a year or so ago. The food, service, and prices can't be beat. Interestingly enough, the last time we were there, a big group of the workers (maybe family?) brought out some drawings and were discussing ppening another restaurant with a bar. It helped that my friend could understand and translate what they were saying. :) I'm not sure if anyone here has information on it.

Chiming in about Szechuan Bistro as well. It became my go to place when my friend (he's Chinese & claims it's the best in OKC) introduced me to it a year or so ago. The food, service, and prices can't be beat. Interestingly enough, the last time we were there, a big group of the workers (maybe family?) brought out some drawings and were discussing ppening another restaurant with a bar. It helped that my friend could understand and translate what they were saying. :) I'm not sure if anyone here has information on it.

I wonder if it would be in addition to the existing location or if it would replace the current location. They did extensive remodeling on this building and added on a whole dining wing on the East side. They certainly stay busy enough to justify a second location.

Pho Kim Long, inside the Hy Palace buffet at 23rd and Classen, also makes a very good bowl of pho - and they accept credit cards. I find their Chinese buffet acceptable but nothing great. I also definitely agree with the Sala Thai - darn good stuff. I'm honestly split on my preference for Indian; Taj on 23rd and Himalayas in Moore are both very delicious. Lee's Sandwiches is great for bahn mi; I haven't gotten a sandwich I didn't like from them. If you find yourself on the South side with a hungry belly, check out Hibachi Supreme Buffet on I-240 and Western. I'd describe them as an above-average buffet. They have some very interesting menu options like crawfish, squid, and frog legs, as well as sushi and noodle dishes made on a hibachi grill. Best time to go is when they are busy, since the food gets refreshed more quickly. As far as Japanese goes, there are *many* delicious options; I really enjoy Gogo in Midtown (their Tonkatsu bento box for lunch is awesome!) and Sumo in Edmond (tons of sushi options, including a smaller All-You-Can-Eat menu, and Hibachi tables too).

As I was typing my original reply to this thread, I had a nagging feeling that I was leaving out a very important restaurant. Now I remember! B-Won at SW 44th & Sunnylane has fantastic Korean food! They have Hibachi tables available and those dishes are excellent. You get meat (somewhat self-cooked) at the table, along with cold crisp green leaf lettuce for a wrapping and a delicious sauce. Our favorite regular menu item is #8, which I can't even pronounce, much less remember. It's pork belly cooked in a mildly spicy sauce. The Bulgogis are excellent as well. Don't forget to try the Korean version of sushi! It's on the appetizer menu and pretty easy to spot. We've tried about four different Korean restaurants in the area and B-Won is the best, by far.

Chiming in about Szechuan Bistro as well. It became my go to place when my friend (he's Chinese & claims it's the best in OKC) introduced me to it a year or so ago. The food, service, and prices can't be beat. Interestingly enough, the last time we were there, a big group of the workers (maybe family?) brought out some drawings and were discussing ppening another restaurant with a bar. It helped that my friend could understand and translate what they were saying. :) I'm not sure if anyone here has information on it.

I used to go there a lot when it first opened. It was always about 90% Chinese patrons and all I talked to thought it the best in OKC at the time.

Had pho from VII Asian Bistro today and I have to say, it's slowly starting to move up in my top places to go for pho. The last two times we've been here, the broth has been really solid. And I mentioned earlier that I was disappointed in the broth at Pho Lien Hoa on our most recent visit. Probably a fluke though, as that's probably the only time that's ever been the case for me. And they take AMEX! Hard to find many Asian restaurants that take AMEX, or in Pho Lien Hoa's case, credit cards at all.

I also heard that Pho Van was good

What about Japanese?

Tokyo Japanese Restaraunt.