Restaurant offers high quality Asian Cuisine

The central valley is known for its vast Asian cuisine, seeming to claim a restaurant on every corner. Each Asian restaurant is unique in its own way, especially newly opened Ginza Asian Bistro on Palm and Nees in Fresno.

Ginza Bistro opened in October of 2015, filling in a long-time vacant spot. With it comes a new cuisine from all around the Asian continent, such as Chinese, Thai, and Japanese food. The owners of Ginza currently own Lin’s Fusion as well, located on Blackstone and Shaw.

Upon entering the restaurant, customers view a large dining area right next to the sushi bar. To the right is located a small hibachi station for about four customers, and a bar with another lounge section, giving the restaurant a nightclub vibe. Dimmed lights enhance the ambiance of the restaurant creating a serene atmosphere.

When customers open the menu, they can expect to have plenty of choices. There are at least five pages of choices, ranging from soups to sushi to hibachi entrees. If not recommended, however, a customer may struggle trying to order due to the various choices.

Upon recommendation, I ordered the Japanese seafood soup for $8. What I received was not what I expected; a huge bowl filled to the top with shrimp, scallops, crab meat and mixed vegetables. This was pleasing, considering many soups come small and not worth the money, and the soup alone could be an entire meal; it was very filling.

A guest that accompanied me ordered “Spicy Girl,” a sushi roll with spicy salmon, spicy tuna, avocado and sweet wasabi glaze. It comes with eight pieces for $14. It’s a great roll for people who have a knack for spicy food without it being overpowering.

I also ordered the coconut shrimp upon recommendation for $10. It arrived on a beautiful display with a side of coconut sauce. The only downside to this appetizer is that there are only five pieces, which are bite-sized. These shrimp were incredibly tasty, but probably not worth the $10.

My guest also ordered a “kitchen lunch special,” which was possibly my favorite dish. For $9, the platter consists of three pieces of sweet potato tempura, two pieces of Japanese spring rolls, three pieces of a California sushi roll, a side of rice, a choice of soup, and a portion of your choice of an entree (we chose General Tso’s chicken). I highly recommend this special; the quantity of food customers receive for the price paid alone is impressive, and it is the perfect amount of food to sustain that afternoon hunger. Everything has a great taste and is worth every penny.

Although I was quite full from the food eaten previously, I had just enough room to order dessert. I ordered the fried banana dessert for $5, which came with a choice of ice cream. When the platter arrived, it reminded me of an artist’s canvas; a split banana peel, a scoop of chocolate ice cream sitting upon a layer of whip cream, eight banana tempura slices, with oreo bits and birthday sprinkles scattered over it all. While other desserts tend to be overly rich, this platter had just enough sweetness.

I had virtually no complaints of the restaurant, other than the slightly overpriced coconut shrimp and the wait time. It seemed to be a bit bothersome to wait so long when the restaurant was generally empty at the time; perhaps the chefs were taking extra time to make everything tasty, because everything truly tasted fantastic.

I highly recommend this restaurant if you have an hour to spare for lunch and an empty stomach. If you’re looking for a good amount of food for a reasonable price, definitely order a kitchen lunch special. Ginza Asian Bistro is a must-try for Asian food fanatics.

Ginza Asian Bistro is open Monday-Sunday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

After numerous attempts, the reporter could not reach a manager to comment as of 1/12/16.

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