Asian Restaurants in Rhode Island

Steamed Shanghai little juicy pork buns at Cheng Du Taste in Providence. Photography by Angel Tucker

Cheng Du Taste

Cuisine: Chinese, Sichuan

The restaurant specializes in authentic Sichuan food, with flavors that deliver heat from hot red chili peppers like the spicy crowd favorite Chong Qing chicken and the pork cellophane noodles. Personally, I love the juicy rice-wrapped soup dumplings (steamed Shanghai little juicy pork buns) more than the regular steamed pork dumplings. The shrimp mei fun serves up a bed of tiny vermicelli rice noodles with vegetables in a savory sauce. Ask any local chef their go-to dish, and they’ll recommend the dan dan noodles, cold sesame noodles, steamed eggplant and the double-cooked fish filet, too. 495 Smith St., Providence, 729-5699, chengdutasteonline.com

Vatsana Thai and Sushi

Cuisine: Thai and Japanese

Pawtuxet Village’s BYOB Thai place gears dishes to Thai food lovers who aren’t afraid of spice. Noodle dishes veer away from the fail-safe pad Thai (though they have that, too) into unfamiliar, but delicious, territory. But always start with the nime chow, “fresh rolls” with steamed shrimp, crisp noodles, and crunchy lettuce, carrots, cucumber, basil and bean sprouts tucked up in rice wrappers. Som thum is its version of papaya salad with fresh lime juice, fish sauce and fresh chili, topped with ground peanuts. Pad see ew includes flat rice noodles paired with chicken, beef, pork or shrimp and broccoli, carrots and mushrooms in a sweet soy sauce. Or get the Panang crispy duck with string beans, zucchini and red peppers in a coconut curry sauce for a flavor bomb splurge. 2168 Broad St., Cranston, 781-1888, vatsanari.com

Lotus Pepper

Cuisine: Vietnamese

The pork banh mi sandwich at Lotus Pepper is stuffed with fresh shoestring carrots, cilantro and cucumber and slathered with sweet mayo. Photography by Angel Tucker

Lotus Pepper started out as a food truck and now it’s a bricks and mortar Vietnamese kitchen. The restaurant has both counter service and sit-down seating and is the spot to get a crunchy banh mi sandwich. Banh means bread in Vietnamese. French colonists reportedly introduced Vietnam to the baguette, which led to the popularity of this sandwich. Lotus Pepper’s hefty version is made with French baguettes stuffed with your choice of meat — I recommend the traditional pork, though you can get beef, chicken or tofu and add on a fried egg — along with crisp, shoestring-style raw carrots, cucumber and pickled daikon radish slices. The finishing touch is sweet mayo along with fresh cilantro, Sriracha, hot chili oil or more jalapenos. The rice and noodle bowls are another healthy choice, packed with proteins and vegetables. 752 Hope St., Providence, 744-0996, lotuspepper.square.site 

The counter at Lotus Pepper. Photography by Angel Tucker

Sakuratani 

Cuisine: Japanese

Sakuratani in Bristol serves Japanese dishes such as yakitori skewers of zucchini with miso paste, gyu-kushi (beef) and okura (okra).

Chicken karaage from Sakuratani. Photography by Angel Tucker

Start the meal off with yakitori skewers and small plates to get a taste of everything. Takoyaki are fried octopus balls served with sauce, Japanese mayo and bonito flakes, or go for the whole squid. For more modest diners, try the failsafe chicken karaage, boneless chicken thigh meatballs, or enoki bacon maki, mushrooms wrapped in bacon. Diners here have the option of topping their twenty-four-hour simmered ramen with thinly sliced chashu pork, a pork belly that is braised to melt-in-your-mouth perfection, plus, my favorite part, a halved soft-cooked egg with a gummy golden yolk. The traditional ingredients are an absolute must for the full ramen experience. However, there are seafood and vegetarian ramen dishes that are just as satisfying, like the vegetable shoyu ramen with fried tofu, a soft-boiled egg, wood ear mushrooms and bamboo shoots, all nestled in an aromatic vegetable broth and soy sauce base. 531 Wood St., Bristol, 396-5036, sakuratani-ramen.com

Tonkotsu ramen from Sakuratani. Photography by Angel Tucker

Wara Wara

Cuisine: Japanese

Wara Wara in Providence serves Japanese dishes such as (from left), crispy chicken skin tossed in teriyaki and topped with spices, scallions and sesame seeds. Photography by Angel Tucker

Japanese cuisine is more than just sushi, and Wara Wara expands taste buds’ expectations with both small plates and ramen. Start the meal off with dishes to share such as the hakka eggplant, pork belly bun, yakitori (grilled meats) and crispy cauliflower with sweet Thai chili, mint, cilantro and fried garlic. The bento box for lunch is the way to go if you’re seeking more sustenance: The meals come with white rice, vegetables, fruit and an entree of your choice like gyu don, thinly sliced beef with vegetables in a teriyaki sauce, salmon teriyaki or chicken katsu curry. Choose one of the many different ramen variations and slurp away on a cool and damp spring day. 776 Hope St., Providence, 831-9272, warawarari.com

Wara Wara’s taiyaki, a fish-shaped cake filled with red bean paste and served with green tea ice cream, mixed berry compote and sweet miso sauce. Photography by Angel Tucker

Jahunger

Cuisine: Uyghurian

The hand-pulled noodles at Jahunger come in different variations, from mild to mind-numbing. The Uyghur restaurant specializes in Chinese food that’s influenced by Middle Eastern culture, as the Uyghur people live in the northwestern corner of China. There’s the Laghman noodles served with stir-fried beef, bell peppers, chili peppers, onions and Chinese napa cabbage, and then there’s the super spicy signature Jahunger noodles mixed with beef, chives and red onion, seasoned with a secret sauce made with Sichuan peppercorns. Ding ding noodles are tiny noodles that are hand cut into pieces and mixed with red and green peppers. The appetizers are also terrific, including handmade lamb or leek-and-egg dumplings as well as scallion pancakes and marinated lamb kebabs called kavap. 333 Wickenden St., Providence, 454-6866, jahunger.com

Sun and Moon

Cuisine: Korean

At the beginning of the meal, guests are presented with small dishes of condiments, including kimchi, pickles and bean sprouts which are meant to be enjoyed throughout the meal. My favorite dish here is bibimbap, served in a scalding hot dol-sot. It means stone pot, so make sure you specify, as bibimbap can also be served in a bowl (it’s just not the same for takeout). Pick your protein from beef, short rib, shrimp, beef bulgogi or tofu, mixed with six kinds of vegetables, including carrot, zucchini, white radish, bean sprouts, fern and spinach, and topped with an over-easy egg. The best part is the caramelized crispy rice that soaks up the spicy pepper gochujang sauce at the bottom of the stone pot. The pork and shrimp dumplings are also a treat, served in a bamboo steamer basket. 95 Warren Ave., East Providence, 435-0214, sunandmoonkorean.com 

Hons House of Noodle Soup

Cuisine: Chinese, Vietnamese

Known for its Vietnamese pho, the broth at Hons is made from scratch with beef bones that boil for eight hours and are then mixed with beef and chicken broth, onion and eight different herbs to simmer for another ninety minutes. Go traditional by adding rare steak, beef tendon and flank, or choose vegetables and tofu or seafood and pork. Scallions, onion and cilantro are sprinkled on top with bean sprouts, lime slices, fresh Thai basil and sliced jalapeno on the side. One side of the menu focuses on Chinese including Chinese-American favorites, but there are also more authentic Chinese dishes that appeal to adventure seekers. Reservoir Ave., Cranston, 946-2188, honscranston.com

Khaosan Thai Street Food

Cuisine: Thai

Grab a table in the restaurant and create your own Thai food tasting. The two must-get dishes to start with are a piping hot bowl of tom yum goong soup (with shrimp, but you can also order chicken or beef) and the light and refreshing, umami-packed papaya salad made with shaved green papaya, cherry tomatoes, carrots, string beans, lime juice, fish sauce and crumbled peanuts. The moo ping marinated pork on skewers are served with cilantro and chili fish sauce. Be sure to add on a basket of sticky rice to roll balls of the starch that you use to pinch the meat for the true Thai way to eat. The labb gai, a spicy ground chicken salad, is served with red onion, mint and scallions with chili lime fish sauce and iceberg lettuce. If those dishes aren’t spicy enough for you, then turn up the heat with nam tokk moo (spicy pork salad) or yum sabb (spicy beef salad). Add on a Thai iced tea made with sweetened condensed milk for the full experience. 332 Warren, Ave., East Providence, 438-5227, khaosanri.com

Pho Horn’s

Cuisine: Vietnamese

This unassuming strip mall storefront in Pawtucket is the site of Rhode Island’s hottest pho spot. Ask any chef around, and they will say this is the place to go on a cold winter or brisk spring day. Got a head cold or the sniffles? Pho will cure you in two minutes flat, clearing your sinuses with steaming broth, jalapenos, hot sauce and more. The Vietnamese restaurant’s beef broth simmers for a whole day, then diners can choose from rice or yellow noodles, and meat options that cover everything from sliced steak and shredded chicken to tendon and tripe and even seafood. Add your own flavors DIY-style with portions of fresh lime, basil, jalapenos and bean sprouts served on the side at the table or to go. 50 Ann Mary St., Pawtucket, 365-6278, phohorns.com 

Sunrise

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Sunrise has a BYOB policy, which makes it an affordable option for dining out. Bring your own bottle of crisp white wine and sit in the casual dining room, where pho is best enjoyed, and slurp up the steamy soup filled with fresh herbs, rice noodles and the beef cut of your choice. Go for a medium or large bowl with flank, brisket, tendon, tripe, beef meatballs, shredded chicken or a pho combo. Early spring is always the perfect season for pho as it knocks the chill right out of you, filling your lungs and sinuses with comfort and warmth on a brisk day. The vermicelli noodle bowls are also popular, served with fresh lettuce, cucumbers, bean sprouts, pickled carrots, basil leaves, scallions and ground peanuts with a housemade sweet and sour sauce. 823 W. Main Rd., Middletown, 848-2252, sunriseviet.com

Noodle Revolution

Cuisine: Pan-Asian

Taste global, eat local is the saying at this Westerly hot spot. Diners can experience a variety of different Asian soups and broths all under one roof. Noodle dishes might come teeming with wavy ramen noodles, thin rice noodles or glass noodles, and you can choose your own culinary adventure by subbing in a Thai tom yum soup broth or a Vietnamese beef pho. You can also add on Point Judith calamari, Stonington scallops or a seafood combo for an extra fee. The restaurant is BYOB so you can bring your favorite beer or wine to pair with your meal. 87 Oak St., Westerly, 596-9559, noodlerev.com 

Tori Tomo

Cuisine: Japanese

Providence is lucky to have several top ramen spots — not the Top Ramen you ate in college, FYI — and Tori Tomo is one of them. Start off with some pork belly buns that sandwich umami-rich braised pork between fluffy rice flour buns bedecked with an acidic contrast from pickles and the crunch of fresh greens. Best enjoyed with a sake cocktail — I like the Sake Blossom with sake, grapefruit, chamomile syrup and berry — the hearty Japanese food comforts the soul. My favorite of all is the miso ramen, but they also have ichiraku, a pork tonkotsu broth, shio ramen — which is chicken-based — and veggie-forward broths like the kimchi, tomato, veggie and mapo tofu. Mala ramen is a special with a spicy sinus-clearing Szechuan broth. The best part is customizing ingredients, including shrimp, extra egg, black garlic oil, mushroom tempura and shitake mushrooms and more, making it the best DIY ramen in the city. 69 Washington St., Providence, 409-2077, toritomopvd.com