Wasabi Chi

I have really enjoyed my experiences at Wasabi Chi.  It's located on Douglas right near the Merle Hay mall.  It's sister restaurant, Wasabi Tao opened last year downtown.  

As you can probably guess, I was in this last visit for a Bento Box to continue my Bento Box tour of Des Moines!  I assumed it would be a lot like the one I had at Wasabi Tao, which was great because I liked it a lot.

To my surprise, it was much different.  I ordered the teriyaki chicken box and was promptly presented with miso soup.  I did hear another diner ask for hot and sour soup instead of the miso, so apparently that's an option too.

The miso soup was ok, but not as awesome as the spicy egg drop at Wasabi Tao.  My salad could have used a little more ginger dressing, but overall it was a great box.  And at $7.95 a great value as usual.

The chicken was juicy and especially good.  The "obligatory fried side" was a shrimp rangoon (tasty).

I like that they offer kids meals (Little Ninja meals) and they really have a wide menu including lots of Asian favorites like Pad Thai, fried rice and of course lots of awesome sushi.  Wasabi Tao and Chi both do a great job producing constantly good sushi.  Check out both locations and see which is your favorite!

Vietnam Cafe

At first glance the Merle Hay Mall food court seems really disappointing.  A once full arena of choices has been narrowed down to a few Asian restaurants, a Maid Rite, a Taco Johns and BBQ place.  I have to say that the "Grill Guys" looks like a place I want to check out in the near future.  The sign proclaims the fact that they are from Iowa and I'm always in the mood for some Local BBQ.   We will revisit this place soon.

 Anyway, I got a tip that the Vietnamese restaurant named Vietnam Cafe at the Merle Hay mall was pretty darn good and I had to check it out myself.  I was pretty skeptical that a food court restaurant would live up to the major places in town like :A-Dong and Fawn's, but I figured that if I could bring my 5 year old and get him a chicken nugget meal while I enjoy some Pho or a noodle bowl, it's got to be worth a shot.

I was pleasantly surprised by how sweet the owner was.  I was taking my time glancing over the menu and she gave me suggestions while giving my son a toy to play with. Very sweet.  I ordered a noodle bowl that came with lots of fresh veggies, rice noodles, chicken and an egg roll.  I was shocked by how good this dish was.  The noodles were cooked perfectly, the veggies were as fresh as you can get with some lettuce and lightly pickled cucumbers that were wonderful, some ground peanuts, and very tasty chicken.

I have to say I didn't love the egg roll that came with my meal, but my order of summer rolls were excellent and I'm always a sucker for good peanut sauce, yum.  My meat (which I was know informed was pork and not chicken like I'd originally assumed) was spiced very well, but slightly drier than Fawn's or A-Dongs meats.  That fact that it was pork and not chicken makes a difference though.  Forgive me, it was pink!

All in all, a wonderful meal.  With the average meal costing only $6, it's a steal.  The fact that you can enjoy this awesome food while the picky kids eat a taco or chicken nuggets is priceless.  And all while not having to leave the mall...fantastic.  Such a better meal break from shopping than the normal food court choices.

I will be back again and again for the great food, convenience and friendly service.  She also recommended the cream cheese puffs she freshly made. Yum.  I'll have to try that at my next visit.  What a gem!