by Judy Chamberlain
The line at Asian Mint on Central Expressway was out the door last Monday when I arrived to meet friends for the restaurant’s Dollar Sushi Night.
Updated Thai specialties and a goodly assortment of sushi make this an Asian fusion kind of place.
On Monday and Tuesday nights selected sushi items are a dollar per piece. Get a bunch of the salmon; Asian Mint buys the wild-caught variety. Most salmon sushi is farm raised, but not here. And while the eel was a bit mushy and I can’t vouch for the red snapper actually being red snapper because I forgot to ask (little-known fact: most “red snapper” served as sushi is actually tilapia), it’s nice to be able to order away without even thinking about the price.
What’s a good promotion, though, if it doesn’t entice a diner to take a peek at the regular menu? I did, and wound up with a far heftier bill after ordering the sublime orange-sauced soft shell crab with crab fried rice.
A few desserts later – the jasmine crème brulee is pure perfection, with a marvelously crunchy sugary-topped shell – pretty cups of cappuccino topped off what had turned into a leisurely meal. Asian Mint goes way further into the dessert realm than the limited green tea ice cream offerings of most sushi places, and their Illi coffee is first-rate.
Next up: a new Happy Hour.
From 3-5 M – F, beers, mimosas, a few cocktails and some wines by-the-glass – along with an appealing assortment of appetizers and salads – will cost $3-$5.
Asian Mint 11617 N. Central Expressway, Suite 136 214 363-6655
In no way do i mean this disparaging towards asian mint. I’M SURE ASIAN MINT DOES IT RIGHT. just having the discussion for people trying to figure out which fish they can eat raw (or even med rare) when cooking at home.
there are some misconceptions about salmon and its sushi grade. in many ways farm raised sushi (the right farm raised sushi) is far superor to wild salmon for sushi. US, Canadian and Scandanavian farm raised salmon is sushi grade without having to be frozen.
(salmon farms face challenges, but one thing they do well is control parasites. and that’s the biggest issue with sushi grade fish.)
most wild salmon s is sold fresh, or has been frozen, but not blast frozen. parasites die when you blast freeze them.
its enough to make your head spin. my point is simply for people to be careful thinking that salmon is “sushi grade” just because it is wild. that is not the case.
typo correction:
there are some misconceptions about salmon and its sushi grade. in many ways farm raised salmon (the right farm raised salmon ) is far superor to wild salmon for sushi. US, Canadian and Scandanavian farm raised salmon is sushi grade without having to be frozen.
Is the farm raised salmon you describe dyed in any way to get a more pink color, and does it have other chemical or molecular altering additives or properties?
what do the farmed salmon eat?
bok choy