Asia City, fusion asian cuisine

Sometimes you just crave home cooking. For most of my life I grew up eating Chinese food. Most of the time the delicious meals would come courtesy of my mom's cooking. When we did dine out we would always find our local favourite Chinese restaurant. Thus I grew up having most of my holiday and important meals eating Chinese food. The other day I woke up post-call with a urge and craving for a taste of the homeland. Calling up a trusty co-worker of mine, we departed to Asia City.

Asia City lies in a busy stretch of road on Pembina Highway in the south of Winnipeg. Their brightly coloured building is somewhat tucked away from the main road so one has to watch for the large fluorescent sign on Pembina, beckoning them forward.

It was immediately apparent that Asia City is not a purely Chinese establishment. Its owners have created a menu of "Asian Fusion" cuisine. Creating their take on classic Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai dishes, Asia City concocts a mishmash of hybrid cuisines which takes their flavours, ingredients and methods and attempts to create the best dish possible. Admirable and somewhat successful.

Spicy Mar Pao Tofu is a take on the Sichuan dish Mapo doufu. Silken tofu is fried in a chili sauce with meat and, in Asia City's version, with mixed vegetables (which added nothing to the dish). The tofu, although missing the authentic chili oil, was delicious and had a sweetness to it you do not normally find. Replacing the tongue-numbing Sichuan chili with a toned down mellow spice was a thoughtful and, largely effective, change.

Next came the Salted Fish, Chicken & Eggplant Casserole. A hot pot dish that closely resembled its Chinese inspiration, the salted fish added a much needed saltiness to the dish. The oily and smooth eggplant was well done and the slices of chicken plentiful. The sauce encompassing the dish was ordinary, but it allowed for each ingredients' flavours to come the the fore. Overall good!

Feeling gluttonous, we also ordered a Crispy Chicken. Chinese style fried chicken was always a family favourite so it grieves me to report that the version at Asia City was a disappointment. Despite being fried well, the meat was completely devoid of flavour. The sweet and sour sauce provided did make it palatable but seemed like an afterthought tacked on as if the owners knew the chicken itself was bland. Do yourself a favour and skip this.

It is difficult for me not to see Asia City as a disappointment. I have to hand the restaurant for even attempting to tackle fusion cuisine of some of the most heralded and longstanding food cultures in the world. Furthermore I have to commend them on a good replication of the hot pot casserole. However I find it difficult to recommend them should you want a specific cuisine, rather it becomes a place I turn to when introducing new people to the idea of Asian food. There is nowhere else in Winnipeg that you can find such an eclectic mix of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese. Just don't expect much authenticity.