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“Asiate”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Asian	Upper West Side	Break the Bank	Great

th mushroom and seaweed salad ($27), a moist and silky black cod filet, in a caramelized miso glaze that tasted like a candy coating. Again, it was a little too sweet for me, but the fish was cooked perfectly, sliding off into glossy pieces under the slightest pressure of the fork.

We also shared the grilled prawns, cooked en papillote with house made pasta in a shellfish XO sauce ($14). It arrived at the table like a giant present, a big poof of paper synched closed, with a tall paper frill extending up out of the top. A waiter came over with scissors and clipped off the paper frill top and unfurled the paper pouch, letting the aromatic steam rise up to tickle my nose, and revealing three fat prawns (heads were off, for all you squeamish eaters), in a shallow slick of delicious XO sauce (an intense bouillabaisse-like fish sauce) and a tangle of roughly cut handmade noodles. The shrimp were magnificent, the sauce was infused with the rich flavors of the sea, and soon both were all gone. I loved it.

All in all, Asiate is a stunning and exciting addition to the dining scene with a talented and imaginative chef. While some of the plates were too sweet for my taste, I am looking forward to returning for dinner to taste two dishes—the duck confit with seared foie gras in Peking duck broth and suckling pig with pig trotter croquette and pig cheek confit. Stay tuned. Lunch is $25 for two course, $35 for three, or a la carte. Asiate is at 80 Columbus Circle, at 60th Street, 35th Floor, 212-805-8881.

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Posted: February 19, 2004

Other restaurants in Upper West Side :
+ 'Cesca   + Asiate   + Blue Hill Stone Barns   + Per Se   + The Neptune Room   + Spigolo   + Telepan   + Aix Brasserie   + 'Cesca   + Bar Boulud   + Dovetail   + BarBao   + Dinosaur Bar-be-Que   + Kefi   + Bar Luna   + Ed's Chowder House   + Red Rooster, by Rachel Barbarotta   + Loi by Dara Pollak   

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