Asian restaurants in Minneapolis- Being an international friend?

Being from Malaysia, I always have a craving for spicy food, if there isn't any, I will settle for any Asian food, as long as there is rice("fan tong" which means rice bin in Chinese), that was what my family called me back home. Jason knows this very well which resulted in poor him trying to find Asian restaurants where I can eat at in Minneapolis everytime I visit(thank you!!!!!). As you know, there aren't many and if there was, the question that comes to mind would be "will it be good?"

Knowing that some of you living in Minneapolis or visiting may have the same questions as me, I have compiled a list of restaurants with my reviews for you:

Chindian restaurant

This restaurant is owned by a Malaysian couple, husband is Indian and the wife is Chinese, hence the name Chindian. It was voted as the best take-out restaurant in 2009, so I wanted to check it out as they served Malaysian food and I was craving nasi lemak AGAIN.......

It was interesting that they had this koi painting when you enter

Their nasi lemak....what a letdown, how could they serve nasi lemak with small pieces of American styled fried chicken??? The worst part was the sambal, it tasted like hot sauce mixed with onions.....

The mee goreng was much better and the serving size was huge!!! However, you would have to pay a hefty amount for a simple plate of mee goreng, I guess if you really need a "mamak" fix, I suggest you order this

Rate-o-meter out of 5:

Food: 2.5

Service: 4

Ambience: 4

Price: 2.5

I suggest you come here only if you are really craving for Malaysian food. I have not try their other dishes but from what I heard, it is not that good too.

Sobu

This is a swanky restaurant that serves Filipino food. When you first enter, there is a bar which may deceive you as you automatically think "bar food" BUT you must walk in more to the other section where there is more privacy and has normal seating. Without further ado, some pictures:

The waiting area...beautiful

Our seating area...very romantic

You have to order rice as a separate dish! boo! The tofu dish was good though....

Tilapia with their special sauce...really tasty

steak

Rate-o-meter:

 Food: 4

Service:4

Ambience:5

Price: 2

As you can tell, the serving sizes was not even enough for me! hahaha....If you are a big eater, I suggest you not try this place unless you have deep wallets. However, I do suggest this restaurant for couples wanting a romantic evening :)

Roat Osha

So, a few of my friends living in Minnesota coincidentally found out I was in Minneapolis for the week and they decided to drive down to have dinner with me! Yay!!! Thank you guys!!!! And, of course, I guess being Malaysian, Grace suggested Thai food......how can I turn that down?????? I suggested Roat Osha because I have been there before when it was newly opened and the food was good.....However, when we went there this time, I was pretty dissappointed....probably because they became popular and the quality of the cooking went down?

Worst dish of the night! How is this Thai?

Best dish of the night..... Love the sauce:)

The green curry and tom yum was blah..........

I guess this was one of the restaurants that fell into the trap where they became popular and the quality of their food just went down the hill...............I belive that consistency is really important if a restaurant wants their customers to come back for more!

Rate-o-meter:

Food: 3

Service: 4

Ambience: 4

                                                           Price: 2

Ginger Hop

This is an Asian fusion restaurant which I had high expectations for. I have to tell you, I love the ambience of this restaurant, very chilled out, calming feel. You know what's even better, the pricing of each dish was really reasonable considering the decor of the restaurant. As for the food, I would have to say, it was a little bit oily and catered more towards the American taste buds than for an Asian person. It is after all Minneapolis right?

                                              

Absolutely love their sweet potato fries

                                          

                                        

 The labeled "Penang curry dish" was good

                                              

General Tao's chicken. Big portion and tasted pretty good.

   

  Rate-o-meter:

  Food: 3.5

 Ambience: 5

 Service: 3

  Price: 5

Based on my ratings, you know I highly suggest this place........you will feel satiated if you are a big eater, you don't have to burn a hole in your wallet AND it is a great place to hang out if you have a big party of friends!

Now....how does all this restaurant reviews relate to being an international friend? Basically, I not only met my two friends Emily and Grace whom I have not seen in ages(probably 2-3 years) but I met up with my friend Henry who was visiting from Hawaii. I realize how small this world is getting, that I have friends in quite a number of states in the USA and not to mention different countries in the world, e.g., Australia, UK, Hong Kong, China, Korea , to name a few. It's just great catching up with friends when I go to those countries or when they come and visit me. I guess it is innate that I form friendships and get attached to them, alot of times, I get sad when I have formed a friendship and they leave from Hawaii or previously Malaysia. I always try to maintain my "long distance friendships" because these friends are important to me. I was just telling a friend that day, friendship is not just a passing phase but something you put effort into and cultivate just like a normal romantic relationship. Anyways, I am glad that I still kept in touch with these friends because I know that I will still get to see them when I visit their states or countries!!! Miss you guys!! You know who you are:)

                                    

Nice to meet Henry who came for orientation at the U of M

                                          

                                         

                                            

 Thanks for driving down so far(about 1 and a half hours for Grace) to have dinner:) It was awesome catching up!!!!!

So people, remember to treasure those friendships for many many reasons!!! Great friendships are hard to come by, so once you know you have form that bond, cultivate and grow that friendship, be it calling each other occasionally, sending emails, or even simple messages on their facebook walls:) Don't you guys agree?

xoxo

Meiz