Comments (1) Best Inexpensive Asian Restaurant - 2006

Asia Bay

Asia Bay brings a big bang for the buck. A bowl of miso soup is $2. House salad or steamed edamame is $3. Most of the other starters don't cost more than $8, and dozens of entrées served with soup or salad go for less than $15 -- including steak teriyaki, chicken tempura, shrimp pad thai, and sizable bowls of soba or udon noodle soup. For $16 you can create your own three-item Japanese box dinner. There are 66 splendid sushi and sashimi items from which to select too. Medium-size rolls are just $5 to $10 and range from routine (California, futomaki) to rowdy (crunchy katsu with deep-fried chicken). Lunch delivers an even deeper discount: six pieces of sashimi, three pieces of sushi, half a California roll, steak teriyaki, and miso soup or salad for $12. Though the final bill might suggest bargain-basement fare, the quality of cuisine is sky-high -- deftly prepared, pristinely presented, and bursting with bright, cleanly delineated flavors. By charging such reasonable prices, Asia Bay has removed the only obstacle to eating sushi out every night. How does one say "thank you" in Japanese?