CHŌ Funky Asian Bistro photo
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Just five weeks after South Beach was shocked to hear about the closure of Paya, there’s some delicious news to report.
Mohamed “Mo” Alkassar, who co-ran the Sunset Harbor restaurant with Niven Patel, has opened CHŌ Funky Asian Bistro. Located at 1209 17th St., it’s his first solo restaurant as part of a new venture, Mo Momentum Group.
CHŌ Funky Asian Bistro photo
A Tour Around Asia
The kitchen features cuisine from Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia. To make it easy to order with a group of friends (or a date), the menu is organized into five sections. “Snacks,” “Raw,” “Dumplings & Friends,” “Wok,” and mains.
Snacks include a delicious chicken liver pâté on a True Loaf Bakery baguette with Granny Smith kaffir lime chutney, and pork ribs with applewood-smoked gochujang sauce. Talk about a flavor bomb.
CHŌ Funky Asian Bistro photo
Crudos, Chinese Noodles, and Korean Fried Chicken
The “Raw” section features menu items like a scallop crudo with red curry oil, pandan, and kaffir lime, and a wasabi cabbage salad with Korean pear and apple wasabi vinaigrette. The “Dumplings & Friends” section offers plenty of options. Some include a Vietnamese shrimp roll with peanut hoisin and nuoc cham, eggplant lumpia with chili-garlic dip, and duck bao with honey-soy-glazed duck and house-made pickles.
From the” Wok,” the pad see ew comes with stir-fried beef, Chinese broccoli, and rice noodles, while the duck fried rice arrives in a ceramic Chinese take-out box. Mains include Korean fried chicken with confit garlic kewpie, gochujang, and house-pickled daikon. Plus, crab curry with jackfruit, spaghetti squash, and Thai red curry. “Cha Ca La Vong,” a Vietnamese preparation of turmeric-marinated daily catch over rice vermicelli noodles and herbs, and Khao Soi Lamb Neck with egg noodles and crispy noodles.
CHŌ Funky Asian Bistro photo
A Solo Pivot
Alkassar and Patel ran Paya together under their hospitality group Feal, which also closed its Coral Gables Italian concept, Erba, last year. The two remain partners on Ghee Indian Kitchen, the Michelin Bib Gourmand-recognized Indian restaurant that has expanded to Atlanta. However, CHŌ marks his first solo venture. Alkassar was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for Outstanding Restaurateur in 2023 and landed on the Observer’s 2024 Power List.
The name comes from several Asian languages and translates, roughly, to “going beyond.” The space was co-designed by Cuban American artist MokiBaby, with a pagoda-framed, street-facing kitchen that puts the cook line on display from 17th Street.
Inside, guests will find crimson-lit bookshelves, mirrored surfaces, hand-painted tabletops hiding Easter eggs about Alkassar’s friends and family, and a “fish tank TV” at the host stand.
CHŌ Funky Asian Bistro. 1209 17th St., Miami Beach; choasianbistro.com.
