Miami Spice 2018: The Five Best Pan-Asian Restaurants

From Miami Beach and downtown to Doral and Kendall, all corners of the county are participating in Miami Spice. New Times has sifted through the 240-plus restaurants offering discounted lunch, brunch, and dinner menus to find the absolute best places to dine.

If you're hungry for pan-Asian cuisine — Korean barbecue bao buns, wild mushroom lo mein, and crispy pad thai — here are this year's most tempting options. (Hankering for sushi and sashimi instead? We've covered that here.)
1. Jaya at the Setai. Highlights from Jaya's Miami Spice dinner menu, which is served nightly, include a steamed basket of bao buns stuffed with Korean barbecue brisket; Thai ceviche with calamari, corvina, shrimp, mango, and Thai chilies; warm truffle dumplings; a strip-loin in a soy ginger glaze with foie gras foam; and Scottish salmon served with buckwheat noodles, bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms. Be sure to save room for dessert, ranging from chocolate chip bread pudding with bourbon cream to a peach crisp with blueberries, oatmeal crumble, and vanilla ice cream. Plus, the restaurant offers four discounted sake bottle selections for $24 each. 2001 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 855-923-7899; thesetaihotel.com. Miami Spice is offered for dinner daily.
2. Kyu. This Wynwood restaurant offers a weekday Spice lunch menu including some of its most popular year-round items. Look for grilled beef skewers with toasted garlic soy butter and fire-roasted shishito peppers; Korean fried chicken bao buns with a Parmesan dressing; and roasted cauliflower with goat cheese, shishito, and herb vinaigrette. A meal at Kyu wouldn't be complete without an order of Mom's coconut cake with coconut ice cream for dessert. 251 NW 25th St., Miami; 786-577-0150; kyumiami.com. Miami Spice is offered for lunch Monday through Friday.
3. NaiYaRa. Dinnertime at South Beach's NaiYaRa begins with tempura shishito with Parmesan and truffle oil; spring rolls stuffed with glass noodles and shiitake mushrooms and served with a Thai chili sauce; or crispy pad thai with chicken, tamarind, and bean sprouts. Continue with the drunken udon, which includes stir-fry udon, chicken, chili, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms, or skirt steak with oyster sauce, black pepper, and garlic chips. Top it off with pandan vanilla flan or milk chocolate pot de crème, served with crème chantilly, ginger, and chocolate puffed rice. 1854 Bay Rd., Miami Beach; 786-275-6005; naiyara.com. Miami Spice is offered for dinner Sunday through Thursday.
4. Komodo. Serving lunch and dinner, David Grutman's Komodo is behind a menu of duck lettuce wraps, Wagyu beef dumplings, Korean fried chicken, and wild mushroom lo mein. An eight-ounce Wagyu skirt steak, cooked in soy, sesame, and garlic, calls for a $9 up-charge. For dessert, a dark chocolate cremoso is served with cherry compote and pistachio ice cream, while the orange creamsicle includes mandarin parfait, vanilla semifreddo, and black sesame meringue. 801 Brickell Ave., Miami; 305-534-2211; komodomiami.com. Miami Spice is offered for lunch Monday through Friday and dinner Sunday through Thursday.
5. Phuc Yea. Spice dinner at Phuc Yea is generous. The meal begins with three items served family-style: spicy tuna summer rolls, fried imperial rolls with pork and shrimp, and a crispy fish salad with lemongrass, red onion, and ponzu sauce. Then come three sharable entrées, including vegetable curry, crispy pork belly with a fried egg, and jasmine steamed rice. Dessert is up to the chef and varies nightly. The restaurant also serves a Sunday Spice brunch, which includes five-spice roast pork pastelitos, breakfast noodles, and country fried French toast. 7100 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-602-3710; phucyea.com. Miami Spice is offered for dinner Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesday) and Sunday brunch.