Piedmont Row’s Latest Rising Star: A Review on AZN – Azian Cuizine

Originally posted March 18, 2014

The wonderful thing about Charlotte, NC is the ever growing food culture that has taken over our city in what feels like a span of a few days and it’s not stopping any time soon. I’m not going to lie when I say we have a great variety of Asian restaurant to choose from starting with an affordable take-a-way to high end evening experiences. Tonight I had a high end experience with a price I could afford at South Park’s AZN – Azian Cuizine.

From start to finish I was impressed. A gracious host, our friendly server Thomas, and an atmosphere that was inviting, modern and classic. When our menu arrives at first I was lost because I had too many great dishes to choose from but luckily on a Monday night AZN offers half price bottles of wine under $50 which made the first thing to order a lot easier.

As the first glass of Cabernet goes down quite easily to the calming music of the quiet Monday night atmosphere, the menu became apparent and my list of recommendations is as follows.

Kamikazi Sushi Roll: This roll is filled with spicy lobster, blue crab, scallions, cucumber and avocado topped with tuna salmon, a dab of sriracha and eel sauce. The sweet, sour and spicy effect this roll had was truly a culinary dream. My only suggestion here would be to not use soy sauce – the roll is already flavorful and salty enough and the soy sauce drowns the flavor.

Mongolian Beef Satay: These were four perfectly tender and juicy flank steaks marinated in a ginger garlic soy sauce and Asian spices, skewered and grilled. I honestly just wish I had more on the plate and a little spice would have made these a fantastic main dish.

Spicy Anna Noodle Soup: They were gracious enough to split this incredible dish into two bowls to share because the portion was fantastic. Even if you are starving this one bowl would be too much to eat. I was very impressed with this main course because it is incredibly difficult to perfectly cook seafood and chicken in the same dish with vegetables. For $15 this dish is a steal containing shrimp, scallops, chicken and vegetables in a hearty, spicy soup with egg noodles. The broth has a spicy miso soup quality that is comforting and complex. I will definitely be coming back for more.

Chocolate Caramel Apple: Dessert is very important as it is essentially the signature seal to your meal. I was shocked to see something as “simple” as a chocolate and caramel apple as our dessert but sometimes you can complicate something so simply delicious. Talk about a wow factor. It was slightly sweet, salty and tangy with a crisp apple sensation that made you feel like you were a kid again.

I highly recommend AZN Azian Cuizine for everything from a romantic date night to a girls night out (especially on a Monday night).

 

Read the entire review here.