Eclectic Asian in Ware – Asian Gardens

I’ve been spending a lot of time in Ware lately–business–and there is always the  issue of lunch. Since I’ve sworn off fast foods (with about 98.9% compliance), I’ve been trying the gamut of sub shops and such with little satisfaction. I stumbled on ASIAN GARDENS (123 West Street, Ware, 277-0724) a couple of weeks back. I selected it as the better choice of two Chinese restaurants based entirely on its lack of lunch buffet, but when I checked the menu, I was surprised. Not just a Chinese restaurant, but more pan-Asian, with Thai, Vietnamese, and Polynesian sections to the menu. No sushi, which I took to be a plus–it doesn’t look like they’d move enough to keep it fresh and were wise not to try.

The first dish I tried was BUN BO XAO, beef with onions and lettuce over noodles. The portion was large and the flavor was good. In fact, I began my now standard modus operandi of taking half the lunch back to the office and relying on the sub-arctic air conditioning to keep it chilled until evening. The waitress was shy and pleasant and her daughter (I assume), a pre-teen, helped out and greeted me quietly on my second visit.

The next time, I tried the combination platter with ASIAN GARDENS SPECIAL CHICKEN. The sauce was pleasant enough, but nothing special. What got me was that it was pretty grease-free and tasted good. I have this category of restaurant food that I call “honest” by which I mean you can see the ingredients and know that actual meat and vegetables went into the dish, rather than something canned, frozen, or pre-cooked. This food was honest.

Yesterday, I had the GREEN CURRY WITH PRAWNS–six or seven shrimp in a coconut curry sauce studded with creamy eggplant and mushroom chunks. The eggplant was, I think, one of the Thai or Asian white varieties, and was cooked well. Creamy was exactly it–it was tender and melted in your mouth. The sauce tasted of coconut milk and lemongrass. I’d asked for it hot. “Extra hot. OK,” the waitress had said. It was hot enough that I could feel it in my mouth when I sipped water or tea (you know that burn, don’t you?) but not so hot that I couldn’t taste all the flavors. As usual, I took half of it back.

If you find yourself in Ware, you should check it out. Just down Route 32 from the center of town.