Central Oregon Dining Guide

Featured Above: Deep

Asian Restaurants - Indian, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Pan-Asian, Vietnamese

BO RESTOBAR Thai. $$ New-Asian-style tapas are served in this spin-off of Typhoon with a retrolounge ambiance. Look for “small plates” with chicken wings, sashimi and shell fish cocktails. Also try the tempuras. 550 NW Franklin Ave., Suite 118, Bend 541.617.8880 borestobar.com		SAIGON VILLAGE Vietnamese. $ Far from the pho shops of Portland and Seattle, this strip-mall entry is a welcome addition to the ethnic diversity of high-desert restaurants. Pho is a steaming-hot beef broth with rice noodles; it’s one of many Southeast Asian delicacies on the menu, along with Japanese tempura and teriyaki chicken. 950 W Veterans Way, Redmond 541/923-9986


DEEP Seafood-Japanese. $-$$$ Chef Jody Denton, of downtown Bend’s popular Merenda, recently opened this Japanese inspired seafood restaurant. Apart from succulent sushi and sashimi, signature dishes include crisp and angry lobster, sweet miso cured black cod, Kobe beef seared at the table on a river rock and monkfish pate with caviar. 821 NW Wall Street, Bend 541/323-9841		SOBA NOODLE AND RICE Pan-Asian. ¢-$ For economical one-dish meals, it’s hard to beat this spacious restaurant in the old Café Paradiso downtown. Flavors run the gamut from Thai to Japanese to Indian. Under the same ownership is the Szechuan Restaurant, one of Bend’s better Chinese eateries. In south Bend, the two cafés have combined their fare under the lengthy name Soba Asian Bistro/ Szechuan Qwik Wok. Soba: 945 NW Bond St., Bend 541/318-1535 Szechuan: 1600 NE 3rd St., Bend 541/383-9033 Soba/Szechuan: 61160 S Hwy. 97, Bend 541/330-6844


DOUBLE HAPPINESS Chinese. $ In the old Eddie’s Canton, former Chan’s chef Fun Ng serves a variety of heartier Chinese cuisines like Hunan, Mandarin and Szechuan. From noon to 3 p.m. Sundays, he offers Cantonese dim sum, a delicacy typically reserved for big-city Chinatowns. 909 NW Bond St., Bend 541/389-5154		TAJ PALACE East Indian. $ Although more than 1 billion people live in India, this family-run restaurant is Central Oregon’s only outpost for some of the world’s most flavorful cuisine. The buffet offers diners an opportunity to try a range of Indian dishes, from spicy curries to savory chicken tandoori to the milder saag paneer (with cheese and spinach); all go well with oven-baked naan bread and a sweet lassi yogurt drink. 917 NW Wall St., Bend. 541/330-0774


KANPAI Japanese. $$ Billed as a “sushi and sake bar,” this westside establishment with an urban sensibility offers all that and more. There’s a French influence, for example, in many of its Pacific Rim grill specialties. But the fresh sushi— those delectable slices of raw fish, rolled with rice, that some insist are an acquired taste—is the reason most diners return again and again. Be prepared to wait for a table on busy nights. 990 NW Newport Ave., Bend 541/388-4636		TOOMIE’S Thai. $$ Southeast Asian restaurants come and go, but over 10 years, Toomie’s has staked an enduring claim to being Central Oregon’s premier Thai restaurant. The menu is authentic and 118 items deep; meals like gaeng goong (a red shrimp curry) and gai prig prow (panfried chicken with vegetables and chilies) are prepared by Thai chefs. If you’re not used to spicy foods, ask the server to keep the heat to a minimum. For budget watchers, lunch is a bargain. 119 NW Minnesota Ave., Bend 541/388-5590


KEBABA Middle Eastern. ¢-$ Adding to Bend’s eclectic list of restaurants, this small westside eatery serves up Middle Eastern fare. Owners Steve Koch and John Picarazzi (of Pizza Mondo fame) along with their partner, chef Eric Leyden, provide well-priced dishes ranging from falafels to kebabs. Lunch is served with counter service while dinner is full-service. 1004 NW Newport Ave., Bend 541/318-6224		TYPHPOON Thai. $-$$$ New to the Bend restaurant scene, this is an outpost of the popular Portland-based chain that now has eateries in both Oregon and Washington. Featuring Thai cuisine, check out on of the five different curries available at lunch and at dinner. 550 NW Franklin Ave., Suite 148, Bend 541.385.8885 typhoonrestaurants.com