Holy Moley! my go-to Thai spot has been their original restaurant, Fuji Sushi
Bar & Asian Bistro (by the Hollywood Theaters at 6355 Naples Blvd., #7,
593-5550) for years. Now, new Araya Sushi Asian
Grill is a touch more enjoyable, because of it's casual-elegant dining decor, larger size, and expanded menu. The food is super
fresh, delicious, and each plate is pretty as a picture. From colorful appetizers to the
amazing banana in fried wonton with green tea ice cream, this is one of SW
Florida's top Asian restaurants. I will be back again!
Araya debuted in June, at the back right (southwest) corner
of the Uptown Center
just East of Sam's on Immokalee Road.
It's next to CiCi's Pizza, where Dunkin donuts was. Chef Jon and On Augsondthung have kicked the setting up a notch from Fuji,
keeping the food quality and service high.
The earth toned and orchid decorated interior has clean sleek lines.
The sushi bar is on your left, wooden tables center, and tan demi booths to
your right.
Oh, back up a second...Before you arrive, check their
Facebook page to see what freebies or specials may be tonight's bonus baby. We enjoyed the order of two skewered yakitori
meatballs dipped in freshly made Thai dipping sauce.
The slightly chewy balls
were a good start. We wish we had more people with us to try more dishes
during the night. There are happy hour drink and food specials from 3- 6 pm,
with $2 yakitori, $5 small dishes and $7 selections, such as crispy calamari,
salmon avocado roll and shrimp tempura rolls, with $3 16 oz draft beer, $5 wine
and $7 large hot sake. Nice!
While we came for dinner, not lunch, we heard that lunch is
a "steal" with the $8.95 specials served with an appetizer, and soup
or salad, from 11 am to 3 pm daily. There's pad Thai, chicken cashew
nuts, country basil chicken, and for a few dollars more, grilled salmon with
teriyaki sauce, rice and vegetables.
I am very fond of authentic Thai cooking, and one of my companions, an
amateur Thai cook, visits Thailand
several times a year, trying traditional and cutting edge restaurants alike.
We started with a spicy Picante roll ($12) with tuna,
scallions, tempura flakes, masago topped with avocado and a moderately hot
spicy Sambal sauce, moderately hot jalapeno slices and Japanese pepper. It's an
ample meal for one.
We were happy with the medium (high for some) level of
spiciness that met the description of "picante." the menu lists a over 40 different rolls,
from mango tango with shrimp, red devil with tuna and eel, hot lava and sex on
the beach's tuna whitefish and asparagus, to spicy tuna loco, rainbow dragon's shrimp
tempura with white fish and salmon, and blue crab with spicy mayo.
There's no shortage of sushi and sashimi alone or in a variety
of bento boxes or boats. Check the website for the long list.
Tuna nachos are a new dish that's a play on Mexican
food, with a generous portion of cubed tuna, diced avocado and crisp wakame
atop freshly fried wontons.
Deliciously recommended!
Hamachi carpaccio ($13) is a generous portion of
Japanese yellowtail fish, with jalapeno and cilantro on the side over string
cut carrots, with a sweetly tart yuzu ponzu sauce.
Highly recommended for
sashimi lovers.
The lychee duck curry
($22) was my evening's most filling and favorite entree.
A practically fat- free half
duck is served with skin perfectly crisped, over a large portion of freshly
plucked local lychees, heirloom tomatoes red and green bell peppers and basil
leaves in a fragrant spiced curry. It's enough for two people! Highly
recommended.
We were getting full and still wanted to order more.
Much like at the
suchi bar, the chef offered to make a small tasting plate combining two shrimp
dishes (the photos are of the much smaller tasting portions-a normal order comes with five or six shrimp).
One diner wanted the coconut shrimp-
it features plump shrimp lightly battered with coconut, deep fried and served
with a wonderful pineapple plum sauce.
I almost never order coconut shrimp as
most restaurants serve small shrimp with a gooey thick floury batter. Not Araya's
coconut shrimp! Highly recommended.
The other shrimp has the California
roll type volcano mild spicy topping, with the shrimp perched
atop a delicious piped sauce.
Very good!
We rested for a while, chatted then were ready for the piece
de resistance-the banana Rangoons ($6)!
Tricornered wontons are lightly filled with banana slices, lightly fried
and honey dipped, served with a huge scoop of green tea ice cream, fresh fruit
and a light sprinkle of cinnamon-confectioner's sugar. The banana wontons are
crisp, sweet, and luscious! Highly
recommended.
2650 Immokalee Road, Naples,
593-3344, www.arayanaples.com
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