{"id":81162,"date":"2019-11-07T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-07T13:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=81162"},"modified":"2019-11-06T23:38:22","modified_gmt":"2019-11-07T05:38:22","slug":"the-way-the-fortune-cookie-crumbles-asian-cuisine-in-oxford-mississippi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/the-way-the-fortune-cookie-crumbles-asian-cuisine-in-oxford-mississippi\/","title":{"rendered":"The Way the Fortune Cookie Crumbles: Asian Cuisine in Oxford, Mississippi"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I\u2019ve had hibachi so. many. places. And if you\u2019re anything like me, you\u2019re done watching the \u201cbutter fly,\u201d the steaming onions \u201cchoochoo,\u201d or the squeeze-bottle boy spraying you in the face. I don\u2019t order hibachi because I want to catch scrambled egg pieces in my mouth like a trained seal. I eat hibachi for the comfort food of Asian cuisine. Sadly, the days of romanticized hibachi a la Benihana are long gone and have been boiled down to stereotypical fodder. Don\u2019t get me wrong. I still love hibachi and teriyaki and Katsu and all the other lovely Japanese steakhouse offerings, but I want something more. Where is the Pho? The Ramen? The Bao? The Peking Duck? I like to hope that if I want these things out of the Oxford Restaurant Scene that there is a larger market also <\/em>pining away for these options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Poke Bowl at Hawai’i Poke & Grill. Photograph by Newt Rayburn.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Oxford needs<\/em> Asian food, whether on the cheap or for top dollar \u2013 and cannot seem to get enough. After I got back home from D.C. this weekend I was craving delicious Asian cuisine like I\u2019d had in our nation\u2019s capital. During lunch today I was blown away by the service, reasonable prices, and variety of food offered at Hawaii Poke & Grill<\/strong> and was inspired to gather up a gratitude list of Asian restaurants in Oxford.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Taste of\nHawaii + Poke<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So mayyyybe I gave away the punch line here, but I think you\u2019ve guessed my pick. Be warned: I\u2019ve never had Hawaiian food before my trip to Hawaii Poke & Grill; I\u2019ve never been to Hawaii; I\u2019ve never eaten at Aloha Thai & Hawaiian restaurant. Before my entr\u00e9e was even ordered, the hospitable staff of Hawaii Poke & Grill greeted us with two rounds of appetizer meats, lightly fried and topped with some amazing \u201cspicy sauce\u201d (and no, they had no idea I was planning to write on the experience). My lunch combo of Big Island Steak and Shrimp was well marinated and smothered with veggies and pineapple, served with a choice of white or fried rice and soup or salad and a lumpia roll, all for $13 with tip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Crispy Catfish Salad at Rice & Spice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Best Tamarind, Curry + Spices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone argues over which Thai place in town is the best, and I won\u2019t be swayed. My Thai home is Rice & Spice <\/strong>and has been so many years I haven\u2019t kept track. I have had both Zaap Thai Kitchen<\/strong> and Pick Thai<\/strong>, but Oxford has none better than Rice & Spice and their multitude of healthy, classic, delicious, and speedily made entrees. I literally crave Kou Gai Noodle, yellow curry with beef and pork, and the Crispy Catfish Salad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Habachi at Toyo in Oxford, Mississippi.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Best Live Performance Food <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know I started off bitching about Hibachi sterotypes, but hear me straight. I have eaten Kabuki<\/strong> and Toyo <\/strong>more times than I have phalanges and trust me when I say: I know my yum yum sauce<\/em>. From the interior, to the wait staff, to the quality and fresh ingredients, Toyo is the best when it comes to Oxford Hibachi and there is none kinder than manager KhengHin Chan<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Date Night Spot<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Jinsei sushi.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

By a landslide Jinsei<\/strong> is the go-to for a fancy feeling date night, a special event, or porch snack and drinking. They also have the most modern and user friendly website of the Asian food lineups in Ox. For overall atmosphere and hospitality, the new Hawaii Poke & Grill works quite well. It may be a little kitschy, but they own it and it feels in place. Toyo and Rice & Spice are comfortable locations with large booths and hospitable and knowledgeable staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What sets these guys apart is the kindness and attentive nature of the staff at both Rice & Spice and Hawaii Poke Grill. These guys care<\/em> and it shows<\/em>, which goes a long way in my book. Their staff are dedicated to their food, their customers, and most of all, that their customer(s) had an amazing  and unique experience. Don\u2019t forget to tip your service staff well\u201420% gratuity is not for a \u201cgreat job,\u201d it is the bare minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pro Tip: a little birdie told me, if requested, Noodle Bowl<\/strong> will provide you an authentic \u201cChinese menu.\u201d That\u2019s way more impressive than ordering a fish sandwich off the Sonic Secret Menu. Jus\u2019 sayin\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Way to Tease the Palate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m one of those crazy people who can make a meal out of appetizers. I\u2019ll confess that I\u2019ve done it\u2014don\u2019t judge\u2014many times. Some of my local Asian app favorites are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rice & Spice:<\/span> Krab Rangoon, fresh shrimp spring rolls, or a cup of their Tom Kha Coconut Soup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maharaja<\/span><\/strong>:<\/span> Garlic naan, onion kulcha, and gobimanchuria<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jinsei:<\/span> tempura green beans with spicy mayo or s<\/strong>teamed buns with kobe flank steak<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hawaii Poke & Grill:<\/span> lumpia spring rolls and Pu Pu platter (made for two!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Best Hooch <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cocktails at Jinsei in Oxford, Mississippi.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A frequent winner of the local Iron Bartender<\/strong> competition, it isn\u2019t surprising that Jinsei has remarkable cocktails. Maybe Jinsei feel\u2019s their clientele want craft booze, or maybe it\u2019s just the heat from the mezcal cocktails across the way Ivy McLellan<\/strong> is shaking up in Snackbar<\/strong>. Monday\u2019s are for $5 Mojitos at Jinsei, so don\u2019t forget that deal-i-o. Best Bang for Your Buck can\u2019t be topped by Toyo\u2019s heavy house wine pours and happy hour ($3.50 wine, sake, and cocktails and $1.99 beer Monday\u2013Thursday, 3:30-6:30 pm) and the new Hawaii Poke & Grill\u2019s selection of imported $4 beers and $8 cocktails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Final Note<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I understand that this article is nearly too large to give a fair scope of \u201cthe best Asian restaurants in Oxford, Mississippi.\u201d I also feel our town is misappropriating so many cultures by boiling down their cuisine to the Americanized versions that we have grown accustomed to devouring mindlessly. I want to acknowledge the many Oxonians still creating authentic Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian, Malaysian, Thai, Korean, Indian, <\/strong>and so many other<\/em> Asian foods authentically behind closed doors. I am sorry our community has not welcomed an accurate version of your culture to it\u2019s local table. Honestly, if you\u2019re still waiting in the wings wanting to bring authentic food from your country to our Oxonian plates, I beg you to do it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve had hibachi so. many. places. And if you\u2019re anything like me, you\u2019re done watching the \u201cbutter fly,\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1009,"featured_media":81182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[6027,15547,4982,4335,15551,2630,5,15552,4,15550,15548,9098,15549],"class_list":["post-81162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-food","tag-elizabeth-tettleton","tag-hawaii-poke","tag-jinsei","tag-kabuki","tag-khenghin-chan","tag-maharaja","tag-mississippi","tag-noodle-bowl","tag-oxford","tag-pick-thai","tag-rice-and-spice","tag-toyo","tag-zaap-thai-kithcen"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2019-11-06-AsianCuisine-OxfordMS.jpg?fit=620%2C349&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1009"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81162"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81162\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}