The Kansas City Star du lieu suivant : Kansas City, Missouri • 90

PREVlEtf RESTAURANTS Restaurants bring the Far East a little closer By LAUREN CHAPIN The Kamas City Star FIRST TASTE First Taste highlights new restaurants that may or may not be scheduled for a full review in The Star It will appear on this page about every four weeks Send notices of new restaurants to Lauren Chapin restaurant critic 1729 Grand Blvd Kansas City Mo 64108 Send faxes to (816) 234-4787 or e-mail to lchapinkcstarcom No phone calls please DAVIU PULLIAM The Kansas City Star The Vietnam Cafe in the 500 block of Campbell Street was busy during a recent lunch hour Two new restaurants one Vietnamese the other ChineseJapan-ese have opened in familiar sites in the Northeast area and in Waldo The Vietnam Cafe New owners took over the space fonnerly occupied by Kim Nguyen's Deli one of Kansas oldest and most beloved Vietnamese restaurants This is the second site for owners Ngoc Huynh and her brother Thang Huynh the other is the Vietnam Restaurant near the University of Kansas Medical Center spruced the place up a bit painting the walls baby blue and beige and adding mod-looking black chairs and tables But the floors are still gently scuffed and the room still chills when the oversized front door swings open Diners will find most typical dishes here: spring rolls (two for $250) shrimp rolls (six for $495) and shrimp and sweet potato fritters (three for $495) Fat sticks of sweet potatoes and baby shrimp are batter-dipped and deep-fried Tuck each palm-sized nugget into a lettuce leaf top with fresh cilantro and dip into the sweethot fish sauce Messy yes but tasty too Soups were the order of the day during my visit 1 watched as the folks around me sprinkled on fresh cilantro and basil squeezed in fresh lime juice and added bean sprouts to their basins of basil -perfumed broth and noodles Prices range from $550 for the rice noodle soup with beef to $595 for a seafood version of the same There is a plethora of vegetarian vermicelli rice and noodle dishes too The sunny curry chicken fore-your-eyes cooking process part swashbuckling knife work part culinary vaudeville teppanyaki lunch menu ranges from $650 for the teriyaki salmon to $995 for steak and scallops get a salad topped with a red ginghr dressing steamed rice (fried rice costs 50 cents more but is worth it) and a nicely grilled mushroom zucchini and onion medley For the Chinese side Su hired chefs from three regions of China: Beijing in the north Guangzhou in the south and Shanghai in the Yangtze River area Lunch specials from $425 to $525 are served 11 am to 2:30 pm Mondays through Saturdays Dinner entrees range from $595 for Yu Hsiang broccoli to $1025 for house shrimp and scallops Whole Peking duck is available for $20 Thrice the water pipes have frozen and once a chef moved south but Su remains undaunted Look for the restaurant to add more Japanese food to the menu and to tweak the Chinese side Suki Restaurant and Lounge 214 85th St (816) 444-8288 Hours: 11 am to 9:30 pm Mondays through Thursdays: 11 am to 10 pm Fridays and Saturdays and 1 1:30 am to 9:30 pm Sundays filled with coconut and mung beans and Vietnamese coffees for $2 The Vietnam Cafe 522 Campbell St (816) 472-4888 Hours are 8 am to 8 pm Mondays through Saturdays and 8 am to 6 pm Sundays Suki Restaurant and Lounge Chinese artist David Su fulfilled a dream and opened Suki Restaurant and Lounge in early December in the Waldo neighborhood He spent six months renovating a space that sat empty for a year after a bar closed The east side of the room serves Chinese food the west side Japanese Teppanyaki On a snowy day with two daughters to amuse I opted to dine on die teppanyaki side Once the room warmed up (from 59 degrees) and the chef arrived (he had a flat tire) the show began Teppanyaki is a flashy right be- MARC BENAVIDEZThe Kansas City Star Suki chef Carter Pablo ignites an onion ($550) composed of breast meat onions carrots and peas was mildly potent especially when tem pered with sticky rice The restaurant serves a variety of traditional desserts including Oak Room adds to Plaza dining choices ENTREE NEWS Executive chefs offer upscale menu By CINDY HOEDEL The Kansas City Star cupied by Cafe 401 The long narrow room with its floor-to-ceiiing windows offers spectacular views of Brush Creek and the Plaza from every table The dining area and adjacent lounge have been sumptuously renovated with a mix of stately elegant fixtures and whimsical modem accents Executive chef Randall Cox and executive pastry chef Jesus Magana who have quietly built a following with their innovative catering creations will oversee the kitchen The menu features premium steaks and chops as well as pasta dishes Prices range from for appetizers and for entrees The wine list comprises more than Tidbits II Trullo 9056 Metcalf Overland Park (913) 341-3773 will close temporarily beginning Monday to expand the restaurant by 1500 square feet on its north side Owner Joe Avelluto plans to reopen II Tnillo in February The American Restaurant 25th and Grand (816) 426-1133 is holding is first smoker dinner of 2001 on Jan 24 he five-course meal by executive chefs Michael Smith and Debbie Gold is accorn-nanied by wine after-dinner drinks and fine cigars The smoker begins vrith a cocktail reception at 6:30 pm and costs $150 per person inclusive Reservations are required Lidia's Kansas City 22nd and Baltimore (816) 221-3722 will-be the host of the first in a series of monthly regional Italian wine dinners Jan 29 The five-course dinner will be served in the restaurants private loft The food and wines of the Emiglia-Romagna region in east-central Italy near Bologna will be highlighted A reception with owner Lidia Bas-tianich begins at 6:30 pm Dinner follows at 7 pm Cost is $75 per person plus tax and tip reservations are required To reach Cindy Hoedel of the Star call (816) 234-4304 or send e-mail to choedelkcstarcom Send faxes to (816) 234-4925 150 domestic and imported selections General manager Mike Caso-la plans to hold special events such as food and wine tastings and dinners at the Oak Room throughout the year The restaurant which is open 6:30 am to 10 pm seven days a week offers a full breakfast menu that includes upscale items such as a blue crab omelet a KC strip with eggs and breakfast potato and bananas foster French toast Reservations are recommended for dinner especially on weekends For restaurant-goers in Kansas City 2001 is off to an auspicious start: The Oak Room 401 Ward Parkway (816) 756-1500 has opened in the Fairmont Hotel (formerly the Ritz-Cariton) adding another star to the constellation of fine-dining destinations Official grand-opening festivities are scheduled for Jan 16 The restaurant is on the ground floor of the hotel in the space formerly oc FVidav January 5 2001 THE KANSAS CITY STAR Page 31.