Review: VUU Asian Bistro

Ramen with wontons
 and bok choy

Paper wrapped
shrimp and crab rangoon

With a last name like mine, you better believe I like Chinese food. My mom used to joke that the only reason I married a Chinese man was for the food, because I've always loved Chinese. Growing up in Salt Lake City, even the heavily Americanized version available there seemed like the most exotic, far away food you could get. And you always had to get it at a restaurant, because the home made versions were never as good. Things have changed, obviously. Not only do I live in a much bigger, more international city now, but formerly exotic ingredients are now almost common place in American cooking. It's not hard to find a good Korean grocery store, stocked to the gills with fish sauce, chinese chives and glass noodles for authentic home cooking. But I'll never quite get over the secret thrill of going out for Chinese.

So Rasa Sayang is always my go to place for American style Chinese. It's next to my house, they deliver and they have some Malaysian and Thai dishes on the menu. It's a solid, dependable neighborhood Chinese place. But if I want something a little different? Then it's time to put on pants, get in the car and head over to VUU Asian Bistro.

Shrimp tempura udon

VUU is Asian fusion, a blending of different styles and flavors from different Asian countries. You might get a little kimchee in your sushi or get a different take on a familiar stir fry.  We love their soups and I tend to order almost exclusively from their soup menu. Their take on the traditional Vietmanese soup known as "pho" is a giant bowl of vermicelli noodles in a rich beef broth, topped with thick slices of roast beef and served with a variety of hot sauces to customize with. Recently I had a bowl of the shrimp tempura udon. This is a giant bowl of rich broth, slippery noodles and crunchy vegetables, alongside two crispy tempura battered shrimp. It's a sloppy eat, because those thick noodles are hard to navigate with chopsticks, but totally worth getting noodle faced. They also have egg drop, ramen and hot and sour soups. I'm a big fan of soups. I wish more places had such an extensive soup menu.

Tuna lovers roll

Alongside the soups and stir fries, they also have a sushi counter. Everything is freshly prepared as you order it, using high quality ingredients. It's not quite up to Shallots's standard for sushi, but only just. Definitely stop by and give it a try if you are a sushi lover. They also have a good selections of appetizers, including the expected potstickers, crab rangoon and egg rolls. But they also have a few unexpected treats, such as panko crusted avocado fries.

The decor is modern, with black granite table tops, white porcelain and lime green accents. It gives the restaurant a fresh, clean aesthetic. The modern feel is only helped by your server taking your order via iPhone and swiping your card right there at the table with the same phone. It's the only place I've seen so far up here using smartphones like this. It looks cool and it's convenient too. Here's hoping more places start using this technology.

So yeah, VUU is definitely worth stopping by if you are in the neighborhood.

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