Elements Asia, Lawrenceville

iEatDC and her husband J came to visit us recently (Life long foodie friends... could I BE any luckier?) As happens when old friends come to visit, we immediately got schnockered on copious amounts of delicious wine. While there is no issue with this (we are all consenting adults!) it did limit our options of where to dine (can't be driving after drinking... that's a no-no!) Luckily Matt and I live within walking distance of a great place that was worthy of our foodie friends. Elements Asia is another local gem hidden away in some random strip mall... Easy to pass by, but hard to forget once you've gone. The menu features Chinese, Japanese AND Thai cuisine... something for everyone!

After being seated (and promptly opening some more wine) we came up with a game plan. We'd do two appetizers, two sushi rolls, a Thai dish, a Chinese dish and one side dish and just all go to town (sharing is caring people... I can't stress it enough! You get to taste a little of everything!)

For our appetizers we chose one from the sushi bar and one off the main menu. Our sushi bar appetizer was called Wasabi salsa and it was awesome. Cucumber matchsticks wrapped with either tuna, salmon or yellowtail and then topped with tomato, mango, and onion in a vinegar sauce. J and I particularly liked this... we both commented on how much we appreciated the contrasting textures and flavors. Soft, buttery fish over cold, crunchy cucumber. Spicy onion and sweet mango and tart vinegar. Rich flavors and light flavors working together to create one perfect mouthful. It sounds like an odd combination but it worked... it tasted clean and fresh.

Our second appetizer (which I forgot to take a picture of.... too eager to eat it! D'oh!) was an order of the Peking Duck wraps. They looked like pre rolled fajitas, and were stuffed with all of the fixins that usually come with Peking Duck.... Hoisin sauce, cucumber, and scallions. Rolled up in thin rice crepes they were each big enough to split in half... an order of two full wraps was perfect for the four of us. These were DELICIOUS. The duck had a bit of crunchy skin, making it nice and salty, which blended really will with the cool greens. The Hoisin sauce was deep and rich, a little sweet and a little spicy. I especially appreciate that they didn't slather it on too thick, as Hoisin has SUCH a strong (yet incredible) flavor. These could not have disapeared into our mouths any sooner.

After those delicious appetizers (and some more wine...we walked, remember?) we were excited to get to the rest of our meal. My pick for the night was the Autumn of Alaska roll. It had succulent Alaskan king crab and Tempura crunch on the inside, and was topped with salmon, then covered by thinly sliced avocado. All of this was served over a honey and black pepper sauce. It was AMAZING. The crab was none of that artificial crab leg nonsense... it was shreddy, salty, fresh, rich crab meat. The crunchies were nice, but not absolutely necessary. The salmon was crazy fresh and the avocado atop it was creamy. The real winner, though, was the sauce. Thick and sweet with a spicy kick from the black pepper, it was a fantastic substitute (or addition!) to soy sauce. We loved this. Tooooo good.

J picked our next dish... ginger chicken. This was delicious. One of their Chinese specialties, this dish had what we were all craving... flavor, crunch, texture. I know for a fact that I was pushing hard to get something with green beans in it (because I saw the lady at the table next to us eating them and they looked SO good), so this dish shut me up nicely. We all agreed that the ginger was not too over powering (so key in any dish with 'ginger' in the title), the chicken was cooked nicely, and the green beans were (as I suspected) perfect. Plus there was a lot of it... like a whole lot (which can be a bad thing sometimes, I guess, but not when its this tasty).

iEatDC picked the next dish, and it may have been my favorite of the night (we knew she was a true foodie, didn't we?) Her roll was called the Ivory Tower (my picture does not do it justice at all). It was ridiculous... unlike any roll I have ever had before. It was filled with spicy tuna, ginseng carrot, and arugula and then topped with potato crisps with a mini martini glass of ginger sauce for dipping.. sounds absurd, right? It was! The texture was unbelievable.. crunchy from the carrot and arugula, smooth from the spicy tuna... I have never had a roll like that. The ginseng carrot alone would have been special... it was sweet and almost tasted pickled in a way, but still so bright and colorful with a nice snap to it. The potato crisps were strange.. like having sushi and chips... it wasn't bad, just confusing to the mouth (in a fun, exciting way) Loved this dish. LOVED it. And it was so pretty.. I really must work on my photography skills...

Matt's pick was the Thai dish, beef Pad See Ew. This was also a hit at our table. The flat, fat noodles were perfectly cooked ... not gummy at all (HATE when that happens!) The beef was at a perfect temperature and there was a (welcome) surprise ingredient that we weren't expecting... tofu! It was lovely, and provided a nice change up from the beef. The flavors were spot on, the sauce wasn't too sweet and not too salty.. Matt was nuts for this. The only complaint would be that I was missing some of the heat that is typically associated with Thai food... was easily fixed though, as the waiter brought us over some suuuuper spicy hot sauce.

The fried rice was tasty... and plentiful. Nothing special. Just good, delicious fried rice. Oh! In addition to standard peas and onions there were baby corn in it... so ya know... that's kind of special! It was a perfect side.

Between the good friends, good wine, and good food it's pretty obvious that we had one hell of a night. Elements Asia is a real find, and their innovative dishes make every trip there a mini adventure (they make a spicy tuna pizza... yeah.. with mozerella and everything.. cool right? Oh and you should see what's in some of their more creative rolls... we played it SAFE!) It's so worth a visit, and there's something for everyone. People who like standard fare will be pleased with the list of traditional dishes while adventure seekers will want to try all of the wacky combinations there have to offer. Grab your fave foodie besties (it worked for us!), take the ride, and tell me what you think!

Elements Asia

www.elementsasia.com

Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

(609) 275 4988