bistro d'asia university heights

we had lunch at bistro d'asia on park ave. today and were amused to see that the interior hadn't changed markedly from the previous restaurant here, dmood. however, while the previous tenant suffered from lackluster service and unremarkable middle eastern food, bistro d'asia shines with a solid offering of asian fusion dishes.

our friendly hostess and server got us started with the lettuce wraps - while we ordered the chicken and shrimp version, we ended up with the tofu and bamboo shoots, which were covered with a very tasty hoisin sauce. we were still trying to grab the remainder of the dish with our chopsticks after we had exhausted the lettuce. i followed that up with the cantonese crispy pan-fried noodles, with a light soy sauce that complemented the huge plate of pork, shrimp, chicken and assorted vegetables. jay's lunch special, the saigon kung pao chicken, was a good value for $11, considering it came with a salad, soup and a drink.

the restaurant was fairly quiet, but we were on our usual late lunch schedule. we asked the server how business had been since their opening late last year, and he said it had been relatively quiet since the new year - no surprise given everyone's post-holiday depleted budgets. i'm guessing that the place is fairly happening at night as they get the spillover from lei lounge. next time we'll try the sushi and report on that.