I could scarf down enough sushi to make an all-you-can-eat buffet cringe, so when I heard about Midtown Tampa’s new Southeast Asian restaurant, I had to check it out.
The spot: My girlfriend, Maya, and I booked a reservation at Sunda New Asian last Thursday. The restaurant is known throughout Chicago and Nashville for its modern Asian cuisine.
- Glass flowers hang from the ceiling, and scattered white lamps shower customers with warm hues. The place was packed, with as many people standing near the bar as there were seated.
What we ate: We started with the Great White Escolar — a buttery blend of sushi rice, escolar, truffle oil and a potato chip ($14). It’s good, but with only two expensive pieces, we were left yearning for more.
- That’s when we ordered the Gambler roll ($24). It’s a six-piece tuna roll replete with cucumber, scallion and avocado. But there’s a catch: One of the pieces is stuffed with chile paste made from rehydrated ghost peppers.
The intrigue: The menu warns customers that the Gambler is “dangerously spicy.” We didn’t listen. The server brought the sushi on a spinning plate, with a single poker chip promising dessert resting on top. So began our roulette.
- We took turns picking a piece, watching for the other’s reaction with trepidation. It lasted a few rounds before Maya’s face went pale. “That one tasted different,” she said, her voice strained.
- She chugged down water after water and fistfuls of ginger between breaths. A concerned server brought out milk, and desperate, my lactose-intolerant girlfriend downed the entire glass.
- She didn’t order an entree. I ate mine — an ample serving of fried rice, chicken and an egg ($22) — alone.
The verdict: We’ll be back for dessert. Maya earned it.
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