Asian Jazz

Boy. Have I ever been avoiding this restaurant. The reason? Well, this restaurant used to be Delta Wonton House before they closed and was replaced by Asian Jazz. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary many might think. Not so fast. I had a chance to try DWH before it closed and gawd, they had probably the worst wonton noodle soup ever. The soup was like saltwater and the wontons were gritty and cold while the noodles were a soggy mess. I was none too impressed. I guess many others shared the same sentiment since it bit the dust shortly after. Now, why would I avoid the new restaurant? You see, I had some suspicions. On Urbanspoon, there were "reviews" on Asian Jazz that were exactly the same people who gave the "thumbs up" to DWH. Coincidence? I think not. Hence, I really wondered if they were just the same people with a revamped name and menu. Despite this, I finally made it out to the place and dragged Pops along with me.

One look at the new menu and to many, it might send them running for the hills. When they claim to be a fusion restaurant, they weren't kidding! Chinese, Japanese and Thai cuisine all in one place... Yah, it didn't seem promising; but hey, I'll give anything a chance! Besides, I really liked the renovations. The place looks spiffy now. So for myself, I went for the Wonton Noodles as a means to exorcise the one I had before. And despite being pork wontons, they were decent. The meat had a nice bounce texture and tasted good. The wonton noodles were slightly overcooked; yet still had some chewiness. Surprisingly, the soup base was very acceptable. It had some depth with a good balance of flavours. It looked the part too. For my second item, I went for the Teriyaki Chicken with rice. I thought the chicken was cooked perfectly. Crisp on the outside and very juicy on the inside, it was lightly sauced. It had a peculiar taste that didn't seem very Japanese; but it was pleasant enough to eat. Now the one fault of this dish was the rice. Rather than using Japanese short-grain rice (which is sticky and chewy), they merely used Jasmine rice. That in itself provided the wrong texture and essence.

Pops went for their Lunch Combo where he was able to choose any 3 items from a list. He went for Chicken Chow Mein, Ginger Beef and Tso's Spicy Chicken. Although this was a very typical North American Chinese combo, the food was actually quite acceptable. The chicken was extremely moist with a slightly spicy sweet glaze. As for the beef, it was crisp and quite gingery. The chow mein was pretty textbook and not too oily. A huge amount of food for $10.00. On a return visit, I finally got to try the Unagi Fried Rice, which they didn't have last time. You know when something is good? When you can't stop eating it. Well, this was the case here. The rice was perfectly chewy with a good amount of caramelization from the hot wok. Plenty of diced unagi and sweet corn made for a sweet and savoury mix. For research purposes, I also ordered the Pad Thai and you know what? It was not too bad if you weren't expecting authenticity. The noodles were al dente and mixed with plenty of ingredients (not sure of the green peppers though). However, tastewise, it was too sweet. It had a certain "Chinese" chili taste to it. But it was acceptable. Well, well, well... Although the food won't blow anyone away, it is relatively decent across the board. Authenticity aside, the prices and portion sizes are good. A much better spot than the original Delta Wonton House.

The Good:
- Reasonable pricing
- Good portions
- Friendly service

The Bad:
- Don't expect authenticity here