[Chicago] Restaurant week 2014: Embeya

I can't believe another year has gone by and it is now restaurant week again. For my first round in 2014, I chose Embeya, a newish restaurant not too far from home, right at the start of Chicago's famous Restaurant Row. Just a few days before my reservation, a friend asked: why would you pick a pan-Asian restaurant? That sure got me worried, as I've never met a pan-Asian restaurant that I like. Being an Asian myself, I associate certain food terms with very particular types of food/flavor, but most pan-Asian places I've been to simply dowse their food in coconut milk or soy sauce (or both! gasp!) and proudly called it Asian. Well, Embeya calls itself "progressive Asian", whatever that means. So I walked into the restaurant on this brisk Saturday with a good amount of trepidation.

I was greeted by the friendly hostess...but what I was really grateful for was the heater right beside the door. Chicago really upped the game with winter this year. The decor of the place was pleasant enough, dark & sleek with some Asian touches.

The restaurant week menu at Embeya was family style, and the only choice diners had was between 3 courses for $33 or 4 courses for $44. Instead of picking one out of a choice of two for each course like most other places, here you get everything. This makes it one of the best deals around town.

We started with the octopus and green papaya salad. The salad was lovely, sweet & tangy with a nice crunch. It was refreshing, but I'd have enjoyed it more when it's 80 degrees out. The octopus, BLEW.MY.MIND. OK, to be fair, it was the cream sauce in the octopus dish that blew my mind. So creamy and full of that rich coconut milk flavor I love about Southeast Asian food. The caramelized eggplants simply melted into sweet goodness. As for the octopus, I can't say much as there weren't that many pieces and frankly they didn't stand out (I would've been perfectly happy without them).

The entrees were garlic chicken with scallion confit and braised pork belly. Surprisingly, I thought the pork belly was a bit underseasoned, but at least the meat was fork tender. The chicken was sliced so you can clearly see how juicy it was, yet the skin crackled audibly when I cut into it. So it was definitely a score.The entrees were accompanied by a side of caramelized brussel sprouts that were preseasoned with nuoc cham, a heavenly combination of fish sauce, lime juice, sugar & water. This plate emptied very quickly. In true Asian fashion, these were accompanied by a big bowl of fried rice sauteed with scallion and ginger. If you're wondering about portion size, I was stuffed at this point.

But wait, there's still dessert! Unfortunately these turned out to be rather disappointing after the excellent appetizers & entrees. The taro ice cream was flavorful, but I found the sauteed pineapple accompaniment too savory and a strange match for the taro flavors. While I commend the pastry chef's attempt to think outside the box, this didn't work for me. The green tea profiteroles were rather soggy, and the green tea powder on top were strangely scratchy on my throat.

Aside from the food, service was quite on point too. Although the dining room was busy, our server always checked in with us before and after each course. My only minor complaint was the bus boy, who was very eager to clear off our plates, even though we were clearly still working on them. Maybe we ate too slowly for the super efficient kitchen?

Despite the minor quibble, I enjoyed the food and service tremendously, and would happily return another time to try out their regular menu. That's no small feat for a pan-Asian restaurant in my book!

 

Embeya

564 W Randolph St, 

Chicago, IL 60661
(312) 612-5640