Zao Jun is tucked away in a strip-mall on Telegraph and Maple and could easily be overlooked. The food here is as eclectic as it is great, with Asian inspired influences, from Japan, China, and Thailand.
They offer a variety of appetizers, Miso, Egg Drop, and Tom yum soup (one from each culture), a variety of salads, Bao buns, Dim Sum, Noodle and Rice dishes, Asian inspired main dishes, as well as classics and signature sushi.
They also have a great drink menu, serving a variety of Sake (they even have a flight of Sake, which we did try), Asian beers, Japanese Whisky, wines, and interesting cocktails.
You can belly up to the bar, or even belly up to the sushi bar, or dine at a table in the bar area, or restaurant.
Given that they serve an eclectic array of interesting food, we decide to try a variety. We decided to start with the Spicy Chicken Bao, Shrimp Shumai, a half-order of the Hoisin BBQ Slow Cooked Ribs (they have it on the appetizer menu on their web-site, but it was not on the actual menu as an appetizer, but they did offer a half order).
We started by trying the Spicy Chicken Bao. This was AMAZING! This was my first time having a Bao bun appetizer and it was everything I imagined it to be. A super soft, delicate pillowy wrap with a tender, spicy bit of chicken over a medley of peppers and onions. It had a spicy Asian flavor. This was a definite order again tasty bite. If God created Asian food, he would have created this first - Dan.
Next we had the Shrimp Shumai which is considered a Dim Sum appetizer that was a steamed dumpling filled with a flavorful Shrimp mixture.
These were soft, creamy, and filled with bits of shrimp and held an amazing flavor profile. This was served with an Asian dipping sauce that added just the right amount of tang. I could have ate a thousand of these, but we had other food to get to - Dan.
Next we sampled the Hoisin BBQ Slow Cooked Ribs. From the website they had an amazing picture of these ribs that convinced us that we needed to try them. Not being on the appetizer list anymore, we found that they served a half order and thought why not?
The ribs were so soft that it was hard to actually cut them apart. The bones fell right out of the delicate meat. The sauce was tangy with a sharp hit of spice. It was served with an Asian BBQ sauce that hinted at a traditional Asian five spice profile and reminded you that you weren’t eating American BBQ. The fries were surprisingly good too. Shoestring with the right amount of crispness and lightly seasoned.
To wash down the appetizers, Dan ordered a Jack and Coke, and I had the Spicy Margarita (my absolute favorite of the margarita’s). This was a mix of tequila (which I failed to ask which one), Fresno and lime simple syrup, orange liqueur, lime, and slices of Fresno peppers. The Margarita was one I would order again! It was really, really good. Probably could have been a little more spicy for my taste, because I like to turn up the heat.
On to the next course….Sushi!
We decided that we had to try the Sushi. However, we were also tempted to order the drunken noodles (as well as several other dishes on the menu). The drunken noodles were a classic dish which was a wide rice noodles with Thai basil, chilis, eggs, garlic, and red wine. This earned a recommendation by our waitress, Brittney, who was an awesome server from her first greeting, to her recommendations, and friendly banter.
For the sushi, we ordered two Signature rolls, the Firecracker, (which is shrimp tempura and avocado inside, topped with krab mix, green onion, torched with spicy mayo and sriracha), and the Mr. Miyagi roll (which is a California roll topped with ahi tuna, yuzu kosher, Serrano, sweet and savory soy sauce).
The sushi was every bit as good as it looks in the picture! The fish was fresh with the right mixture of flavor and textures. The wasabi was soft and on the mild side (I like a little heat!). The white ginger was fresh and tangy and cleansed the palate perfectly. The ingredients were as fresh as a boy on prom night - Dan.
As an accompaniment to the sushi, we decided to try a flight of Sake. Both being fairly new to Sake, the flight was the perfect introduction to the various rice wine varieties.
Our flight included the Jozen Pink, Jozen Aqua, Indigo, and Yuza. The Jozen Pink was the driest of the four. It had a dry note of rice wine with a slight green apple finish. The Jozen Aqua was similar to the pink, but was more mellow. The Indigo was the smoothest of them all, and probably my favorite. The Yuza was a fruit Sake with a citrusy flavor. This was another favorite. It was very drinkable for new Sake drinkers.
Overall, this was a great dining experience! We need to come back to try more of the other dishes that we did not have enough stomach to order. My stomach enjoyed every bite - Dan.
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