Kubo Asian Fusion & Bar {Han Okcuoglu}
By Han Okcuoglu
Kubo Asian Fusion & Bar opened its second location in Coral Springs on December 14.
We had never been to the original location in Ft. Lauderdale, so we had no idea what to expect. We found out that both the husband and wife owners were at this location cooking the food in the back, and it’s evident in how good the food was. That was even more impressive, considering the enormous size of the Japanese/Chinese/Thai menu.
During happy hour, my companions and I visited a restaurant where appetizers were $2 off. Among the dishes we ordered, the pork dumplings stood out as really delicious. Unlike traditional dumplings that tend to conceal the meat in a thick and doughy pouch, these dumplings had a unique preparation. The pork was stuffed like a bell pepper and overflowed from a fantastic, thin dough. This preparation method allowed the flavors to shine through, creating a truly enjoyable culinary experience.
During our meal, our waitress Nicole informed us that the restaurant owners invest their mornings in making each dumpling by hand. The care and attention put into the process were evident in the taste of the dish. We were pleasantly surprised by the addition of seaweed shavings on top, as it injected some freshness and contrast to the earthy flavors of the dumplings.
The chicken gyoza and crab rangoon were both above average. We noticed that the appetizer pastry shells were filled to the brim.
I judge Asian restaurants on the quality of the shaved ginger that comes with the sushi or sashimi. I noticed it seems to be a leading indicator for the quality of the fish. And the ginger was outstanding, so it was no surprise that the sashimi was tender, soft, and fresh.
The pork bao buns were perfectly cooked with appropriately pillowy buns. The fantastic traditional Filipino adobo sauce left me wanting more.
The chicken lettuce wraps left me wanting less. The leafy lettuce overtook the kind of bland chicken. It wasn’t easy to assemble and not as good as others we’ve tried.
My favorite dish was the Pad Ka Prow. We chose the Thai-style ground beef over the chicken. The seasoning was superb—fresh chili, basil, garlic, and onion with rice and a fried egg on top.
The beef was slightly sweet, and I kept scooping from different parts to pull the flavors of the onions and eggs and a robust and excellent basil taste.
This will definitely be a staple for me on each visit. And thankfully, like all dishes, the spice level can be adjusted. I asked for mild and maybe should have gone hotter since I barely tasted any heat.
We took a bulgogi Ramen home for the kids, and they loved it. The broth was dense and rich; the meat was sweet and tender. It was perfect.
The dessert, though, was….interesting. It was advertised as a mochi crepe but came out like a slice of cake. After further inspection, we realized it was symmetrically thin-sliced layers of floury mochi crepe with vanilla creme and whipped cream with mochi sauce drizzled over everything.
My wife enjoyed the texture, but I did not. It felt a bit rubbery, and the mochi flavor could have been much deeper for my liking.
Overall, though there were service issues with the time for drinks and food to arrive (definitely not Nicole’s fault as they had just opened the day before and the kitchen was still figuring things out), that doesn’t detract from what we thought was a very tasty and affordable dinner with a wide range of options.
Kubo Asian Fusion & Bar is at 1933 N University Dr, Coral Springs, FL 33071.
Mon – Thurs 12:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Fri 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Sat 1:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.
Sun 1:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
https://coralspring.kuboasianstreetfood.com/
For reservations call 754-777-6367.
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