Baja California

Best of Baja: Asian Food Restaurant Nominees

Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and more!

By Staff2016-12-24T00:43:20+00:00

In Mexico, the best flavors from the "eastern side" of the world are located in Baja, where cultures mix to create a way of living and eating. Arts here have no limits, thus, cooking either. So this year we decided to mention the most important places for eating Asian Food in this state, a region full of original food proposals.

Here are the nominees forBest Asian Food Restaurant in Baja:

1.- Pho Vietnam

This little place is located in Plaza Agua Caliente and is described as the"Pho of Tijuana", good, nice and cheap. The small bowl of beef or chicken costs just $3.00 dlls, and is a dish that looks bigger than any bowl of pho you've had the luck to taste (now imagine the large bowl).

The cozy atmosphere stands out from the other places that serve Pho. Here, a Vietnamese girl always greets you with a "good afternoon", and always brings to your table a small plate with Hapian, a snack similar to chips, which you can accompany with lemon, sriracha sauce and other condiments available, such as soy sauce.

Photo: Cynjen Romero

2.- Baja Bombay

Baja Bombay is a unique restaurant in a town where you will always expect to eat seafood. A few meters from the beach in Rosarito, the restaurant has surpassed the expectations of those who dare to sit on the cushions in this colorful the place to try the Indian cuisine. Baja Bombay offers vegetarian dishes, Hindu pizzas, curry, thalis, and more, all of these made with local ingredients.

Photo: @bajawineanddine / Facebook Baja Bombay

3.- Punjabi Indian Cuisine (Tandoor)

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There are not many places in Tijuana to enjoy authentic food from India, but among the most recognized we can find Punjabi, located in Zona Rio, Tijuana. While this place is small and sometimes you smell the smoke directly from the kitchen, the atmosphere, the music and the food make up for all the tiny flaws.

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The most recommended option is the trays (or Thalis of the day) as they serve you a little of everything, so you can taste the most traditional and rich food of the Indian cuisine. The rice flour dessert with almond syrup will be your doom, while the mango drink with milk (or yogurt) will help you calm the pump of flavor and spices that you will find in the food, and besides, it is a delicious and refreshing beverage.

The meat is perfectly cooked and definitely the "Indian tortillas"will be the right complement to whatever you want to eat during your visit.

Photo: Facebook/Punjabi Indian Cuisine

4.- El Turco

Asian cuisine also includes Turkey in our book (just because we don't have a Mediterranean section) on its list and El Turco is its top representative in Tijuana. With more than three years opened to the public, this restaurant has not stopped serving his home tea with a warm welcome for everyone who decides to sit down and enjoy the food.

The place is distinguished by avoiding the fusion of flavors or staying cataloged in Mediterranean cuisine, as its owner maintains the flavor of its region of origin and traditional dishes that are not found elsewhere in the Baja.

Photo: Instagram @alexandrunk /@glorossell_deloscob

5.- Hanabi

Chef Osamu has the ability to prepare an amazing dish, collect and clean tables at the same time, it almost seems like the place is self-sustaining. Hanabi is a piece of Japan in Tijuana, so you can be sure that you will not find another teriyaki like this one.

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The menu is neither expensive nor glamorous, it consists of the famous teriyaki, miso soup, and simple but tasty sushi combos that you can order in roles or cones, with different proteins to choose, such as octopus, shrimp and crab.

Photo: Instagram yeyawankenobi / @rtavo87

6.- Katai

This is one of the few ... if not the only place for Thai food in Tijuana. It is a small restaurant where the smells of the kitchen remain in your nose, and where photographs of the chef touring Southwest of Asia with monks in orange robes decorate the place.The Thai Pad of chicken is a dish that will not disappoint people who are looking for new flavors.

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Photo: Facebook Katai

7.- Jade

The restaurant is a MUST for anyone who visits Mexicali. Here the traditional Chinese food of the locality is the best, and Jade is strangely similar to other Chinese food restaurants in Tijuana, but the seasoning is uncomparable. Fried rice, mongolian chicken, spring rolls, beef with broccoli, you name it, the authentic Cantonese food can be found at this place.

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Photo: Instagram @marlenesr / @david_peguero_c

8.- Saketori-Ya

It is called a Japanese pub, as it is distinguished by its offer of great sake, the famous Japanese alcoholic beverage. This small restaurant has the full facade of a traditional neighborhood pub in Japan, where tables sometimes become a little uncomfortable due to the small space.

While you wait for your meal, you can see in the kitchen how they cook on traditional dishes, such as the classic Ramen made with noodles of the house, broth, negi, egg, garlic chips, nori and pork belly. Saketori-Ya has the perfect fusion of flavors that pleases the Mexican palate.

Photo: Instagram @saketoriya

9.- Tobu

Tobu is a recent project that claims to merge Japanese cuisine with local ingredients, which is true since its menu has seafood products that can easily be found in Baja: Shrimps, salmon, octopus, squid.

This restaurant is the only place in Tijuana that also offers Vietnamese and Thai dishes. An Asian fusion as described in its menu. The perfect place for those who love the food of the Asian continent but cannot decide which one to try first.