RESTAURANT REVIEW: RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen

RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen | 10250 Santa Monica Blvd. | Los Angeles, CA 90067 | 310-552-9988 | www.rocksugarpanasiankitchen.com | $$$

By SIERRA DAVIS | Pali Life Editor

A culinary wind from the Far East blew me into RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen for the first time on Friday night where I met my girlfriend Sara for dinner. We passed through two oversized red doors, framed by gold leaf-overlaid columns, Burmese Buddha statues, water features, flames and a dragon sculpture. The design and décor gave the restaurant a sort of Asian-themed resort feel.

Having traveled through parts of Southeast Asia, I was eager to revisit the region – at least with my taste buds.

Drawing upon memories of family meals his mother used to make, executive chef Mohan Ismail presents a spread of cuisines from Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and India.

Unlike popular fusion restaurants, the menu at RockSugar, which takes its name from an essential ingredient used by Asian chefs, is not East meets West, but rather more traditional dishes of the region.

I found, however, that it’s rare for a restaurant to produce dishes of the hand-cooked quality found in country.

We flipped the wine list and landed on a couple of exotic cocktails. I settled on the Lemongrass Cucumber Martini (vodka, lemongrass, yuzu and brut champagne) while my dining partner was won over by the Blood Orange Sangria (champagne, reisling, blood orange puree, tropical fruit, kaffir and calamansi). My martini was light and refreshing while the sangria was expectedly sweet and summery.

Snacking on an order of Crunchy Calamari marinated in coconut milk with chili-pepper sauce and micro greens, we pored over the list of signature dishes like Thailand’s Nam Prik Spicy Pacific Rockfish, the Vietnamese Summer Rolls, Kuala Lumpur Noodles, Sambal Eggplant from Singapore, and Indian-inspired Chicken Tikka Masala.

We settled on a seafood dish, Indonesian Grilled Cilantro Shrimp, and opted to add a side of Ginger Fried Rice that was infused with spices common to the region like ginger and lemongrass. The lightly charred shrimp was dished up with corn, sweet potato, peas, coconut milk and spicy chilies. If you like a little heat, this a great dish to try.

Because RockSugar serves their dishes Asian family-style, we also ordered the Malaysian Peppered Beef to share. Distinctly flavored with Szechuan cumin and jalapenos, this dish packed a heated punch, but not so hot it took away from the flavor of the tenderloin.

For dessert we ordered from the onsite bakery, but unlike with our main dishes, we weren’t as willing to share. While I indulged in the Warm Chocolate Cake (served with Vietnamese coffee ice cream), Sara took a lighter note with an order of Fresh Berries served with elderflower syrup and Chantilly cream.

Of course, we couldn’t keep our forks to ourselves and ended up taste-testing the other’s sweet selection.

While RockSugar serves traditional Thai Iced Tea and Vietnamese Coffee, we opted for a less sweet espresso to sip before we slipped out of our booth.