Foodie Friday: Naisa Pan Asian Restaurant Review

Last Friday, Nour and I started our weekend off with some volunteer work. We spent our evening passing out candy to children at a local community center because it was Halloween. I honestly do not celebrate Halloween, but I didn’t exactly read up on what I was doing so that was my fault. Whoops! Nonetheless, it was a fun experience. I mean, really, who doesn’t want to see kids in the most imaginative costumes ever? Or babies dressed up as adorable animals?

Even though I don’t celebrate Halloween, I wouldn’t mind buying a few costumes here and there for my baby (-ies since I want more than one. Heads up, future husband!). ^_^

Off topic—sort of.

Anyways. When we were almost halfway through volunteering (3 hours), we started talking about food…which brings us to my food review for Foodie Friday! We drove to Naisa Pan Asian Restaurant and then ended up running in the cold while there was a mix of rain and snow falling. (We found a parking space but not the restaurant!)

After successfully locating the place, we found ourselves in a warm, open space where the walls were covered in the traditional red for good fortune in Chinese culture. We sat down, and we ordered…

Location: Fountain Square

What I ate: Beef with Coconut & Curry with a dish of fried pork dumplings

What Nour ate: Veggie Fried Rice, Honey Sesame Shrimp, and an order of Tempura Shrimp

What I drank: Oolong tea!

What Nour drank: Traditionalist—Coke

Comments on the food: Hmmm… Being Asian and growing up eating Asian food at home and restaurants—honestly? This doesn’t really compare to what I could get at a seemingly dirty and run-down Chinese take-out restaurant. The food in my honest opinion is really made for the American-Chinese audience. I would come back, however, for their steamers because I saw a pair of ladies order them and they looked divine! They came in the traditional bamboo steamers that I am familiar with from dim-sum restaurants, so that’s a plus for me. I would have to go back to see if the steamer is worth it…. Also, another dish that would bring me back would be the dumplings. Just familiarity, I suppose, since you can get dumplings at any Chinese place.

As for Nour’s food—all of her food looked yummy. The fried rice is something that can be whipped up at home if I felt like it. (It’s a pretty standard dish…) Of the food I tried from hers, I really enjoyed the crispiness of her shrimp tempura! The wasabi mayo that came with it complemented it really well, and the wasabi wasn’t too overpowering.

Where: 1025 Virginia Ave, Indianapolis