Tucked away on Madison avenue between 37 and 38th street is the a culinary gem, Asia de Cuba. I visited this trendy spot for a mid-week dinner with my brother and a close friend, and I have to say I really enjoyed myself. The ambiance alone is quite visually pleasing; the curtains on the the wall accompanied with floor lights created a soft billowy look, and the mandarin orange lighting gave the whole restaurant a nice warmth and an interesting glow. This restaurant may seem to some as pricey, but they serve all their dishes 'family style' so you split everything, including the cost.
We started off with the Braised Beef Spring Roll served on a Cuban black bean papaya salsa with a port wine reduction. The spring rolls were quite large and filling, I really enjoyed the delicate outer spring roll layer, it complimented the savoury braised beef well.
For our entree we decided on the Tropical Hoisin Roasted Duck, which was served with sliced plantains. The duck, which was prepared medium rare, was very tender and slightly sweet because of the hoisin sauce. We also ordered a side of brown rice with plantain mixed in, topped with guacamole.
For dessert, which we were hesitant about at first, we ordered the Cuban Opera, which was a devil’s food cake with kahlua, milk chocolate and coffee mousse accompanied with a scoop of coffee ice cream. I'm glad we decided on dessert, because to me (I rarely order dessert after a meal) this was the highlight of the meal. Cuban Opera, was very moist and had incredible depth in flavor.
Overall, I would definitely go back to Asia de Cuba, the service is good, the food very innovative and ambiance is something out of a movie. Try and see!
