Love Southeast Asian cuisine but want to extend your palate? To mark Filipino American History Month, this October modern Southeast Asian restaurant group Sunda New Asian refreshes its menus with a refined rotation of Filipino-inspired specials.
Sunda New Asian was founded in 2009 by Emmy Award-winning entrepreneur and veteran restaurateur Billy Dec. At the heart of this upscale endeavor was a desire to deliver memorable hospitality through unforgettable Asian flavors. Evoking nostalgia, comfort, and excitement, each dish helps tell a cultural story, forging connections across generations, cultures, and tables.
A Growing Culinary Presence
With multiple locations already in Chicago, Tampa, and Nashville, a recent addition has bolstered Detroit this year in the walkable block of Columbia Street. The space welcomes more than 200 covers with additional patio seating in warmer months.
While each restaurant is designed to have its own identity, Billy ensures they all align with the overarching group philosophy by hiring Mike Morales as executive chef and Tokyo-trained Ise Masanobu as head sushi chef to instill culinary cohesion across the entire portfolio.
What’s on the Menu?
As a result, the kitchens deliver culinary classics like dim sum, noodles, salads, and rice dishes, as well as heartier plates of beef, pork, poultry, and seafood. Leaning into its rich heritage, Sunda New Asian also experiments with seasonally inspired craft cocktails and a premium selection of sakes, Asian beers, and Japanese whiskies – delivering an elevated yet familiar dining experience for all.
When formulating these recipes and curating these menus, authenticity shines through. This is thanks to Billy’s extensive travels throughout Southeast Asia to discover and deeper understand his own culinary identity, as chronicled in his inaugural documentary, Food Roots.
A Journey Through Food and Culture
Produced in 2023, with a broader TV release this year for AAPI Heritage Month, Food Roots sees Billy’s journey to his mother’s native islands of the Philippines to find his last living elders, learn the recipes of his ancestors, and preserve the family stories that have long lived beside them.
In Celebration of FAHM
The journey and its learnings directly inspired the group’s decision to observe Filipino American History Month this year with a spread of themed food and drinks.
These specials include sweet potato pinakbet, one of the Philippines’ most celebrated vegetable dishes, to reflect the country’s deep agricultural roots. Kaldareta pot pie is another dish synonymous with celebration: a slow-braised stew traditionally prepared with beef, tomatoes, peppers, and olives. Rich and hearty, the group’s interpretation sees familiar flavors layered with braised oxtail, roasted vegetables, and bone marrow.
As for something sweet, taho is a traditional Filipino dessert often sold by street vendors. Made with silken tofu, brown sugar syrup, and chewy sago pearls, Sunda New Asia’s take is layered in ice cream, ube, pandan pearls, and crispy turon.
At the crossroads of Spanish influence, Chinese migration, and American history, Sunda New Asian tells generational stories through food, reminiscent of the tales Billy Dec inherited on his travels. Immerse yourself in this culinary journey by dining at the renowned Sunda New Asian across Nashville, Tampa, Detroit, and its two venues in Chicago.