One of the many great things about Chicago is that, culinarily speaking, you can travel around the world in a few restaurant visits. This column’s reviews reflect that global approach with the Argentinian spot Folklore, the Balkan restaurant Ambar Chicago and Sunda New Asian.
However, there’s also a new feature. At the end of each review, I’m assigning a grade to the visit. I just hope that I don’t have to grade on a curve. After all, if restaurants are expecting me, they should know to bring their “A”-games to the party.
Sunda New Asian
Lastly, another friend and I visited the Fulton Market location of Sunda New Asian—part of owner Billy Dec’s growing empire. (There are also Sunda spots in Chicago’s River North area as well as in Nashville and Tampa, with another opening in Detroit soon.)
Sunda aims to celebrate the culinary traditions of countries such as Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and China, among others. I still remember when I visited the River North location (still popular with celebrities)—and it was unforgettable for more than one reason. My guest opted for a dish with chilis; I knew he regretted it when a single tear rushed down his cheek and he sped to the men’s restroom.
Given my low spice tolerance, I knew I wasn’t in any danger of that happening at this Sunda, which is just as beautifully decorated as the River North site. Things started promisingly with drinks such as The Legend (Hard Truth toasted coconut rum, Fords gin, curry syrup, acid-adjusted pineapple and Thai bitters) and the Tokyo Cowboy (with Heaven’s Door Ascension, MC Black Scotch ale, spiced demerara, tobacco bitters and orange bitters).
Culinarily speaking, Sunda also impresses. Commence (comprising appetizers) has items such as tiger shrimp tempura, miso cauliflower and roasted duck hash—the latter a particularly alluring olio of glazed duck leg, daikon cake, frisée and crispy egg. The dim sum portion of the menu also has some intriguing items, including the Filipino dish lumpia, various steamed buns and the offering we tried—oxtail potstickers, which probably was my favorite part of the evening, aside from my friend’s company. (Note: I could also eat the white wasabi cream, which turned out to be quite mild.)
However, a very close second was when we tasted the New Asian creation known as the “The Great White”—a tiny but very tasty roll consisting of escolar, truffle vinaigrette, potato chip and black truffle shaving. It was absolutely heavenly. The tuna truffle pizza—consisting of roti prata, black truffle, foie gras aioli, red onion and truffle vinaigrette—was a solid performer even if, for some reason, it seemed a tad sweet. As for the sushi, the lobster wagyu was divine although you might want to try other options like the sweet potato caterpillar.
For our entree, we went with the pork belly sinigang, which had the typical ingredients (such as tamarind and cilantro). However, the dish is usually a soup or stew—and this was presented as a plated item, which seems to be the restaurant’s reimagining of sinigang. But the dish was delicious, with the right amounts of tang and sourness.
And don’t leave without trying dessert. While there are the usual suspects like molten chocolate cake and the delightfully creamy coconut cheesecake, you might want to try the “Ridiculous”—a round, sticky concoction of vanilla ice cream, ginger carrot cake, glazed walnuts and caramel. It made for a whimsical and flavorful end to the evening.
If there’s anything that might cause a pause, it could be the pricing of a few dishes; also, even though most offerings are reasonable, things could add up quickly because you’ll want to try several dishes during your experience. But this Sunda (which opened in February 2024) is worth a few extra dollars, and it’s one of the better experiences I’ve had this year.
Grade: A-
