By JOHN ROBINSON
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One of Emporia’s newest restaurants is looking to offer diners a variety when it comes to Asian cuisine.
Ichiban Asian Bistro opened Oct. 21 and despite being a primarily Japanese-style restaurant — serving hibachi and sushi dishes — Ichiban also serves Thai, Korean and Chinese dishes. This is a style Manager Wayne Tsao calls “Asian Fusion.”
“We are mainly a Japanese restaurant; we have sushi and hibachi,” Tsao said. “But we also have a lot of Thai food, some Korean food and some Chinese food.”
Growing up in Hays, Tsao said his family has operated Chinese restaurants across Kansas. Ichiban is their first attempt at a Japanese restaurant.
Tsao said his family moved to Hays the summer before his freshman year, and he then graduated from Hays High School. His uncle owns Imperial Garden Express at Big Creek Crossing, which Tsao’s parents managed until they branched out on their own.
Tsao said the community reception to Ichiban had been strong, noting the restaurant had plenty of diners in its first few days of operation.
“A lot of people have come in and said they have enjoyed it and would recommend it,” he said. “We’ve been pretty steady so far.”
According to Tsao, the restaurant prepares food cooked to order. In the kitchen, Tsao said the sushi chef has 30 years of experience while the hibachi chef has been at it for a decade.
“You can always come in and talk to our sushi chef,” he said. “He will make something special for you,”
For those stopping into Ichiban for the first time, Tsao said there are plenty of dishes which make for great introductions.
“If anybody likes any kind of curry, everyone has loved our curry so far,” Tsao said, adding there are options for people who dislike spicy foods. “Everything is homemade here. We have three different kinds of curry — red, yellow and green — red is a little sweeter, green is in the middle and yellow is a little saltier.”
Tsao also recommends trying one of Ichiban’s hibachi dishes. The menu is available online at ichibanasianbistro.com.
Ichiban — located at 1430 Industrial Road — is open from 11 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 – 9:30 p.m. for dinner on weekdays. Friday and Saturday Ichiban closes at 10:30 p.m. with a 9 p.m. closing time on Sundays.
Story republished with permission from the Emporia Gazette.