Asia Nine — Restaurant in Washington

A Pleasant Sojourn

I stopped by Asia Nine a little after 5 on a Monday after reading some reviews and hearing good things about their happy hour food deals. The place was pretty empty, and, after the requisite awkward interaction that seems to accompany dining on one's own, I was promptly seated in the front area by the sushi bar.

Despite research listing a few times for happy hour (all of which I was within), I only received a normal menu. I later gained the inkling that one needs to ask for happy hour and is then seated over by the bar, as I saw happen to one couple. I do not begrudge my lack of Sweet Deals; I ought to have inquired.

I ordered a spicy tuna roll and a beef panang curry, both of which were reasonably priced based on what I've come to expect from the area. The sushi arrived quickly: six pieces, but a bit larger than the average sushi I've formerly encountered. The flavor was fairly good, and it was the first spicy tuna roll I've had in a long affair with ordering them that actually had a little bit of spice to it. It isn't super spicy or anything, but it is, thankfully, noticable. Another piece or two of ginger would have been welcome, and while the flavour was good I would have liked to taste the fish a little more.

The beef panang curry comes with broccoli as its vegetable. The broccoli was fine, but a little firm. While the curry itself did not rank among my favourite panangs (it is my go to), the beef was among the best I've had in my curry taste/texture wise. It was thin, tender, and had a nice flavor to it. The curry was acceptable, but lacked a bit of depth.. perhaps striking me as a caricature? Not to say it was bad, just that it seemed exaggerated in the notes of that make a panang, without whatever secret subtlety usually makes me eat every last grain of rice added to the remaining sauce.

I would definitely return to Asia Nine to try getting to Happy Hour, but I see myself trying a few other Asian (or a more directly Thai) restaurants before returning for another pure dinner, despite the pleasantries...

A friend took me here for my birthday and it was SUCH a disappointment. I have been waiting for today for a long time and drove over an hour to come to this restaurant. The food was not worth it at all.

I ordered the shrimp poppers and the fried calamari. I had looked at reviews and saw pictures of how they served these in the past and I was so excited. To start with, the calamari was so thin, dry, and SUCH a small portion, it was very hard to eat. The calamari wasn't fresh at all, and had only a few pieces. I took apart the breading, and what remained was a plastic-y looking hard inedible lump. I couldn't believe someone had cleared this to go out from the kitchen. I had researched all reviews and everyone said the portions were large and these two appetizers were the best, I felt like I was being gaslit.

I looked up all the dishes before coming, looking at pictures, getting excited. I had planned my dishes before coming, and the portion was only about half what it normally was in other people's pictures. I did not want to be that person who complained, but we literally couldn't eat the calamari. I would look over at other people's dishes and I would see large portions for their appetizers and fresh sizzling food.

The only saving grace was the Green Curry dish I ended up ordering. Then they forced us to pay a $10 tip for mediocre service for just two people. I believe in tipping and tipping well, but to include that automatically on a bill when we weren't a group was completely out of pocket.

I had a wonderful time chatting with my friend, but the restaurant was a 0/10 for me tbh. Reading previous reviews, Asia Nine will likely just say thank you for the review and do nothing about it. If you want to retain people's business, you should do...

Won't be returning. Salmon nigiri was excellent, wings were ok (though I didn't like the sweet sauce on them), tuna nigiri was disappointing. High 3 stars on food. Service was ok, but the staff was clearly more interested in the baseball game on the TV than in the customers - again, 3 stars. So why the one star? I ordered a rye, neat. Sometimes waiters aren't clear on the concept and have to check with the bar, and usually ask me what brand. I'm not picky, I like them all. As long as they are rye, and not something else! What they gave me, without any comment, was horribly sweet. I asked the brand, and they showed me the bottle -- something called "Slow & Low Rock and Rye". Turns out to be rye plus 'rock candy', aka sugar. How bad can that be? Go on, ask me! Turns out that "rock and rye" is also a Faygo soda flavor. How bad can it be? Ask me again! I found out that you can buy the stuff in 100 ml CANS - not the Faygo soda, I mean the stuff they served me at the bar. Now, I have nothing against sweet drinks; I drank my share of southern comfort in back in the day. But when I order a rye at a bloody bar, and get a soft drink instead ... Then, to add insult to injury, the bill showed "Bulleit Rye". (Also didn't get the 10% off on the sushi set that the happy hour menu showed.) So ... yeah, I won't...