Taste of Asia Teays Valley — Restaurant in West Virginia

My first time here, passing through town. I love a variety of Asian food, and this place definitely delivers. Tonight I most interested in Thai food, and the location was very convenient, so it worked out well.

My waitress was very friendly and upbeat, always a great sign especially later in the evening when a busy day can really test the energy of any server.

I'll be breaking down my whole meal! TL:DR version -- really great place, the only thing that took away from the entire meal was the Mussels in my Tom Yum Talay soup (in hot) were a little tough, like they were added too early, and one of the shells wasn't fully cleaned. The hot mustard (I was told it is homemade) is excellent, the stuff I remember from my childhood, not the bland stuff you get in the little packets these days! Overall the food and service was excellent. If I could give 4.5 stars I would.

I was told that they make all their sauces in house, and make the egg rolls every morning as well. How could I resist something like that? I ordered two. They came with hot mustard and a sweet and sour sauce.

The hot mustard had some punch, which was great. I grew up in Chicago and had plenty of trips to Chinatown, and back then (30is years ago), even the packets had punch. These days most hot mustard is very bland. This stuff was dynamite (in a good way for me). If you do not like spicy/intense flavors, please approach the hot mustard carefully. :)

The egg rolls themselves were also excellent. Not greasy, crispy, excellent filling and not overwhelmed with the shredded cabbage.

Beef negimaki was next. Presentation was excellent. The beef and scallions/onions used in it were flavorful. The sauce was a great accompaniment, it didn't 'compete' with the dish.

Smoked salmon nigiri. Excellent taste and texture. Presentation was very thoughtful with dots of sauce. It's not listed on their sushi menu, so I asked and they did indeed have it! I'm guessing they have a small smoke infuser for something else, and smoked it when ordered, it was a little warm when it got to the table -- not 'uh oh' warm, but 'this was in a heated device' warm, hence the conclusion about the smoking machine.

Tom Yum Talay soup (spice level was hot) was very flavorful and had a good amount of seafood. Only drawback to the soup -- and only mark against the whole meal was the Mussels in this dish, they were tough, like they were added to the soup too early, and one of the shells wasn't cleaned fully (still had a little bit of it's 'beard').

Dinner was Thai Basil Sauce with beef, in Thai Hot. It was fantastic, full stop. Beef was excellent, sauce was great and spicy. This is always a concern for me when I go to Thai places, most people don't have a good sense of what 'Thai hot' is, so the restaurants dial it back so customers don't reject the food. Yes I know you can ask for the spice tray, and I have at other locations, but it's just not the same adding it in at the end there. So getting a dish that was genuinely spicy to my liking right away was great. For reference, I grow and eat Trinidad Scorpion and Carolina Reapers. So please gauge accordingly. If you think "that hot sauce from Louisiana" is spicy, consider one of the milder spice levels.

With the main dish I had their "deluxe assorted tempura". It was the first time I've had tuna and salmon done tempura style, which is what made me order it, versus the usual shrimp (prawns) and veggies I normally get. It was good, crispy, batter was nice. There was a little residual grease, but seemed less than comes with most tempura, so that's good.

Sake - they have a variety of Sake, including Fuki plum Sake. I am a fan of Fuki's plum wine. When I first had it, I thought perhaps I was served the wine, the flavor profiles are nearly identical. I don't know what the difference is in ABV between the two. Price points were comparable between the two. The fuji apple sake was...

Had lunch 10/14/22, waited 1 hour 30 minutes due to fact they only had one hibachi chef. He finally got done with the 4 people beside us and came to our section 30 minutes later. He was nice but his cooking was horrible, the salt was so unbearable we could not eat the food. Lunch menu was 73.00 for 3 people. Was reported to waitress and waiter and was told well we are going through cooks and having a hard time finding one. Well if they use as much salt products that was used in our food I see why. My first visit and never again. My niece from South Carolina paid for the meal because she was excited to take us out. She was so embarrassed by the food and apologized to us over and over but it was not her fault. Staff never offered different food nor manager assistance. We left and went to Dairy Freeze for some great tasting food. Would not recommend this place at all and it was filthy. Had to tell chef to clean the hot plate before cooking cause it was dirty from drippings coming from the vents above. The health dept needs to go into this place and make them clean it up. My sister having high blood pressure would have been in major health problems if she had ate her food that day, she would have definitely ended up in the ER. Never will visit again and I would give this Place 10 stars if I could for the Health depth to go in asap. The bathroom was nasty. Ask for extra low sodium or no sodium for everything because you can always add but not Take away...

Subpar food, unsanitary dining conditions, and unprofessional chefs.

Upon arrival we were greeted with a stench reeking of rotten food and expired fryer grease. The manger was holding the front door open because he was trying to "get rid of the smoke smell."

Forty-five minutes of being forced to sit at our table, which was surrounded with broken egg shell and paper waste, the server finally brought out the salads which were essentially wilted leaves of lettuce floating in a ginger dressing soup concoction.

10 minutes later, the lukewarm miso soup was brought out. The room temperature soup tasted like it was made several weeks ago. Tasting notes included sweat, tap water, and various diseases.

After waiting another 20 minutes the chef finally came out! Only he wasn't our chef, he was serving the other side of the table. This young man had his pants hanging right below his right buttock cheek. Dinner with a show, I suppose.

After sitting in the toilet of a dining room for well over an hour with no sign of the chef, we decided to hit the road.

Do yourself a favor and avoid this place like the plague that it...