At first glance, Pan Acean appears to be a home-grown version of the Pei Wei chain restaurants, with a menu featuring a broad palette of asian cuisines. My impression is that Pan Acean does it better. I have yet to find a dish that disappoints; Pan Acean displays a capable hand in the soups and courses that I have so far sampled: from their steamed dumplings to their Mandarin Garlic stir fry. They also had an interesting rendition of Walnut Shrimp; their tangy version was dubbed Vanilla Prawns and came with honey pecans. Perhaps the best dish that I’ve experienced is their Mandarin Seafood Bisque–a misnomer, since there’s nothing bisque-like about it at all. But the seafood broth is delightfully swimming with fish, mussels, scallops, shrimp and asparagus. It’s a soup that we can’t get enough of it seems, having ordered it on every visit to Pan Acean so far.

Spice N Rice recalls the cafeteria atmosphere of Taiwan Cafe except that they serve up cheap and fast versions of Indian food. I regretted not sampling their other offerings, on our tour of menus, when the fiance and I dropped by for some samosas. We had to wait about 10 minutes for them to cook up a fresh batch, but it was worth the wait. Beef, chicken and vegetable samosas all had their distinctive flavors, and we found that their sweet-spicy chutney sauce greatly enhanced the taste. I should have remembered to order the chaat dish, instead of ordering them individually, but neither our hostess or the kitchen complained of the one serving each of the base-ball sized samosas. We got a great deal for the large portions…something I didn’t expect of a chaat house. We’ll be back!

There’s just something bizarre about ZENse Thai. I understand that they promote some fusion dishes on their menu, I grokked the beta fish in their little pitchers, but I just couldn’t grasp the decor. The raffia-rope that ringed the dining room recalled Buddhist influences, sacred trees ordinations and such–except I felt nothing holy about eating there. What was amiss was a peanut chicken dish…this omission was aggravated by their “Fearless Foodie” list: ka-prow and chicken tom-kha spaghetti?? Come on, give me peanut sauce chicken. Disappointed we resigned ourselves to an order of satay chicken and their Siam Beef–which surprised us. The satay chicken was uncharacteristically presented sans skewer, instead 5 pieces perched atop slices of french bread–and this proved to be an excellent combination. The Siam beef came out on skewers, and while the meat was tough, it was also remarkably well-marinated…very flavorful and satisfying. So even though ZENse lacked what we were looking for, we were nevertheless pleased by what we found and promised to visit again for another adventure through their menu.

I admit some surprise that there are at least 2 sushi restaurants in Coppell, but it seems there is an audience for Japanese food in this city–for which I’m grateful. Cool Bamboo sits across from J. Macklin’s Grill in a quiet corner strip mall, displaying a serene, dark exterior. When you walk in, you realize the reason for this; next to the front door is a wall of dark tiles down which water streams gently. It is a departure from the typical water-glass sculptures that grace most restaurant lobbies. The upscale surroundings was accompanied by quick and courteous service. Even though we were here for a single course, we were still treated well. The Volcano sushi turned out a delicious rendition, sprinkled liberally with baby scallops and shrimp, and topped with twisty strips of wonton skins, which gave it crunch. With the pleasant digs and superb service, our experience at Cool Bamboo guarantees another visit from us.