For some time now after I ate at Cafe Asia 2, which I consider one of the best if not the best…read moreAsian Restaurant in Roanoke, Virginia, and I encourage you to read my review for that restaurant, I have been wondering if there is a Cafe Asia, the original one. After being awarded the NC Triad Yelp Squad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, celebrating their contributions and accomplishments throughout the year, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Cafe Asia, in Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example. One day by searching the net I so happened to finally find it. I gave them a call right away to confirm that it was the original of Cafe Asia 2, and once confirmed, I made a commitment to go there for dinner that day. Before arriving I did my research and found out that it was founded by Feng Chen in 2008 "to offer autentic Asian cuisine for everyone to enjoy." I also found out that this first location in the Bonsack area of Roanoke County, offered a pan-Asian menu that included Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and Vietnamese dishes, alongside a sushi bar. And that due to the success of this family-owned business, the second location, Café Asia 2, opened on Electric Rd in 2013. When I arrived, I was surprised that it was located in the same strip mall as Sal's Italian Restaurant which I had reviewed some time ago. As I entered the restaurant the decor was not as modern as the second one but was still very clean and nice for its time. It had a very comfortable and friendly atmosphere. The Host gave me a very friendly and warm welcome and took me to my table. I noticed that decorating the place they had strips of picture frames with pictures of customers of the restaurant, almost like saying, we put our customers first. My server was also very friendly and helpful. He answered some questions I had about the extensive menu and I gave him my order. To start off with I had a Thai Iced Coffee. As appetizer I had a Sunflower Roll from the Sushi Bar. It had spicy lobster salad, mango, avocado, with soy paper. I walked to the Sushi Bar and watched the Sushi Chef make it for me. He was very friendly and appreciated me recording the event for my readers of this review. He came out with a Culinary Masterpiece. I really savored every bite. As my main entrée I had the Pad Thai Combination. It was so good. For dessert I had two: The Mango with Sticky Rice and the Combination Mochi Ice Cream (Mango & Strawberry). It was truly a memorable meal. In conclusion, I highly recommend this restaurant and clearly see the reason for its success. It has a beautiful decor and friendly atmosphere. A menu with a great variety of items. A wonderful Sushi Chef that can work wonders making culinary masterpieces. They use quality and fresh ingredients, and the Chef can also deliver wonderful dishes. All amounts to an extraordinary dining experience.

I ordered 4 sushi rolls: when I got home the sushi smelled bad and tasted horrible. I immediately…read moredumped it all in the trash to avoid getting sick. Cafe Asia 2 is the best. I will never go to this Cafe Asia again. A waste of money in sushi.

Food is good but sushi should be colder. I use to eat here years ago and it was excellent. Quality…read moreof food could be better.

My soon to be husband and I had the best oriental food we have ever had from any other restaurant…read more We will surely be coming back and bringing our family soon

I've been coming to this restaurant since it first opened and it's the most consistently amazing…read moreThai food I've ever had. I'm from Roanoke and this used to be a weekly staple for our family but now we live in richmond and there is nothing that compares to city corner 2 (we've tried at least 6 different main stream Thai places and nothing matches it). We love this restaurant so much that I try to stop in and eat it when I'm back in town visiting family which is what brought me and my kids here today. Don't let the appearance of this restaurant fool you, some of the best food I've eaten has been at hole in the wall spots, city corner inclusive. Staff is incredibly friendly and attentive and never leave you hanging too long. Prices are phenomenal (one of the few restaurants left with pre-Covid-ish prices). If you haven't eaten here, it's time. It's really amazing that roanoke is so lucky to have this place here! (Also, if you aren't sure what to order, pad ka paow with ground pork is awesome, I literally can't find this dish the way it's made at city corner anywhere else, if you're sensitive to spicy you may want to ask for a milder spice level)

Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed that my first Thai food experience in the area didn't come…read moreclose to the quality of Thai cuisine I'm accustomed to. The service was good, and since we arrived around 4 PM, the restaurant was very quiet and not crowded. However, the food fell short of expectations, and unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to recommend this restaurant based on my experience. We started with the dumplings, which were gummy and not properly seared. The texture was unpleasant, and after trying one, I couldn't continue eating them. For my main course, the vegetables had an unusual flavor, and the noodles were heavily drenched in oil, making the dish difficult to enjoy. I wasn't able to finish it. My partner ordered the duck (no photo available), and while the presentation was nice, he found the texture overly chewy. He ended up pouring extra sauce over the dish just to finish it. On a positive note, both the Thai tea and Thai green tea were very enjoyable. We even ordered refills, which are offered at half price--a nice touch and probably the highlight of our visit. Overall, while the service, ambiance, and beverages were good, the food quality did not meet our expectations.

Came in for a business dinner. A few of my colleagues had been before so it came highly…read morerecommended. We were seated quickly and looked over the menu while drink orders were taken. Got the shogun potato and some Sashimi and rolls. All the fish was fresh, rolls nicely done Service was good, quick to refill drinks and take orders for other items Not much to look at inside, but a solid choice for sushi if you're in the area

The best sushi I've ever ate. Loved this place for Years!!! For Lunch get the Wasabi special…read morealong with the Sushi Special and skip dinner!

We ordered food on Door Dash…read more Horrible. Noodles were mushy af and overly cooked. Rice was ok, but tasted sweet which was odd. I didn't order sticky rice, so not sure why it was sweet. Barely any meat was in our dishes. Completely not worth the money. And not seasoned enough....barely Flavorful. Ugh! Really unsure how this place got such a high rating. We won't try it again. That much I am certain or.

This is an amazing Thai restaurant, that may not look like much attached to a gas station. I've…read morebeen to Thailand many times, tried hundreds of Thai restaurants in the U.S., and this one is very good and traditional. The servers and friendly, quick and responsive. The food came out quickly and was hot. The Drunken noodles were amazing and so was the Pad veggie. I would highly recommend this Thai restaurant to anyone, those new to Thai and veterans. Great!

We were looking for a place to eat in our house. We just happened to see the review. Someone left…read moreabout anyone saying this is not a five star review is on crack. I laughed so hard. We decided to try it. The review is on point the man working there was super nice at the counter and the food was awesome. My kids don't usually clean their plates, but they suck down the orange chicken and then wanted more. Definitely if you're in the Moneta Rocky Mount area go here.

Something changed for the better. Tried twice before I'd leave a review. We ordered Kung POA…read morechicken and Mongolian Steak. Ordered to go on New Year's Eve. It was crowded with to go orders. The girl at the front desk was kind and helpful with suggestions plus working a phone and the counter. She was great and the food was too. Flavored with the amount of heat/ seasoning we wanted and crispy egg rolls were perfect. Nice to have a good oriental food place close.

Sometimes in the least expected places one can find the most exquisite restaurants. Looking for a…read moreplace to eat after an upset with 419 West Restaurant for not having enough parking spaces to accommodate their booked customers, after canceling the reservation that I made through Open Table, I drove off to a tiny strip mall next door, and there I found this place called Szechuan Chinese Restaurant. After being awarded the NC Triad Yelp Squad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, celebrating their contributions and accomplishments throughout the year, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Szechuan Restaurant in South Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example. As I was walking towards the restaurant after parking my car, since I hadn't had an opportunity to research it to find out if it was good, I asked one of their customers who was also headed that way and he replied: "After more than 40 years of being their customer, I haven't found a place with better Chinese food." What an outstanding live testimony to the place, I thought to myself. Then as I got closer, Their windows were displaying framed articles about the restaurant. Inside, the owner was seated at his open office located in front of the restaurant, and the walls around him were inundated with framed awards and photos related to the restaurant. The owner, very friendly and hospitable, greeted me, and explained how since Covid they no longer had table service. But you would look at the menu, order and pay there, and then the food would be taken to your table in take out containers by a young lady server. As I went through their beautiful and extensive menu, he was able to notice that I was not too familiar with many of the items on the menu, so he helped me by asking me some questions of my likes and providing some recommendations. I ended up ordering a Coke to drink. A Vegetable Spring Roll as appetizer, as well as a Scallop Roll from the Sushi Bar. And as my main entrée I ordered the Pork Szechuan Style with their Fried Rice. And for dessert they had only three options Cheesecake, Chocolate Cheesecake, or Donuts. I went for the Chinese Donuts because I always wanted to try them. After ordering and paying with my credit card, I went to their dining room to look for a table to sit at. I picked a booth next to a window to provide enough natural light to be able to photograph the food nicely. The server brought me a plastic bottle of coke with a styrofoam cup with ice. The dining room was very nice and had the most beautiful and elegant fish tank that I've ever seen in a restaurant. It's a pity that they hadn't return back to regular table service since Covid is now under control. While waiting for my food to be prepared, I walked over to the Sushi counter to watch the Sushi Chef prepare my Scallop Roll. I invite you to view my photographs and videos accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. Finally, the friendly young lady brought my food to my table on a tray which she placed on the table. Both her followed-up to see how I found the food and to see ifvI needed anything else. What can I say, the food was amazing! From the Sushi to the Pork in the Szechuan sauce, to the Spring Roll, and Fried Rice. By the time I ate the donuts they had cooled down and hardened and were a bit dry inside. While I was enjoying my meal, several customers stopped by to pick up their To Go orders that they had ordered by phone or through their website. Others came with the intention of eating in but when they found out the situation, they ordered for Take Out instead. And a family who came to eat in, left when they found out the dining situation. The dining experience is not the same eating out of plastic containers. It's like drinking wine out of a plastic cup is not the same as drinking it out of a Baccarat wine glass. I highly recommend that the owner return back to the normal way of operating a restaurant. The inside of the restaurant is much too beautiful and the food much too exquisite not to do so.

service. Even on Christmas Eve when half of Roanoke wants Szechuan and things get a little busy,…read morethey are uber-professional. Dumpling SAUCE is amazing. I think it's made fresh. I would LOVE the recipe.

The atmosphere is nice....BUT...DO NOT get any seafood hibachi....the chef put the shrimp on the…read moregrill FIRST...and let it cook for at least 30 mins...by the time he put it on my place it was a piece of burnt rubber....then they give you 4 scallops...and he cooked those for 20 mins...then proceeded to cut them into small portions...and cooked it for another 10 mins....the scallops were so tough....it made a sound when you poked it with fork...just get chicken..maybe they won't overcook that...,

My son absolutely loves this place and their sushi rolls! Always the request for birthdays.read more