ASAI
30 Leonard St., Belmont
(617) 489-6333

Restaurant reviewed 10/08/98 by Sheryl Julian

ASAI Type: Asian Hours: Daily, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-10:30 p.m. Good choices: Tempura, hamachi-kama, shrimp pad Thai, crispy pad Thai, okdol bibimbap, chicken stir-fry with spicy Korean sauce and pan-fried noodles. Credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, Discovery. Access: Fully accessible.

The storefront that houses the new Asai in Belmont has a checkered past. Most recently it was Rustica, which had several identity crises before it smoothed out. There was also a Greek family restaurant and a Chinese restaurant in the same location. No one seemed in it for the long run. Some blame the turnover on the fact that Belmont is a dry town. Whatever the reason, the spot is begging for a restaurateur willing to stick it out.

Is it Asai? In concept, it's perfect. In practice, it's bumpy.

Asai opened two weeks ago with Rustica's interior decor still intact. While you nibble Japanese and Korean specialties, putti, the little Italian angels, smile down from the canvases on the ceiling.

Most of Asai's food is so good, so genuinely fresh and flavorful, that it seems surprising. You find yourself wondering where this skill came from. Then the answer creeps in slowly: The menu looks familiar, that idiosyncratic method of ordering a stir-fry in which you choose your own meat, sauce, and noodle. The list of pad Thais. The variations on bibimbap, the Korean rice dish made in a stone pot.

Aha. It's a knockoff of Jae's Cafe, the eternally popular restaurants where the cooks are Korean, sushi is in abundance, many of the specialties are Japanese, pad Thai is strong, and fish is king.

Asai, which means rising sun, is owned by Doo Jung Lee, who worked at Jae's for many years. His cooks aren't afraid of seasoning, so an order of stir-fried chicken with spicy Korean sauce and pan-fried noodles ($9.95) makes me sit up in my chair. The noodles are crispy in their chili sauce, which is loaded with garlic, and studded with tender bites of chicken, pea pods, and lots of crunchy vegetables. Spicy tofu pad Thai ($7.75) balances the heat with a sprinkle of peanuts and handful of bean sprouts.

Shrimp pad Thai ($7.75) is just as luxurious, with its flat, peanuty noodles, and sweet, plump shrimp. Okdol bibimbap ($11.95), the Korean rice and vegetable dish that arrives in a hot stone pot, has its traditional soft-cooked egg. You get to break it into the rice and vegetables. Or, better yet, dab your chopsticks into a heady chili paste, swoosh it around the egg and rice, and weep your way through it.

Large sushi orders arrive with a flourish on a small bamboo boat, which is set in the middle of the table for everyone to reach. The morsels are beautifully fresh, and vary from $11.50 to a "party boat" with 42 pieces for $69.95. Most of the regular sushi costs $2.50 to $7.95.

Hamachi-kama ($7.50), the collar of yellowtail, is golden brown and crunchy on top, salty, succulent - and excellent. Tempura ($4.95) is feathery around its vegetables; shumai are filled with shrimp, fried or steamed, and served with a mustard dipping sauce.

The food is thoughtfully made and served in such large portions, you might be able to carry home lunch for tomorrow. Alas, this is where the problems arise. Plates come to the table as they're prepared (the old Legal Sea Foods system), but it's too long between plates.

On the first night, my dinner never did arrive until we tried several times to flag a waitress. Asai is woefully understaffed and you feel like a heel asking a waitress rushing food to a table for another napkin or more water. If you don't, though, you won't get one because no one is checking on you all night.

Several of my guests reminded me that service problems are one of Jae's hallmarks. That makes Asai a perfect knockoff.