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November 28, 2004
LONG ISLAND RESTAURANT REVIEW
In Syosset, Asian Five-in-One
The New York Times
By JOANNE STARKEY

THE Asians keep coming at 4 Berry Hill Road in Syosset. There has been
a string of these restaurants: some Chinese, the last two, Pulau and
Penang, Malaysian. Now Asia Palace combines the fare of those two
countries and adds dishes from Thailand, India and Japan.

The sign out front and the menu boldly promise "trendy fusion
cuisine." The offerings here are neither trendy nor fusion. Expect old
favorites like shrimp tempura, won-ton soup, pad Thai and General
Tso's chicken with no mixing of cuisines in a single dish. Pan-Asian
would be a more accurate label: dishes from a variety of countries on
one menu.

The restaurant has a spare look. Its tan sponge-painted walls and
wood-beamed ceiling would be right at home in an American Southwestern
restaurant. A few hanging decorations defined by red tassels bring us
back to Asia. White tablecloths, hunter-green napkins, votive candles,
natural wood slat blinds and carpeting are part of the picture.

The staff means well but is unpolished. Diners are told to hang on to
their forks for the next course; many dishes arrive without serving
spoons and tables are never crumbed.

One night the best appetizer we tried was the edamame (steamed
soybeans in the shell), no great accomplishment. Its preparation takes
little effort or talent. Malaysian-style spareribs, which took some
work, were tough and terrible. We also turned thumbs down on the
rubbery fried dumplings and roti canai, a crisp Indian bread paired
with a spicy sauce dotted with potatoes and chicken, which had only
firepower going for it. Its flavors were muddy.

Two other also-rans were the calamari salad, a decent toss of greens
and mango and jicama strips ringed with tasteless fried calamari, and
hot and vinegar-spiked Thai soup brought down by its squid, which were
chewy while the shrimp and scallops in the brew passed muster.

On a return visit we had better luck. The Thai spring roll was dainty,
crisp and filled with appealing shredded vegetables. It was escorted
by what looked like duck sauce but delivered a spicy kick. That same
sauce arrived with the crisp, greaseless, tender chicken wings.

Two noodle dishes scored: the tasty house lo mein with chicken, and
the Singapore noodles, which starred thin rice noodles in a light
curry sauce. The noodles are often dry. These were moist and
delicious.

Entrees had as many ups and downs as a washboard. Two fish were among
the ups: garlic-roasted salmon in a sweet barbecue-type sauce with a
refreshing salad on the plate, and a crispy red snapper fillet,
lightly cooked, with a topper of julienned cucumber.

The worst dish we sampled was sizzling beef: chewy slices of meat in a
black pepper sauce with onions and red and green peppers. That same
tough meat, unfortunately, made a surprise appearance in the sambal
delight, which was advertised with shrimp, scallops and chicken. Beef
was substituted for scallops with no explanation. Another example of a
less-than-accurate menu description was the Asian grilled chicken. It
was billed as grilled meat over sautéed mixed greens, with lemon grass
and a red curry sauce. What we received had no greens and was rife
with peppers, mushrooms, pea pods and onions.

We did enjoy buah mango: sautéed and shredded mango, green and red
peppers and shrimp in a more-sweet-than-spicy mango sauce piled into
the fruit's shells. Also worthy was basil chicken, a mild and pleasing
dish with tender meat, green peppers, pea pods and basil.

Dessert at Asian restaurants is usually an afterthought. It is wise to
skip the soggy-coated fried ice cream here. Nevertheless, there were
three offerings that made the grade: fried bananas, peanut pancakes
and what our waiter called "coconut Jell-O." The last was a light,
tasty pick that would appeal more if it were called coconut flan. The
fried bananas, two-inch chunks of fruit wrapped in pastry to form
crispy bundles, needed ice cream to set them off. The peanut pancakes,
two long strips folded to enclose a sticky ground peanut filling, had
nostalgia buffs reminiscing about peanut sweets from childhood days.

Asian Palace's shrimp tempura epitomizes the restaurant. The shrimp
were firm and crisp, but their coating was not an authentic, gossamer
tempura. Japanese restaurants do it better. Asia Palace's five
cuisines at one restaurant illustrate that more can be less.

Asia Palace

4 Berry Hill Road, Syosset

(516) 682-0682

Satisfactory

ATMOSPHERE Stark, spare Asian.

SERVICE Well-meaning but unpolished.

SOUND LEVEL Average.

RECOMMENDED DISHES Thai spring roll, edamame, chicken wings, Singapore
noodles, house lo mein, crispy red snapper, garlic-roasted salmon,
basil chicken, buah mango, peanut pancakes, fried bananas, "coconut
Jell-O."

WINE LIST Around 30 still wines including plum wine and sake ($22 to
$70). Half the offerings are under $30.

PRICE RANGE Lunch, entrees include soup and choice of Thai spring roll
or spareribs, $6 to $7. Dinner, appetizers $1.75 to $8.45; noodles and
rice $9 to $11; entrees $9 to $20; desserts $6.50 to $7.50.

CREDIT CARDS All of them.

HOURS 11:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, till 11:30
p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday.

RESERVATIONS Usually not needed.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY Accessible. A few steps to some dining areas.

REVIEWED BY THE TIMES Nov. 28, 2004.

RATINGS Extraordinary, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Satisfactory, Fair,
Poor. Ratings reflect the reviewer's reaction to food, ambience and
service, with price taken into consideration. Menu listings and prices
are subject to change.

[NYT]