Yaching's East West Cuisine
Yaching's offers an eclectic mix, but the tofu stands out
By Marty Rosen
Special to The Courier-Journal
People who like to classify restaurants will have a hard time pigeonholing Yaching's East-West Cuisine.
The darkly burnished atmosphere and much of the menu are steeped in Asia: impressionist geisha art, dark cabinetry, dim sum-style steamed buns ($10), five-spice pork chops ($17), appetizers like pan-fried dumplings ($6), a steamy, tongue-tingling Sichuan beef stew infused with cilantro and brightened by green and white pieces of bok choy ($12).
 Delicate lettuce wraps are filled with chicken and finely shredded vegetables at Yaching's East-West Cuisine. By Bill Luster, The Courier-Journal |
The net effect is not so much a fusion of Eastern and Western cuisines as an artful juxtaposition that straddles both worlds — just as the operatic arias pumping softly from the sound system float gently past the little gas lanterns on the tables and the red ribbons rising overhead.
Because of that very eclecticism — coupled with a downtown location that's at once convenient and obscure — I've never had trouble getting a table at Yaching's, despite the fact that it's a very affordable option for downtown diners.
For my money, the signature dish at Yaching's is the Buddha Steak ($16). That moniker is apparently a source of confusion to some diners — so much so that when I ordered it recently, two servers made special trips to the table to let me know that it's not a true steak, but a vegetarian dish made of tofu.
Of course it is. In fact, it may be the best tofu entrée in the city. Thin slabs of tofu are stacked in Napoleon-style layers that alternate with slices of mushrooms and tomatoes.
Served atop a gratuitous bed of rice, accompanied by deftly steamed cauliflower, zucchini and broccoli, the dish was attractively cloaked in a piquant brown sauce that amounts to a kinder, gentler version of the true mapo tofu sauce. And there's the rub: As much as I adore that dish, I wish it were as bold and powerful as it could be.
That said, you could make an entire meal of tofu at Yaching's. Those folks are tofu masters: Witness the crispy bean curd appetizer ($5), crisp little cubes of soy-glazed tofu that burst in the mouth like custard grenades. Other appetizers worthy of attention include delicate lettuce wraps filled with chicken and finely shredded vegetables ($7) or sturdy steamed dumplings in rust-red chili sauce with a delightful, oily burn ($7).
Over the three years since Yaching's opened, service has run the gamut from elegant grace to warm confusion.
On a recent visit, we encountered the latter, but even the confusion seemed to err on the side of service: Multiple servers tried to take our order; multiple servers warned us about the vegetarian nature of the Buddha steak. It can be a bit unsettling, but only a true curmudgeon would complain about the fact that everyone in the place seemed focused on taking care of us.
And even the most persnickety diner would have a hard time finding fault with Thai-style rice noodles with tiger shrimp ($13).
This is not a case of tossing a few shrimp onto a plate with some noodles; rather it's a fully integrated dish. A deep shrimp flavor infuses the tender noodles, suggesting they've been simmered in the shrimp stock. Pristine shrimp are generously arrayed around the perimeter of the dish, which derives a pleasant crunch from carrots and bean sprouts. And lurking in one corner we found a purple dab of pungent sweet and sour cabbage.
A full bar, a short selection of wines (Fat Bastard Chardonnay, $6/$25; Bogle Petite Sirah, $6/$24), and a handful of beers, including a few Asian bottles, are on hand. And the selection of house-made desserts ($5) includes an impressive sticky rice pudding topped with cream.
Freelance restaurant critic Marty Rosen's review appears on Saturdays. You can e-mail him at cjdining@gmail.com.
Yaching's East West Cuisine105 S. Fourth St.
Louisville, KY
(502) 585-4005
Rating: 3 stars
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