Tour Asia on a dinner plate

From Japanese and Chinese to Thai and Vietnemese cuisine, the new Origami Sushi & Asian Grill in Silverdale serves up more than just sushi.

Although sushi is the restaurant’s specialty, with more than 50 varieties to choose from, a number of different asian meals also are available.

“Most places don’t have this much sushi,” said Jay Zeng who owns the restaurant with his wife Phuong Sun. “We have all-Asian food, (customers) can get more choices. If you go to a Chinese restaurant, all they have is Chinese, we have more different types of food from different countries.”

They also offer a wide variety of Asian stir-fry and various ethnic cuisines including the popular kalbi ribs (Korean beef-grilled ribs), Phad Thai and Singapore noodles.

“There’s all varieties to choose from,” said customer Stephanie Harris Crane of Port Orchard on Thursday. “I really like the shrimp tempura, it’s really good.”

The new restaurant is located where Ping’s Noodle House used to be in the Red Apple shopping center on Silverdale Way. Not wanting to commute from Seattle any longer, the owners of Ping’s sold the building. Although Sun and Zeng also live in Seattle, the commute actually works well for them.

“We pick up our fish everyday in Seattle, it really has to be fresh,” Sun said.

Zeng adds that while many sushi restaurants order their fish every three days, it’s important to him that it’s fresh from Seattle on a daily basis.

And not only does he own the restaurant with his wife, but he also is the sushi chef and has been in the business for 14 years.

Origami Sushi features both cooked and raw forms of sushi. But Zeng says the trick to eating raw sushi is not thinking of it as being raw.

“If you don’t think about it, you’ll like the taste,” he said. “(Customers) say it melts in your mouth.”

Varieties of nigiri sushi include tuna, sweet shrimp, prawns, scallops, white fish, mackerel, salmon and more.

For those who are not a big fan of raw sushi, there are several cooked varieties available including the popular California Roll or the decorative Dragon Roll.

“(Sushi) is like art,” Zeng said. “It’s beautiful, it’s healthy food and has a nice taste.”

Dining is available both inside and outside the restaurant and take-out is offered as well.

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