Sacramento/ Food & Drinks
Published on May 31, 2018
From bun bo hue to pineapple pork bao: five new Asian kitchens to try in SacramentoCo Do 2. | Photo: Nancy Y./Yelp

Interested in trying out some new Asian eateries in Sacramento? You're in luck: we've found five fresh options. From a Vietnamese joint to a fusion sandwich shop to a dim sum banquet hall, here are the newest places to check out the next time you're in the mood for Asian food.

Co Do 2

4251 Truxel Road, Suite C1, Natomas

Photo: Yao C./Yelp

Co Do 2 is a Vietnamese eatery offering grilled meat and rice plates, beef phở, and some Vietnamese takes on Chinese cuisine. Located at 4251 Truxel Road, Suite C1, it's the second restaurant from the owners of Co Do on Stockton Blvd. in South Sac.

In addition to Vietnamese classics like bun bo hue, or spicy beef noodle soup, the house specialties include the char-broiled shrimp with pork balls, egg rolls and shredded pork over vermicelli, as well as the barbecued pork chop and fried shrimp cake combination with rice.

Diners can accompany the meal with a fresh lemon soda with salted plum and salted preserved leaves, a fruit smoothie, or a Vietnamese-style milk tea, in flavors like rose, Thai, or taro, topped with boba, jelly or egg pudding.

Co Do 2's current Yelp rating of four stars out of 45 reviews indicates a positive response thus far.

Yelper Stephanie T., who reviewed Co Do 2 on May 24, wrote, "Natomas residents have been waiting years for a legit pho place to open up, and now it's here. I had the pho on my first visit here and it was good. Portions are decent (I ordered a large and almost finished it), and pricing is similar to South Sac."

And Yelper Jessica W. praised the service, and said of the food, "I had, of course, their spicy beef noodles, bun bo hue, and my friend had their special pho noodles. They were both so delicious, and the broth was so deliciously, perfectly made I didn't need to add any salt or sauces, except more chili oil to my liking of spiciness and limes for sourness."

Co Do 2 is open from 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on Sunday.

A Taste Above

7485 Rush River Drive, Suite 700, The Pocket

Photo: Luke C./Yelp

A Taste Above is an Asian fusion spot, offering sandwiches, confections, ice cream and more from Suite 700 of the Promenade shopping center in the Pocket area, as we recently reported.

The eclectic menu at A Taste Above features plenty of sandwiches on housemade bread, like the Steak Capitol (tri-tip, lettuce, tomatoes and housemade barbecue sauce) and the Philly Dilly (thin sliced beef, pepper jack cheese, red peppers and onions).

Also on offer are Asian and fusion dishes, such as the Plate Above combos with teriyaki chicken or tri-tip, chicken katsu or kalbi short ribs; and the Mega Musubi, a large seaweed-wrapped rice ball filled with Spam, Hawaiian-style.

Beloved local institution Gunther's provides ice cream for milkshakes and fruit freezes, and the espresso drinks are made with Vaneli's Coffee. A Taste Above also offers Asian-style confections like fruit bowls with mango, pomelo and palm starch balls, or pineapple bao with barbecue pork filling.

With a four-star rating out of 45 reviews on Yelp, A Taste Above has been getting positive attention.

Sylvia H., who was the first to review the new spot on April 20, wrote, "Love the variety! I had a pineapple bun with barbecue pork filling, a mocha and a blueberry scone for later. My baked items just came out of the oven and were still warm. The bao was delicious; never had that combo before and it was a perfect blend of a little savory and sweet with a crunchy top."

But Yelper Luke C. was more critical of the wide selection: "I think A Taste Above would benefit from making the menu a bit smaller so that the focus could be on really high quality food."

A Taste Above is open from 9 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 9 a.m.–6 p.m. on Sunday.

Super Pan

900 15th St., Downtown

Photo: Keny T./Yelp

Super Pan is a San Francisco-based steakhouse and teppanyaki joint that recently opened a second location in Sacramento. In addition to its signature table-grilled meat plates, it also serves up ramen, bubble tea and Korean fare from its space at 900 15th St. downtown.

On the menu, look for the beef brisket and dumplings ramen, cheesy curry rice with tonkatsu, and Korean-style fried chicken wings. Diners can finish the meal with a strawberry cheesecake shaved ice or Korean snow milk sherbet. (You can check out the full menu here.)

Super Pan currently holds four stars out of 42 reviews on Yelp, indicating good reviews.

"I am a very big fan of Super Pan. I went to this place often when I was living in San Francisco, and this place is pretty much the same!" Yelper Angelo M. wrote. "My go-to order is usually the Beef Pepper Rice. In Super Pan, they give you a very hot plate with a pile of rice/noodles and thinly sliced pieces of meat for it to cook on the hot plate. The meat usually cooks very quickly and it comes with some kind of butter-garlic sauce."  

And Yelper Lynna N. advised other diners, "Building [has] two businesses, so to get to Super Pan, you walk in and take a right down this short, little hallway."

Super Pan is open from 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. daily.

Ming Dynasty

1211 Broadway, Land Park

Photo: Noelle Y./Yelp

Ming Dynasty is a Cantonese eatery and banquet hall specializing in seafood, which offers dim sum in the mornings and afternoons as well as a robust traditional dinner menu. Located at 1211 Broadway in the former space of Fortune House, it serves dim sum seven days a week, as we previously reported.

Of the dim sum items, look for the open sea-bass dumplings, shrimp-stuffed sticky rice balls topped with a piece of pork belly, and garlic beef spare ribs. For dinner, Ming Dynasty offers larger dishes like stir-fried scallops and snap peas with XO (spicy seafood) sauce, Cantonese street-style stir-fried lobster and simmered clams with turnips in broth. 

Ming Dynasty currently holds four stars out of 56 reviews on Yelp, indicating good reviews.

"The Baked BBQ Pork Bao, Sui Mei, Har Gow, Crystal Shrimp Roll and Peanut Pork Fun Gow were all excellent," wrote Yelper Douglas Y.  "Pricing was good with our bill coming to  about $40. ... I currently think this is the best dim sum in the Sacramento area. The only drawbacks are the bad parking, smaller location size and semi-hectic service."

And Kris C. concurred, "Definitely a go-to dim sum spot. The staff was attentive and accommodating. It's not a fancy dim sum place, but a comfortable one for the family to go to on the weekends."

Ming Dynasty is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on weekends.

Wing's Restaurant

3653 J St., East Sacramento

Photo: Wing's Restaurant/Yelp

Wing's Restaurant is a Chinese spot serving noodles, stir-fry and more. Located at 3653 J St. in East Sac, the restaurant offers delivery with a minimum order of $25.

Its hot braised chicken wings, eggplant in spicy garlic sauce and affordable prices ($6.95 for most lunch specials) recently drew praise from the Sacramento News & Review. 

Also on the menu are classic American-Chinese dishes, like General Tso's chicken, as well as more unusual house specialties like the orange-flavored eggplant.

With a current rating of 4.5 stars out of 48 reviews on Yelp, Wing's is earning rave reviews.

"Sacramento needed this!" Yelper Chris W. wrote. "Wings is healthy (for Chinese food), has generous portions (lots of veggies, protein, etc), and most importantly tastes excellent. ... Happy to say I found my favorite Chinese takeout spot in Sac!"

Greg J. noted, "I had the broccoli beef, that actually had fresh broccoli, and meat that was cut decently without any gross chewy fatty chunks you end up spitting out. The sauce could be a little more flavorful, possibly could use more garlic, but it was solid."  

And Yelper Ryan M., who reviewed Wing's Restaurant on April 25, summed up his experience with: "Great food at a great price, and delivers to my house, which is like three miles away from the location."

Wing's Restaurant is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. daily.