Lunch At Asian Bistro In Kitty Hawk.

Mr. Hawthorne and I recently had lunch at Asian Bistro - Chinese Cuisine & Sushi Bar in Kitty Hawk about milepost 4. They're in the building where Renditions used to be and Keeper's Galley before that.

We were immediately seated, our drink orders taken, and presented with the menu. To say this menu is extensive would be an understatement.

You've got your lunch specials, reasonably priced

You've got all variety of Sushi Lunch Boxes served with house salad, a spring roll, and seaweed salad.

You've got Sushi and Sashimi

and a gazillion types of Sushi Rolls.

You've got seafood dishes and the Chef's Special dishes.

You've got steamed dishes, vegetarian dishes, and a kid's menu.

You've got fried rice and noodle dishes. You've got chicken dishes.

You've got beef and pork dishes.

You've got all manner of appetizers.

And you have soups and salads. Every now and then I meet a menu which overwhelms me. This one did. I had no idea what to order. And Mr. Hawthorne was having a hard time deciding too.

So I took a break from the menu and took ACTION! shots of the interior.

That's our waiter. I love the clock in his head. Or is that his earring?

I finally decided on Wonton soup for starters. The broth was light and excellent. The pork filling was nicely flavored and the scallions added a bright touch.

Mr. Hawthorne always orders the Hot and Sour soups at Chinese restaurants and this one was the best he's ever had. I have to agree. The broth was extremely rich and flavorful, with bits of pork, mushroom, bamboo shoots, tofu, and egg. We had one complaint. The fried wonton strips. These came from a box. They were stale and tasted like cardboard. It ain't that much trouble to fry up strips of fresh wontons and when you're serving a superior soup you don't want half-assed wontons to go with it.

I ordered the Hollywood Sushi Lunchbox with California rolls and shrimp tempura rolls, house salad with a fairly nondescript dressing, fried spring roll, and seaweed salad. In the center is pickled ginger and some Wasabi that brought tears to my eyes.

Mr. Hawthorne had the Sushi Box with 5 pieces of sushi, the house salad, spring roll, seaweed salad, and rice.

Here are my California rolls with faux crab stick, avocado, and cucumber, wrapped up in rice and a sheet of nori.

I loved the shrimp tempura roll. The shrimp was perfectly fried. Very enjoyable meal. And we'll be back. I took a take-home menu with me so I can study it for next time. If you can't find something you like here, then it's you. Not them. Update: Mr. Hawthorne and I went back a second time for lunch with the three Hawthornelets and Xmaskatie and Mr. Xmaskatie. The service was lousy. One side of the table was served first, after a considerable wait. The other side of the table was served about 7 minutes after the first side. My 3 (THREE!) requests for lemon were ignored. And what I ordered was not what I got but at this point, I figgered I better just eat it and shut up. It'll be awhile before I go back. If I do.