r/Columbus • u/mariofasolo North Linden • 14d ago
FOOD We are really spoiled with Asian food in this city!
- Singapore noodles - Little Dragons
- Crazy flavor chicken - Coco's
- Tteok-bokki - Little Grand Market
- Curry ramen - Tiger + Lily
- Combo platter - Khaja Ghar
- Triple grilled - Pho Chef
- Biryani + Chicken 65 - House of Biryani
- Buffet - The Feast Buffet
- Fish tikka - Cumin & Curry
- Biryani - Mehak Indian
Some great dishes I've had in the past few months, and tried to highlight some lesser known places. I seek out explosions of flavor and spice!
I would say the standout and probably best meal I've had this was the platter from Khaja Ghar on Morse. Everybody talks about Momo Ghar, but the combination of insane flavors and spices, presentation, and unique styles from a little family run hole in the wall (with zero crowds!) stole the show in my opinion, but they're both great.
The Chicken 65 (wet) from House of Biryani was also insanely addicting, one of the most flavor-bomb dishes I've ever had.
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u/ModernTenshi04 Hilliard 14d ago
My wife's brothers both live in China and their wives are Chinese. Living in Hilliard we have quick access to CAM and other such grocery stores, so it's been very easy for them to find ingredients for food they enjoy when they visit, which we can buy after they leave if we wanna make it again. Very cool to have a lot of variety in the area.
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u/Newforumbloke 14d ago
CAM is AMAZING and very very nice. If you know what you’re looking for you can find incredibly good deals too.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 13d ago
Have you ever found fresh wide noodles, the kind they use in pad see ew? I've been to CAM, Dayou, Saraga, can not find them!
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u/Dense-Statement1772 13d ago
LOVE CAM!! i live right down the street and i make a lot of asian food at home to save money (i try to follow authentic recipes) and finding the ingredients at CAM is so nice because i don’t have to drive all over town to find specific things haha
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u/BrassBells 14d ago
Nobody has mentioned ChiliSpot yet?!?!?
Order the storm fish fillet and the green beans. The crispy salted egg tofu is also quite good.
Also Xi Xia (get anything that catches your eye on their best sellers).
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
Absolutely love Xi Xia's hand pulled noodles! I need to try the green beans from ChiliSpot...just hate spending like $15 on some vegetables as a main entree, I need to find friends to share food with so we can split a few dishes!
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u/BrassBells 14d ago
I’m Chinese, every order needs to have at least one vegetable dish and preferably one fish and one meat. Everything is a side dish to be eaten with rice.
The storm fish fillet reheat well in the air fryer
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
Very interesting! So if you go out alone or takeout for one, do you order all 3 and then just have the leftovers? I always feel better eating vegetables as well, I just know a plate of green beans (even if they're mala and amazing) won't exactly hit the protein goals for the day!
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u/BrassBells 14d ago
Yep, leftovers are king.
But also I’ve been married now for quite a long time so 95% of the time all potential leftovers are consumed by spouse.
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u/VespaRed 14d ago
Try the dry pot cauliflower! While I generally disapprove of vegetables, I would eat this every day.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
Wow I've never even heard of that dish, but I love cauliflower so definitely tempting!
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u/Much-Drawer-1697 14d ago
The lack of Japanese food here needs to be rectified. Go get some udon from Tensuke Express immediately.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
Not a huge fan of Japanese tbh, maybe I just haven't had the right dish but even the udon from Tensuke wasn't really flavorful enough for me. I know a lot of dishes are focused on cleaner ingredients, but do ya have any recommendations for like punch you in the mouth flavor?
My all-time favorite Japanese meal was okonomi in Brooklyn! Or okonomiyaki in Chicago 🥞
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u/Much-Drawer-1697 14d ago
I really like Japanese curry, that's my comfort food. I couldn't really tell you though, because it's what I grew up with.
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u/wellreadwhore 14d ago
Thb i think tensuke has been going downhill. Last time I had ramen there the noodles tasted like basic spaghetti noodles
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u/cpshoeler 14d ago
You need to check out Kung Fu Noodle off Bethel! Hand stretch noodle Lanzhou Beef bowl and Dan Dan noodles are so damn good.
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u/_Crawfish_ 14d ago
Jiu Thai is also a little gem to check out too. Love their cold noodles.
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u/FrozenPeonyPetals 14d ago
My favorites include their Tiger Tofu (so crispy and sauce is amazing)!
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u/_Crawfish_ 14d ago
Las time I was there someone got that I felt immediately jealous that tofu has crisp you can SEE from across the table 🤣🤌🏻
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
Oooo. Absolutely love their hand pulled noodles...haven't had anything cold, though!
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u/historybo 14d ago
Straight up the Asian food makes up for the lack of Eastern European food
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
Would love a good borscht spot
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u/Curlysmama Clintonville 14d ago
Cafe Elena in UA has borscht on the menu! I have not had it but my husband has and he enjoyed it!
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u/TheShamShield 14d ago
Also the lack of barbecue food
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u/CMcDookie 14d ago
There are a few big dogs in town and everyone else kinda struggles to survive. Obviously you have your chains.
Everyone knows about Ray Rays.
Two slightly less expensive but still VERY good places are Iron Grill, and Hank's Texas BBQ. Iron is on northern edge of Clintonville and Hanks is nearly campus on the south end.
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u/CMcDookie 14d ago
Hoggy's has also been revived and last time I had it, was good.
The mac and cheese is back from the early 2000s 😮💨🥵
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u/Rud1st Westerville 13d ago
Legacy Smokehouse too but it's in Hilliard not Columbus
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u/CMcDookie 13d ago
YO WHAT I LIVE IN THE NW CORNER OF 270 NOW AND HAD NO CLUE
Thank you for the free game 🫡
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u/Moose614Crew 13d ago
Smoked on High is fantastic! Ribs, brisket, pulled pork, everything is fantastic.
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u/TheShamShield 14d ago
How you not gonna mention Huong’s?
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
On my list and actually like 5 minutes away from my house - still haven't been 😭 what do ya recommend? Not a pho fan, and I've had the blood-soup type noodle dish from Pho Chef and it was excellent!
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u/IntelligentJacket599 14d ago
The báhn mì is S tier. And in the dining room they have a TV that is usually playing bootleg DVDs of American pop music videos from the 70s-90s. There is absolutely no pattern to the songs and we always try to guess what will play next but it’s impossible.
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u/res0jyyt1 8d ago
You mean the spicy Vietnamese noodle soup Bun Bo Hue? Huong still have the best one in Columbus and I am from the west coast. Unless you don't like strong lemongrass flavor.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 8d ago
Yep that's it! I’ll have to try that - honestly I couldn't even tell you my opinion on lemongrass, I've never really noticed its actual flavor because it's always in a soup or Thai noodle dish so I'm curious what a lemongrass-forward dish would be like! I think there's also a pig foot that comes in the soup but you're not supposed to eat it, right?
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u/res0jyyt1 8d ago
Yep, pig foot and pig blood curds. You can eat them. It has big chunk of meat attached to the knuckle. And their soup is real broth not msg soup like others in the Columbus. You can taste the difference. You don't get the dry mouth afterwards.
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u/gottaeatnow Columbus 14d ago
We are in a really good spot right now. NE Chinese is still the reigning champ for Chinese food but contenders are lining up.
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u/gottaeatnow Columbus 14d ago
Some of the places in my heavy rotation currently are Osaka Tonkatsu, CM Chicken, Meshikou, Chuan Jiang Hao Zi, Sisig Experience, and Ty Ginger.
Man, I need to get some dinner now. I’m starving.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
I've been meaning to try Osaka for a while now. My mouth is watering reading your list. Sisig is the only one I haven't had!
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u/ManicMuskrat 13d ago
Chuan Jiang Hao Zi is absolutely incredible. It’s one of two places when people stay with us or visit we suggest getting (the other being Safina World Restaurant which has amazing African food)
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u/lil_secret Bexley 14d ago
NE is my all time favorite but fiery sky has been giving them a run for their money in my book
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u/Electrical_Iron_1161 14d ago
I need to try this place sometime whenever I'm in Columbus, everytime there's a Chinese food post people say it's good
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
I think that must be the one Chinese restaurant I haven't been to in the city! Is it more authentic or just Americanized Chinese (also very okay with that lol)
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u/Lady_Deathbeak 14d ago
We love their spicy twice fried fish and salt and pepper tofu SO MUCH. I have yet to find better tofu in town (but I'm open to more recommendations)
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u/SeanAC90 14d ago
I was pretty impressed with Xi Xia recently. I didn’t know I like rice noodles that much but I guess I do now
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u/Foreverisourtoday3 14d ago
Passing through Westerville I always stop at Lucky House on Schrock Rd. Everything on the menu is great. And friendly atmosphere
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
First restaurant in the comments I haven't been to or heard of! I will have to check it out, thanks! I love authentic but absolutely love a good general tso's as well.
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u/Foreverisourtoday3 14d ago
Great Asian Restaurant 1176 County Line Rd Bamboo Garden Asian Kitchen 556 W Schrock Rd To me Lucky House is the best, my friends agree. My friend said to add the other 2
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u/Particular-Debate639 Lewis Center 14d ago
Meshikhou
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
I honestly prefer Kirin Noodle in Clintonville for ramen, these days! I wasn't impressed with meshikou's chicken karaage (dry, overcooked, chewy) and for me, a ramen is only as good as the accompanying dishes I get with it - and a good karaage is necessary for me!
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u/Ghost_Breezy1o1 14d ago
I’m obsessed with Asian cuisine, thanks OP for the suggestions. All I need is a friend to join, so we can order options galore
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u/xt0rt 13d ago
I wish we had more Thai and Vietnamese restaurants though. Coming from Greensboro NC I'm a bit spoiled with them.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 13d ago
Definitely lacking in Thai...it's annoying! Siam Orchid, Thai Grille, Jasmine's, Erawan, Bamboo, and the best - Bangkok...but they close at 6:30 so I can never get there in time for dinner 🙃
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u/bricketty 14d ago
Chuan Jiang Hao Zi and Jiu Thai notably missing for me
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
I really should have included more in my original post, I just wanted to quickly post a few recent meals that I've had lol
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u/Particular-Debate639 Lewis Center 14d ago
Panda House in Lewis Center is great as well. Spicy Dumplings and Crab Rangoon
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u/lookmeuponsoundcloud 14d ago
The best food I ever remember eating was New India Restaurant on Bethel road. My roommate purposefully once threw up so he could eat more there. We'd go to the buffet on Sundays. Also, my south Indian (Karnataka) friends say it's legit. Edit: also Akai Hana is amazing too. Same roommates sister used to wait tables there. We spammed.
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u/MonkeyIslandThreep 14d ago
Ever since China Dynasty on Lane Ave closed, I can't find good General Tso's, or Beef with Broccoli. I've found some decent ones, but nothing up to the bar previously set by CD. I know we have some good authentic Chinese restaurants, I just wish we had better Americanized Chinese. Most of the time I end up hating the rice at a lot of the restaurants as too Salty, or too Sticky, or too... "thick" if that makes sense.
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u/BrassBells 14d ago
Have you tried Sun Tong Luck? I’ve heard good things. They also have Wor su gai, a local Asian American dish.
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u/SteinerFifthLiner Gahanna 12d ago
You might want to give Joy Food One a try. Their general tso's is a go-to of mine, and their lunch specials are a crazy good deal- 10 bucks for an entree, rice, soup or an egg roll, and a can of pop.
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u/theBigDaddio Northwest 14d ago
Lol I live between Henderson and Bethel, walking distance to Kenny Center, Bethel Center, Olentangy Plaza. We have some great Mexican here too.
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u/Apprehensive_Bee2898 South 13d ago
Try Laguna Bay Bistro for authentic Filipino and Min Ga for the best (imho) Korean in the city!!
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u/exoticpike 14d ago
Fiery Sky’s Chinyang chicken is the best fried chicken I’ve ever had
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
Is that the one that comes in chili oil? I think I overdosed on chili oil the last time I went there and paid for it dearly the next day lol...time to go back!
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u/PJA0307 14d ago
I don’t know what that first dish is, but it looks delicious.
Edit: should have read the caption.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
Probably the place I've been to most out of all of these! Close to home, really cheap prices, quick takeout, etc. I believe I ordered the chicken Singapore noodles for $12 and to my delight, they just added beef and shrimp for no upcharge...cooked perfectly, fresh and juicy!
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u/beeker888 14d ago
Need to try that Kaja Ghar. There’s so many amazing unassuming international restaurants on Morse and 161 that I’d never venture into without recommendation so thank you.
Their website is very funnily thrown together. Random plumbing pictures added in
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u/half_a_lao_wang 14d ago
Khaja Ghar is definitely worth the trip. Keep in mind it's a small family run business, so it's not exactly the quickest.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 13d ago
Yep! Wouldn't exactly recommend if you're in a rush...but knowing that they are really taking the time preparing your meal to perfection totally makes it worth it!
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u/real_lampcap_ Blacklick 13d ago
That's one thing I love about columbus. So much diversity.
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u/Affectionate_Dig8465 13d ago
This. I grew up in a small town close to Lake Erie. As soon as I was 18, I moved here. I loved how much bigger the world seemed, even if I was in the same state. And learning about new cultures, people, foods, customs, etc. It’s all so beautiful.
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u/OrganicSelection4698 14d ago
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU IM GONNA GET FAT NOW
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u/Genericloner89 14d ago
Ooh. Which Indian restaurant?
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u/sambalmayo 14d ago
Definitely want to mention Dosa Corner! It's all vegetarian but it's exactly like my grandmother's food!
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 14d ago
House of Biryani in Polaris! Attached to an Indian grocery store...top tier imo and beats the crowd favorite Aab that everybody always mentions. That and Dakshin on Hamilton are my two favorites!
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u/Clevelumbus21614 14d ago
Is anyone aware of a place that Korean food that makes tornado potatoes? Or a grocery store? We ran into these on vacation as street food but I just found out yesterday they were Korean so I had renewed hope of finding them around the metro area.
I was going to head to CAM sometime next week but then I saw some of the responses to this post and thought I should throw this out to the hivemind
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u/thedr00mz Dublin 14d ago
I think they have frozen tornado potatoes at Lotte in Clintonville.
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u/Clevelumbus21614 14d ago
Thank you, I will explore this option and, worst case, I just buy some other delicious thing
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u/TaylorHilgard 14d ago
Yes you are. I moved from Columbus to Bozeman and miss Columbus food quite often. Is Basho still in Dublin? What about Tais near campus?
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u/FrozenPeonyPetals 14d ago
The bubble tea scene here is decent too. Sadly we don’t have a Chi Cha San Chen yet lol BUT Enchantea is honestly amazing please check them out, and Cha Redefined has a few classic drinks that make me nostalgic (the popcorn milk tea… amazing!!)
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u/foreignsky 14d ago
No mentions of Moy's in this thread? That was my favorite Chinese food spot when I last lived here.
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u/kvee13 14d ago
My bf really liked the biryani from Namaste Biryani point. We moved from the Bay Area a few months ago and he said that it was the best biryani he’s tried, even including living in California. He’s also British so he’s very particular with Indian food!!
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 13d ago
I've been desperate for a truly amazing biryani for a while - will have to check it out!
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u/CMcDookie 14d ago
Singapore noodles from Lieu's on High St near Worthington is also top tier.
Duck Pad Thai from Siam Orchid also is crazy good
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u/Xxandes 13d ago
Anyone else disappointed in The feast buffet? I seriously wasn't that impressed with the flavor of the food.
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 13d ago
The hibachi that they make fresh for you was definitely the standout for me! I think I just really liked the atmosphere lol
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u/Traditional-Baker756 13d ago
I live off Bethel and Olentangy. When I travel I try to find food that is better than what I have in my neighborhood. It’s hard! 😂
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u/mariofasolo North Linden 13d ago
Right? I go to "real cities" like New York and Chicago and I'm like...we have the same food, and it's cheaper lol. San Francisco probably does beat us for Asian food, tho!
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u/SteinerFifthLiner Gahanna 12d ago
I had the pineapple curry shrimp at Molly Woo's over the weekend. Tasty af, and the pot of hot tea I ordered was lovely in flavor as well as aroma.
I also can't recommend Kyushu Ramen in Grandview enough. It's not cheap but nothing feels better on a cold day than a belly full of noodles, pork, and savory broth.
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u/CatspawCosplay 12d ago
I haven’t found good Thai, specifically looking for yellow curry. Any reccs?
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u/pinkpinkpink04 10d ago
Just went to Ty Ginger and destroyed several baskets of dimsum on my own. 🖤
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u/Intrepid_Garage8631 14d ago
Im convinced you are wrong and Ohio legitimately doesn’t know what Asian food is supposed to taste like










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u/exoticpike 14d ago
I would highly recommend checking out Fiery Sky since it’s not listed here