Replacing a corner burger joint about six months ago, Lucky Buddha won’t have to rely at all on luck for its success. The Asian pub—dimly lit and dominated by a large bar and very cool anime figures on the walls—offers interesting flavors in overall very satisfying dishes. And with prices hovering around the $10 range, it’s pretty darn attractive for a casual meal.
The Tom Yum Goons ($7) are an upscale version of Crab Rangoon, only these have actual crabmeat (a little) and the cream cheese base is more saucy than creamy. Best of all are the skins, which are excellent: doughy and crisp with no hint of oil. The Vegetarian Thai Spring Rolls ($5.50) were irreproachably fresh with crisp ingredients (napa, bell peppers, lettuce, cilantro, enoki), but their wrapping was very sticky and fell apart too easily. The Gyozas ($7) had delicious pork filling and well-browned delicate skins, but you might pass on the accompanying peanut sauce, which just tasted like sticky peanut butter.
If you’re a fan of Thai fave Green Papaya Salad ($7), this one is excellent, with plenty of tangy chili vinaigrette. The ribbons of crunchy raw vegetables (scallion, cucumber and bean sprout) are refreshing and colorfully dotted with sliced green beans and a touch of sugar.
The steam buns here are very good, fluffy and doughy enough to stick to your ribs. Each order comes with two buns, and the ratio of filling to dough is ideal. The Peking Duck bun ($10) was heavenly, with sweet and pungent flavors. Rich duck meat shared the doughy pocket with crisped duck skin and thick hoisin-style sauce. Buns also include the requisite condiments: pickled daikon, slivered carrot, cilantro and a slice of jalapeno. The Char Sui Pork steam buns ($8) also were good, with shredded meat and a distinct five-spice flavor dominated by clove/anise. The chicken variety paled next to the other two.
Our Pressed Tofu Bahn Mi ($7) was very tasty. Served on a long, crisped French bread bun, it contained pickled daikon, cucumber, carrot, cilantro and a special seven-ingredient Japanese mustard called togarashi mustard—all excellent, but a little sparse: feed me! An order of Pho ($8) offered the traditional Vietnamese meal-in-a-bowl with your choice of proteins and noodles. We had ours with fat udons and for protein, crispy pork belly and fish cake ($3 each). The broth was beefy and delicious, teaming with seaweed, basil, bean sprouts, lime and Thai chilies. The pork belly and fish cake were excellent.
Don’t pass on dessert; the ones here are innovative. Lemongrass and Basil Seed Cake ($6) tastes a bit like pound cake with poppy seeds, but the cake has a delightful spongy quality that is lighter, without sacrificing a buttery undertone. It comes topped with ‘lemongrass Asian ice cream,’ which is just as rich as the American version. As for the exotic flavors in the dish’s title, I have to admit they were not detectable. Neither cake nor custard tasted like lemongrass (probably a good thing). Also appealing, especially to adventurous eaters, will be the sorbet selection: seven exotic concoctions, from lychee and passion fruit to dragon berry and yuzu pear.
[amuse bouche]
the scene | Neighborhood pub with pan-Asian food
the chef | Rene Cruz
the prices | $5-$9 appetizers, $7-$11 buns, bowls and bahn mi
the favorites | Tom Yum Goons, Gyozas, Peking Duck Steam Buns, Lemongrass and Basil Seed Cake, Lychee Sorbet, Passion Fruit Sorbet, Ginger Lime Sorbet
[chef chat] » rene cruz
favorite ingredient | Love
favorite st. louis restaurant | Baiku Sushi Lounge
favorite cookbook | White Heat by Marco Pierre White
most memorable dining experience | A 16 course meal at chef J. Joho’s Everest restaurant in Chicago. The detail, technique and flavors were incredible.
guilty pleasure food | fried bologna and egg sandwiches
3701 s. jefferson ave. | 314.833.4568
Photos: Bill Barrett
