Exotic spectacle, flavors await at Kon Asian Bistro

Kon Asian Bistro is as exotic as it gets in Portland, with welcoming life-sized statues of a Chinese soldier and a general in the entry, likely reproductions from the terracotta army discovered in Xian in Shaanxi province, an ancient capital of China. From the end of a reflecting pool inside, the serene seated wooden Buddha, eyes closed in rapture, seems to preside without judgment.

The food is a little trickier. After a disappointing first visit, three great meals redeemed the place a second time around. And appetizers were all almost perfect, presenting hot and sweet flavors in balance. Kon is definitely worth a visit.

To the left of the dining room, three large-screen TVs face a long bar. In a room to the right side of the restaurant are hibachi tables where a chef in a high red-and-white toque will cook what you order – perhaps chicken and steak ($21), filet mignon and lobster ($31), or salmon and scallop ($25).

McManis Viognier ($7.50 a glass) from California is a fragrant white wine good with spicier dishes, filled with citrusy brilliance and bright-tasting stone fruit. Trapiche Broquel Malbec ($34) from Argentina is a smooth, medium-bodied red wine, with high quality at its low price. It worked well with spicy squid salad and Szechuan beef.

Garlic Chilean sea bass ($8.50) had crisp and delectable skin, its firm white flesh still registering as sweet alongside pungent garlic, but a nest of skinny soba noodles beneath was slightly oversalted with soy.

Blackened tuna ($9) lay in a delicate small fan of slices across a tangle of grated daikon. Each tender slice was rimmed with ground hot spices, and a zigzag of wasabi mayonnaise and dots of ponzu took center stage in each bite.

Thai spicy squid ($7.50), crunchy pieces of tender squid encased in oily, light and fried batter, was infused with a thrilling mixture of sharp vinegar, hot chili and sugar.

The predominance of the flavor of fermented soybeans – the basis of soy sauce and hoisin sauce – with its nutty, slightly sweet, lingering savory taste, clings to the exterior of the chicken sate ($6.50), served with a peanut and coconut milk sauce.

The ingredients of Beijing duck ($8), an updated mini-version of the famous Peking duck, lay on a long, slender white plate, the shredded, tender roast duck at one end and the softest steamed white rolls at the other, ready to assemble and dip in hoisin sauce.

At our request, our excellent server found out that the hoisin sauce was mixed with soy sauce, club soda to make it lighter, and a secret ingredient the chef would not divulge.

Among the entrees, Szechuan crispy dried shredded beef ($12) wove crunch, heat and sugar so skillfully together that all my dislike of sugar with meat melted away. Hot, dried red chilies fused their fire into the meat, and shards of carrot and celery added crunch.

Orange ginger duck ($15) was another skillful dish, with orange rind, oyster sauce and ginger in the good sauce moistening each piece of duck and six sauted baby bok choy lined up underneath.

Lemongrass chicken ($12) managed a more modest success, with the mild lemongrass flavoring the sauce and the thinly sliced chicken entirely tender.

Small bowls of rice accompanied each of these entrees.

Canton-style tofu with shrimp ($14) proved to be a large block of tofu drenched with a rather bland sauce. Shrimp lay around the tofu, and covering all was a layer of ground roasted peanuts that had an unpleasant flavor. The tofu in this dish monopolized the plate – something others may find perfectly fine, but which didn't appeal to me.

The sashimi dinner ($21) comes in a large oval bowl full of ice, illuminated from below by a bluish light, a presentation that seems ridiculous. But worse was the over-intense lemon flavor of the cooked shrimp, possibly attributable to the kitchen's technique of soaking it in lemon juice.

Bluefin tuna, octopus, striped sea bass and yellowtail tuna were respectable, but the crab stick or imitation crabmeat had the bad taste typical of that product, and the farmed salmon was mushy.

Three slices of super-white tuna had a strange texture all their own, soft and unctuous. Investigating this fish later, I learned it is not albacore, as I had guessed aloud to the server that night, but rather escolar, a fish with a bad reputation.

Escolar, also served at Kon in its ceviche and truffle escolar appetizers, holds waxy esters, or fats, that can be difficult for the human digestive system to handle, and it can give people who eat more than 6 ounces evil consequences. Perhaps it deserves its own menu warning, along with the one about raw ingredients.

Desserts are the same usual suspects found in other Asian restaurants – ice cream, mochi ice cream, fried ice cream and fried bananas. But having discovered so much good to eat earlier in my meals, I never did get a chance to try them.

N.L. English is a Portland freelance writer and the author of "Chow Maine: The Best Restaurants, Cafes, Lobster Shacks and Markets on the Coast." Visit English's Web site, www.chowmaineguide.com.

Kon Asian Bistro