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Dining: Ka-Prow
(February 11, 2005)
The area around Howard Lane and N IH35 is bustling and busy. Stores and strip malls abound. There's lots of retail clutter. In fact, if you're not careful, you could miss a really neat little Pan Asian restaurant. I want to introduce you to Ka Prow at 1200 W. Howard Lane.. I know, at first I thought it was an Asian play on words. You know, Ka-pow! But the name Ka Prow is actually a Thai derivative.
Your host is the genial Opart, or "Chef O" as his customers call him. And the food is more than worthy of your consideration.
The appetizers reflect the diversity of Ka Prow's Pan Asian offerings. There are the more traditional Thai starters like the ethereal Cheese Rolls which feature cream cheese and mushrooms deep fried in an eggroll like wrap. Then there are the Soft Spring Rolls, which consist of a thin rice paper wrap stuffed with vermicelli noodles, lettuce cucumber and my favorite ingredient, shrimp. And be sure to sample the Chicken Sate, a lovely dish where marinated chicken is grilled and then served on skewers with peanut sauce and cucumber salad. On the Japanese side, make sure to try the Shrimp Tempura done in the classic style. Shrimp, broccoli, onion and zucchini are fired in a light, tempting batter which scores points with me because it renders the ingredients crispy instead of greasy. Also recommended is the savory Beef Tataki. The key to this dish is the convergence of the rare beef, flash broiled and the delicious ponzu sauce. And on the Thai side, try the Yum Ta-Lay. This is a serious salad with boiled shrimp, squid and scallops tossed with an abundance of fresh and wonderful ingredients (including lemongrass) and finished with Thai chili.
Want to kick things up a little bit? Try one of my favorites, the Green Curry. I like mine with pork, bamboo shoots, eggplant and the Ka Prow leaf. This is a classic curry which will satisfy fans of the genre (and there are many curry freaks in the Austin area).
The traditional Pad dishes are also available. (Pad means stir fry in Thai.) I love the Pad Kee Mao which blends my preferred pork (chicken, beef, tofu and shrimp are also available) in a fiery stir fry of onions, bell peppers, green beans, chili, mushroom and garlic. You also have to try the Thai favorite Pad Prik King: stir fried green beans with bell peppers, and the house secret, a lovely red curry sauce. This dish has serious layers of taste, all of them interesting and delicious. And you've got to try the Burmese Chicken, a recipe imported from Burma with an addicting, fulsome flavor abetted by the confluence of cabbage, bell peppers and fried shallots. And under the heading of Chef O specials, try the remarkable Chillean Sea Bass. The fish is grilled, sealing in the compelling flavor and is done with chili sauce and served with Ka Prow fried rice. I absolutely adore the flavor of this dish. And if you want something unusual and very tasty, try the Tiger Cried. This is a New York strip steak, charbroiled with a particularly spicy but lovely Thai sauce. The flavor here just jumps out at you. Your taste buds will be surprised at first, and then like the tiger, you may indeed cry with joy as the sensation washes over you.
Finally, Ka Prow is also about sushi and sashimi. There is the traditional nigiri sushi. I recommend the toro (the fatty tuna), the ama ebi (shrimp) and the fragrant Uni (sea urchin).
The rolls are quite good . I like the Scallop Roll which has a very mellow flavor and the Rainbow Roll which starts with your basic California Roll but then adorns the outside with tuna, salmon, yellow tail and shrimp.
Ka Prow, at 1200 W. Howard Lane, is one of those little strip mall restaurants you could overlook. But it's a pearl. All you have to do is open the oyster and find out. You will be rewarded. Come see Opart and the gang and tell em Rob Balon sent you.
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