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Dining: Ka-Prow
(October 21, 2005)
T here are many times I have conversations with my foodie friends that begin something like this: "You know if this restaurant were only in Houston or Dallas it would do great!!"
But the restaurant in question is usually in Austin, is usually terrific, and should have throngs of people there every day. Such is the case with Ka Prow at 1200 W. Howard Lane just off North IH 35.
I really like this place which fuses Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese cusine.
Chef Opart is master at mixing the spicy and the subtle, thus creating nuance and wonderful degrees of flavor in his cuisine. A great example of this is the Tod Mun, a beautifully fried fish paste served with green beans, red curry and cucumbers. Great flavor. And the Lettuce Wrap is another favorite. The secret of this dish is the Thai chili, the minced chicken and the onion along with the bell pepper. Low carbs and delightful taste. And it is rare that I go to Ka Prow without sampling the mouth watering Cheese Rolls. The fat free cream cheese and onion in the delicate wrappers are deep fried to perfection. I cannot resist them.
And there are several news dishes that I am very partial to. The Ka Prow Noodles is a fusion dish using rice noodles, minced chicken, onions, bell pepper, chili, and garlic that is possessed of a searing yet finely nuanced flavor as I mentioned before. This is a must try. And if you're looking for a mellow yet immensely satisfying curry, try the Panang Seafood. This is a mixture of shrimp, scallops, squid, and mussels in a luxurious panang curry sauce. I am not normally a huge devotee of curries, but this is worthy of your consideration. The Soft Shell Crab is crisp yet achingly tender. Served with a fulsome chili sauce, Opart makes this crustacean almost combustible on the taste scale and it works. And I think my favorite new dish of all is the inimitable Pad Ped. Now, Pad means to Stir Fry and Ped means spicy. Get the picture? Well this dish rates 4 peppers on the heat scale, but its worth it. It mixes stir fried peppers, onions, rhizome (a form of ginger) zucchini and red bell peppers in a red curry sauce with pork. Let me again express my extreme admiration for Pad Ped. This is the bomb! Loved it.
And do try the new Sakura Roll (sushi). An Opart creation, this roll rocks with spicy tuna, apple, tobiko, massago, crab stick, avocado, and shrimp tempura. This mélange of taste and texture is intriguing and eminently tasty.
Finish it off with some of Chef O's "egg custard" which tastes suspiciously like crème brulee to me and you have one hell of a meal. They should be standing in line at Ka Prow the minute the doors open. It's that good. Back
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