Tei An

Sunday night, Adam took to a private dinner for his Japan America society at Tei An. I guess they are usually closed on Sunday, but they opened up for this group. I knew it was located in the new Southland building, but was unsure exactly where. We parked across the street and found it easily.

Walking in, I immediately loved the space. It kind of reminded me of the Kimball. I am a big fan of when architects are about to make concrete beautiful. Louis Kahn mastered that as did Lloyd Wright. We actually discussed this a bit over dinner.

Anyway, the space is small, but they have used it well. Very minimal with ambient lighting. We went to the bar area first and discovered they have Kirin Ichiban on tap. Score 1 for Tei An.

We mingled a bit and found a good spot to sit in one of the half booths. We perused the menu and decided upon onigiri and tempura for appetizers. I was set on not having any sushi that night. I eat that all the time.

The onigiri was delicious. I devourced my two quickly. We had the seaweed and the smoked salmon. Adam liked both, but he thought the smoked salmon was a bit strong. Next came the tempura. We had the combination which consisted of shrimp, mushrooms and mixed veggies. Shrimp tempura is always a test for me. Some places really make it too oily. Both Adam and I agreed this was the lightest/best we had had in a good long while. The tempura mushrooms were my favorite. I never see that. Unfortunately, I ate this green thing I assummed was squash but was actually a pepper. Much Ichiban was called for to wash that down.

Next came the curry udon. We meant to specify soba but we god udon. I'm not complaining. It was delicious. The broth alone was bowl licking worthy. I didn't, but I wanted to.

We splurged on dessert and got the black seasame mouse and this chocolate lava cake kind of thingy. It was a very light cake and it had this odd white filling. It was delicious, but I kept referring to the filling as goo. No clue what else to call it.

Overall a very very good meal. I need to go back and actually partake of the soba, since it is a soba restaurant.

But I just have to say, if you ever go there, go to the bathroom. It is seriously, the best bathroom in Dallas. SERIOUSLY. But I will save that story for later.