by Lorinda Toledo
Daily Lobo
At AmerAsia & Sumo Sushi, the tables are piled high with steamed dumplings and flaky pastries.
A miniature train chugs its way around the sushi bar, bringing ginger and wasabi right to customers' fingertips.
Pale lime green walls and shiny, plum-tinted floors are the backdrop for Hyang Mi's new restaurant, a joint venture with her brother, sushi chef Woo Young Yi.
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The restaurant, at 800 Third St. N.W., offers dim sum and sushi under the same roof.
"Dim sum means 'little peace of your heart,'" Hyang Mi said. "Hearing the people comment about how good the food is makes me feel energized. I want people to feel comfortable, and I always try to give people the 100 percent best service that I can give."
Mi brings a dining cart full of dim sum to every table. There are 21 items to choose from. If something isn't on the cart, you can ask for it.
Sushi orders arrive quickly and are elegantly prepared. When it comes to the house specialty rolls, Yi breaks with tradition and offers something different - like the Sexy Roll, stuffed with tuna, salmon, yellowtail, crabmeat and albacore tuna and served a with a citrus ponzu sauce all in a cucumber wrap ($10.50).
Phoenix Eye - succulent dumplings stuffed with beef and chestnuts - is also offered along with Bao Zi - pillow-like balls filled with sweet barbecued pork.
The fresh cut sushi's so beautiful that it's reminiscent of garden
flowers.
On average, dim sum is $3 a plate. About two pieces of dim sum come on each plate, and Mi adds them all up at the end.
Mi's original AmerAsia, at 301 Cornell Drive S.E., is a one-room restaurant that has been serving dim sum for more than 30 years. Mi's brother, Yi, helped her land her first job there when she was a 19-year-old Korean immigrant. Three years ago, she bought the place.
Mi's Downtown restaurant opened less than two months ago and is a vast change from the 12 tables she is used to. She usually works 15-hour days, arriving early in the morning to make the food for both AmerAsia locations.
"I want to make sure that the taste of the food stays consistent," Mi said.
In addition to the great food and friendly company, the drink menu features a selection of sakes, Japanese beers and imported wines.
Dessert at AmerAsia & Sumo Sushi means tempura ice cream ($4.50) or dim sum snowballs ($3) and crispies ($3).
The snowballs are sweet rice stuffed with a warm, gooey filling and rolled coconut, garnished with lemon peel. The combination leaves your tongue feeling like it was just wrapped around a slice of warm apple pie.
AmerAsia & Sumo Sushi is a spicy treat for the senses. Whether it's because Mi and Yi prepare everything fresh daily, or that the antique art and furniture adorning the restaurant are from Hyang Mi's home, everything about it tastes different.
AmerAsia & Sumo Sushi
800 Third St. N.W.
Monday - Saturday
11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Friday - Saturday
5 - 9:30 p.m.
