eating good in the neighborhood

We've sworn off fast food and it ain't Appleby's. After reading Fast Food Nation, I can't bring myself to put any ground beef or processed chicken into my body for a very long while. Aside from that, I'd be hard put to support the miserable fast food corporate world who is responsible for so many atrocious problems in society today. But that's for another post. Hannah's is a new resto in Summerlin that takes on fusion cuisine once again, so popular now with P.F. Chang's(an old favorite), Roy's and anything that takes Southeast Asian cuisine - Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese flavors - and makes it palatable to a much wider audience (read: caucasian) through presentation and an explosive fusion of savory flavors and texture.

The outside decor is a zen garden of stones, bonsai and flowing water. Indoors, patrons are greeted with a pond of goldfish underfoot, and an earthy, airy atmosphere of neutral dark mahogany, accented by bamboo dividers, billowing silk curtains in gold and light blue, jewel toned seats, cushions and throw pillows. Sections can be curtained off for privacy or to make room for larger parties. Huge walls are adorned with paintings that feel more Middle eastern. It feels homey, comfey and relaxed, just like you should be when you prepare to devour several dishes on the menu.


Dylan is a big fan of Japanese food - sushi rolls, tempura and miso - so he was glad to be there as he's taken to our habits and enjoys the more than occasional meal out to a "real" restaurant, although he claims that he still likes what he calls "junk", or, Evil MickeyD's. The menu is extensive serving up seafood, pork, beef, chicken and veggie dishes. They can serve it family style if you prefer, which we do so that we can taste a little bit of everything. Presentation is impeccable and adds to visual appetite. We went for braised tofu, shaken beef, baby bok choy with shitake, dumplings and a california roll.


The shaken beef was a delectable dish of super tender beef cubes in a fusion of soy-garlic, punctuated by sautéed julienned onions, crunchy snap peas and pickled tomato slices. The bok choy dish was steamed with garlic and garnished with whole shitakes in a brown sauce. The dumplings I liked least of all - they almost tasted like Trader Joe's dumplings from the freezer section and understeamed. The braised tofu was, well, fried tofu chunks in another soy-blackbean concocted sauce with thin slivers of green onion which turned out to be Dylan's favorite rather than the california roll, which was typical. He also learned how to use chopsticks this evening when he fed himself tofu bits with one-handed chopstick action! But the desert was the star - flourless chocolate lava cake that Dylan ordered for all of us to share. Dark melted chocolate sauce oozed out of the cake and melded with a raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream and transported us all into chocolate heaven. Service was extremely fast, friendly and excellent. Weekend reservations are essential as it's often packed to the rafters. We'll defintely be back to try more from the menu.

11:05 PM | |