Tui Dubois at her restaurant Asian Combo in Biddeford. Brianna Soukup/Employees Photographer
A be aware to the 30-something couple sipping orange-ombré Thai iced tea ($4.50) at Asian Combo final week: Thanks for the earworm.
Since I finished by this transformed residential house on Biddeford’s Pool Avenue, I haven’t been capable of get your new, improvised lyrics to a B-52s’ hit music out of my head. Permit me to paraphrase: “Should you see a neon signal in conjunction with the street/ It says ‘Bubble Tea’ on the Laab Shack!”
I groaned once I heard the pun the primary time, as I sat close by, nursing my very own malty, purple-tinted taro milk tea ($5.50) and chewing on springy crystal boba (not my favourite; I favor the dense, fudgy and opaque cassava pearls). However who am I kidding? It was humorous. I simply want I may take into consideration this new Southeast Asian restaurant and never hear Fred Schneider’s voice in my head.
That my recollections of Asian Combo are so intertwined with a music says one thing necessary about my eating expertise. Had all of the dishes I tasted at this informal, counter-service restaurant been knockouts, I think the meals could be my most vivid reminiscence of my midweek journey to Biddeford.
As an alternative, I bear in mind a complicated meal ordered from a menu of Laotian, Thai and Vietnamese dishes, together with just a few Japanese and Chinese language American plates thrown in for good measure.
Calamari basil with rice, left; pho, proper; and crispy pad thai with tofu, backside middle, at Asian Combo. Brianna Soukup/Employees Photographer
“Are all of the completely different cuisines the place the identify ‘Asian Combo’ comes from?” I requested the lightning-quick server behind the counter as I positioned an order for calamari basil with rice ($17.95), a too-salty stir-fry of pink peppers, basil, inexperienced beans and deep-fried calamari rings. “No, under no circumstances,” she replied, pointing to a divided carryout container. “It’s from our lunch field specials.” The “combos” in query turn into bento-esque meal-deal bundles of an entrée, an appetizer and a miniature salad ($15.50).
A much less fascinating origin story, maybe, however a wise enterprise resolution for a restaurant simply down the road from the College of New England campus. “At lunch, we get so many college students in right here, and so they all simply need bubble tea and lunch combos,” she mentioned.
At dinner, every of the combo parts is obtainable a la carte. I sampled just a few, together with chubby shrimp spring rolls ($10.95) that caught me off-guard – was I tasting Italian radicchio alongside springy vermicelli and cucumber? Sure, it seems. The identical spring combine Asian Combo makes use of for its bento salads will get wrapped, unadulterated, into these spring rolls. I’m all for experimenting with domestically bountiful components, however bitter radicchio is a horrible addition to a spring roll, particularly an otherwise-bland little parcel offset in taste by a single, forlorn mint leaf.
One other puzzling dish was the crispy pad thai with tofu ($14). I feel I do know what’s going fallacious right here, however I’m nonetheless unsure why. (I reached out to interview the proprietors of Asian Combo 3 times however acquired no response.)
Typically referred to as “mee krob music kreuang,” this crispy-noodle model of pad Thai is generally made with torn cubes of mee krob, sweet-and-sour wheat noodle snacks (assume funky, savory Rice Krispie treats) instead of linguine-like rice noodles. However at Asian Combo, the kitchen makes use of skinny, unseasoned wheat vermicelli instead of mee krob. Because it fries, all of the parts tangle collectively right into a jumble of crunchy noodles which might be each dried-out and a severe problem to eat.
Luckily, my Asian Combo story comes with a heartwarming plot twist. Let’s begin with the fried banana dessert (kluay khaek, $8.95), a stack of a number of buttery, wonton-enrobed parcels of soppy, ripe fruit, drizzled in sugary syrup and sprinkled with sesame seeds. There’s actual ability at play right here, each in choosing bananas which might be ripe sufficient to melt with out disintegrating, and in deep-frying the little packages to an ideal, delicate shade of brown. Two very sticky thumbs up.
Tui Dubois provides pho broth to a bowl. “This phenomenal pho is on equal footing with the perfect I’ve eaten in Maine,” says our critic. Brianna Soukup/Employees Photographer
Then there’s the pho. Asian Combo’s model is deeply fragrant, with just a few droplets of oil nonetheless bobbing on the floor and a whisper of pure sweetness to the broth. Stirring in a touch of hoisin and a spoonful of sizzling chile sauce together with torn holy basil, bean sprouts and sliced jalapeños, I found unsparing parts of uncommon, shaved ribeye and still-supple rice noodles. This phenomenal pho is on equal footing with the perfect I’ve eaten in Maine.
On the power of its superlative beef noodle soup, it could be simple to suggest that Asian Combo reconceptualize itself as a pho-only café. However wait … there’s one more complication within the type of fiery, minty Isan-style laab gai ($15.75). This protein-packed herb “salad” delivers punches of astringency from lime juice, umami from floor hen and beneficiant glugs of fish sauce, adopted by a soothing, mellow nuttiness from toasted rice powder (khao khua). Should you’re a fan of warmth, this is a perfect dish to order spicy – even as much as Asian Combo’s overstated “fireplace alarm” stage – together with a bowl of sticky rice ($3.50).
I want I may ignore the unevenness of Asian Combo’s menu, a bimodal distribution of full clunkers and enchanting, nuanced dishes, with out a lot in between. Does it even out? On steadiness, most likely. I definitely plan to return, however with a transparent ordering technique: I’ll be aiming for a bowl of that beautiful pho and a bountiful plate of scallion-flecked floor hen salad.
Laab Shack, child!
Ta Younger pours taro milk tea over the boba and ice at Asian Combo. Brianna Soukup/Employees Photographer
RATING: ***
WHERE: 169 Pool St., Biddeford, 207-284-1111 asiancombo.com
SERVING: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m, Tuesday to Friday; noon-8:30 p.m., Saturday & Sunday
PRICE RANGE: Appetizers & salads: $8.50-$15.75, Entrees: $14-$24.95
NOISE LEVEL: Rainstorm ASMR
VEGETARIAN: Many dishes
RESERVATIONS: No
BAR: None
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Sure
BOTTOM LINE: Pan-Asian eating places could be hit-or-miss, typically over the course of the identical meal. Biddeford’s Asian Combo, an off-the-cuff, counter-service restaurant on Pool Avenue that opened in October, isn’t any exception. What’s completely different right here is that, amongst slapdash contemporary rolls with off-putting radicchio and lackluster crispy pad thai, are just a few first-rate dishes. Should you go to, snag one of many dozen tables and order a bowl of pho, wealthy and warming with tender slices of shaved beef gliding by the currents of rice vermicelli; it’s a number of the finest within the space. And don’t cease there: The candy, crispy wonton-wrapped fried banana dessert and aromatic, minty floor hen laab are additionally knockout dishes that make a drive to Biddeford worthwhile.
Andrew Ross has written about meals and eating in New York and the UK. He and his work have been featured on Martha Stewart Dwelling Radio and in The New York Occasions. He’s the recipient of seven current Critic’s Awards from the Maine Press Affiliation.
Contact him at: [email protected]
Twitter: @AndrewRossME
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