SEA
SEA is a casual South East Asian restaurant from Chef Jungsik Yim of two Michelin Star restaurant, Jungsik. The restaurant offers a raw bar, small plates, and shareable plates with creativity. We were able to make a reservation pretty last minute for 5:15 PM on a Friday evening fairly easy. We arrived a little early, and they were able to seat us without issue. We had some high expectations that this restaurant will have great flavors.
Ambiance & Service
The interior was dimly lit with a lot of green and red tiles that remind you a little of the decor in Thailand or Vietnam. The service was pretty attentive, as there were a lot of staff nearby making sure that the timing was pretty good.
Food
The glass of Les Genets Sauvignon Blanc ($20) came from Vignoble Des Caillottes, Sancerre, Loire Valley, France 2023. This was pretty good with some acidity, green apple notes, and nice minerality.
The SEA Sling ($25) came with crémant d’alsace, reduced port, gin, and pineapple. My partner didn’t enjoy this that much, and I definitely am not a fan of gin. The port probably made it a little more alcoholic tasting.
The Prawn Roll ($18) came with 2 pieces, stuffed with pork and mung bean. This was pretty good, especially with the herbs and lettuce. The sauce is similar to a fish sauce mixture. The prawn was crispy and had a nice tasty shell, though you wish there there was more.
The Crab Fried Rice ($29) came with omelette and Thai basil. The crab was abundant and flavorful. They give you nice chunks of meat in it too. There was some type of pepper sauce on the side that wasn’t spicy and added a nice flavor.
The Crispy Pork ($38) came with fresh herbs and vermicelli pancake. This was sublime. You take the lettuce wrap, add herbs, dip the vermicelli in the sauce, and then add the pork. The pork skin was deliciously crunchy, and the flavor in each combo bite was delectable.
The Fried Branzino ($38) came with avocado salad and nam jim. This was surprisingly very delicious. The fish appears to be a half side of the branzino, but the meat was pretty plentiful. They also conveniently de-boned, and it was easy to take the meat and not worry too much about bones. If you’re into the head, you do get half the head with eyeballs, and most of the head was crispy and edible. Everything in the head tasted really fresh with no fishiness, and much of the bones are crispy and edible too.
The Coconut Sundae ($14) came with hazelnut, Vietnamese coffee, and valrhona dark chocolate. This was wonderful. The soft serve was not overly sweet, and all the other ingredients were perfect. The coconut is pronounced, but it’s nicely complemented with the dark chocolate.
Final Verdict
SEA is one of those restaurants that isn’t too expensive but offers great value and taste in Southeast flavors. We highly recommend those around this area to check this restaurant out now, in case if it starts to get more attention. All of the dishes that we ordered were wonderful, and we wouldn’t hesitate to come back with friends.
Yelp Jabs
My Could-do-withouts … Crispy Pork … The sauce provided had a nice kick, but aside from spice, it didn’t have much flavor, and felt the dish could have been more seasoned.
I definitely disagree with this Elitist if you love pork and you love wraps. You don’t really need much seasoning when you have the sauce and herbs. The sauce itself did have a kick to it, but it also had some subtle flavors. Really the kicker here is to take some of the herbs, e.g. dill, cilantro, etc., and include it in your wrap. Everything wrapped together had very great harmonious flavors.
Everything tasted like it’s been sitting there for a long long time with malfunctional heat lamp… Shrimp Roll - served lukewarm, basic
I’ve heard restaurants usually avoid serving super hot things right away because patrons could actually file a lawsuit for something being too hot. Regardless for us, everything came out at the right temperature where we can start digging in right away. I would probably avoid the crudos, just because this is too similar to everything else out there.
Revisions
- Nov 22, 2024 - Initial revision.