Restaurants, Far East

Bonsai Bar Bistro provides a clear rebuttal to the notion that Japanese cuisine in the UK is expensive and exclusive. The small but perfectly formed restaurant is known for its welcoming atmosphere and has a wide-ranging menu that offers something for…

Kampong Ah Lee Malaysian Delight is a compact, canteen-style restaurant serving authentic Malaysian food in basic but comfortable surroundings. Its small shop front may be easy to miss, but it remains well known and popular with students seeking an…

Rumours Kopitiam seems to have it all – a great location on a busy Bath Street corner, tasty Malay dishes and more than reasonable pricing. All this ensures that even on a wet weekday night, punters will steadily stream through the door. Sure, the…

Shilla is the sole Korean restaurant in Glasgow and the sister venue to the Edinburgh venture of the same name. This small unassuming space is located in the perennially up-and-coming cool neighbourhood of Finneston. A handful of tightly packed beech…

A marriage of Scottish and Thai cuisine might seem a doomed alliance, and some of the menu options sound more like a drunken scramble around the kitchen than haute cuisine (lasagne chicken curry, anybody?), but don’t be fooled – this contemporary outfit…

Owner Jing Si promises real Chinese cooking at Hong Fu Noodle Bar. The recently revamped menu has some genuinely unusual dishes, with Szechuan and Northern Chinese influences predominating. Gone are the ubiquitous prawn toast and chow mein, to be…

Newly extended at the end of 2012, Pho Vietnam House remains small but by no means cramped, with plenty of elbow room and a multi-coloured interior that has more than a hint of chilled-out beach hut to it. Owner Jodie Nguyen sweeps efficiently between…

Worth seeking out at the top of Renfrew Street, Thai Lemongrass offers an oasis of calm from the hustle and bustle of City Centre life. Dark wood and warming gold dominate the intimate space with luxury red-upholstered booths, canopied with heavy…

At the fringes of the city centre, Ho Wong is a legendary Glasgow establishment. Its immaculately presented dining room is positioned beyond the bar area but feels miles away from the busy thoroughfares nearby. The restaurant is relaxed and filled with…

An inconspicuous door and narrow staircase lead you down to the four small, connected stone–walled rooms that form Shilla, which is clearly popular with Edinburgh’s Eastern Asian community who seem to take precedence with the serving staff. You’ll…

Sandwiched as it is between two of the capital’s foremost arts venues, the Usher Hall and the Lyceum Theatre, this smallish concern will never lack for footfall. Pleasant and unobtrusive staff, gold-accented décor and soft lighting on small tables…

Perched atop the rise of Bruntsfield Place, Thai Lemongrass is a solid bet for those who like Far Eastern fare dispensed with a liberal spoon. The large glass-fronted space is rather draughty and could feel lacking in privacy if you’re after a venue for…

The stylish City Centre branch of Bar Soba attracts a cosmopolitan mix of shoppers sipping wine, pre-clubbers enjoying unusual cocktails and diners looking for contemporary Asian food. All rub shoulders with ease as the bar area, with subdued lighting…

Quicker than you can say 'tablet computer', there's a grimly punning new restaurant, Thai Pad, on the scene. It is, in fact, a new incarnation of the fairly short-lived Love You Long Thai restaurant in the basement of the Richmond House Hotel on London…

The west end outfit of Bar Soba is a more student-oriented affair than its arguably more stylish city centre sister. Exposed brick scrawled with Asian graffiti adorns the walls, while a large wooden block table with matching high stools runs the length…

Sushiya is Edinburgh’s bite-sized taste of Tokyo, as tiny, bright and inviting as the futo maki sushi. With only 25 covers it is undeniably small, but the stylish, minimalist interior keeps the feel spacious even when it’s busy and there’s a steady…

Thai Siam's unprepossessing exterior in trendy Finnieston disguises a warm and relaxing interior with a neutral colour scheme and Buddha artworks bedecking the walls. The Thai staff maintain a healthy banter with customers, while the cuisine is adapted…

Entering from the grey Georgian slope of North Castle Street, the immediate impression fostered by the distractingly named Time 4 Thai is that of a well-turned-out place. The designers pursued a purple theme, with folded plum napkins, mauve chairs and a…

Centrally located Yes Sushi attracts a mix of city folk and visitors. The pleasant red and black interior is generic Japanese (paper lanterns, drawings of geishas etc.) and yet the place has a decidedly Chinese undertone. The hotpot and sushi…

Absolute Thai is an unassuming treasure. On stepping through the curtained doorway, diners feel sequestered from the outside world. The restaurant may be small, but the limited space makes for a feeling of cosy intimacy with small touches of kitsch…