Asia Connection? How about it...👀🥟

Be transported to the Asian continent in the middle of Lower Port? Yes, it is totally possible!

TheAsia ConnectionOpened in the summer of 2023 and is already the religious choice of many who like to venture into Asian gastronomy🍜

When we received the invitation to visit the space, even in the Paris Galleries, they did not know that they were inviting someone who lived in Asia for more than 6 months-the requirement was high👀

Upon entering the gastrobus we are soon impacted by the simple and beautiful decoration and the giant mural, signed by Fedor.

We start by asking for two entries:

• Jiao Zi of Shiitake Mushrooms with Trufado Mirin Broth (9 €)
  
• Vieira and Lichias (9 €)

And what a delight they were! The homemade gyozas came stuffed with shiitake mushrooms and were served in a Mirin broth, dehydrated shitake mushrooms and truffle oil, making this dish a giant explosion of flavor. The scallop was sauteed with Thai red curries that surprised me a lot, too, by the intensity of the Curry's flavor.

Accompanying these entrees and, in fact, the whole meal, our cocktails also arrived:

• Shinzen (12.5 €)
• Raw Bombay, Lemon Juice, Yuzu Puree, Mint, Soda, Angostura Bitter
• Wabi sabi (8 €)
• Sake, Ginger Cordial, Yuzu Pureed, Lemon Juice, Citric Air
  

Both cocktails had a more citrus profile, they were quite fresh, however, our highlight goes to Wabi Sabi. In addition to freshness and ginger (an ingredient I specifically like), it was made with Sake, a fermented alcoholic drink, traditional from Japan, where the key ingredient is rice.

Devoured entrees, cocktails in the middle, main courses made their way to reach our table:

• Vietnamese carcaccio (10 €)
  
• Aromatic Curry Thai (14 €)

We ended up sharing all the dishes so I had the possibility to try both. The carpaccio was beef and came with nuoc cham, a Vietnamese fish sauce, with peanuts and shrimp wafers. The mixture between the textures brought a lot of character to the dish and the nuoc cham, a debut for both, surprised by the positive.
As for the Thai Aromatic Curry, you can choose different versions, and I chose Shiitake Mushrooms and Bimis. Vinha flavored with coconut milk, pak choi cabbage, mini-corn, chili and cashew, accompanied with basmati rice with coconut. This dish took me to the months I spent in Asia, when I decided to travel alone, and somehow I ended up finding comfort in the food I had ahead.

And because a sweet ending was all we deserved to complete this excellent experience, we asked:

• Killed it fried with peanut ice cream and caramel “satay” (7 €)

• Banana's ball, a meatball and a cup of Szechuan's pimental
  

The experience at Asia Connection ended up having a different flavor for me, making me travel until the months when I went to face the greatest of my fears-speaking publicly, unable to speak English-to a completely different continent.

Thank you to the team for the invitation! We will certainly return to this little Asian corner in the heart of Porto.

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Text: Francisco Barros