Asian food next to the Turnpike....in Westbrook....

You wouldn't expect these things to add up to a good meal but surprisingly, it did! Kon Asian Bistro (don't let the link fool you, it's not "club"y at all) is actually a good place to have dinner, and, if it's your thing, go to hibachi. The first time I went here was in November, when I walked out SOAKED in saki (the hibachi cooks shoot it into your mouth via a squirt bottle...it's tough to get them not to do it, or to stop once they start). Friday night, however, I ate in the dining room and would like to focus on that since all hibachis are virtually the same. 


We started our dinner with three great appetizers. I had the least exotic, Philadelphia roll.

This was pretty but not as flavorful as it could have been. Less cream cheese would have been nice, with more salmon. One of my dinner companions had delicious beef medallions with scallion in the middle.

I'm not sure what the sauce was but it was slightly sweet, brought out the savory meat flavor and the scallions were a fresh surprise in the middle. Very yummy. My other friend had a duck dumpling appetizer:

I love make-your-own food. Nothing on this plate tasted especially special in my opinion, but it was fun to build and eat. The cucumber/scallions were fresh and crunchy, as they should be. 


For dinner itself, I had pad thai, which I thought was pretty good. Pretty good is a compliment I rarely bestow on pad thai, as I find it is a delicate balance between tasting too fishy, too dry, or, and I really cannot think of another way to word this, too vomitous. Seriously, has anyone else noticed that pad thai can taste like vomit?

Overall, this restaurant is completely in place with Westbrook in regards to the crowd--a combination of families with young kids and tons of carseats, baseball caps, and flannel, and the groups of young people who like to dress up in really sparkly clothes, put on their best Snookie hairstyles, and have some drinks before hitting the actual bar scene; and yet, completely unlike anything like Westbrook in terms of decor.  Would I recommend this restaurant? Well, if you're in Portland/Westbrook, want some pan-Asian food in a restaurant that is clean and the food is fresh, maybe not magnificent, and you want to spend less than $50 each, or if you want hibachi, this is your place. I've been here 3 times so far and haven't had anything that blew my mind but I haven't had anything inedible yet. Also, unlike most Portland restaurants, I haven't had anything that was too salty.  Let me know if you've been there and what you thought!