East Meets West Chester

With a diverse menu showcasing Chinese, Japanese, and Thai offerings, Fusion Asian Restaurant can satisfy a myriad of hankerings for the Orient. Dining there for both lunch and dinner, my companions and I had the opportunity to sample a wide variety of dishes. We were also able to enjoy both day and evening dining experiences to see how they differ.

Entering the restaurant, located in the West Goshen Town Center to the left of Panera Bread Company, you are greeted by a tranquil wall of water and an always courteous host. The décor is modern and the music is up-tempo, usually Top 40 dance music whether lunch or dinner. Consistently for all of my many visits, the service has been timely and friendly, and these two visits were no different.

Since I abstain from meat whenever possible, I brought along a friend to try the traditional entrees for me. Both my dinner and lunch companions remarked on the freshness and flavor of their rolls. The spicy tuna roll looked so good and was presented so beautifully that I almost had to sneak my chopsticks over to steal a chunk. To satisfy my own roll cravings, I ordered the Sweet Potato Roll. Having had this first at popular Borough establishment Kooma, I had an expectation. That expectation was far exceeded by Fusion. Okay….so they got a Sweet Potato Roll right. What else can they do?

We all began with a round of Miso Soup, a staple on any Japanese menu. Again, Fusion’s version outshines any other miso we have tried in the area. The broth is extremely flavorful, complimented by delicate slivers of green onions and generous amounts of seaweed and organic tofu. The Thai Spring Rolls are perfectly crispy with a delightful blend of vegetables and shrimp and served with a sauce reminiscent of Duck sauce…but better. My partner in lunching orders the Soft Shell Crab and dies, going straight to heaven in (pregnant) foodie glory.

For lunch I choose Broccoli with Brown Sauce and brown rice from the Chinese menu. Again, their sauce is superior to other brown sauces I’ve had in the area. This is the same sauce you’d find in perennial favorite Chicken with Broccoli, although in my experience it rarely tastes as good without the chicken juices mingled in. At Fusion, they have nailed it. The flavor is full and the consistency is spot on. Not too oily, not coagulated, yet not too thin or soupy. My companion orders Pad Thai, and having come back down from foodie heaven, remarks that it’s good, but has too many peanuts.

Returning for dinner with a different friend, I opt for a go at the Vegetarian Pad Thai, because too many peanuts or not, I haven’t been able to get the looks of it out of my mind. I’m disappointed to find it chock full of red onion. I hate red onions. When I hesitantly request a new bowl sans stinky awful unpalatable onions, the waitress is so kind and obliging you’d think it had been her idea to send it back. The new version is better, but frankly I have been spoiled by Nooddi and Jazmine. The Fusion pad thai falls short of those strictly Thai establishments. My friend, a marathoner and triathlete, chooses a board of the healthiest sushi offerings on the menu. I know immediately she is happy with her meal as she morphs into a human vacuum cleaner and inhales them all in personal best record time.

Although their Pad Thai did not impress, given their track record of outshining the competition in all other areas, I will be back to give their Thai another try.

Dinner for Two: $37 including gratuity

Lunch for Two: $22 including gratuity and Red Bean Ice Cream for dessert