Every month, Asian Recipes at Yale hosts food popups featuring a selection of diverse Asian drinks, small bites, entrees, and desserts. Come with me as I try their first pop-up of the year: All Around Asia. I arrived right on time for my 7pm reservation at the Asian American Cultural Center, and was promptly greeted by a welcoming hostess who sat me almost instantly. My friend and I strategically ordered different dishes so we could try as much as possible.

Drinks:

Mango Lassi (India) (vegetarian)

Omija Pear Fizz (South Korea) (vegetarian)

Before I even sat down, our drinks awaited us at the table!

For anybody who hasn’t had one, a mango lassi is a chilled Indian drink made by blending mango, yogurt, milk, and a little sugar. The result is thick, creamy, and sunny orange, somewhere between a smoothie and a milkshake, with a gentle tang from the yogurt. ARAY’s version was good, though not outstanding. It was a solid, faithful take on the classic: sweet, cool, and comforting!

Meanwhile, the Omija pear fizz was extremely pleasant, and I couldn’t help but imagine how well it would pair with a splash of alcohol. Omija-cha is a traditional Korean herbal tea made with omija berries, which are known for exhibiting five distinct flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and pungent. The pear fizz ended up balancing them into something particularly light and refreshing.

Appetizers:

Thai Basil Chicken Wonton Cups (Thailand)

Miso Corn Tempura (Japan) (vegetarian)

The first thing I noticed about the Thai basil chicken wonton cups was the crunch, loud enough that my friend looked up! Grilled chicken and veggies were nestled into a crispy wonton shell, resembling a tiny edible bowl. I really liked the texture contrast between the soft filling and the delightfully fried shell. The catch? The dish was a little dry and seemed to be missing something, perhaps a sauce. They also fell apart immediately after my first bite, so eating them neatly was certainly a lost cause. Final verdict: delicious, but definitely required a couple napkins!

The miso corn tempura was delightful. I mean, how could deep fried corn and onions go wrong? The sauce balanced the crispy tempura well, and of the two appetizers, this was my favorite.

Entrees:

Beef Rendang with Crispy Roti (Malaysia)

Sichuan Mapo Udon (China & Japan) (vegetarian)

If you’ve never had it, rendang is a dry curry that originated with the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia, and is now a staple across Malaysia. Beef is simmered slowly in coconut milk with a spice paste of lemongrass, galangal, ginger, garlic, shallots, and chili, served with rice or a roti! Personally, ARAY’s rendition was good, but not my favorite. The jasmine rice was done well, fragrant and fresh (I have had my fair share of botched rice, so I don’t take a perfectly cooked batch of rice for granted). However, the dish felt dominated by carbs, and I thought the sauce on the beef leaned too heavily on coconut without enough salt to balance it.

The Sichuan mapo udon arrived in a deep red sauce, with a hint of chili oil in the air. Mapo tofu is a classic Sichuan dish of soft tofu in a spicy sauce made with fermented chili bean paste and Sichuan peppercorns. The udon was thick and chewy, a very satisfying base. The vegetarian mapo tofu sauce was tangy, salty, and rich, with the tofu’s freshness coming through in every bite. The scallions cut through the richness of the sauce. Would I order this again? Udon’t even have to ask!

Dessert:

Urum Berry Sponge Cake (Mongolia)

Ube Basque Cheesecake (Philippines) (vegetarian)

Brown Sugar Boba Panna Cotta (Taiwan) (vegetarian)

By far, the dessert was the star of the meal.

The urum berry sponge cake was so light and airy that I felt like I was basically eating nothing, in the best possible way. It was a light sponge cake layered with a berry filling, and topped with urum, known as a traditional Mongolian clotted cream. This added a creamy finish with a subtle tang, balancing the sweetness of the berry filling (which was also absolutely delicious).

Moving on to the ube basque cheesecake. Making cheesecake is hard enough, but a Basque cheesecake? In a student kitchen? I’m seriously amazed. Everything about it was perfect. The texture. The hints of ube throughout. The coconut caramel topping. The coconut whipped cream on top. I seriously considered asking our server for a portion to take home. This by far, was both me and my friend’s favorite dish of the night.

Finally, the brown sugar boba panna cotta surprised me. Panna cotta is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream set with gelatin until it's both soft but just firm enough to hold its shape. ARAY topped theirs with brown sugar boba, and since I don’t usually like boba, I was not expectating much. However, the panna cotta was soft and silky, the boba was chewy, and the brown sugar syrup added a rich, toffee-like sweetness. The contrast between the two textures was perfect, and it ended up winning me over.

Overall, I was super pleased with my first experience with ARAY at Yale. The service, atmosphere, and ambiance were all excellent, especially for a student pop up. The student volunteers were warm, organized, and clearly proud of what they were serving. I was also pleasantly surprised with how accommodating the menu was for plant-based eaters, as there was a vegetarian option for each course.

If you’ve never been to an ARAY Popup, this is your sign to go. Honestly, the dessert course alone was worth the trip. Go with a friend, order different things, and share everything. I’m already curious about what ARAY will be serving next.