Photo by Christian Gooden, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Hiro Asian Kitchen
Hiro Asian Kitchen’s fascinating evolution continues. In addition to his regular pan-Asian fare, Bernie Lee now also offers a platform to two other chefs: Malou Nievera, who on Saturday serves a Filipino brunch, and Leon Augustus Braxton Jr., who on Sunday serves the fried chicken that won him a devoted following at the short-lived Grove restaurant Miss Leon’s Fried Chicken. Lee’s own cooking is an appealing collection of dishes from Chinese, Malaysian, Taiwanese and other cuisines. The spicy shrimp laksa ramen is my favorite dish, though a recent visit, my first, to the Sunday brunch won me over with da ji pai, a whopping Taiwanese chicken-fried steak served with a sunny-side-up egg and a sweet-corn coulis.
Opened: 2013
Must order: Spicy laksa ramen (lunch $12, dinner $17)