"This time around, it's less about gimmickry and more about cleverly combining traditional Japanese, Korean, and Chinese flavors with local ingredients," writes Knowlton. This generation of chefs, he adds, "would never describe what they're doing as Asian fusion (it's a dirty word these days), but rather American cooking--a melting pot of culinary traditions, a fusion of global flavors."
Of the half-dozen restaurants that Knowlton insists are pioneering the new Asian fusion revolution, one is right here in Denver: ChoLon, Lon Symensma's temple of gastronomy that, says Symensma, represents "modern interpretations of traditional dishes" discovered during his exploration of Asia.
Knowlton, who also includes Good Girl Dinette (Los Angeles), Sakaya (Miami), Ruxbin (Chicago), East by Northeast (Cambridge, Massachusetts) and Sampan (Philadelphia) in his shout-outs, writes this about ChoLon, justifiably extolling Symensma's unassailable soup dumplings:
Named after the largest Chinese market in Saigon, this LoDo district spot, with talented chef Lon Symensma at the helm, features creative riffs on Asian classics. What to order: soup dumplings with sweet onion and Gruyère.
