Long Island Restaurants

Baang Cafe & Bar

Start off with a Baang.

Colorful, vibrant and entertaining, the long-awaited Baang Cafe & Bar already gives off sparks. It's an electric Asian-Euro combo plate.

Baang is the high-style offspring of the same-named restaurant in Greenwich, Conn. The eatery, full of asymmetrical whimsy in the design and in the kitchen, approaches dinner theater.

The cookery crosses borders with flair, and the results are more harmonious and artful than the fusion follies of 10 ingredients in search of a spotlight.

Mostly, the flavors meld rather than collide.

Baang is tucked away in the Woodbury Common shopping center, west of Starbucks. Certainly the stylized, gilt-edged decor and the energized staff suggest no one takes decaf.

You're told that Baang itself translates into "tie together" in Chinese.

What's linked here are hot colors and often stirring flavors.

Pan-fried "pepper oysters" have bite and crunch, plus a caviar and cucumber sauce. Fragile steamed shrimp dumplings benefit from citric ponzu sauce. The tasty "sumo crab dumplings" have a trace of miso, and green-chile vinaigrette.

"Szechuan lobster crepes," however, are more neutral than subtle. And the "firecracker spring rolls," with their mustard-honey sauce, are surprisingly routine. You're better off with the tempura-edged tuna sashimi, which is all right with or without its "champagne uni sauce." The barbecued spareribs, with a sesame-seed-and-honey glaze, are meaty and improve on the fundamentals.

"Wok-fired" whole red snapper, ginger-marinated, golden and fashioned into a spiral, is very good. The fish is finished with a red chile dipping sauce.

Barbecued salmon has a more conventional appearance, with stir-fried vegetables, and a lively Chinese mustard sauce.

Lobster Indochine, tender, moist and pointing skyward, carries a hint of curry. The shellfish is flanked by hillocks of rice noodles and addictive leaves of crispy spinach that crumble on cue. The "crackling calamari salad" does have that texture, and a snappy touch of hot chile, lime and miso.

Grilled Shanghai beef means lots of cilantro, shallots and soy. It's more inviting than the Mandarin beef, a soy-orange sauce affair that's boosted primarily by the wasabi-shot mashed potatoes.

Honey-soy glazed lamb chops form a teepee around spinach and mashed red potatoes. The lamb is fine. Likewise, the five-spice grilled chicken, with tempura onion rings, which is as basic as the courses get.

Baang's riff on Beijing duck comes with a trio of folded scallion pancakes and a diverting black vinegar sauce. They enjoy playing around with this classic, stretching and updating along the way. The result is right enough.

Desserts are little works of architecture, some high, some angular, some thematic. The three-way ode to pear, and the gingerbread ice-cream sandwich, stand out.

-- Peter M. Gianotti

Hours

Upcoming Events

Assessment

Cuisine

Directions

Major Credit Cards Accepted

Price

Price Range

Rating

Reservations

Special Features

Wheelchair Access