Charlie Breitrose
Tony Hongsamat moved back to Boston from Ohio and started J. Dee Asian Bistro in Watertown Square.
Asian food lovers have a new place to dine in town, where they can satisfy cravings for both Thai food and sushi.
J. Dee Asian Bistro opened in late March at 92 Main St., in Watertown, the spot formerly occupied by Upper Crust. Owner Tony Hongsamat said his restaurant is a combination of the food from his hometown and of food he learned to make while working for restaurants in the Boston area.
“For the Thai food, we know there is a lot of Asian food around here, so we try to make our dishes more like what we have in Thailand,” Hongsamat said.
One of the dishes you might not find other places is Moo Na Now, which is BBQ pork shoulder with fresh chili-and-garlic lime sauce. They also offer the traditional Thai curry dishes, as well as favorites such as Pad Thai, which comes regular or country style – as it is prepared in Thailand.
Charlie Breitrose
J. Dee Asian Bistro opened on Main Street in the spot formerly occupied by Upper Crust.
As for the sushi, this is something that Hongsamat learned to make while working at a sushi bar in Beverly.
J. Dee Asian Bistro offers a few of its own unique sushi rolls. Hongsamat named Tara’s Roll after his daughter, because it is her favorite roll. It has Tuna, salmon, escolar, cucumber and tobiko wrapped in rice paper.
A popular one among his customers is the Double Crab roll, which is soft shell crab tempura, asparagus and avocado wrapped with soy paper and topped with spicy lump blue crab meat.
After working in Beverly, Hongsamat spent several years running a restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio, but he returned because he said the schools are better in the Boston area.
Charlie Breitrose
J. Dee Asian Bistro opened in March and offers both Thai cuisine and sushi.
He concentrates on the sushi, and his brother, Long, makes the Thai dishes.
“Working with my brother is more open than working with someone else,” Hongsamat said. “He listens to me and I listen to him.”
The name of the restaurant is a play on the name of a famous pagoda at a temple in Thailand, called Jaydee.
“It is close to my hometown (Nakornpathom),” he said. “They have one of the biggest pagodas in Thailand.”
J. Dee Asian Bistro is open Monday-Thursday from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Fridays 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturdays 12 p.m-10 p.m. and Sundays 12-9 p.m. Find out more and to see the menus at www.jdeeasianbistro.com or call 617 924-1804.