The food combination at Asian Combo in Biddeford is a mixed bag

A word to the 30-something couple sipping orange-ombre Thai iced tea ($4.50) at Asian Combo last week: thanks for the earworm.

Since passing through this converted apartment house on Pool Street in Biddeford, I haven’t been able to get your new improvised lyrics to a B-52 hit out of my head. Let me paraphrase: “If you see a neon sign by the side of the road/ It says “Bubble Tea” at the Laab Shack!” »

I groaned when I first heard the pun, while sitting nearby, nursing my own malted, purple-tinted taro milk tea ($5.50) and chew springy crystal boba (not my favorite; I prefer dense, melty, opaque cassava). beads). But who am I kidding? It was funny. I just wish I could think about that new Southeast Asian restaurant and not hear Fred Schneider’s voice in my head.

The fact that my memories of Asian Combo are so closely tied to a song says a lot about my dining experience. If all the dishes I tried at this casual, counter-service restaurant had been excellent, I think the food would be my most vivid memory of my midweek trip to Biddeford.

Instead, I remember a confusing meal ordered from a menu that consisted of Laotian, Thai, and Vietnamese dishes, with a few Japanese and Chinese-American plates thrown in for good measure.

Calamari and basil with rice, left; pho, yes; and crispy tofu pad thai, bottom center, at Asian Combo. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

“Are all the different cuisines the origin of the name ‘Asian Combo’?” I asked the lightning-quick waitress behind the counter as I ordered the basil calamari with rice ($17.95), an overly salty stir-fry of red peppers, basil, green beans and fried calamari rings. “No, not at all,” she replied, pointing to a divided to-go container. “This is part of our lunch box specials.” The “combos” in question turned out to be bento-style meal plans that included an entrée, an appetizer and a miniature salad ($15.50).

A less interesting origin story perhaps, but a smart business move for a restaurant located just steps from the University of New England campus. “At lunchtime, we get so many students here, and they all just want bubble tea and lunch combos,” she said.

At dinner, each of the combo’s items is offered a la carte. I tried a few, including plump shrimp spring rolls ($10.95) that caught me off guard: Was I tasting Italian radicchio alongside springy vermicelli and cucumber? Yes, it turns out that it’s the same spring mix that Asian Combo uses for its bento salads that’s wrapped, unadulterated, in these spring rolls. I’m all for experimenting with locally abundant ingredients, but bitter radicchio is a terrible addition to a spring roll, especially an otherwise bland little bundle whose flavor is offset by a single, sorry mint leaf.

Another puzzling dish was the crispy tofu pad Thai ($14). I think I know what’s wrong here, but I’m still not sure why. (I reached out to the owners of Asian Combo for an interview three times, but received no response.)

Often called “mee krob song kreuang,” this version of crispy noodle pad Thai normally features torn cubes of mee krob, a sweet and sour wheat noodle snack (think funky, salty Rice Krispie treats) in place of linguine. rice noodles. But at Asian Combo, the kitchen uses lean, unseasoned wheat vermicelli in place of mee krob. During frying, all the components tangle together to form a crunchy mess of noodles that are both dried out and hard to eat.

Luckily, my Asian Combo story comes with a heartwarming twist. Let’s start with the fried banana dessert (kluay khaek, $8.95), a stack of several buttery, wonton-wrapped, sweet, ripe fruit parcels, drizzled with sweet syrup and sprinkled with sesame seeds. There’s real skill at play here, both in selecting bananas ripe enough to soften without disintegrating, and in frying the little bundles to a perfect, delicate shade of brown. Two very sticky thumbs up.

Tui Dubois adds pho broth to a bowl. “This phenomenal pho is on par with the best I’ve had in Maine,” says our reviewer. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Then there’s the pho. Asian Combo’s version is deeply aromatic, with a few drops of oil still floating on the surface and a hint of natural sweetness in the broth. Adding a little hoisin sauce and a dollop of hot chili sauce with torn holy basil, bean sprouts and sliced ​​jalapeños, I discovered generous portions of rare, shredded ribeye and rice noodles again flexible. This phenomenal pho is on par with the best I’ve had in Maine.

With its superlative beef noodle soup, it would be easy to suggest that Asian Combo reconceptualize itself as a pho-only cafe. But wait… there’s yet another complication in the form of a fiery, minty Isan-style laab gai ($15.75). This protein-rich, herby “salad” offers hints of astringency from lime juice, umami from ground chicken, and generous slurps of fish sauce, followed by a soothing, mellow nuttiness from toasted rice powder (khao khua). If you’re a fan of heat, this is a great dish to order spicy—even to Asian Combo’s overrated “fire alarm” level—along with a bowl of sticky rice ($3.50).

I wish I could overlook the unevenness of Asian Combo’s menu, a bimodal distribution of full dishes and enchanting, nuanced ones, with little in between. Does it even out? Overall, probably. I certainly plan to return, but with a clear ordering strategy: I’ll aim for a bowl of that gorgeous pho and a generous plate of chopped chicken salad with scallions.

Come on Shack, baby!

Ta Young pours taro milk tea over boba and ice cream at Asian Combo. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

RATING: ***

OR: 169 Pool Street, Biddeford, 207-284-1111 asiancombo.com

PORTION: 11am-8:30pm, Tuesday to Friday; 12pm-8:30pm, Saturday and Sunday

PRICE SCALE: Starters and salads: $8.50 to $15.75, Main courses: $14 to $24.95

NOISE LEVEL: Stormy ASMR

VEGETARIAN: Many dishes

RESERVATIONS: No

BAR: None

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes

IN SHORT : Pan-Asian restaurants can be hits or misses, often in the same meal. Biddeford’s Asian Combo, a casual counter-service restaurant on Pool Street that opened in October, is no exception. What’s different here is that amid the sloppy fresh rolls with off-putting radicchio and bland, crispy pad Thai, there are a few top-notch dishes. If you go, grab one of the dozen tables and order a bowl of pho, rich and comforting with tender slices of shredded beef sliding through streams of rice noodles; it’s among the best in the area. And don’t stop there: The sweet, crispy wonton-wrapped fried banana dessert and the fragrant, minty shredded chicken laab are also mind-blowing dishes worth the drive to Biddeford.

Andrew Ross has written about food and restaurants in New York and the United Kingdom. He and his work have been featured on Martha Stewart Living Radio and in the New York Times. He recently received seven Critic’s Awards from the Maine Press Association.

Contact him at: andrewross.maine@gmail.com
Twitter: @AndrewRossME

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