SPONSORED: Aroi Asian Fusion – bringing the taste and wonderful aroma of Asian street food to Kilkenny

JUST as France has its robust country fare as well as its haute cuisine, Asia too has a range of such culinary delights. They can be simple or complex, fiery or mild. They are all tantalising and compulsive.

They are the staples of Asian street food. Some are slow-cooked and some stir-fried with great speed and skill to match. But, fast or slow, a great deal of time and thought has gone into their preparation – and many, many years of tradition.

Anyone who has travelled in Asia will know the joys of informal dining on this wonderful fare.

But you don’t have to go that far to sample this beautiful food. Aroi Fusion in Kilkenny’s Friary Street brings the glory of Asian street food to our doorstep.

Aroi (pronounced Aroy) means tasty in Thai. But ‘tasty’ is a considerable under-statement for what is on offer in this exciting casual-dining venue.

At Aroi you can take a tour of Asia with their menu as your atlas.

You can be in Korea with their Spicy Kimchi Chicken Ramen – a soupy combination of chilli chicken breast on egg noodles, bean sprouts and leek, garnished with boiled egg, fried garlic, spring onions and spicy kimchi salad.

Their Nasi Goreng will take you to Malaysia for spicy fried rice with prawns, chicken, and mixed vegetables served with chicken satay.

You can visit China’s Canton region with the Kong Foo Chow: noodles, beansprouts, mangetout, carrots and scallions garnished with fried onion and coriander, drizzled with sesame oil and served with a silky egg sauce.

You can pop across to Japan for Aroi’s Terriyaki Salmon or to Singapore for Mee Goreeng Mamak: prawns and chicken in a medium spicy sauce, with egg, potato, cherry tomatoes, scallions and beansprouts.

Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia also contribute cuisines to the Aroi menu, with chicken, fish, duck and no-meat dishes that will delight any vegetarian.

Most Asian food is healthy and the team at Aroi go out of their way to make sure that is so.

“Our healthy cuisine avoids the obscure chemicals and additives so common in some food,” said Aroi owner and manager Don Devan. “We source authentic herbs and spices and we do not use MSG in any of our dishes.”

Aroi is a casual dining venue. It offers dining and service with the minimum fuss. Its ethos is to serve market-fresh, locally-sourced ingredients.

Aroi brings the taste, colour and wonderful aroma of Asian street food to a street in Kilkenny.

For more information, log on to: http://aroi.eu/menu-kilkenny/