By Emily Harrington
Located in the former Vilardo’s Boutique at 1745 W. Kirby Ave., in Champaign’s Old Farm Shops, Sushi Siam is small but mighty.
The owners of Green Street’s Sushi Rock created a more intimate, elevated dining experience with Sushi Siam, a sushi/Thai fusion restaurant that opened during the winter. It’s a perfect marriage for us. We both like sushi, and my husband loves Thai.
An extensive, multi-page menu features curries, noodle soups, pan-fried noodles, rices, salads, substantial protein and vegetable main courses, sushi, sushi appetizers and Thai appetizers.
The food comes out as it is ready. There’s no lull. Everything is fresh and HOT.
We shared the six spring rolls ($6.99). Fresh rolls are filled with beansprouts, cucumbers, egg, and sweet tofu, and they are served with special Thai sauce. We were told they could only be fried. We also split four steamed chicken/pork dumplings, and they were served with sweet soy sauce ($6.99). These were my favorite. So much so, I ordered a second batch mid-meal. They are “open faced,” different than the typical closed crescent moons. Thy were delicate and light and robust in flavor. They legit tasted like they were made by hand.
My husband ordered the Pad Kee Mao Noodles ($12.99). These are spicy, stir-fried wide noodles with choice of protein (add $2 for shrimp), bamboo shoots, basil leaves, bell peppers, broccoli and water chestnuts. They asked my husband if he’d like no spice, mild, medium, hot or hot Thai. He likes spicy food. With hesitation, he chose medium, because he thought I might want a bite. A full plate of food came out. He was surprised by how spicy the food was. Medium had him sweating. So, keep that in mind and, maybe, avoid the “hot” option?
I chose sushi. I got the California Roll (avocado, cucumber and crabsticks) and the Spider Roll (asparagus, cucumber, Masago, mayo and softshell crab). All of this is draped with slices of avocado. I made a misstep here, as I don’t like avocado! It was heavy on the avocado. I thought it would be hidden among other flavors. There’s something about a fried crab shell that is super contradictory to me. Some pieces were more shell and batter than meat. However, when you get a meaty piece — delicious. I also had a Shrimp Tempura Roll (avocado, cucumber, fried shrimp and spicy mayo). Each roll has 6 to 8 pieces per roll.
We ordered too much food. I should have nixed a roll, but I’m glad I got to try a variety. Our bill was $67.80 plus tip. We left STUFFED. Try the Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream for dessert. They even have Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake.
There isn’t any booze on the menu although there’s Green Tea, Thai Iced Coffee and Thai Iced Tea.
The food was fast, fresh, hot and very tasty. The service was also very good. Our server even offered suggestions in order to get us the most bang for our buck.
There were two servers covering a small restaurant. It is very narrow. There are five, four tops, one, two tops and two seats at a back bar. The décor is cozy and simple. It is draped in dark woods with gold accents.
I did not see any high chairs — or kids. My kids are, sadly, chicken fingers, pizza and buttered-noodle kids. Only the elbow kind of macaroni, however, not the swirly kind. You get my drift. There is no dedicated kid menu here. If your kiddo has an adventurous palette, you could totally do rice and noodle bowls.
While we were sitting there, tons of takeout orders came through. I would guess this is the majority of their business. If you were sitting by the door, this pick-up traffic made the small space cold. Bring a jacket if the weather isn’t great.
Emily Harrington is a Chambana townie. She left her 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job in communications so that she could be a 24/7 mom to two busy boys. Still interested in writing, Emily uses some of naptime to practice her passion and keep her mind right. Emily is a happy wife with a happy life because she fell for a fellow townie. Emily usually finds herself engulfed in balls, blue and belly laughs.