Pan-Asian Perfection
Elephant East Serves Up Delicious Southeastern Asian Flair.
Kathy Tran
Opening last October inside the Harwood District, Elephant East is a new Pan-Asian concept bringing authentic Southeastern Asian flavors to the Metroplex. Led by executive chef Tom Griffin, the restaurant is fast becoming one of the hottest spots in town.
“We knew that with the decor and with the service style that we wanted to go Pan-Southeastern Asian with it,” Tom says.
The 2,450-square-foot restaurant is open for drinks and dinner every Wednesday through Sunday, with reservations fast filling up daily. Guests who arrive right when it opens at 4 p.m. can enjoy a happy hour of epic proportions, with Elephant East’s drink menu featuring eight handcrafted cocktails.
The Margarita Of The East is one of the most popular beverages, with its Exotico blanco tequila complemented by Cointreau, ginger lime agave and candied ginger. The Lychee Martini, meanwhile, is a lychee-infused sake made with Roku gin, peach-infused vodka, lime and luxardo cherries. Elephant East even has its own take on an old-fashioned, with its Asian Spiced Old Fashioned made with Harwood Maker’s Mark, EE bitters and house-spiced peach honey syrup.
Beer drinkers can expand their palates by trying one of four foreign beers on Elephant East’s menu, including Lucky Buddha, Sapporo, Tiger Beer and Kirin Ichiban. The restaurant also showcases a variety of different sakes like the Shirakabe Gura Mio and the Duku Junmai, and wines such as the Cloudfall Pinot Noir and the Mohua Sauvignon Blanc, with everything available by both the glass or bottle.
When it comes to Elephant East’s food selections, guests have a bevy of options to choose from. With five different sections on its dinner menu, the restaurant ensures that it can cater to any diner.
“We always want to spark curiosity [with] our menus and have people try as many dishes as they can,” Tom says.
The cold plates section of the menu features light, delicious options like the steak salad, which features Texas wagyu, pear, grapes, red cabbage, honey daikon, cilantro and tamarind vinaigrette. Meanwhile, the Seoul Style Carpaccio comes with Texas wagyu, black garlic, tobiko aioli, chili crisps, fried shallots, mint, cured yolk and bao crostini.
But if you prefer to start off the night with a hot meal, Elephant East provides that in spades. The cured bone-in crispy pork spare ribs are served with apple char siu sauce, sesame and scallions, while the baos feature pork belly, cucumber, pickled shallots and apple char siu. And if you’re feeling indecisive, the Pu Pu Platter features a bit of everything, including crispy pork spare ribs, nems, chicken satay, fresh rolls and bang bang shrimp.
As far as main courses go, the banana leaf cod, served with yuzu marinade, carrots, coconut green curry, white rice and a papaya and herb salad, provides a burst of flavor with every bite. Meat aficionados will enjoy digging into the Texas wagyu tri-tip, served with spicy long beans, daikon fries and housemade hoisin sauce on the side, or the Korean short rib, which showcases galbi-braised short ribs, sticky rice, kimchi, sesame and apple demi.
It would be a mistake to go to Elephant East and not try its noodles and rice. Guests can personalize the pad thai or the house fried rice by adding chicken, pork or shrimp. The Drunken Noodles features a filet alongside flat noodles, bell peppers, red onions, snap peas, lime, drunken sauce and basil, while the Singapore Noodles are made with egg noodles, Chinese sausage, Napa cabbage, snow peas and yellow curry.
And Elephant East’s dessert menu is definitely not to be missed. The Chinese donuts feature red sugar and five-spice anglaise, while the bubble waffle sundae molds Bindi chocolate gelato into the shape of a bear with chocolate truffles, peanuts, caramelized milk, whipped cream, Pocky sticks and sprinkles. Meanwhile, chefs select and prepare different flavors of mochi regularly.
“The inspiration truly comes from family and friends,” Tom says. “That’s what the restaurant is all about. It’s about great service, sparking some curiosity with the food and the drinks and still feeling like it’s relatable to Texas.”
With a menu full of delicious Southeast Asian-inspired dishes, Elephant East will leave you wanting more and already planning your next visit.
“I want [guests] to leave full,” Tom says. “I want them to leave excited to come back and try another round of dishes.”