Z Asian Vietnamese Kitchen (https://eatzasian.com/) is one of the nicer, more upscale Vietnamese restaurants in Orlando’s Mills 50 district full of Vietnamese and other Asian restaurants, markets, and shops. That said, as someone who does not love high-end, fancy, luxurious dining, it is still very accessible and welcoming for all. It is also unique because it received prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand awards in 2022 and 2023. To clarify, that does not mean it has a Michelin star, like some of the highest-end eateries, but rather it was recognized for its “good quality, good value cooking.” Chef and co-owner Huong Nguyen focuses on street foods from Saigon, but her menu offers several dishes that Orlando’s other Vietnamese restaurants do not serve.
I first went to Z Asian with a former co-worker in late July. She and I both left our workplace for new opportunities this year, so it was a chance to catch up and chat. She is vegetarian, and Z Asian has so many vegetarian and vegan options on its menu, I thought it would be a perfect choice for dinner.
We started out with an order of two vegan summer rolls (goi cuon chay), with tofu, vermicelli noodles, and shredded lettuce rolled up in transparent, sticky, chewy rice paper and served at room temperature with a side order of peanut sauce. My wife loves summer rolls with peanut sauce from other Vietnamese restaurants like Little Saigon and Pho 88, but they are usually not my favorites. I’m not a big tofu guy either, but I’ll try anything once, and this was an excellent summer roll! The tofu had the consistency of a firm omelet with a slightly crispy exterior, balancing against all the chewy ingredients. 
I also chose an order of pan-fried rice flour (bot chien), something I always see on Vietnamese menus but had never tried before. It always looks good, and I thought my vegetarian friend would like it too. It came served on a blanket of lovely fried eggs, although there is a vegan option too, without the eggs. It was served with a side of crunchy, sweet pickled carrot and daikon radish, with a sweet chili soy dipping sauce. 
This was AWESOME. We both loved it. This was another dish with a crispy exterior and soft, yielding interior, kind of like fries or tater tots — not in taste, but in “mouth feel.” They were terrific with the sauce, and I liked the pickled vegetables (necessary ingredients on any banh mi sandwich) a lot.
My friend ordered stir-fried garlic noodles with tofu. I didn’t try this, but she seemed to like it a lot. In addition to the fried tofu (similar to the pieces in the summer rolls), it came with bok choy, carrot, and plenty of crunchy bean sprouts.
I ordered special rice noodle soup (hu tieu thap cam), with thinner rice noodles than you usually find in bowls of beefy pho. Instead of being a beef-based soup like pho, this soup included pork, shrimp, squid, fish cakes, and krab sticks, in addition to aromatic herbs. It was a nice, light soup and a pleasant change from the pho I’ve ordered so many times elsewhere. Somehow, I managed not to splash my clothes, which was a minor miracle.
My research tells me hu tieu is a Chinese-Cambodian invention that was adapted to Vietnamese tastes in the city of Saigon, and that I could have also ordered a “dry” version with a small bowl of soup on the side to protect my work clothes in the future.
Before leaving, I ordered the pan-fried rice cakes (minus the eggs) to bring home for my wife to try. She was dazzled with them too, and they did not lose their subtle crispiness on the drive home. 
And I also brought home a dish I had really wanted to try, after seeing so many people post photos of it. My vegetarian friend would not have been into this at all, but I knew my wife would share my appreciation of Z Asian’s grilled jumbo squid (muc nuong sate). You can get squid at lots of restaurants (Italian, Greek, Chinese, steakhouses, and so forth) in the form of breaded, fried calamari, but I had never seen such squid served in such a beautiful presentation as this. If your fellow diners aren’t averse to eating cephalopods (so that counts out my in-laws), this will be a real attention-grabber at your table, and I strongly recommend it. 
The menu says the grilled jumbo squid is marinated in “house sauce,” and it is served with house-made jalapeno green sauce, but it did not need to be dipped in anything. Squid can sometimes get chewy and rubbery, but this was so tender and flavorful, with slight spicy and sweet flavors balancing out the taste of the ocean (but not a fishy taste).
It wasn’t long before I returned to Z Asian with my wife, who ordered a Thai milk tea (tra Thai) that was rich and cool and creamy and sweet, with a slightly smoky flavor. 
For some reason, I could not decide what to order. Normally I am not intimidated by a large menu, but for this second visit, I just couldn’t choose. I eventually picked something pretty random, the seafood stir-fried noodles in garlic sauce, which came with tail-on shrimp, squid, fish cakes, and the usual bok choy, carrots, and bean sprouts. I chose egg noodles instead of rice noodles, but I had completely forgotten that this was essentially what my friend ordered on our first visit, minus the seafood. 
To be completely honest, this was okay. I feel like I did not make the best choice. I might have been happier with pho or bun bo hue, but I kept thinking about how hot it was for soup (on a scorching August afternoon in Florida), and how it would be hard to beat Pho Huong Lan, maker of the best pho and bun bo hue I’ve ever had anywhere. Plus, with Z Asian’s huge menu, I wanted to challenge myself and step out of my comfort zone, trying something new instead of something familiar I’ve had dozens, if not hundreds, of times over the years. But there wasn’t anything wrong with the dish; I blame myself for being uncharacteristically wishy-washy and not choosing wisely. I was kind of hoping the garlic sauce on the noodles would be more like the awe-inspiring buttery garlic noodles at Kai Asian Street Fare, but not knowing any better, I just set myself up for disappointment.
As always, my wife was smarter than I, choosing a favorite from other Vietnamese restaurant menus: slices of tender grilled beef, tail-on shrimp, and a crispy fried spring roll cut in half, served over rice vermicelli noodles, with shredded lettuce, julienned cucumber and carrot, diced scallions, and crushed peanuts. This was not a noodle soup, but a very refreshing, summery dish with warm and cool ingredients. Sometimes you can’t go wrong with a classic! 
So that’s Z Asian Vietnamese Kitchen. I would absolutely return and try something different next time — maybe something with clams or snails, or maybe even sample the bun bo hue or the pho. But I really don’t think you can go wrong, and if you are a vegetarian or vegan, you have a lot more options here than most other restaurants in and around Orlando. And if you don’t want to take my word for it, a certain tire company also really recommends the place.
The Saboscrivner 