COCO ASIAN BISTRO DEBUTS NEW MENU ITEMS TO CELEBRATE 10 YEARS IN SOUTH FLORIDA Fort Lauderdale’s Popular Destination For Asian Dining Introduces
New Happy Hour & Brunch

Hailing from Thailand, Chef Mike Ponluang was immersed in the restaurant industry from a young age, helping his family in their small restaurant. He traveled extensively, living and studying in London before settling in Fort Lauderdale in 1980. In 1991 he opened the successful Coral Springs restaurant Thai Pepper, which he owned for 15 years before opening Coco Asian Bistro. Of the decision to revamp Coco’s menu, Chef Mike says, “we are honored to be a part of the Fort Lauderdale community and are so thankful for our guests. We are pleased to continue offering traditional Thai favorites in addition to exciting and unique new dishes.”

We recently got a chance to check out some of the new and existing dishes, check out our experience below!

All images appearing in this post photographed by Holli Lapes, property of TheSoFlaSage.com

*NEW: Steamed BBQ Pork Buns

Yumm – these are the perfect happy hour food! Slightly sweet pork filling with a fluffy steamed bun.

*NEW: King Salmon Sashimi Flatbread, King Salmon, cream cheese, chili paste, arugula, fish eggs, wasabi-mayo

Wow – I had never really seen anything like this before being served at an Asian restaurant. Certainly a fun presentation with all the colors and the large sized fish eggs. It was tasty, too, although I personally would have preferred just a little less cream cheese.

Other new menu items, which by the way are exclusive to the happy hour menu, include: Almond Crusted Florida Keys Snapper, mixed vegetables, Thai green coconut milk curry; and Kobe Sliders, tomato, caramelized onions, bacon, arugula, American cheese, pickled cucumber and homemade Thousand Island dressing served with sweet potato fries, as well as traditional Thai dishes like Mee Krob (crispy noodles in tamarind sauce) and Nam Sod (Thai-style chicken salad).

These menu items are available during Coco Asian Bistro’s new happy hour, offered Monday through Friday 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. This menu can also be found during Sunday Brunch from 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. alongside delicious, unique brunch dishes like Matcha Mochi Waffles and Pandan Pancakes.

Coco Asian Bistro’s tried-and-true lunch and dinner options remain in place. Chef Mike’s carefully curated menus feature traditional Thai cuisine mixed with other Asian dishes and an extensive sushi and nigiri selection. Signature dishes include:

• Southern Thai Curry Beef Short Rib – Stewed beef short rib with turmeric, coriander seed, and five spice served with garlic curry rice and roti
• Pan-Fried Snapper Fillet – pan-fried snapper with roasted sliced almonds, pineapple, shrimp tempura with pineapple curry sauce
• Crispy Duck – fried half duck topped with choice of red curry sauce, basil sauce, mango sauce or tamarind sauce
• Lobster Pad Thai – 6 oz. Maine lobster tail, large shrimp, egg, rice noodle, garlic, bean sprouts, ground roasted peanuts, and scallion wrapped in egg net

Lobster Pad Thai

Pretty epic, right?! The texture of the lobster was perfect, it was soft and not at all chewy.

Close-up on the “egg net”

Pad Thai is one of my fave dishes and I would definitely order this one again, no wonder it’s a staple on the menu! There was not an over abundance of sauce, which I appreciated. Without being “soupy” the noodles still managed to carry plenty of (delicious) flavor. Also, how fun is the egg net presentation?!

Mikes Roll – Tuna, Spinach, Asparagus, Avocado, Tempura Flakes, Cucumber, Black Sticky Rice, Sweet Chili Sauce

This roll was great! In general, sushi and especially sashimi are pretty healthy options to eat. This roll was especially nutritious because black rice has more antioxidants (it’s even healthier than brown rice). The spinach, asparagus and avocado are of course very nutritious as well.

We enjoyed our visit to Coco Asian Bistro for dinner and look forward to checking out their brunch options next! Follow them on Instagram 🙂

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All images appearing in this post photographed by Holli Lapes, property of TheSoFlaSage.com

Disclaimer: I received complimentary tasting at Coco Bistro.