First impressions can be wrong. When I entered Lume Asian Fusion, Old Town Manassas’s newest restaurant, I did not have high hopes. I rarely do for restaurants that cavort too freely between multiple Asian cuisines.
Lume’s menu features a Vietnamese banh mi, Korean kalbi, and Filipino-inflected sinigang fries. I feared that the bill of fare spoke more of confusion than fusion. The fact that the stylish dining room is dominated by a bar with TVs tuned to sports didn’t bolster my confidence. But I admit that I was wrong. Lume’s South Pacific–meets-Korea theme practically had me singing “Bali Ha’i.”
Every dish I tried was well-prepared and served with a smile. To a soundtrack of ’80s and ’90s hits, I watched barflies sip tiki drinks (some featuring soju), while I awaited my dinner. Appetizers and main dishes arrived at the same time, but my table was sharing everything, so this didn’t bother us.
The ultra-crispy K Wings arrived in a portion of six massive wings and drumettes, piled beneath a shower of scallions. The interior was so juicy that my first bite left a puddle on my plate, but the shatter of the battered coating never erred. The burns on the roof of my mouth attest to their freshness from the fryer.
I cooled down with a bowl of ahi tuna poke. Dominated by impossibly perfect cubes of fish, there wasn’t much of the sesame-and-soy-based sauce on the bowl, but there was enough to make the fresh ingredients sing. I mixed the mango, pickled onions, seaweed salad, and pickled ginger into the warm, toothsome grains of rice for an eminently satisfying dinner.
The combo platter features that same well-made rice next to a hefty conglomerate of pork belly and cross-cut short ribs. Dubbed “spicy pork belly” the grill-blackened flesh didn’t betray any heat, but it was tender and flavorful nonetheless. The marinade was deeper on the short ribs, a classic, sweet kalbi-style bath. Another friend ordered the bulgogi rice bowl, which was a similarly robust garlic-and-sesame mouthful.
Appetizers and “light fare” — including several poke options — range from around $7 to $21, while sandwiches and entrees range from around $16 to $26.
I judged a book by its cover (or, more accurately, a restaurant by its concept). I am contrite. And you, dear reader, should be hungry — for poke, Korean barbecue, and wings.
Lume Asian Fusion: 9110 Center St., Manassas
Feature image of bulgogi rice bowl by Alice Levitt
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