Johnathan L. Wright

jwright@rgj.com

At a new Sparks place, it’s Korean to the left, Chinese to the right.

Siu Korean BBQ and its sister Asian Express share a newly renovated space in the shopping center at the southeast corner of North McCarran Boulevard and East Prater Way.

Siu Korean features tabletop grills on which customers cook meats, seafood and vegetables for an all-you-can-enjoy price. Asian Express serves fast-casual Chinese and Chinese-inspired starters and main courses.

Ken Vong, owner of Crawfish Asian Cuisine, and David Tran, former co-owner of Jazmine, are partners in the new Korea-China combo.

“I’ve known Ken for a few years; we met at a sake tasting,” Tran said, explaining the origins of the partnership and restaurant.

“A year ago, we were talking, and we went to California and tasted at Korean barbecue restaurants. We said, ‘Why don’t we bring this back to our area?’ ”

On the grill

The restaurants span nearly 6,000 square feet, and that size necessitated two concepts, Vong said.

“It’s a lot of space. We didn’t want one concept to be too big.” Siu seats 110; Asian Express accommodates 28. The build-out cost a little more than $500,000, the partners said.

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SIU KOREAN BBQ and ASIAN EXPRESS

Address: 754 N. McCarran Blvd., in the shopping center at the southeast corner with East Prater Way, near CVS Pharmacy

Phone: 775-502-3222

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily

All-you-can-enjoy prices: $17.99 lunch, $26.99 dinner

On the web:Facebook

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Siu (one meaning of which is “grilled”) is the second Korean barbecue restaurant to open locally this year, following the June debut of Ijji 4 Korean Bar-B-Que & Bar in northwest Reno. Unlike Ijji 4’s extensive menu, the menu at Siu offers mainly Korean barbecue.

For the grill, folks choose proteins like chicken bulgogi, thinly sliced pork belly, teriyaki beef or marinated baby octopus, about two dozen in all.

There also are vegetables for grilling; sauces like scallion soy sauce or ssamjang chili paste for dipping or using as condiments; lettuce leaves for wraps (and to balance the richness of the meats), rice skins for another way to wrap; and white and brown rice.

Traditional banchan side dishes are included, too: kimchi, black beans, strips of fish cake and more. Eat them alone or spoon them into wraps.

Ten or so starters are the only menu items beyond Korean barbecue. Among them: kimchi tofu soup, popcorn chicken and fried pork dumplings.

Shaved snow

The dining room at Siu Korean features booths, banquettes and tables arranged beneath cylindrical silver fixtures. Exposed ducts gives the space a loft-ish feel.

The look of Asian Express is plainer, the dining room dominated by the order counter. The kitchen sends out familiar dishes like five-spice chicken wings, wor won ton soup, kung pao chicken, ma po doufu, Sichuan beef and shrimp with black bean sauce.

Two highlights of Asian Express — as announced on the restaurant’s sign — are bubble tea and snowflake. Bubble tea, the flavored tea and sweet drink loaded with tapioca pearls, is served at a handful of places in Reno-Sparks, but snowflake is something new to the area.

This Taiwanese dessert, also called shaved snow, is a cold creamy cross between ice cream and Hawaiian-style shave ice. Milk, water and flavorings are frozen into blocks, then shaved and served with fresh fruit, nuts and other toppings. A special machine produces the snowflake dessert.

“He’s been talking about snowflake for so long; he’s very excited to bring it to the community,” Tran said of his business partner.

At Asian Express, everything on the menu is less than $10, as befits a fast-casual spot. Siu Korean BBQ’s all-you-can-enjoy lunch is $17.99, its all-you-can-enjoy dinner $26.99. Call the restaurants at 775-502-3222.