Sunda

I always root for the underdog. Consequently, I tend to hold a bit of a grudge against the constant powerhouses of the world. I can't stand Duke. I hate the Lakers. (Sorry, Shannon.) I am positive that I will hate the Miami Heat this coming NBA season.

Given that context, I'll admit that when I read the hoards of positive press about Sunda -- yet another venture from Chicago restaurant mogul and resident Big Man On Campus Billy Dec -- I kind of rolled my eyes and went in prepared to dislike it for the same reason I dislike the above sports teams. Billy Dec is all over the Chicago scene and has had his hand in many successful restaurant ventures, including Rockit Bar & Grill and The Underground. Like any powerhouse, it seems all he does is win. (Cue DJ Khaled here.)

The other reason I was a little bit prejudiced against Sunda is that it's a celeb hot spot and a total see-and-be-seen scene. These places usually bug me. Recognizing my prejudice and hell-bent on giving Sunda a fair shake, I decided to visit for lunch with my friend Emily.

You win, Billy Dec. What struck me most (and most immediately) about Sunda was the staff. The service wasn't completely flawless, but I was overcome by the lack of attitude at a place that's gotten a lot of press and has become such a hot spot. (Market, you could take a lesson from Sunda in this respect.) Despite the fact that Emily and I aren't Jamie Foxx or any of the other countless celebs who've been spotted dining there, I really felt like the hostess and our servers went out of their way to ensure that we enjoyed our meal and the experience. That scores big points with me.

Less shockingly, the restaurant's aesthetics are beautiful. The design is modern, filled with clean lines and lots of wood with just the right amount of glass and color mixed in. There's an upscale, hip vibe even during lunch -- but without any pretension. The atmosphere was sexy even during the daytime; I can only imagine what this place is like at night. (Sidebar: I hate the word sexy when used to describe food or anything else unrelated to something that is actually sexy... But it's really the only way to describe the atmosphere here. There's just something about it. The shoe fits. I can't help it.)

Sunda brands itself as "New Asian," a kind of contemporary Asian cuisine. The menu is pretty creative. This place isn't a hack shop; the items that Em and I tried today delivered on all counts. The presentations were pretty and most importantly, the food was good. Really good.

Emily and I both decided to do what the menu calls a Sunda Set Combo, which is a lot like a prixe fixe. For $18, you're allowed to choose an appetizer (miso soup or side salad), an entree (there are seven choices), rice and a 3-piece order of either the spicy tuna roll or the California roll. Be warned: this is a lot of food. Which, of course, I think is a good thing.

I chose the Shrimp and Sea Bass Curry, with the miso soup and the California roll. I was pleased with each element of the meal. The miso soup was standard and didn't feature any bells or whistles. Just miso broth, some cubes of tofu, scallions and a few wilted greens. Solid, but nothing to write home about.

The Shrimp and Sea Bass Curry was delicious. It's amazing shrimp and perfectly cooked sea bass in a green curry sauce with lemon grass, pineapples and red peppers. I thought that the description sounded interesting and the dish definitely was -- in a very good way. While I don't know that I'd throw pineapples in my green curry all of the time, it was a pretty cool idea and I think it worked. I really enjoyed the curry and the seafood was brilliantly executed. The red peppers and the green curry were a great combination and really added to the dish. Overall, the plate (err, bowl) was well-balanced and very flavorful.

The California rolls were just okay. It's not to say that Sunda doesn't have good sushi, but it's a relatively boring roll anyway and it probably just paled in comparison to all of the rest of the outstanding fare we tried. I definitely plan to go back for dinner and would like to try some different sushi options.

Emily opted for the side salad and loved the vinaigrette. For her main dish, she chose the Charsiu BBQ Pork, which is glazed pork served artfully over a row of baby bok choys. The glaze on this pork is the bomb. It's complex and not too sweet and it plays perfectly with the pork, which was done to perfection. I tried some of Emily's at lunch and will also admit to eating her leftovers for dinner... Since she had to catch a plane out to Seattle after our lunch. (I am not a pig... I am not a pig... I am a pig.) She also got the California rolls, so no need to elaborate on that further.

We also really wanted to try the "Duck...What?...Pork" appetizer. Kind of a funny name for some baos. For those of you who haven't experience the craze that is Wow Bao, a restaurant that specializes in "baos" and more or less introduced them to downtown Chicago, they are Asian buns that have a meat and/or veggie filling inside. At Sunda, you can choose between duck or pork belly baos. We chose pork belly. And these baos beat the pants off of the baos at Wow Bao. They were absolutely amazing and they arrived in a little bamboo steamer that was really cute. Loved the presentation, but loved the fact that they tasted every bit as wonderful as they looked even more.

Based on my extremely positive lunch experience, I definitely plan to return to Sunda for dinner. Next time, I really want to try the loompya appetizer, the rock shrimp tempura and about 100 other things -- including their cocktails. (Since the days of Mad Men are long gone, I stuck to Diet Coke during my lunch today.)

Sometimes the big names get a lot of undeserved hype and fail to live up to it. But sometimes they absolutely deserve every word. Sunda, that's what's up. I would absolutely recommend this place to anyone and everyone.

To find out more about Sunda, located at 112 W. Hubbard in River North, visit their site: http://www.sundachicago.com/. FYI, Sunda is also one of the restaurants featured on FineDineDeal, so you can also experience the restaurant with an affordable prixe fixe option if you'd like. Either way, this place is worth a try.