For Valentine’s Day, Crystal and I celebrated by dining together at East Moon Asian Bistro here in Fort Collins. We had reservations at 8:30 pm, and therefore had almost no wait time once we arrived at 8:15, despite the crowded waiting area. Never having been to East Moon before, I was a bit surprised at the small size of their dining area, but our table was large, not squashed in with other tables, and seemed private enough, despite the abundance of people seated around us. This restaurant would likely benefit from a larger establishment - but as it is, it does feel quaint. I like the modern artsy decorations found in East Moon, a nice break from the cheap (and dare I say corny?) decorations often found adorning other Asian restaurants. The lighting is nicely done, a bit moody but not too dark, and I found the atmosphere to be very pleasing.

Our service was moderately good. There were a few minor communication difficulties with the staff. Our waitress seemed very high strung, yet somewhat cheerful and energized at the same time. This combination caused her to speed through everything, including taking our orders. It was entertaining to watch her go, but her hurry did cause her to make a few minor mistakes. For example, Crystal ordered a virgin Piña Colada but instead ended up with a normal rum-included drink. Luckily, the alcohol was not very strong, and the drink tasted just fine, but I think we would have rather paid the cheaper alcohol-less price. Despite this, we decided to not bother our waitress with the problem - she was likely too hurried and singularly focused for us to catch her attention anyway.

The food turned out quite well. We ended up ordering some sushi as a starter, we were also served a house salad with our entrees, and we each ordered something somewhat unique that we had never tried before off of the menu, just to try out a few new things. Unfortunately, neither of us happened to have our cell phones or cameras with us, so I was unable to take any pictures of our food or the restaurant for this review. If I return in the future, I will make sure to get a few pics to share.

We ordered two six piece sushi rolls, an Unagi Maki (eel and cucumber) and an East Moon Maki (shrimp, avacado, and cucumber), very reasonably priced at $4.50 each. Both types were tasty, but as I am not a sushi buff in any respect, I can’t say much about the quality compared to other restaurants.

As an entree, Crystal ordered Shitake Mushroom Duck, and I ordered Saigon Soft Shell Crab. Both entrees were pricier than most of the menu at about $12-$13 (most other entrees didn’t exceed $10 for dinner). The Duck dish was very tasty, with a lot of duck meat, and good mushrooms. The Soft Shell Crab was a bit odd, as it was fried crab meat which had been mostly shelled, but not entirely, so I had to be careful not to eat pieces of shell but still find all of the delicious crab meat. The crab was laid on a bed of very thin cold noodles (not sure what they are called), salad, and vegetables, which all seemed somewhat decorative, but rounded out the meal at the same time. The chile-lime sauce that came on the side of my crab meal was really tasty, but only in tiny proportions, as it was very spicy. We had both entrees substitute fried rice for steamed rice, and the fried rice was basic but delicious as well. Both meals were presented very nicely, with their own style, including unique serving dishes and food arrangements. We didn’t end up eating any dessert.

Overall, our dining experience at East Moon Asian Bistro turned out well, despite my ‘interesting’ entree. I definitely didn’t leave hungry, and as an added bonus, Crystal was presented with two pink roses along with the traditional fortune cookies and check once we were done eating. The atmosphere was inviting, and unique, and the staff was cheerful and definitely tried hard to serve us well. I hope to return to East Moon at a later date, to try their rendition of more familiar (and less expensive) dishes.

East Moon Asian Bistro (Fort Collins, CO): 4/5

Have you ever eaten at East Moon? What did you think? What’s your favorite Asian restaurant? How about your favorite Asian dish?

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