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Running Tab: Head (to) East: New Pan Asian Cuisine restaurant at Northern Quest offers many reasons to celebrate

Chef Brandon Pham leads the kitchen of the newly opened East Pan Asian Cuisine at Northern Quest Resort & Casino. Pham is pictured here holding sweet and sour spare pork ribs during a sneak preview last Thursday. (Courtesy of Ari Nordhagen)
Chef Brandon Pham leads the kitchen of the newly opened East Pan Asian Cuisine at Northern Quest Resort & Casino. Pham is pictured here holding sweet and sour spare pork ribs during a sneak preview last Thursday. (Courtesy of Ari Nordhagen)
By Don Chareunsy donc@spokesman.com(509) 459-5446

East Pan Asian Cuisine opened at 11 a.m. Friday at Northern Quest Resort & Casino in part of the former buffet space by the Pavilion. EPAC is excellent and brings with it much news and excitement.

From a sneak peek last Thursday, chef Brandon Pham, formerly of nearby D’bali Asian Bistro in Airway Heights, Table 13 at the Davenport Grand Hotel and Magnolia American Brasserie at Hotel Indigo, leads the kitchen, and the fantastic menu preview included house-made dan dan noodles, sweet and sour spare pork ribs, pork bao buns, mochiko fried chicken, hot and sour soup, egg flower soup, pepper beef lumpia, macha-yuzu cake and seasonal fresh fruit.

EPAC plans to roll out sushi and dim sum carts in the fall. Dim sum carts! Dim sum can be found in Spokane – but not traditional dim sum cart service – so I am very excited. I plan to return soon to sample the full menu with nods to Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisine.

More news in the same former buffet space: Neon Pizza (think secret pizza at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas) is set to open in May and after that the club and speakeasy Highball Whiskey. Also at the sneak peek: Gonzaga University basketball players Drew Timme, Martynas Arlauskas and Spokane’s Anton Watson.

If you go: 100 N. Hayford Road, Airway Heights, (509) 481-2131, northernquest.com

No-Li Brewhouse

Congratulations to No-Li Brewhouse for recently winning nine medals in the New York International Brewing Competition, including Washington Brewery of the Year and Washington Hard Seltzer of the Year. The New York International Beer Competition featured more than 700 beers from breweries in 15 countries.

These medals push No-Li’s global award count to more than 85 medals, with 51 of them in the last 16 months. The nine awards for No-Li:

• Washington Brewery of the Year.

• Washington Hard Seltzer of the Year.

• Double Gold: Corner Coast Golden Ale.

• Gold: Cascade Fog Hazy IPA.

• Gold: Day Fade Raspberry Lemonade Hard Seltzer.

• Silver: Day Fade Huckleberry Lemonade Hard Seltzer.

• Silver: Jet Juiced IPA.

• Bronze: Red, White & Hazy IPA.

• Bronze: Threezy Does It Hazy IPA.

I stopped by No-Li a few weeks ago and really enjoyed the new pina colada hard seltzer. Meanwhile, owner John Bryant told me Monday morning that No-Li Bier Hall, in the former space of Dry Fly Distilling at the entrance of No-Li Brewhouse, will soft open in about one week, and the grand opening is scheduled for May 5.

If you go: 1003 E. Trent Ave., (509) 242-2739, nolibrewhouse.com

Wild Sage Bistro

I have my brother Charles Chareunsy, in Spokane recently visiting from Las Vegas, to thank for finally crossing Wild Sage Bistro off my must-dine list in Spokane. When I write about my favorite places in town for The Spokesman-Review, readers always ask about, more than any other restaurant, why I don’t include Wild Sage. I will now.

Our dinner on March 30 was exceptional: Pacific Northwest seafood chowder, popovers, duck, osso buco, a Blackberry Bramble and an Old Fashioned. Our service was friendly, we weren’t rushed out the door (I love leisurely dinners), and the ambience is elegant but not stuffy.

I am wild about Wild Sage.

If you go: 916 W. Second Ave., (509) 456-7575, wildsagebistro.com