My Favorite Dish: Kawa Ni’s Chicken Katsu Parm w/Kimchi Vodka Sauce

Ingredients Interview Restaurant My Favorite Dish Chicken Parm Westport Kawa Ni Ingredients Italian Asian Fusion Homepage

Andrew Dominick November 23, 2025

When Kawa Ni messes around with fusion, they don’t miss. Over three years ago, at one of the friends and family previews of Kawa Ni’s expansion into the space next door, I remember asking chef-owner Bill Taibe which newish dishes I should try in addition to my usual pork + garlic ramen, karaage don, spicy lamb dan dan, and pork Szechuan dumplings. His reply: “I gotta tell ya, one of my favorites, and a sleeper on this menu, is the kimchi carbonara.” In the present, Kawa Ni’s carbonara is no longer a sleeper. Also in the present, and another foray into Italian–Asian mashups, is their chicken katsu parmigiana.

Jeff Taibe Opens Southeast Asian Concept “Next Door” Inside of Taproot in Norwalk

Features Interview Ingredients Restaurant Southeast Asian Asian Homepage Jeff Taibe Norwalk Opening

Andrew Dominick February 25, 2024

Jeff Taibe had a big 2023. Not only did Taibe relocate his six-year Bethel restaurant, Taproot, to South Norwalk, he received much deserved recognition at December’s edition of the CRAzies Awards in the form of a “Best Restaurant Fairfield County” win.

The Food Crate Launches, Delivering High End Specialty Prepared Foods to Your Doorstep

Features Ingredients Delivery Service Home Delivery BBQ Asian Meat Specialty Market Homepage

Stephanie Webster August 12, 2020

CT based startup, THE FOOD CRATE has launched in the tri-state area (and just beyond) with overnight delivery of chef-sourced specialty and high end prepared foods to residents of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Why is this food delivery service different from all others? After eating my way through several of these fully loaded crates, enjoying everything from gluten-free chicken meatballs and marinated shrimp kabobs to Hawaiian Baby Back Ribs, a Lobster Pot for 8 and restaurant quality crab cakes, I can report with great certainty that The Food Crate is a delivery service that relieves the pressure of the dreaded nightly “what’s for dinner” conundrum, and will surely be on repeat order in my home. (Also thru Aug 31st CTbites readers get 15% OFF with Code: CTB15)

The Uber-Guide to Connecticut’s Asian Markets

Ingredients Asian Seafood Special Dietary Needs Specialty Market

Anna Bendiksen May 25, 2016

“From wonder into wonder existence opens,” said Laozi, the founder of Tao Buddhism.

He might have been speaking of the joys of the table, so central to Asian culture for millennia---and to Connecticut foodies today.

Almost 160,000 people of Asian descent call Connecticut home, and a considerable number of grocery stores in the state support the diverse cooking traditions of China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. True to both their Asian roots and the universal principle of making the best of fresh ingredients, quite often the most modest such store will have a produce section and a fish section---in one case, at least, featuring live fish.

Your guide to the best East and Southeast Asian markets of Connecticut appears below.

Asian Treats at Pacific Food in Fairfield

Ingredients Restaurant Asian Fairfield Specialty Market Vietnamese

Emily Sackett August 10, 2011

Every once in a while something new comes to town that we just have to explore! This time, it’s Pacific Food on the Black Rock Turnpike that adds a little bit of Asian flavor to the shopping options in Fairfield. We visited Pacific Food recently to see what kind of eclectic goodies we could fill our shopping carts with. After all, it’s about time we started using our wok pans for something worth wok-ing!

Pacific Food is a unique Asian market open almost three months in a small shopping center just as Blackrock Turnpike splits into Tunxis Hill. The small footprint of the grocer packs a punch – offering counter-style favorites such as Vietnamese sandwiches, Japanese-style smoothies in a rainbow of flavors and a decided-upon favorite, traditional Chinese Bubble Tea.