Hello Winnipeg, we are Mr. and Mrs. Restaurant. We’re passionate about food, but not about cooking. After growing tired of everyday chain restaurants, we began our search for the best hidden eateries the city has to offer. Ever wonder if that trendy new place is worth the money; or if that greasy burger joint lives up to all the hype? Just ask Mr. and Mrs. Restaurant!
Boun’s Asian Restaurant
[flickr style=”border:none; padding:4px; border:1px solid #BDBDBD; float:right; margin-left:5px;”]photo:7929400702[/flickr]Boun’s Asian Restaurant is a family owned restaurant located right beside Lovey’s Barbeque on Marion. Their name, ending in “Asian Restaurant” may sound generic but they do have a specialty in Thai and Laos food.
The atmosphere at Boun’s is a casual one, there is minimal décor lining the white walls and standard sets of tables and chairs fill up their cozy, clean space. Boun, the cheery and comical owner, helped us navigate through the menu and made recommendations for us based on their most-ordered dishes. When it came to spicing, he recommended that three degrees of heat (out of ten) would probably be plenty for us, and anything over that may challenge some of the toughest palates.
[flickr style=”border:none; padding:4px; border:1px solid #BDBDBD; float:right; margin-left:5px;”]photo:7929399960[/flickr]The menu at Boun’s starts with a good variety of appetizers and soups, and we had a tough time narrowing it down to just one or two choices. We ended up ordering a small Won Ton Soup and the Stuffed Chicken Wings. The soup was ordinary, but satisfying and the Stuffed Chicken Wings were full of flavor and very unique! These wings are stuffed with vegetables, noodles and ground chicken, so they have the much-loved salty crunch of a chicken wing and the stuffing is similar to a spring roll but even that description doesn’t quite capture it. In short, this appetizer is a must-try!
After the appetizers and soups, the menu begins to feel a bit limited and with many of the dishes sounding similar to one another, making a choice on mains becomes more difficult. The menu is sectioned off into categories like noodles, curries, rice, BBQ and stir-fries. With Boun’s help, we ordered Mee Krop Noodles (thin crunchy noodles and vegetables, add chicken, beef, pork or shrimp), a Red Curry dish and the Ginger Fish.
[flickr style=”border:none; padding:4px; border:1px solid #BDBDBD; float:right; margin-left:5px;”]photo:7929400356[/flickr]Our Mee Krop Noodles had just enough sauce and spice, and the noodles do not lose their crunch at all; which may be a good or bad thing depending on personal taste. The Red Curry dish has a rich coconut milk sauce that blends well with a side of steamed rice, and bamboo shoots add a needed crunch to this soft and saucy main. We went with beef in our Red Curry dish, and although it was good, we felt it would have been better suited with chicken. The Ginger Fish is a great entrée; the crisp deep-fried basa fillet is subtly seasoned with ginger and soy sauce, and then topped with green onions.
How does Boun’s measure up? Well, it’s local, family-owned and the service is very friendly. It was refreshing and fun to have the owner of the restaurant take our order and make recommendations. We did however, leave Boun’s feeling slightly under-whelmed with the food and the only things we are excited to go back for are those Stuffed Chicken Wings. That being said, Boun’s is still a good place for an easy weeknight meal, and we’ll likely return to try some other menu items.
Boun’s Asian Restaurant
4-208 Marion St.
(204) 231-3005
