Variety is the spice of life; and spice is the life of Asian food. From dishes of glossy butter chicken and crispy duck with plum sauce to fresh, simple sushi and seared tuna with a sesame crust, this continent has arguably the most variety and flavour of all. So if you like your food spicy and fragrant, you’ll love our list of where to find the best Asian food across South Africa.

Johannesburg

Al-Makka
Order: Mutton curry for R54,50.

Chinese Northern Foods Restaurant
Order: Eggplants hot pot. 

Dawaat  

Order: Butter chicken for R75.

Ghazal North Indian Restaurant
Order: Chicken tikka for R70.

Kong Roast
Order: The royal beef. Pan-seared beef fillet, served with a trio of miso sauce on a bed of Asian greens for R115.

Koi
Order: Sesame-crusted seared tuna for R128.

The Red Chamber
Order: Signature Peking duck; price on request.

Sitar
Order: Lamb korma for R85.

Shanyana Vegetarian Restaurant
Order: Three curries, dhal, savoury meats, sweet meats, rotis, salad and poppadums for R65.

Yamato Japanese Restaurant
Order: Salmon California maki for R59.

East

Raasoie
Order: Lamb rogan for R50.

Seabelle
Order: Prawn curry for R99.50.

Shanghai
Order: Beef with egg plant for R50.

North and Central

Nagoya Restaurant
Order: Chicken, beef or pork fried rice for R26.

Pretoria

Guia
Order: Beef and black pepper sauce in a hot pan for R68.

Shilla Korean Restaurant
Order: Seafood udon served in a stone pot. 

Durban

Capsicum Restaurant at the Britannia Hotel  
Order: Mutton curry for R62.

China Plate
Order: crispy garlic langoustines.  

Daruma 

Order: prawn tempura.

House of Curries on Florida Road
Order: Chip and cheese roti with a choice of chicken, beef, mutton or bean gravy for R24 to R36.

Indian Summer
Order: Masala Dosa for R32.

Mo Noodles 
Order: Sesame and peanut chicken on coconut noodles for R75.

Spice
Order: Roulade of Balti Chicken. This dish consists of chicken breast rubbed in garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin and turmeric paste stuffed with butternut, coriander and feta. Served with Balti-spiced cream sauce and basmati rice for R126.

Victory Lounge
Order: Braised mutton curry for R40.

South

Firefly Eating House
Order: bobotie spring roll starter and a curry for mains.

Genki Sushi and Tapas Bar
Order: California rolls or tempura prawn sushi from R44 to R68 or a nigiri and sashimi platter for two for R200.

Indochine
Order: Tom yam gong for R90.

Cape Town

1890 Sushi House
Order: A selection of their famous sushi. Sit at the carousel and choose from dishes ranging from R25 to R32.

Biesmiellah
Order: A traditional Malay dish, Denningvleis, served with rice or roti for R85,95.

Bombay Brasserie
Order: Dum ki nail (lamb shank) for R150.

Bukhara
Order: Butter chicken for R109.

Chandani Indian and Vegetarian Restaurant
Order: Vegetarian brinjal masala for R75.

Haiku
Order: Peking Duck with pancakes, plum sauce and all the trimmings for R168.

Kitima
Order: Lychee duck curry. De-boned roast duck breast with lychees in a mild creamy red curry sauce for R85.

Maharajah
Order: Lamb curry on or off the bone for R110.

Nobu
Order: Yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno for R115.

Saigon
Order: Saigon wok beef for R89.

Takumi
Order: Super crunch roll. Eight pieces of tempura prawn. Avo, cucumber, spring onion, tempura crumbs, caviar, Japanese mayo and special teriyaki sauce for R75.

Wakame
Order: Seared tuna with sesame crust on pak choi with sweet potato crisps for R127.

Willoughby & Co.
Order: 4×4 rolls. Four pieces of rainbow nation roll and four pieces of rock shrimp maki for R129.

By Linda Scarborough, Kelly Pluke and Adel Groenewald
Photograph by Shaikhji