ChoLon Downtown

ChoLon's location in Lower Downtown Denver is s a mouthwatering spot to enjoy creative Asian fusion dishes among friends

Dinner at ChoLon Downtown with Sean and Kendra was a night of laughs, whiskey and truly innovative and interesting Pan Asian and Chinese cuisine.

To begin, a round of KAYA TOAST (Coconut Jam, Egg Cloud) and multiple orders of the SOUP DUMPLINGS (French Onion, Gruyère Cheese) was ordered for the table.

Honestly, it felt so good to relax and let someone else, who knew the menu extremely well, to take care of ordering. It feels like you’re being nurtured, in a way, in an experience. Similar to how I ordered for the table at Bacetti Trattoria. If you’ve been to a place and are introducing it to friends, you already know know what’s good. Guiding the ordering process,  you tend to take care of the people that you care about, as a reflection of that. Food truly is an expression of caring and love.

Now, when the Kaya Toast arrived, I was extremely skeptical. I’d never experienced the highlights of a dish being coconut jam and an “egg cloud.” However, Kendra didn’t hesitate in illustrating the proper way to partake in the dish.

First, you grab your bread. Then, you dip it to the bottom of the layered dip, making sure that the bread hits the bottom. That first taste was absolute heaven. It was sweet, savory and such a unique taste that I didn’t want to fill up on it too fast. I would highly recommend ordering it again – and again – and one more time for good measure.

The soup dumplings were little bites of French onion soup, in a dumpling. Juicy, tender and rich with cheese, I could understand why they were Sean’s favorite item on the menu. It was like they took the best of the French onion soup I had at Brasserie du Louvre – Bocuse in Paris, France – and made it into a dumpling. Très délicieux!

Over the course of a few hours, the SCALLION FLATBREAD (Tea Smoked Salmon, Sesame Cream Cheese, PORK BUNS (Pork Belly with Cabbage Slaw) and ASPARAGUS TEMPURA (Truffle Aioli, Lemon) made their way to the table. On a whim, an off menu tuna with crispy rice dish was also ordered. Unfortunately, that was the only dish was rather underwhelming in the face of so much other oral excellence.

The drinks I enjoyed over the hours of our dinner were ones for the cocktail books. I started with the 36 CHAMBERS (Sesame & Green Tea Shochu, Ginger, Fresh Lemon, Chinese Spice) – which was perfectly crafted to be orally and sensually elegant. Liquid Chinese spice oil was squirted on top of the cocktail. So, every time I took a sip, the layers of taste and smell were played upon.

Later came the TANUKI RISING (Mars Iwai Japanese Whisky, Germaine Robin, Campari, Cardamom, Togarashi). Again, a delicious crafted whisky drink that reminded me of everything I enjoy about Japanese whisky.

And THEN… two Old Fashioneds with some speciality whiskey that Kendra ordered. They that made me realize – even though I held my own drinking in Scotland, drinking at 5,280 altitude hits different.

As the evening drew to a close, I was full. But, not just full of food. I was full of happiness and connection.

The telling signs of a great dinner.

- -