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Spicy Sushi Sandwiches, Mango Drinks Ring in Summer at Forest Hills Eatery

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | July 11, 2014 4:15pm | Updated on July 14, 2014 8:55am
 Froilan Seranas is the new chef at Jade Eatery in Forest Hills.
Jade Eatery Getting Summer Makeover
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QUEENS — A popular Forest Hills restaurant is spicing up its menu to offer more summer flavors. 

Jade Eatery and Lounge, at 1 Station Square, has recently hired a new chef, Froilan Seranas, who is putting a new spin on the eatery's offerings — including a spicy new twist on its sushi sandwiches and refreshing summer drinks.

Seranas, 31, who is originally from Philippines, and previously worked at Spice Market, Buddakan and 11 Madison Park, said he will focus on Southeast Asian flavors, mostly from Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand as well as from Japan.

For summer, the new chef is putting a new spin on dishes that have already been on the menu, including restaurant's signature item — sushi pizza with diced tuna and salmon, spicy mayo, eel sauce and scallion.

Seranas also recommends the sushi sandwich with spicy tuna and avocado and tuna tartar with yuzu, avocado and lotus chips. The fillings are wrapped in pink rice paper and then sandwiched between layers of rice.

Also among the new summery items Seranas is introducing to the menu are crispy Thai tilapia with Thai chili sauce, fried shallots and fresh herb salad; seared flounder with curried ratatouille, coconut and lemongrass broth and mussels cooked with white wine, garlic and ginger and finished with basil and chili.

To please vegetarians, the restaurant will offer vegetable green curry with coconut and cilantro-based sauce.

“They are perfect for the summer,” Seranas said about the new dishes, which are light and contain seasonal spices.

To go with the menu, Jade is also introducing several new summery drinks, including Jadetini, made of coconut rum, yuzu, mango puree and blue curacao, and Blooming Lotus with cucumber, vodka and hibiscus reduction.

Sam Kandhorov, who owns the restaurant with his sister Irina, said the prices will remain the same. For appetizers, patrons will pay from $6 to $18, and entrees will cost between $12 and $28, he said.

The restaurant, which features a large Buddha statue and a koi pond, also added a side entrance leading directly to the bar and several vintage furniture, including cabana beds.

The owners said the makeover of the restaurant, which opened in 2006, is intended to keep up with the changes coming to the neighborhood, such as a concert series at the newly renovated Forest Hills Stadium.

Forest Hills “is getting so much exposure and finally people see that Queens is cool too,” said Irina Kandhorova.