Pan Asia, Boston

Pan Asia summons guests into its sleek yet casual atmosphere with oceanic lighting, mounted TVs, and its star: a menu of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai recipes. Nests of lo mein noodles cradle tender slices of shrimp, beef, roast pork, and chicken, and five styles of Thai curries—including the Indian-influenced massaman—transform coconut milk into liquid heat, warming tongues with infusions of classic spices. Representing the artful cuisine of Japan, paper-thin sheaths of seaweed enfold rice and raw fish to create sushi varieties that include spicy salmon maki and boston maki, a roll of yellowtail, crab stick, avocado, scallions, and tobiko.

Sea-foam-green lights illuminate the underside of the counter at the sushi bar, making the legs of guests look as though they’re underwater or ailed with the asparagus disease. Bright-green shafts of bamboo shoot from floor to ceiling from a bed of dried river rocks, obscuring the intimately lit restaurant from the bright lights of the takeout lobby.:m]]