Hidden gem restaurants only found in Detroit strip malls

By Metro Times editorial staff on Sat, Jun 15, 2019 at 9:19 am

Sometimes the best restaurants are found where you least expect — even at your local strip mall. These easy-to-miss Detroit-area restaurants are cooking up something truly special, so whether you're craving burgers, Indian food, or udon noodles, don't miss out on these hidden gems.

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Noble Fish

45 E. 14 Mile Rd., Clawson
The shop, which is considered one of metro Detroit's best for sushi, recently expanded its cramped corner to a comfortable eating space within the Noble Fish Japanese market. They offer a wide range of classic rolls, which you can be served or buy pre-made, for a reasonable price.

Photo via Noble Fish / Facebook

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Quan Nem Ngon

30701 Dequindre Rd., Madison Heights
This spot’s well-laid tables with generous cloth napkins and metal chopsticks, the six chandeliers, banquette, the graceful way the food is presented — all lift the heart. Besides Vietnam's famous bánh mì sandwiches, Quán Nem Ngon, which means "delicious small restaurant," offers three ways to order a hefty meal: soups, noodle salads, and protein served with noodles or rice, fried or not.

Photo via Quan Nem Ngon Vietnamese Bistro / Facebook

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Dae Jang Keum

2947 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy
This Korean restaurant offers a vast quantity of meat with a whole lot of side dishes. Your best bet is the all-inclusive meals that comprise of six kinds of meat, at least eight side dishes, and some strong cool cinnamon tea at the end. The small plates or banchan are fun, too.

Photo via GoogleMaps

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Trizest

33170 Dequindre Rd., Sterling Heights
An Americanized take on Chinese cuisine from Sichuan, Trizest creates a balance of flavors and consideration for textural interplay that makes the cuisine exciting. The dishes, including vegetarian options, are surprisingly light, clean, and bright, with ingredients that are the hallmark of Sichuan's piquant flavor portfolio.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Thang Long

27641 John R Rd., Madison Heights
Fresh leafy greens and herbs characterize the Vietnamese food served at Thang Long. Try the fresh and flavorful summer rolls, or do it yourself with an order of Thit Bo, which lets you wrap your own chicken, beef, or pork. Also excellent are the rice noodle soups, which are meals in themselves.

Photo by Rob Widdis

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Bonoful Sweets & Cafe

12085 Conant Ave., Hamtramck
Tucked inside a Hamtramck strip mall, you’ll find this small restaurant which serves affordable Indian, Chinese, and Bangladeshi food. If you decide to eat in, try to snag a booth since they offer a lot of privacy because they have floor to ceiling walls that create little cubbies for your dining experience.

Photo via GoogleMaps

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Christine's Cuisine

729 E. 9 Mile Rd., Ferndale
Featuring homemade continental cuisine, including pierogies, beef burgundy, stroganoff, smoked sausage, and kraut, Christine’s versatile range of dishes is sure to make anyone's mouth water. The restaurant also serves fresh sandwiches, entrees, salads and soups.

Photo via Christine’s Cuisine / Facebook

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Chao Zhou

31682 John R Rd., Madison Heights
Chao Zhou certainly has Americanized Cantonese dishes on its menu — cashew chicken, chow mein — and they are cheaper. But if you turn to the Chef's Special pages at the back, you'll also find more authentic Cantonese food options.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Asian Corned Beef

14820 W. Seven Mile Rd., Detroit
The most popular menu item is the corned beef egg roll, which is exactly what it sounds like. The egg roll wrappers are folded around a pile of razor-thin corned beef, and the package is dipped into a deep fryer until it is crisp. In its original form, the cured meat is accompanied by gooey, white cheese like mozzarella or Swiss.

Photo via Asian Corned Beef / Facebook

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Butcher’s Grille

22713 Michigan Ave., Dearborn
Lebanese chef Samer Saad is a master with meat, as is evidenced in not only his burgers, but Butcher's Grille's shawarma egg rolls, raw meat menu, kebabs, whole chickens, and everything else that lands on his open flame, wood-burning grill. The only thing he adds to the patties is salt — they're otherwise carried by the freshness and open flame. Less is more when it comes to the city's best burgers.

Photo via GoogleMaps

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168 Asia Mart

32393 John R Rd., Madison Heights
Billing itself "Michigan's largest Asian market," 168, named for luck, is mostly a supermarket, with live fish and seafood, a bakery, a smoothie booth, 38 aisles, and a vast array of foods. There is a food court in the back with a dozen tables perfect for grabbing a quick bite.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Ima32203 John R Rd., Madison HeightsIma head honcho Michael Ransom is a gift to this town. The restaurant boasts six different udon soups and they're all stellar. The broths are almost too consistent  always fantastic, no surprises. The perfectly cooked Sanuki Udon excels with meat-based toppings that are more akin to cold cuts in their sliced precision. Ima's udon soups are intense, as the dish is traditionally served in a lighter dashi-based broth with kaeshi. But the broths at Ima are perfect for ramen. Photo by Tom Perkins

Ima

32203 John R Rd., Madison Heights
Ima head honcho Michael Ransom is a gift to this town. The restaurant boasts six different udon soups and they're all stellar. The broths are almost too consistent — always fantastic, no surprises. The perfectly cooked Sanuki Udon excels with meat-based toppings that are more akin to cold cuts in their sliced precision. Ima's udon soups are intense, as the dish is traditionally served in a lighter dashi-based broth with kaeshi. But the broths at Ima are perfect for ramen.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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H-Mart

2963 E. Big Beaver Rd., Troy
H-Mart's cafeteria fills up at lunch with lots of businessmen, moms with kids, elderly ladies, and others who either visit specifically for the lunch counter, or for a break while shopping. It's easy to underestimate a cafeteria, but that would be a mistake — some of H-Mart's dishes will incite moans of pleasure.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Fumi

24271 Novi Rd., Novi
Here, there's a lot of mixing and matching of soy, mirin, and ginger. There's plenty of fresh ingredients, and even the deep--fried plates — karaage, tempura, or agedashi — aren't overfried.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Kola Lounge

32523 Northwestern Hwy., Farmington Hills
At this modern hip-hop lounge/restaurant, you will find a menu featuring some Nigerian-only specialities. The yam-heavy menu includes coconut rice and beans, steamed fish, sweet plantains, and African donuts.

Photo via GoogleMaps

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Kaku Sushi

869 W. Long Lake Rd., Bloomfield Hills
Instead of traditional rolled sushi, this restaurant serves “deconstructed sushi,” — the ingredients are piled into a bowl. The ingredients are laid out salad-bar-style, and once you've selected all of your items, your server tosses them with the sauce. First-timers can choose a bowl already designed by the chef. If you're old-school, you can also order eight-piece sushi rolls.

Photo by Tony Lowe

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Kitchen Hanzo

6073 Haggerty Rd., West Bloomfield Township
Kitchen Hanzo is modeled after establishments at home that keep the salarymen happy with draft Sapporo, sake, and shochu, liquor made from potatoes, barley, or rice. The small plates served alongside the drinks are shareable or not; you can make a meal and an evening of them, or stop at one or two.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Liang’s Barbecue

30953 Dequindre Rd., Madison Heights
Located in one of Madison Heights' many strip malls that contain a variety of Asian eateries, the tradition of “whole beast cookery” is on display in the glossy whole hogs, ducks, and chickens hanging from hooks above the counter, and the chewy beef belly, intestines, and other offal simmering in gravy steam pans. Liang’s offers a refreshing impression of authenticity with its versatile array of Chinese dishes.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Le Banh Mi

29141 Dequindre Rd., Madison Heights
Just as some restaurant locations appear cursed, the shop at 29141 Dequindre seems to be blessed. The specialties in this incarnation are the banh mi — the Vietnamese sandwich invented as a product of the country's French colonial rule — as well as smoothies, milk tea, and desserts. However, some of the best eating here is found not on the menu, but in the premade "grab 'n' go" items sitting on the counter.

Photo by Tom Perkins

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Karahi Korner

27616 Middlebelt Rd., Farmington Hills
Yes, Karahi Korner is a hole in the wall. Pretty much literally so. There's a hole in a wall in the back of a small, basic Indian and Pakistani grocery store. It's essentially a carryout window, so when it's time for fragrant Pakistani cuisine, you walk through the store, approach the window in the back wall, place your order, pay, take your delicious food, then leave.

Photo via Karahi Korner / Facebook

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