The Asian Palace opened at 1190 North Main St., Providence about 8 weeks ago but last night was the grand opening to celebrate Jason Yau and Jeffrey Carreiro's new restaurant.

Yau most recently owned Little Chopsticks on Smith Hill and formerly owned A Taste of China restaurant in East Greenwich.

The new Asian Palace is in a renovated building that most recently housed a mattress store but you couldn't tell that now with the colorful ceiling lights, sleek design and comfortable dining rooms.

At occasions such as last night, owners and chefs put forward the food and style they envision for their restaurant. It's the closest thing they have to a dream night with a meal of their choosing. There are no menus put on the table, no selections to make. No demanding diners.

Just a chef sending out the food he wants to see eaten as he wants it served.

It began with choices of Tsingtao Chinese beer, Pinot Grigio, Australian Shiraz or California Merlot. Plates of edamame started things off. Crab rangoon, large triangles of cream cheese filled deep fried dough, followed. The hot mustard was the right condiment.

After that it was a parade of fresh, indeed light Asian specialties, most from the signature entree selections.

There was a fresh fruit salad with lobster. Perhaps the meat of two lobsters was blended with fresh fruit (honeydew, grapes) in a creamy yogurt sauce. The plate was adorned with lobster shells, a lovely design idea.

Hot Basil Leaves with Chicken was a dish we smelled before we saw. The aroma wafting from the plate was intoxicating. White meat chicken slices were paired with fresh mushrooms, green peppers and those basil leaves in a light Thai sauce. A wonderfully clean dish it was.

Crispy Sesame Chicken with its orange-y sauce was a real suprise. This dish can be so heavy and sickly sweet but not here. The bite size pieces were battered and fried and sprinkled with a nicely balanced sauce.

Shrimp, Chicken and Beef in Hot Garlic Sauce was light on the shrimp and beef and heavy on the chicken. The heat was toned down for this dish.

Asian Palace Crispy Shrimp hardly skimped on the shellfish with huge pieces of shrimp coated in a creamy sauce.

Chicken with Ginger and Scallion was perfect, once a bit of soy sauce was added to the plate.

What I found interesting was that none of these dishes was served with rice. That is the way they are designed, said Carreiro. Combination plates come with rice, not the signature dishes which are protein heavy. It's a different way to eat, not better or worse, just different than many of us expect.

Also different, in a great way, was the sushi from Yau's hand. He offers both cooked and raw pieces. Cooked is a Spider Roll with soft shell crab in a tempura batter and chicken rolled with rice and avocado.

The dessert of Sesame Honey Banana featured bite size pieces of banana in a sticky and sweet sauce. It was served warm with sesame sprinkled over them. Most of us would have served it with ginger ice cream.

But this was Yau and Carreiro's night to offer their dishes as they see them.

The restaurant opens daily at 11 a.m. (401) 228-7805. Let them order for you and see what you think.