A couple of years ago my New Year’s Eve highlight was getting takeout. After dropping my teenage daughter Madeline at a party in Round Hill, I stopped at Koyo Ramen, a Japanese noodle bar in Purcellville, to pick up dinner for my wife and me.
Exciting life, no? But here’s the thing: it was spectacular. I ordered grilled miso eggplant and the curry and truffle ramen, all of which were out of this world, and while waiting for it I chatted to the charming owner Puii Chaokrajang and her sister-in-law chef Annie Tumma, both natives of Thailand.
Puii, it turns out, is also the owner (with her husband Willy) of Finn Thai in Purcellville and four other restaurants in the region. Six restaurants before the age of 40? Not bad.
“I moved to Loudoun in 2012. I love good service, fresh ingredients and making customers happy,” she said.
She got the idea for Koyo after sensing demand for more culinary variety in Purcellville. Why not do Japanese noodles and who better to run it than her sister-in-law?
“I’m just a mom who loves to cook,” said Annie, who arrived in Loudoun in November 2023, a month before the restaurant opening. “I studied Ramen from a Japanese chef in Thailand. All the ingredients here are fresh and I make all the soups in-house and my own chili oil.”
As a longtime Loudoun resident, I’d long been under the impression that to find world-class Asian cuisine, I had to head to Fairfax, or even further east into D.C. But that’s not the case. There are exciting Asian culinary options all over Loudoun, and this May, being Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, now is a good time to try some of them.
The newest kid on the Indian food block is stylish new local chain Biryani Grill, which has locations in Ashburn, Aldie and Chantilly. Don’t let the opulent nightclub-style aesthetic — leather booths, backlit bar, craft cocktail menu — fool you: the food is from the heart and the service is swift and friendly. Try the cilantro-infused Hariyali Chicken or the Goan-style shrimp Pulav and always ask for the pillowy naan bread.
Sticking with Indian food, female chef Rupa Vira’s The Signature in Ashburn has an authentic Gujarati vegetarian tali once a week while the tangy Baingan Bharta (mashed eggplant with onion and tomato) is a hit with regional Indian food fans.
Rural western Loudoun is getting in on the spice act. In Lovettsville, quirky 16-seat Train to Mumbai is the brainchild of Indian immigrant and local resident Sanjay Gusain. “It’s less a restaurant than a country kitchen,” said Gusain, who opened restaurants all over the world for the Marriott Hotel group before deciding to do his own one in his hometown.
“We only have 16 seats because I wanted something small and local for people from the neighborhood. A lot of our focus is on catering and takeout. As for the name, I want people to feel like they’re going on a food journey.”
The “local” is evident in the very first dish on the menu: a tandoori kulcha (pastry) stuffed with sweet green peas and Georges Mill goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic chutney and truffle ghee. Georges Mill of course, is the Lovettsville goat farm and creamery just a few miles away.
