Continuing our Restaurant Week trek of trying out our local restaurants, we opted for something with a little Pan Asian influence. Situated in the heart of Hampton Bays, Matsulin provided the perfect match. The unique little building (formerly a bank) sits just across the street from the movie theater and shopping center, making for a well-rounded night out.

Entering, the hustle of the street outside is quickly forgotten as the warm lights and smattering of Asian influenced decor put us at ease. The prominent sushi bar and accompanying chef gets any sushi fan excited before the menu is even laid open.

To start out the meal, we decided to keep things regional with iced Kaori Sake, a perfectly smooth blend of lightly fruity flavor without being overpowering. We could have finished several bottles! To counteract the sweet, we started with a little spice in the Tuna Shogun sashimi appetizer. The tuna was melt in your mouth perfect, and instead of the default wasabi, sliced red peppers gave the namesake 'Shogun' punch. Also off the appetizers menu, we sampled the Chicken Lettuce Wrap, tender chicken and vegetables eaten in a unique 'wrap' style lettuce, and finished with our forks to make sure we didn't miss a single morsel. The Coconut Shrimp was generously sized, and came with a spiced Tai dipping sauce that continued with the 'sweet yet spicy' trend of the evening. Rounding out the plate was a Chicken Skewer with a peanut dipping sauce for a tender and sweet nutty flavor and a delicate spring roll with its own spicy sweet and sour dipping sauce. We could have spent an entire meal trying out all of the different sauces, each more interesting.

A welcoming entrance...

After the appetizers, we sampled some of the soup offerings. We had the Tai lemongrass soup with more of the succulent shrimp, an earthy flavor with the perfect punch to get our taste buds excited. The milder seafood soup left little to be desired as every spoonful was overflowing with shrimp and seafood.

Being well warmed up at this point, a light salad fit the bill perfectly as we tried the warm duck spinach salad. The duck is an interesting choice for a salad, but it was so tender, we got to the bottom of the bowl hoping for more. The candied walnuts paired with the ever-adaptable Tai dressing (seen before with the coconut shrimp) continued the sweet and spicy trend of the evening.

We could have made an entire meal off the appetizer menu, but the perfectly spaced courses let us sip our Sake and enjoy light conversation between dishes, and kept us from feeling overstuffed. From the entrees, we tried the Matsulin Crispy Fish - a house specialty. The buterflied and de-boned Sea Bass is fried and topped with a sweet and sour sauce with onions and peppers. The presentation of the whole fish on the platter might be off-putting to some, though they offer help in serving it. Definitely don't pass this dish up; the fish was amazingly tender and well deserving of its specialty family recipe label. We also sampled the Pad Tai, a staple dish on most Tai menus; it provided the perfect bite to compliment the sweet and sour of the crispy fish without being overwhelming. The pork fried rice (cleverly presented in a half pineapple bowl) brought new flavor to an old favorite with delicately sliced pork, cashews, pineapple, and shrimp. All of the portions are generous, we ended up bringing home almost another dinners worth of food for a late night snack, being too tasty to last until morning.

...leads to a Master at work.

After the plentiful main course we were ready to try a light dessert as we prepared ourselves for a safe trek home after the earlier Sake, we tried the mango pudding and coffee. The pudding was elegantly presented in a cocktail glass, firm with plentiful pieces of real mango, the light drizzling of cream on top and mint garnish smoothed out the fruity taste without making it too sweet or creamy to the taste buds, especially after all of the spice of the earlier food.

At the end of the evening, we left Matsulin very full and satisfied, already looking forward to our next visit. The servings as well as the flavor are plentiful, so bring your appetite.