Asia Grill and Sushi Entering Third Year

Bobby Lau first started in the restaurant industry in Rhode Island over 20 years ago, and now he’s still wearing multiple hats at the Asia Grill and Suishi in Mansfield.

“That was like a family restaurant, you do everything and have different hats, a manager, a dishwasher, janitor, that was a good experience,” he said. “You learned the different facets of the business, front back and all over.”

Lau said he first started working at the Bejing Garden, and started his own business in Mansfield about three years ago.

“Mansfield is a great family town,” he said. “I like the customers here. We’re very close to Boston and Rhode Island. I have people coming as far away as Cranston and New Bedford.”

He added the loyalty from his customers is a great feeling.

“People come from everywhere,” he said.

About three years ago, Lau said he started with half the space he has now. He started as a Japanese Chinese food hybrid, and now serves cuisine from all over the Asian continent.

“We have a 400 item menu,” he said. “Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Korean you name it.”

Lau said the development of the menu didn’t happen overnight. He said he and his chefs experiment all the time with different ideas.

“Experimenting is always good to learn new thing and see what works,” he said. “A lot of the time I use my customers as guinea pigs, for special things not on the menu. They give me a lot of good feedback. I like to say it’s kid tested, mother approved.”

He said the beauty of offering so many different dishes is there’s usually something for everyone.

“We try to expand the palette,” he said. “We want people to kind feel there’s no right or wrong answer.”

The building process took a very long time, and Lau said it was definitely worth the wait.

“It was a year-long project,” he said.

Last year, Lau was able to move into the adjoining space and expanded to offer different styles of cooking.

“We started from scratch here, it was a dirt floor,” he said.

The expansion allowed Lau to open up what is called “Hot Pot” cooking. The process works by cooking all the ingredients right in front of the customer.

“It’s unique,” he said. “You cook your own food in a broth based through induction heating. You put in your steak, prime rib seafood and you cook it, served with vegetables and pasta. You get your protein, your veggies and your carbs and all the nutrients from the food stays in the broth. It’s the most healthy way to have a dinner.”

The restaurant itself has a kind of nightclub feel, with bright neon lights adorning the high ceiling.

“We want to make people feel like they’re in Boston without leaving town,” he said. “Because of the high ceiling we wanted to give people an open feeling.”

Lau said he donates much of his extra profits to the Mansfield High School.

Asia Grille and Suishi is located at 287 School St. and is open 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. every day but Sunday, when it opens at noon.