Want to try Panang spaghetti? Bowl 91 talks history, Feast Around the Fox Cities specials

APPLETON — Six years ago, in January 2018, Bowl 91 first opened its doors at 100 E. College Ave. and introduced downtown Appleton to its unique twists on traditional Asian meals.

Yee Vue said she got the inspiration to open the restaurant after traveling to bigger cities and noticing a larger presence of late night ramen spots.

"A lot of the ramen restaurants in New York and Los Angeles would be open until two in the morning," Vue said. "The goal in the beginning was to offer a new cuisine in the area and offer that late night dining experience."

Although Bowl 91 no longer offers the late-night dining option — it had to adjust hours during the pandemic — the restaurant still provides customers with an authentic and unique dining experience. It is also participating in Feast Around the Fox Cities, a new month-long adventure for foodies in the Fox Valley.

Bowl 91 serves their take on traditional meals from many Asian cultures

Vue first arrived in Appleton in 1991, when she was just four years old, after she and her family left Thailand as refugees.

As a child, Vue became her mother's personal assistant in the kitchen, learning the recipes, traditions and spices that are present in a lot of Bowl 91's entrees.

Her passion for cooking and her goal to bring more Asian cuisine to her community resulted in the creation of Bowl 91, named after the year Vue and her family arrived to the United States.

The restaurant is best known for its ramen and soups, which come in a number of signature flavors.

"We are an Asian fusion restaurant," Vue said. "Our main focus is Japanese ramen, but we also have a variety of other different Asian cuisines that are on the menu, which is inspired by my travels and growing up in our family and culture."

The spicy miso ramen is a customer-favorite, Vue said, made with creamy tonkotsu broth, spicy miso and chashu.

"It's really popular because it has a really rich broth and is full of umami flavors," Vue said.

The bulgogi kimchi fries, the restaurant's take on poutine, are a popular appetizer and come topped with kimchi, cheddar cheese, spicy mayo, and marinated beef bulgogi.

The restaurant also serves Happy Belly buns — the trendy fluffy steamed buns, filled with seared pork belly and marinated in a sweet chili hoisin sauce.

Other menu items include curry, rice bowls, stir fry and fried rice, all made with Bowl 91's signature touch on classic recipes.

Feast around the Fox Cities

For the first time, the Fox Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau is organizing Feast around the Fox Cities, a monthlong foodie experience for locals, and Bowl 91 is one of the participating food establishments.

More: Locally owned Fox Cities restaurants prepare new menu items for month-long foodie experience

The event features 30 locally owned food establishments that have created special dishes and deals specifically for the event.

From now through Jan. 31, Bowl 91 will be serving Panang spaghetti, thin spaghetti noodles stir fried in Panang curry sauce and topped with Thai basil.

"Panang is similar to red curry but it is a little bit more on the sweet side," Vue said. "It is actually a great combination of flavors blended together."

Vue said she is grateful for the exposure Feast Around the Fox Cities has brought to her restaurant.

"We've attracted new customers that have never patronized our business before," Vue said. "We've only been here for about six year and we always love having new customers come in and try new foods like some of our innovative dishes."

Customers are encouraged to download the Feast Around the Fox Cities mobile passport, where they can check in when visiting any of the featured restaurants. Checking in earns customers a chance at winning a prize valued at over $1,000.

For more information on the Feast Around the Fox Cities and to download the passport visit foxcities.org/feast-fox-cities.

Reach Jelissa Burns at 920-453-5107 or jburns1@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @burns_jelissa or on Instagram at burns_jelissa.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Bowl 91 on College Avenue in Appleton offers Japanese, Thai fusions