This meticulously designed Asian fusion palace in Morrisville, Pa., sounds the right notes, with Chinese, Japanese and Caribbean harmonies.
By: Amy Brummer
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Concerto Fusion Cuisine |
If Concerto Fusion Cuisine were a piece of music, it would open with a single, resounding gong. Situated across from the Dairy Queen, in the shadow of the Route 1 overpass, this stylish new restaurant is a showstopper before you even get in the door. Painted bright orange, it sits at the end of a row of simple, low-rise office suites, making it the immediate focal point of this otherwise sleepy commercial strip.
Entering through the generous, double glass front doors, the streets outside faded away quickly as the meticulously designed interior lured us with its lively, cosmopolitan trappings. We were greeted by a friendly hostess, and once we were seated, our server stopped by promptly to take our drink order. We ordered two cups of tea, one green, one black, and settled in to look at the menu. In addition to a full sushi selection and a short list of specials, the dinner options read similarly to a standard Chinese menu. But upon further inspection it contains some unexpected offerings like goat cheese ravioli ($8), Caribbean phyllo-crusted prawn ($8) and warm mushroom salad ($5).
For appetizers, we ordered a dim sum sampler ($16) and a spicy tuna roll ($6) from a lengthy selection that includes aged tofu ($5), beef Negamaki ($6.50), chicken foo foo lettuce wrap ($8), shrimp tempura ($7), eel cake ($15) and seared savory white tuna ($11).
As we relaxed and enjoyed our tea, we studied the interior décor with more scrutiny. Reflective of its name, the interior is a disparate harmony of materials and styles orchestrated to create a complex and multifaceted whole. There are stone floors, hardwood floors, knotty pine panels, slate, brick, recessed stucco walls, brushed steel, polished steel and at least 11 different types of lights. But it all works beautifully, even the fiber optic strands of ever-changing color that form curtains around the circular table for eight on one side of the room and act as dividers for another section of tables near the entrance.
A second location for Man Wong, who also owns Charming Garden in Yardley, Pa., the restaurant is a fully conceived establishment, and the only thing lacking out of the starting gate is bar service. The night we dined at Concerto, the bar had not been set up yet, though several diners had brought their own wine. By the middle of May, the gracious stone and slate bar should be fully stocked and ready for service, offering a full selection of beer, wine and liquor.
When our first course arrived, we admired the attractive plating of the food, artistically arranged on long, white rectangular plates. The dim sum was lovely, with a fresh crispy spring roll, two plump shrimp dumplings, three velvety crab Rangoon dumplings and two spareribs. My only criticism was the ribs, which were a little tough, with an excessively sweet glaze. The tuna roll was excellent, with fresh fish and a hint of heat, though the soy sauce, which had a full-bodied flavor, was too salty and masked the delicacy of the fish.
Though we could have made a meal from any of the dozens of sushi and sashimi choices, which range from a simple avocado roll ($4) to an elaborate ocean king roll with asparagus, king crab, lobster, tobiko and avocado ($20), we chose a steak and scallop dish ($15) and house duck ($15) from the list of chef’s specialties.
While diners can also find familiar Chinese dishes such as moo shu pork ($9.50), chicken with broccoli ($10), eggplant with garlic sauce ($9) and steamed diet preparations ($9.50-$13), the difference diners will notice is in the presentation.
Served on square plates, our meals were attractively laid out and trimmed with paper-thin slices of cucumber and tomato. The duck, which was perfectly crispy on the outside but a little overcooked, fanned out over mixed vegetables bathed in a mild white sauce. The scallops and steak were simmered in a rich brown sauce, spiked with black pepper and were deliciously tender and savory. My only complaint with the dish, which was described as being tossed with asparagus, was that it contained a hefty amount of red and green bell peppers, which overwhelmed the other components; there was no mention of their inclusion on the menu.
But by the time dessert rolled around, I was over it and on to something new, in the form of crème brulee ($7) a trio of custards, one vanilla, one mango and one raspberry, all equally delicious. We also dove into a sublime chocolate mousse cake ($7) and felt, like at the end of a good concert, we had finished the meal on a high note.

