text: Asian Cafe Express or ACE has not changed much over the last few years Located in a nondescript shopping center in Mesa the interior does not get much better than the outside But you do not come here to be wowed by the interior design even if you do think the plastic lobsters on the wall are pretty cool it is all about the foodnnOpen the menu and within a few pages you will see typical Chinamerica offerings such as sweet and sour lomein and fried rice But keep turning the pages and you will find some serious real deal Chinese foodnnnThe best value is the Family Meal consisting of three large items rice and noodles This is a feast that can easily feed four or morennEven more impressive is what the kitchen can do with fresh seafood Across the street from ACE is Mekong Supermarket an Asian grocer that has a massive fresh seafood counter Diners can purchase fresh seafood from Mekong then take it to ACE where the chef cooks the catch for around per itemnnOur party of seven arrived at ACE with bags full of goodies we were greeted and seated then a brief consultation began We had purchased live seafood from Mekongs water tanks including crab a pound clams a pound and two lobsters a pound We also chose a large wide mouth bass a pound that was cleaned by the Mekong fish mongernnStarting with the bass the chef simply steamed the fish then topped with a sauce of ginger and fresh spring onions The fish was sublime fresh meaty and tender without a hint of fishinessnnThe clams were also steamed to perfection with a light sauce of black beans and spring onion Each tender mollusk was a joy to eat with slight saltiness from the black beansnnOur crab was treated with a dredge of garlic salt and pepper then deepfried The chef was spot on making a contrast between the luscious crab meat and the wonderful seasoning While the crab was still in its she will it was hacked up into more accessible piecesnnFinishing the feast we oohed and aahed as our lobsters were brought to the table Both lobsters were chopped into pieces then stirfried with green onion and ginger and served on top of a bed of crispy panfried noodles They tasted as good as they looked The lobster meat was so sweet and delicious I wanted to lick the plate clean A bonus of flavor was hidden as the juices from the lobster were absorbed by the bed of noodlesnnThis was such a pleasant experience that I would let the chef at ACE take the wheel for an evening of delectable surprises anytime