We had been hearing progressively more buzz about 4 Kings until we couldn't ignore it anymore. We were getting text messages and Tweets from friends in real time, as they visited this new pan-Asian eatery on their first, second and even third visits. One Twitter buddy, who loves both Vietnamese food and sushi, was so smitten he said this Kaimuki restaurant could very well become his favorite place to eat.

Tucked in the heavily trafficked block of Wai'alae Avenue near 12th Avenue, 4 Kings has taken over the space of Green Papaya. Actually, the ownership hasn't changed; it's now just operating under a different name, with an expanded menu and concept.

"It's more fun to have variety," owner Heidi Trang said. "The name represents the four countries represented in our food — Vietnam, Thailand, Japan and China."

We're all for variety, but 4 Kings' offerings aren't universally appealing. For example, we ordered the 4 Kings sushi roll ($12.95), with lemongrass chicken (or beef), topped with 'ahi. It's an attempt at surf-and-turf, but we didn't find the international meeting of the minds. We favor foods with interesting flavors, but this roll had a lot of mismatched tastes with nothing to pull it all together.

We did, however, like the 'ahi tataki ($10.95), which chef Brad Veles recommends: it's lightly seared 'ahi slices topped with shredded white onion, green onion, garlic, ginger, shiso, shichimi and daikon; then sprinkled with sesame seeds and a secret ponzu sauce. Strangely enough, with all of these raw ingredients, the combination made the 'ahi taste cooked. In fact, the unique combination made the fish taste almost ... beefy. We sat up and exchanged silent nods as the flavors morphed in our mouths.

Although green papaya salad ($8.95) is hardly a unique offering on a Vietnamese menu, we decided to try the 4 Kings' version. It came with either shrimp, beef, chicken, or tofu; we opted for beef. The initial hit of spicy, tangy and sweet was the zesty first impression, but it was tamed by the beef and peanuts. After the first bite, we wondered why we had ever snubbed our noses at this staple dish. The shredded papaya was extra crunchy, giving the salad a fresh flavor and texture. And by veering more toward spicy than vinegary, the salad proved to be a tasty starter.

We worked our way through a few other offerings, like the crispy wasabi roll ($10.95), with raw 'ahi, salmon and yellowtail wrapped in rice and rolled in wasabi, then dipped in tempura batter and flash fried. The frying process cooked off most of the heat of the wasabi, so it wasn't as spicy as it sounds.

The spider roll ($11.95), meanwhile, came with large chunks of soft-shell crab and lots of tobiko, along with lettuce. We liked having different crunch textures to contrast with the rice. The crab was deep-fried, but not oily. The guys among us liked this roll, but I felt each piece was too big and difficult to eat. And although both the crispy wasabi and spider rolls were tasty, neither of these fried sushi options were unique.

We were more impressed with The Smart Roll No. 1, comprised of shredded crab with 'ahi, avocado, ponzu and a sweet sesame sauce, which provided enough flavor to avoid having to dip it in shoyu. One of the diners in our group even commented that the sauce was so sweet, it was almost like eating dessert sushi, which sounds strange, but was actually delicious.

Our favorite dish of the night, however, was the chicken curry ($9.95 for the set). When it came to the table, we were all taken in by the delightful curry/coconut aroma that filled the air, and were torn between wanting to dig in immediately or trying to take pictures of the pristine bowl. Once we started to eat the curry, the table fell silent with the exception of a few moans. We had ordered it medium-spicy, but that didn't detract from the rich, coconut-peanut-curry flavor that we were falling in love with. We had leftovers from dinner this evening, but the curry was not one of them.

The concept seems almost bizarre, but with the emergence of Pacific-Asian cuisine and Euro-Asian fusion, why not have many flavors of Asia in one place? It's nice to have a choice when you don't quite know what you want to eat.