Sunda New Asian is not subtle about its influences. An eye-grabbing art installation evocative of Japanese cherry blossoms fluttering in the breeze is suspended over a pink quartzite bar, with another nearby made from pearlescent capiz shells from the Philippines. Framed photos from throughout Asia adorn another wall, mementos of the travels of founder and CEO Billy Dec.
A Filipino American entrepreneur and television personality from Chicago, Dec says he’s delighted by the ways different cultures come together throughout history. He notes that the Spanish occupied the Philippines for more than 300 years, bringing Filipino laborers with them to other parts of their empire. In Mexico, Filipinos taught Mexicans the technique they used to make the liqueur lambanog, which is made from coconut trees. The technique was combined with indigenous fermentation traditions and used on agave plants, resulting in mezcal.
“So, but for the Filipinos, there would not be tequila,” says Dec, who was born and raised in Chicago but grew up visiting family in the Philippines, with stops and various excursions throughout Asia along the way.
The restaurant opens to the public at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10 at 33 W. Columbia St., a pedestrian alleyway between the Fox Theatre and the Fillmore, across Woodward Avenue from Comerica Park.
It’s Sunda New Asian’s fifth restaurant, following the chain’s 2009 debut in Chicago. It expanded to Nashville in 2018, opening additional locations in Tampa, Florida in 2023 and a second Chi-Town location in 2024.
Dec says he is particular about the cities into which he has chosen to expand. “We’re not doing the coasts,” he says. “We’re not doing Vegas. We’re doing these cities that we think are going to blow up.”
Detroit first got on his radar back when he used to work as a nightclub doorman in Chicago. “I was always fascinated by how many Michigan IDs I always had to check,” he says. “I thought they were the fake IDs! But it’s because Michigan is so interwoven into the Chicago fabric,” adding that Chicago is home to so many native Michiganders who moved in search of a bigger city.
He says he finally made a visit to Detroit several years ago and was immediately impressed, spending all day walking around downtown. “I couldn’t believe it,” he says. “I mean, I caught the perfect day.”
A self-described “Chicago cheerleader,” Dec says he was humbled when he arrived in Detroit. “A lot of things that I loved and bragged about in Chicago was the history, the architecture, the music, all these things,” he says. “But when I got to Detroit, I was like, ‘You guys were bigger, better, you had it first, you were all those things!”
Dec says he was thrilled when the opportunity came to open a space on Columbia Street, which has become populated with other restaurants in recent years including Frita Batidos, Sahara Restaurant and Grill, JoJo’s ShakeBAR, Union Assembly, and Mom’s Spaghetti.
The menu is led by culinary director Mike Morales, who hails from Pampanga. (“[It’s] the culinary capital of the Philippines, which is kind of a big deal,” Dec explains, “Southeast Asians know!”) Head sushi chef Ise Matsunobu is from Tokyo.
The menu features creative cuisine inspired by dishes from China, Japan, and other countries from throughout Southeast Asia. Some dishes revel in unexpected flavor combinations, including a “Great White” sushi roll with escolar, potato chips, and black truffles. The Massaman Scallops include Thai, Persian, and Indian influences. Other highlights include Oxtail Potstickers, Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, Miso Glazed Sea Bass, and more.
The menu also includes more than 15 sakes curated by sake sommelier Nina Dyrek, and alcoholic offerings also include seasonal craft cocktails, beers, whiskeys, and wines.
The restaurant features 6,000 square feet of space and 1,400-square-foot patio with more than 200 seats. It was designed by Chicago’s Studio K and Detroit’s McIntosh Poris Associates and constructed by Sachse Construction.
Dec says he’s excited to serve metro Detroit.
“Our whole life has been about caring about food, and we really focus one person at a time,” he says. “I just care about you, in that seat. How can I make your life better? How can I introduce you to the culture that’s made us happy and filled our souls forever since we were born and raised?”