• Image courtesy of AZN cuisine

Congratulations to AZN Cuisine who received the Critic's Pick for Best New Restaurant in Charlotte!

Join AZN this Saturday to celebrate the restaurant's first anniversary with special guest chef Jeem "Jim" Han Lock, founding chef of Seattle's renowned Wild Ginger and the 1997 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef Pacific Northwest/Hawaii. Lock will be joined in the kitchen by AZN chef Alex Chiu and Sonny Seng, chef of AZN's sister restaurant Pacific Rim Bistro of Atlanta, to prepare a five-course meal that includes Tuna Yuzu Tartare, Indonesian Beef Satay and Lamb Curry Maluku.

A native of Taishan, Guangdong Province, China, Lock has racked up his own list of "Best of" accolades over his years in the restaurant industry. During his 12-year tenure at Wild Ginger, Lock was featured in the New York Times, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, People and W magazines for pioneering pan-Asian cuisine. Since then, Chef Lock has traveled on extensive tasting tours of Southeast Asia, China, Australia, Malaysia and New Zealand.

Cost of the five-course dinner is $55 per person, with an optional additional wine and sake pairing. Reservations are required.

If you can't make it to the dinner, join AZN for its very first brunch offering this Sunday, Oct. 6 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. The extensive buffet-style brunch will include multiple stations featuring noodle dishes, salads, sushi, hot entrees, fresh fruits, sweets, and more, as well as a dim sum cart. The cost is $22.95 per person.

AZN is located in SouthPark's Piedmont Town Center at 4620 Piedmont Row Drive. To make reservations, call 980-819-9189 or visit www.aznrestaurant.com/charlotteAZN.