If you think the Zao Noodle Bar, sounds like a place to only order up high-carb, fattening noodle dishes, think again.

With Bay Area locations in Emeryville and Palo Alto, Zao Noodle Bar offers something for everyone, including those watching their waste-lines.

But first, the tofu fries. OK, tofu is a healthy item but frying up the long, thin strips of soy certainly adds fat. But the fries are worth it. Served with three dipping sauces: spicy peanut, tamarind-ginger and chile-garlic, every bite is different. The portion is also small enough that diners won’t fill up before their meals.

Other appetizers include the Zao chicken dumplings, six pan-seared dumplings filled with minced chicken, mushrooms, and cabbage served with a sesame-ginger sauce for $7; and the low-cal chicken summer rolls, which are chicken breast and Thai basil in rice paper wrappers and served with hoisin-carmelized onion dipping sauce for $7.

Zao representatives say Zao begins with the authentic, street-food flavors of China, Thailand, and Vietnam. They walk the streets of those countries to insure they are bringing the authentic flavors back to America.

Zao serves both lunch and dinner. A friend and I checked out the restaurant at dinner time. I had the new Crunchy Thai Spring Salad, which is crisp greens, red peppers, carrots and cucumbers topped with crunchy rice noodles and poached shrimp. It’s served with a mouth-watering and extremely spicy ginger-garlic-lime dressing for $10.50. Best part: just 330 calories and 11 grams of fat.

My friend had the Vietnamese rice noodle bowl with pork, an overflowing bowl of grilled caramel-shallot-soy marinated pork with fresh herbs, peanuts, and a something called  “nuoc cham” dressing for $9.50. This dish is extra spicy. Zao also offers noodles in broth with seafood, chicken or beef in the $8 to $10.50 price range; and pan-seared rice noodle dishes from $9 to $12. There’s also a child’s menu and a small array of desserts.

We chose to check out Zao in Emeryville because the president and chief operating officer is Danville’s Matthew Baizer, 41. Baizer, who lives in town with his wife Trish and their three children, started with the company 10 years ago as vice president of operations and moved his way up. But his experience in the restaurant business dates back to college when he conceived, developed, and launched his own restaurant and bar while a sophomore in college. He eventually earned a degree from New York’s Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration.
 Prior to joining Zao, Baizer was director of operations for Apple Bay East, a franchise of Applebee's Neighborhood Grill and Bar. There, he was responsible for all restaurant operations and grew the chain from two to nine stores in four years, he said. Throughout his more than 25 years of experience, he has held management positions with the Legal Sea Food chain in Boston and Acapulco Restaurants in California and Oregon.

Zao has great food and is also in the spirit of giving back. Zao will match up to $2,000 in donations to UNICEF's Haiti Earthquake Fund for a collective total donation of $4,000 to help the residents of Haiti following the devastating earthquake on Jan. 12. For more information, go to www.zao.com. Zao is located in the Bay Street shopping complex at 5614 Bay St. #234 in Emeryville. The restaurant can be reached at 510-595-2888 and is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mon. to Thurs.; 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fri. and Sat.; and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sun.

Before you leave, make sure to pick up a “mystic fish.” Place the red, thumb-sized cellophane fish in the palm of your hand and watch how it reacts. If the fish moves its tale, you are energetic. If it moves its head and tail, you are stubborn. If the fish turns over you are in love. Either way, you’ll be in love with Zao. --KB