<a href="http://www.accessatlanta.com/dining/restaurants/158871/DetailedList.jspd?activity=158871">Aja</a>

Here we are, under the Big Top again with restaurateur and showman Tom Catherall of Here to Serve Restaurants, who's brought Atlanta its very own upscale Asian venue, spanning China, Thailand, Japan and more, all wrapped with a big Buddhist bow in the space that was once Emeril's.

Let's talk about that for a moment. This is a cavernous room that includes an upstairs private dining room with its own set of bathrooms. The beautiful backlit onyx bar remains intact, only now it's adorned with Chinese statues. The exquisite wine room is gone, making way for more room in a room that has plenty to spare. The open kitchen gives way to a sushi bar, and the ceiling has dropped cutouts of painted Chinese characters, which are also reflected on the printed menu — "meet," "drink," "flirt" — you get the idea.

Then there's the Buddha. Beautiful, brass and adorned with dozens of candles, Catherall had the statue brought directly from Thailand and blessed by Buddhist monks in a special ceremony — open to the press, of course. There are other Thai statues of the Buddha, the most notable an exquisite depiction of the reclining Buddha in the restaurant's foyer.

While I take no personal offense to the statue, I can't help wondering how a devout Christian, upon visiting a restaurant in Thailand, might feel if a giant crucifix were displayed as an ornament.

I do take some offense to Catherall and chef William Sigley's menu. Here, the reach far exceeds the grasp, and there's what seems to be a nod to authenticity and complete lack thereof at the same time. Call it yin yang, I guess.

Like Catherall's Lola, his Italian venue just up the street, there's just too much going on. A chef — Sigley is formerly of Aquaknox, where he admirably dealt with fish en masse — could spend his entire career discovering the intricacies of Chinese or Japanese cuisines, but at Aja, they are summarily reduced to the Cliff Notes version.

The appetizer portion of the menu is referred to as dim sum, and the steam cart is brought at lunch and dinner. You can order from the cart or off the menu, and this "section" is by far the best the restaurant has to offer: Roti bread with mild curried beef and chunks of potatoes; steamed barbecued pork buns; crisped-skinned chicken wings with lots of lemon and chili. Shu mai dumplings are too sticky, and lettuce wraps with chicken in a too-sweet hoisin sauce are little better than something you'd find at P.F. Chang's.

Everything, from yellowtail sashimi served with hot sesame oil, cilantro, yuzu and jalapeno (in a Chinese soup spoon) to a hoisin-basted half-duck served with steamed buns, lacks the edgy, layered flavor of Chinese and Thai cooking. It's all been dumbed down. Catherall said it perfectly to me tableside on one of my visits, "I cook for the masses, not the classes."

Save one, very nice dish: whole red snapper, crispy fried and curled to beautiful perfection, on the plate with its tail wrapped in a semi-circle towards its head. (Catherall gives a nod to Nan Niyomkul of Tamarind Seed Thai Bistro for its recipe.) In a hot, slightly salty chile sauce, it merits acclaim.

And as it turns out, so do the desserts, which oddly encompass all of Asia like the rest of the menu, but with only six choices from which to choose, the digesting is a little easier.

Pastry chef Arpana Satyu, who studied at the French Culinary Institute in New York and has worked for the likes of Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill and Tom Colicchio at Craft, has fashioned a mesmerizingly sweet display.

The best is a dish of sweet paneer, pressed into tiny patties, in milk laced with cardamom and dotted with pistachios. Each of the cheeses is crowned with a grapefruit-and-rosewater sorbet. It's apparently so difficult to get people to try that Catherall has resorted to putting the words "try it" under the description on the menu. A mango parfait is layered lovingly with stripes of mango and panna cotta lace with lime, topped with chewy, slightly sweet sago pearls and blueberries (which I could do without). An ice cream made of sweetened condensed milk pairs wonderfully with espresso, a delicious nod to Thai and Vietnamese coffee.

Other than Home, Aja is the best of Catherall's come-one, come-all restaurant family. That's largely due to the fact that Sigley is a skilled, experienced chef. But I have to believe the happy Buddha got his belly from eating food more authentic than this.

Food: Pan-Asian

Service: Seems like a crew of bright, efficient folks. (Full disclosure: After my first drink at the bar it was obvious that everyone there knew my purpose — including Catherall, who came to my table on one visit.)

Price range: $$-$$$

Credit cards: Visa, Mastercard, American Express

Hours of operation: Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Dinner: 5-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 5 p.m.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays; 5-10 p.m. Sundays. Bar open later with a limited menu some evenings.

Best dishes: Kimchee-like pickles brought to the table gratus, roti and chicken wings from the dim sum cart, crispy fried whole red snapper in Thai chile sauce, all the desserts

Vegetarian selections: A veggie section offers udon noodles in miso and fried tofu with spinach and garlic

Children: For lunch and early dinner, yes — though I never saw children dining on any of my visits

Parking: Complimentary valet

Reservations: Accepted

Wheelchair access: Yes

Smoking: No

Noise level: Medium

Patio: Yes

Takeout: Yes

Address, telephone: 3500 Lenox Road N.E., Atlanta, 404-231-0001

Web site: www.h2sr.com

KEY TO RATINGS

Outstanding:

Sets the standard for fine dining in the region.

Excellent:

One of the best in the Atlanta area.

Very good:

Merits a drive if you're looking for this kind of dining.

Good:

A worthy addition to its neighborhood, but food may be hit or miss.

Fair:

The food is more miss than hit.

Restaurants that do not meet these criteria may be rated

Poor

.

PRICING CODE:

$$$$$

means more than $75;

$$$$

means $75 and less;

$$$

means $50 and less;

$$

means $25 and less;

$

means $15 and less. (The price code represents a meal for one that includes appetizer, entree and dessert without including tax, tip and cocktails.)