Pho Xinh (Vietnamese)

After Jay's colleague, Paula, mentioned this restaurant at work today, Jay visited Pho Xinh (Centerton Square, Mount Laurel), intending to get a menu and maybe take out. After glancing at the decor, and the wonderful smells emanating from the kitchen, she called Ken to meet her at the restaurant, if he was so inclined. He was, and it was such an enjoyable experience.

While waiting for Ken, hot tea was brought to the table. It was very soothing.

This storefront restaurant had tables lined on either side, but don't that fool you. The food was very good. Almost as good as Little Saigon in Upper Darby used to be.

Appetizers shared:
Cha Gio (spring roll)



Goi Cuon (summer rolls with shrimp)



Bi Cuon (shredded pork rolls)



The Goi Cuon and Bi Cuon came with peanut sauce.
Everything was delicious!

We were given Pho Tom (shrimp) by mistake, but we enjoyed it anyway and Ken doesn't really like soup. It was very flavorful. It was on the house, but Jay offered to pay anyway.

By this time, even though we were getting full, we ordered entrees:
Jay - Mi Xao Don Thap Cam (deluxe crispy egg noodles topped with sauteed fish balls, shrimp, squid, chicken and mixed vegetables) - had to take half of it home.



Ken - Com Tam Thit Nuong (broken rice with charbroiled pork).



Ken ordered another order of shredded pork rolls by mistake, but loved the fish sauce that came with it. He ordered spring rolls to go.

Wine enjoyed:
2005 Marmesa Vineyards Chardonnay

We'll be back - much more to try. For under $40, we were quite satisfied.

Marcello's Fresh Catch Bistro

On Saturday, February 20, we craved seafood and revisited Marcello's Fresh Catch Bistro. This is our favorite restaurant for seafood. It was packed, but we were promptly seated, although we arrived about 15 minutes early for our reservation.

After an initial medical emergency concerning another customer of the restaurant, our server came to the table. She was a bit flustered because, although she opened our wine, she neglected to bring glasses. We had already received menus from the hostess and thought the single sheet contained the specials. We later found out that our server forgot to mention the specials (Jay loves specials!)

We still had an enjoyable evening, with delicious food and pleasant company.

In addition to the bread basket, we also received servings of warm garlic bread - delicious!

Appetizers:
Jay - crab fingers; 12 crab claws sauteed in garlic and oil. Very meaty and well seasoned.
Ken - shrimp kisses - with mozzarella and proscuitto. Also, well seasoned.

Entrees:
Jay - Amy's seafood Newburg with shrimp, crabmeat and scallops. Much better, and fresher tasting, than Barnacle Ben's (which we later found out had closed).
Ken - surf & turf with garlic mashed potatoes. The steak was perfectly cooked to the "medium" that Ken loves.

Wines enjoyed:
2008 Salamander Chardonnay (From MyWinesDirect.com)
2008 Vins Las Tizas Malbec/Mendoza (From MyWinesDirect.com)

Before leaving, we asked the gentleman at the next table what he had ordered, because it smelled so good. He ordered the shrimp scampi over pasta. We may order next time we go.

This restaurant never disappoints!