Ginger Asian Cuisines

Ken had "cabin fever" after the snowstorm, so we visited Ginger Asian Cuisines in Medford, NJ, today for lunch.

No wine today; instead, we enjoyed two pots of green tea. No need for sugar!

Danan knew we wanted grape leaves, so she put the order in for us while we were perusing the menu.

Appetizers enjoyed

Vietnamese Grape Leaves

BBQ Ribs

We ordered our entrees from the Specials Menu:

Bangkok Cow for Ken, Wok-fried tenderloin of beef and served with fresh veggies in Thai basil sauce. Spring roll and brown rice came with the meal.

Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Pho Thi) for Jay. She didn't realize how big the bowl would be! It was perfect for this cold day. Vietnamese rice noodle soup with slices of eye round steak, scallion, chopped onion, basil, bean sprouts and lime.

Dessert was Mochi ice cream, which Jay loves!

We are always greeted warmly and they make sure, throughout the meal, that you are enjoying everything.

IndeBlue

Still celebrating Jay's birthday, we visited IndeBlue, 619 Collings Avenue, Collingwood (856-854-4633), on Sunday, January 10, 2016, since she had a birthday coupon. We love IndeBlue, especially when lunching with Karin and George, since everything is so tasty and everyone is normally very attentive and welcoming.

Didn't happen tonight. We arrived promptly for our 6:30pm reservation and were offered our choice of the few available tables. We chose one in the corner by the window, which we've sat at previously.

Charles introduced himself as our server. He took our order, packed up leftovers and took the bill after our meal. Otherwise he wasn't really present. Jay had to motion him over for the undercooked garlic naan, which was replaced with regular naan.

Although the meal was tasty, the service was lacking, and Jay was disappointed and tried to keep Ken from voicing his displeasure; although she did complain to the manager after the meal.

Appetizers:

Drums of Heaven - Battered chicken wings with garlic, tomato, chili and scallions.

Shrimp Koliwada - battered shrimp with sweet and spicy chili aloe

Entrees:

Lobster Tail Macher Malai (January Special) - poppy seeds, tomato, coconut cream, ginger, green chili, tamarind rice. Jay ordered spicy and it was quite tasty.

Ken order the Pork Vindaloo - tender boneless pork, pearl onions, garlic, red wine vinegar, jaggery, fingerling potatoes. He took some home since he couldn't finish it all.

Note: We weren't charged for the half-cooked naan, but Jay didn't find that out until after she was home.

This wasn't quite the special night for which Jay hoped. We actually took home most of the red, which is rare for us.

Jay is not inclined to visit again for dinner; instead, she may revisit with Karin and George for lunch. Normally, two hours are blocked for dinner at BYOBs, so we were surprised at how rushed we felt.

Wines enjoyed:

Vientiane Cafe and Vietnam Cafe (Philly LOVE!)

To celebrate Jay's and Karin's birthdays, we ventured to West Philadelphia for one of Ken's favorite places, Vientiane Cafe, 4728 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA (215-726-1095). Can't go wrong with anything here...

We shared a variety of appetizers:

Vegetarian Naam Salad - marinated rice with coconut flakes tossed with mint, scallions, parsley, lime leaves, and chili; topped with crushed peanuts served with lettuce to wrap

Crispy duck spring rolls - filled with silver noodles, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms and served with house sauce

Sticky Tamarind chicken wings tossedin sweet and tangy sauce, chili, lemongrass and kaffir leaves

Tofu spring roll and shrimp spring roll - with herbs and vermicelli, served with tangy tamarind and sweet chili peanut sauce

Homemade Beef Jerky - served with chili paste. Ken's favorite!

Homemade Laotian Sausages (sai-gawk) - stuffed with pork, spices, lemongrass and kaffir leaves. Served with steamed vegetables, sticky rice with ginger fish sauce (NEW) and chili past sauce

Wines enjoyed:

Then we visited Vietnam Cafe for takeout, which we enjoyed in the comfort of home. So good! Karin and Jay shared a Dirty Martini (Grey Goose), while we waited. So refreshing!

Crispy Spring rolls - CHA GIO - ground pork, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, picked rain, mint leaves, chili vinegar dipping sauce

and

Grilled Pork Rolls - THIT NUONG CUON - rice paper, rice noodles, grilled pork, lettuce, bean sprouts, basil, hoisin peanut dipping sauce

We always have a good time with Karin and George! Good food, good friends, good times!!!

Black Olive Greek Cuisine (Greek)

For Jay's birthday on Sunday, January 3, 2016, we made reservations for 6:30pm at Black Olive Greek Cuisine, 910 Haddonfield Berlin Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043 (856-435-5500). We were greeted and seated immediately. Since we made reservations through Open Table, they knew it was my birthday, since I added it to the comments.

For appetizers, we enjoyed the following:

Charcoal Grilled Jumbo Shrimp

Pork Souvlaki

Grilled Calamari

We both selected the house salad (instead of lentil soup, which was the soup of the day). This salad is so refreshing!

Jay devoured the Charcoal Grilled Dinner - Lamb Chops, medium - perfection! She took the bones home to finish off. The potatoes were awesome!

Ken enjoyed the Tigania, pork tenderloin sautéed in olive oil with onions and peppers.

Everything was flavorful and seasoned to perfection. Looking forward to trying new dishes the next time we visit.

Although we told our server there was no rush, since she'd only been working about a week she misunderstood, and our food came out quicker than we'd like (the entree arrived while we were still eating our salad), but we still enjoyed our dining experience. The birthday discount helped! (You must sign up in advance)

Wines enjoyed: