Sanook Thai Cuisine

Father's Day dinner brought Jay and Ken to Sanook Thai Cuisine, 18 Tanner Street, Haddonfield, NJ 08033 (856-857-1169), on Sunday, June 16, 2019.

Appetizers shared:

Fried Dumplings - crunchy outside, flavorful minced pork inside. Very good!

Sanook Wings - wings with Thai Chili sauce. Crispy outside, tender inside.

Pastry Puffs - minced potato, onion and, chicken, served with cucumber vinaigrette. Jay wished they were crispier, but Ken was happy with them.

Entrees:

Jay devoured the Crispy Garlic Shrimp Special. Just the right amount of garlic. Not overpowering. Delicious!

Ken enjoyed the Choo-Chee Scallops, in a red curry reduction. Spicy enough to make his head sweat, but worth it!

Wines enjoyed:

We will return. There were more dishes we wanted to try!

Hearthside

We finally got to try Hearthside, 801 Haddon Avenue, Collingswood, NJ ;08108 (856-240-1164), on Friday, June 14, 2019, after securing reservations 2 months ago! Hearthside is a BYOB, which describes itself as serving "contemporary American fare from a wood-fired oven & grill, plus pastas." We were not disappointed.

Patrick, our server, was very knowledgeable and personable. Everyone helps each other out, which makes for a pleasant experience.

Small plates that we shared:

Gulf Prawns, with garlic, chili, lemon, and parsley.

Pork Belly, with beet sauce, frisee and micro greens.

Medium plate shared:

Risotto, with mushrooms, preserved lemon, smoked mozzarella. Indescribably delicious! Wow!

Large plates shared:

Day Boat Scallops with English pea puree, matbukha, chips. Cooked to perfection!

Black Sea Bass, with herb gazpacho, yogurt, and poblano puree. Excellent!

Dessert:

Ken enjoyed the Blondie a la Mode with dulcey chocolate and bourbon caramel.

Jay loved the chocolate almond gelato.

Wines enjoyed:

Nice decor. Very welcoming environment.

Vientiane Cafe (Philly again)

On Saturday, June 8, West Philly Porchfest brought us back to Philly. We were excited to see and hear the bands in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, there weren't as many out as last year, but it was still nice to enjoy the music on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with friends Karin and George.

In between, we visited Vientiane Cafe, 5738 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143 (215-726-1095), for some of our favorite appetizers.

Fresh Spring Rolls - Soft rice paper with herbs and vermicelli, served with tangy tamarind and sweet chili sauce topped with crushed peanuts. We ordered them with shrimp.

Crispy Spring Rolls - Filled with silver noodles, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, deep-fried until golden. Served with house sauce. The duck is outstanding.

Sticky Tamarind Chicken Wings - Tossed in sweet and tangy sauce along with chili, lemongrass and kaffir leaves. So good!

Vegetarian Naam Salad (GF) - Marinated rice with coconut flakes tossed with scallions, cilantro, lime leaves, and chill; topped with crush peanuts served with lettuce to wrap.

Homemade Laotian Sausages (sai-gawk) (GF) - Stuffed with chopped pork, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves; served with steam vegetables along with spicy roasted chili garlic sauce (jeow muk phet) and sticky rice.

We also swung by Vietnam Cafe for more favorites: Crispy spring rolls and pork summer rolls, which enjoyed on the porch. What a beautiful day!


Wines enjoyed:

Pho Garden (Vietnamese)

Passing by on our from other restaurants, we were intrigued, so Jay and Ken visited Pho Garden, 600 Kings Highway North, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 (856-482-7404) for lunch on Saturday, June 1, 2019. We didn't bring wine this time, but it is a BYOB.

We shared appetizers:
Summer Rolls with Grilled Pork and Summer Rolls with Shrimp. The grilled pork has a nice flavor; the shrimp were flavorless.

The Fried Dumplings were crunchy on the outside and meaty and tender on the inside.

Jay didn't want anything big for an entree so she ordered the shrimp, squid, and fish ball appetizer. She was quite surprised at the amount of food, which was lightly fried, and well seasoned, with just a hint of spice. She took some home for later (or tomorrow!).

Ken ordered the grilled pork with broken rice, and devoured the entire plate of food!

Jay enjoyed the honeydew shake with tapioca bubbles. Very refreshing.

We'd come back. There are other dishes to try.