Bhan Thai

Took the "kids" to Bhan Thai, Thai Fusion Cuisine on Friday, April 6, 2012. Everyone had a great time. We were able to make a 6:30 PM reservation in less than 30 minutes and arrived to find our table ready.

Appetizers enjoyed:

Summer rolls - Fresh cucumber, lettuce, tofu, and rice angle hair warp with the rice skin .Served with Tamarind homemade sauce (Erin)

Fried Tofu Special - a bit bland, but the sauce was nice and spicy (Jay)

Fried Shrimp (Ken)

Entrees:

Chu Chee Duck Special (Jay)

Chicken Pad Thai - Stir fried thin rice noodles with egg, scallions, bean curds, bean sprouts and ground peanuts (Erin)
Not pictured...

Chicken Penang Curry - Thick curry with coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, ground peanut and Thai basil (Kenny)

Steak & Prawns Special (Ken and Reese)

Madison (27 months) and Layli (almost 7 months) were well behaved throughout.


Wines enjoyed:
Emeri Pink Moscato
2011 Alamos Malbec

Monsoon (Indian)

We were hoping for Thai food, but the restaurant wasn't open yet (4:50 PM), so we headed to Monsoon Indian Cuisine in Mount Laurel.

Delicious!

Ken had the Tandoori Wings and Jay enjoyed the Amritsari Fish (Tilapia). We were so hungry, Jay remembered to take a picture of the last piece of fish...

We ordered the bread basket, not realizing how much was included (naan, garlic naan, tandoori roti-whole wheat flat bread, and parantha-whole wheat bread)

Ken enjoyed Jay's favorite as an entree - South Indian Shrimp Curry.

Jay enjoyed one of her favorites - Lamb Vindaloo.

We forgot to bring wine, so Ken had lemonade and Jay had mango lassi.

Pho & Cafe Ha (Vietnamese)

Looks like we've found a new favorite only 5 minutes away! Pho & Cafe Ha is delicious! AND they have dishes that our old favorite doesn't have! The menu is HUGE!

Cha Gio - spring roll - this picture almost didn't make it. We had already eaten one entire roll...

Thi Nuong Cuon - summer roll with BBQ pork - love the peanut sauce!

Banh Hoi Bo Nuong La - ground beef wrapped grape leaves with fine vermicelli

And the rice paper, which we've never been offered before...

Ken had the Banh Xeo - crispy fried crepe with shrimp and pork, which he has been seeking for a while

Jay had the Do Bien Xao - sauteed seafood combination on taro nest

PLUS 2 pots of tea.

We thoroughly enjoyed everything and already have dishes to try picked out for our next visit.

IndeBlue (Indian)

We had a wonderful 3-hour lunch with good friends, Karin and George, yesterday at IndeBlue in Collingswood. Chef Rakesh never disappoints! Our server, Jeremy, was a pleasure...

Appetizers:

Shrimp Koliwada - always a favorite!

Stuffed Meatballs - pork with foie gras

Garlic Naan

Entrees
Karin and George shared, and Jay had, the Rabbit Chilgoza special

Ken had the Shrimp Masaledar

Desserts:

George had the Mango and Pomegranate sorbets

Jay and Karin each had the Chili-Lime sorbet and Peanut Butter/Chocolate ice cream

Jay also enjoyed the Chocolate/Banana/Walnut ice cream on the house!

Everything was fantastic, as always! Love this place!

Wines enjoyed:
2010 Cuvee du Clos Baileyana Pinot Noir
2010 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc
2010 Coteaux du Languedoc
2009 BLAU (50% Mazuelo, 25% Syrah, 25% Garnacha)

Enjoy your retirement, Karin!

La Campagne (French)

Now officially both Jay and Ken's favorite restaurant, we visited La Campagne in Cherry Hill, NJ, on Saturday, January 7, 2012, and were prompted seated for our 7 PM reservation and by the fireplace, as requested. Still enjoying Jay's 50th birthday, we had a fabulous time! Our server, Robert, was a pleasure.

Love the herbed butter, which comes with warm bread...

Appetizers:
Jay had the pate special - veal pate with pistachios. So delicious!

Ken enjoyed the crab cake, once again.

We were given complimentary Champagne sorbet, to cleanse the palette.

Entree:
We shared the Chateaubriand - carved tableside with sauce Robert (enhanced the meat), roasted potatoes and bok choy. The beef was so tender that we melted with joy.

Of course, we finished with the cheese platter: Beemster (Ken was hoping for this!), blue, ghouda and brie. The sundried tomato paste was wonderful, as well as the sliced apples and fruit sauce.

Wines enjoyed:
2003 Mischief & Mayhem Pinot Noir (Gevrey Chambertin)
2010 Giesta Dao (32% Touriga-Nacional, 45% Tinta-Roriz, 23% Jaen)

Love this place!

Pho Xinh (Vietnamese) - New Menu!

We visited Pho Xinh in Mount Laurel, NJ, on Saturday. There was a totally new menu, so we tried 5 appetizers: BBQ Pork Summer Rolls, Crispy Spring Rolls, Sweet Onion Beef Wrap, Salt Pepper Shrimp and Grape Leaves Wrap. Everything was delicious!

Jay also consumed an aromatic lemongrass soup with tofu. So comforting...

With two pots of tea, we were stuffed when we left. Love this place!

Tarantella's (Italian)

It's been a while, so we revisited Tarantella's in Medford. Portions are HUGE and the quality is very good.

Upon arrival (no reservations), we were greeted and given glasses of water and an offer to open our wine.

Bruschetta and warm bread (Italian and garlic) were immediately brought to the table.

Salads arrived with the choice of three dressings (including Blue cheese and French).

Entrees that we selected came in a timely fashion and large portions!

Ken enjoyed the shrimp Parmesan, which came with spaghetti. He could not finish.

Jay struggled through half of the blackened tuna special - rare with spinach, Portabello mushrooms, Gorgonzola cream sauce, crab meat in a vodka cream sauce. It came with garlic linguine. The linguine was light and not overwhelmingly filling. Excellent meal!

Ken wants to get the veal saltimbucca next time...

Wines enjoyed:
2006 Pira Dolcetto D'Alba
2009 Charles Smith Cabernet Sauvignon