Vientiane Cafe (Philly - AGAIN!!!!)

Love this place! Met friends Karin and George on Saturday, April 16, 2016, for our monthly 3-hour lunch to Vientiane Cafe, 4728 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA (215-726-1095).

We enjoyed the following:

Duck Crispy Spring Rolls

Shrimp Spring Rolls

Grilled vegetables with crispy tofu

Vegetarian Naam Salad (Ken's favorite!)

Homemade Beef Jerky (Another favorite!)

Tiger Cry (Seugh-hong-hai) - good, but not what we expected from a brisket.

Jay and George shared banana chocolate spring rolls for dessert

Wines enjoyed:

Jay and Ken took home extra orders of Homemade Beef Jerky and Homemade Laotian Sausages (sai-gawk)

Bhan Thai

Craving Thai food, we visited Bhan Thai, 4330 Dearborn Circle, Cambridge Crossing Plaza, Mt. Laurel (856-234-4202), on Friday, March 25, 2016, and had an enjoyable meal. No reservations, but we were seated by the front window, which was slightly secluded.

We ordered some of the Chef's Specials...

Appetizers:

Jay ordered the Bhan Thai Fish Cake (Thai style cod fish cake served with cucumber relish and sweet chili sauce):

Ken, who normally orders the Martini Shrimp, instead tried the Firecracker Shrimp. He was not disappointed.

Entrees:

Jay ordered the Ocean Pacific Special (3 chilis), sizzling boiled shrimp, squid, scallop, and crispy Basa fish sauteed with basil and young peppercorn. So flavorful!

Ken ordered the Pla Rad Prik (filleted crispy red snapper and baby bok choy, served with Thai chili sauce). He devoured it.

Both came with Jasmine rice.

Wine enjoyed:

La Terrazza

Ken decided he wanted Italian for his birthday on Friday, so we revisted La Terrazza, 210 Barclay Farms, Cherry Hill, NJ  08034 (856-354-1888). We had an enjoyable meal.

Ken loves the stuffed long hots, so Jay ordered those as her appetizer. So flavorful and spicy.

Ken ordered the shrimp special as an appetizer.

Entrees:

Ken ordered the Veal Saltimbocca, which is not on the menu, and he enjoyed every bite.

Jay ordered the Veal Abruzzi, which was delicious.

Wine enjoyed:

(Jay spill half her glass on the table and floor, but the glass didn't break, and she didn't make a scene - her server, Bernadatte, flagged her anyway. So unfair! LOL)

We'll be back - more dishes to try.

IndeBlue (Trying Again)

We met friends, Karin and George for lunch today at IndeBlue in Collingswood, NJ. Charles was our server again. Jay wasn't happy, but gave him another chance. He did better. However, it would have been nice if he had just checked on the table every so often to see if everything was OK, rather than us having to call him him over when there was an issue. We always have a good time with our friends, so that made things better, since they explicitly explained how we like to dine.

We shared the following appetizers:

Drums of Heaven (2 orders!)

Shrimp Koliwada

Vegetable Samosa Chaat

Onion Bhajia

Everything was tasty and flavorful!

Although we had a nice conversation with Rakeesh, when he stopped by for a few minutes, we didn't feel comfortable talking about our previous experience.

Entrees shared:

Venison meatballs - unfortunately, the meatballs were too salty (tingly tongues!), and we had to return them twice, although the sauce and potatoes were delicious!

We thoroughly enjoyed the Desi Jerk Chicken - cooked to perfection! Jay couldn't stop eating the rice, which was very flavorful.

Ken had to have the garlic naan:

We shared the following desserts:

Fig ice cream - Jay devoured it!

Chocolate cake with rose genache ice cream - very good.

Ken enjoyed his coffee:

Wines enjoyed:

Ginger Asian Cuisines (AGAIN!!!!)

Love this place!

Although we attempted to visit Bhan Thai, since we hadn't been in a while, we discovered it was closed on Sundays, so we went back to our favorite place where we were warmly welcomed.

Jay's entree came with a choice of soup, spring roll, or salad. She chose egg drop soup:

Ken chose the spring roll:

Appetizers enjoyed:

Jay ordered the Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce, thinking she would just get 2 little skewers. She was wrong...

Two went home for later.

Ken enjoyed the BBQ Ribs, as usual...

They were very meaty.

Entrees:

Ken enjoyed the Korean BBQ Beef (sliced beef marinated in Bulgogi and Kalbi sauce and stir-fried with fresh garlic and onions, served with lettuce and kimchi). He devoured it.

Jay tried to finish the Ginger's Special Grilled Salmon, Hong Kong style in a black bean sauce with bok choy:

Half will be enjoyed for tomorrow's dinner. Delicious!

Refreshing end to the meal:

Wine enjoyed:

Dolsot House (K-Town BBQ Korean Restaurant)

We were hungry so Ken treated Jay to Dolsot House for lunch today. We were not disappointed.

We were surprised by how crowded it was. This lets you know it's good.

Wanting to try a new appetizer, we skipped the wings this time for Shrimp Pajun (pancake with scallions). It was very good and filling.

Ken devoured his spicy pork hoagie (Bo Tong).

Jay struggled through the spicy pork Dolsot. It was so tasty, she couldn't stop eating.

No wine this time. Instead we had hot tea and Nestea with Lemon.

Looking forward to our next visit.