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.

D'Jakarta Cafe (Indonesian) - Philly

Our monthly lunch took us back to D'Jakarta Cafe, 1540 W. Ritner Street, Philadelphia ,PA 19145 (215-463-8888), on Friday, May 17, 2019. They remembered that we liked to take 3 hour lunches, and were very accommodating.

We shared many plates, and were quite satisfied when we left.


Two orders of Shrimp Rollade

Sweet and sour fried chicken

Braised pork with bok choy

Liver and Gizzard skewers - Jay and George enjoyed them as they were cooked to perfection. Tender and flavorful.

Fried wontons for Karin and Ken. Lightly fried with a Thai Chili sauce.

Chicken satay. Ym!

Fried bananas dessert. Not too sweet. Just right.

These peanuts are fried with garlic! They have a slight crunch to them. So good!

Wines enjoyed:

Kunkel's Seafood & Steakhouse

Kunkel's is always nice for a special occasion, so we had a lovely Mother's Day celebration at Kunkel's Seafood & Steakhouse, 920 Kings Highway, Haddon Heights, NJ 08045 (856-547-1225), on Saturday May 11, 2019. We originally made an appointment for 7 people at 7pm, but pushed it back to 7:30pm with no problem. We were seated at the Captain's Table, a room just for us!

Since we were seated at a round table, Jay didn't get to take pictures of the food, but everyone was quite happy with their meals.

Jay loved the oysters...

The Fiery Thai Calamari was just the right spiciness. There was a lot for an appetizer!

The salads were fresh and the dressings were wonderful.

Crab stuffed red snapper with roasted potatoes. Delicious!

Wines enjoyed:

Eden Korean Restaurant

On the recommendation of Julie and Shelly (thanks!) from our dentist's office, Jay and Ken visited Eden Korean Restaurant, 1428 Marlton Pike East (Route 70), Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 (856-489-5757), on Friday, May 10, 2019. We had a fantastic lunch!

Appetizers shared:

Fried dumplings - crispy on the outside, flavorful on the inside.

Banchan included black beans, bean sprouts, kimchi, garlic stems (Ken enjoyed them so much, they gave us more!), fish cake, and broccoli with siracha sauce.

Chicken Wings  - lightly breaded; crispy, with a slightly sweet soy sauce. Very good.

Entrees:

Jay enjoyed the Sashimi Bibimbap - spring mix, red cabbage, white cabbage, carrot, avocado, crab stick, masago and sashimi on top of sushi rice. Drizzled in sesame oil, with spicy sauce on the side. Delicious!

Ken was quite pleased with the Galbi Dolsot - thinly sliced BBQ short rib.

Wine enjoyed:

We will come back - there are more dishes we want to try, especially the Bulgogi!

Nice decor. 

Bhan Thai

Tired of leftovers, Ken treated Jay to Bhan Thai, 4330 Dearborn Circle, Cambridge Crossing Plaza, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054 (856-234-4203) on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Everything was so flavorful and delicious!

Appetizers (both Specials):

Firecracker Shrimp (Kao Griap Tod) - shrimp wrapped in rice paper, topped with spicy mayo sauce. Cooked to perfection!

Spicy Chiangmai Sausage (Sai Tua) - stuffed ground pork, chopped fresh lemongrass, chili paste (3 chilis) - extremely flavorful and spicy. Served with cucumber, tomatoes, and salad greens to calm the palate. Excellent!

Entrees:

Jay devoured the Ocean Pacific (Chef's Special) - sizzling boiled shrimp, squid, scallop and tempura Basa fish sautéed with basil and young peppercorn sauce. Ken didn't think she would finish, but she did because everything was so light and seasoned to perfection. (4 chilis spiciness was PERFECT!)

Ken thoroughly enjoyed the Thai Chicken Lady (2 chilis) special - breaded chicken topped with homemade chili sauce with steamed broccoli.

Both entrees came with Jasmine rice, which we didn't eat so we wouldn't get too full...

Ken enjoyed an order of Martini Shrimp (which is the reason why he wanted to come!) for "dessert."

Wines enjoyed: