Dolsot House (Korean BBQ)

After a doctor's appointment, Ken and Jay stopped by Dolsot House, 404 Marlton Pike East (Route 70), Sawmill Village, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 (856-216-0090 or 0095), for lunch on Monday, January 28, 2019. Very good.

We shared an order of spicy Korean fried chicken wings and an order of pork and chive dumplings. Crunchy goodness!

We love the small plates!

Jay enjoyed the Dolsot bibimbap (spinach, zucchini, radish, shiitake, carrots, beef and raw egg). Hot sauce on the side. Delicious! She couldn't finish it all. Probably tomorrow's lunch.

Ken devoured his spicy pork Korean Hoagie ("Koagie").

No wine this time. A hot tea day.

Hen Vietnamese Restaurant

Jay hasn't been feeling well, so Ken treated her to lunch at Hen Vietnamese Restaurant, 2087 Marlton Pike East, Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 (856-888-1578), on Sunday, January 20, 2019. Tommy greeted us and remembered us, even though we've only been once before. That was nice!

Shared appetizers:

Summer Rolls-Ken didn't want too much seafood, so no shrimp. The pork was good, but Ken wishes it were grilled. Large rolls, which were fresh and tasty. The peanut sauce was addictive.

Vietnamese Crepe with Sautéed Prawns & Pork Belly. We always try the crepe when it's offered. This is very good!

Entrees:

Ken always craves Banh Mi. He devoured the Grilled Pork. It was recommended that he try the rotisserie chicken next time. He was tempted to get a second sandwich, but changed his mind.

Jay enjoyed the Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Lemongrass Soup) with brisket and Cha Lua (Vietnamese Pork Sausage-quite tasty). She finished half and took the rest home for dinner. So flavorful; nothing else was needed.

No wine this time. We enjoyed two pots of hot tea.

We'll be back soon! Need to try the sizzling dishes.

Il Villaggio (Birthday Lunch)

We met great friends Karin and George for Jay and Karin's joint birthday at Il Villaggio, 211 Haddonfield-Berlin Road, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 (856-795-1778), on Friday, January 4, 2019, for our monthly 3 hour+ lunch. As always, we had a fantastic time! We love sitting by the fireplace for our birthday lunch! Ask for Lauren - she's the BEST!

The bread is always warm and crusty...

We shared appetizers.

Jay and George shared the oysters. Meaty and delicious!

We all shared the broccoli rabe and sausage, which Ken loves...

We tried the Caesar Salad Villaggio, with shrimp and crabmeat. Fresh and delicious!

Entrees:

Ken and George each had the Veal Saltimbucco (not on menu - ask for it!) Ken ordered two scallops with his meal, which were cooked to PERFECTION!

Jay and Karin were a bit full, and each had the shrimp bisque special. It was a bit salty for our taste, but very flavorful...

We ordered the Pistachio Panna Cotta for dessert, which was heavenly...

and received cannolis for our birthdays...
Crispy and yummy!

Wines enjoyed:

Vientiane Cafe (Philly Favorite!)

We met our good friends, Karin and George, for our monthly lunch, on Saturday, December 15, 2018, and had a good time at Vientiane Cafe, 4728 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19143 (215-726-1095).

We shared many plates:

Fresh Spring Rolls - soft rice paper with herbs and vermicelli, served with tangy tamarind and sweet chili sauce topped with crushed peanuts. Both tofu and shrimp.

Crispy Spring Rolls - filled with noodles, cabbage, shiitake mushrooms. Served with house sauce. We always order the duck. Today's were especially "ducky." Yum!

The wings are outstanding...

The Naam salad was salty this time, so we couldn't finish. Too bad, because it's our favorite!

Banh-Xeo - Asian crepe stuffed with beansprouts, onions, and carrots, with scallions and house sauce. We ordered the shrimp.

Beef jerky is another favorite. Nothing like homemade...

The Homemade Laotian Sausages, stuffed with chopped pork, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, served with steamed vegetable with a spicy roasted garlic chili sauce and sticky rice (which we didn't eat - we were getting full).

We also stopped at Vietnam Cafe, for Crispy Spring Rolls (ground pork, onions, mushrooms, lettuce, picked daikon, mint leaves, chili vinegar dipping sauce) and Grilled Pork Rolls (rice paper, rice noodles, grilled pork, lettuce, bean sprouts, basil, hoisin peanut dipping sauce). So good!

Wines enjoyed:

ITA 101

We met friends Zach and Diane for dinner at ITA 101, 20 South Main Street, Medford, NJ 08055 (609-654-0101), on Saturday, December 1, 2018. We had to wait a few minutes for a table to become available for our 7:45pm reservation, but it was worth it!

The bread is crusty outside and tender inside, served with olive oil. We ask for pepper flakes, which makes it a bit more special.


Appetizers

Jay, Diane, and Zach each enjoyed the Candereli in Brodo (bread dumplings, chicken broth, qual egg) weekend special. Jay described it as having stuffing in a soup. Slightly crispy outside, and tender inside, the quail egg was a nice touch. The broth was amazing on its own. Delicious!

Ken enjoyed the Focaccia con Prosciutto e Mozzarella di Bufala (focaccia, prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, picked garlic scapes).

Entrees

Diane and Jay were extremely satisfied with the Risotto con Radicchio, Taleggio, Anatra (duck breast, risotto, radicchio, taleggio). Wonderful!

Zach enjoyed the Spaghetti con Nero di Seppia (squid ink spaghetti with scallops, shrimp, broccoli, EVOO, garlic, light spice).

Ken was extremely happy with Pesce del Giorno (scallops, coco beans, broccoli).

Dessert

Diane always enjoys the Tiramisu. The presentation is a treat in itself. The espresso she enjoyed before desert smelled heavenly.

Ken loves apples, so he enjoyed the Torte della Nonna all Mele ("grandmother's cake, apples, vanilla), served slightly warm. Just the right amount of sweetness.

Wines enjoyed:

We didn't get to this one, but will save for another meal...

Bistro Southeast (Philly Again!)

Our monthly lunch with Karin and George brought us back to one of our favorites, Bistro Southeast, 1824 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146 (267-758-2838), on Saturday, November 10, 2018. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch (3 1/2 hours this time!).

We shared many delicious plates. Everything was fresh and tasty. We are never disappointed!

Bistro Southeast and Thai Chili Wings:

Salt & Pepper Shrimp

Lobster Fried Rice

Lemongrass Beef Skewers

Vietnamese BBQ Pork Banh Mi (we always look forward to this!)

Wines enjoyed: