Origin - Morristown, N.J.

A few weeks ago, I visited Boney out in Morristown, NJ.  It was surprisingly lively in the streets of Mo-town but we ducked into a great French Thai restaurant, Origin.  We sat downstairs in a dimly lit dining room that was packed.  As we walked over to our table, I saw the different delicious treats that sat on everyone’s table and I knew we were in the right place.

We decided to share the appetizer special, Shrimp and Scallop Dumplings. 

They were steamed and served with a soy vinaigrette dipping sauce.  The dumplings were thinly wrapped, but bursting with flavor.  There was a hearty portion of shrimp and scallop in each bite. I could also taste the ginger and scallions. Every ingredient was perfectly balanced and the soy vinaigrette was the perfect enhancer.  The appetizer as incredible and I couldn’t wait for the main course.  Boney ordered the Pad See Ew with beef.

She noted that it is her favorite dish and she has had it at Origin a few times. It is a simple dish mixed in with Chinese broccoli.  I ordered Pad Kee Maow.

This was no ordinary Pad Kee Maow. It was spicy and served with chicken, shrimp AND squid. There was a mix of red peppers, spicy green peppers and basil. The flavors were incredible. The broad noodles were perfectly cooked and thankfully they weren’t drenched in sauce – sometimes that mistake is made. The only thing odd about this dish was that there was some lettuce at the bottom of the noodles.  I’m not sure why, perhaps that was to combat the spice. I have no issues with spice so I found the lettuce to be an unnecessary distraction.

Overall Origin was fantastic! I can’t believe such a gem exists in Morristown.  I will certainly return to try other items on their menu.

Hungry yet?

Meiwah

Since she absconded the NYC jurisdiction earlier this year, Ms. S is now one of my DMV peeps. She was taking a leisurely lunch so she joined me for a feast at Meiwah. In my quest to find a restaurant halfway between us, I discovered Meiwah.  

It was still warm enough so we sat outside. It was pretty crowded but didn't take too long for our waitress to stop by and take our order. Although I generally don't like to share, it seemed the logical thing to do at a place where I wanted everything off the menu. We started with the Combination Lo Mein.

It's usually a mixture of beef, chicken and shrimp. We went beefless and it was still fantastic. I have to admit any place that thinks to offer a combination ranks high on my list. I mean why should I have to choose?! We also ordered the Hunan chicken.

Spectacular! The flavors were right and the crunch assured me that the veggies were fresh not frozen. At the end of the meal our plates were empty. My mouth is watering a little as I write this entry. They were kind enough to bring us a few slices of orange after they cleared our plates. They looked so good that I ate some before I photographed it. Oops!

Meiwah definitely hit the spot. It is the perfect place for lunch. Though I don't know that I would want to go back to work as full as I felt, but it was too hard to resist cleaning my plate.

Hungry yet?

Do Hwa

I've been trying to get a little more variety in the types of cuisine I try when I go out to eat. So when blackboard eats had a coupon for Do Hwa I quickly grabbed the offer. Of course Bestie is always willing to try new places with me so we happily venture to the Korean restaurant.

Located in the village, it was a bit of a hike but on a convenient subway line so it was an easy trip. We walked into the dimly lit restaurant and were initially in the bar area which is separate from the main dining room. The hostess is on the other end of the bar so the poor set up was initially confusing. Once we got past that part, we were seated at the best table in the house. We happily settled in then attacked the menu. We were in agreement about ordering Mul Mandu to start.

The home-style boiled kimchi and shrimp dumplings were incredible. They were stuffed full of shrimp and kimchi. They had a spicy kick at the end of each bite. The dumpling wrapper was extremely light and there was never a point where I felt I was eating wrapper with no filling. I was truly sad when I ate my last bite because it was just that good. While we were waiting for our entrees, our sides arrived.

The entrees are served with seasonal side dishes. It was quite the spread that they brought out for us.  

Candied daikon and squid, jellied mungbean, 

Bean sprouts and broccoli 

then of course the cabbage and kim chi. 

Bestie ordered the Heymul gook su.  

Those sautéed udon noodles with shrimp and squid can be made spicy or not.  Obviously she chose spicy. The udon was remarkable. They were buttery goodness and definitely left sweetness to the spice. The shrimp tasted like it was just plucked out of the ocean, as did the squid. I definitely had a case of food envy! 

My entree the Dak Dori Tang eventually arrived.

The chicken stewed in chili sauce with potatoes and carrots was spectacular. They used dark meat, which made all the difference because the stew was quite filling and I actually ended up eating the rest the next day and it was spectacular.

We were stuffed silly by the time we finished so we couldn't even head across the street to Sweet Revenge. They did give us a slice of a Blood Orange to wrap up the meal.

The meal was incredible. When most people think about Korean food they think about BBQ. While Do Hwa does offer BBQ, you shouldn't feel limited to just that part of the menu.

Hungry yet?

Penang Malaysian & Thai Cuisine

I love Thai food so any opportunity I have to try a new Thai restaurant is always a pleasure. This particular occasion was more joyful because we were celebrating the future Mrs. S. I was thrilled when her bridesmaids selected this restaurant. Tucked away on main street in Lodi, NJ this restaurant isn't much on the outside but has a very well decorated interior. The food at Penang was spectacular. We started with a few appetizers. The Chicken Satay was one of the favorites.

I usually steer clear of chicken satay because the idea of chicken on a stick doesn't really appeal to me. Also, the few times I've ordered it I've been terribly disappointed. This time, I loved it!! The chicken was tender and well seasoned. The peanut sauce was also unlike any I've ever had. Simply divine! The favorite appetizer at my table was the Roti Telur.

Everyone snatched the light pieces of roti as soon as it hit the table. The sauce was perfectly spiced. Potatoes make me happy and so does chicken so tasting both in one bite brought pure joy to my taste buds and my stomach. I was a huge fan. After overstuffing ourselves on appetizers, we were slightly overwhelmed when the entrees began to arrive...and wouldn't stop! The arrival of the Mango chicken immediately stopped the conversation.

The brightness of it was enough to make me oooh and aaah. Placement of the chicken in the mango was also quite creative. The taste did live up to the presentation. I've never had mango chicken before, but I'm certain this won't be my last time. The Thai Basil Noodle came out shortly after.

I expected this to be my favorite dish, but it wasn't. There was just a pinch of salt missing but it was evident in every bite which made it hard to ignore.The Vegetable Fried Rice also suffered from the same plight.

I understand people are health conscious these days and don't want to be shoving  spoonfuls of salt into their mouth, but geez give me a break. A little salt goes a long way! The Scallion Beef was a favorite of many at the table.

Obvs I didn't try it but it sure did look good! The Coconut Fried Rice was something special.

I can recall the taste quite vividly as I write this entry. The large juicy shrimp were perfectly cooked with the rice, coconut, ginger and a perfect blend of spices that was mouthwateringly good. I was thrilled when another plate landed on our table. The celebration was perfected with a beautiful cake.

I LOVE CAKE. Especially delicious Red Velvet. 

It was absolutely delicious. So good that I couldn't help myself and started eating it before I took a picture. Penang had a lot to offer and I was happy that the celebration included so many marvelous treats. I know there are other outposts of Penang more conveniently located and I look forward to sampling them soon.

Hungry yet? 

Szechuan Gourmet

A little over a year ago, Ms. P (of Banana Bread fame) came to town from her temporary exile in Texas and introduced me to Szechuan Gourmet. The szechuan spot in NYC. Ms. P was back in town this past weekend and a group of us met for another fantastic meal at SG. Ms. P practices her Chinese while ordering so I asked her to call out the numbers so I could try to get down exactly what we ate. I was only partially successful. I hope that she, or any of the other diners will correct me if I misnamed anything. We ordered a lot of food, so bare with me as I go through this mostly in the order they arrived.  The first was a number I didn't hear but apparently it was Cellophane noodles with White Peppercorn and Spinach.

It goes without saying that it was spicy, I mean come on it's szechuan.  However, it wasn't just the spice that I tasted, the noodles were amazing! I am not sure I've ever had those kind of noodles before, but I instantly fell in love. I went back in for several more bowls as did my co-diners. In fact, we ended up asking for the rest to stay at our table so we could use it as a sauce for other dishes.  The next dish to arrive was  #16 Smoked Tofu Shreds with Asian Celery.

I won't lie I thought about just hitting pass on this one, and in fact that's what I initially did. But then I figured, it's on the lazy susan and I'm hungry so why not spin it my way. I started with a couple of pieces of celery. WOW. It tasted crunchy, fresh, almost refreshing even. Tofu is not on my list of favorites so I took a small bite and decided I would stick to the celery. Fantastic! I was definitely sad when that ended. The Pea Shoots arrived next.

They barely got any love from the table, not because we don't like vegetables but because there was so much else for us to eat. I mean come on the String Beans showed up almost at the same time.

String beans are a classic and definitely very delicious, but hands down the consensus favorite was #97 the Stir Fried Sea Scallops with roasted chili peanut.

I must admit when they first arrived I was a little skeptical. I usually like my Scallops Seared but man these scallops were incredible! They were bursting with flavor.  I could actually taste the scallop and the slightly crispy layer was light enough that I didn't feel like I was eating fried food. The off the menu Szechuan Pepper Chicken (I think I just made up that name) was AMAZING!

The bite size pieces of chicken are incredibly spicy. The dish mostly consists of peppers so you have to be a little careful when digging in. Mr. W almost had an incident when he dove in too fast with his chopsticks but luckily his reflexes kicked in quickly enough to get rid of the pepper. Although Mr. K didn't want to "hear about how good the animal flesh is" I couldn't help but raaaave about this dish. #91 was the sleeper hit of the table.

Braised fish fillet with sweet vinegar sauce. I must admit I had my reservations about eating something so pale at a szechuan restaurant. However, the lack of spice did not affect the excellent execution of this dish. The fish was moist and the sweet vinegar sauce was a refreshing alternative to the heat from the other dishes. The Lamb Chili Cumin probably brought the best aroma to the table.

Sometimes I think cumin should come as cologne. I could follow that scent all day. Most at the table were in agreement that the lamb was extremely flavorful. I was only able to appreciate the scent not the taste. The late arrival to our table was the most colorful addition.

The Eggplant showed up well after I had tapped out of the meal. Luckily, Ms. D and Ms. P went all in so the eggplant was not ignored.

Oh Szechuan Gourmet you really are a gem. There is another outpost on west 56th which is close to my office so take out is a possibility. But I must admit this is a restaurant that is best when multiple dishes are shared and friends as fabulous as mine are at the table. 

But I don't think I can wait another year to go back to Szechuan Gourmet. Hopefully Ms. P's return to NYC is only a few months away!

Hungry yet?

Bangkok Thai Dining

After checking into my hotel, I realized I had some time to kill before the crew would arrive.  I was famished so working wasn’t an option.  I decided to walk around and see what P Street had to offer.  I stumbled upon Bangkok Thai Dining and after the so-so experience at Pam Real Thai earlier in the week, I was still craving Thai.  They were advertising a lunch special, but upon evaluating the options and the full menu, I realized that there were better items that weren’t on the lunch menu that would cost roughly the same.  I started with Tom Yum Soup with Chicken.

The chicken was flavorless.  It was quite obvious that they had previously cooked up these pieces of chicken and added it to the broth after the fact.  Shameful.  The broth was great and I would have loved it if the chicken had some of that flavor.  My Drunken Noodle with Shrimp arrived soon after.

It’s always disheartening when I am able to count the number of shrimp on my plate.  Four is all Bangkok Dining was willing to spare.  Thankfully the noodles were flavorful enough that I barely noticed the lack of shrimp.  The noodles included jalapenos and sweet basil leaves.  Jalapenos were a welcome addition and guaranteed that this drunken noodle would be spicy.  I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed my meal at Bangkok Thai Dining.  Since I stumbled upon it, I didn’t have high hopes but in the end I’m glad I went in there.

Hungry yet?

Pam Real Thai Food

After attending opening night of an off-Broadway show last week, MM and I were famished.  Our mutual love for Thai food made it pretty easy to figure out what we were going to eat.  It was only a matter of where.  As we walked up 9^th avenue, we eventually decided on Pam Real Thai.  If you recall, I went to its sister restaurant with Bestie a couple of months ago.  It turns out I’ve actually been to this location before, about a year ago.  I was looking forward to the dining experience however it was less than remarkable.  Perhaps I hyped it up but in truth I think they just didn’t do their best.  We decided to share three dishes.  The Shrimp Yellow Curry Fried Rice was first to arrive.

A delightful and colorful dish filled with flavor and featuring two of my favorite items, shrimp and rice.  I was quite satisfied with this dish and felt the rest of our dining experience held promise.  Next the Stir Fried Long Hot Pepper with Chicken arrived.

It certainly sounded like it would be good when we read it on the menu.  It was fine.  Not good, not bad, just fine.  I really was hoping it would pack a punch.  The green peppers did a lot to boost each bite but I felt the sauce was lacking.  After we finished the dish, we fully expected our next dish to arrive.  Instead we waited, and waited, and waited.  Finally our check arrived.  WHAT?! We stared at the server with a puzzled look and he stared back then realizing the error apologized and asked us if we still wanted the dish.  Umm, duh, of course we do!  Our Kai arrived and I wondered why we had bothered.

Stir fried chicken with flat rice noodles with Gaelic onions and Thai style hot sauce on the side.  What a mistake.  The dish was so onion heavy it was almost unappetizing.   The noodles lacked flavor and the side of hot sauce was awkward.  I just kept wondering why they didn’t cook it in the sauce.  What a waste.  We had a few bites then gave up.  Upon reflection I realize that our experience at Pam wasn’t actually that bad, but ending on a sour note definitely left me feeling wanting.  At least I got to spend time with MM, which was nice.

Hungry yet?

Little Thai Kitchen

In light of recent events, I've been spending a lot of time with my Borella.  Understandably, we've mostly had take out from the restaurants in his neck of the woods.  Oddly enough, some of them are kind of good. While not all of them are blog worthy, I will give a quick mention to my favorite one so far and perhaps name some others in subsequent posts this week.

I desperately wanted Thai food (shock) so I started perusing urbanspoon, seamless web and menupages.  Eventually I ended up selecting Little Thai Kitchen.  I remember walking by it one day and being intrigued.  The lunch specials arrived about 40 minutes after we placed the order.  I wasn't thrilled about the wait but figured it must be a sign that they're busy or something.

The lunch special is $11, a little more than I'm used to at other Thai places, but I thought maybe they were serving something special.  The Tom Yum Soup was certainly special.

A spicy tangy soup with lemongrass, tomatoes, mushroom and shrimp.  I was really impressed with this soup. I've had quite a few bowls of tom yum and this one certainly ranks among the top 3.  For my entree, I ordered chicken basil medium spicy.

I was pleased with the spiciness and various vegetables.  The carrots were a nice touch.  The rice was less than impressive. Inedible even.  Demerits for poorly cooked rice.  My Borella ordered curry puffs for his entree.

They were definitely not up to par.  As a frequent consumer of curry puffs, I was quite disappointed.  This one was greasy, too much dough and not enough filling.  The drunken noodle was better, but still not great.

A little greasy but ample portion and different vegetables than the usual.  Love me some baby corn!  The best part of drunken noodle is that it is a simple dish.  This one is not simple so if you're into traditional drunken noodle, beware.

It's hard to rate take out because part of reviewing restaurants is getting a feel fore the service and also the presentation of the dishes. But alas, sometimes that's what you're left with.  As the winter months come closer, I anticipate many more nights of cooking and perhaps a few involving take out.  Little Thai Kitchen was okay.  With all the Thai restaurants in the city, I wouldn't rush to this one.  It's more expensive than the ones I've been to and doesn't offer the same quality of food.  Perhaps it's an east side thing, I've never really been a fan though.

Hungry yet?

Pure Thai Shophouse

I probably frequent Thai restaurants more than any other type.  While I’m always looking to try a new one, I was especially excited to try Pure.  It is the brainchild of the same people who created Land.  It is a short walk from my office and I can already tell it’s going to be a problem.  I went there on Thursday and was looking forward to writing about it, but I enjoyed it so much I decided I would go there on Friday as well.  I know, I know. But I ordered different things both days so you get the benefit of seeing lots of items J

Pure is a fairly small restaurant that seats about 40 including the counter seats.  On my first trip, I sat on the counter seat towards the back.  I ordered the Chicken Curry Puffs.

They are just like the ones at Land…perfect!  Caramelized chicken, onion and sweet potatoes stuffed in a flaky crust accompanied by a cucumber relish.  My server was super sweet and recommended that I order the Ratchaburi Crab & Pork Dry Noodle.  I ordered it sans pork.

The handmade egg noodle with lump crab meat, yu choy (a lot like Chinese broccoli) and scallions.  It also had a little bit of broth at the bottom.  The noodles were perfect and it was a decent serving of crab meat.  The meal was delicious and I was so happy – which is why I returned the next day.  We started with the Vegetable Spring Rolls.

Filled with shitake mushroom, jicama, and glass noodles and served with Thai chili plum sauce.  I’m usually not a fan of vegetable spring rolls, but this one was actually pretty good.  We also shared Jungle Curry Fried Rice with Chicken.

Woweee long hot chili, string beans, snow pea, Thai basil and jungle curry sauce.  Umm, this may have been the best fried rice I’ve ever had.  You know how much I love jungle curry.  I end up eating it with rice anyway, so this was the perfect blend.  Lots of fire too so don’t play with it if you don’t enjoy spice.  For my entrée, I ordered the Wok Roasted Chili with Shrimp.

Chinese broccoli, asparagus, yu choy in roasted chili paste sauce.  This actually tasted pretty sweet not spicy.  It was good, but the first piece of shrimp was not fully cooked.  Tsk tsk.   Mr. A ordered the Ratchaburi avec pork.

A little more colorful than what I ordered the day before but apparently was also delicious.

Pure is definitely my new favorite and I will return often.  Keep in mind that they have a $15 minimum for credit cards.  You’re not likely to spend $15 unless you go there for dinner or order multiple entrées and appetizers. 

Hungry yet?