King Tut

We were in the mood for Turkish food, and were going to Philly anyway, and a quick search pulled up several places. I picked King Tut because it was closest to my friend's house and also because of its contemporary decor. I like to eat with my eyes, so good ambiance is a plus!

On Foursquare, a few people described the owner as charismatic and I have to say that is an understatement. Before he took our order, he first showered my daughter and myself with a ton of compliments, kidding with my husband that to have two beautiful women in his life is quite a blessing. I have to laugh because my family is quite easygoing, and I wonder how non-friendly people react to such saccharine service!

We brought our own bottle of bordeaux which went well with our meal. Since service was laid back, we took our time and enjoyed ourselves. Everything looked good so we ordered two of the larger plates. One was the King's Mazzeh, which was served with warm pita bread in a basket and small servings of hummus, baba ganouj, grape leaves, falafel, labneh, and mouhamara. There was something for everyone. The falafel was kid friendly, more so because of its texture than its taste. Everything else was really tasty, especially the baba ganouj and mouhamara (which tasted like Indian food and had nuts in it).

For our main, we had Mashawi, which was the mixed grill that included chicken, kafta, and lamb chops. It came with rice and salad. The rice was a little oily for me, but the salad was good and hearty with tomatoes, red onions, and lettuce. Unfortunately, I did not get a good photo of this entree!

Overall, our dining experience was pleasant, different, and warm. We will come back again, and again.

Birra

East Passyunk Avenue hosted its first Restaurant Week, and I was fortunate enough to partake on its last day. Three price points for lunch & dinner were offered: $15, $25, and $35. I narrowed down my selection to the middle, and chose Birra because of its contemporary offerings. While others offered salad as a first course, Birra offered seared octopus; another place offered chicken pot pie, while Birra offered stuffed pork chop; and while others offered a choice of one dessert, Birra just gave you a smart sampling of three desserts.

Come to think of it, the Restaurant Week menu read more like a tasting menu to entice first-time diners like me to return. There was not a bad note in any of the dishes, and in fact, the flavors were bold without being too offensive. Two big flavor bursts were the garlic in the aoili and the peppers in the chocolate brownie. Aside from the interesting menu, there is a huge beer selection, and a decent wine and cocktails menu. 

The place itself felt small because it was bursting at the seams with lively customers. Service was spotty but pleasant; dessert was brought out when I was still working on my entree, and we were always one silverware short. We got mixed messages because the waitress seemed to rush us, while the manager was very friendly and welcoming. Usually I like to linger when I am having dessert and drinking my coffee, but this place, due to its noise level and tightness, is not conducive for that.

I'll still come back for the food though, despite all that!

Rhong Tiam

It was a good day and I wanted to celebrate. Rhong Tiam had been around for a while, but I just never had any reason to dine in that area of Plainsboro, which has a general Asian market, an Indian market, an Indian bakery, an Indian restaurant, and a pizzeria. In short, I had little to no expectations from Rhong Tiam.

Good thing I was craving Thai food and that I remembered this place, because we would've gone to Princeton and missed out on a great opportunity. As soon as I stepped into Rhong Tiam's small foyer, I was transported to a place not associated with Plainsboro... urban chic. The interior design is outstanding, with concrete and pebbles in the floor, deep colored woods, and bubblegum pops of color.

We ordered two lunch specials priced at $10 each and came with hot & sour soup. I ordered the pineapple fried rice because it included shrimp, scallops, squid, cashew nuts, and raisins. I was happily surprised when it came, as it was fragrant and flavorful. My husband ordered beef with crispy basil leaves. It was fun because of the texture, and sweet in taste, which is typical for some Thai dishes. The only disappointment was that it was ground beef.

I scoped out the party room because this is definitely a place I will return to for a special occasion. The manager said we can order a la carte or plan a special party menu. Always a plus is that it is BYOB!

Payag

I am sorry I waited so long to eat here. I was so traumatized by Cendrillon that I vowed never to eat fancy Filipino food ever again. The only time I'd go to a Filipino restaurant is to get pork BBQ because that's the one thing that no restaurant can do wrong.

However, this is my good friend's favorite place, and she had already asked me too many times to decline any more. The plan was actually to go someplace else, but the wait was so long, she insisted we go to Payag, where she said there is never a wait. Of course, that didn't sound like a good thing, but then I realized when we got to Payag that the reason there's no wait is because the place is huge.

The reason I am sorry for waiting so long? Payag is amazing. It struck many nostalgic chords in the adult, Filipino me. The one who frequented high-end places in Metro Manila with friends and cousins, and became more and more impressed with the contemporary aesthetics of Filipinos in the Philippines. From the rattan seats to the banig wall hanging to the high ceilings, Payag reminded me of the city chic that one would find in Makati.

As for the food, yes it is higher priced than usual Filipino food, but it is not OVER priced. You really get what you pay for. At Cendrillon, all the food had Filipino names, but when they arrived they were unrecognizable. At Payag, everything had a twist that can be appreciated. My friend ordered the chicken adobo and the twist was the crunchy yet sticky texture; I order halaan soup and the twist was lemongrass. Otherwise, the soup was exactly how my lola used to make it: clean and simple broth with sharp flavors, to bring out the taste of the clams.

Even though I'm late to Payag, I'm happy to have discovered this home away from home.

SriPraPhai

Photo update from Sunday lunch with family, to celebrate my nephews' birthdays. Everything was delicious. We ordered Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee with tapioca; most places don't serve it with tapioca, so that was a treat. We dined family style on a variety of appetizers: chicken satay, fried calamari; and noodles: drunk man, pad thai, egg noodles; and other great dishes: curry chicken and curry shrimp, honey pork, garlic chicken, and crispy pork. I'm sure there was more, but I can't remember them all. There was not a bad note in any of the dishes we ordered, and despite our large group of 30, service was fairly smooth.

* Original post below from June 14, 2012 *

Last week, a friend texted me to ask if this place was worth standing on line for. I told her to just go back another day, preferably any day from Monday-Thursday. I hadn't been there for over two years, and last I recall, I wasn't too impressed. But her husband was adamant in waiting on line, and about an hour later, she texts to tell me it was good and that she'd go back again.

When my sister suggested it to our dad for his birthday, I got a little squeamish. Of all the places, why this one, after I had just gave a less than stellar review of it to someone else? The draw for my family was the same as the others... fun, lively joint, with outdoor seating in a garden with a fountain, plus good, cheap food.

Actually, when I got out to the back, I kind of felt like I was in the Philippines, with the plastic tablecloth and the humidity. The menu was pretty extensive, and I was thankful for being an early bird in a party of 14. I was starting to realize why this place is so popular, though I was resistent. And I was kind of disappointed that we had brought a cake because it meant I couldn't try any of the desserts listed on three pages in the back of the menu, including black sticky rice in coconut milk.

Pictured below is just a sampling of what we ordered. I not only was unable to take pictures of everything, but sadly, I wasn't able to taste everything either.

Starters: fried calamari, papaya salad, curry beef puffs, fried egg rolls

Fried whole red snapper with ginger sauce

Shrimp pad Thai, crunchy pork, sausage dish, pad see ew

Family Favorite: Casa Rosaria's

We didn't make any Valentine's day plans, and my parents ended up joining us for dinner, so we went with a no-brainer-- Casa Rosaria's. It was great! We brought a fancy bottle, even though it is a casual Italian place, with a pizzeria attached. We just walked there from home, and stumbled back after.

I still can't remember the owner's name, even though we are there all the time. But whatever his name is, we love to see his welcoming face and hear his voice greeting us! Sometimes I pick up just a slice or two, or a whole pie with chicken wings, or we eat lunch or dinner, and share their plentiful pasta plates. It's like a restaurant-doll, you can dress it up or down depending on your mood!

For love day, we had the following (and still had tons left over):

Fried calamari (needed more salt, but fried well)

Mozzarella sticks (kid's favorite)

White Margherita pie (best pie ever! Love the fresh garlic & ricotta in it)

Shrimp scampi over pasta (tasta was an interesting combo of scampi with marsala)

Veal sorrento (fun because it had prosciutto and eggplant)

Cheesecake (tasted like ice cream cake, because it wasn't defrosted enough, but it was yummy)

Tiramisu (individually served in a dessert cup)

Of course, there was salad with the pasta and unlimited bread... nice & warm, fresh from the oven.

Lastly, customer service is excellent here... we look forward to coming back again and again, and please wish me luck in getting the owner's name down next time!

Stelton Pizza

This place wasn't part of the plan at all. I had picked an Asian fusion place with wifi so that I could hang out with my laptop while I waited for my friend. Well, that place closed at 3pm because of shorter summer hours. The place next door looked shabby, so in the heat outside, I sat with my engine running to keep the AC on until my friend could suggest another place.

Stelton Pizza was up the road, so that's where we ended up parking ourselves. I had heard good things about this place, but I don't really go to this part of Piscataway, so I was glad to check it out. Upon entry, it struck me with its quirky 1970's charm of its wood paneling and 1980's slender black & mauve chairs. We sat in a booth since it was empty when we got there, and just one other table occupied when left.

The waitress was quirky, too. She was young and unsure, but was attentive without being overbearing, so our needs were met in a timely manner with a bunch of chuckles in between. She inspired me to go off the menu with meatballs in vodka sauce on angel hair pasta. My friend went with sausages in meat sauce. There was a Monday night special, but since I couldn't finish my food, I took the rest of it home and just paid full price.

Now onto the food! There was a sign outside that challenged diners to compare their food to that of chains. I wish more folks would take up this challenge because there is a lot to be said about local Italian places. Stelton Pizza offers up a humble flair that best matches its food, beginning with warm bread and butter, leading up to comforting pasta, and could end with a freshly filled cannoli, if you so desire. Aside from the molten lava cake, the other desserts are frozen then thawed, so I'd skip those.