Center City Restaurant Week is one of my favorite events in Philadelphia and it is the perfect way to try out a new restaurant or re-visit an old favorite. A three course dinner for $35 or lunch for $20, plus discount parking makes for a not to be missed bargain. It happens twice a year in winter and the fall.
Each year my friends and I make a point to get to a couple restaurants. This year for dinner we went to
Buddakan where I have been before, but was dying to go to again. Stephen Starr created a very cool vibe in the restaurant with the waterfall wall when you first walk in and you can not miss the ten foot Buddha in the center of the restaurant which perfects the scene.
We arrived a bit early so we snagged seats at the bar while we waited for out table and each enjoyed a Ven-Gria which is white peach, junmai sake, pinot grigio and ginger brandy. It was light, refreshing and served with a pretty flower in it- the perfect way to start the night.
We got seated fairly quickly upstairs and the only drawback was that we could not see the Buddha from where we were sitting. Next time I will make sure to request a table with a view. For my appetizer I ordered the chicken dumplings with a sesame dipping sauce. It was a generous serving of five dumplings and they were quite good. The dipping sauce complemented them just right. My friend had the house salad with a ginger dressing which she loved. I tried it and I especially liked the ginger dressing. Unfortunately, I did not get pictures of the appetizers.
For the main course I had the Sea Bass with haricots verts, butternut squash, maitake mushrooms and truffle jus which was cooked perfectly with a delicious combination of vegetables. The Asian flavored sauce on it was incredible and not overpowering.
My friend is vegan and ordered the Cashew Chicken with a plum wine sauce, but substituted tofu for the chicken and asked for the sauce on the side. The server was helpful and happy to accommodate her requests. Everything came out just as ordered and tasted great.
Finally, for the third course I picked the Crying Chocolate which is a warm chocolate cake with a soft center and Vietnamese coffee ice cream. I appreciated the pretty and simple presentation of the Crying Chocolate. It was rich, decadent chocolate and it paired up pleasantly with the coffee ice cream.
Once again it was no problem getting a vegan substitute for dessert which was not listed as a choice on the Restaurant Week menu. My friend had a trio of sorbets with fresh berries. I believe the flavors were orange, chocolate and raspberry. The bright colors were eye-catching and according to my friend they tasted even better then they looked.
Center City Restaurant Week at Buddakan for dinner was wonderful. This was my second time at Buddakan and each time I found the portion sizes to be very generous unlike some other restaurants who seem to scale back the portions during Restaurant Week. Check out Buddakan as soon as you can for the fun experience, hip atmosphere and superb modern Asian cuisine. You won't be sorry.
Look for another post soon about my Restaurant Week lunch.
