Starr Does it Again...Asian Style!

Buddakkan

325 Chestnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19106

http://www.buddakan.com/ 

On this blog over a year ago, I had a survey posted for a while trying to get some feedback on where readers wanted me to go next. I told everyone I would go to the place that won the 2 week long contest. I took the results of that inquiry, and took my girlfriend out to Buddakkan recently for a nice night out because you all voted for it! I love getting feedback from readers and I really love trying places that they recommend for me, so keep it coming if you have suggestions!

I had wanted to try Buddakkan for quite some time. I had heard a lot about it, particularly about the Dip Sum Donuts for dessert, and my girlfriend and I rarely eat Asian food, so it was a nice change of pace. It is weird to think about because she grew up in Asia, but we were quite excited to be going out for it this particular evening.

The decor is pretty dark inside, really perfect for a romantic celebration, but everything is very modern and the crowd is young and energetic. It was packed from the moment we stepped in the door, and it continued to be so as it has pretty much every night since it opened. My girlfriend and I began perusing the menu and ordered a couple of Asian beers while we decided; a Beerlao and a Kirin light. Both great beers, we were quite happy with our choices, and decided on the rest of our meal as well. We chose to share the Peking duck buns for an appetizer, the Mongolian barbeque beef short rib with braised shitakes and choy sum for our main course, Dungeness crab sticky rice, and the dip sum donuts and milk chocolate caramel tart for dessert. 

I thought the Peking duck buns were pretty fantastic, but my girlfriend wasn’t very impressed. The buns were light and airy, and the duck was nice and tender. The Mongolian barbequed beef short rib was melt in your mouth tender. However, they weren’t lying when they said rib. There was only one, and I was a little pissed because it cost 27 dollars. The Dungeness crab sticky rice was the star of the show for me. There was tons of it, and it was amazing. Spicy from the x.o. sauce, sweet from the Dungeness crab, and salty from the soy sauce, I could have eaten a whole other giant mound of it. 

For dessert I was in heaven. I wasn’t too full, so I was pretty excited for it to begin with, but I had heard so much about the donuts from both my family who had tried them and Marc Summers who said it was one of the best things he had ever eaten on the Food Network. They were accompanied by three dipping sauces, blackberry, chocolate, and cream cheese. All three were the perfect accompaniments to the donuts, but the blackberry sauce really blew me away. I don’t usually like fruity donuts, but man this was phenomenal. The caramel tart was really fantastic as well. It was luscious and rich, and the crust was the perfect addition to the creamy nature of the tart. The real kicker to the whole dessert was the jasmine vanilla ice cream. It was so packed with vanilla flavor that I wanted to lick my plate clean.

While we had a great meal and time at Buddakkan, my girlfriend and I had a discussion about Asian dining in general. She said based on growing up in Asia and eating a lot of Asian food and not having to pay much for it, she really hadn’t found a fine dining Asian restaurant that she felt was worth it for the price that you wind up paying. I had to agree. Asian food is much better in my opinion when you go to a better source such as Chinatown and get it there. The price point is much lower, the food is more authentic, and the overall experience is just much more relaxing and in my opinion much more worth it. That being said, Buddakkan is an absolute star in the show of restauranting. They offer phenomenal food and a phenomenal experience, and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back. Go out there and try it and let me know how it is! Cheers!