dumpling

Thanks Christine I'll be there Friday ready to scarf up my Korean beef suggestion. And I'll try to make it in as well for the Peking Duck-that sounds like a great one too.

Lodos' thing is a Friday night, so that''s not the preferable night.

Went to Bhoj yesterday for lunch for the first time. The buffet was a nice selection- chicken curry, channa masala, paneer makhani, tandoori chicken, dal, pappadum and assorted dips were among the selections. Apart from the tandoori chicken being a bit dry and the naan a bit greasy, I thought their interpretations quite nice, particularly the chicken curry, the channa masala, and the makhani. They got a write up in the Star Ledger that knocked their rice pudding. Alan very much liked it. We both thought you can't compare it to an american rice pudding, it's a different animal. This had nice milky flavor with little slivered almonds. almost tapioca like in its nature. The mango lassi was delicious and not overly yogurty as I have found in others that I have tried. The tea flavored like a strong chai was also good(once I got it). <s> The drinks were extra. They change their selections daily and for $7.95 for their lunch buffet, you can't really go wrong. The flavors pop in your mouth here and that's a good thing. Their management aims to please and is on the ball. So this is looks like a good bet for exploration and very receptive to diner input.

Lodos in New Milford has a belly dancer show and good food; check the day though, don't know if it would coincide with your birthday.

Give Lotus Cafe another thought. It's right off of Rt 4. Even if you built in 10 minutes each way(figuring time in and out of the buildings), they serve pretty quickly because they are used to business lunch traffic. You could even order ahead of time and have it ready for you for when you anticipate you will arrive. Just ask them and I'm sure they would go for that; but in any event they can prepare stuff pretty quickly if you ask. If it's there when you get there then you have 25 minutes for a leisurely lunch. I've gone there from Oradell and been done in under an hour, and Oradell is further than where you are. There's Namaskaar(Indian) a few minutes further up Rt 4 but I'm thinking that's too far. But I think they have a buffet, so everything would be ready for you. What about White Manna in Hackensack on River Road? Is that too far? On Cedar Lane, next to the Veggie Heaven is Taipei Noodle House. That has some decent stuff. There's also another Chinese place not too far away from there that was also not bad(name escapes me-something Hunan), I think a couple of blocks closer to you. Some thoughts...

Alan and I went to the Kosher Nosh in Glenrock. Had a lovely lunch. We had a combination corned beef and pastrami on rye sandwich with Russian dressing on the side. They have coleslaw, pickles and other salad items in the back of the restaurant; we combined some of the coleslaw and Russian dressing on the sandwich. Accompanied by kashka varnishkes with gravy on the side. Both things were very nice. Thinking fondly of it now; still have some of the sandwich and kashka in my refrigerator. Good place to explore the menu and make your stomach happy. <s>

So Picnic Chef it looks like all the ones that I was thinking off are no longer around so you would be the only one in the area. The tea place/scone shop that used to be in Westwood did have a clientele and some really nice stuff. So you could conceivably pick up that clientele.

Christine There are a few I think in Bergen. There's the one in Westwood on Broadway across from the train station by the yarn shop(name escapes me), is that still there? I know one closed but didn't another open? And the Victoria in Teaneck and isn't there one off the main road by the train tracks in Ridgewood? That's an English one, with bangers. Not to dissuade you but just to let you know what is there. I like bangers and mash and bubble and squeak...

Gee thanks Christine Tell me what day, I will be there with bells on and maybe drag Alan along too.

HQ, that cake looks and sounds amazing! How did the inside work- were there too many flavors or did it meld well?

Christine I had the same idea as Jason of a bulgogi(or kalbi) wrap. Any chance that that might be on the horizon? Best, Dumpling

When I was on a burger kick I used to occasionally frequent Finnigan's for their cheeseburger. Good answer Picnic Chef. I think this place fits the criteria although I can't comment on the drinks other than to say that they do have them.

I third Lotus Cafe. mmmm....Lotus Delight. For lunch I love the Ta Loo Mein soup noodles. HUGE bowl for like 6 bucks. Great on a cold day. Also, I have enjoyed many Chinese New Year celebrations at Lotus and am never disappointed. Even though it goes against the majority of egullet posters preferences I prefer Lotus to C46. Unfortunately, their website, that is linked above, appears to be some quick generic cookie cutter website. It does not include the full menu. It is too bad because if you scrutinize their menu you will find that they are doing some special menu items that you might not easily find elsewhere in North Jersey. ← Oh yeah right Ta Loo Mein! That's great too. Thanks for mentioning that too. They actually have some nice creative stuff; but I don't think a lot of people understand that. Their New Year's menu for this year is interesting. I have a deep and continuing Jones for the Lotus Delight. <s> They are consistently good and I have been frequenting them for years.

I second Lotus Cafe. I like a lot of their stuff. The following particularly Pork and Pickled Cabbage Soup Lotus Delight Beef and Scallops South Pacific Prawns Lobster Roll Anonymouze, you could also try Silver Pond for dinner. I think the chicken with the ham dish of which you spoke is a not uncommon Cantonese banquet dish. I don't recall specifically but I'm willing to bet either they have it or would be willing to make it if you asked since they are Cantonese. They do serve a lovely chicken dish akin to that, that I had recently(but with garlic instead of ham) MMMMM!

Try Han Il Kwan in Fort Lee. Nice place, reasonable service, tons of food.

Don't get me wrong I like cha siu bao(big kid that I am). Just that I used to go in there all the time on Saturday after teaching my martial arts class and it seemed counterproductive to eat the bao right after that. Although I could make the argument that it was necessary replenishment. But it's considered good kids' food because the dough is nice and fluffy and easy for kids to eat.

I have been going here for over ten years(at least). dknyc, in answer to your questions: - it serves dim sum everyday from 11:30 to about 2:30, the circuit of choices should be underway by 11:45 or so. The dim sum during the week is fine, just not as big a selection as on the weekends. -you've been going at the busiest possible time. And no, they don't take reservations for dim sum. So go a little earlier or try going around 1:30. Or on Saturday. -yes most of the people have limited English at best. If you need to speak to a server who knows English try to grab the nice looking man in the glasses in the black uniform. His name is Kit and his English is excellent, tell him you're a friend of Ling's(that's me) and he can help you out. - All the dim sum is good but I would recommend my faves - the ha gow(shrimp dumpling), pai gwot(steamed little bits of sparerib served on the bone), yu chi gao(shark's fin dumpling), gai choi gao(the chive cake dumpling), seen jook gooen(bean curd skin wrapped roll), lao yook(beef ball). Additionally a Cantonese chow mein(pan fried noodle) is good. Salt and Pepper Shrimp(served in shell with heads on). Chinese broccoli(gai lan). I don't generally get(too many carbs for me) but for a five year old you could also try the steamed cha siu bao(roast pork bun); most kids like it.

Alan and I went to Stickey's today for lunch and scarfed down some beef ribs. MMM ! Good stuff. Juicy meat, nice crispy tasty ends; just the way a beef rib should be. We each got the half rack lunch combo which included two sides each for $10.95. So we had the mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, baked beans and collard greens. The sides were all nice, the baked beans uniquely tangy. Nice to spend some time chatting with Fink; he seems to be doing well. He gave us some fried bananas to test out. Looks like from Jason's pictures, we are going to have to try to get to the breakfast.

It's not Nola's; it's Pimaan, the Thai restaurant.

Lemons It's "Kirker's" in Hawthorne. Have heard that it is good, but I haven't been there.

Thanks for the invite Rachel. Looks like you guys had a nice time; lovely pictures Jason. I have the flu and have spent the New Year flat on my back unable to go out. So I am sorry I couldn't make it. I was a coughing festival for my loved ones at home who tortured me with unappetizing food and stories of all the things I was missing.

Just shared a lovely Christmas/Hanukah dinner yesterday with friends at the Silver Pond. Seafood Beancurd Soup Salt and Pepper Shrimp Peking Pork Chops Beef with sliced Gai lan Crispy Chicken with lots of chopped scallions, crispy garlic on top and salt taste on the bottom of each piece-mmmmmm Steamed Whole Fish with Ginger and Scallion E fu noodles with black mushroom Lovely lovely dinner! Everyone scarfed everything up. I barely got a noodle it went so fast! The beef and gai lan was wonderful- the gai lan just incredibly fresh. First time I ever had this type of chicken. Similar in some respects to the crispy chicken served with salt that is often served at banquets. But there was a little broth and the salt on the bottom of each piece came as an unexpected suprise. Multilayered flavors and textures combined with the garlic and scallions, was very nice. And lots of pieces; I managed to snag the leftovers because I have nice friends. Also had dim sum a couple of days before. This is a Chinese dim sum house; screw the decor, just serve me up the dumplings. Rah!

....and so how was it? What did you have? :-) ← We had three of the items marked "new"- the butternut squash dumpling, the smoked bluefish roll and the Chicken Trio. The dumpling was ok; nothing spectacular(A deep fried squash ravioli essentially). Ditto the smoked bluefish. My friend Alanz liked the Chicken Trio. I was less enthused. It was 1) yang chow fried rice with some nice bits of onion, egg and chicken; 2) a chicken spring roll that tasted strongly of..well, chicken; 3) a mixture of shredded chicken au jus and 4) a piece of roast chicken that was well cooked. It probably was better than I am crediting it. Apart from the nice onion in the rice and the fact that the roast chicken was moist and not dry, it didn't appeal to me because it tasted like a conglomeration of the leftovers my mother used to throw on a plate when I was growing up. So it probably was creative but it didn't send me. Oh, and of course, we had the lemongrass soup for dessert. Instead of mango or coconut sorbet, they had apple cider which was a nice switch. We like the mango too. The interesting thing here is that the original chefs left. So are the new things that don't taste as interesting as they sound, a sign of the new chefs? Sounds like you had a fun time...I haven't tried those dishes you mentioned yet.

You and I must be intrinsically tracking each other, WTC; I was there for lunch.