Asian/Middle E. Recommendations? - Essex Co. Area

[Ike]

Looking for recommendations for a really good inexpensive or moderately-priced ethnic place for Sunday night (tonight). I'm in the Belleville/Bloomfield area. My folks are visiting and we like many types of Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. They probably don't want to drive too far, so areas like Edison and Palisades Park might be out of the question, but if you have any really good ideas for Korean places up in Pal. Park then maybe I can convince them to make the trip.

We're very sad to hear that Little Saigon in Nutley has burned down. We probably would have gone there again. Such great Vietnamese food! ARRRGH!

Another place we've enjoyed many times is Udupi Village in Montclair, which has very good South Indian cuisine, but that's better for lunch (because of the great lunch buffet) than for dinner, and I'm looking for dinner ideas.

We had lunch at Brookside Thai in Bloomfield on Friday which was not bad. MY folks like it more than I do, though. I can't help thinking how much better Sripraphai in Queens is, but they rarely want to go that long of a distance, even when we're visiting Manhattan. I once tried the less-fancy Thai place in Montclair and wasn't impressed, and somebody said Bua Thai in Belleville is just OK.

Maybe I can convince them to make the journey to China 46, but some other suggestions would be good to have on hand if they're not in the mood for Shanghainese. Since they live in rural Maryland, they like to try other things they can't get down there, instead of "just Chinese," although when we visited Great NY Noodletown in Manhattan, that revealed a whole other side of Chinese food (the truly authentic kind) to them (and to me) and we loved it.

Of course we may just go to Casa Vasca in Newark again, or try one of the Portuguese places that a friend recommended to me as being very authentic. (Hmmm, where's that tiny little slip of paper where I wrote down those places' names and addresses?) But I have a craving for Asian or Middle Eastern. What's good in Paterson? Anything with decent decor? (Doesn't have to be fancy, just not falling apart.) How about Kamil's, the Lebanese place in Clifton that somebody mentioned? Nobody said if it was good or not.

[scarlet knight]

You could try Deja Vu in Montclair-Thai/French. Sometimes the service is bad. We like Tuptim in Montcliar. I can't tell if this is the Thai place that you didn't like so much. Farther from you, Bangkok Kitchen in Caldwell is good and it has a cool decor and atmosphere. The food is not hardcore Thai. Their BBQ spareribs and Half chicken dishes are approachable for people who are not into curries and other Thai sauces. Finally, Aozora is Japanese, but they serve dishes with a Thai or French flair. Also on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. Good service and decor.

[Rosie]

Ike--Welcome to eGullet. Where did you end up for dinner? Have you been to Taste of Asia in Montclair or Chatham?

[Jason Perlow]

Pho Van Tuan is another Vietnamese restaurant you can try.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=5&t=11245

Hunan Cottage is also a very good Shanghainese restaurant:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST&f=5&t=9985

[LBW]

Cafe Sultan in Upper Montclair has great Middle Eastern (Lebanese?) food.

[Ike]

Thanks to everyone for the responses!

When I told my parents all the good things I'd read about China 46, they were willing to make the trip up there, and we really enjoyed it. So thanks to everyone who's written enticing descriptions in the other discussion threads about that restaurant. And it only took about 20 minutes to get there, too, because there wasn't much traffic, although we had some trouble finding a liquor store that wasn't closed on Sunday night (we forgot we were going to Bergen County... sheesh). My parents were very impressed with the authentic Shanghainese food which you can't get at vanilla Chinese places in rural Maryland. Excellent salt-and-pepper shrimp and cellophane noodles with spicy capsicum! We'll go back there again so we can try the clams in black bean sauce and the bamboo shoots and the house special sautee. And the Peking duck, which an adjacent table was getting--we watched them slicing it, and it was very very enticing.

Then on Monday we visited Han Ah Reum, the great Korean supermarket in the Ridgefield area. And then we drove around and randomly picked out a Korean restaurant in Palisades Park on Monday for lunch. It's called Arirang, at 318 Broad Ave. Wow! Lots of food for low prices, and very fresh vegetables. We got a couple of special lunch "boxes" including a great Bul Go Gi lunch box with a lot of different items and fresh meat (so many different things I can't describe them all) and also a sushi/shrimp salad type of thing which chunks of fresh raw tuna, rice and lettuce, and vegetables, and that was also really great. I even liked the kim chi (Korean pickled cabbage) which came with the pan chan (little complimentary appetizers). I normally can't stand kim chi, but it was so fresh (Mom loves to buy big jars of that stuff and take it home to rural Maryland where it can't be bought locally, and I've never liked the jarred version--I'm not a big cabbage fan). Anyway, this humongous, awesome lunch (with lots of leftovers to take home) was $24 for three people, so it's a great bargain.

I didn't even realize there was another Vietnamese place here in the Belleville/Bloomfield area, so extra thanks to Jason for pointing that out. I'll try out Pho Van Tuan sometime soon, and I hope there are some dishes that are as tasty and authentic as Little Saigon. I'm hanging out with a conservative eater in a couple of days who prefers places like TGI Friday's (sigh), but maybe I'll tell her that Vietnamese food is basically the same thing as Chinese food, and trick her into broadening her horizons and enjoying something a bit new (heh heh). Normally the most adventurous thing she'll try is Mexicali Rose, but I think they've gone downhill and they're often crowded too, so maybe we'll consider Tinga Taqueria. Or maybe I can convince her to try Greek Delights in Montclair--I just read Rosie's post about that, from July, and it sounds good.

Scarlet Knight--yes, the Thai place in Montclair that didn't impress me much was Tuptim, although I was only there once or twice so maybe I should give it another chance. I'm very picky about Thai food ever since Sripraphai in Queens ruined it for me by being so spectacularly amazing.

Is Deja Vu the place on Bloomfield Ave. that looks really really fancy from the outside, in a white building in downtown Montclair in the general vicinity of Udupi Village but on the other side (south side) of the street? Looking at some on-line maps, it looks like Deja Vu is actually west of that area, over near Verona, and so maybe I'm confusing it with something else. Are Deja Vu and Aozora expensive? Usually we try to stay under $20-25 per person (not counting liquor).

Rosie--thanks for the welcome. I've been lurking here for a few months and I don't get always get a chance to eat out very often. I've heard mixed reviews of Taste of Asia but I don't think we've tried it yet. I believe we ate at an adjoining Indian restaurant a few years ago and weren't impressed, and somehow we got the impression that Taste of Asia was associated with them or run by the same people, but maybe we were wrong about that.

Wow, I haven't heard of Cafe Sultan before. We'll have to check that out at some point. Any more info on that? Mmmmmmm, middle eastern, yum.

[LBW]

Cafe Sultan is in the parking lot behind Starbucks/Talbots on Valley Road in Upper Montclair. It's a small, comfortable BYO in the space that used to house California Pizza (I think). We love their food -- great hummus, lamb, kefta, salads, stews. The menu isn't extensive, but they usually have a couple of specials every night. I think it's fairly inexpensive for the area. We can have a nice meal for under $20/person. My husband and I almost always go early because we have a one-year old and want to disturb as few people as possible, so we never need a reservation. It usually starts to get crowded after about 8.

[scarlet knight]

Aozora and Deja Vu are very close to each other. They are on Bloomfield Avenue in Montclair. I would say that they are about 1000 feet east of Udupi Village on the same side of Bloomfield Avenue. I think that you could easily find entrees at both places for $16-22. They are both BYO, which saves on the bill, also. If you are in that area and you want upscale New American with an Italian bent, Fascino is on the same side of Bloomfield Avenue, just another block east of the above two restaurants. Read the reviews of this board on that restaurant by using the search feature. We also like Liberte, a French restaurant across the street. Sadly, our hometown of Livingston has less good restaurants than that block in Montclair.

[Peter Conway]

Cafe Sultan is in the parking lot behind Starbucks/Talbots on Valley Road in Upper Montclair. It's a small, comfortable BYO in the space that used to house California Pizza (I think). We love their food -- great hummus, lamb, kefta, salads, stews. The menu isn't extensive, but they usually have a couple of specials every night. I think it's fairly inexpensive for the area. We can have a nice meal for under $20/person. My husband and I almost always go early because we have a one-year old and want to disturb as few people as possible, so we never need a reservation. It usually starts to get crowded after about 8.

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Dined at Cafe Sultan last night and found it to be still very good. I love their Hummus Special, ground lamb sautéed in olive oil with pine nuts and garlic served over hummus with olive oil, garlic, and some paprika. The Ful was also delicious, cooked fava beans tossed in olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and fresh parsley.

As usual I got the Sultan Combo, lamb, chicken, chicken kefta, beef soujok, and shrimp with grilled vegetables and rice, because I like some of everything. It was delicious. My wife had a lamb shank with grilled vegetables and what I call dirty rice. She said was very tasty but a little tough. In additional to their regular menu of dishes you would expect in a Middle Eastern restaurant they also had a cod fish special and a special lentil soup which we did not try.

It is a nicely decorated cozy little restaurant, about 10 tables, that is not expensive.

We drank a Pra Soave with dinner which worked very well and a Hahn Estates, Merlot which as very nice as well. Both are available locally for under $10.00, so they can be added to the list.

[forceten]

Asian food is fantastic. Here's some of my favorites:

Tuptim - Thai - Montclair (Bloomfield Avenue across from Midland) - just pure authentic Thai food without that messy French influence (lol!) .. no really, it's delicious, and I recommend just about everything on the menu. They have great Tom Kha Gai soup and Mussaman (#24 - get it hot, if you can stand it). I like hot food so I often have to convince them that I can handle Thai hot. I still don't think they believe me.

Thai Chef - Thai (w/ French) - Montclair (Bloomfield Avenue west of Tuptim) - also very good, with a great duck salad and a fantastic chocolate souffle dessert that you have to experience. I prefer Tuptim slightly, but this is a religious war that has spanned years in Montclair! Diners are the winners.

ASIAN DELITE - Chinese/Japanese/Sushi - West Caldwell (Bloomfield Avenue in Kings' plaza) - THE BEST CHINESE FOOD IN THE AREA. No kidding. They occasionally have "the real stuff" - Chinatown style fare - on the specials board. Ask. Right now they have "Suh Gwah", definitely not spelled correctly, a type of squash that is very watery, has a nice flavor, and has to have its skin removed. Just an example. They also have Japanese dishes, and a very very good sushi bar. There are even Mongolian and Fruity Marty style dishes. It's excellent and I can not recommend it enough.

Enjoy!

[Peter Conway]

Asian food is fantastic.  Here's some of my favorites:

Tuptim - Thai - Montclair (Bloomfield Avenue across from Midland) - just pure authentic Thai food without that messy French influence (lol!) .. no really, it's delicious, and I recommend just about everything on the menu.  They have great Tom Kha Gai soup and Mussaman (#24 - get it hot, if you can stand it).  I like hot food so I often have to convince them that I can handle Thai hot.  I still don't think they believe me.

Thai Chef - Thai (w/ French) - Montclair (Bloomfield Avenue west of Tuptim) - also very good, with a great duck salad and a fantastic chocolate souffle dessert that you have to experience.  I prefer Tuptim slightly, but this is a religious war that has spanned years in Montclair!  Diners are the winners.

ASIAN DELITE - Chinese/Japanese/Sushi - West Caldwell (Bloomfield Avenue in Kings' plaza) - THE BEST CHINESE FOOD IN THE AREA.  No kidding.  They occasionally have "the real stuff" - Chinatown style fare - on the specials board.  Ask.  Right now they have "Suh Gwah", definitely not spelled correctly, a type of squash that is very watery, has a nice flavor, and has to have its skin removed.  Just an example.  They also have Japanese dishes, and a very very good sushi bar.  There are even Mongolian and Fruity Marty style dishes.  It's excellent and I can not recommend it enough.

Enjoy!

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When was the last time you dined at Tumptim?

We loved the place until it changed ownership last fall.

We found the quality of service and food to be poor and stop going there.

Has it gotten good again?

[forceten]

When was the last time you dined at Tumptim?

We loved the place until it changed ownership last fall.

We found the quality of service and food to be poor and stop going there.

Has it gotten good again?

←

Hmm.. I haven't been too recently.. probably the last time was about 9 months ago. My cousin just went there two weeks ago and enjoyed it, however.

I will have to check it out, though - changes in ownership can be disaster.

Thanks for the heads up

[Peter Conway]

When was the last time you dined at Tumptim?

We loved the place until it changed ownership last fall.

We found the quality of service and food to be poor and stop going there.

Has it gotten good again?

←

Hmm.. I haven't been too recently.. probably the last time was about 9 months ago. My cousin just went there two weeks ago and enjoyed it, however.

I will have to check it out, though - changes in ownership can be disaster.

Thanks for the heads up

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Do let us know what you find.

Next time I go for Thai I am planning to try Brookside Thai, in Bloomfield.

[jwjojo]

So that is what happened to Tumptin. It was awful last time I went..never to go back again.

[Peter Conway]

So that is what happened to Tumptin.  It was awful last time I went..never to go back again.

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Yup, that was it. We used to go there often. Then one day there was a whole new crew. Gave it a few tries after that and the gave up.