A Foodie's Joy: Buddakan (New York City)

Saturday, 29 June 2013

Buddakan (New York City)

This is another of my 'to dine at' list which I had booked with NC for dinner on a day after the Sami Lukis group tour was over. We had booked it when we were back in Sydney.

But when I arrived and found out that the group was dining here on our first night, we immediately cancelled our reservations! I was so happy to hear that this venue was part of the intended group dining itinerary. Yay!

When we rocked up about 9pm on the first night all I could see was a gray building which didn't look very impressive from the outside. One thing I have come to realise over the next few days is what you see in the front is not necessarily what you get when you enter the actual bar/restaurant.

When we walked in, I felt the place was a trendy and cool hangout for New Yorkers. It was rather dark (which is very common across all the bars we checked out) and the place is very large with multi-levels. Sami managed to score the very table a famous Sex and the City scene was filmed at. Try and guess which scene!!!

Anyway, tonight's dinner is 'pay only my share of food and drinks plus tax and tips'. This is the payment system used by Sami for all the group dinners. I think it is a good concept as you pay what you order and won't be impacted if there are other members of the group who order big or who order lots of alcoholic drinks.

I ordered 3 dishes. I just couldn't help myself so I went a bit gluttonous I'm afraid.

Edamame Dumplings - these were delicious and made me feel I was eating healthily.

Chilled Udon Noodles with Lime Sherbet and Peanut Sauce - what a funky dish! Loved the combination of a sherbet which added a tangy zing to the cold udon noodles. The peanut sauce provided the crunchy texture. I did like this dish.

Chilli Rock Shrimp - by the time this dish arrived I was starting to feel full but I 'soldiered on'. I did like this dish, there was something quite moreish about it. I just kept wanting to eat it but only managed about 1/2 of the serving. Towards of the night Sami (who was sitting across me) decided to have a taste of it and at first she didn't like it but she just kept having more and more until the dish was almost finished. MOREISH!!!