Buddakan- a NY hot spot for sure!

When we walked in- I was immediately pleased by the chic and trendy decor and then i found out that this was the place where they shot the rehersal dinner for Carrie in the Sex in the City movie at the gorgeous long communal table on the basement level... need i say more?... it was love!

Ok I'm going to start to gush- the entire dining experience was incredible. First i'm going to give props to our server- we loved her- she was personable and very friendly and we shared many laughs throughout the night.

Second- the cocktails - they were brilliant with cute names like charm (procesco with berries and passion fruit), tranquilty (lemon grass oolong tea with vodka) and fate (pineapple, procesco and eidleflower)- they were exactly what we were in the mood for- strong but sutle flavours.

Now on to the food - WOW! the meal was outstanding -

Here are some must haves when you go:

-the edamame dumplings- they were clear glutonous dumplings with creamed edamame in them served in a broth- and they were to die for!

-the taro lollipops- just for presentation alone they were a lot of fun and fluffy with flavours of taro which is a root vegetable that's lighter than a potato.

Some other stand outs were:

-King Crab hot pot- steaming hot pot of crab broth served with shrimp chips and trimmings- the broth was a bit fishy but the crab was juicy and tender.

-vegetarian fried rice served with coconut foam- this was a good balance of flavours

- chilled udon noodles served with lime sorbet and peanut sauce- the freshness of the lime and cold udon noodles worked well and the peanut sauce was a perfect compliment

Misses

- Usually i adore this spicy tofu dish at Chinese restaurants called Ma Po tofu- this dish was very bland and didn't have much heat at all

-our dessert- it was the coconut creme brulee- it was served with a red pepper sauce and lemon grass ice cream... this paring of flavours didn't seem to be a great way to end our meal...

All in all - i'm in LOVE with this place! PS we had a bit of fun with the pictures and you will notice a hot pink character in each of these pictures- he's a crazy bone!
Buddakan - 75 9th Ave btw 15th and 16th
**** stars (out of 5)