When I entered Buddakan in New York, I said to myself “wow, this is it”. This place is decorated just like in the movies where the Yakuza meetings take place with large tables, big chandeliers hanging from the high carved ceilings, very chic waiters and waitresses. You get a first impression that you will be treated very well. The decor is dark, fabulous and sexy. You enter the dining hall by going down stairs where you will find yourself looking at other tables from the top and immediately start thinking what to order. Well, after having a look around and feel special. This place indeed makes you feel special.
Buddakan is an Asian Fusion restaurant that is perfect for special events, business dinners or dating, a little bit expensive but deserves it. We started by ordering a Zindanfel 2002 T-Vine, which was “like chocolate” according to my friends tip. We were four people and ordered wok hay frog lags, hot sour scallops, mongolian lamb chops, spicy crab and shan tong noodles, a rice which I don’t remember the details and yellow tail sashimi.
A couple of words for each of them: The frog legs were pleasing, served in a larger plate with spices. The scallops were my favorite; they were half sweet and quite large (about 5 times bigger than what one can buy at the supermarket). The lamb chops were dripped in a very tasty sauce and were my second favorite (3 pieces are served). The crab noodle was also delicious. I don’t generally like white rice, but the rice we ordered might have changed my mind. And the sashimi was a good starter, coming in 5 pieces. The portions are quite small, and ordering rice or noodle (coming in big portions enough for two people) could be a good idea if you love larger portions. But the menu is structured such that it also favors sharing.
After the dinner, we ordered the dark chocolate souflle cake, which was adorable. The service is very nice and even the bathrooms are designed so that the first timers can say another “wow” again. The place can be quite crowded, so reserving a table in advance could be a good idea to avoid long waiting at the bar.
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