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Penang
Anthony
November 14, 2010
In a Route 10 shopping center alongside Don Jose and an Asian food market (Kam Man), Penang is one of a dozen or so Penang restaurants serving malaysian/thai cuisine in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. There are at least five in New Jersey, including Edison, Lodi and Princeton. The East Hanover branch is sleek and comfortable, and quite busy on weekends.
I’m new to Malaysian cuisine, but if I had to describe it based on our meal at Penang, I’d say Malaysian is similar to Thai food, but sweeter, and with an emphasis on seafood. The Roti Canai (crispy pancake) with curry chicken dipping sauce makes a tasty appetizer. For entrees, we tried Singapore Noodles – fat rice noodles in a slightly sweet sauce- and Sambal Udang – a decent spicy-sweet shrimp dish. Order the Pulut Hitam (black sticky rice with coconut milk) for dessert and take rice pudding to another level.
I’m looking forward to finding and trying more Malaysian food.
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Mehndi
Anthony
October 10, 2010
Part of a restaurant group that includes Moghul and Ming in Edison, Mehndi serves refined Indian food in an upscale setting. The food is very good, but nothing we tried stands out, especially compared to the intensely flavored Indian dishes we’ve enjoyed at lower-brow Jersey Indian restaurants. Morristown’s Mehndi seems to ratchet down the spice for its largely non-Indian clientele. The dining room is beautiful and the service solicitous, consistent with the high prices. The entrance, at the end of an office building hallway, is an awkward round room where one hostess station greets diners for both Mehndi and the attached pan-Asian Ming II. “Your restaurant this evening is behind door #2.” It feels like Epcot Center.
Mehndi, like Chengdu 46, demonstrates the unreliability of popular New Jersey restaurant rankings. Expensive ethnic food doesn’t mean New Jersey’s best ethnic food. Mehndi is the New Jersey Monthly 2010 critics’ pick for best Indian restaurant in New Jersey and Zagat’s #2. Is it the small sample size that gives this place a high Zagat rating every year? More Jersey Indian food fans should make the trip south on 287 to Middlesex County to do some taste testing.
Carmel Haifa
Anthony
October 2, 2010
Fresh and cheap Middle Eastern food in Morris County – who would of thought? A tiny storefront across from the Morris Plains train station, Carmel Haifa serves up Mediterranean meats (Shawerma shaved from a spit, kebabs grilled over charcoal) and Falafel in sandwiches and platters, along with Hummus, Baba Ghanouj, salads and soups, and a hearty welcome. I ordered a lamb kebab sandwich, which is very good. The falafel sandwich tasted authentic to me, but needed some more salt, and the tahini (sesame) sauce was a little bitter. Also tried the hummus – very tasty. There are two small tables inside, and two more in front and out back for nice weather. Best to order your food to go.