buddakan

fabulous meal. we recently went to buddakhan and had a fabulous experience. we went with our 8 and 4 year old daughters. the hostess and staff made us feel so welcomed and comfortable. the decor is very modern and cool, but the restaurant doesn't feel pretentious. the kitchen also accommodated my younger daughter's picky food tendencies. the chicken dumplings were sublime. the dough was nearly translucent and the filling divine. my older daughter got the pad thai and nearly devoured the entire dish. my husband got the asian spare ribs. the meat fell off of the bone and the sauce was delicious. the flavors were crisp and the plates were balanced and not over thought. all around is was a lovely dining experience.

delicious!!. my husband and i love buddakan! the food never disappoints. amazing and knowledgeable servers too! favorites are kobe beef satay, king crab tempura (to die for!), zengria and passion specialty drinks. you really can't go wrong!

allstate merchant services finds this restaurant. www.allstatemerchants.com loves the chocolate lava cake.. we do merchant services for thousands of businesses nationwide, many of them are restaurants. i recommend their desert to everyone.

good on occasion. like the place and have been there several times over the years, but it seems as though it's not as consistently good as it once was.

i don't get it. my fiance and i recently ate at buddakan and were very disappointed. first, we each started with a cocktail- which were outstanding. although i disliked the food, i would sit at the bar and have a few of their specialty drinks. we started the meal with the oysters in a yuzu, mustard, and hot chili sauce. the oysters were not fresh and tasted fishy. they were also not shucked properly as we both found pieces of shell in 3 of 6 oysters. for $18 i expected much better quality. we also had the chicken and ginger dumplings. these we overwhelmingly ok. i have had much better dumplings at dim sum in china town for 1/3 of the price. for dinner we split the braised beef short rib and a side of dungeoness crab sticky rice. the braised beef was the only redeeming dish in this entire meal. while this was tasty, and very reminiscent of morimoto's pork kakuni (rich taste and succulent texture), the portion to price ratio was very small. the crab sticky rice was bland and ridden with crab shells. we had a small pile of crab shells by the time we were finished. this, like the oyster shells, showed lack of care in food preparation. frankly, biting down on a hard shell, in a huge spoonful of rice is unappetizing and quite nauseating.

so, overall, i do not understand the buzz surrounding this restaurant. maybe i chose my dishes incorrectly, but i will only return for the creative drink selection and not the food.

the whole thing started off with a bang, bringing fun twists to old favorites. the shrimp was my favorite with the citrus surprise of the grapefruit hidden under the garnish.

neat. solid food
good service
interior was top notch
dip sum doughnuts were outstanding

good experience, great service, completely overpriced. apps were ok, entrees were good, kind of skimpy. desserts were top not notch. put it this way, i spent 118$ @ lunch before a $25 tip.

can't wait to get back!. i was just there but can't wait to get back already! i love everything about buddakan~ the ambiance is chic and it screams welcome. some say that it's too pricy but that depends on your palate and your pocket~lol. if you have the money and the plate for an exceptional experience then this is the place for you. trust me, i don't take fine dinning lightly;)

if you find yourself in philadelphia and want to treat yourself to a lovely dinner then you should definitely check out buddakan.

good food. pricy. went there for the restaurant week. had a variety of stuff, but would recommend the stuffed grapeleaves for appetizer, sea bass for entree, and crying chocolate for the dessert. not a place where i would go more than twice a year...

i need to add one more thing. eat the doughnuts. wow they are great!


-----25 aug, 2010-----

yum! pricey. portions small, but really the right size. fantastic service on a busy nite , no rez. definately worth the trip.

for years i walked passed this restaurant and felt as if it were a private club and that i needed a special invitation to dine.

very good but................... our first trip to buddakan (philadelphia) was a great dinning experience. great duck salad, amazing lamp chops and unbelieveable desserts. an epicurian feast of mind and mouth. our next trip to the atlantic city restaurant was good but not great. smaller portions, service spotty and those great desserts. yesterday we headed back to the philadelphia location and was not overly impressed. the duck salad was laced with cilantro so that no other flavor could be tasted. barely edible. the lamb chops were good but a sodium overload was evident. as usual, the dessert was amazing in presentation and taste. service was good however $18 for valet parking (restaurant owned) was outrageous. would i go back or reccomend buddakan??? i''m not sure i would! for the price you are paying ($6 per chop) i would expect only only the best........it wasn't!

long-time favorite. one of my favorite restaurants in philly. the old crispy duck salad is gone, but new items are just as delish. sit at the bar upstairs if there is a wait.