Shanghai Jazz: Delicious Peking Duck & Maryland Soft-shell Crabs in Madison, NJ

For my birthday, THE man brought me to Shanghai Jazz in Madison, NJ for dinner and the show. I wasn't overly optimistic that it would be good Chinese food.  The nasty fried wonton strips that they place on the tables tasted rancid and like they were fried in old oil. The "sweet and sour" orange dipping sauce couldn't even make them palatable. Sigh. Scared. It's dinner and a show with a minimum of $35 a head on Saturdays. Sigh.

I ordered a pomegranate martini. It was delicious. When the cute muscly ABC waiter delivered my cocktail, I had him take away the nasty ass wonton strips and flourescent orange sauce. This was a turning point in the dinner.

I ordered Maryland soft-shell crabs, stirfried in a delicate ginger and scallion sauce. Delicious. Fresh. Crispy, yet soft. Praise Jesus. They were great. THE man ordered Peking Duck. It was cooked appropriately,  and the cute little waiter even made the duck burritos for us while we watched. Relief.

The female half of the owner couple was very attentive to us. She was a lot of fun and even brought us a "free" side order of Kai Lan or as she called it "chinese brocolli rabe."

The music was pleasant on the ears. The food, apart from the wonton strips, delicious. The people watching a little exciting (love watching people that take themselves very seriously as "art farts" appear in public).

A nice experience.

shanghaijazz.com

Veggie Heaven: Taiwanese Vegetarian in Denville, NJ

I'm not a huge fan of American vegetarian food. Slap some mayonaise on a bunch of cubed, runny tofu does not a meal make.

Now Asian vegetarian. Yes please!  THE Man took me to Veggie Heaven in Denville, NJ for Taiwanese style vegetarian food. In all fairness, the menu is wide and varied and has all sorts of err crap on it. Like the mistake I made in ordering the "Vietnamese" style fresh spring roll. No tofu, just a hint of mint, and a ton of shredded jicama. Totally not what I was expecting, and not exciting in any way.  THE Man ordered sweet and sour soup, which was one of the best bowls of said soup I have had in the USA.

We both ordered random stir fries with tofu in all sorts of "mock meat" varieties. I enjoyed both dishes. The different ways the tofu was prepared kept it exciting and delicious. I especially liked the vegetarian sausage.It had a nice firmness to it. The cashews  added to my stir fry were nice and crunchy. enjoyable.

veggieheavennj.com