Buddakan - Fancy, But Still a Chain

I have always had a soft spot in my heart for Buddha. It probably stems from Freshman year of college when I got the freshman 15 (or 20) and one of the girls on my floor introduced me to her dad and then proceeded to say, Rori, show my dad your Buddha belly. Ummm yeah that really happened.

Anyway, since then the Buddha has always been special to me so I was thrilled when a restaurant called Buddakan opened in NYC about a year and a half ago and quickly became the new hot spot. I was even happier when this trendy hot spot opened in my favorite NJ town - Atlantic City. With 3 locations, the original in Philly, NY and AC, this my friends is surely a chain.
I was lucky enough to dine here at the AC spot with some of my favorite people last weekend. We started the meal with delicious cocktails (lychee martini for me, dirty martini for others) and then moved on to my all time favorite appetizer. I know that is a bold statement to make but put your seat belts on because I am making it. The edamame ravioli (or dumplings) are beyond a doubt my favorite appetizer at any restaurant. They are pricey, but so delicious. In fact, after our first order we all decided to get another because they are that good. All they are mashed up edamame and prob some sort of sauce or something all wrapped together in a pasta or dumpling like case. Whatever they are, they rock my world! I also shared the boneless spareribs with Lilo, I mean Nina, and they were also excellent with a tasty sauce and cooked just right. It was def not too fatty for the princess. The portion is kind of small and served of very long plate that my parents seem to find very amusing and still talk about it to this day.
For an entree I shared the veggie fried rice and chicken with cashews with Lilo, I mean Nina. The rice was excellent. I love carbs, so I obvi loved this. The rice was not too greasy and had lots of eggs, eggs are awesome. Now, the chicken w/ cashews, that kind of sucked. The chicken had this funky taste to it like it was frozen and made from a Lean Cuisine. The sauce and the cashews were fine but as Harvard Professor Nina pointed out, it was the cheapest entree on the menu and probably why it sucked. I think that no matter what, if you are gonna charge 20 bucks for 4 bucks worth of chicken and nuts, it better be good. I do not care if I would strip for your dumplings. I guess I should have listened to Nina and ordered a steak dish. Too bad I wear the pants in this relationship. Anyway, the other girls at my table shared the sea bass and to quote Jen Roy, it was "fabulous." I would have tried it but for some reason I was not in the mood. For dessert I got a stoli vanilla and diet coke - very sweet!!!!

The ambiance at this place is very cool. It is very dark with Asian accents and on the ceiling they have a starry sky. It sounds cheesy but it works. The NY location is also very cool. No starry sky, but very big and grandiose. The only thing besides the chicken with cashews I do not like about this place is they have a communal table. Umm yes, I like to be nosy and listen to other peoples conversations but I can do that from another table, I do not need to be all up in their lo mein. If you go here, ask to not sit at the communal table.