Buddakan

You may remember Buddakan from the Sex and the City movie, this is where they celebrated Carrie and Big's engagement. Remember this long table where Samantha gives an applaud worthy toast?
Everything about Buddakan is fantastic, it's a chic spot to have cocktails or enjoy a wonderful dinner. It's located near Chelsea Market on 9th Ave. and 16th St. in a black painted brick building. Walking through the space you realize how large the restaurant really is and every area has a slightly different interior design. The cocktail/lounge area is basically all black with accents of turquoise pillows and white ceramic vases on the black tables in the middle of the room. Downstairs is the famous long table meant to be shared or for big parties. There is another room that has turquoise booth style seating among black walls and tables. All the way in the back of the restaurant is another room where diners enter via curvy shaped cut outs (see the photo above) with red booths and vases.

With a restaurant as chic as Buddakan you'd expect the cocktails to be fabulous, which they were (definitely recommend Charm), but to my surprise the food was just as amazing! I looked at the menu before arriving at the restaurant and didn't see anything that stood out but I basically just listened to my friend Julie of Juls and the City and took her recommendations. We ordered a lot of dishes to share including Edamame Dumplings served in a shallot broth; Chilled Udon Noodles served with a small scoop of sorbet with lime segments sprinkled within and a creamy peanut sauce; Charred Asparagus with a light black bean foam and Asian Green Stir Fry accompanied by pine nuts and garlic chips. My favorite dish was definitely he Edamame Dumplings, they were absolutely devine!