From the outdoor patio with a waterfall wall to the inside dining room with its golden statues and ornate furniture, this restaurant feels like walking into some Southeast Asian palace. The group behind popular chain the Cheesecake Factory have created a menu that encompasses Indian, Thai, Chinese and other Southeast Asian culinary traditions. It?s an actual, regular-sized menu, not like the novel of dish and drink choices you get at the Cheesecake Factory. As a substitute for bread, Rock Sugar gives you large, fried, white rice crackers with a marinara-like sauce when you sit down. Anyway, my friend I ordered the claypot beef and the princess chicken. The latter dish, while incredibly moist, was really more or less fried chicken that had no special spice or flavor component. The claypot beef, named after the dish it?s served in, was INCREDIBLE. The meat had an intense richness yet spicy kick to it. My friend and I shared the coconut donuts with passion fruit sauce for dessert. YUM! Definitely a dessert that transported me to the tropics. And the portion was generous, too (four, sizable donuts!) If you haven?t had fresh-off-the-oven donuts before, this dessert is a must. Also, got to add that the service was impeccable. We were given moist towels before the start of the meal, and the wait staff was very attentive; always asking if we wanted more rice crackers while we waited for our food and constantly checking if we needed refills on water.
Pros: food, service, ambience
Cons: somewhat expensive
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