Bulan 2

Wendy and I have been eying the new Bulan location in Silver Lake, which is right between her parents' house on Manzanita and the Giant Robot store on Sunset. The grand opening isn't until Friday, but it turns out they were open tonight. We were greeted by two of the three owners, who recognized us!


We've been big fans of the restaurant's original location on Melrose as soon as it opened a few years ago. There are a lot of vegetarian and vegan Thai joints in L.A., but Bulan is different. The textures, flavors, and presentation are tack sharp. There's nothing chewy, bland, or boring about it. We were regulars for a while and saw Bulan's business grow fast. Then we stopped going after having Eloise. Wonder why?


Tonight, we tried one new dish: the pumpkin with tofu. It was quite good, not mushy or stringy in any way. The squash was sweet, creamy, and firm--not stringy or gooey. Nice, light sauce with a lot of flavor without overpowering the natural flavors.


Whenever we went to the first Bulan, we'd always get the fish with green apple. So we had to get it here. The mock fish is flaky, crunchy, and tasty. On top of that, you dump the mixture of green apple, sweet onions, and cashew. It's cool, light, and snappy--a great complement to the battered and fried dish.


Restaurants that lease the spot on the corner of Santa Monica and Manzanita seem to come and go, but hopefully this one will stick. If you're in the area, definitely check it out. If you eat in by the end of the month, you can use a coupon for 10-percent off.


You probably guessed why we went out tonight. Today's the two-year anniversary of Wendy and me getting married. It was kind of fun to go out on a mini-date like this, but maybe even better that we could just walk up the hill and pick up Eloise from Wendy's parents. She rocks. But what will the next two years bring?