Been to Binh Duong Yet?

Under food:

Binh Duong Restaurant
61 1/2 Belleville Ave.
Bloomfield, NJ 07003
(973) 680-8440

Binh Duong has been a mainstay of the Ultimate Fun Club's SUPERROTATION for its tasty and filling pho. The location is excellent too, and you can shop for Asian groceries and produce at nearby East West Supermarket.

On our last visit, DJKung and I got the pho. Ozzie Wan and her posse tried a few dishes too.

Garnishes for pho. Counterclockwise from top: fresh bean sprouts, lime slices, jalapeno slices, basil. Sometimes they also have this long-leaved and serrated herb that tastes like a funkier version of cilantro. I favor a lot of bean sprouts and basil, while DJKung likes lime and a lot of Siricha pepper sauce (in background).


Thai iced tea. Forgot to rotate this picture. I did not get to try this, but everyone agreed it was refreshing.

For apps, we ordered vegetarian goi cuon (fresh spring rolls) and fried squid.

In foreground: crispy squid. It is dipped in batter and fried, and does not come with sauce. It is way lighter and more tender than your average calamari. Sometimes they provide a dry roasted salt-and-pepper dip.
In background: vegetarian goi cuon. This comes with a peanut dip, although I like to spoon hoisin sauce in too.

House special pho. This comes with a variety of cuts of beef and is very filling. We have always been satisfied with the stock that their kitchen makes.

Fish ball soup. The broth is much lighter because you do not get a lot of the beefy heft and flavor with actual meat cuts in the soup. Great for those chilly days, or if you're feeling under the weather!

Ozzie Wan's crew ordered the vegetarian fried rice, string beans in garlic sauce and fried noodles with vegetables. I cannot be too descriptive because I did not get to try them---I was too occupied with my soup. They did say that everything was good.

Vegetarian fried rice. It comes with carrots, peas, broccoli and baby corn.

String beans with garlic sauce.

Mixed veggies over fried noodles.

The Eagle has Landed!!!

Under food:



El Aguila Restaurant
Main Avenue and Monroe Street
Passaic, NJ
(862) 591-1863


The Ultimate Fun Club is pleased to share with our loyal readers this awesomest Mexican joint in the heart of Passaic, NJ. It is so smokin' new that it is barely mentioned in the online directories! This place is seriously good, and UFC agrees this is the best Mexican we have had (outside of Mexico/San Diego, that is).

"Aguila" is the Spanish word for eagle. The Passaic area in general has a large influx of Central and South American immigrants and it seems that a lot of the restaurants that cater to this population have a mish-mash of cuisines on their menus. El Aguila, however, definitely is Mexican solamente. We were particularly impressed at how confident and solid their menu was. I suspect that this may be an overseas branch of a Mexican fast food chain, but could not find anything online to confirm this.



This complex includes a supermarket, a small bakery section and a fast food-style restaurant. We were too hungry to check out the supermarket.

The menu is quite overwhelming to us, as we did not recognize a lot of the items, apart from "tacos", "platillos" and "empanadas." We took our time ordering.

Fresh squeezed juices at the counter. The pina was popular, so we got it.



Hot food counter. You can point to these when ordering your platter, which comes with rice and beans. On this day, the chicken soup looked really good. The most striking thing we saw were goat skulls atop a platter.

Behind the counter, the workers were busily chopping meat and assembling tacos, burritos and hot plates.

While deciding, we also checked out their tortilla-making machine that was cranking them out as fast as it can. A steady stream of customers were picking up bags of tortillas.

Another section that we overlooked before ordering was their tortas and grill section. They make nice toasty sandwiches to order, with tomatoes and avocados. Defintiely a must try on our next visit.

In the end, we opted for a fried fish platter for me, and a platillos del dia and a carnitas burrito for DJKung. We were told that he could pick among the hot items on display, so he ordered the mole poblano chicken. Alas, churros were not available after 11am! After paying, we got a numbered receipt, and they call your number out.

Note the size of the fried red snapper (fried to order). It must be at least two pounds. I was only able to finish one side (the other side made great fried fish fried rice the next day). The fish was fresh, and was cheap considering its size. The rice was delicately seasoned, though a tad oily. The beans were divine; definitely from scratch, and definitely how refried beans should taste like. Everything tasted brighter with the chili sauce and pickles that you can add from the condiment section.




Too bad the picture for this mole poblano platter came out blurry. We were too hungry since we'd gone hiking that morning. DJKung proclaimed it "the best mole" he had ever had outside of Mexico. The sauce was dark, smoky and luxuriant (luxurious?)---great for sopping up with some tortillas. Fresh tortillas are waaaaay lighter and tastier than the supermarket version!

DJKung, too, was only able to eat half of his plate. Once we got home, the furs declared the rice and chicken as "simply divine." The carnitas burrito were savored later in the evening and still tasted fresh. It was a very generous portion as well.

Based on this visit, it is easy to forsee that this will be a favorite for a long time to come. We have to make it there for breakfast one of these days and get the churros.

El Aguila is also open 24 hours, which will be a great option on those late empty-refrigirator nights. This joint is cash-only.

Are you Game for Gam mee ok?

Under Food

Gam mee ok Restaurant
485 Main Street
Fort Lee, NJ 07024
(201) 242-1333

This restaurant always intrigued us. It is in low-slung striking modern-looking building with a lot of glass, and shielded by bamboo plants. The parking lot is always full no matter what time of day it is, AND this place is open 24 hours. DJKung's been hankering for some Korean food, and so we went.

Interestingly enough, the place is actually smaller than it looks. The menu is straight-up Korean fare, and a lot of pork. I must say, this cuisine respects---nay, reveres pork, which was present in different forms on the menu.

Of course, the meal starts off with some kimchi. They bring out a metal pot of kimchee (cabbage and radish), and snip it into bite-sized pieces with a pair of scissors.

Kimchee in center. It was pretty good, and the spice/fermentation was not too heavy. Other items: top left: napa cabbage leaves and long green peppers for pork soup; vinegar-soy dip for pork legs Bottom right: two sauces for pork soup.

I ordered the pork noodle soup. The broth was very porky, a bit on the bland side. You're supposed to garnish it with chopped scallions and salt (available at the table),the napa cabbage leaves and the long green peppers. And the sauce. I'm afraid I overdid the salt this time and could not finish it. Next time, I'll be more careful.

Pork noodle soup. Notice the milky broth. DJKung got the same thing, except that his came with tendons. The kitchen was extremely generous with the tendons, which were gelatinous and filling.

DJKung also ordered the sliced pork hocks. It looks like the pork hocks are boiled for a long time to tenderize the connective tissue, then cooled and sliced. DJKung was in pork heaven after a few bites. "Amazing," said he.

Sliced pork hocks, with a little salad of greens, peppers and garlic. This was a popular item on the menu.

Other interesting dishes we espied from other tables include the kalbi ribs and bimimbap, which we shall be trying at another time. Gam mee ok also has some sochu on hand, which we shall try too!