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REVIEWS Philadelphia
Inquirer; Oct, 2007 Ed Hitzel's Restaurant Newletter;
Jan, 2006 Philadelphia
Inquirer; April, 2005 |
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Eat & Drink Monthly
October 2005 Issue
Waterlily Fred Cherenfant
had never cooked a meal before arriving in this country from his native Waterlily opened in February in a space formerly occupied by
a gym. The deep-hued room is modern but warmly inviting, with
burgundy-and-forest-green carpet and floor accented by booths with brightly
striped upholstered backs that curve like giant tuile
cookies. Chen is usually near the front door, greeting patrons and keeping an
eye on the dining room, where well-trained servers place piping-hot dishes
before the right guests without having to ask who gets what. The waiters are
charming and enthusiastic; although English clearly is not their first
language, they don’t mind repeating descriptions or fetching additional info
from the kitchen. Chen’s decision to invest
in elegant Riedel crystal stemware is part of what makes Waterlily
a gem among BYOs. On both our visits, we bring a
red and a white. The staff promptly ices the white and, at our request, sets
out enough glasses for us to drink the wines side by side. If you’re not the
one who has to wash the glasses, it’s a funny sight: a table for four set
with twelve big glasses, including those for water, facing each other like
demented chess pieces. When you taste the food,
you won’t feel pretentious drinking from crystal glasses. Cherenfant
is credible on both sides of the map. An appetizer of escargot and minced duxelles in puff pastry with white-wine–butter sauce is
meltingly rich and delicious; a nutty-eggy tangle
of pad Thai noodles glistening in a classic tamarind sauce available in five
levels of spiciness makes an exemplary entrée. And artfully straddling the
line is a superb salad of thin-sliced smoked duck breast over baby greens
with a soy-balsamic vinaigrette. Soups are likely a good bet
here in any season. A Thai shrimp dumpling soup strikes a note as pure and
resonant as a Riedel goblet tapped with a knife. But not every appetizer is
off the charts. The apple-and-pork gyoza are fun, as are the seafood wontons. But shrimp balls on
sugarcane lollipops, though cute to look at, are spongy, and the crisp oyster
tempura needs plumper, less chewy oysters. Entrées are sure-handed and
satisfying. It’s a toss-up between the roasted crispy duckling with a
fresh-berry sauce and the rack of lamb with herbed Such a piquant and
delightful cavalcade, though, deserves a better finale. The house-made crème
brûlée is respectable, while the outsourced
others—mousse cake, tiramisù, and cheesecake—would
be hard to distinguish in a blindfold test. —Eric Levin |
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Water Lily Bistro
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Monday closed; Tuesday
~ Friday 11:30am ~ 3:00pm; Saturday 12:00pm ~ 3:00pm; DINNER HOURS: Monday closed; Tuesday
~ Thursday
5:00pm ~ 9:30pm; Friday ~ Saturday 5:00pm ~ 10:00pm; Sunday 4:00pm ~
9:00pm |
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