Cafe Soho

468 West Cheltenham Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19126
(215) 224-6800

Café Soho is located in Philadelphia’s own Korean neighborhood, a neighborhood that I wish was A LOT closer to the city proper. With places like Jong Ka Jib for the best soup around, and various other BBQ and traditional Korean restaurants interspersed throughout the area, the neighborhood is full of spicy authenticity.

Soho, however, is like the hot (good-looking and hip) Korean professionals' nightclub. Oh, and they serve the gold standard for the infamous Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) that became the hot new food item in the past couple of years.

I never wrote about Soho before because the omnipresent lighting in there made all of my (iPhone) pictures turn out terribly. So, armed with a nicer camera, we embarked on a journey and KFC was had.

I can’t imagine what this place is like on a weekend night. Because even when somewhat empty on a weeknight, they still have the atmosphere and brilliant lighting of a sleek Asian-inspired club.

All glitz and glamour aside, I was here for some fried chicken. They have a limited menu, but everyone in-the-know gets the wings. See below for the steps to a shatteringly crispy crust on these things.

When they arrive, they are glistening like ultra crispy, puffy footballs of poultry. They offer four flavor varieties, soy garlic, hot chili, seasoned (a mix), and plain. I usually go with one half chili and the other soy garlic.

The texture on the wings is pretty incredible. They encompass everything you wish traditional buffalo wings had, namely a ridiculously crispy exterior, but also a tender, juicy and well seasoned interior and sauce that is hot enough to make you sweat but won’t drown out your palate.

Check out the sultry, tender poultry meat underneath that beautiful crust. Delicious.

Now this place isn’t cheap, at $20 for about 18-20 wings - they measure by weight - but they are a pretty good size, and the experience alone is well worth it. You can ask them to split up the sauces, which is a good idea, in my opinion. That way you can get a taste of their range in flavor profiles. So make a mission of it, head to Olney, and get your KFC on. Also, if you are fat like me, you can stop at Jong Ka Jib a block South on 5th street, and get some of the best soup ever - to go, for second dinner.

Hardena/Waroeng Surabaya Restaurant

1754 S Hicks St
Philadelphia, PA 19145
(215) 271-9442

Indonesian food is relatively new to the Philly food scene, and Point Breeze is the burgeoning capital of this hybrid of Middle Eastern and Asian food.

Hardena is a strange experience, to put it mildly. When you walk in, there is a counter to the back left where they have a large number of steam trays full of a colorful variety of proteins and sauces. For $7 you get your choice of three and a side of rice ($8 if all three choices contain meats). Be sure to ask for the sambal (hotsauce) on the rice.

The kitchen looks like someone's Indonesian Grandmother's house – because it probably is.

Below is the gingered chicken, curried egg, and fish curry. All were pretty disappointing, although, I can say that the tofu accompanying the egg was the highlight. It seemed like there was little-to-no effort put into the food. Maybe the menu is too expansive (I didn't even get to order off of the large chalkboard)?

Below on the right is the rendang beef, which is slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices. The picture for that one turned out pretty poor due to weird lighting. The rendang was probably the best thing I ate, but it was far from impressive. The meat was fall-apart tender, but that was the most I could say about it.

The chicken wings were stickily-sauced but lacked the crispy texture with which Korean Fried Chicken has spoiled me.

Overall, I probably would not go back to Hardena, unless I was with someone who desperately wanted to eat Indonesian food. In that case, I would desperately try to talk them into something else.