It's a "Win" win with Inle Lake , the latest restaurant to turn up the heat in Bergen County  since the Housewives of New Jersey. Chef Cho Win is serving indigenous Burmese Cuisine straight from her family recipe book to your table. The restaurant sits discreetly at 633 Anderson Avenue in Cliffside Park, and truly is a hidden gem. Chef Cho Win is self taught and passionate about cooking.... her love is felt in every dish: with each ingredient hugging your tongue. The food is so good...  that Girls On Grub could not stop eating. Our taste buds were in pure submission for five hours of culinary pleasure!

Inle Lake in Myannar (Burma) is a fresh water lake in the Shan Hills. The cuisine is influenced by Chinese, Indian and Thai Cuisine. But the strongest flavors at Inle Lake Restaurant are the Burmese... and the Inle Kin Paung Kyaw was no exception. These little chicken fritters were filled with so much Burmese flavor! Fragrant green onions easily permeated the light rice flour batter and became the addiction of the evening. The Burmese fritters are served with Marie Rose Sauce, but with Chef Cho Win's spicy touch. However, we were more than content to devour them naked.

After the first course, it was quite obvious Girls On Grub was in for a marathon session of Burmese love. And we welcomed it! But we needed to sip on coffee with condensed milk. The thick creamy texture swirled nicely into the strong coffee... and we found the energy to embrace the dishes to come.

Inle Lake worked our taste buds with another lightly breaded appetizer, Inya Lake Buthi Kyaw. It is simply long pieces of Squash coated in  rice flour breading  served with tamarind based sauce. What's not to love about Long squash? Nothing...we loved every inch of it! We do recommend going heavy on the sauce for this one: the garlic, green chili and cilantro compliment the squash well.

Keeping pace, we next tried some of Inle Lake's Crispy Shan Tofu made from chickpeas. Don't let the name tofu fool you... this tofu is completely different than all others. It's light, pillowy and from the moment it enters your mouth.... begs you to close your eyes and drift away to Burma. We simply loved every tangy  gluten free bite of it!

Looking for the next temptress bite, we couldn't decide between two curries: the Shan Chicken Curry and the Pork Artisan Curry. Girls On Grub was really enticed by the Chicken's fragrant lemongrass, but really wanted to wrap our tongues around the Pork's mangoes. So we had both. It was a curry party in our mouth. If you want to get real frisky with these spicy curries...just order the Egg Curry for a full Burmese menage et trois!

The table just got hot and hotter, as Inle Lake's Chef Cho Win introduced the indigenous Inle Golden Rice with dry Chili Peppers. The rice is mashed with boiled potatoes and fish. Southeast Asian food is known to utilize fish and fish products in Burmese Cuisine.  But the fish is a slight note... with the emphasis on the potato and rice. The dish is served with crispy shallots and dried chili pepper: We tried both....but enjoyed the chili pepper best with the rice. Cucumbers are a fresh drink for your taste buds to cool off. But we left them on the plate. We like it hot! 

Chef Cho Win finally served the main course: a Tilapia Filet served with Chef's Special Coconut Cream Sauce. It was pleasant, creamy and flattered the fish. The fish fell apart nicely and was cooked to perfection. With a fork full,  the creamy sauce enveloped each bite with fresh peppers, mushrooms and snow peas.  Chef Cho Win really knows how to pack a lot of flavor without drowning the dish. I have had fish at other Asian Fusion restaurants, where they drench the plate and create a soggy mess. But Chef Win adds just the right amount and knows how to keep the fish crispy on the outside and delicate on the inside. Chef also recommends pairing this dish with the Golden Rice... and we couldn't agree more!

Now something that caught my eye at Inle Lake Restaurant, was the dessert menu. Not many restaurants today offer home made desserts. They mostly have it brought in from an outside source. But just like all the dishes served at Inle Lake... the desserts are made from scratch as well. We love Chef Cho Win for this, and we loved the Water Festival Snack (Mote Lone Yay Paw). In each hand rolled glutinous rice ball is a piece of sugar cane candy. Topped with fresh Coconut and served with a pile of basil infused sugar and black sesame on a Banana Leaf... Inle Lake hit Girls On Grub sweet spot! 

But we could not leave without a round two...so without hesitation, we ordered the Burmese Falooda for the ultimate Burmese addiction. It is a milky drink made with tapioca, agar, banana accent, vanilla icecream, coconut and fresh Rose Syrup.  

Inle Lake is one of our new favorite places to dine. The outside entrance may look deceiving...but we dare you to open the door and taste the Burmese influence inside at Cliffside Park.  What comes out of Chef Cho Win's kitchen will certainly turn into more than a food fling.... it most likely will become a new culinary love affair! 

-Boston Scarlette

For many of us work mode takes on full effect with the start of Mondays and so does the rush to get home. But, W Hotel New York-Downtown's The Living Room Bar and Terrace shows us the best part about Tuesday’s, with SUNSET SWITCH OFF   ... and three cocktail driven reasons why you'll want to stick around after hours by the the river in the city! 

"Our living room is your living room" at the W Hotels worldwide and Girls On Grub couldn't feel any more at home! Five stories up, in the center of the Financial District, we sat down with W Hotel's Food Manager, Edwin Porras, to sip on a bubbly fruit concoction that will have your taste buds zinging in the rain and a bittersweet mix that will have you toasting to your work life! 

Created by one of the best Mixologist in the world, Eben Klemm's SUMMER RAIN is the summer time favorite for hustling and bustling professionals who want to loosen up after long hours spent at the office. The fruity floral flavors of the Gruet Brut Sparkling Rose and Lillet Rose were enough to sweep me off to paradise amidst thrilling views of the city.  Garnished with delicious strawberries on top, I finally experienced the sweet taste of victory, and after a five AM start to my day, this drink was the just bubbly boost I needed.

Next on the menu was W New York-Downtown's  most interesting drink, called FIDI! (short for Financial District).  And boy did I have fun letting this one roll off the tongue. With the crisp taste of celery bitters and natural sugars from maple syrup...an orange peel added the magic touch to this tequila aperitif.  FIDI is the perfect cocktail to take you from day to night without lifting a finger.  No need to bar hop because W hotel’s, Living Room Bar & Terrace is all about "whatever...whenever." Using the finest quality ingredients, W New York- Downtown prides itself on getting the customer whatever he wants whenever he wants it! Tequila of choice for this signature drink: DON JULIO Reposado! One of my favorite tequila brands! A warm silky finish, with aromas of lemon citrus and elegant tastes of dark chocolate, vanilla, and cinnamon...Reposado is the spirit of smooth barrel-aged tequila!

For dessert, and yes I said dessert! I was completely smitten by W New York-Downtown's unique, homemade, cognac-infused ice cream! This creamy confection is a smooth blend of Mikey Likes It, handcrafted vanilla ice cream and D’Usse VSOP Cognac.  If you're a sweet tooth type of foodie like me...then you know this was the absolute icing on top for Girls On Grub ...a surprise invite to try out this one-of-a-kind ice cream delight! But we won’t take too much credit for overly enjoying this frozen treat!  Big thanks to ambassador, Hip Hip Mogul, Jay-Z…the legendary rhymer and W Hotels have teamed up to present to you the ultimate sweet course: D’USSE DE LECHE!!

By the end of the evening I was a happy camper, stuffed, and filled with love…ready to kick back and relish in the unplugged performance of CITY OF THE SUN!


-Tsadiqwah Scarville