The Spice Market Must Flow

Spice Market

Found ourselves in MePa tonight after a Skillshare class and knew it was finally time for us to check out Spice Market. We walked in and I was immediately wowed by the ambience and decor. It was immediately evident why this restaurant has a lot of buzz. I felt transported to another place. We checked in with the hostess who ushered us downstairs to wait for our table. After about 20 minutes our wait was up and we were escorted back upstairs to a chef's table.

 Right away, we were treated to their complimentary papadom with dipping sauce. Delicious and nice and light, so we still had plenty of room for our meal.

Papadum & Salsa

Their cocktails menu offered a lot of unique flavors & combinations, so we couldn't resist ordering a couple of drinks.

Cocktails

We asked our server for some recommendations and he strongly recommended the Crispy Pork Belly, but warned us that it was really more of an appetizer, even though it is not listed under 'Appetizers'. We really enjoyed it, but were very grateful for the heads up, we definitely would've been underwhelmed if we had ordered as a main.

Crispy Pork Belly

Next we split an order of the Short Ribs served over noodles. This was another recommendation from our waiter that proved true. The short rib was perfectly tender and basically dissolved in our mouths.

Short Ribs

Since our waiter had steered us oh-so-right with our other dishes, we did not hesitate when he insisted that we *had* to try the Ovaltine Kulfi for dessert. Definitely not a dish we would have ordered otherwise, but we were ooooooh so glad we did.  Caramelized banana, some kind of marshmellowy fluff, and some candied popcorn topped off a ganache-like cake. A perfect way to end the meal.

Ovaltine Kulfi

I really wasn't sure what to expect since Spice Market has really mixed reviews. My theory is that it went through a period of being uber trendy and it got overhyped or people are just scared to say they like it because it is 'passe'? Whatever the case may be, we were really happy with it and found it to be a really enjoyable meal.

Ambiance: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5