It just got easier for diners to try more creative takes on authentic Chinese cuisine at acclaimed eatery Ram & Rooster in Metuchen.
The one-year-old destination — the only prix fixe Chinese restaurant in the state — recently unveiled an $89 four-course menu with two to three options per course, available on Wednesdays and Thursdays only.
Options include chrysanthemum salad with grilled peaches and almonds; snow crab dumplings with sundried tomato chili crisp; roast duck with tiger sauce and forbidden rice; and a warm corn cookie with lychee and corn caramel ice cream.
The chrysanthemum salad with grilled peaches, red mustard and almonds at Ram & Rooster.
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Customers can opt for that menu, or the $128 eight-course chef’s tasting. Both menus will change seasonally, although dishes do not overlap.
The new menu replaces a former $75 five-course menu.
“Our prix fixe is scoff at,” owner and chef Sean Yan said. “We’re getting a lot more happy guests because they get choices, and if they come with other people, they get to try even more different dishes.”
Steak tartare with pickled ginger, grilled cherry and potato crumb at Ram & Rooster.
Yan, formerly the pastry chef at acclaimed Old Bridge restaurant Heirloom Kitchen, is a second-generation Chinese immigrant. The restaurant and its name — his parents’ Chinese zodiac signs are the ram and the rooster — are an homage to them.
Fare is served in an intimate, charcoal gray dining room warmed with walnut wood, pendant lighting and notes of gold. Just 28 seats fill two floors, which include an eight-seat black, white and gold chef’s counter overlooking the kitchen.
Go: 83 Central Ave., Metuchen; 732-662-1041, ramandroosternj.com.
Jenna Intersimone.
Contact: JIntersimone@MyCentralJersey.com
Jenna Intersimone has been a staff member at the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey since 2014, although she’s a lifetime Jersey girl who considers herself an expert in everything from the Jersey Shore to the Garden State’s buzzing downtowns. To get unlimited access to her stories about food, drink and fun, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. You can also follow her on Instagram at @seejennaeat and on Twitter at @JIntersimone.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Ram & Rooster in Metuchen unveils new flexible menu
