Purple Yam

what an awfully rude spot to park a bike! blocking the celler entrance, blocking the customer's view of outside.

*rob*

So far I have only been once for brunch, which may not be the best meal choice for this place. The food was pretty good, but not amazing. The portions were very small, the prices were high, and the service was painfully slow. Perhaps the slow service can be attributed to the fact that I went during the first week they opened, and they had not settled into a groove yet.

I'll give them another try for dinner some day, but I confess I am in no rush to do so.

Obviously others like it, as they place is almost always packed at dinner time.

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Mediocre food and ABSURDLY expensive. Asian fusion can be good, but it isn't here, where it seems to serve mostly as an excuse to tone down the flavors and portions and raise the prices. Nothing we ate was especially interesting, and paying $40 p/p for a moderate amount of food is an insult. For good Asian fusion that's actually worth what they charge, go to Moim.

I live about 37 steps away from this place and I still haven't tried it... when it first opened there was all sorts of buzz and amazing reactions. Now that the shine has worn off I have heard lots of comments like DitmasSnark and Zinka.... expensive, small portions, nothing special.

The PY folks need to learn a thing or two from Mimi's Hummus. The food at Mimi's is delicious and the prices are rather reasonable.

Purple Yam needs to be better AND cheaper.

I thought I was the only one in this train but seems like Snark and Zinka are not only the same train but in the same cart. Overpriced for what it is with small portions and mediocre food. Our waiter was attentive but service was still super slow. Decor is blah at best. They think they moved from SoHo to Ditmas Park, cut their rent by 5 times and still charge SoHo prices. Maybe worth going to if you live in the area but definitely not worth traveling to. Much better options on Cortelyou and hopefully more to come.

Yam is the reincarnation of Cendrillon from SoHo (Mercer St). The cuisine has a Filipino based but have a vast Asian and Western influence. Many dishes are not Filipino at all. So some of the dishes are acquired taste, especially if consider General Tso chicken as Chinese Food.
I like the food. The service is nice, but slow. The owners, Amy and Romy (executive chef) is very nice and often work the table themselves.

Great for second or third date when you want to impress your pseudo hipster girlfriend.

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I vouch for the Kimchi pancake at brunch on Sunday -- and a great spicy seafood soup that was a special. I had dinner there within a couple weeks of its opening and was very happy too. I think they'll find their footing price/portion-wise as they settle into the neighborhood, but I didn't notice anything outrageously out of scale.

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Disagree with the haters. Did take them a couple weeks to get service moving, but food is spectacular, place is really lovely. Goat curry, squash soup, dried beef, tocino sliders, and halo halo all highly recommended.

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I only ate here once but will never return. Who'd have thought that Filipino food with Korean accents would be bland and tasteless, as it is here? When you couple that with overpricing and service that is absolutely chaotic you have a real winner!

One good thing--the restaurant IS quite beautiful, but you couldn't pay me to eat there again.

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albemarle, I love your house taste (reno blog) but we need to refine your food tastes a bit :o).

This place is pretty good, but isn't rave worthy. I love asian food of all types but have found some of their stuff a bit bland. And the prices are higher than they should be. Had the tocino sliders and thought they were too bread-y. A recent whole fish was tasty, and I like their kim chi fried rice. Service speed has improved since opening though still somewhat slow.

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I had the adobo chicken at brunch and it was amazing. Incredibly delicious. I found the service a little slow but very cordial and friendly. I plan on going there again.

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I think that Purple Yam's food is very good and pretty reasonably-sized for the prices. I've been there several times and the service has always been attentive, if not the quickest. It's become one of my favorite restaurants in the neighborhood—I can't really get excited for $9 plates of hummus, but I can for purple sliders. Plus, the desserts are outstanding.

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I don't understand how anyone approaching this restaurant with an open mind and functioning taste buds could possibly not like it - though when you read comments written by someone trumpeting his or her 'snark,' as though that's a quality to be proud of, maybe that's a clue that the reviewer is here primarily to draw attention to his or her own comic genius rather than to offer a fair appraisal of the tremendous food they were served and failed to appreciate.

I was lucky enough to live closer to Amy and Romy's justly praised Cendrillon than I do to Purple Yam, but I still happily sit on the subway for 40 minutes to get there because they are true artists. The food is delicious. Besides accurately stating how wonderful the food is, Sam Sifton's rave review in The Times hinted at how special and remarkable the people behind it are. The only flaw in that review is that the critic described a brief encounter with Romy's genius, as a chef and a host, but apparently has yet to learn enough about Amy to rave about her too - as Cendrillon customers and readers of her very fine, smart and moving book, "Memories of Philippine Kitchens," have been doing for years.

What made Cendrillon so special was something beyond the truly great food in a lovely setting, it was that Amy and Romy managed to create a remarkable ambiance that made going there a real pleasure. From what I've seen, Purple Yam recreates everything that was great about Cendrillon, in a more intimate setting at lower prices. In these tough times we're all pretty broke, but this food is very reasonably priced considering how damned good it is.

But don't listen to me, or anyone else, just go, order the adobo, the lechon, the sissig, the goat curry, the scallion pancake, the champorado, the amazing ice creams, or really anything else and decide for yourself. Ditmas Park residents are lucky, plain and simple.

I don't understand how anyone approaching this restaurant with an open mind and functioning taste buds could possibly not like it - though when you read comments written by someone trumpeting his or her 'snark,' as though that's a quality to be proud of, maybe that's a clue that the reviewer is here primarily to draw attention to his or her own comic genius rather than to offer a fair appraisal of the tremendous food they were served and failed to appreciate.

I was lucky enough to live closer to Amy and Romy's justly praised Cendrillon than I do to Purple Yam, but I still happily sit on the subway for 40 minutes to get there because they are true artists. The food is delicious. Besides accurately stating how wonderful the food is, Sam Sifton's rave review in The Times hinted at how special and remarkable the people behind it are. The only flaw in that review is that the critic described a brief encounter with Romy's genius, as a chef and a host, but apparently has yet to learn enough about Amy to rave about her too - as Cendrillon customers and readers of her very fine, smart and moving book, "Memories of Philippine Kitchens," have been doing for years.

What made Cendrillon so special was something beyond the truly great food in a lovely setting, it was that Amy and Romy managed to create a remarkable ambiance that made going there a real pleasure. From what I've seen, Purple Yam recreates everything that was great about Cendrillon, in a more intimate setting at lower prices. In these tough times we're all pretty broke, but this food is very reasonably priced considering how damned good it is.

But don't listen to me, or anyone else, just go, order the adobo, the lechon, the sissig, the goat curry, the scallion pancake, the champorado, the amazing ice creams, or really anything else and decide for yourself. Ditmas Park residents are lucky, plain and simple.

I don't understand how anyone approaching this restaurant with an open mind and functioning taste buds could possibly not like it - though when you read comments written by someone trumpeting his or her 'snark,' as though that's a quality to be proud of, maybe that's a clue that the reviewer is here primarily to draw attention to his or her own comic genius rather than to offer a fair appraisal of the tremendous food they were served and failed to appreciate.

I was lucky enough to live closer to Amy and Romy's justly praised Cendrillon than I do to Purple Yam, but I still happily sit on the subway for 40 minutes to get there because they are true artists. The food is delicious. Besides accurately stating how wonderful the food is, Sam Sifton's rave review in The Times hinted at how special and remarkable the people behind it are. The only flaw in that review is that the critic described a brief encounter with Romy's genius, as a chef and a host, but apparently has yet to learn enough about Amy to rave about her too - as Cendrillon customers and readers of her very fine, smart and moving book, "Memories of Philippine Kitchens," have been doing for years.

What made Cendrillon so special was something beyond the truly great food in a lovely setting, it was that Amy and Romy managed to create a remarkable ambiance that made going there a real pleasure. From what I've seen, Purple Yam recreates everything that was great about Cendrillon, in a more intimate setting at lower prices. In these tough times we're all pretty broke, but this food is very reasonably priced considering how damned good it is.

But don't listen to me, or anyone else, just go, order the adobo, the lechon, the sissig, the goat curry, the scallion pancake, the champorado, the amazing ice creams, or really anything else and decide for yourself. Ditmas Park residents are lucky, plain and simple.

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I haven't been, but my neighbors went last week and said it was awful. Same as others here have said...bland and overpriced. They said service was quite slow.

I was hoping to check the place out, but have zero interest now. We have very similar taste in restaurants, so I will be crossing this one off the "must try list." in fact, now it's not on any list.

Giuliana Biatchi,

Yes, obviously my sensibilities are too course to appreciate the culinary sublimity that was presented to me.

Talk about snarky, you take the cake. The verbose and snobby cake.

After eating there six times I have to say that Purple Yam is wonderful. The husband wife team, Amy and Romy put their full effort and lots of love into the place, the experience and the food of course. They are real pros and have brought a unique restaurant to our nabe.

I'm surprised to see all the negativity in the comments. Maybe wild boar pizza with soju isn't for everyone? Its unusual food which makes it pretty exciting for the adventurous eater.

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Snooty Giuliana Bianchi makes me not want to go here.

We've been about a half dozen times and love it. The food was inconsistent the first few weeks (some dishes were amazing, others a bit bland), but they have really hit their stride. The combination and depth of flavors on certain dishes is really outstanding. Favorites include the Bibambap, Goat Curry, Sisig, Tofu and Clam soup, and the Buko Pie. I think the pricing is reasonable considering the creativity of the menu and the quality of the ingredients and preparation.

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I have been to Purple Yam several times since its opening. I am totally a fan of what they do. A recent experience cemented my feelings.

I was just there last Saturday with a snobby Frenchman married to a Filipina friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen in years. He had just about given up on Philippine food, tired of too many greasy lumpias and over-seasoned pancit and adobo often served at Filipino restaurants. He was going to cancel, after all who wants to schlep all the way to Brooklyn from Manhattan to have one’s appetite assaulted, but his wife persuaded him to come along to meet me. After all she and I dated back in High School and a married woman meeting her former suitor is always bound to raise eyebrows. And so the whole clan came and with them the problem of what to order: she wanted Philippine food, he didn’t want Philippine food, and the kids each wanted bits of things.

To save the family from crisis, I took charge of ordering. For the kids I suggested the Tocino Sliders; for mommy and me, we ordered the kare-kare with bagoong fried rice and fresh lumpia. Hubby wasn’t sure what he wanted so he waited to see how the first courses went before plunging in further.

As expected, the sliders were a hit; how could they not be? Both the mayonnaise and bread are home made with the latter out of purple yam; they cure the tocino themselves using organic ingredients, and the persimmons are pickled in-house. Topped with a few sprigs of watercress, it’s a tasty appetizer. The sliders were meant for the kids but Hubby devoured two of them with gusto.

When the other dishes came, he started eating out of his wife’s plate. “I normally hate Kare-Kare but this is great”, he blurted with his mouth full. I was surprised as this is a very ethnic dish not for the unadventurous westerner. But then again, the ingredients were fresh and organic, no MSG, and not too much bagoong (a potent fish paste made of anchovies; when done right it’s a zingy burst of salt in the mouth and therefore should be used sparingly or it overwhelms. Purple Yam does it right and serves extra on the side for those who want more). The fresh lumpia? Hubby breathed in half of that, leaving me and my friend looking for more food.

As a special, they happened to have short ribs braised in rice wine with red dates and lotus root. I had something similar back at Cendrillon where I dined with a friend from Kansas who said it was the best short rib he ever had. I didn’t hesitate to order it here. We were not disappointed. The beef was so tender, it peeled gently off the bone with the slightest touch of a fork. It didn’t last long on the plate. We washed it down with a robust rioja, one of many great wines on their list.

By now Hubby was ready to continue his Asian food trek. For dessert we ordered kalamansi sorbet for the kids and shared a coconut meringue, which was fabulous. I’m not a dessert person but this experience was like caressing a lover’s hands. I barely took one bite when hubby attacked the plate with his spoon. We had to order a second round.

Before we left the chef walked by and Hubby said to him, “you’ve restored my faith in Philippine food” and then chided his wife saying “how come you never took me here before?”

The experience was a complete success. If a snobby French foodie from Manhattan could have an excellent dinning experience, I’m sure adventurous Brooklyners up for a new culinary experience will be similarly delighted.

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Giuliana Bianchi repeated her review three times, so it must be true, snobby and pretentious though it is. Either that or she's one of those people who can't realize that the emperor has no cloths :-)

OTOH discernment1438's thoughtful review makes me think that I might have missed something and should try this restaurant again, no matter how much I disliked it on my first visit.

Bob - I agree with you about "discernment1438's thoughtful review" and will give PY another whirl.

Been to PY several times and can't say enough about the owners' efforts to bring excellent quality food on your plates. I'm a big fan of their brunch - beef tapa and tocino are always good, and the chicken adobo I think is a better version of what they had in Cendrillon. I saw a lot of bibimbap orders on other tables when I was last there so I will give that a try next time. For dinner, the duck leg and tamarind shrimp are my favorites. The duck was so tender and flavorful. The classics are as good as they had been so there are plenty to choose from depending on the flavors that you like. The portions are right for the prices, and with the sort of quality and labor that goes into the dishes I'd say PY has excellent value. Everything is freshly made, from the tocino that they cure themselves to the home-made ice cream. It's not like they scoop out of an Edy's bucket when you order your coffee ice cream or slice a piece from a frozen pie and thaw it in the microwave. And speaking of coffee ice cream, it's a perfect match to the champorrado, so make room for it!

The place has a very friendly vibe, intimate to a nice level. Can't wait til spring, when hopefully the outdoor garden will be open. The staff is sometimes harried when the place is packed but I've never had too long of a wait to complain about it.

So unfortunate that some people are trash talking based on one dish or worse, based on what their neighbor said. If you can't form your own opinion don't even bother with the comment page please.

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Fascinating that all the long-form comments, several of them snobby, come out a couple days after the restaurant is first up for review. Someone clearly orchestrated those.

Zinka,

I guess it's understandable that the owners might want to orchestrate a response to the overwhelmingly negative reviews here.

The late "long-form" responses are from people who haven't posted here before and might be considered suspect because of that. I, for one would discount the submissions from Ms. Bianchi and "Morgan 195" for their condescending tone, if nothing else. However, "discernment1438's" review does make me reconsider. Truth be told, I visited Purple Plum only two weeks after they opened which MIGHT account for the slow and disorganized service and the wait staff's lack of familiarity with the menu. My wife enjoyed the short ribs and my wild boar pizza was acceptable, if bland, although it couldn't compare to the similar (and FAR less expensive) dish at Bedouin Tent, on Atlantic Ave (made with lamb). The tocino sliders, that night, consisted of dried out meat on a close approximation of cold supermarket white bread, but it might have been an off night. I wanted to try more, but some of the things we ordered just failed to appear, without apology or explanation.

IF I ever decide to go back, I'd try the adobo chicken; I think I'd wait several more months though, in the hope that the restaurant might be able to work out it's many kinks.

Well we ate at PY last night for my wife's birthday and must say we were a little worried over the past few days after reading the negative reviews here. I'm very happy to report that our party of nine had a fabulous meal and experience. Yay! And no, I'm not a shill - we've lived in PPS for 12 years and are just folks in the hood happy to have this place close by. I can't give you the exquisite blow by blow like Discernment 1438, but we ordered tons of apps (all of the specials and the pork sliders) and for entrees had lamb ribs, flank steak, goat curry, a fish dish... All was great - no stinkers in the lot - I queried the group on the way out! Oh the deserts were nice as well.

Our service was lovely - perhaps a hair slow to get the first drink but I think he was waiting for us all to arrive - otherwise great service, and the food came surprisingly quick.

One of our friends lives in Soho and was a Cedrillion fan... she was ecstatic to find its replacement a couple of blocks from us...

So Big Thumbs Up from us. Not only was it all delicious but it is the kind of food we would never be able to make which makes it all the more enticing... and it was really reasonable to boot.

If you truly had a bad experience - I'd say give it another shot - we'll be going back.

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Bob, I also found the tocino sliders to be atrociously dry and bland. Couldn't understand what the hype was about. This was about a month after they opened.

I'm interested in hearing from anyone who disliked it before and goes back and tries it again -- but at $30-40 a person I don't want to be that person.

Zinka and Bob, I am with you on all accounts, about the sliders, other food and fake posters.

I never write reviews. EVER. But I simply had to write this one for Purple Yam because I think this special spot is very deserving of positive feedback. I went to the opening of PY and must admit that I wasn't terribly impressed: seems as though they were working out the kinks at that time--a few of the dishes were on the bland side and the wait staff, though very nice, were slow and didn't seem to know what was going on. Still, the majority of the dishes were tasty and unique; a combination of food I never would make for myself nor try if not staring it in the face on a menu.

I gave PY a little time to adjust to its new setting and then tried it again about a month later and I have to say, it was just plain excellent. I had the Kimchi of the Day and the Bi Bim Bop and both were unique, flavorful, healthy and a joy to consume. The Bi Bim Bop was one of the best vegetarian dishes I've ever had at any establishment (and I've eaten in Koreatown on numerous occasions); it was different from the Korean version, no egg or beef but brimming with fresh, seasonal vegetables and at the bottom was an incredibly tasty rice combination, crunchy and healthy and flavorful. The unfiltered saki I ordered was full-bodied and deliciously sweet and milky. I sat at the bar to eat my meal, and when I glanced over at the customer next to me and noticed his steaming fresh fish with lovely fresh vegetables atop, I had to ask him how it was. He informed me that it was "incredible" and that he was forcing himself to stop in-between bites in order to savor the flavors and keep from devouring it immediately.

I liked dinner so much that I went to brunch there that same weekend. Their brunch is (if possible) even better than their dinner. I had the scallion pancake which is lightly fried (tempura style); it was slightly spicy in the most perfect of ways and the soy dipping sauce was delicious. I ordered the fried chicken and it was perfect in every way--moist and obviously good quality chicken. It was perfectly lightly fried with a flavorful sweet soy reduction sauce. Really, it was a perfect meal (minus the coffee, which was pretty awful).

The wait staff seemed to have become more accustomed to their roles each time I ate at PY, though I do still think that they could use some more training and perhaps someone to oversee them as they work. The decor is on the bland, innocuous side, but the quality and construction of the dishes make up for all of that. I honestly love this place and plan on returning again and again.

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oh gosh. I think these long reviews are a sham. Someone is seriously trying to build up the place. All sound like wanna be food critics.

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Also worth noting that of the 5 recent long-form reviews, not a single one of them has EVER commented on Brownstoner prior to posting the review here. Not on another restaurant, and not even on a random post. I call shenanigans.

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Apologies for having an opinion.

I have never commented on restaurants here (just a lot on every little crumb of renovation) but I think Purple Yam deserves my props.....having been a (part) restaurant owner in previous life I can see they do need time to get in their service groove, but I thought the food was GREAT. Oh, that kimchi pancake......also the other veg tempura kind of appetizer? We talked about them for days. Really good restaurant. Yes, it is like the Soho one in ambiance but they are trying to adapt to the neighborhood. Give them a while to get it going if you can; they are such nice people and the food really is great.

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> I'm interested in hearing from anyone who disliked it before
> and goes back and tries it again

Well, zinka, that would be me.

After my initial disappointing brunch shortly after they opened, I recently returned with the bf for dinner. I gotta say, it was pretty darn delicious.

We had the Korean meatballs, fresh lumpia, green curry vegetables, and curry goat. The lumpia was good if not that exciting. The meatballs were very good, and the two curry dishes were outstanding. Such interesting and complex flavors!

Mind you, the place isn't cheap, nor would I really expect it to be, given the quality. The space is also quite pleasant, and the service was good. I'll definitely go back, but it's a bit pricey for me to make it into common rotation.

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