We like statistics so we were excited to see MenuPages posted the five most clicked on restaurants at their site. Some shockers here:

• La Viola
• Mixto
• Water Works Restaurant
• Honey’s Sit ‘n Eat
• Aqua

High Five! All-Around Introductory Edition [MenuPages]

Phyllis Stein-Novack tries Center City�s newest Malaysian restaurant, Aqua and finds and original Malaysian eggplant in a shrimp paste sauce as well as something for the shrimp lover.

If you love shrimp, go for the coconut jumbo prawns ($20.95). Remember how this dish was all the rage at catered affairs and cocktail parties during the �80s and �90s? These were totally different � and addictive. Good-sized shrimp were coated in a batter of melted butter and tapioca, fried and placed atop a large iceberg lettuce leaf filled with strands of coconut and basil leaves. Although we found them a little greasy, they were superb and I liked the fried coconut. Its natural sweetness married beautifully with the hint of salt and spice. The basil offered a fine contrast in taste.

Two-and-a-half tips of the toque to Aqua.

Aqua [South Philly Review]

Craig LaBan dines at Aqua, the six month old Malaysian/Thai restaurant at 7th and Chestnut Streets. And although some of the more cutting edge dishes you might expect from a Malaysian restaurant aren’t on the menu, what is there makes for a quality meal.

Aqua’s biggest asset, though, is chef Lon Poon, a Malaysian-born cook who helped open Penangs in Philadelphia and New York. His menu may be edited for a novice crowd, but the cooking itself is sharp, and the flavors at their root still reveal Malaysian integrity, from the sour lemongrass twang and chile-spiced bite of the tom yum soup to the mysteriously tasty “house special” sauce that covers everything from squid to enormous prawns.

Two Bells

Aqua [Philadelphia Inquirer]

Kirsten Henri finds Aqua, the new Malaysian and Thai restaurant on the 700 block of Walnut Street to be hospitable from top to bottom, and full of good food.

On a visit to the three-month-old spot, I watch him [co-owner Jim Tran] work the room in a fashion that could be described only as Clintonian. He provides a glorious display of feverish hand-pumping for an older couple, who seem delighted to be recognized as regulars. For the younger couple dining next to us, he clucks approval over their small, boring order as if it�s the first time he�s ever heard anyone order chicken satay. For us, a heartfelt inquiry on our thoughts over the various dishes and a mini monologue on his strategy for keeping the restaurant running smoothly leaves us glowing like the star quarterback just asked our geeky selves to the prom. Oh, and the food is good too.

Thai of the Tiger [Philadelphia Weekly]
Photo via Philadelphia Weekly

Craig LaBan takes a look at the signature appetizer at Aqua, the new Malaysian at 7th and Chestnut Streets. The rice net spring rolls are filled with shrimp, crab, glass noodles and rice paper. “The effect is both crunch and soft Asian comfort wrapped in a single bite.”

Malaysian crunch [Philadelphia Inquirer]

• Aqua, the Malaysian and Thai restaurant at 7th and Chestnut has opened.
• Michael Klein reports that the National Park Service is looking for a restaurant operator for the Kennedy-Supplee Mansion in Valley Forge Park. No word on whether the Park Service will be installing a space crippling metal fence around the mansion.
• A moderate priced Mexican BYOB is opening just about any day now at 744 Christian Street. Molcajete Mixto’s signature dishes will be served in hot volcanic rock (Inqlings).
• Former Starr chef Christopher Painter is the executive chef at Kitchen 223 in Haddon Heights, NJ. The American bistro will be open in about a month (Feeding Frenzy).
• Jolly’s Sporting Saloon may be leaving it’s 19th Street location (Icepack)

A.D. Amorosi’s article in last week’s City Paper kicked up quite the fuss resulting in three letters to the editor defending the credentials of Ed Rek of Restaurant M.

Nothing small about these Quick Bites, open wide and devour!

• Aqua, 705 Chestnut Street, may be opening as soon as Mondy and Michael Klein has the dish.
• Also in Table Talk today it�s noted that Suede is looking to be reborn Triada, a �small-plates restaurant-cum-lounge.� Of course Triada should not to be confused with Tria or Trio. And there�s no truth to the rumor that riage, a small tapas and Emergency Room waiting area is opening near Jefferson.
• Another item of note in TT, especially to those who miss Warmdaddy�s on Front Street, their new RiverView Plaza location is �about a month out.� (Table Talk)

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Day 3 of our look at restaurants that are opening soon. Today we look at five restaurants opening in the Washington Square West neighborhood.
Oceanaire Seafood Restaurant has already won an award for best wine list, even though there’s obviously plenty of construction to complete before the doors open at this Washington Square restaurant.

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