Lun Wah, Roselle, NJ (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

D donhonyc Tiki Socialite The Quiet EAST Village Joined: Jan 13, 2003 Posts: 1196	D donhonyc Posted posted on Mon, Apr 19, 2004 10:19 PM Name:Lun Wah, Roselle, NJ Type:restaurant Street:587 Raritan Road City:Roselle State:NJ Zip:07203 country:USA Phone:908-254-0656 Status:operational Description: Like it's Jersey counterparts, Chan's Dragon Inn, Lee's Hawaiian Islander (both locations), and Jade Island (actually on Staten Island, NYC) Lun Wah is a Chinese Restaurant in the Polynesian style. Located in a rather bleak looking shopping center (like Jade Island), you would not know that Lun Wah was pretty amazing inside. Like Chan's, etc. it has several Bamboo Hut's and Tikis-a-plenty. In fact I thought it should have maybe been rated a notch or so higher on the Tiki Road Trip 'TiPSY Scale'. A very well maintained goldfish pond and waterfall is in the center of the space near the restroom. The bar was more impressive to me than any of the other NY/NJ tiki places I have been to, and I have been to most of them at this point. The bar is sectioned off from the dining room and has more of a secluded hut feel to it. I wish this place was closer to my house simply for the bar alone. I would hang out there pretty often! If I was to build my own home Tiki bar, I would want it to look like the one in Lun Wah. There was music playing, but it seemed more Asian than Hawaiian with sounds of gongs and kotos (even though that is a Japanese instrument). I can't really speak for the food because I ordered a steamed dish (dieting), but I did order an egg roll which was no big deal. Pretty average actually. I had a Mai-Tai and it was very similar to the ones served at Chan's. More on the fruit juice tasting side of the spectrum, but still very tasty and was served in the same dragon motif Mai-Tai glass that Chan's uses (both places probably order their glassware from Dynasty Wholesale). More evidence of Dynasty Wholesale was evident at the cashiers booth where they offered a few hula girl mugs and Scorpion and Volcano bowls for sale. Lun Wah has been around for 30 years, and they just celebrated their anniversary which they advertise on the free business card-sized refrigerator magnets. No tikis on the magnet, just a palm tree and a drawing of a Chinese take-out container and fortune cookies (why no tikis on there?) The actual business card they have is a little more Polynesian looking with a big red palm tree on it. If you have a car and live in central Jersey, Lun Wah will be easy for you to get to. For us city dwellers, that is still to be determined, I rented a car for the day to do some family visiting so it was easy. It's seems like it may be a bit more of a project to get to commuting from the city. Chan's is an easy ride, because a bus can be hopped from Port Authority and basically takes you to the front door. When I asked the gentleman at Lun Wah about public transportation, he said the nearest train was in Linden. I got the impression that the train wasn't that far, but not in walking distance either, so a local cab would probably be required to get to the restaurant from the train station. Overall I found Lun Wah to be the most well kept establishment out of all of the NY/NJ tiki joints. Chan's is very cool, but compared to Lun Wah it seems a little rough around the edges. I guess the same could be said about Lee's Hawaiian Lyndhurst location. Great places but a little ramshackle compared to Lun Wah. I would love to go back. If you're in that area I highly recommend it. [ Edited by: donhonyc on 2004-04-20 09:40 ]

Name:Lun Wah, Roselle, NJ
Type:restaurant
Street:587 Raritan Road
City:Roselle
State:NJ
Zip:07203
country:USA
Phone:908-254-0656
Status:operational

Description:
Like it's Jersey counterparts, Chan's Dragon Inn, Lee's Hawaiian Islander (both locations), and Jade Island (actually on Staten Island, NYC) Lun Wah is a Chinese Restaurant in the Polynesian style. Located in a rather bleak looking shopping center (like Jade Island), you would not know that Lun Wah was pretty amazing inside. Like Chan's, etc. it has several Bamboo Hut's and Tikis-a-plenty. In fact I thought it should have maybe been rated a notch or so higher on the Tiki Road Trip 'TiPSY Scale'. A very well maintained goldfish pond and waterfall is in the center of the space near the restroom. The bar was more impressive to me than any of the other NY/NJ tiki places I have been to, and I have been to most of them at this point. The bar is sectioned off from the dining room and has more of a secluded hut feel to it. I wish this place was closer to my house simply for the bar alone. I would hang out there pretty often! If I was to build my own home Tiki bar, I would want it to look like the one in Lun Wah.

There was music playing, but it seemed more Asian than Hawaiian with sounds of gongs and kotos (even though that is a Japanese instrument).

I can't really speak for the food because I ordered a steamed dish (dieting), but I did order an egg roll which was no big deal. Pretty average actually. I had a Mai-Tai and it was very similar to the ones served at Chan's. More on the fruit juice tasting side of the spectrum, but still very tasty and was served in the same dragon motif Mai-Tai glass that Chan's uses (both places probably order their glassware from Dynasty Wholesale). More evidence of Dynasty Wholesale was evident at the cashiers booth where they offered a few hula girl mugs and Scorpion and Volcano bowls for sale.

Lun Wah has been around for 30 years, and they just celebrated their anniversary which they advertise on the free business card-sized refrigerator magnets. No tikis on the magnet, just a palm tree and a drawing of a Chinese take-out container and fortune cookies (why no tikis on there?) The actual business card they have is a little more Polynesian looking with a big red palm tree on it.

If you have a car and live in central Jersey, Lun Wah will be easy for you to get to. For us city dwellers, that is still to be determined, I rented a car for the day to do some family visiting so it was easy. It's seems like it may be a bit more of a project to get to commuting from the city. Chan's is an easy ride, because a bus can be hopped from Port Authority and basically takes you to the front door. When I asked the gentleman at Lun Wah about public transportation, he said the nearest train was in Linden. I got the impression that the train wasn't that far, but not in walking distance either, so a local cab would probably be required to get to the restaurant from the train station.

Overall I found Lun Wah to be the most well kept establishment out of all of the NY/NJ tiki joints. Chan's is very cool, but compared to Lun Wah it seems a little rough around the edges. I guess the same could be said about Lee's Hawaiian Lyndhurst location. Great places but a little ramshackle compared to Lun Wah. I would love to go back. If you're in that area I highly recommend it.

[ Edited by: donhonyc on 2004-04-20 09:40 ]

Post #87144 by donhonyc on Mon, Apr 19, 2004 10:19 PM