A & J's

> Location : 14805 Jeffrey Rd., Irvine,
California 92620, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : Simple Northern Chinese
> Tel. # : N/A
> Website : N/A

It's definitely not a bad place for simple northern chinese food. a&j is a nice small simple restaurant order using a piece of paper kinda like ordering sushi at a sushi joint.

the fried meat bun, spicy or non spicy beef noodles, ja ja mien, potstickers, thounsand layer pancake and a lot of stuff are all very acceptable. definitely a different type of chinese food if you want to get away from the southern, canton style type of chinese food.

if u're vegetarian or just tryin to get healthy, their vegetarian delight is good too. comes with soup, rice, bean curd, vegetable, black fungus, mushrooms and other stuff. it has a good taste to it yet it's light and healthy

they also have a lot of small dishes to choose from like cucumbers, seaweed. they are a bit sweet but mostly sour cold dishes if u know what i'm talkin about. good to open up your appetite (sour things, especially food mixed with vinegar helps your appetite).

the pricing is normal and just right. the service is fine. it's located near taiko and right next to a hair salon on jeffery/walnut. help this helps!

* these short reviews by me can also be found on www.yelp.com

< 3 1/2 out of 5 >

Houston's

> Location : 2991 Michelson Dr, Irvine,
California 92612, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : American
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : http://www.hillstone.com/

Houston's is a great place for ribs and the alike. heck, even the sandwiches are good. it's not a cheap place and like my friend raymond who started the review, it's a cut above places like black angus but right below places like ruth chris and other expensive steakhouses. the environment is very dim during the evening time. a big bar with a lot of tv's around it for sport fanatics.

the spanich dip is always good. one thing i always get when i go there. the ribs are very good also. juicy and of good quality. usually it's a place late 20's 30+ year old people go to. 'cause most dishes are in the high $10's and usually $20-30+. yet, don't let the price fool you. although it won't be like a claim jumper portion at houston's, what you get is consistently high quality. the salad, pastas are all good. and of course like i said, there's a bar, so if u're with the boys or on business outing, there's a wide variety of drinks u can order.

finally, like my man raymond said above, be pepared to spend about 40-60 a person if you want a decent meal for two (about 50 ish when i went with a friend. two entrees and one starter dish). you can probably get out with around 30 ish if u order the cheaper stuff like the sandwiches and the alike. anyhow, hope this helps!

* these short reviews by me can also be found on www.yelp.com

< 4 out of 5 >

Philly's Best

> Location : 4250 Barranca Pkwy Ste R, Irvine,
California 92604, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : Philadelphian Cheesesteak
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : http://www.eatphillysbest.com/

Seriously, out of every darn place in california i've been to for a cheesesteak, this is still the best out of anywhere else i've been to! get the philly's best or if u're not too into beef that day, the philly's best chicken is good too!

a lot of tv's so you can watch your sports and don't be hesitant if you wanna watch a different channel. just ask and they will switch it for you. it seems pricey at first but for the quality they give you, i don't mind it at all. i also have to mention, the onion rings with pizza sauce are great! i'm not overstating, but this are probably the meanest onion rings around the area. so give those bad boys a try next time you go!

* these short reviews by me can also be found on www.yelp.com

< 5 out of 5 >

Inka Grill

> Location : 23600 Rockfield Blvd Ste 2K, Lake Forest,
California 92630, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : Peruvian
> Tel. # : N/A
> Website : N/A

Peruvian cusine is great for anybody who hasn't tried it before. peru is the "capital" of potatos. in fact, sometimes people say french fries are originated from there since the europeans back in the days brought potatoes back from peru. my first time was at mario's in downtown l.a. so i had to find a place to go to since i live in the o.c. there are various places around the lakeforest area with peruvian cusine. however, my first attempt in o.c. is inka grill.

the place is not very big. about three booths and about 8-10 tables. but don't let the size fool you, let the food do the talkin! the place is decorated nicely with a southern america theme. slightly dim lighting to go with the mood.

i've tried a good amount of dishes from inka grill but i'm goin to try my best to remember everything. the most common peruvian dish is saltado. it's a dish with onion, potatoe strips (kinda like french fries), some special sauce mixed into it and your choice of meat (chicken, beef, seafood or vegetarian). the dish is served with rice and on the side, you can use this spicy guacamole sauce that heightens the taste and give yourself a spicy rush! it's a very delicious dish for first time peruvian food eaters and the portion they give you is very filling.

they also have these empanadas with different types of fillings in their starter menu that are very good too. i've also tried the fried yuka root, which is a type of root that has a similar texture to a potato but not quite. it comes with a special sauce to dip in. i've also had this lamb stew dish that is served with rice once. i think it was called mama's homecook lamb stew. i don't recall exactly what it tasted like since it was sometime ago but i do remember it was very very good! so u should definitely check into that.

definitely, u can't leave a peruvian restaurant without trying inca cola. it's a type of cola that is bright yellow in color and it tastes like bubblegum. it's very good and refreshing. anyhow, hope this helps!

* these short reviews by me can also be found on www.yelp.com

< 4 out of 5 >

Mosun Sushi Sake Bar

> Location : 680 S Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach,
California 92651, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : Japanese
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : http://www.mosunclubm.com/

Lets forget about the night club portion of mosun because the highlight of this place is still the food.

i've tried dozens of japanese places in so cal and if you want to talk about freshness / quality of the fish, this has to be the best out of all places i've been to period. at least i can say for certain around the o.c. area.

mosun's environment is very dim with very neat decorations. there's a water decoration thingy which is kinda neat with lcd tv's around the place. it's a nice environment for friends and even on a date.

the fish as i was talkin' about earlier is very fresh. just stay away from wednesday since it's half price day (usually when there are specials and discounts for sushi joints, they don't serve you the best quality stuff. so if you want to get the best, stay away from those. but if quatity is in your mood, then go right ahead!). the tuna, yellowtail, salmon, toro, white fish, mackeral and every type of fish you could imagine is all good. their rolls are very unique especially the lobster roll if i recall correctly. when eating sashimi, pay attention to the fish's chewiness. if it melts in your mouth really easily or even if you see the fish's color on the rice, then it's definitely not fresh/frozen/they added food coloring. fresh sashimi is always a bit chewy. kinda feeling the tendon's of the fish. the only exception to this fact is toro (fatty tuna). this is the only fish i know for a fact that should melt in your mouth for the most part. but of course for mosun, i highly highly doubt this will ever happen.

mosun even have a line of dessert. the one i remember having last time is the cream brule. it's very good if i recall correctly. anyhow, to end this, i gotta say again, it's the best place for sushi. it's a very young/hip place so it's hard to fit a family mood into a place like this. but with friends or on dates, it's definitely great. laguna beach wise, i heard there is another place supposedly better than mosun. but until i find out, this has to be the best in so cal i have ever had.

* these short reviews by me can also be found on www.yelp.com

< 4 out of 5 >

India Cook House

> Location : 14130 Culver Dr., Irvine, California 92604, U.S.A.
> Cuisine : Indian
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : http://www.indiacookhouseoc.com/

I can't say much about the specific ordering of dishes for this indian restaurant. however, i can tell u a good amount of what the lunch buffet is all about!

for $9 dollars, you can have a full indian lunch buffet. it's not some tiny buffet section in the restaurant, it's actually a decent size with a good amount of selections! all sorts of curry, chicken, lamb, desserts, all you can eat naan, a few kinds of indian fried foods, vegetables and a lot of other stuff! seriously, 9 bucks, not a lot for something like this!

i've been to the lunch buffet about 3, 4 times and everytime it tastes consistent from each other and very good! of course, it's a buffet after all, so the quality isn't top notch. however, judging it according to buffet quality, it really is better than a lot of places i've been to!

if you want buffet, got a lot of room in your stomach and want some indian food, i totally recommend you this place. it's next to caspian, hidden behind the dennys on culver. anyhow, hope this helps!

* these short reviews by me can also be found on www.yelp.com

< 4 out of 5 >

Thai Spice

> Location : 15455 Jeffrey Rd., Ste 315, Irvine,
California 92618, U.S.A.
> Cusine : Thai fast food
> Tel. # : N/A
> Website : N/A

For some quick thai food, thai spice does it job. i live fairly close to thai spice for like 3 years so i had a lot of experiences there. they may not use traditional ingredients in every dish, but for someone with a new tongue in thai food, it really is still some above average food.

as the name tells u, this place isn't kidding with the spiciness! you get to choose up to 4 or 5 different levels of spiciness. mild is usually good enough in my opinion unless you like to fight fire throughout your meal!

as one reviewer stated, their soup isn't exactly up to par with sit down restaurants. but still it's acceptable. most notably, tom ka ka and tom yum gong. i'm usually a sucker for their noodles. pad see u, pad thai, lad lan, pad kee mow, chicken curry noodle are all good (pardon the spelling). rice wise, i like the spicy chicken on rice over pineapple fried rice. just because of the consistent taste.

speaking of taste, because they change between 2-3 chefs now and then (i know of an older lady chef and a younger/middle age lookin chef), the consistency of some dishes can vary sometimes. due to this fact, picky eaters can feel negative about this. it has been a month or two since i've been there so things could have changed.

appetizer wise, their chicken wings are really good. spicy with a lot of honey and other ingredients, this to me is the best appetizer besides their fried tofu with the peanut sauce or the satay meats.

anyways, overall, it's one of the better place for asian semi-fast food around that area. if you go there often enough, u might even get free appetizers or drinks like me =) on a side note, they can make green curry even though it isn't on their menu. try requesting it, they might make it for you. i know they did for me! how did it taste? it's alright. not great but heck, i use to go there so often, i needed something else 'cause i had everything on the menu already!

i would give this place three stars. BUT because of their friendly service (at the very least to me ^^) and it is fast food after all (yet, the quality isn't horrible when the right chef is working, the old one i prefer), for a place like this, it deserves 3.5-4. since there's no 3.5, i'll give it a 4! hope this helps.

* these short reviews by me can also be found on www.yelp.com

< 4 out of 5 >

Hyakunin Issyu

> Location : Shop T02, Lv. 3, Hang Lung Centre,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Japanese Shabu Shabu
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : http://www.hyakunin-issyu.com.hk

After watching dragon tiger gate (review of the movie below) at causeway bay a few days ago, my brother, sis in law, niece and i went to a hot pot restaurant called, hyakunin issyu. base on a dark environment with some small spotlights and unique decorations, hyakunin issyu gave me an impression of the melting pot in the states. why did i say that? well, first of all, this restaurant is a shabu shabu place which is literally for people who still don't know, boiling water with a bunch of uncook food (vege, meat, etc) and sauces and dipping it and cooking the food on the dining table. very much like chinese hot pot if that helps your memory. but what got me to remind me of the melting pot is because you have the choice to choose different soup base kinda like choosing your different meat cookin' base / cheese and such. more on this later.

the menu and ordering is primarily base on set ordering. a set (depending on how many people), basically consist of different amount of small dishes (green beans in peanut sauce and sardine is what we had), sushi (tuna, salmon, white fish, squid), meat (pork, chicken, beef), odon, tampura (various vegetables and shrimp) and a soup base of your choice. there are various soup bases consisting of tomato, soy milk, pumpkin, regular and maybe one other i forgot to take notice of (Sorry!). please take note that, these soup base don't just consist of what i just mentioned, but it's only the primary ingredient. since my brother has been there and tried the soy milk base, we went with that since he said it's really good. before we shabu shabu with the soy milk base, we went with regular boiling water first using the sauces (sesame and a ponsu like sauce). using boiling water, we first ate our beef and vegetable first. reaction? good beef. fresh but nothing particularly out of the ordinary yet. afterwards, we replaced it with the soy milk base and did something base on our personal perference. first we let the soup base boil. afterwards we each each pour some into our bowls. the udon is still untouch and now we finally dump them into soup base. remember, the udon is pretty much cooked already. leave it in there for like 30 seconds to 1 min max. take it out, put it into your bowl of soy milk soup (it's not just soy milk, it's a mixture of that and other things. so it's a taste of sweetness a bit salty flavor), let it soak just a little bit and enjoy! no need for any sauces. the extremely unique and strong flavor of the soup base does the job as a sauce and u can drink it like soup because it is a "soup base" after all. with about 1/4 or so soup base left in the pot, we used it to cook whats left of the beef, using the soup base as sauce again. wow, just excellent! one wouldn't think soy milk would even make sense. but remember, it isn't the only thing in there but it is the primary part of the soup base.

i really have nothing special to talk about with the small dishes. one of the small dishes contained scallops, sardine and some green beans with peanut sauce. the scallops were dry and not fresh. the sardine is alright and the green beans were neat but nothing special. well, it is just a small starter dish so not a major problem. next? some sushi. we had two rounds. the first round, salmon, tuna, both melted in my mouth. according to my fish eating experience and some knowledge coming from some sushi chefs, when sashimi melts in your mouth, most likely it is NOT fresh. the only exception is fatty tuna a.k.a. toro. since i pointed that out, yes, the fish weren't fresh. the next round of sushi was better. some salmon and tuna again with white fish and squid. my guess it came from another fish, the salmon this time was nice and chewy which concludes its freshness. the tuna melted and looking at the rice below it, some of the color came off into the rice which REALLY told me it's not fresh. haha. it's not common but it does happen when it gets sit around for awhile or even worst, sometimes people actually put food coloring into it to make unfresh fish look fresher. anyways, the white fish was perfectly fine and the squid also. after this, we got a grilled horse mackerel. horse mackerel is usually one of the more expensive type of mackerel. if the fish name dont ring a bell, mackerel in japanese is called 'saba.' another type is spanish mackerel. it tasted okay. i think it was a bit overcooked. so it was a bit stiff. so i had to give my thumbs down for the last two dishes.

so in conclusion, the main purpose for you to visit hyakunin issyu is to eat the shabu shabu. but sometimes, the chef that day could have its off day so the things i thought were bad could be good other days. it's not good to be inconsistent but that's just a notion to ponder on. the soy milk soup base was just unexpectedly excellent and something you should definitely try when going there. i'll report to u'll the other types when i get a chance. anyways, that's it! thanks for reading!

< 3 out of 5 >

Lu Yang Cun

> Location : Shop P401-403, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Rd.,
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Shanghainese (Chinese)
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : HERE

Shanghainese cusine or more often people say northern chinese food tends to be more spicy, heavier, etc. but that doesn't mean it's bad, that's just the style. there can be lighter food too, but that's just how people tend to describe it. so today, i hit up a shanghainese restaurant with my sis in law, bro, dad and niece felicity at the world trade centre in causeway bay. the place is called, Lu Yang Cun. it was like a brunch meal around 11 am and the place was pretty empty when we got there 'cause it was pretty early. service wise, i recieve no bad vibes from all of the waiter/waitress' so that's a plus. they all served well. now moving on, there are six notable dishes i'll like to share. 1) sweet and sour pork spare ribs: now try not to think of sweet and sour as of in the typical 'fried rice, 2 items chinese places in america,' the sweetness to this dish (pictured in the top left) is just right. this means, it's not so sweet where it'll give u tooth aches. the sourness to it is light and the texture of the pork is perfect. u bite into it, goes into it easily, sweet, a tint of sourness, a good siu sik (look up a previous review for a definition of siu sik) if u like chinese style spare ribs! 2) minced indian kalimena herb and dried bean curd in seame oil (pictured top right): this dish is very similar to the one i ate at ifc the other day. but the vegetable used is different and it's more minced and delicate. it's a very interesting dish 'cause every spoon full of it, the sesame oil along with the herb stands out the most respectively. it's more of a room temperature/cold dish. it's not a strong dish (taste wise) but it's a definite healthy (to most extent) chinese delicacy. 3) drunken chicken (pictured middle left): some of u might wonder, drunken? did the chicken have a shot of 151 before it got its head chopped off? well, not exactly, pretty much, it's another cold dish where the chicken is cooked along with chinese rice wine. no frying involved, just all steamming. in the end of the process, dependin' on the cook, they will cool it down and somehow keep the chicken slightly cold but not too cold. it seems weird at first, but if u taste it, it's the greatest food with alkie besides chocolate with rum filling! 4) shanghai spring onion pancake (pictured middle right): when i was lookin' at the menu, i coulda swore i knew what it was going to taste like or maybe some of u people are thinkin' about that too, but when i bite into that thing, it was kinda like a crusty texture from a pie's crust. but when u look at it, it seems doughy but then again it's like kinda in between doughy and crusty. along with the onions in between, it was a unique onion pancake experience. 'cause throughout china, this dish is made differently. and i am sure some of u people can think of some now. the taste was just right, not too salty. thumbs up mos def. 5) xiao long bao (pictured buttom left): so, i have comparisons now! compared to the xiao long bao i had at ifc tower, the skin was a bit thicker. i'm not sure why, but either the skin was really thicker or i think steamming it just a little bit more coulda get rid of that mentality. meaning, a lot of xiao long bao skin are the same but steammin' it less could make it tougher/thicker. but just judging by what i ate, the thickness was a slight minus but that's like 1-2 pts out of 10 difference. i gotta give the plus to the place at ifc. but take nothing away from this place, everything else about the xiao long bao was very good still! 6) lastly with the last picture, we have the gluttious rice (sticky rice) with spare rib wrapped with lotus leaf: this is just a twist to typical cantonese dim sum. there's a dim sum dish called chicken with sticky rice. pretty much the same thing but with chicken, mushrooms and a few minor parts. but the one here was very simple. the spare rib here wasn't as strong in taste as the spare rib described above, but the most important factor was that the spare rib flavor is reflected upon the sticky rice and i believe they cooked it with the sauce they cooked the spare rib in. a sweetish, soy saucy sauce. which gives the sticky rice a dark brown color to it.

so yeah, wow, that took awhile to type! we ordered two other things, but they were more individual plates so i didn't really get to try much to type anything here. so there u have it, more food coma from me thru reading. haha. thanks for readin' and hope it was helpful! so afterwards, don't ask me why, i ended up literally 10 minutes later, in another restaurant. it's a place my family goes to very often in central. but i'll save that for next time. haha.

like always, until next time, take care and good luck ~

< 4 out of 5 >

Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao

> Location : International Finance Centre, Shop 2018-20,
Central, Hong Kong
> Cuisine : Northern Chinese
> Tel. # : (check website)
> Website : HERE

Howdy! just like last time, a picture first! here's a picture of a giant xiao long bao using a straw to drink the soup from shanghai. more xiao long bao stuff in the next paragraph. anyways, yesterday (saturday) before my brother and i went to work, we hit up a local chinese diner right off the street in sheung wan, near wing kut street. there are a lot of these places in hong kong, a small place, usually seats outside also, somewhat old/ghetto lookin'. but if u pick the right place, your experience could be a miracle. ok, i didn't get the damn name of this place, but i'll figure it out and tell u next time. haha. so according to my brother, this place is famous for its porridge in the morning. so we both ordered a bowl of duck egg lean beef porridge. usually, lean beef is prepared simply salted or plain in this type of chinese porridge. they just add it into smaller pieces and boil it along with the rice. however, what makes this place different is that, they cook the lean beef seperatedly first in like a stew therefore becoming very soft after a long period of cooking time. since the lean beef is cooked in this stew, it now incorporates a nice sweet/slightly salty taste to it. to my believe, they take some of this and boil it with the rice and duck egg. the result? a very good bowl of porridge! on a hot morning with a hot bowl of porridge = a free workout. sweatin' like a dog, seriously. haha. overall, i had a great experience in such a simple environment. ask me and i'll show u where next time!

rewinding a little bit, two nights ago, i went to ifc to eat dinner with my bro, sis and niece. besides from shanghai, i don't have too many experiences with restaurants dedicated to xiao long bao. besides the one in time square in causeway bay (second floor), crystal jade la mian xiao long bao in ifc isn't too bad at all. we ordered the following: egg white with dried scallop, scallion oil la mien, two orders of regular xiao long bao, and tofu skin with green bean vegetable. the egg white, tofu skin dishes are all very common siu sik dishes. in cantonese, siu sik literally translates to "small eat." basically, they are small simple dishes. in a sense, if u ever had japanese yakitori, u'll understand what i mean. the two things i'll emphasize on is the scallion oil la mien and the xiao long bao. seriously, the la mien had nothing in it besides noodles and oil. but don't be fool, as simple as it sounds, it noodle is good base on its texture and taste from the scallion oil. but try to eat it somewhat quick 'cause from my experience, after leaving it out for a bit, the noodles absorbs the oil completely and somehow the noodle tasted really dry/somewhat hard. so if u want dry noodle, give this a try next time. so the main thing even the name of the restuarant is trying to convince us is the xiao long bao. first of all, xiao long bao is all about steaming it properly where the soup/juice is still within the skin along with the meat. places that aren't popular for things like this steam it too long therefore when u use your chopsticks to pick it up, the skin rips easily. so check, this place does it correctly. second of all, there has to be a 'good amount' of soup inside. sometimes, but rarely, some places when u eat their xiao long bao, there is barely any soup inside which is just horrible. this place? perfect, nice and juicy. thirdly, well, it's properly eating of the xiao long bao. or i should say, simon's proper way of eating xiao long bao, haha. first, hold your chopstick in one hand, a soup spoon in another, pick up the xiao long bao in your chopstick, put it ontop of the spoon. bite open slightly if it isn't open yet, the top of the xiao long bao so it creates an opening. suck up and drink the soup like a straw from this opening (becareful! it's hot!). now, after savoring the soup, take that spoon and shoove that bao into your mouth. good? yes, it was good. haha. so let me translate really quick, when we say 'xiao long bao,' it litereally means, small nest bun. u know those brown things made out of straws in dim sum places? well, that's a better way of explainin' nest. overall, i had a good time. until i go to more of these places, i will have a better personal comparison on what i believe is a good xiao long bao place.

well, i'm out to explore more of hong kong! until next time, take care and good luck ~

< 3 1/2 out 5 >