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Showing posts from 2013

Bella Cuba Restaurant- Santa Ana, CA

Recently, we were looking for another restaurant to try out near South Coast Plaza, and stumbled upon Bella Cuba. It happened to receive positive reviews from social media as well as from Gustavo Arellano from the OC Weekly , so we decided to check it out. Conveniently, it was just across the street, and housed in the same plaza as Inka Mama's, a restaurant we had just recently visited. What a coincidence! Inside, we were met with a festive interior and plenty of hungry lunchgoers, even though it was already approaching 2 in the afternoon. Though we were first immersed in the large-printed lunch menu , a specials board was also boasted on a nearby wall. I found the addition of lomo saltado to be interesting; besides it, however, Bella Cuba does have some other Peruvian influenced items.

Sagami- Irvine, CA

Sagami is "beloved among actual Japanese people" and is "quite possibly the only place in Orange County" that serves hitsumabushi , said Edwin Goei of Monster Munching . It didn't take much after that for me to add Sagami, a 24 year old Japanese restaurant located in the Crossroads Shopping Center in Irvine, CA, to my Orange County restaurants to visit list. Thoughts to try the hitsumabushi that Goei raved about in his review, however, were slightly complicated after we were seated in the cozy interior. For, a weekend lunch special page presented an additional appealing option: uni and ikura bowl. Furthermore, additional dishes to try out were posted on menu boards as seen in the above photo. Luckily, after some thought, we ordered both of those appealing dishes, and some more. In the meantime, we enjoyed the complimentary hot green tea, whose flavor was especially apparent thanks to the use of reverse osmosis water .

DeLuscious Cookies & Milk- Hollywood (Los Angeles), CA

DeLuscious Cookies + Milk is a "luxury bakery in Hollywood" that aims to provide "pure indulgence" to their customers through "incredible desserts, impeccable service, and personalized care." With that said, when Katie of DeLuscious Cookies & Milk asked whether I would like to sample their new line of VeLuscious cookies (vegan cookies!), I was definitely curious! Just a few days after I said yes, a sampler box of their products arrived in my mail. Opening the box was like opening a gift-- ribbon on the outside, a personalized letter, pink wrapping paper to present the cookies, individual packaging of the cookies with round, simple labels-- very fancy, and definitely an impression!

Cheval Bistro- Pasadena, CA (CLOSED)

NOTE: Cheval Bistro is CLOSED as of May 2014-- This restaurant has been replaced with the White Horse Lounge . --- I wanted to try a cuisine that I haven't had in years--French--so recently, we visited Cheval Bistro in Pasadena, California, to check out what traditional French dining in the United States was like. Yes, Cheval Bistro is operated by the Smith Brothers, a restaurant group that primarily offers American cuisine, but this experience was quite French. Though Cheval Bistro is conveniently located right next door to a parking structure, inside the restaurant, all thoughts of parking were removed. Instead, we saw a classy, dark wood interior, with fine dinnerware and plenty of french paintings/ magazine cover posters on the walls. Our seating, unlike what you see in the photo, was bright, with plenty of light right above the table. Look for the booster seats to the right of you as you enter the restaurants if you want those seats!

The Derby- Arcadia, CA: dineLA Dinner

DineLA Restaurant Week came around and as usual, the two higher-end restaurants in Arcadia-- The Derby and Sesame Grill-- were participating again. Since we've visited Sesame Grill recently , we decided to switch it up and re-visit the Derby. After all, from our last visit, the owners have changed, there's now a giant sign on the exterior proclaiming 15+ USD early bird dinner specials, among other changes.    We were slightly surprised to see that we had to wait for an inside spot, and unwilling to wait the 30 minutes advised for indoor seating, we asked for outdoor seating. This contributed greatly to taking better pictures for this post, even if it meant viewing all the cars entering/leaving the valet parking lot! The menu didn't change much from its past, but there was definitely an emphasis on quality of ingredients, with one page dedicated to explaining their poultry and beef suppliers. After ordering, our waiter brought us a complimentary platter of garli

Great Maple (Fashion Island)- Newport Beach, CA

On yet another recent trip to the Orange County area, we found ourselves in Fashion Island hoping to eat yet again at one of our favorites, True Food Kitchen. However, it, as well as other notable options in Fashion Island, happened to be full. Not desiring to wait, we went to Great Maple instead, seeing happy customers enjoying giant noodle-sized bowls of salad and being satisfied with the menu options. As the outside of Great Maple alludes, the interior was likewise rustic, with dark wood tones and minimal light. It was in fact, extremely difficult to take the pictures, and all of the pictures have been post processed so that you can actually see the food-- in person, this would be pretty dark, and very yellow hued. Dinner began with an appetizer of crispy calamari (12 USD), accented with chili flakes, fresh olives, and lemon caper mayo. (No bread and butter was provided-- perhaps this is only on request.) We enjoyed the freshness and creativity with the dish-- the chili f

Inka Mama's- Santa Ana, CA

Oh that delicious aji sauce --a " spicy, green puree of herbs and chili ,"said Edwin Goei of Monster Munching ; good enough to eat pretty much anything Peruvian, " once again, with that wonderful aji ," said Kevin of KevinEats . That "Chinese influenced" lomo saltado --a beef stir fry with "onions, tomatoes, and french fries! Golden-tinged Inca Kola ? Suffice to say, Peruvian food has certainly been a cuisine of interest since I started reading food blogs. Yet, it happened to be chance when I actually decided to visit one. During another recent trip to the Orange County, I stumbled upon Inka Mama's when looking up restaurants nearby South Coast Plaza. Then I read a glowing review of it from Goei. It was definitely settled-- I had to fulfill this 5+ year old desire that day! Inka Mama's is a small, Orange County family operated chain of Peruvian restaurants. Located right across South Coast Plaza from Magiannos in a large strip mall,

True Food Kitchen (Fashion Island)- Newport Beach, CA

It happened to be Easter on a recent trip to Irvine (coincidentally, we did this also three years ago ), so was it the time to take chances and drive to an unexplored area of town for lunch? Not really. So, we headed to a familiar location -- Fashion Island -- and finally tried out True Food Kitchen, which was under construction back when we visited its next door neighbor, Flemings .

Sesame Grill- Arcadia, CA: A Comeback

I've written about Sesame Grill probably too many times, each time discussing a new iteration or feature. Yet never did I expect that it would veer off its successful path that it has been taking for many, many years. There may have been the Chinese dishes, Japanese ramen , American burger experiments, yet time again they would revert back, perhaps improve upon, their old dishes. So it was definitely a shocker when Sesame Grill completely changed itself and became "S.G. Cajun Seafood" for about the first half of 2013. Sure, Japanese ramen may have been different (it came from a Japanese chef exchanging cooking techniques with Sesame Grill's executive chef), but Cajun seafood a la Boiling Crab? Other than the burgeoning Cajun seafood scene around the San Gabriel Valley, there was little context. A revamped interior, environment, and clientele replaced the old, but unfortunately, the changes didn't bring success, with middling reviews coming in from new custome

Gulfstream, Century City- Los Angeles, CA

Recent lurking on Kevin's Kevineats.com prompted me, well, to think about Gulfsteam's crabcakes! After an event in Century City, I happened to stumble upon Century City's own Gulfsteam, located in the Westfield Century City mall. Quickly reviewing the menu, my companions and I immediately went in for a late lunch.

Fortune Dumpling- Monterey Park, CA

What happens when my writing queue becomes so long? Restaurants change: they close, change owners, or have new menus and pricing. Dumpling 888, for example, had already changed owners when I visited it in El Monte. Now, the original owners have moved to a new, larger location: Atlantic Times Square in Monterey Park.

Flavor Garden- Alhambra, CA

Some time ago (March 2012, actually), Eat Drink + Be Merry's (EDBM) post on Flavor Garden and its beef noodle soup and its potstickers awed me. Through the photos and vivid descriptions, I knew I just had to visit! I was personally a bit surprised the first time we came here, as the blinds (as seen in the first picture) were completely shut--was the restaurant closed? Most of the other restaurants, unusually, also closed their blinds. The reason behind this though, was due to the harsh direct sunlight; as the sun set and it became dinner service time, all of the restaurants progressively opened the blinds! Inside, we met a simple interior: completely white and adorned with beige furniture and some decorations. We proceeded with ordering quickly, hoping to sample a large number of different dishes. Our meal began with Spicy Pork Stomach (2.50 USD), which came directly from the cold plate fridge. Garlicky and slightly spicy, the chilled pork stomach was a competent s