MUNCHIE TIME!!!!

FROM L.A. to O.C: LET'S EAT!!!!! ^_^

FOUR LEAF (Little Tokyo in LA)

This is a cute little dessert place that serves all types of crepes (Sweet and Savory)! The drink (tea) menu is pretty extensive! A good place to just enjoy something sweet that the day brings! :)

Japanese Explosion Crepe: Green tea ice-cream, red bean, mochi, and whipped cream
TRY IT!!! 

Matcha Milk Tea: This was really good at first but a little too heavy and creamy after awhile (Lactose-intolerant-BEWARE!)
Pomegranate Tea: Sweet and refreshing! :)

Gindi Thai (Burbank, CA)
This is a Japanese and Thai fusion restaurant. My friend and I were here earlier last year--clearly this place was decent enough for us to return. The food is good (not superb) but a safe-bet when traffic in LA is too bad to get out of Burbank for food! I must say though, the service is great--very friendly servers! :)

Spider Roll

Appetizers: The Four Diplomats 

Dipping sauces: Peanut sauce, Soy sauce, and Sweet/Sour Sauce

Rainbow Roll

Corea Kalbi (Newport Beach, CA)

Welcome to Corea! I was here for lunch and it was ....ok. Nothing I haven't had or anything that WOWed me although I heard it's known for its KBBQ! The service was great and the price was fair! I will return for dinner!

Bruxie Gourmet Waffle Sandwiches (Orange, CA)
Did someone say WAFFLE sandwiches??!! This is BY FAR my favorite sandwich eatery!!!! I do not need to say anymore! Just see the pictures below!!!! YUMMIE!!!!!!!

Strawberry Milk Shake

BBQ Pork Waffle Sandwhich!!! eeekkkKKkKk... DELICIOUS!!! 

SAGE CAFE (Costa Mesa, CA)
Heard great reviews about this place, which is known for their chicken dishes! Unfortunately we came later in the day and everything was pretty much SOLD OUT (good sign....yes?)! Well, lucky for me I fought my 2 (guy) friends for the last chicken portion that later became my SESAME CHICKEN SALAD ....puhahahhhaah!!!! =P

Salami Sandwich (I'm not a fan of salami...so I passed) The salami actually was chunky and meaty (not the whimpy thin slices)

Sesame Chicken Salad: This was so good! The dressing definitely was different (sweet and tangy)! I loved the colorfulness of this salad! Makes me happy just by looking at it! hehehe

Meatloaf sandwich (A Wednesday Special): I heard this was pretty good! 1/2 the sandwich was pretty filling I heard, so go w/ half sandwich and half salad/soup!

TEBO TEBO Tea Lounge (Westminster, CA)
A fun place for "youngsters." It's loud! The food is cheap, quick, and decent. The drinks are delisshhh....but service lacks.....

Taco Asylum (Costa Mesa, CA)
This place is pretty darn good! This was my first time here with a couple of friends so we tried the "Flight of First 8" which included: Grilled octopus, Pork Belly, Short Ribs, Curried paneer, Wild Mushroom, Lamb, Duck, and Steak (from left to right). The verdict?? Pork belly and duck were our favorites! =D

PS. Watch out for these chili sauces! 

Ghost Chili Pork and Falafel Tacos: I must say Falafel was my favorite! You may not like these if you don't like spices, but they definitely had a great KICK! (POWW!!!)  =P Yum!!!!

Ghost Chili Pork Taco: SPICY!

Falafel Taco: Pretty curry-ee(?)....the "taco" is actually naan! A plus!

Food Review Part II

Time for more Food Reviews: My favorite part of it all, eating delicious foods!!! 

Shabu Shabu Bar (Tustin, CA))

Thoughts: This place is similar to CA Shabu Shabu.....BUT, I was totally disappointed with their selection of sauce! =_= (aka...no teriyaki sauce???) The meats/seafoods and vegetables were fresh. I'm not a fan of the brown rice there (kinda dry). We waited for 30 minutes before our food came out and we came at 5:30pm (yes, my parents like to eat early)! Granted there was a large party of 8 before us, but still...be prepared for business people! I think I'll stick with CA Shabu Shabu! =)

Quan Hop: Central and Northern Vietnamese Cuisine (Westminster, CA)

Thoughts: This is my go-to restaurant when I don't know what I'm in the mood for! Everything is consistent: hearty foods, good ambiance, and friendly service. :) This is the sister restaurant of Quan Hy, which specializes only in Central Vietnamese food. I enjoy both restauants! 

Vermicille spicy soup with seafood

Pho with filet mignon and beef meatballs

Bun Bo Hue (my favorite)! I love the spice! So HOT!!! =P

Tokyo Table (Diamond Jamboree in Irvine)

Thoughts: Another fail-proof place I go to when I'm craving sushi rolls! The prices are decent, service is quick, and the foods (well the rolls) are pretty good.

Caterpillar Roll

Rainbow Roll: My all-time favorite roll! =)

OMG Roll: OMG....really?! Cream cheese w/ salmon (ugh....loL)
Just saying....

Fried chicken

Lobster Dynamite Roll: it gets pretty thick and creamy with the sauce, so go easy!
Otherwise, I like it!

Mackerel with rice

Agedashi Tofu: The skin was a little thick than what I'm used to but the sauce and toppings were convincing. 

Spider Roll (with soft shell crab): Yummy! =P

Honey Toast w/ Vanilla Ice-cream: Remember to share! 

I can make this at home! hehehe....

Coco Ichibanya Curry House (Diamond Jamboree in Irvine)

Thoughts: I LIKE it! :) This place is comparable to Curry House but definitely does not kid when it comes to spice!!! Let's just say a level 5 (on their spice-ometer) caused me to sweat a couple of bullets, yet still tolerable! I wouldn't dare to try a level 10! Yikes!  >.<

Octopus curry at a spicy level of 10!!!! Just look at the color of the curry sauce! EEekkk....let's just say the consumer suffered from stomach pain and reflux for 2 days after! 

Hamburg Curry 

Chicken cutlet with chicken stew curry (Level 5)! Ooshiiiii...... ^_^

AnQi Gourmet Bistro & Noodle Bar (@South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa)

Thoughts: It's a beautiful restuarant with great ambiance and service. The food is fusion Vietnamese cuisine. 

Beef Carpaccio: raw beef! This was delicious! A must try! :)

Roasted Crab (only on Tuesday evenings): if you've had the Chinese/Vietnamese version, it's pretty much the same thing.

Garlic noodle: Pretty tasty, but it was a little dry. So far the best garlic noodle I've ever tasted was at AnQi's sister restaurant in SF (Thanh Long)

Lychee Panna Cotta

Vietnamese banana fritter

Here's a closer look! ;) 

Hashigo Korean Kitchen (Costa Mesa, CA)

www.hashigorestaurants.com/

Thoughts: Delicious food and friendly service! I'll definitely come back to try other entrees on the menu! Everything looked so good, but a girl could only eat so much at one visit! ;) I definitely enjoyed every bite of everything we ordered! YuMMmmmM!!!!! =D

Perfect Side Dishes (Kimchi, Radish, and Potatoes)

Tempura Calamari Appetizer 

Volcano Roll (Baked scallop on top of CA roll w unagi sauce)

The Kurrito (Kimchi fried rice w/ bbq beef drenched in spicy tofu soup)

Ok....here's a closer look of yumminess!!!! ^.^

I must return to you, Hashigo!!!!!

Oh yes, we topped dinner off w/ Yogurtland....otherwise, dinner is just not complete! hehehee.....

Until next Thursday....Eat Well!!!

Break of Dawn (Laguna Hills, CA)

http://breakofdawnrestaurant.com/index.html

Thoughts: This is an Asian Fusion restaurant (Vietnamese meets Western cuisine) and the food is awesome!!! There is a twist to every dish-- kinda of refreshing! Made my taste buds smile! =D

BBQ Pulled Pork w/ Jalapeno Corn Cake, 2 boiled-egg tempuras, and slaw. 

Chicken curry stew: A must try!!! 

Beef Short Rib w/ poached eggs, and corn bread! Yum!!

French Toast Creme Brulee: This is a One of a kind!

A close-up shot! **salivating**

LAMILL Coffee (Silver Lake, L.A.)

www.LAMILLcoffee.com

Thoughts: Breakfast food was alright (I'm a BIG breakfast snob...) so I wasn't that impressed. The coffee was a little watered-down (maybe just that day??). I wish I had tried the sandwiches rather than an omelette that I could have made. BUT (there's a BIG but in this....I must say, the Donut holes w/ vanilla cream spread were FABULOUS! The vanilla spread was just PERFECT! =D

Vanilla holes w/ vanilla cream spread

Guppy Teahouse (@ Diamond Jamboree, Irvine)

www.myguppyteahouse.com

Thoughts: I haven't really tried the food yet, but my friends and I usually go there for dessert! Note of the food: the portions are HUGE! So order at your own risk...or share =D

Coconut spread toast! Yum!!! My friend and I couldn't finish it...doggie-bagged it! ;)

Shaved ice w/ mango and strawberry (mixed w/ condensed milk)

Katsuya at the Americana (Glendale)

www.sbe.com/katsuya

Thoughts: Totally over-priced Japanese food! We went for Happy Hour and ended up with a $100 bill for two (we were no longer happy at that hour)! =/ On the same note: Happy Hour just means rolls are about $5-6, but only 1/2 the roll! You do the math! loL!

Rocking shrimp with mushroom on top of a CA roll

Kobe Tobanyaki w/ mushroom: The beef was tender and tasty, but a little on the oily side

Miso black cod in banana leaf: Beautiful presentation (for sure!), but again, I've had better

Good patio seating for people watching! We had a great view of the Trattoria Amici 

L.A. Creamery Artisan Ice Cream at the Americana (Glendale)

lacreamery.com 

Thoughts: I absolutely loved it here!!! Okay, maybe I'm biased because I love ice-cream....but there were so many (unusual) flavors that I could help want to try them all (I resisted and only got 2!) I had Berry Rose and Salted Caramel in a waffle cone (I know...weird combo, but tasted great)! A plus, the server charged us for single-scoop when he stuffed our cone w/ at least double-scoops! ;) We'll be back....

(Sorry, no pictures....we couldn't wait..you'd understand if you were there ^.^)

Gen Korean BBQ and Yakitori Bar (Tustin)

http://www.yelp.com/biz/gen-korean-bbq-and-yakitori-bar-tustin

Thoughts: Good food and good service! I was satisfied! =D

Tons of side dishes and they never go unfilled!

Sauce, pickled radish, and rice paper

Fresh Kobe beef (any cuts)

Shrimps, spicy chicken, and veggies!