Beijing Wok & Grill

20140730:
This is a relatively new place which my friend has been to a couple of times already. Upon arriving and ordering, we sat down and the cashier brought us a pot of tea.

Dumplings

In any case, the boiled dumplings came out first and they were solid.

Next came the entrees. The garlic shrimp is good when there's garlic. I would have liked them better with more sauce on them.

On the plus side, I really like the Hong Kong style crispy noodles. The celery pieces go well with the noodle. 8:35PM PT

Fried Shrimp with hot Garlic Spicy Sauce

Speaking as a Vietnamese-American, if you like Chinese food, then you should consider trying this place out.

Menu Description:
Hong Kong Style Crispy Noodles Semi-crispy egg noodles wok-tossed with mixed vegetables, shrimp, chicken, and beef in a tasty brown sauce.
Fried Shrimp with hot Garlic Spicy Sauce Crispy fried shrimp tossed in a fresh garlic, onion, dried chili, sweet vinegar sauce.

Fried Dumplings

[20140909]

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20141223:
Today I went here with my friend and we ordered fried dumplings, sweet and sour pork, and Hong Kong style noodles.

I thought the fried dumplings were good. From what I can remember, they are tastier than the boiled dumplings.

Sweet and Sour Pork

As for the sweet and sour pork, that just tasted okay.

Fortunately, the Hong Kong style crispy noodles were delicious; it was the best among what we ordered.

Hong Kong Style Crispy Noodles

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Beijing Wok & Grill

Hong Kong Style Crispy Noodles

Relevant Links:
Beijing Wok & Grill - Fountain Valley, CA (Yelp.com)

Hooters

20140729:
Today my friend and I went to Hooters for the All You Can Eat Traditional Wings offered on Tuesdays. Unknowingly, it happened to be National Chicken Wing Day and While it was my first time going to a Hooters, I had previously seen a spoof of the restaurant in the South Park episode "Raisins" (S07E14).

Original and Chipotle Honey.

Overall, our waitress was quite friendly, though not without an ulterior motive: please buy more alcohol. This was momentarily unsettling, but my friend and I essentially acknowledged its truth and went on enjoying the atmosphere.

Parmesan Garlic (bottom) and 3 Mile Island (top)

I wrote: "Chesapeake Rub (good, 5). Teriyaki (really good, 8). Daytona Beach (5). General Tso's (6). Parmesan Garlic (small Parmesan taste, 4; occasionally a stream of tasty garlic, 5). 3 Mile Island (3). [Breaded] Original (buffalo, 6). [Breaded] Chipotle Honey (really good, 9). Habanero BBQ (6). Spicy Garlic (2)." 9:44PM PT

Habanero BBQ and Spicy Garlic.

[20140908]

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Hooters

Daytona Beach and General Tso's

Relevant Links:
West Coast Hooters Website
Hooters - Costa Mesa, CA (Yelp.com)

Chesapeake Rub (bottom) and Teriyaki (top)

Tea Party Lounge

20140727:
Theoretically, the great thing about this boba place is its vast menu options. While I personally wouldn't order any of it, it's nice to know the option is there.

Green waffle ice cream sandwich.

In any case, today we came and instead of ordering boba, I just got a green waffle ice cream sandwich. Given a choice of flavors, I chose to get pistachio and vanilla.

Unfortunately, the waffle was a bit cold and chewy, as opposed to soft and warm like I was expecting it to be. The pistachio ice cream was standard quality.

My friend's boba drink.

Perhaps the dessert would have tasted better, but a strange to my right was eating a salad that was fuming the scent of sesame oil.

The popcorn chicken was more or less the same quality as the popcorn chicken from TeaZone. 10:04PM PT

[20140908]

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Tea Party Lounge

Popcorn chicken.

Relevant Links:
Tea Party Lounge Website
Tea Party Lounge - Fountain Valley, CA (Yelp.com)

Tacos El Rancho

20140727:
While some people like the comfort of constantly eating somewhere they know and love, I'm all for trying and discovering new places to eat. Unfortunately, today's search for something good ended with a mediocre experience.

I wrote: "Overall the food was alright. It was also somewhat spicy. From what I can remember, Taqueria Mexico has better tacos. I also think Los Primos Cantina has better tacos as well. In addition, there was only one worker and the service at this hour was slow." 8:48PM ET

[20140907]

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Tacos El Rancho

Al Pastor (top right), Carnitas (bottom right), Cabeza, Lengua

Relevant Links:
Tacos El Rancho - Fountain Valley, CA (Yelp.com)

Creamistry

20140724:
Today I was introduced to Creamistry where ice cream is made using liquid nitrogen. While the ice cream was good, the store was a bit overly crowded and the person at the cashier wasn't as friendly as he/she could have been.

Step 1 Choose Your Size
Small

Step 2 Choose Ice Cream Base
Signature Premium

Step 3 Choose Flavor & Topping
Cheese Cake (real Gourmet) with Twix.

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Comments:
The cheesecake flavor is not noticeable. The Twix hardens for an interesting taste and texture. 10:44PM PT

[20140906]

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Creamistry

Relevant Links:
Creamistry Website
Creamistry - Irvine, CA (Yelp.com)

Chili's Grill & Bar

20140724:
The first time I went to a Chili's was in June 2011. I don't, however, remember much about the dining experience.

Strawberry Lemonade (20140724)

In any case, today marks my second visit to a Chili's and I could say it was a solid one. Besides the food, an interesting aspect of the visit was the presence of an iPad at the table which can be used to order food and drinks or paying the bill by credit card.

(delicious) Queso Dip (20140724)

For an appetizer, my friends and I shared the queso dip, which was awesome. To drink, I ordered strawberry lemonade. Like at Red Robin, the strawberry lemonade comes with unlimited refills. However, unlike Red Robin, there aren't any real strawberries.

For the entree, I ordered a three-item platter that comes with beans and rice. From the various possible choices, I chose to get the tortilla soup (good), a chicken soft taco (pretty good, moist), and a second soft taco.

Mac & Cheese (20140724)

In addition to the chips, platter, and several refills of strawberry lemonade, I also had some mac & cheese (not bad), which my friend Josh ordered as one of his sides for my friend Chris and I to split.

By the end of the dinner, I was full and had the waitress bring me a box to take my second taco and remaining mac & cheese to go. 9:58PM PT

Guacamole Burger (20150208)

[20140906]

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20150208:
My coworker and I arrived at the airport rather early and decided to go to a Chili's for dinner. There I had a guacamole burger and a Goose Island IPA. I was, however, more focused on the beer than the burger and didn't seem to take any notes on the food. However, I would be willing to guess that the burger was at least average tasting.

Fries (20150208)

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Chili's Grill & Bar

Chicken Tortilla Soup, Chicken Soft Taco, and a Beef (?) Soft Taco. (20140724)

Relevant Links:
Chili's Website
Chili's Grill & Bar (Wikipedia.org)

Kobe House USA

20140721:
Today my dad took us to Kobe House USA for lunch. Sitting outside, we each got a bowl of pho with rare steak and Kobe cubes.

Kobe Pho with rare steak & Kobe cubes (Phở tái chín gân bò Kobe)

I wrote: "The broth was very pure and fresh, making for a delicious experience. There were only three small cubes of Kobe beef; they tasted alright. I like kobe beef more when served in an entire slice and on a plate as opposed to being dropped into broth."

With herbs added and noodle tossed.

"In any case, the beef slices were thin and tasty. Overall, it was a topnotch bowl of pho. I should note, however, that there aren't any vegetarian options and there are few menu options." 12:26PM PT

The "Dine In & To Go" section of the menu. (They have a separate section for buying slices of meat.)

While the food was good, there was also a little cigarette smoking at a nearby table which, after living in Baltimore for six years, has become tolerable for me, but I can see it as being bothersome for some. There are a couple of tables inside and the next time my dad and I came, there was nobody smoking outside.

Plate of herbs, beansprouts, and lime.

[20140906]

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20140811:
Today my dad and I returned to this restaurant. Ordering the same bowls we got last time, I had roughly the same mixed experience which I had on our previous visit: the bowl of pho has a great tasting broth and meat, but I was dissatisfied with the Kobe cubes being thrown into the broth.

[20140906]

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Kobe House USA

Relevant Links:
Kobe House USA - Garden Grove, CA (Yelp.com)

G Burger

20140719:
This is my first time at G Burger and the item that stood out on the menu was "The G Burger" ($15): hamburger ($5) with a choice of any extra toppings and cheese ($1). Thus, to break even, you'd have to order at least nine dollars worth of extra toppings. As listed on the menu, getting all the possible toppings is a value of fifteen and a half dollars. In the end, The G Burger is just a novelty.

As such, I got a hamburger ($5) with teriyaki glazed onions ($.5), grilled fresh pineapple ($1), and avocado ($1). While tasty, an avocado (~$1) teriyaki burger ($2.5) with pineapple ($.75) at Fuji's Famous Burger is just as delicious, if not better, for a fraction of the cost.

Of course, Fuji's Famous Burger doesn't have as many choices in toppings as G Burger. On that front, it might be more appropriate to compare G Burger to Five Guys, which has a wide selection of both toppings and sauces, at no extra cost.

Ultimately, I find the quality and options at G Burger are top-notched, but I dislike the steep prices. At these prices, I might as well go to Red Robin Gourmet Burgers or Slater's 50/50.

As a side note, my friends and I split an order of sweet potato fries and an order of G Style fries. The sweet potato fries were good and the G Style fries were delicious. The G Style fries are similar to the animal fries from In-N-Out Burger, except the fries themselves are crispy, which makes me like them more. 8:44PM PT

Also, I'm generally not picky about where to sit, but the Fountain Valley location was a bit chilly and most of the good spots were filled.

Menu Description:
Sweet Potato served with chipotle aioli 4
G Style Fries hickory smoked bacon, grilled onions & cheese | home made 1001 dressing 5

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G Burger

Relevant Links:
G Burger Website
G Burger - Fountain Valley, CA (Yelp.com)