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Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Taiwan Restaurant

20141218:
Today was the first time I came here and I didn't like the feel of the place.

Some sort of appetizer soup.

In any case, I ordered the Petals of Pork Soup. It has a strange smell, but its tasty and occasionally there's this nice sour taste. The consistency of the soup reminded me of thick shark fin soup. 1:05PM PT


[20141210 Edit]

Taiwan Restaurant

Petals of Pork Soup

Relevant Links:
Taiwan Restaurant Website
Taiwan Restaurant - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Monday, November 17, 2014

Kirala 2

20141117:
Today my friend and I walked a distance in hopes to go to Cheese Board Pizza, but it was closed and so we looked around and decided to go to Kirala.

Tempura

Looking at the options, I decided to get the Shrimp Tempura Noodle Soup. Given the choice between udon and soba, I chose to get the udon.

Overall, I thought the soup was just okay. In particular, I felt as if I could get quality like this anywhere. In addition, the tempura was also ordinary. Then again, I rarely eat udon noodle soup and perhaps that disqualifies me from overgeneralizing.

(Udon) Noodle Soup

Having paid with one card, we had spent enough to get any item with a sticker. Among the possible items, we decided to get the chicken katsu bento box. While we warmed it up a bit in the microwave, we could have probably let it go for another minute or two, because some of it was still icy. 1:48PM PT

[20141208]

Kirala 2

(Discounted) Chicken Katsu Bento Box

Relevant Links:
Kirala Website
Kirala 2 Japanese Cuisine - Gourmet Ghetto - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Thai Noodle

20141113:
Today I came for the first time and ordered the pad see ew with pork. The dish had a great smell as it was brought to the table and it also had a great taste. 2:54PM PT

Menu Description:
Pad See Ew Pan-fried rice noodles with broccoli, egg, black soy sauce and choice of chicken, beef or pork.

[20141207 Edit]

Thai Noodle


Relevant Links:
Thai Noodle - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Saturday, November 8, 2014

Huong Tra Vietnamese Restaurant & Deli

20141108:
Today I came here for the first time and ordered a bowl of pho dac biet. After prepping, the temperature of the broth was drinkable without blowing. While generally most people would prefer that it come out warmer, I suppose it was convenient.


In any case, I thought the broth was good and not salty. Maybe, however, I shouldn't have added the lime today, because the broth already had a good balance of flavors.

The mixed meats (flank, tendon, etc.) were also good, but the main beef slices weren't as good as some other pho places. I also thought the beef balls were a bit under average as well.


Overall, the bowl was good and came in a good portion. In particular, I finished the entire bowl, including the broth, and I just reached the point of feeling full. 4:27PM PT

Huong Tra Vietnamese Restaurant & Deli


Relevant Links:
Huong Tra Vietnamese Restaurant & Deli Website
Huong Tra - Richmond, CA (Yelp.com)

Friday, November 7, 2014

Sliver Pizzeria

20141107:
This is my first time at Sliver Pizzeria. To drink I had a Bison Organic Honey Basil.

The pizza here was good. It was simple (cheese and corn), but good. 8:01PM PT

(20141118)


20141118:
Today I came and had a Drake's 1500. As for the pizza, I'm pretty sure I can occasionally taste the butter (delicious). Damien points out the use of potato. While it definitely contributed to the texture, I didn't notice it until Damien pointed it out - I like it! This is a good, simple slice of pizza. 5:44PM PT

20150126:
To drink I had a Bison Organic Honey Basil. Apparently that's what I got the first time I came here.

(20150126)

The slice today looks like a tomato pizza. 6:42PM PT

I like eating the slice with the sauce. However, the slice itself was a bit too cheesy. 7:04PM PT

Sliver Pizzeria

(20141107)

Relevant Links:
Sliver Pizzeria Website
Sliver Pizzeria - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Eureka!

20141107:
Wow, what makes the fries here so tasty? 6:09PM PT

Besides the fries, I also had a Bear Republic Racer 5.

Truffle Fries (20141205)

[20141204]

20141205:
Today was my second visit to Eureka! and once again I had some of these delicious fries.

[20150118]

20150325:
Looking for a snack to eat, I order a set of fish tacos, though I eat one and share the other with my friend. While I didn't take any notes on it, I recall finding it agreeable, though not worth the price.

Fish Tacos (20150325)

To drink I had the Hangar 24 Barrel Roll No. 3 and the Hangar 24 Betty IPA.

20150401:
Today I came here with my friend and for the first time I actually ordered something substantial. In order to get more variety, we decided to order two burgers and take half of each burger. After some thought, we got the Napa Burger and the Bone Marrow Burger, both medium rare.

Instead of the signature handcut fries, we upgraded to sweet potato fries and truffle fries (they give you truffle sauce on the side). 8:26PM PT

Bone Marrow Burger (20150401)

Menu Description:
Bone Marrow Burger (Limited Availability Per Day) bone marrow porcini butter / charboiled onion / mustard aioli / oven-roasted tomato / signature handcut fries 16.5

I started with the bone marrow burger and found it juicy. In particular, the bone marrow porcini butter basically tasted like they just put truffle sauce in the burger. As such, I enjoyed the burger, but its not as special as I had hoped it would be.

Napa Burger / Truffle Sauce / Fries (20150401)

Menu Description:
Napa Burger roasted Roma tomato / pesto aioli / Havarti / pancetta / arugula / signature handcut fries 11.5

Getting to the Napa burger, I found the patty had a completely different taste from that of the bone marrow burger. I liked the pesto aioli and other sauces in the Napa burger.

Overall, both the bone marrow burger and Napa burger had good flavors to offer, but their relative costs make the Napa burger a better deal. 8:41PM PT

Sweet Potato Fries (20150401)

Since nothing on the dessert menu looked that great, we decided to head on over to a nearby The Cheesecake Factory for some cheesecake.

[20150507]

20150421:
Today I had a chicken taco with lime (one for me, one for my friend). It was tasty, but somehow there was a bit too much meat at the end. While I love meat, this made it a bit dry tasting.

Having split an order of chicken tacos, we decided to get the bruschetta. While the bruschetta tasted good, it had cost five dollars for just five bite-sized pieces of bread with vinegar and diced tomatoes.

Bruschetta (20150421)

[20150506]

20150424:
Today I thought about getting the jalapeno egg burger, but then I started hearing about the Fresno fig burger. Since I've had an egg burger at other restaurants (e.g., The Hangover Burger at Golden West Cafe), I ultimately got the Fresno fig burger (medium rare) with sweet potato fries.

Overall, I'm glad I got the fig burger. The fig marmalade (as expected) has the consistency of a jam and tastes good together with the patty, cheese, and bacon.

Menu Description:
Fresno Fig Burger fig marmalade / melted goat cheese / bacon / tomato / red onion / arugula / spicy porter mustard / signature handcut fries 12

Fresno Fig Burger (20150424)

Today the sweet potato fries had a lot of honey poured on them. After finishing them, I looked down into the container and saw a little pool of honey.

[20150507]

20150722:
Today my friends and I planned on coming to Eureka! for the Steal the Glass special. Unfortunately, we came several hours after the start of the special and missed it. I had no idea the glasses would run out so quickly! I was, however, not disappointed.

In any case, I decided to order a Pearl Street Blues Burger, medium rare, and upgraded the fries to sweet potato fries - strictly for sharing. 9:32PM PT

Pearl Street Blues Burger... without the Blues :(  (20150722)

Menu Description:
Pearl Street Blues Burger melted blue cheese / herb sautéed wild mushrooms / grilled onions / chipotle ketchup / signature handcut fries 11.5

As for drinks, since the 'Steal the Glass' special was out of the question, I decided to order a beer flight: The Bruery Cuivre (7th Anniversary), Lagunitas CitruSinensis, Lagunitas Equinox, and Victory Sour Monkey.

Unfortunately, the waiter - after taking my order - came back and said the restaurant didn't allow beers above a certain ABV to be part of the beer flight. Consequently, I chose Bottle Logic Goldzilla in place of The Bruery Cuivre.

Osso Buco Riblets (20150722)

I would, however, note that the rule wasn't written on the menu and I was also disappointed there was no option to add such a beer for some additional cost.

For an appetizer, my friends and I split an order Osso Buco Riblets; they were amazing.

Menu Description:
Osso Buco Riblets sherry braised pork / firecracker aioli 9.5

Chicken Taco (20150421)

When the burgers arrived, I realized the kitchen forgot to put blue cheese in my Pearl Street Blues Burger. However, it soon became apparent that my friend requested for no cheese on his burger, but received, that is, either the waiter or cook messed up the orders.

Beer Flight:
Bottle Logic Goldzilla
Lagunitas Equinox
Lagunitas CitruSinensis Pale Ale
Victory Sour Monkey

Beer Flight

[20150826]

20171121:
Today I ordered the Kimchi Burger and it was awesome. I liked the kimchi. I'm not sure if the patty was specialy, but I liked the overall taste of the burger.

Menu Description:
Short Rib Kimchi Burger pork rib angus patty / cheddar / kimchi / garlic aioli

The fries were also deliciously herbed.

Short Rib Kimchi Burger (20171121)

The beer I got, One Way Or Another, went well with the burger.

[20171205 Edit]

Eureka!

Relevant Links:
Eureka Restaurants Website
Eureka! - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)
Eureka! - Huntington Beach, CA (Yelp.com)

Cross Sections of the Napa Burger (left) and Bone Marrow Burger (right) (20150401)

Thursday, November 6, 2014

BurgerMeister

20141106:
I came to BurgerMeister for the first time today and decided to order the San Francisco (1/3 lb, Medium Rare with Coleslaw).

I thought the taste of the bleu cheese was strong, the sandwich as a whole was really soft, and unfortunately, eating the sandwich was really messy.

On a positive note, I thought the (medium rare) patty tasted good.

While the coleslaw that came with the meal wasn't bad, I didn't eat all of it and I would consider upgrading my side if I were to come here again. For some reason, I generally like coleslaw, but I never eat much of it. 8:24PM PT

Menu Description:
San Francisco Sauteed mushrooms, sauteed onions, and blue cheese served on our butter toasted sliced sourdough

BurgerMeister


Relevant Links:
Burgermeister Website
BurgerMeister - Downtown Berkeley - Berkeley, CA (Yelp.com)

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Taki Sushi

20141105:
Today I came and ordered a dragon roll, miso soup, and an oyster. The miso was very hot and burned my tongue a bit. I had to blow on it for several seconds! I thought it hit a good balance of taste and saltiness.

While eating, I couldn't help but notice the wall to my right decorated with photos of costumer. At first glance, this is cool and gives the restaurant a cozy atmosphere, but on second glance, I noticed that the restaurant had reused many of the photos, if not all, across the wall. This made me wonder, do they not have enough customers who want to be on their wall?

Miso Soup and Tea

Getting back to the food, I thought the oyster was too small to be satisfying.

When the roll came out, I ate the first piece without any wasabi. From this piece, I thought the roll had a nice taste and texture.

Keeping the wasabi to a minimum today and using the lite soy sauce, I ate what remained of the roll. Overall, I thought it tasted good, but perhaps the quantity was underwhelming and the quality did not qualify the quantity.

In the restaurant's defense, I suppose its harder to detect the quality of eel compared to other fish.

Oyster (the shell was only about the size of my pinky)

In the end, this place was good enough that I would come again, but I would first try out other places in the area, hoping to find a location whose quality and quantity match the price tag. 1:06PM PT

Menu Description:
Dragon Roll dragon tempura shrimp, king crab, fresh water eel, avocado 15

[20141203 Edit]

Taki Sushi

Dragon Roll

Relevant Links:
Taki Sushi Website
Taki Sushi - El Cerrito, CA (Yelp.com)

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Empire Buffet

20141102:
The steamed buns had meat inside, not bad. The oysters were good. The clams were a bit sandy.

My first plate includes clams and mussel. (20141102)

I did not dare try the sushi. The crab legs were good. I liked the cold mussels more than baked mussels.

I thought the tiramisu-looking dessert was bad. And even worse, the ice cream was icy. I hate when the soft-serve at a buffet is icy!

Crab Legs (20141102)

Overall, I thought there was a wide variety of food, but only a  small section of food which I enjoyed. Furthermore, the dessert was terrible, and that's a crappy way to end a buffet experience.


Dessert (20141102)

20170808:
The oyster was not good.

The chicken on a stick was delicious. 9:06PM PT

Empire Buffet

Shrimp, squid, macaroni salad, and seafood salad. (20141102)

Relevant Links:
Empire Buffet - San Pablo, CA (Yelp.com)