Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Crane Sushi

Should Say No?

I met with two friends for lunch last Sunday. It's difficult to pick a place as usual; location is always the main concern. Restaurants I suggested were either too far or having an early recess. Since one of my friends finished her church service in Alhambra so they picked Crane Sushi. I didn't have any good experience with Crane Sushi in the past, but I felt I shouldn't object other people's suggestion and always picked the restaurant of my choice. I won't be surprised that some of you might have the same dilemma. Crane Sushi? ok!
 



I found the menu was still inexpensive. $7.99 for a lunch set, included two items, salad and California rolls. I took BBQ Ribs, Fried Soft-shell Crab as my items. Miso Soup came first but the taste was kind of unusual, our consent was "how come it is sweet?”. BBQ Ribs from my lunch set was too sweet, and the meat was too dry. Soft Shell Crab had very thick batter and crab was hardly found, batter was so soggy and oily.

Miso Soup

Lunch Set - BBQ Ribs and Fried Soft-shell Crab

My friends picked BBQ Ribs and Fried Oysters; Grilled Salmon and Mixed Tempura. They complained about their food: Salmon was dry, Tempura was soggy, and batter of Fried Oysters was too hard and oysters were not fresh. Salad and California Rolls were the only acceptable items. We agreed everything was too sweet, also the smell and taste reminded us of food from food-court. 

Lunch Set - Grilled Salmon and Mixed Tempura

Lunch Set - BBQ Ribs and Fried Oysters

After we chit-chatted for a while, we had Mochi Green Tea Ice-cream to get rid of some bad aftertaste. Ok, only $7.99, but we still deserved decent food.

Mochi Green Tea Ice-cream

Service was not that bad from what I read, but I agreed service was slow. Our waitress was friendly and cheerful.

Alhambra
17 W Main St
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 458-0388

0-5 Star Rating:
Food: *
Service: ***
Ambiance: **
Location: ***
Parking: *** (free valet parking, public parking lots)
Bang for the Bucks: *
Average Price/Person (lunch): $12 - $15
Reservation: No

Crane Sushi on Urbanspoon

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Singapore's Banana Leaf

Laksa? Did I order the wrong food?

Singapore's Banana Leaf at Farmers Market (Fairfax at 3rd Street) was on my wishlist for a couple years. Finally I went there today after my visit to Los Angeles County Museum of Arts to see Zodiac Heads by Ai Weiwei. 



Parking at Farmers Market is always a problem. So I did some shopping at Whole Foods Market and left my car there, then walked a short distance to Farmers Market.


I never had a complete bowl of Laksa by myself, so I decided to have one tonight. They had two kinds of Laksa, regular or chicken. Cashier told me Regular Laksa ($9.45) had fishballs only, and Chicken Laksa ($9.95) of course had chicken only. I always thought Laksa would contain different ingredients.







Other than a few fishballs, I also found a few pieces of tofu, some raw bean sprouts, one leaf of spinach, and round rice noodles from my bowl of Regular Laksa. All the above ingredients didn't have any flavor and they needed a good tasty soup base to go with; however the curry soup was unbelievable bland. Why bland? Curry does not have flavors unless combined with other spices. Fishballs had a good texture but rice noodles were stiff. Needless to say, this Laksa didn't stimulate my taste-buds.




I always think having a bad meal is pityful, do you agree?


Mid-City West
6333 W 3rd St (Farmers Market)
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323)933-4627

0-5 Star Rating:
Food: zero star
Service: n/a (self-served)
Ambience: **
Location: ***
Parking: ** (adjacent parking lot, spaces are hard to find)
Bang for the Bucks: *

Average Price/Person: $12 - $15
Reservation: No
Types: Asian, Food-court


Singapore's Banana Leaf on Urbanspoon






Friday, August 19, 2011

Desert Rose

All of a sudden, I became a regular at Desert Rose; I rather think City Rose is more applicable since it is located in the middle of the City of Los Angeles. I go there with friends, family and colleagues.



I got to know this place from buying a Groupon. I had hesitated to go because I read about parking was a problem, but I had to use my groupon before it expired. Finally I went there with my mom and my out-of-town cousin for lunch on a Friday. I had no problem to find a street-parking space. The oustside and inside dining areas were equally nice and impressive. Outside area was covered by so many canopy umbrellas, I was so eager to sit there; but my mom insisted to sit inside.
I ordered a Grilled Chicken with Pesto Panini. Panini was toasted and spreaded with pesto, warm grilled chicken and sliced tomato inside. I enjoyed my sandwish. My mom's Lamb Chop came with rice and hummus, lamb chops were grilled to medium well but still very tender and jucy; rice was too soft. My cousin's Ahi-Tuna Salad came with plenty garishes, tuna also grilled to the right setting.  Both of my guests liked their entrees. We shared a Warm Chocolate Lava Cake to finish our meal. Chocolate syrup was melted inside with warm chocolate cake outside; perfectly to go with blueberries and ice-cream.







They offer special lunch for $10, with sandwich or salad to choose from, plus a beverage. There won't be any better deal elsewhere. My two colleagues and I chosed the same sandwich, BBQ Chicken Ciabatta, it included mixed green salad with house dressing, and no problem to substitute french fries with sweet-potato fries. A small amount of BBQ sauce was spreaded on the bread with a piece of melted cheese, grilled chicken was juicy and bread was soft. Perfect sandwich!! We shared a piece of Cheesecake to finish our lunch. I used a Yelp check-in coupon to get 15% off, we paid only $14 each for a delightful lunch. It was a very relaxing lunch at the outside area in a mid-summer afternoon.




I came back again on a Thursday night for dinner with my college friend, who can resist a 25% discount just being their Facebook fan? We were sitting in the outside area, now all the canopy umbrellas were gone and some heater lamps were up.
We had an order of Hummus and Pita for appetizer, hummus was not too sour and its texture was just right but pita bread was not warm enough. My entree was Beef Kabob, it came with some crispy pita, rice, garlic sauce and tabouli. Four beef kabobs were grilled to medium, they're flavorful but not too strong. I ate one garlic clove mistakenly thought it was a small onion. My friend's entree was Vegetable Kabob. Finally Warm Lava Cake with Ice-cream shined again.



Servers are warm and attentive. Decor and ambiance are one of a kind. Watch for Facebook or Yelp discount before you go.

Los Feliz
1700 Hillhurst Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027

(323) 666-1166
www.desertroserestaurant.com

0-5 Star Rating:
Food: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: ****
Location: ***
Parking: ** (valet parking / street parking)
Bang for the Bucks: ****

Average Price/Person (Lunch): $15 - $25
Average Price/Person (Dinner): $25 - $35
Reservation: No
Types: Mediterranean, California



Desert Rose Restaurant & Bar on Urbanspoon

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

U2 Cafe


Hong Kong-Style Cafe and more

The difference of U2 Cafe and other Hong Kong-style cafes in San Gabriel Valley is U2 Cafe also serves Cantonese BBQ items, such as BBQ Pork, Roasted Duck, Roasted Pig and more. BBQ items are from the adjacent U2 BBQ.




I have been to U2 Cafe a few times, so I have tried different dishes. Hong Kong-style iced-tea alway comes with syrup and it is very strong, and I have to specify "no sugar" to the server. I usually add water to dilute it if I want to sleep at night.


Coffee comes with creamer and condensed milk to choose from.

They have rice plates with BBQ items. BBQ items are not the best you can find, but decent enough. They add some special soysauce on the rice, along some vegetable to make a rice plate a meal itself.
BBQ Pork and Roasted Duck on /Rice

BBQ Pork on Rice
 I don't like Squid and Preserved Vegetable Chow-Mein (yelllow tiny noodles). Gravy is too thick. Beef Chow-Fun (white flat rice noodles) would be a better choice.
Squid and Preserved Vegetable Chow-Mein


Beef Chow-Fun

Porridge and Rice Roll are always a good pair. I'd say U2 Cafe has very good Rice Roll stuffed with Fried Cruller, rice roll is thin and cruller is crispy and it is made-to-order. Sauce is served on the side is a big plus.
Rice Roll Stuffed with Freid Cruller

Porridge
Service is fine by SGV's standard. Decor and ambience are basic, cleanliness is acceptable.

Alhambra
1200 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626)282-1800

0-5 Star Rating:
Food: ***
Service: **
Ambiance: **
Location: ***
Parking: *** (adjacent parking lot)
Bang for the Bucks: ****

Average Price/Person: $10 - $15
Reservation: No
Types: Chinese, Asian


U2 Cafe on Urbanspoon

Friday, August 5, 2011

Cafe Beaujolais

Everything French, but the Attitude

Forget all those pretend French restaurants, you must try Cafe Beaujolais. Their motto is "Everything French, but the Attitude.", I certainly agree!! I dined there two times in a month. Cafe Beaujolais is truly a hidden gem in Glendale/Eagle Rock area.
We started with Escargots as appetizer, it was loaded with garlic butter; it went so good with bread. Followed by an other appetizer, Baked Bay Shrimp & Scallops with Creamy Potato (Bechamel). Top of the creamy meshed potatoes was baked to golden brown; mixed with small shrimps and scallops. We didn't let go until the plates were literally shining clean.




I made a special item off the menu, Grilled and Sautéed Vegetables with Chicken, mixed vegetables came with sun-dried tomato and potato cake. I found exceed oil on the plate and the waiter ensured me it was cooked with olive oil. Chicken was a bit well-done.
My friends and family members liked their food, Rack of Lamb, Pork Tenderloin and Rainbow Trout.



Prices were very reasonable;  appetizers were $7-$9 and entrees were $20 to $23. Waiters were friendly and attentive, water and bread were refilled promptly. Decor and ambience were very French.





Eagle Rock
1712 Colorado Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90041

(323) 255-5111

0-5 Star Rating:
Food: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: ****
Location: ***
Parking: * (Street parking only)
Bang for the Bucks: ****

Average Price/Person (dinner): $35 - $50
Reservation: Recommended
Types: French


Cafe Beaujolais on Urbanspoon