Review: Snooze (Boulder, CO)

Boulder is such a nice place. Clean air, lots of climbing, skiing, biking, etc. I am a fan of breakfast places, so Snooze was recommended. I also really like chicken pot pie, so it was no surprise that I was immediately sold that this place had a breakfast pot pie.

Even though I was hyped about the dish, it did not disappoint although a little more expensive that I would like to pay for it if I were to eat it everyday. The pancakes were also pretty good. I think my favorite is the pineapple upside down cake. It was a little too sweet after a few bites, but fortunately we were sharing the dishes.

Review: M Burger (Chicago)

Stopped by this place with a few friends since it was near the hotel we were staying at (near Water Tower). I ordered the Hurt Burger. This place is a nice little place. Price is reasonable. Fast service. Food tasted good. Sat outside. No complaints from anyone. Would eat again.

Reference

http://www.mburgerchicago.com/

Review: Village Taverna (NYC)

Before this place, I have not been a fan of Greek foods outside of the typical (likely Americanized) gyros. This place was a real pleasant experience and would visit again. The price is a little high for my personal taste but rather reasonable for NYC. The place was packed (although we didn't have to wait even without a reservation) but our food still came out in a reasonable time.

We enjoyed all our dishes. These are the dishes we ordered:

• LAMB SHANK YIOUVETSI
• YEMISTA
• KEFTEDES

I was not a fan of our dessert. For dessert:

• Mosaiko

But admittedly, I do not have much of a sweet tooth. My friends seemed to have enjoyed it.

Reference

http://www.villagetaverna.com/

Review: Noodles Delight (Roselle, IL)

All the food was good here. I do not recall all the dishes (some I did not recognize), but we had at least the following:

• 京都排骨 (Peking pork chops)
• creamy coconut shrimp

The place is clean and quiet. The owners were the owners of Yu's Mandarin which I had frequented in the past. I've heard Yu's has changed a bit and has been many years since I have last been there.

Reference

http://www.noodlesdelight.com/
http://rasamalaysia.com/peking-pork-chops/
http://www.food.com/recipe/chef-lins-coconut-shrimp-345793

Review: Cioppino's (Fisherman's Wharf)

• Cioppino
• Clam Chowder
• Fisherman's Platter

The cioppino was really good. I enjoyed this one better than the one at Scoma's but not as big. Regular size was enough to share among 6 people (including 4 other dishes).

Clam chowder and bread bowl was good too. I am not too familiar with bread bowls but seemed like there was quite a bit more bread than soup. Fortunately, this worked out with cleaning up the sauces from the other pasta dishes.

Fisherman's platter was ok. Nothing particularly special except fresh calamari. 

We also had two other pasta dishes but I do not recall what they were as I didn't order. Both were decent. One was with a red sauce and mussels. The other was with a green sauce with seafood. I would prefer the cioppino and clam chowder over the pasta dishes we ordered.

Reference
https://plus.google.com/104832740765930391855/about?hl=en&gl=us
http://www.cioppinosf.com/

Review: Kunjip (Santa Clara)

• Gori Gomtang - Oxtail soup
• Side dishes - Kimchee (nappa, daikon, cucumber)

Both were great. The oxtail soup may be slightly bland to some people but that is the way I like my food. The oxtail was tender and not too difficult to eat. I do not think I understand how to eat the meat with the sauce they provide. I didn't find it making the meat any tastier. I did like the slight spicy flavor from the jalapeno which I just ended up eating the jalapeno with the rice. This place has one of my favorite nappa and daikon kimchee. It was very crispy and tasty.

The place is a little pricey but I would return again on a limited basis.

Reference

http://www.yelp.com/biz/kunjip-restaurant-santa-clara-2

Review: Curry King (Union City)

• Curry chicken lunch special
• Lamb Tikka Masala
• Chai Tea (free)
• Wheat based dessert

Curry chicken was good which also comes with rice and curry mixed vegetables. Great price for $6 with naan. The naan was excellent. They had very nice crisp on the outside yet chewy in the inside that goes very well with the curry sauce.

My friend had the lamb tikka masala which I really liked the sauce more than the lamb. The lamb was good, but I think I still preferred the chicken.

Chai tea is unsweetend which was nice since I do not particularly enjoy over-sweetened tea. You can add sugar to your taste.

There was also dessert made of wheat. Unfortunately, I did not catch what it was called. It was a nice sweet treat for the end of the meal.

We were the only ones there at an odd hour. People were nice, service was good. Portions and price are reasonable. I would definitely like to go back just for the naan (there were also other naans with garlic, onion, etc.) and try some other dishes (perhaps the chicken tikka masala).

Reference

http://www.yelp.com/biz/curry-king-union-city

Review: Casa La Dona (Downtown LA)

I had the tacos baja as a "snack" before dinner. This was my first time having fish tacos and it was great. The salsa bar was nice. The diablo sauce was very spicy. The mango flavored (I think it was mango cilantro) was very refreshing. The service was also great. I would definitely like to come back here again especially for Taco Tuesdays.

Address

800 S Main St
Los Angeles, CA 90014

Reference

http://www.yelp.com/biz/casa-la-do%C3%B1a-los-angeles-2#query:tacos

Review: Fish (Sausalito, CA)

Crab Roll 

Excellent. I would order this again. Although, I'm not sure how this would taste if it was not crab season. Nothing special with the steak fries except it was a bit salty.

True Cod (Special) 

I heard this was pretty good from a couple of friends that do not generally rave about food, so I assume that it is decent.

BBQ Oyster on the Half Shell

I liked the oyster. I am not a huge fan of oysters but these are definitely at the top. My friend who is not a fan of raw oysters prefers these over the oysters at Scoma's. I think these are different than the ones from Scoma. 

I am not sure if it is worth $3 per oyster though, but worth a try if you like oysters because you won't find it cheaper in the area.

Red Chowder

This was good but nothing particularly special.

Review: Shao Mountain

Fish Fillet with Dual Flavour

This dish is rather large with two fillets. One covered with red chili peppers but was surprisingly milder than the other half which was topped with a green chili peppers. Both were really good. This dish does take a while for the restaurant to prepare. We basically finished the other two dishes before this came out.

Braised Pork Slices with Bean Sprouts

This was ok but a little disappointing. This was about 10 slices of thick bacon. After a couple slices this tasted rather heavy. I wish they could have made the skin more crispy. The bean sprouts were more enjoyable. Tastes better with rice and with another dish that is lighter like Melon with Garlic.

Squash / Melon with Garlic

This is basically squash with a lot of diced garlic on top. This dish nicely balances with the Braised Pork that we ordered (even though I would have liked to have ordered another braised pork dish). Beware for anyone that is not particularly fond of garlic or people on dates, there is a lot of garlic in this dish.

Overall

The spiciness is a nice change. I have not eaten at other places with a high degree of spiciness as this place especially for chinese restaurants. There are quite a few interesting dishes that I would like to return to try. As usual, I also find this place a bit salty for my palate.

Review: Oasis Grill, CA

This was a nice hole-in-the-wall-like place. There isn't any place to sit but who needs to sit inside while in SF? Although, it is a little cold for local residents.

I enjoyed the beef shawarma (spicy) for the first time. I did not find it spicy. It was a nice refreshing burrito-like meal. It is a bit pricey in my opinion, around $11. Definitely more preferable than Chipotle (which I also enjoy) even though a couple dollars more.

I think I may have preferred the chicken. Also, I opened the wrap from the wrong side. So, look for the side that has a slight opening otherwise it could be quite messy. I opened it on the side where the bag opened, but fortunately, I caught it somewhat early so able to control the leaking.