So it was my drinking buddy's birthday and my friends and I decided to take him out for dinner, what more suitable place than an Irish Pub. Except, we found it it was as authentic as a Panda Express is for Chinese Food.
Lusty Wheat Beer
Muldoon's own beer that they brew on site in Newport Beach.
Judgment: The beer had a light body taste and is fairly dry. The Lemon adds a slight accent to it similar to how people enjoy a wedge of orange with their Blue Moon. I would however still choose to drink a Blue Moon over this one. 6 / 10
Chips
Fresh Chips with Malt Vinegar
Judgment: The Chips definitely tasted fresh, and they provide you with a bottle of Malt Vinegar to season it. The chips themselves are cut paper thin and deep fried, although it doesn't taste like there is much seasoning on the chips, so if you like those lightly salted chips, this is for you. Otherwise, the vinegar definitely brings out the flavor of the potato chips very well and is also quite tasty. 8 /10
Cream of Potato
Cream of potato soup with lemongrass, rosemary, potatoes, and other ingredients
Judgment: Don't bother with this soup unless you want to drink something that doesn't taste like anything. There was no flavor despite having so many herbs and normal flavor enhancers in the soup. It was pretty bland and I ended up adding some salt and pepper so I could taste something and finish the soup. 3 / 10
Pot Roast
Braised Short Rib with Mashed Potatoes, Peas, Baby Carrots, Fingerling Potatoes in a Gravy made with Guinness Stout Beer
Judgment: All the vegetables had no seasoning at all. The meat was fork tender, I did not even bother using a knife at all. The gravy itself could have used more flavoring or just simply salt and it would have been great. The vegetables were really holding this dish back as a whole. The sprig of rosemary in the mashed potatoes did not even flavor the dish at all. Guess I was supposed to eat the entire sprig with every bite. 5 / 10
Conclusion: The pub itself gets really packed, and there are plenty of burgers and dishes to choose from. The restaurant actually won the 2009 Best Burger title for their burgers, but I chose to get a more "traditional" Irish fare. Next time, I think I'll stick with the burger.
This restaurant gets a C-rank.
A very special VIP Dinner that I arranged for some lovely maids in the AniMaid Cafe. Venus and Mio were the lucky ones to join me for a night of culinary adventure. I'll save the chit chat for later, onto the food!
Ricotta Ravioli, Lemon, Basil, Pecorino, Olive Oil
Judgment: The dish came prepared with the olive oil drizzle with a lemon mixture. I thought the Lemon was a bit strong and stole away some of the flavor from the Basil. The herbs give it a refreshing touch but the acidity from the lemon might have been too much. However, the dish was still enjoyable. 7 / 10
Quail Fry, Grits, Chard, Slab Bacon, Maple Jus
Judgment: HOLY CRAP. This is some of the best Quail I have ever had. The bird was well seasoned, cooked to perfect temperature and the accompanying side dishes were exquisite too. The grits were delicious with the maple jus and the bacon was cured very well, high quality. 10 / 10
Barbeque Pork Belly Sandwiches, Slaw
Judgment: This is the iconic food to have at Animal Restaurant. No trip here would be complete without an order of this for your party. In fact, order enough for your entire party so that everybody can have their own and not have to share. The meat is so tender it falls apart and melts in your mouth. The sweetness of the bbq sauce is balanced by the crisp flavors of the cole slaw and the bun just brings the flavors together nicely in a neat and slightly messy little package. 10 /10
Foie Gras Loco Moco, Quail Egg, Spam, Hamburger
Judgment: Here we finally have an official entreé from Animal. The dish is a traditional Loco Moco Hawaiian Specialty but prepared in an un-traditional way. The rice is cooked to perfection, even Mio was commenting how great the rice was. The dish is covered in a sweet sauce with small hints of sriracha sauce to give it a little heat. The Foie Gras just melts again like butter, Spam is rich in saltiness, the burger is kind of mellow and hanging out in the dish and the Quail egg just ties everything together. This is one of the few dishes I wouldn't mind eating all the rice. 10 /10
Conclusion: Animal Restaurant VIP Dinner experience was a success for Mio and Venus. They weren't sure what to expect when I told them VIP Dinner, but dress smart casually. Once again, it goes to show that you don't have to go to a high-end $100/person restaurant to enjoy delicious food but this is definitely one hidden gem. All in all, I had a great time with the lovely girls even when the waitstaff asked me to stop taking photos because my flash was distracting other diners, it was still a great time. Will definitely visit again, and hopefully Mio-chan and Venus-chan will join me again. There is street parking in the nearby neighborhoods for this place but I opted for the valet because it was the VIP experience after all. This restaurant gets and S-Rank.
Bonus Material:
Mio and Venus-chan looking lovely
Me with Venus-chan, Photo by Mio
Me with Mio-chan, Photo by Venus
So last week, my friends and I gathered together to wish a Farewell Dinner for one of our close friends Mr. James Chen. We decided to rendezvous at Clearman's Steak & Stein in Pico Rivera. They are part of the chain that owns North Woods Inn in Santa Fe Springs, CA as well. Seeing today is the day that James left for Philadelphia, it is fitting that I write the entry dedicated to him today. Well, not so much dedicated to him but the meal that was in his honor.
The Sidecar
Sidecar Cocktail
Judgment: You would be surprised how many bars in established restaurants don't know how to make this drink! It is definitely one of the basics when you study to be a bartender, and even my friend Dianne who doesn't drink regularly knows or at least has heard of "The Sidecar"! I'm not sure what the bartender used in this rendition but it doesn't taste like the usual Henessey Cognac that was supposed to be in it but it was still fairly good. Crisp, tart taste and pleasant to the mouth. 8 / 10
Pile of Butter
Literally, they laid out piles of butter for us. No, this was not a dish so I won't be making any judgment on it but I thought it was note-worthy
Garlic Cheese Toast
Texas Style Toast with Garlic and cheddar flavors
Judgment: It is as you would expect. A cheesy buttery piece of toast. Oh and there was some garlic flavoring in there. Over all, I thought it might have been a bit too greasy, but it's to be expected at this kind of restaurant. If you love this kind of flavor, this bread is for you, and feel free to ask for seconds. 7 / 10
Clam Chowder
New England Style Clam Chowder
Judgment: Nothing particularly amazing about this soup other than how WATERY it is. I thought it was a creamy chowder, but the soup runs like water! The cream overwhelmed most of the other flavors in the bowl, there was barely even any clams in it. I say stick with the salad, don't waste your time with the soup. 3 / 10
Ribeye Steak
12oz. Boneless Ribeye Steak with Onion Rings and Baked Potato
Judgment: The steak is plated table side via a hot cart. The cart held hot plates so that the food doesn't get cool while transported from the kitchen to the table. The Steak is a superior cut and my piece was well marbled. Originally I was thinking I couldn't finish the entire steak, but it was delicious. The Onion Rings again, don't waste your time. The baked potato on the other hand, they provide you with that pile of butter remember? They also have a Sour Cream mixture that tastes similar to French Onion Dip, plenty of Green Onions/Scallions, and a Nacho Cheese Sauce to dress your potato. The steak itself is lightly seasoned and I wished mine was seasoned a bit more. I ended up adding a little butter and salt to the steak to give it the flavor it was missing. All in all, as a whole, just have the Baked Potato and the Steak. We'll just ignore the Onion Rings and grade this one. 9 / 10
Chocolate Rum Sundae
Vanilla Ice Cream Sundae with Fudge and Rum? Topped with Whipped Cream and Maraschino Cherry
Judgment: I did not taste the rum in this at all. Generally disappointed. Also, the meal I had was quite filling already so when the sundae came, it was pretty much overkill for me. I gave the old college try to devour it but I only finished about 60% of it. It just tasted like your typical ice cream sundae you can get just about any ice cream parlor or even McDonald's if you add a little whipped cream and a cherry to theirs. 4 / 10
Conclusion: The restaurant is a cozy little place. The parking is a little confusing but the idea is just drive AROUND the entire lot until you get to the front of the restaurant again. My car would've had trouble on the drive way so I was kinda glad I didn't drive. Although, carpooling wasn't the best idea because I ended up having to backtrack a bit to go home.
The Restaurant gets an A-Rank.
Bonus Material:
Farewell James! Oh and look there's a pregnant Joe.
So my friend Akina was saying she wanted to eat Yakiniku, and being an idiot, I suggested she go eat Yakitori. So, the conversation lead to me asking her to show me what real Yakiniku is all about. Wow, totally different from your typical bbq places and definitely different from Yakitori. So we went to this small place near my dentist's office called Tsuruhashi.
Beef Liver Sashimi
Prepared Liver Sashimi with Ginger, Scallions and Lemon
Judgment: For the liver lovers, this is an ideal dish for you. The taste is definitely something that the average person may not enjoy and it does not cater to them at all. However, I fancy the dish and I felt that for a starter it is quite decadent. 8 / 10
Salted Fresh Prime Tongue
Beef Tongue with Salt and Pepper, Cube of Fat for grill prep
Prior to cooking on the grill, we used the cube of fat to "oil" things up on the grill and to give that little extra flavor that you can only get from a cube of fat.
Judgment: The fat rendering with all the meat that we cook on it makes it taste amazing. The tongue is fresh and it doesn't have the consistency as typical beef tongue you would find at a deli restaurant or in a tongue sandwich. The seasoning is a little on the salt heavy side but they provide some dipping sauces to even it out. 8 / 10
Short Rib
Top Quality Beef Boneless Short Rib
Judgment: The beef here is so well marbled that it gives a soft consistency to it. The meat will become chewy if it is overcooked but the ingredient is definitely exquisite. The beef flavor is definitely there. 9 / 10
Kobe Beef Ribeye
Prepared sliced top quality beef ribeye
Judgment: The ribeye is amazing. It is definitely something to order when you have a chance and you have never had it before. Although there are even higher qualities of beef out there for beef connoisseurs, for the average joe, this will be amazing. The flavor, the aroma, and the quality of the beef is unmistakable and top notch. 9 / 10
Shochu Break
Japanese Barley Wine -- The interesting part of this restaurant is that we can purchase the entire bottle, and then return anytime within the following 2 months to finish it off. It's like a private collection at your restaurant!
Berkshire Pork Belly
Pork Belly with Scallions, seasoned with salt and pepper
Judgment: The pork belly is just exactly how one would imagine it -- soft, tender, and flavorful. The seasoning is there to accent it and the restaurant also provides lettuce and miso to wrap it so you don't have to be overwhelmed with the oily meat all at once. The miso will take the edge off while the lettuce eases the taste into the mouth. 9 / 10
Family Set
Marinated Beef Kalbi, Short Rib, Rib Eye and Marinated Chicken
Judgment: We ordered the family platter pretty late into the game when we started to get full and this definitely put us in the position of "OK, we definitely ate too much tonight". Granted the meat was delicious and the quantity was a decent amount to feed 2 people easily. 3 People was a bit of a stretch to order just 1 platter, but over all the meat was again of good quality, and everything was delicious. 8 / 10
Orange Wedge
Peeled Orange Wedge, Maraschino Cherry
The orange was just there to act as a pallet cleanser along with the after-dinner tea.
Conclusion: The restaurant is definitely a little gem in Fountain Valley. The meat is fresh, the waitstaff is very attentive, although one of my friends was saying that it was weird that the waitstaff would talk to us in English despite the fact that he pretty much ordered everything for us in Japanese. The parking lot is a bit of a nightmare in the sense that on the way to the storefront from the entry point there is a massive pot hole that I have to avoid for sure. Low cars will have a fun time maneuvering around.
The Restaurant gets an A-Rank
Bonus Material!
The lovely Akina with our bottle of Shochu. Thanks for hanging out with us!
So during Anime Expo, I was hungry and I decided to join Kchan and Kyosuke in their dinner adventures around Little Tokyo. They wanted to go eat somewhere new that they haven't been to before and I'm down to try these places as well because it's another opportunity to do some taste testing. Joy Mart was an interesting restaurant because they featured a "Tapas" Menu. For people that don't know, Tapas style cuisine is basically small-dish variety cuisine.
Chicken Gyoza
Chicken Meat Dumplings pan fried with Scallions, Ponzu and Sesame Seeds
Judgment: The sauce wasn't exactly what I picture Ponzu sauce normally (it's supposed to be like soy sauce but with a citrus accent to it). It was slightly spicy and I guess it does lend a little bit of flavor to the dumplings. The scallions were fresh chopped and the sesame seeds are what you would expect them to be. Just there to provide a little bit of accent in flavor. The dumplings themselves were pretty boring. It doesn't have much flavor aside from just being a dumpling skin and some ground meat. 6 / 10
Jidori Fried Chicken
Fried Chicken with Hoisin Sauce
Judgment: I've noticed that some of the dishes here were influenced by chinese dishes when this one came out. The flavor is similar to eating Peking duck but it's done with chicken and the sauce is slightly off. The chicken is prepared and cooked properly, nothing undercooked, de-boned correctly with some of the fatty portions of the chicken still intact. 7 / 10
Yakitori
Sauced Chicken Thigh with Okra
Salted Chicken Thigh with Okra
Judgment: The theme I discovered of this restaurant at this point is that everything seems to be under-seasoned. I was disappointed that the salt flavor chicken skewer almost tasted like boiled chicken with no seasoning at all. The Okra was roasted and you can taste the smokey flavor that comes with grilling vegetables but that did not save the chicken at all. The sauced version was a bit more enjoyable because there was actually some taste and flavor to the food finally. However, the sweet flavor was a bit over-bearing so I didn't enjoy it TOO much.
Sauced Version 7 / 10
Salt Version 3 / 10
Conclusion: The restaurant needs a bit more direction. It looks like it was going in so many directions because they have some Thai style dishes, some Chinese, some Japanese, etc. If they had focused on maybe just 1 or 2 styles of food, the quality should be much better but instead, I felt that their menu was spread a bit thin despite having a large variety of dishes. For my 3 tapas dishes I named them "Chicken 3 Ways". Officially they don't have a pre-set tapas menu but you can order each one individually as if you're ordering appetizers.
The restaurant gets a C-Rank
While driving to Los Angeles Convention Center during Anime Expo weekend, I managed to spot a Fleming's Steakhouse on the way to my hotel. Coincidentally, I had wanted to try this place after hearing about it a few times. Man, it was difficult to find people to go with me but luckily my drinking buddy Marc was available and down to eat some good steak.
Starter: Bread with Cheese Spreads
Rosemary Italian Baguette with Feta Cheese & Sun-Dried Tomato Cheese Spreads
Judgment: The bread was freshly baked and fragrant thanks to all the herbs in it. The crust was slightly crispy and the flesh of the bread itself was elastic but yielding as well. The Feta Cheese spread was my preferred choice as I did not even reach for the Sun-Dried Tomato one after tasting the first one. I finished about half the loaf before I decided I should definitely stop before I ruin my appetite for my steak. 9 / 10
Main Course: Bone-in Ribeye Steak
Bone-in Prime Ribeye Steak
Judgment: The steak was cooked to a perfect Medium Rare like I requested. No arguments with the chef here. It was succulent, flavorful and served on a hot plate. The meat has a excellent aged-beef flavor while the seasoning complimented it very well. 10 / 10
Side Dish: Creamed Spinach
Spinach with Creme and Parmesan Cheeses
Judgment: This side reminded me of the one at Lawry's steakhouse. It was rich and very creamy but due to this fact, it does not compliment every entreé. Marc was saying it did not pair well with his filet but it did go well with my Ribeye. I think if I had ordered the Sauteed Spinach instead of the creamed one, it would've paired better for Marc. 9 / 10
Side Dish: Creamed Corn
Creamy Sweet Corn with a light bed of Jalapeno Cheese with Jalapeno garnish
Judgment: This was AMAZING. The corn was sweet and mildly flavored, but when you ate it with the cheese, POW! You definitely get a bit of the heat from the Jalapenos and it really brings out the taste. Marc and I both agreed that this was an excellent choice for side dishes. 10 / 10
Conclusion: Fleming's Steakhouse is an excellent place to have a well prepared steak if you've been to places like Mastro's, Morton's or Lawry's, this is definitely worth a visit as well. The restaurant also features 100 different kinds of wine so they definitely have a selection that should suit your tastes. The parking at LA Live can be kind of pricey but there should be some $5 lots near the location that you can leave your car at.
This restaurant gets an S-Rank.
Once again I found myself attending class. Class 302 that is. No Mio or Mikan this time so the experience was a bit different. Hung out with a good friend Angela, she's been having a rough time lately and was craving some sweets, so I suggested going to class.
Mango Mochi Shaved Snow
Mango Pieces, Mochi, Condensed Milk, Mango-infused Snow.
Judgment: Again, I love this stuff. Today's was good as well, except I felt the mochi was a little bland this time around. Maybe because last time Mio ate the majority of the mochi, who knows. The snow is light and comes out in sheets rather than chunks of ice like most shaved ice. The Mango pieces were ripe and sweet and the addition of condensed milk gave it a slightly candy taste to it. 9 / 10
Conclusion: Parking is not a big deal if you're willing to park a little further away. It is a nice place to chill and hang out if you just want a simple night out. There were a couple tables of people who were solo-ing the shaved snow so if you wanted to pig out, you can definitely do so.
The restaurant gets an A-rank.
