[Irvine] [Mexican] Javier's Cantina and Grill

Javier's Cantina and Grill
45 Fortune Dr
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 872-2101
http://www.javiers-cantina.com

We finally went to Irvine Spectrum for the first time after living in Irvine for 5 months.  We were smart and got there around 11:30am.  There were plenty of parking the parking structure.  But when we left around 4pm, the parking was just crazy.  It took us about 20 minutes just to get out of the parking structure.  So it is best to go a little early I think.



We wanted to eat first before shopping.  Looking at the directory, I thought....  Hmmm, I like Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen, but I've never been to Javier's Cantina before.  Should we stick with a restaurant we like, or try something new?  Since both Dr. P and I are adventurous food eaters (haha....), we decided to take the risk to try a new place.

[Costa Mesa] [Japanese] Wafu of Japan

Wafu of Japan
320 Bristol St #G
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 641-7321

I bought a $25 gift certificate from Restaurant.com during their 80% off  sale.  I have never heard of the restaurant, didn't know anything about the restaurant, and bought it only because Dr. P loves sushi.  I went with my intuition and picked a few random Japanese restaurants in the OC area to buy GCs.



After I purchased the gift certificate, I went on to Yelp to read reviews about the restaurant.  Wafu of Japan has pretty good reviews.  We came to the restaurant on a Saturday night with lots of anticipation.

[Irvine] [Fast Food] El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco
88 Corporate Park
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 756-0380
http://www.elpolloloco.com

After our lobster tails dinner, Dr. P was still hungry.  I guess two small lobster tails can't really fill up a man's stomach....  We looked through our coupon piles, and Dr. P decided to go to El Pollo Loco to get his second dinner.


2 Pieces Chicken Meal ($2.99)

The coupon was for a 2 pieces leg and thigh meal for $2.99.  Regular price was about $5 I think.  It doesn't come with a drink though.  Dr. P got bean and rice for his side dishes.  I didn't eat any that night.  But I've always like El Pollo Loco's chicken.  They didn't give us any salsa.  We learned that you have to ask for the salsa at the drive thru window if you want it.

Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter

One of my favorite supermarket in Irvine is Sprouts Farmers Market.  Their produces, meat and seafood always have high quality.  The market feels like a cross between Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.  I bought 4 lobster tails there.  The sale price was $2.99 each.


Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter

It was my first time cooking lobster tail.  I just cooked it like how I would cook shrimps.  haha....  I deshelled the lobster, and wrapped the lobster tails in foil with garlic butter.  Garlic butter was made with butter, minced garlic, and chopped parsley.  Sprinkled some salt and pepper on the lobster tails, and baked at 450 degrees in the oven for about 12 minutes.  So the lobster tails turned out to be a little undercooked.  We had to pop it back into the microwave for a few seconds.  But the garlic butter was tasty.

I'm still not sure if I cook the lobster tails properly.  Should do some research on how to cook it....  Any suggestion for my next lobster tails dinner?

[Monterey Park] [Chinese] 避風塘潮粵海鮮酒家 Seafood Village Restaurant

Seafood Village Restaurant
避風塘潮粵海鮮酒家
684 W Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 289-0088

For my weekly lunch with my parents last Wednesday, I suggested to try Seafood Village Restaurant.  My ex-coworker Iris always tells me how great Seafood Village's lunch special is.  My parents have been to the Temple City location before.  This time we dicided to try the Monterey Park location.



We walked up to the door, and spotted the big red "C".  Hmmmm....  I guess this place is rated "C" for Chinese only?  haha....  The place was packed.  Seemed like nobody really cared about the C rating.

Beef and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

Beef and Bok Choy Stir-Fry is another dish I cooked from Real Simple Magazine's recipe.  (RECIPE HERE)


Beef and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

I always had trouble cooking beef slices.  Somehow it always turned out to be too dry and tough.  My mom taught me that by adding some cornstarch to the beef and let it sit for about 10 minutes before cooking will result in perfectly tender beef slices.  I tried the method, and it worked!  The beef was juicy and tender.  Dr. P and I LOVE the sauce from this recipe.  I don't really like ginger, but somehow really enjoyed the grated fresh ginger flavor in the sauce.  I could also taste the rice vinegar, and it was very appetizing.  I ate way too much rice because of this yummy sauce.

This dish was so easy and fast to make.  Absolutely love it!

Tilapia with Peppers and Olives

I really like the magazine "Real Simple".  One of my favorite section in the magazine was their food & recipes.  All of the recipes in the magazine consist of a few simple everyday ingredients.  The recipes is also easy, fast and delicious.


Tilapia with Peppers and Olives

I made Tilapia with Peppers and Olives (RECIPE HERE) for dinner last week.  I bought fresh Tilapia from the supermarket.  It tasted so much better than the frozen tilapia.  The fish didn't need much flavor except salt and pepper because it tasted so fresh.  Also the sauteed onion, red bell pepper, and olives had tons of rich flavors.  The onion and red bell pepper was sweet, the olive was salty, and the lime juice added some sourness.  It tasted Mediterranean.

We both love the taste of the dish.  It is also a very light and healthy meal.  Definitely will make again soon!

[Irvine] [Chinese] S.W. Seafood & BBQ Restaurant

S.W. Seafood & BBQ Restaurant
三禾燒腊海鮮麵家
5406A Walnut Ave
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 262-0128

I always see a lot of people getting take out from S.W. Seafood & BBQ Restaurant.  So I assume the food must be pretty good and wanted to try this place.  Well, I learned that my assumption was wrong.



This place is obviously trying to rip off Sam Woo's name.  Their English name is S.W., and their Chinese name sounds just like Sam Woo's Chinese name but with different characters.  What a copycat!  I should've seen that as a warning sign.

[Tustin] [Japanese] Honda-Ya

Honda-Ya
556 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 832-0081

To celebrate finishing another semester, Dr. P treated me to dinner.  He told me I could pick any restaurant I want.  I picked Honda-Ya because I wanted some icy cold beer on an icy cold winter night!  haha....


Sapporo ($5.50)

Ahhhh!  Beer!  When celebrating, you just gotta have beer!

[Hacienda Heights] [Buffet] 西海岸海鮮自助餐 West Coast Seafood Buffet

West Coast Seafood Buffet
西海岸海鮮自助餐
1655 S Azusa Ave #D
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 581-9893

My parents heard a program on the Chinese radio station promoting this new buffet called Wes Coast in Hacienda Heights.  They tried it, and thought it was a really good value.  For $10 lunch, you can get all you can eat sushi, sashimi, Mongolian BBQ, and cooked Chinese food.  For $1 more, you can also get unlimited hot pot.  So my parents took me there to try their buffet lunch.


Lunch Buffet ($9.99/person)

This buffet is huge!  Their selection of food is a bit more than your typical Asian buffet.  I like their sushi a lot.  Dad loaded up on sashimi.  My mom doesn't eat raw fish, and she still had plenty of sushi choices.  The cooked food was pretty tasty, but oily.

Hello Winter Vacation!

Yes!  Final week is finally over, and winter vacation is here!  Time went by so fast.  I already finished 1.5 years of the Registered Veterinary Technician program.  Only 1 more semester to go if I can get all my classes (fingers cross).

[Costa Mesa] [Italian] Maggiano's Little Italy

Maggiano's Little Italy
3333 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 546-9550
http://www.maggianos.com

I filled out a survey after visiting Maggiano's Little Italy last time.  I commented on that we thought their lasagna was too salty.  To my surprise, they sent me a $25 gift certificate to apologize for it.  Talking about great customer service!  So Dr. P and I returned to Maggiano's Little Italy with the gift certificate for dinner.


Bread

We started the meal with bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  The bread had a crusty outside, and soft, spongy, and airy in the middle.  Is this called Artisan bread?

[Santa Ana] [American] Black Angus Steakhouse

Black Angus Steakhouse
1350 N Tustin Ave
Santa Ana, CA 92701
(714) 558-3057
http://www.blackangus.com

We went back to Black Angus for their $38 for two special.  We went on the day after Thanksgiving, and the restaurant was quite empty.  I think some employees went on vacation, too.  The bartender was also working as the host.


Jumbo Prawn Cocktail ($9.99)
Served whilled with our House-made Atomic Horseradish cocktail sauce.

Last time we ordered the appetizer sampler, and there were a lot of fried food.  We decided to go light this time, and ordered Jumbo Prawn Cocktail.  The shrimp was fresh, and the cocktail sauce was yummy.  But there were only 6 shrimps.  The sampler had 4 shrimps, plus bunch of other food!  So value wise, this would not be a smart choice.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2009

Like every Thanksgiving, we went to Mrs. Park's house for Thanksgiving dinner. In previous years, most of the food were store bought. But this year, Mrs. Park and the aunties cooked EVERYTHING!


Cheese & Cracker

Before dinner, we had some Cheese and Cracker with wine.

$25 Restaurant.com Gift Certificates for $2.00

Take 80% off Restaurant.com $25 Gift Cert. orders! Use code SHARE and Pay $2 thru 12/14/09.

[Irvine] [Chinese] Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechwan Restaurant

Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechwan Restaurant
重慶美味川菜
5406 Walnut Ave #C
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 651-8886

Yup!  Back to Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechwan Restaurant again to serve our spicy Chinese food craving.


風味冷菜 Cold Appetizer ($5.50)

We ordered smoked chicken, spicy pig kidney, and shredded potatoes for our cold appetizer combo.  All three items were really good.  I really like the not fully cooked potatoes because it tasted crunchy.

[Temple City] [Chinese] 綠島風味餐廳 Green Island Restaurant

Green Island Restaurant
綠島風味餐廳
9556 Las Tunas Dr
Temple City, CA 91780
(626) 286-6788

Last time we visited Green Island Restaurant, mom liked it a lot, and dad thought it was just alright.  I like their curry chicken the most.  We went back to Green Island for lunch on a Monday.


石燒黑豚肉大白菜 Black Pork Belly with Bok Choi in Hot Pot ($4.99)

Everyday they offer a dish with special price.  On Monday, the dish is Black Pork Belly with Bok Choi in Hot Pot.  It said "bok choi" on the menu, but it was actually napa cabbage.  It was a really simple dish.  Just like the name implied, there was pork, and there was cabbage.  The taste was just ok.  I think anybody can easily make this dish at http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com, and probably would taste even better.

Wonton Soup

My first attempt to make Wonton Soup ever!  It was actually a lot easier than I imagined.


餛飩湯 Wonton Soup

For the wonton filling, I used half pork and half shrimp.  I added some salt, pepper, sesame oil, cornstarch, rice wine, and water to the mixture.  For the soup, I used chicken stock, and added soy sauce, salt, pepper, and sesame oil.  I also added shitake mushroom, carrot, and snow peas to the soup.  A big difference of wonton at http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com versus wonton in a restaurant is that my version of wonton is huge!  Call me greedy but I like to add a lot of filling in my wontons.  haha....

Dr. P loved the wonton soup.  He had like 15 wontons for dinner!  My first wonton soup, success!