[Industry] [Hot Pot] Flaming Spice

Flaming Spice
鍋盆碗裡
18518 Gale Ave
Industry, CA 91744
(626) 964-6569

On Tuesday, Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot has $20 all you can eat special. Since Wednesday is a holiday, we decided to drive all the way up to Hacienda Heights for the AYCE deal. We got there around 7-ish. The hostess turned us away as there were already too many people on the waiting list. Oh well, so we decided to go to the nearby Flaming Spice for AYCE spicy hot pot.



We had to wait for about 15 minutes for a table. A sneaky Chinese lady actually tried to "cut us in line" on the signing waiting list. She put her name on a separate sheet of paper, then put that piece of paper on top of the original waiting list where everyone had their names on it. Dr. P saw the whole thing and called her out for it. She just kept on saying to us "don't worry, you go first you go first." Ahhhh.... rude!

[Industry] [Hot Pot] Flaming Spice

Flaming Spice
鍋盆碗裡
18518 Gale Ave
Industry, CA 91744
(626) 964-6569

I went to Flaming Spice for lunch before, and hated the place. Their lunch special was pretty stupid. You get an individual hot pot for about $10, but there's nothing in it except the soup base. My friends picked Flaming Spice to do our dinner gathering. I was hoping their all you can eat dinner would be better than my last experience. And I ended up loving this place!


All You Can Eat ($19.99/person)

All you can eat is $19.99 per person. There were 6 of us, and they served us with two pots. So we picked 4 different soup base. Dr. P and I shared one pot by ourselves. We ordered the Beer Duck soup and Oxtail Soup. Both were really good. And there were quite a few pieces of duck and oxtail in the soup base.

[Newport Beach] [Buffet] Hokkaido Seafood Buffet

Hokkaido Seafood Buffet
4200 Scott Dr
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 851-5888
http://www.hokkaidobuffet.net

I bought a daily deal voucher for Hokkaido Seafood Buffet. The deal was $25 for buffet dinner for 2 plus 2 large bottle of Sapporo beer. Original price for buffet dinner is $16.99/person.



They were quite busy on a Saturday night.

[Mission Viejo] [Japanese] Sushi Zone

Sushi Zone
28251 Marguerite Pkwy #A
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 364-2878

We tried quite a few all you can eat sushi restaurants down in South Orange County. Sadly, we have been disappointed every time... until we found Sushi Zone.



Like all the other AYCE sushi restaurants in the area, Sushi Zone is also Korean owned. They offer a lot of rolls, but Dr. P and I enjoyed their traditional nigiri sushi the most.

[Anaheim] [All You Can Eat] Anaheim Hills Golf Course Clubhouse

Anaheim Hills Golf Course Clubhouse
6501 E Nohl Ranch Rd
Anaheim, CA 92807
(714) 998-3041
http://www.hillsclubhouse.com

I bought a Groupon daily deal for brunch for 2 at Anaheim Hills Gold Course Clubhouse for $28 (regular price $56). My sister drove down to OC to have Sunday brunch with me.



I called to make reservation but they said it was all full. They told me I can try to walk in at 10am. I did. And the regular brunch area was all full. So they put us at the "grill". The grill side isn't as nice as the brunch side, where they had live jazz band and nice view.

[Huntington Beach] [Japanese] Gyu-Kaku

Gyu-Kaku
7862 Warner Ave # 109
Huntington Beach,CA 92647
(714) 842-8333
http://www.gyu-kaku.com

As I mentioned in previous post, I feel like I have no time to blog. I've been writing since 2005, and seriously don't want to give up blogging. So I think I'll try this new writing method to see how it works out. I will post pictures, but probably with less writing to save time. Ok... so I hope you guys will still like reading my blog.



On Christmas Eve, Gyu-Kaku had a 50% off dinner special. All You Can Eat and Drink for only $20/person. Cool deal!

[Garden Grove] [Hot Pot] The Red Pot

The Red Pot
12119 Brookhurst St
Garden Grove, CA 92840
(714) 636-7168

I have been craving for spicy hot pot for the longest time. Finally we decided to go back to The Red Pot for all you can eat spicy hot pot. Dr. P's friends Joe and Monica was in the area so they came to hang out with us.


All You Can Eat Spicy Hot Pot ($19.99/person)

The all you can eat hot pot is $19.99/person. You can pick two broth. We picked spicy herbal and non-spicy herbal broth.

[Tustin] [Korean] Gen Korean BBQ and Yakitori Bar

Gen Korean BBQ and Yakitori Bar
13741 Newport Ave
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 505-1800

Thanks to reader Sheens, I found out about the newly opened Gen Korean BBQ in Tustin. The standard all you can eat Korean BBQ price in Orange County is about $20 to $25, and typically with maybe 5 or 6 choices of meat. So when Sheens told me about the $19.99 AYCE offer for 25 different items at Gen, I told Dr. P that we HAVE TO try this place.



We went for lunch on a Sunday back in October (Gosh! I'm so behind on writing....). The restaurant was busy with quite a few parties waiting for tables. Since there were only 2 of us, we got a table faster than the bigger parties. We were seated in a nice comfy booth seats. We were so excited when we saw the menu. 25 items to choose from! Woohoo!!

[Irvine] [Japanese] House of Shabu Shabu

House of Shabu Shabu
5394 Walnut Ave
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 654-9400

It was a cold night. I wanted something hot and soupy. Shabu Shabu! Our favorite Shabu Shabu Bar is all the way in Santa Ana. We didn't feel like driving that far. Then we thought of House of Shabu Shabu in Irvine. We've been there once before. It was just alright. But that was a while back. Maybe they've improved?



They offer all you can eat shabu shabu now. It's $17.95/person if you just want regular beef, chicken and pork. For $24.95, you can order kobe beef, rib-eye beef and lamb. Some appetizers and sushi rolls also came with the all you can eat.

[El Monte] [AYCE] Yummy Yummy Seafood Buffet

Yummy Yummy Seafood Buffet
10632 Lower Azusa Rd
El Monte, CA 91731
(626) 575-1989

I went home to visit my parents. They suggested to go to lunch at Yummy Yummy Seafood Buffet. They went during their grand opening special, and thought the food was decent for the price.


AYCE Lunch ($9.99/person)

All you can eat lunch was $9.99 per person. For my first plate, I got some sushi and seaweed. The sushi were better than I expected from a Chinese buffet. Their dumpling was surprisingly good. It was my dad's favorite item. He got a big plate of dumplings with lots of their special garlic soy sauce all over it.

[Orange] [AYCE] Todai Restaurant

Todai Restaurant
1500 E Village Way #2203
Orange, CA 92865
(714) 974-0763
http://www.todai.com

My friend Jennifer and her hubby Peter live in El Monte. There are a few Todai closer to their house, but they rather drive for one hour to go to Orange Todai. According to them, that one is the best Todai with best selection of food. I haven't been to Todai for years. My family used to go there all the time in the 90's. Food used to be great. But the last few times we went, maybe 3 or 4 years ago, we thought it was expensive and the food was just mediocre. (We often went to the Arcadia location.) We were curious to try the "best" Todai, and made dinner plan with Jen and Peter.


Poki / Shrimp

We went on a Saturday night for dinner. The price is $28.95/person. The restaurant was super busy. Luckily our friend Tammy and Sam got there early and got a table already. We sat at the far end of the restaurant away from the buffet. Yes we had to walk further to get food, but it wasn't as crazy and crowded as the seats near the buffet. We got some shrimp cocktail and tiny poki "bowl" while waiting for Jen and Peter to arrive. After taking a bite of the poki bowl, I'm sure Todai is Korean owned. The sauce they used was the Korean hot chili sauce. It wasn't authentic Japanese poki, but still quite good. Shrimp was really fresh, and I ate tons of it. I was really looking for dinner after trying the delicious "appetizers".

[Orange] [AYCE] Orange County Mining Company

Orange County Mining Company
10000 Crawford Canyon Road
Orange, CA 92705
(714) 997-7411
http://www.orangecountyminingco.com

I had a $25 for Sunday Champagne Brunch for Two at Orange County Mining Co. Groupon. They open at 9:30am for brunch, and we made a reservation at 9:30am because we want to get a window seat for the view.



We got there right at 9:30am. There were already quite a few parties there ready to feast on Sunday morning.

[Los Angeles] [Brazilian] M Grill

M Grill
3832 Wilshire Blvd,#202
Los Angeles,CA 90010
(213) 389-2770
http://www.m-grill.com

I had a $25 for $50 voucher at M Grill that I bought from OpenTable Spotlight. The plan that day was to go to Beverly Center to do some shopping with my sister. It was a perfect time to use my M Grill voucher for dinner after our shopping trip. I made reservation for two. My sister was saying "I don't think you need reservation on a weekday." We were glad that we made reservation because this place was completely full with tons of people waiting outside the door on a Wednesday night.


Cheese Rolls

These small cheese rolls were seriously addicting. I couldn't stop eating them. It tasted like a cream puff but with melted cheese inside. So delicious.

[Garden Grove] [Hot Pot] The Red Pot

The Red Pot
12119 Brookhurst St
Garden Grove, CA 92840
(714) 636-7168

We had plan to visit another restaurant in the Garden Grove area. On the way there, we passed by The Red Pot, and I remembered that was the hot pot place my reader Peter commented about. Last time I wrote about Lu Gi, Peter told me about this all you can eat spicy hot pot place in Orange County, and I had it on my "to-try" list. After spotting the restaurant, we changed our mind about where to go for lunch and made a U turn.



It was Saturday lunch time, the restaurant was half empty. I think people like to have hot pot for dinner more.

[Laguna Woods] [AYCE] Hometown Buffet

Hometown Buffet
24381 EL Toro Road
Laguna Woods, CA 92653
(949) 595-0971
http://www.hometownbuffet.com

I received a Hometown buffet coupon in the mail. The $6.99 coupon for dinner with a purchase of a drink seemed like a good deal. After I saw the picture of mouthwatering ribs on the ad, I had to visit. Before heading out to the restaurant, I went on their website to look up the nearest location, also to sign up on their email list. Right after I signed up, I received another coupon in my email. It was buy 1 dinner get 1 free with the purchase of 1 drink, which was an even better deal. Yipee!



We went for an early dinner around 5:30pm. The restaurant was occupied with mostly old people and families with kids. I think they like to earlier. We also like to eat early. Does that mean we are getting old? Or we are still young (like 5 year-old) at heart? haha.... The family in front of us in line offered us the extra $6.99 coupon they brought. So nice of them! But I had my BOGO coupon. So dinner for 2 plus a drink only cost $13.

[Brea] [AYCE] Osaka Seafood Buffet

Osaka Seafood Buffet
大阪
200 S State College Blvd
Brea, CA 92821
(714) 672-9698

One of Dr. P's aunt came to visit from East Coast so we had a small family gathering. Uncle P took us to Osaka Seafood Buffet for a late Sunday lunch.



Osaka looked like a very big restaurant from outside. And it was quite big inside, too. They have a fancy looking lobby area with koi pond. Lots of kids hanging around the pond looking at fish and turtles. Weekend price is $16.99/person. They have a salad station, cold seafood station, sushi station, hot food station, Mongolian BBQ station, and dessert station. The food looked really good at first glance.

[Mission Viejo] [AYCE] Big Grill Mongolian BBQ

Big Grill Mongolian BBQ
28601 Marguerite Pkwy #A
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
(949) 364-5588

I finally started feeling better after pulling 4 of my wisdom teeth. Now I could somewhat chew normally, I want to eat eat eat! I wanted something all you can eat. I didn't feel like salad and soup at Souplantation, didn't feel like sushi either, then I thought of Mongolian BBQ. Did a search online and found Big Grill Mongolian BBQ not too far from our house.



The restaurant is bright and spacious. Even when there were full (it got full soon after we sat down), it didn't feel crowded. But when there were a lot of people in line, getting your food cooked might take a while. They only have one grill with two chefs working.

[Los Angeles] [Korean] Buffet Land Secret Garden (CLOSED)

Buffet Land Secret Garden
1925 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-9292
(CLOSED)

從好幾年前就常來這家秘密花園Secret Garden吃韓國烤肉，從最久以前的$35四人烤肉餐，改成$13一個人的吃到飽烤肉，這次我們去的時候價錢變成一個人$15。這家餐廳的前面大門是一家叫做Buffet Land的韓國自助餐聽，裡面除了有韓國烤肉以外，還有壽司啊熱食沙拉等等，但是一個人晚餐時段要收費將近$30，而Secret Garden是在餐廳後面跟停車場中間的露天花園烤肉區，只有烤肉跟海鮮無限量供應，坐在外面吃價錢比坐在裡面吃便宜一半呢！以前每次來的時候總是門庭若市，通常都要等好久，因為東西真的便宜又好吃，而且這家跟別家吃到飽的韓國烤肉店不一樣的地方就是他們有供應海鮮，不過將近一年沒有來了，這天我拉著公園先生來的時候，發現店裡居然一個客人都沒有，當場覺得有點不妙，但是人都進來了，還是就吃下去了吧！


韓國泡菜 Kimchi

也許是店裡完全沒有別的客人，服務生對我們也特別熱情，一坐下來就先上了泡菜，辣豆瓣醬跟沾醬，我們點了兩人份的海陸烤肉餐，一個人$15。

[Pasadena] [American] Twin Palms (CLOSED)

Twin Palms
101 W. Green St.
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 577-2567
http://www.twin-palms.com
(CLOSED)

跟幾個認識十幾年的女生朋友相約星期天早上一起吃頓悠閒的brunch，我們想找個可以吃吃喝喝聊天的地方，我們選了Pasadena的Twin Palms，這裡的的brunch是buffet型的，一個人US$18.95，加上US$2就可以有無限量的茶、咖啡或汽水，加US$6就有無限量的香檳，果汁就只能另外點而且不能續杯。



第一盤：從右上角開始，第一道是煎蛋餅(omellet)，自己選要的蔬菜火腿等配料後廚師當場煎的，還不錯啦，下面那道是有點墨西哥口味的蒸蛋，蛋上面有起司跟莎莎醬，左邊的是烤雞，味道不錯，但是肉有點澀，旁邊是燻臘腸一根，中間是牛排兩小塊，還蠻嫩的。但是後來有個朋友回來座位後，告訴我們他看到負責切牛排的那位廚師不小心把刀子掉在地上，他從地上撿起來後就繼續拿那把刀子幫客人切牛排，這樣怎麼行？我們馬上叫服務生過來跟他反應，接著就看到他去跟那個廚師講話，不過後來怎樣我們也不知道，不過我們都沒有再回到牛排區就是了。