[Lake Forest] [Vietnamese] Pho Bo Vang

Pho Bo Vang
23764 Mercury Rd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 707-5768

It was a cold night, and I wanted hot soup. Pho sounded like a good choice. We found Pho Bo Vang on Yelp. They were quite busy on a weeknight.


Cha Gio (Egg Rolls)

We started the meal with Cha Gio. These were great egg rolls. Not oily at all. The inside had ground meat, veggies, and vermecelli. Yum!

[Lake Forest] [Asian Fusion] Pei Wei Asian Diner

Pei Wei Asian Diner
23632 El Toro Rd #E
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 860-2001
http://www.peiwei.com

We had buy one get one free coupon from Pei Wei.


Spicy Korean Steak ($8.50)
Korean hot pepper sauce, garlic, white mushrooms, onions, carrots, long beans, toasted sesame seeds

Dr. P's favorite dish from Pei Wei.

[Lake Forest] [Coffee/Tea] Peet's Coffee & Tea

Peet's Coffee & Tea
23700 El Toro Rd #B
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 420-3500
http://www.peets.com

I love visiting coffee shops during Holiday Seasons. They always have special flavors around this time of the year.


Raspberry Mocha

Peet's Raspberry Mocha is made with Godiva dark chocolate. It was delicious out of this world! I absolutely love this coffee.

Another favorite, Starbucks' salted caramel mocha. What is your favorite holiday coffee?

[Lake Forest] [Japanese] Sushi Izakaya Rei

Sushi Izakaya Rei
23702 El Toro Rd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 770-3280
http://www.sushiizakayarei.com

We were so impressed with the food at Sushi Izakaya Rei that we went back a week later. This time we sat at the sushi bar. The sushi chef Tom is not just talented at making sushi, he was also very funny and entertaining.


Japanese Spring Roll ($2.00)

We took advantage of their happy hour and ordered a few drinks to go with the $2 appetizer. Japanese Spring Roll was really crispy on the outside. The inside was filled with cabbage. The dipping sauce was slightly spicy. This was good beer food. We also ordered grilled yellowtail collar just like last time, but I forgot to take a picture. It was too delicious!

[Lake Forest] [Japanese] Sushi Izakaya Rei

Sushi Izakaya Rei
23702 El Toro Rd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 770-3280
http://www.sushiizakayarei.com

Going to Sushi Izakaya Rei for dinner wasn't planned. I passed by this shopping plaza a few times and noticed a new restaurant with pretty blue lights. I thought it was opened. Unfortunately, that night we found out it wasn't opened yet when we got to the door. Then I remember seeing a Japanese restaurant in the same plaza, and we popped in Sushi Izakaya Rei for dinner. It turned out to be such a great find!


Hot Sake ($3.25)

It was happy hour between 5pm to 8pm. We got two large hot sake for $3.25 each.

[Lake Forest] [Bakery] Corner Bakery Cafe

Corner Bakery Cafe
23702 El Toro Road #C
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 472-1383
http://www.cornerbakerycafe.com

Had a quick but relaxing dinner at Corner Bakery during my night shift break.



Soup, sandwich, and coffee.

[Lake Forest] [Seafood] Boneheads

Boneheads
23704 El Toro Road
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 581-3474
http://www.go2boneheads.com

I found some pictures from my phone. Sometime when I forget to bring my camera, I take pictures with my phone. Then I forget about the pictures in my phone. Man, my memory is getting worth as I get older. :-( Anyway, we went to Boneheads a while back because I got two coupons. One was for a free appetizer, and one was for buy one get one free. I read this place is a lot like California Fish Grill, except they also serve chicken.


Boneheads Shrimp ($7.49)
Crispy Shrimp tossed in a spicy aioli with a hint of Piri Piri

The nice clerk let us used both coupons at the same time. For our free appetizer, we got Boneheads Shrimp. These "popcorn" shrimp was really really good. The crispy shrimp was seasoned perfectly. It tasted even better with their special spicy aioli.

[Lake Forest] [Bakery] Corner Bakery Cafe

Corner Bakery Cafe
23702 El Toro Road #C
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 472-1383
http://www.cornerbakerycafe.com

I like Corner Bakery Cafe. Glad there's a Corner Bakery Cafe right by work so I can grab a quick meal there when I don't bring my own lunch.


Spinach Sweet Crisp Salad
Baby spinach tossed with freshly sliced strawberries, oranges, red grapes, dried cranberries, green onions, creamy goat cheese and raisin pecan sweet crisps, drizzled with our homemade pomegranate vinaigrette.

I tried their new Spinach Sweet Crisp Salad, and it was delicious! Lots of fresh fruit in the salad. There were strawberry, orange, grape, and cranberry. Goat cheese is one of my favorite cheese, and the flavor of the cheese match the sweet fruits very well. This salad was perfect on a hot summer day. Love it!

[Lake Forest] [Vietnamese] Thanh Binh 2 Restaurant

Thanh Binh 2 Restaurant
23600 Rockfield Blvd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 457-1460

We wanted pho, but didn't feel like driving up to Westminster area for it. There must be some good Vietnamese restaurant down in South OC, too. Dr. P did some research online, and found Thanh Binh 2 in Lake Forest.


Steak and Brisket Pho (L) ($8.25)

Dr. P ordered the #2 pho on the menu, Steak and Brisket pho. We upgraded it to a large since it was only $1 or $2 more. They gave you a lot of meat here. The soup was pretty tasty. We had some leftover to take home for lunch the next day. One way to find out if they use real beef bone to make the broth is to see if the leftover soup becomes "jello-like" the next day. If they use beef bone and simmer for hours, the soup will become jello. Thanh Binh 2's soup became semi-jello. It was jello-y, but still a bit watery. I guess they did use beef bone, but didn't simmer as long?

[Lake Forest] [Bakery] Corner Bakery Cafe

Corner Bakery Cafe
23702 El Toro Rd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 472-1383
http://www.cornerbakerycafe.com

I had one hour lunch break from work. Glad there is a Corner Bakery Cafe right around the corner. I brought a book and enjoyed a quiet lunch by myself.


Chicken Tortilla Soup w/Tortilla Strips

I got a soup/salad combo. The combo cost about $8. The soup I picked was Chicken Tortilla Soup. It also came with a piece of ciabatta bread.

[Lake Forest] [Fast Food] Wing Stop

Wing Stop
22611 Lake Forest Dr
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 951-9464
http://www.wingstop.com

I bought a $13 for Wingstop 35-Wing Family Pack ($27 Value) from Plum District. $13 for 35 wings, celery & carrot sticks, seasoned fries, and 3 dipping sauces sounded like a great deal to me! Plus both Dr. P and I love chicken wings.



There were a few customers dining in, but most people come in for to-go orders. Also a lot of people called in to order ahead for pick up. The girls who worked at the counter were friendly and helpful.

[Lake Forest] [Asian Fusion] Pei Wei Asian Diner

Pei Wei Asian Diner
23632 El Toro Rd #E
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 860-2001
http://www.peiwei.com

We were on Pei Wei's email list, and received coupons to try their new Caramel Chicken for free with the purchase of one entree. We headed to Pei Wei on a Saturday night. The restaurant was packed. While we were waiting in line to place our order, a server helped us reserved a table. That was nice service.


Spicy Korean Steak ($8.50)
Korean hot pepper sauce, garlic, white mushrooms, onions, carrots, long beans, toasted sesame seeds

We decided to get two entrees and two free caramel chicken. Yeah, it was A LOT of food. But leftover Asian food is always good. For my entree, I picked Spicy Korean with Steak. When I had my first bite, I thought the dish was a bit salty. But I guess it was meant to be eaten with rice. When I ate it with rice, then it was alright. The beef was really tender. I liked the green beans and mushroom. The dish had good flavor, although it wasn't spicy nor Korean, but I enjoyed it. I asked for brown rice with the entree, but somehow got fried rice. No complaint here. The fried rice was great.

[Lake Forest] [American] Milo's Cafe

Milo's Cafe
26771 Rancho Parkway
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 900-6660
http://www.miloscafe.com

I bought a $10 for $20 voucher for Milo's Cafe on one of those Groupon similar websites. (There are so many of those sites right now that it's kinda hard to keep track!) I bought the voucher as soon as I saw it because it is a dog friendly cafe. They even have a dog menu! It sounded great, but people on Yelp doesn't seem to like this place too much. Most of the reviews complained about their slow service. Then I saw them on Groupon yesterday (the deal is still going on right now), and thought if service is already slow, we better go before the Groupon crowds hit this place.



Our navigation system had a little trouble finding this place. It if located inside the same plaza as Home Depot and 24 Hour Fitness if you can't find it. If you bring dog(s) with you, you have to go all the way around to the back and enter through the patio.

[Lake Forest] [Asian Fusion] Pei Wei Asian Diner

Pei Wei Asian Diner
23632 El Toro Rd
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 860-2001
http://www.peiwei.com

I received a buy one entree get one free coupon from Pei Wei's email. Signing up for restaurants' email list is a great way to save money because they often send customers exclusive coupons. We've always like Pei Wei. I like how the food is prepared and cooked fresh after you order.



Don't forget to ask for a free Pei Wei's reward card when you place your order. You can get 1 free entree after purchasing 10. We placed our order at the counter, then found a booth to sit down. A few minutes later, a waiter brought us our food.

[Lake Forest] [Mexican] La Cocina De Ricardo

La Cocina De Ricardo
23532 El Toro Rd #11
Lake Forest, CA 92630
(949) 586-1477
http://www.lacocinadericardo.com

Another great find because of Groupon. I bought a $20 Groupon at La Cocina De Ricardo for $10. I wanted to try this place because all the Mexican restaurants near our area are the corporate owned chain restaurants. The food is good at chained restaurants, too. But food at privately owned small restaurants always taste more homey and authentic.



La Cocina De Ricardo is a small place. The restaurant was divided into two sides. One side is brighter with lots of window, the other side was darker and maybe for people out on a date. The restaurant is located next to a cigar shop. So one thing we didn't really like was the strong cigar smoke smell in the air.