[Monrovia] [Seafood] Red Lobster

Red Lobster
928 W Huntington Ave
Monrovia, CA 91016
(626) 301-9225
http://www.redlobster.com

I had midterms for 3 weeks straight.  Finally finished the last midterm on Tuesday night, and went to my parent's house early.  Dad went out for dinner with friends.  I happened to have a $10 off coupon for Red Lobster which expires in 2 days, and a $25 gift card also.  I asked mom if she would like to go to Red Lobster for dinner, and she was happy.


Cheddar Bay Biscuits

Red Lobster has the best Cheddar Bay Biscuits.  I found the recipe online.  I am really horrible at baking.  But this recipe looks simple enough.  Maybe I'll challenge myself and give it a try at http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com.

Labradors Are So Cute

Ginny is the Labrador our group worked with this week.  I caught her winking in this picture.  Too cute!

蛋花雞湯麵 Egg Drop Chicken Noodle Soup

After finishing eating the rotisserie chicken from Costco, I used the leftover bones to make a pot of chicken stock.  Simply add onion, celery, carrot, and water, simmer for 1~2 hours, then you will get a pot of tasty http://www.eileenlikestoeat.commade chicken stock.


蛋花雞湯麵 Egg Drop Chicken Noodle Soup

I made a bowl of Egg Drop Chicken Noodle Soup for Dr. P using the chicken stock when he came http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com working late that night.  Cook noodle in a pot.  I used soba noodle.  Beat 1 egg in a bowl.  Heat up the stock.  When the stock boils, turn down the heat.  Using one hand to pour the egg into the soup slowly, while stirring with chopsticks (or fork/spoon) using the other hand.  I had some chicken meat from the rotisserie chicken so I added that also.  Season with salt, white pepper, and sesame oil.  Then add the cooked noodle into the egg drop chicken soup.  Done!  Well.... I wish I had some cilantro in the fridge... it'll make the soup taste even better!

Very simple recipe.  Very hearty bowl of noodle soup.

[Irvine] [Chinese] A&J Restaurant

A&J Restaurant
半畝園
14805 Jeffrey Rd #D
Irvine, CA 92620
(949) 786-3585

We eat at A&J and get takeout from them all the time.  The food is cheap, and pretty good comparing to the other Irvine Chinese restaurant.


芽菜海帶 Seaweed & Bean Sprout in Garlic Vinegar Sauce ($1.95)

Seaweed & Bean Sprout is my favorite small dish/appetizer from A&J.  The garlic vinegar sauce is slightly sweet, slightly sour, and slightly spicy.

[Irvine] [Japanese] Takaraya (CLOSED)

Takaraya
5408 Walnut Ave #1
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 654-1221
(CLOSED)

We go to the 99 Ranch Plaza on Walnut all the time.  Passed by Takaraya plenty of time, but never had the desire to go inside.  From the look of the restaurant, we thought it was your typical teriyaki bowl kind of Japanese fast food restaurant.  Maybe the owner isn't even Japanese.  One night as we were leaving Tapioca Express next door, I saw an old Asian guy wearing apron and chef hat sweeping the floor inside Takaraya, and a young girl was leaving.  As the girl opened the door, I heard the girl saying goodbye to the guy in Japanese, and the old man said, "arigato xxxxxxx" and bowed.  I assumed the man is the owner/cook, and the girl is the waitress.  The man probably said something like "thank you for the help today."  But what surprised me was the bow.  Seemed like the owner really appreciate his employee.  Also he didn't make the waitress do the clean-up like most restaurants do, but he was doing it himself.  So I was wrong.  The place IS owned by Japanese.  And with a nice owner like that, now I really want to try this restaurant.



We came early, around 5ish.  The restaurant was empty.  But by 6:00pm, the restaurant was completely full, with most of the customers being Japanese.  We placed order at the counter, and picked up our food when it was ready.  No tip needed at this restaurant.  They also have a lot of Japanese manga and magazine for customers to read.

[Irvine] [Thai] Thai & Chinese Express

Thai & Chinese Express
2540 Main St #J
Irvine, CA 92614
(949) 724-1813

I brought http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com a 2-items lunch combo from Thai & Chinese Express once before.  Dr. P loved it.  Since then he had gone back a few times to pick up the combo meal to bring to work.  One night I was feeling lazy and asked Dr. P to bring some food on his way back http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com from work.  When Dr. P suggested Thai & Chinese Express, I immediately said, "YES! Pad Thai!!"


Pad Thai w/ Chicken ($6.25)

I had a sudden craving for Pad Thai for some reason.  Dr. P didn't like pad thai.  He said pad thai always tastes too sweet for him.  I ate the pad thai, and couldn't stop eating it.  It wasn't all that sweet at all.  It was savory with just a little bit of sweetness, spicy, and a little sour from lime juice.  It was a very very good pad thai.  At first Dr. P didn't even want to try it.  But I insisted that he needed to try a few bites.  He ended up loving it, too.

Instant Dukbokki (Spicy Korean Rice Cake)

While grocery shopping at H-Mart, a Korean supermarket, I tried some spicy Korean rice cake from the food demo girl. I liked it, and picked up one to make at http://www.eileenlikestoeat.com for Dr. P.



The instant dukbokki needs to be refrigerated.  One bag is more than enough for 2 people.  Each bag is $3.99.