Seafood Village Rowland Heights

Dim sum, its been quite awhile since our last experience.

Searching via yelp and google for Rowland Heights area Dim Sum led us to Seafood Village in Rowland Heights located in a strip mall along with TS Emporium, there is not adequate parking here. In fact arriving 11:30 AM on Fourth of July weekend, I had to park further up by Omni Bank. For a party of two we had to wait 20 minutes, I could only imagine how long the wait would have been for a larger party. Inside they packed people in like sardines, a max capacity rating of 250+ inside. On first coming in, you notice a conspicuous absence of elderly Chinese ladies pushing carts around.

Dim sum here is a little on the expensive side, on weekends 2.38 a dish for the cheapest ones, which include most of your favorites.

What did we choose?

#1. Pork Buns- 3 came in the steaming tray, these were similar to any other dim sum place, solid performance, fluffy outside and meat inside warm and well done, slightly over salty. 3/5 stars

#2. Pork and Mushroom Shumai - they called these Dumplings, these were again solid 3.5/5 stars

#3 Bean Curd - Excellent stuffed with ... oh I don't remember what it was stuffed with, but it was good, juicy, tofu skin with a taut texture 4.5/5 stars

#4 Fried (dumpling) - good stuff here, fried perfectly, texture done well, 4/5 stars

#5 Fried (almost tempura like) seaweed with fish and shrimp inside - this was by fat the star of the show, if we ordered 7 of these instead of everything else, I still would have been happy. 5/5 stars

#6 Beef Hargow - this was average, I must prefer shrimp, but we had a lot of seafood already on our plate, the noodle wrap is excellent, the meat inside cooked well also 3.5/5 stars

#7 Onion Pancakes - I'm usually not a fan of onion pancakes because they consist of too much and too strong onions, but this one was actually edible for me, 4/5 stars

#8 Mango Pudding - this one has condensed milk, taste was good, texture perfect, 4/5 stars

#9 Veggies (Chinese Brocolli in oyster sauce) - too salty and too pricy, really? 4 dollars for any main veggie dishes and on top of that portion is small

Overall a pleasurable experience, a solid 4/5 stars getting docked a bit on price.

Merry's House of Chicken - West Covina

I am a little hesitant to writing this review as it will be a little biased toward the good side since wifey knows owner/friend's with owner's daughter.

So location wise, is it located in a strip mall in West Covina, near the Walnut border. It is a good location for the area, but not so good overall because if you are travelling from afar, it is no where near a freeway. Parking lot space is somewhat inadequate for the strip mall. The restaurant itself is family run, with nice and helpful people. They also have various Indonesian packaged snacks on sale, and previously made Indonesian dessert/snack foods also for sale. They also do some baking here if you are interested in special Indonesian style cakes.

The food:

Their Specialty Fried Chicken - (Ayam Kremesan) - We ordered a full chicken to eat between the 4.5 of us. Of notice, this isn't your steroid injected chicken, this is more what Indonesians call Country Chicken, or what we call Free Range Chickens. They are relatively smaller than what you are used to. The chicken was cooked well, no pink areas on the insides, the meat still moist despite the thinness of the chicken. The star of this is the "kremesan" which is the crunchy flour bits that is sprinkled all over the chicken. This and their awesome spicy sauce (sambal) is golden. 4.5/5 stars

We also ordered an oxtail soup - this one is the one in regular broth. I have actually never had oxtail before so I have no comparison, but the broth was rich and the meat soft and tender. It was tasty overall. 4.5/5 stars

Also on our eat list was the martabak telor - which is like egg pancakes. I have tasted better at other places for this one. Maybe too much onion? or too much scallion? I am not sure what the difference is exactly. 3/5 stars.

We were able to taste clippings off a cake their were making for twins birthday. When they shape the cake, they cut off yummy little clippings. The cake was typical Surabaya layer cake (a yellow and brown layer). Overall good tasting, similar to what I have tasted in the past. 4/5 stars

Martabak Manis/Terang Bulan - this is an Indonesian breakfast/dessert that could be described as an oversized pancake folded into halves with a combination of Nutella or chocolate sprinkles, nuts, cheese, and (sometimes coconut). This one I'm not sure if they made it or someone else was selling their wares in the store, but it was slightly overdone (slight bitter taste in the cake). 3/5 stars

Prices are a steal compared to other Indonesian places, but in general portions reflect those prices.

Overall 4/5 stars, if you want are itching to be exotic and try Indonesian food, this is authentic and I would recommend giving it a try.

Waba Grill - Fontana Location

New job, new places to eat. Overall I was a little disappointed, I personally prefer Flame Broiler than this place. They are very similar in scope. Both are terriyaki bowl type places, noth have Kim Chi, both have brown rice options, this place has Salmon as a menu option also, also both have their spicy sauce and hoisin type sauce (although here is isn't called "magic sauce". This place seems to be a tad more expensive.

Today I ordered the beef bowl and a soda. I was taken aghast that the meat+veggie options cost more than the pure meat option. Initially I wanted to go healthy, but based on the price, I had to go with the pure meat option. It still cost almost 8 dollars for myself.

Beef Bowl - no onions

The beef bowl is a charbroiled beef in their Teriyaki type sauce. The beef was well done, not burnt anywhere, It was not dry. I tried a little bit before drenching in hot sauce, and it was decent but unremarkable. After adding the spicy sauce, it was a little better, but not quite to my like as Flame Broiler. The spicy sauce is more sour here and less spicy overall.

Service was ok today, place was relatively packed with clients.

Overall a 3 star performance. I may be back one day to try on of their bowls, but there are so many options nearby at similar prices, I would have to try those first! (Including the Sizzler salad bar, but even that is 7.99).

The Hat - Rancho Cucamonga

hadn't eaten here in forever (15+ years?). I remember the pastrami being "to die for", so 2 weeks off, and I came here twice!

This Hat Location is actually very close to Victoria Gardens Mall, visible from Foothill Blvd. It has adequate parking and a drive-thru. On the freebie list includes, hot pepperchinis, black pepper, salt, ketchup, mustard, relish, etc. The location is fairly large, but both times I went around 12:30, they were packed with very little seating left. There is outdoor seating that tends to be more vacated due to high winds and temps in the IE.

The first day I went I went for their pastrami sandwich. Good pastrami, fresh bun, but something was missing. It didn't quite bring back the old days of lore of eating here. Did I need to order it double dipped? 3.5 stars for the sandwich.

The second day I skipped the sandwich, I went with something not quite on the menu. I ordered the wet fries (french fries with gravy on top), but added Pastrami to the top of that. Just under 10 dollars and that was enough for 2 meals for me! Now this hit the spot. This conjured up the sweet aromas and tastes that I remembered from so far away. The fries were made to order, hot and crisp. The gravy a tad sweet with a slightly thickened texture. The pastrami topping everything else like a cherry on your ice cream. Perfection. 5/5 stars. Note: This is a heartstopper, so eat at your own risk!

Overall, I give the Hat and this location in particular 4 stars. Good Fast Food, a little more expensive, but usually their portions make up for it!

Fong Noodle - Ontario, California

Really, Yelp? a 4.5 star Chinese place in Ontario? Could it be? Yelp does not usually fail, so we went to check this place out!

The location for this restaurant is in the same complex as the Edwards Theatres, great location, right off the freeway. The restaurant itself is not a complete sit down type restaurant, you actually order at the counter and they wait at the table. No hostess, they do have a server. The guy cooking is actually Asian. Prices are really cheap. They understand English here (dead giveaway you are not getting authentic food).

What did we have?

I had the Garlic Chicken combo and wife had the curry chicken noodle combo. We also ordered a wonton soup

Each combo comes with a little side salad which was fresh and actually had a good tasting dressing.

The Garlic Chicken was just ok. It must have been on the salty side probably with MSG because at my doctor appointment a few hours after, my blood pressure was higher than ever. Overall, I was disappointed probably because Yelp reviews led me wrong. I should have expected Panda Express style food.

The Curry Noodle was just ok also. My wife seemed to enjoy it though.

The War Wonton Soup was pretty good but again loaded with MSG or salt.

Trying to not be biased by previous Yelp reviews, I'll give this place 3.5 stars. The taste is not quite as good as Magic Wok in Fontana, or Panda Express, but their food is cooked to order and that always is a plus (note, Magic Wok will cook to order also, just order something not on the warmers).

Tasty Garden - Arcadia

I have eaten at the Alhambra location before and reviewed it at totaltemptation.blogspot.com and its good solid food. Authenticity and amount of MSG may be suspect.

This place is located in an area not as crowded as the Alhambra location, double the parking of the Alhambra location. The restaurant itself is pretty large with a tea bar in back. On this Saturday at 1 in the afternoon, the restaurant was packed. While in line, they have a paper menu you can start choosing your order from so things are quicker once you get inside.

We did have an incident this time through, not sure if it was lack of communication, mistake, or what. We were given number 41, but there was another group given that number also, and then they put us as 6 people instead of 7, so they made us wait until number 51 was called. Kind of strange, albeit it was only 20 minutes difference.

Once we sat down, it took awhile yet for the waitress to pick up our order sheet. Just a note: you can order stuff not on the sheet but on their full menu also.

The food: (I apologize for the pictures, they were taken with camera phone and in a hurry before hungry peeps tried to grab the food)

Based on recc on Yelp, tried the Walnut Shrimp - definitely not what I would imagine an authentic dish tasting like, but it was so yummy!. In fact, no picture, because it was the first to come out and everyone was hungry! The shrimps are fresh tasting inside and tender, the batter is thick and crispy the outside. The sauce covering the shrimp had a nice consistency and taste. 4.5/5 stars

The Orange Beef was a little bland compared to everything else. It was made more of sour oranges than sweet from what I could tell, causing a strange after taste. 2.5/5 stars

French Style Beef - The beef itself was tasty and tender, as long as you didn't pick up too much basil on it. 3.5/5 stars

Chow Fun with Garlic on top - This was excellent, the cripsy garlic crumbs added a unique taste and texture to the noodles.

4.5/5 stars

Veggies - this had ginger in it, they looked fresh and full of color, I was looking forward to it until the taste of ginger. I'm not a ginger fan, but for those that love it, order this! 2.5/5 stars

Squid with Spicy Salt - Super Salty, but crisp on the outside, chewy but tender on the inside like squid should be 4/5 stars

Yang Chow Fried Rice - Kind of bland actually, but edible 3/5 stars (not pictured)

We also had the Hong Kong Waffle again, excellent, love the batter for this, and the smell is like that of a fresh bakery. Must have. 5/5 stars (previously pictured here http://totaltemptation.blogspot.com/2010/01/tasty-garden-alhambra.html )

Overall Service was not great especially with the incident above, food was on par or slightly above average. Prices for "lunch specials" were a little on the higher side despite the portions being a little on the scarce side for many dishes. 3/5 stars

Kosuke - Ramen in Alhambra

Ramen! Gotta love the stuff on a cold day, heck wifey loves it any type of day!

This little ramen place is situated in what I would call downtown Alhambra. Parking is in back, and is a little tight actually. The movie theater parking might be a better option, but its a little bit of a walk away.

The waitress that served us was nice, and talkative (wife's brother is a regular here), and even my wife says she is naturally cute....

On to the main topic: food!

We both ordered ramen, I ordered the Spicy Ramen with corn, and my wife ordered the miso ramen with corn. At first glance, prices do seem a little on the expensive side, 8 dollar ramen and extra for anything added (extra egg, corn, etc), however...

The spicy ramen was excellent. It actually surprised me and had quite a kick. More importantly it swirled in rich broth unlike Orochan's ramen from a previous review. The pork chasu was aplenty with thick juicy slices. The egg slightly underdone on arrival, but the ramen is hot enough to cook it through the way anyone chooses to eat it. The extra corn ordered, actually was a decent amount. The ramen noodles were cooked perfectly al dente and had a different texture to them, giving more substance.

The miso ramen was also good, an even richer broth with hints of pork and seafood in the taste.

Overall Impression: Yes this place is a little bit expensive, they serve ramen in a slightly smaller bowl than most places, but those places usually fill up the bowl with broth only anyway. This place does your ramen right, especially the actual ramen noodles. I will definitely be back.

4.5/5 stars

My Delight CupCakery - Ontario, California

Wow high grades for cupcakes, here is my take!

My Delight Cupcakery is located in a strip mall in Ontario south of the 10, same complex as Wingnuts and Subway. Location right by the freeway is a good thing!, This strip mall has somewhat limited parking compared to what could be found in the strip mall. The place itself is a small store, with nary a place to eat in house. In fact with three people in line, it felt very crowded, but right away in their display area, on a gourmet tiered tin, are their cupcakes, all sorts of colors and flavors in 2 different sizes.

Here is what I tried: (not in one sitting!): we bought a dozen minis, some were special, so did not get a discounted price.

For those reading my picture review, they are in reviewed in clockwise fashion starting at top left of each picture.

Picture 1 - German Chocolate - Rich, soft cake - overall 4/5 stars

Vanilla with Chocolate Sprinkles - This one was excellent, not too rich, soft cake 5/5 stars

Red Velvet - Standard red velvet, definitely red velvet done correctly. This one is not a knock off. 4/5 stars

Pistachio Truffle x2 - This was excellent. I like the nutty addition to the sweet, and the crunchy texture compared to the soft cake. Probably my favorite of the bunch. 5/5 stars

SnickerDoodle - my brother and his girlfriend trid this, they both arent cinnamon lovers, and I didn't realize cinnamon is part of a snicker doodle. i won't rate since I didn't try myself.

Picture 2 - Lemon x2- I liked the lemon cupcake, a little tang with the sweet. 4.5/5 stars.

SnickerDoodle - as above

Breakfast Cake - Once you get over the fact that the frosting takes like pancake and the bacon bits are real bacon, this is an interesting taste that piques interest. Its a must try, but for me 3.5/5 stars, not to my tastes for a cupcake.

Red Velvet - as above.

Vanilla with Vanilla sprinkles - good stuffs per my wife who does not usually like american sweets. Again I won't rate because I didn't eat it.

Overall excellent tasting cupcakes, I have not tried Sprinkles Cupcakes, so can not compare to them.

Only complaint is the price, $1.50 per cupcake for the minis, more for the specials of the week, and $3 a piece for regular sized cupcakes.

Overall I give 4/5 stars and will be back, but probably only for sales or special occasions.

Pollos Kikiryki - Claremont

Peruvian food in the IE? This is one of them! And a good one it is. My wife loves the ahi (green sauce) served with their chicken.

This place is located in a strip mall in Claremont. It would be easy to miss if you were not looking for it specifically. The place actually takes up some space and probably can seat 50 comfortably. We ordered early lunch and just sat in the "Fast food" area, and not in the actual dining room.

As you enter, you can see the chicken on the rotisserie, and the smell of wonderful Peruvian spices. We ordered the large chicken combo with large fries, Also we ordered a fried plantain as dessert.

Chicken was juicy and cooked well with the slightest hint of pink near the bone. The spices and the ahi sauce were excellent.

The french fries were hot, fresh fried, but they were just french fries, nothing special, had to eat them with the ahi sauce as they became somewhat bland. The plantain was good, not too sweet, super hot off the fryer though

Overall good food for the price, we will be back in the future. Solid 4/5 stars.

Joe's Mexican Food

Best Carne Asada in Town.... with a sign like that, I had to stop by after a trip to the post office.

This is located on the southwest corner of Foothill and Sierra in Fontana. There is a small parking lot out back. The place itself reminds me of a doughnut or milk drive thru from the old days, except they no longer have drive thru windows. It also reminds me of most Wienershnitzels. There is one ordering window and one pickup window.

On this day I ordered what they called the best:

I had the All Meat Carne Asada Burrito, and a side of french fries.

The fries when hot were tasty, but were not salted evenly and mostly not salted enough.

The burrito overall rates pretty high on my lists. The complaints are that its uneven also, most of the cilantro, onions, and sauce ended up being on one side of the burrito. That side of the burrito was excellent tasting! The side of the burrito that got missed was a little dry and bland. The green sauce is typical and not spicy at all, which I sort of expected. The red sauce had minimal kick, but left me disappointed as well.

Price was pretty good, definitely can get more bang for my buck here than at Taco Factory.

Taking into account this is a tiny sort of dingy hole in the wall, I actually give the burrito 4 stars. The location as a whole, and the fries kind of lack though, and overall I'll give 3.5 stars.

Ono Hawaiian BBQ - Fontana

Pretty good fast food. In the mood for Hawaiian food?

Here it is. Is it authentic? Probably not, but large portions, decent prices make this place a solid place to visit.

Friday night in the IE, we decided against cooking this night and visited Ono Hawaiian BBQ, basically a clone of L&L, or is L&L the clone? This is located in the strip mall on Summit and Beech, amongst lots of competition from other fast food joints. At 6PM on a friday night, this place was definitely busy. We were second in line, but there were only 2 tables left when we got there, and the food actually took 20 minutes to get ready.

We ordered 2 combos, one was the Chicken Katsu, the other was the Hawaiian Combo.

This chicken katsu was good, crispy and chicken tasted fresh.

The Hawaiian Mix combo consisted of beef short ribs, regular beef and Hawaiian Chicken. The chicken was juicy and sweet (most Hawaiian food has a sweet taste to it). The beef a tad on the dry side and the ribs were slightly overcooked for my taste, but that is the way these ribs are usually made.

The sides were rice and macaroni salad. The macaroni salad had a little tang from somewhere.... kind of an unpleasant surprise in my view.

Can't complain overall , we will stop by again, maybe there won't be such a line next time.

3.5 stars out of 5 overall.

Flame Broiler - Rancho Cucamonga

Wife had a hankering for some Flame Broiler so off we went. As an aside, I have had Flame Broiler also from their Pomona and Torrance locations.

This Flame Broiler is located in a small strip mall, not on a corner. Its on Foothill Boulevard on the south side of the street between Rochester and Miliken. Its a rather small location with both outdoor (maybe 3 tables of 2/3) and indoor seating. This particular location provides kim chi and brown rice on request. They also have rooster sauce to drench your food with.

What we had today

Wife had the Rib Platter - Ribs are well cooked, and probably the only meat that does not require some of the Magic Sauce or Spicy Magic sauce, although a touch of rooster sauce may help. Vegetables are boiled. The only grief wifey had here is that you can't get the ribs in bowl size, they only come in the platter size. The Walnut locations you are able to get them in bowl size.

I had the beef with vegetables bowl. I get the vegetables just to trick myself into believing I'm eating healthy. Without the spicy magic sauce and rooster sauce mix I put on top of the meat, it is usually too dry, but with the sauce, its magic!, I only put one small cup full, but it brings out the flavor.

Overall for fast food, this place it pretty good. My wife would rate it above Yoshinoya. I give it 3 stars myself out of 5.

Otaya Japanese Restaurant - Rancho Cucamonga

Craving Ramen the other day and the IE is not exactly a wealth of ramen joints. Well this little hole in the wall, is not a ramen joint per se, but they serve ramen, and I'll probably be back!

If a business is successful based on location, I'm not so sure this place would be there. It is in a pretty vacated strip mall, across from a Zendejas Mexican Grill, Chase Bank, and other smaller places. It is across the street from a Lowes Home Improvement center.

Came here for lunch, and the small restaurant probably filled their approximately 30 spots to sit. 12 of those spots were at the sushi bar, but noone was there at the moment.

The disappointment came early, when I was told my first choice Donkatsu Chasu Ramen was not available. I guess their chasu had not come in yet. So I ordered the Spicy Ramen which is made from seasoned ground pork and chicken bits. This ramen had a little bit too much ginger for my wife's taste, but I must commend the spiciness. It is rare that something puts a tear in my eye with the initial spoonful, and this ramen did it.

Wife and I also ordered their BBQ ribs plate, which was also good, well cooked. The meat was soft and tasty.Too bad they left the door open, and the cold air cooled the food too quick.

We happened to order the chicken tempura also, their tempura dipping sauce was excellent and the chicken tender and moist. Excellent once again.

Portions are actually fairly large, the owner and the waitress were awesome.

Overall I would give 4 stars. Give or take 1/2 a star based on lack of availability of chasu! I'll be back!

Lollicup - Ontario - Ontario Mills

This is mostly a boba drink place with snacks to eat, the snacks here however range to full meals depending on what you order. Also this particular location has specials, Indonesian food.

Day 1 - Ordered:

popcorn chicken - it was good, but for a place claiming to have Indonesian ownership, when I say spicy, it should be super spicy, and yet I would call it american spicy.

Nasi Goreng Ikan Asin Pete - This was on their specials menu for the day, basically fried rice with salty fish and um.... stinky bean. I would have to say this was as good as anywhere else I have tasted it. Granted very few places serve the stinky bean (pete), The salted fish fried rice itself is better at Sanamluang Thai food.

Boba Milk Tea - Overpriced I would say, but I usually stick with Quickly.

Day 2 - Sorry guys, forgot to take pictures this day -Ordered:

More popcorn chicken - same story as before

Ayam Kalasan - This is a chicken over rice, served with a crunchy crumb topping. This tasted pretty good, again on par with other places I have had it. Not better, not worse.

Risoles - Think of this kind of like an empananda. It is filled with meat, and mixed veggies (carrot, peas, etc). Tasted pretty good.

Overall taste is average, but its one of the closest Indonesian food places near where I live (others being in Redlands area). Prices are decent for the specials, but the popcorn chicken is a little expensive, and in my opinion all the drinks are more on the expensive side ($3.00+).

3.5 stars from me

Yukino Ya Ramen - City of Industry

Ramen time! Ramen is such a strange infatuation. You can buy it in stores for less than a dollar, and yet we still go out and look to restaurants for the perfect ramen.

I am still no expert, but slowly I'm figuring out what I like when it comes to ramen, and what the different subtleties are.

Ramen Yukino Ya is located in a strip mall in City of Industry, CA; in a very busy, Asian infused area of town. this Sunday afternoon, the parking lot was packed beyond capacity, but where were all the people? Granted it was a little warm weather wise for Ramen, but this place was only little over half full, we got an immediate table. Remember, this is a typical ramen place, and its small, seating for about 30 people max, if that. They do have a counter you can sit at also. No communal table here.

The menu here is simple, especially when it comes to ramen. Pick shoyu, shio or miso and then pick one of two different versions, the yukino-Ya version or the regular version. Difference being price (1 dollar) and quality, (black pork belly, nori, organic egg versus regular pork, no nori, regular egg), also the noodle is different, one is wavy and the other is straight.

Today, both wife and I went for the Yukino-ya Shoyu ramen, mine in a combo with pork rice. The ramen broth was rich and tasty, the ramen noodles a perfect al dente, the pork fatty and tasty, melting in your mouth. The organic egg was ok, although I think I would prefer a regular egg. It is cooked "easy" boiled, so still a little wet in the middle.

The pork rice was pretty standard but tasty, garnished with ginger, scallions, and nori pieces,

Overall I would have to say this place matches my top ramen places I have been to, Santouka Ramen in Torrance, and Kintaro Noodle in Vancouver, Canada. The broth falling somewhere in between the two (Santouka on top), and the noodles falling in between the two also (Kintaro Noodle on top).

My wife says she prefers Santouka better, she has not been to Kintaro in Vancouver. So its 2nd best on her list which also includes Ajisen, Daikokuya, and Foo Foo Tei.

Overall 4.5/5 stars. As always a little pricey for ramen, but when you have to boil it 10 hours, I can definitely understand the economics of it.

Kingswood Teppan Grill in Rowland Heights

Just a quick post today. For family birthdays, we stopped by for dinner at Kingswood Teppan Grill. Oldie but goodie, one of our favorites especially for Teppan. I have reviewed this place previously on Yelp, but that was when I was not updating those reviews onto the blog.

This place is located in a crowded area. It has lasted there for quite awhile now, despite lots of other places in the same complex changing hands and names. Right now right across the way is Boiling Crab, next to it is Rowland Palace. Across the street if 99 Ranch Market to get your grocery shop on.

This place has always been our favorite Teppan place, the taste is unique, better than Wabi Sabi (Chino and Rancho Cucamonga), better than Shogun, better than Benihana, and better than New Kingswood in San Gabriel (supposedly different owners as their coupons do not interchange). Not only is it better, it tends to be cheaper also, especially if you go for lunch prices!

This place serves typical onion soup, and small side salad with either thousand island sauce or ginger sauce. You can ask for refills on these. You also are served a mixed fruit dessert. Your order of fried rice comes with the price, not extra like some of the other places mentioned!

Most of the red meats come with your choice of black pepper sauce or Teriyaki, go for the black pepper!

Don't forget the yummy desert bananas they have!

The down side today was that likely due to the more serious conversation the family was having, the chef did not put on his blazing array of tricks. He only did a soggy volcano trick, that was leaning over to one side. We have had this chef before, and he is usually good, so we blame this on ourselves, and not putting enough attention on the show.

#1 Pho - Rancho Cucamoga, Really #1?

Wife was craving Pho, so out we go, to try another area Pho joint.

On the recommendation of a fellow IE foodie (Nate-dogg), we set out pining for Pho.

My usual disclaimer, I put so much Hoisin and Rooster Sauce in pho, it tastes almost all the same to me.

This place is in a strip mall located across from a Wabi Sabi (Teppan-yaki), next to Manila Sunset (Pinay food), close to Omaha Jacks, and others. Plenty of parking is about.
We came in on a Friday afternoon around 4:30, and were wowed that the place had a pre-dinner crowd there. Not just teenie boppers after school either, there were actual small families also there at this time. Of note, they have 2 big screens here! in a relatively small place with max capacity of 62.

Food? where is the food? Ok, I'll give ya the down-low on the grub.

Wife and I had:
Beef Pho - um #2 on the menu. Smallish bowl compared to other places (you can pay more for a larger bowl), but it was loaded with beef (yay!) and onions (boo!).

Fried Egg Rolls - These were pretty good, crispy without being burnt, but the sweet sauce was a little light. Those of you who want a special sauce, head out to Garden Grove. Of course comparing Vietnamese food in Rancho to ones in Garden Grove is like comparing Korean food in Rowland Heights with that in K-town.

I had #56 I think? It was the beef, shrimp pate in fried bean curd, and egg roll over vermicelli. The vegetables were a little strange in that half tasted pickled and the other half did not. The rest of it, I enjoyed thoroughly.

Total Bill including tax and generous tip was 27 dollars, a little steep for Pho and we only had 2.5 egg rolls left to take home.

I would say overall this place deserves a 3.5 on taste, but the amount of beef in that Pho, I bump it up to 4 star status. Give it a try!

Indo Kitchen Alhambra

Ate with my in-laws here last night. I have eaten here before in the past twice, and expected my taste buds to come alive! This was one of the better Indonesian food places last I ate here 3 years ago or so.

Well, either things have changed, or its just on a bad night. When we arrived there was one other medium sized party there. We were seated after they cleaned some tables. Parking was amazingly plentiful in this downtown Alhambra area. There was street parking as well as a separate lot in the back.

This place is better for small to medium group sizes, any larger and you won't fit, there is a sitting capacity of about 25 here.

So what did we have?

Wifey was craving some cancun belacan, I have previously reviewed that one and also martabak telor.
The martabak telor was the only worthwhile dish today. It was crisp and tasty, served with pickled vegetables, which were not that sour nor spicy.

The kangkung belacan looked good, but was not where near as spicy nor rich with shrimp paste as we usually like it.

We also had:

Spicy Tripe - this one looked good also, with jalapenos and reddish spicy looking sauce, but this also was not spicy at all and the tripe was a little too soggy.

Spicy Salty Fish Fried rice - not spicy, but otherwise tasted like regular fried rice.

Fried Chicken with Kremes - (little crunchy crumbs) the crumbs were pretty good, the chicken was decent, well cooked.

Fried Frog Legs in Butter sauce - this was similar to before, but I guess wifey was not craving the slight "sea" taste mixed in with chicken taste of frog legs, but I enjoyed this dish. The amusing part was the sauce and oil it was cooked in, matched the color of the plate, making for an interesting splash on several members of our party.

Maybe if this place hadn't been so good in the past and we didn't have expectations, I would squeeze a 3.5 out of the food and dining experience, but given the quality in the past, I am only giving it 3 stars for this visit.

Le Pain Quotidien

Stopped by here for breakfast to meet some of wife's friends. This place is located in downtown type area of Claremont. Very classy area, very classy place. European style in that there is a communal table. They serve breakfast lunch and dinner, and they have free wifi.

So today I ordered the Paris Ham and Gruyère Cheese Croissant and wife ordered the Wild Mushroom Omelet.

The croissant priced at 6.95 was crispy and fresh, the ham and cheese were solid and the three mustards they served this with were awesome.

The wild mushroom omelet priced at 9.95 I think it was, was good but little small for that price.

Overall the food I give a 4 star performance, but the price was a little steep. Not a place I would choose on my own, but those who prefer a more authentic European experience, give this place a whirl. A great place to hang out and get some talking down.