kingkong5's Profile
strange soup at vietmanese restaurants
It's called che (sounds like the first part of the word "chair"), and is a traditional Vietnamese soupy dessert. There are many varieties of che, from the yellow mung bean/seawood/tapioca bits commonly given away at Vietnamese restaurants, to fancy ones made from bitter grapefruit rinds, exotic fruits, and/or corn.
Down in OC, there is a local chain called Hien Khanh which is well known for their che - it's pretty much all they sell. It's set up like a food to go place, with the goodies spread out in metal pans. You order what you want, and the server scoops it into cups for you. I'm used to having che as dessert since I grew up eating it, but I can understand the apprehension if you've never had it before. Add to it the variance that comes from restaurants that make it well and those that don't and you may not like it the first time you try it - but you should give it a second chance, preferably at a place that does it well.
My Anaheim choices...good or bad?
Of those, I've only been to Cortina's and it's nice. Very good food, and the market next door is awesome. The parking lot, however, is horrid! not enough spaces and the spaces are small. On the other hand, I drive an Expedition, so...
But if you're in the area, and don't mind a little asian flair, I highly suggest a lobster dinner. This is where the live lobsters are in tanks, you tell them what size you want (usu. 3 to 6 pounds are available, @ $10-15/lb), they show you the live lobster at the table and then cook it up. I like house special style, which has butter, garlic, jalapenos and green onions. It's delicious, and depending on the size of your party you can supplement with other chinese dishes (salt and pepper shrimp, stir fried beef cubes, kung pao chicken, etc).
Restaurants nearby that do this well are King Harbor seafood, Seafood Cove, Seafood Paradise, Royal Capital Seafood, Newport Seafood, to name a few.
Dinner near Disneyland Friday Night?
Nice restaurants near Disneyland is a broad spectrum. Nice atmosphere? nice food? nice servers?
Near Disneyland are some big chains that are nice, like Ruth's Chris, Morton's, McCormick & Schmick's, PF Changs. There are also Coco's and Denny's there. You can move away from chains and hit up Mari's pizza on Katella near West - but it's not that nice inside. It is, however, very nice Italian food/pizza. You may also try Mr. Stox which is just down Katella - it's kinda like old school upscale continental food. Not cheap, but a great fancy pants atmosphere with good food and drinks.
Knotts Berry Farm
Mrs. Knott's is dated, and old, but the chicken is still good and it also feeds nostalgia in addition to your stomach. There is also some decent BBQ available inside the park, and a somewhat newish steakhouse (not sure if it's still in operation). Directly across from Mrs. Knott's is TGI Friday's so it's super close, on the premises.
Across the street is Portillo's as mentioned, and a short walk south on Beach will get you to Cham Soot Gol, easily one of the best value Korean BBQ's in the area, may only open for lunch on the weekends though - not sure about weekdays.
Sushi lunch in Irvine
There is a Taiko restaurant nearby at Jeffrey and Walnut, southwest corner. It gets very crowded at lunch. It's decent sushi for Irvine, and fairly close to you. Sit at the sushi bar if you can.
Another choice that is closer is Sushilicious. It's not terrible, and that's about all I can say about that. It's at Irvine Center Dr and Jeffrey, northwest corner. It's sushi on conveyor belts. The color of the plate determines the price of the dish, you just pick whatever you want off the belt and eat. You can also make special requests and they do it for you. The plates range from $1.50 to $4-something. At lunch, you can pick any five plates for $10.
Going the other way, there is a Sushi Boy at Irvine Center Drive and Sand Canyon. Think of it as supermarket sushi. I work across the street, so it's a quick and easy, but otherwise a waste of a food opportunity.
What are these?
We Vietnamese eat those a lot. The vietnamese word for them translates to "chinese apple" which is what I've known it as all my life. They are ripe when they turn brown, and will be much sweeter. They are crisp and dry with a refreshingly sweet, floral flavor.
From the picture on wikipedia, I guess the english name for these are jujubes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jujube
They are quite delicious, although I don't particularly care for the dry texture. I prefer juicier fruit myself, but my wife she loves these.
best vietnamese restaurant
What do you consider expensive? What kind of occasion is this outing, a birthday parter dinner would be different than a solo out diner looking for food, I think. Are you thinking pho (beef noodle soup), or are you looking for a banquet with many courses of dishes served?
Rec for nice dinner in Anaheim?
I've heard so many good things about Thee Anaheim White House, and I've been there 4 times and never really got why it's so popular. I do like Mr. Stox for a nice dinner, and I believe they will send their limo to pick you up if you are staying at the convention center/anaheim hotels, no charge.
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Anaheim White House
887 South Anaheim Blvd, Anaheim, CA 92805
Mr. Stox
1105 East Katella Ave., Anaheim, CA 92805
Looking for Unusual restaurants in OC (orange county) HELP!
For a 30th birthday party, good sized group you might want to try Star BBQ in Garden Grove. The best alternative is Cham Sut Gol, but its interior isn't nearly as nice. For a fixed price ($20ish?) it's all you can eat Korean BBQ. Tables are big for groups, everyone eats what they want. Lots of banchan served, salad, and there is a froyo machine up front. Also, plenty of beer and soju available, if that's your thing. Unless AYCE Korean BBQ isn't unusual for your group :)
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Cham Sut Gol
9252 Garden Grove Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844
Ten Ten Seafood in Anaheim?
We went there for dim sum about a year ago and it wasn't very good. It appears different, and the quality that day was not good. Maybe a fluke? I don't know, but it soured me on the experience. Now when we are in that center we hit up Pho 94 instead, more consistent product and tasty too.
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Pho 94 Restaurant
619 N Euclid St, Anaheim, CA 92801
What's your fav ramen shop and why?
Down in Orange County it's going to be Gomen. While I also like Shin Sen Gumi and Santouka, Gomen comes out just a little bit better IMHO. The only setback is that Gomen is only open very weird hours, and they don't even stick to those hours a lot of the time. So if you're not local, you may be very disappointed in making the trek out there to find out they closed early, or haven't opened yet. But if you get in and get to try it, mmmm delicious.
Clean, tasty broth, and various kinds too. The fried rice/ramen combo is a very good deal, and the chashu pork is just melt-in-your-mouth goodness. I always order extra chashu, it's that good.
ISO Recommendations - Best of Little Saigon
It's been a while since I've been back. 2006 was a while ago, although I guess I've been eating just the same since then (although now with my wife and two little kids!). We still live in Garden Grove so we make our way out to eat every now and then when we're not cooking at home. I think I'll talk to Das Ubergeek to check on updates for the newer restaurants and update the "tour of Little Saigon" choices :) There certainly have been a lot of new openings and closings since 2006.
Vietnamese Style Salt & Pepper Shrimp Search
As mentioned before, you will be able to find this at all of the chinese/vietnamese seafood restaurants in Little Saigon/Westminster area. Places like Seafood Cove, Seafood Paradise, Furiwa, Kim Su, Royal Capital, Capital Seafood, Newport Seafood, and Seafood Palace.
Probably the best of these would be Newport Seafood, followed closely by Seafood Cove. They tend to fry the shrimp better, so that it's not limp and full of grease, and the garlic/jalapeno/green onion oil on top tastes cleaner. The way I normally eat is to twist off the head, suck out the brains and juices, discard the head. Take shell-on tail, dip in the lime juice/salt/pepper mix, and eat, alternating with mouthfuls of white rice.
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Seafood Paradise
8602 Westminster Blvd, Westminster, CA 92683
Newport Seafood Restaurant
4411 W 1st St, Santa Ana, CA 92703
Seafood Palace
11752 Beach Blvd, Stanton, CA 90680
Seafood Cove
9211 Bolsa Ave, Westminster, CA 92683
Great Chilidogs
It's been a while, but I've always enjoyed the chili dogs at PCH dogs. It's a small stand in the parking lot along Chapman in Orange, on the way up to Orange Hill. Really great chili dogs and french fries, although I only ate them when I was riding motorcycles up and down Santiago Canyon so any food would have been good.
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Orange Hill Restaurant
6410 E Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92869
Myung Im - awesome korean wang mandoo (gigantic steamed korean buns) in Garden Grove
How does it go? caveat emptor? I was in a hurry and didn't have enough cash with me, so I went to Myung In last night. It was OK, the buns as promised were fluffy and delicious, as well as a good size (not quite B, but an A+). The filling was chopped up too fine though, I guess I prefer the vietnamese/chinese style banh bao, where it's a giant meatball inside, sometimes with egg and chinese sausage. And at almost $2 each, they seemed a bit on the pricey side.
Still, they were pretty good.
Next time, I will give Anna's a try.
Great OC steakhouse near the beach.
I fourth this idea, for a special occasion, no expense spared and for great steak, Mastro's Ocean Club is good. If you need a second option, I would also recommend Fleming's down in Fashion Island, they do a great steak too.
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Mastro's Ocean Club
8112 E Coast Hwy, Newport Coast, CA 92657
Myung Im - awesome korean wang mandoo (gigantic steamed korean buns) in Garden Grove
Ubergeek, I'm planning on stopping by the HMart on the way home tonight and picking up some buns, unless you think Anna's is better?
Birthday dinner recommendations - Orange County
It's been a while since I went, but Napa Rose inside the Disneyland Resort is supposed to be top notch food, too. For a special occasion like your birthday, may be worth checking it out?
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Napa Rose Restaurant
1600 S Disneyland Dr, Anaheim, CA 92802
Pizza or Meatball joint in Anaheim, near Disneyland??? what's the name?
I agree. Went to Marri's for pizza a while back and it was pretty good, not worth going that way unless you happen to be there. But we do drive pretty far out of the way to get to A Slice of New York down in Seal Beach, man that place is good!
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Slice of New York
, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Birthday dinner recommendations - Orange County
How about Studio restaurant inside the Montage Hotel in Laguna Beach?
Best fried chicken in OC?
Mrs. Knott's makes some good fried chicken, and the experience/nostalgia and the strange sides make it a fun meal. Like the little biscuits, the boysenberry punch, the stewed rhubarb and butter pickles. But for my money, I'd head a little north on Beach Blvd. to Po' Folks restaurant. It's where the Movieland Wax Museum used to be, actually the museum sign is still out in front.
This restaurant replicates old school down South food. Cheap eats, and great sweet tea too. I had their fried chicken a couple weeks ago, and it was GOOD. Their other food is also cheap, which is strange because they are so close to the KBF resort area. Gumbo, Jambalaya, collard greens, chicken fried steak, pot roast, it's all good here. And they have that peg/holes game like at Cracker Barrel, so you can play at your table while you wait for your food.
And then, when I'm in the mood for spicy fried chicken, there's really only Popeye's. On tues/thurs they have the two piece leg/thigh for 99cents (or $1.29 depending on which store you go to). That's a pretty good price, if you're in to dark meat, 2 orders of that, a biscuit and a drink and I'm a happy camper.
Pho and banh mi in Little Saigon
Well, yeah, since the request from the OP had an emphasis on atmosphere and not hole-in-the wall decor, a recommendation for the OP would have to have a disclaimer that "while the decor here is great, the food will not rock your socks but it will be edible" LOL.
I agree their bun thit nuong is pretty good, and they arrange it very well too. It's visually appealing, I think as an attempt to justify the slightly higher prices.
Mexi Casa Anaheim
I agree, this place is cheap. It's so brown and dark inside though, and sometimes the servers are mean and/or not in a servicing mood. But for the price, Mexi Casa rocks. It's like a sit down, nicer Taco Bell with real ingredients, and beer.
Their chips and salsa are also really good.
Pho and banh mi in Little Saigon
Fantastic suggestions Ubergeek. I also agree that upscale and Pho do not go well together in Little Saigon. Having said that, Brodard Chateau should really fit the bill for the OP, especially if nicer is better in terms of atmosphere and ambience. You'll pay a little bit extra, but it's nice, cozy and clean inside. It won't be the best pho in Little Saigon, but it should be edible, and the OP can round out the meal with the other dishes.
If searching for good quality pho, then Pho Thanh Lich, 86 and 79 are great.
For banh mi, it's rarely a sit-down place (unless you count Lee's sandwiches as "sit-down"), so banh mi che cali and cho cu are worthy choices, and I also like Tan Hoang Huong because you can get your sandwich with the fried eggs added.
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Pho Thanh Lich
14500 Brookhurst St, Westminster, CA 92683
Tan Hoang Huong
3132 E Chapman Ave, Orange, CA 92869
Brodard Chateau
9100 Trask Ave, Garden Grove, CA 92844
Taco Caterer, Orange County needed
I would love some recommendations for a taco party caterer that serves the Orange County area (specifically N. Orange County, Anaheim Garden Grove area near Disneyland). Looking to feed 40 people this Saturday evening. Only preferences are that they cook the meats on site, and provide everything needed for the food. If hot dogs and quesadillas are available, that would be wonderful too.
Thanks in advance!
kk5
Where's the best/most authentic place to have a philly cheesesteak in socal? Ala Gino's/Pat's in philly, thanx
I'm thinking you might enjoy Philly's Best. There's various locations throughout SoCal. They claim to import the amoroso rolls from Philly and also serve Tastykakes and Wise chips to round out your meal, so you've got the best chance and getting some authentic phlly cheesesteak there.
REVIEW: Seafood Village, Temple City
Great review Ubergeek. Next time, why not meet up with 6 people so that I can be there too? Now I'm gonna head out to give this place a try with the kingkong family soon. kong jr is almost 4 years old now, and he loves him some crab.
Newport Restaurant Week 1/18-22
Haha, of course I've been to Muldoon's, but not for the lunch special. Growing up in Irvine, I remember when Big Newport was the biggest baddest cinema around. I waited 3 hours in line to see the Batman premiere (the one with Michael Keaton).
Pascal's is lovely, but the prices keep me from being a regular. And despite the rave reviews, I haven't been to Crow Bar yet, but the pictures I've seen make it look gorgeous.
And Rockin' Baja, although not an especially houndworthy destination, is giving such a value for the Newport Restaurant Week promotion, it might be worth checking out. It's nothing like actually going to Rosarito, but it's maybe 5% like it. And 5% like it is better than 0%.
