I enjoyed Melisse a lot, and really wanted to like this place too but was a little disappointed, truth be told. Perhaps I made a bad choice in the halibut. It was rather bland, in a near-tasteless watery broth.

Given that none of the dishes come with any sides by default, I also thought it a little pricey for what it is.

Although I would assume that all challengees on the show have requested to participate, and as such it's not a huge suprise when Mr. Flay shows up - the concept of the show (no matter how pre-scripted) always seemed incredibly obnoxious to me.

Who does this guy think he is? I mean, the whole concept of a successful chef showing up unannounced and "throwing down" at little mom-and-pop restaurants seems rather mean. If I were a professional boxer, and I made an entire TV show where I showed up at the homes of random people, and punched them in the face, people would be horrified.

I'm quite partial to the roasted duck at Chan Dara.

We had a fairly bad dining experience there a couple of nights ago.

Prices were rather high - $8-$10 for each of the sides (fries, creamed spinach, etc...). Steaks were $40ish, fish dishes somewhat cheaper.

Service was slow - it took at least an hour for our food to arrive, and when it did, my wife's dish (snapper?) had a pronounced bleach/ammonia taste, such that we had to send it back. On the plus side, the steak was done perfectly, and they were suitably apologetic about the spoiled fish.

I don't think we'll be going there again, however.