Brother had another win this weekend! So the story goes that the famous Santa ramen moved from this location and Dojo ramen moves in. Santa Ramen’s chef stayed and therefore, the quality of delicious ramen stayed.

This was perfect! According to my brother who ONLY [...]]]> Ramen Dojo
805 South B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 401-6568

Brother had another win this weekend! So the story goes that the famous Santa ramen moved from this location and Dojo ramen moves in. Santa Ramen’s chef stayed and therefore, the quality of delicious ramen stayed.

This was perfect! According to my brother who ONLY eats ramen during his works trips to Osaka and Tokyo, “This is the closest ramen to Japan that I have found.” Both brother and I chose the garlic and pork flavored ramen, but I had regular spicy and added bamboo shoots while he had NO SPICY and no additions. I was in heaven with my first bite to the last. The soup was perfectly robust in flavor and not too salty and just “creamy” enough. The noodles were perfectly cooked to and al dente bounce and chew. I love all the extra regular bonuses like the big leaf of red lettuce, the quail egg with a slightly runny yolk, the crunchy bits of fungus, the chicken gravy that consisted of finely chopped bits of chicken and mushroom, and finally, my addition of bamboo shoots was a great choice! They had a pickled tangy flavor. The cold temperature and tangy flavor of the bamboos slices were a perfect balance to the hot noodles and comforting soup. I slurped everything up, but unfortunately my stomach protested me slurping down the last of the soup. Oh disappointing stomach….

Conclusion: BOmb ramen! 5/5 beeptastic. (Totally overshadowed my visit to Monta Ramen in Las Vegas just two days ago. Monta Ramen does not have as many standard goodies and the chefs there prefer to make their soup base more on the salty side.)

[on my 24 hours turnaround in the bay for dear cousin steven's crazy Chinese wedding banquet, here's my food adventures...] My brother has never seemed to be a “foodie” at all and not the best judge of food because everything I take him to he just says, “it’s okay”. [...]]]> Shanghai Dumpling Shop
455 Broadway
Millbrae, CA 94030
(650) 697-0682

[on my 24 hours turnaround in the bay for dear cousin steven's crazy Chinese wedding banquet, here's my food adventures...]
My brother has never seemed to be a “foodie” at all and not the best judge of food because everything I take him to he just says, “it’s okay”. So, when he wanted to take us to the best xiao long bao/juicy pork dumplings in the area, I was quite skeptical. Boy, did my brother show me!

1. Xiao long bao (regular) – not only super juicy on the inside but the “skin” on the dumpling itself was thin and chewy. Though Din Tai Fung is still #1, Shanghai Dumpling Shop came pretty darn close! We also ordered the xie fen xiao long bao (crab and pork juicy dumplings); however, they were not as juicy.
2. The stir fried green beans were also very tasty. They were garlicky and seasoned with just enough salt.
3. The deep fried Chinese bread dough (yin si juan/silver thread roll) was a fail. It is supposed to be multilayered by rolling and stretching the dough, but this restaurant cheated and just placed chopped pieces of dough in the center to mimic layers. Texture fail.

Conclusion: As recommended by the brother, don’t come here for the other food because it is subpar, but this is a great option for super juicy xiao long bao in the Millbrae area! 4/5 beeps based on juicy dumplings!

I think that I came out a happy camper with Soyo not because they have amazing food, but because it is what it is. It’s a great place to hang out, have drinks and have some decent korean bar food from early in the [...]]]> Soyo Korean Barstaurant
7775 S. Rainbow Blvd
Ste 105
Las Vegas, NV 89139
(702) 897-7696

I think that I came out a happy camper with Soyo not because they have amazing food, but because it is what it is. It’s a great place to hang out, have drinks and have some decent korean bar food from early in the evening to LATE at night. For those who hang out in el-Lay know what I mean. Good ‘ol soups, stews, finger foods and sausage (blood/intestine).

Food wise…
1. Chicken wings with special sauce – deep fried wings drenched in a gojuchang mixture. it was sweet, spicy and satisfying. who can turn down wings?
2. korean sausages – this is not the typical meat sausage. this is made of blood\vermicelli/intestine. yum yum
3. fish cake soup – thin slices of fish cakes with hearty broth
4. stew/jigae of rice cakes, veggies/kimchi and instant noodles – appetizing hearty stew at any time of day!
5. Chicken gizzard and garlic – something about the bouncy yet crunchy texture that I can’t turn down and whole cloves of garlic are always my friend

Conclusion: Fun times and fun food. I’m going back! 3.5 beeps for food. 4 for overall experience.

Brenda did not enjoy Mantra Masala. However, I ate with Brenda L on the same exact day, and we happened to be at the same table eating the same thing! haha! Anyhoo, I think I totally had a different opinion of the food [...]]]> Mantra Masala
8530 West Warm Springs Road
Las Vegas, NV 89113-3618
(702) 598-3663
www.mantramasala.com

Brenda did not enjoy Mantra Masala. However, I ate with Brenda L on the same exact day, and we happened to be at the same table eating the same thing! haha! Anyhoo, I think I totally had a different opinion of the food maybe because we had split all the dishes and they gave the birthday girl (me) the better cooked dishes?

1. Mussels Mantra – i thought that the mussels that I had were actually really juicy and tender. And the sauce! Oh the sauce! I totally wanted to mop it all up with the naan!
2. Padpi Chat – i didn’t love this dish but i appreciated the tangy flavors and the crunchy bread
3. Sea bass – I thought this was actually overcooked and dry
4. Chicken Tikka Masala – i had the specially prepared one with extra spiciness. loved it and it was not dry
5. Lamb Mantra – i enjoyed this dish a lot because it was actually really tender and not gamey at all
6. Dewane Handi – this spinach dish did not impress me much, and nor did I even remember eating it! haha!

Out of everything, the sea bass was my least favorite, and my favorites were between the tender lamb and the fluffy yet crusty nan bread! So good! From what I’ve experience, Indian food is always pricier than other foods, but being that I had such a good experience, I guess the price was fine to me.

Conclusion: I’m sorry that Brenda did not have as good of an experience as I did, but I was a happy camper! Going back for more. 4.5/5 beeperoos.

Sorry no pics due to birthday girl being to distracted by the food! nom nom nom. And, it was to dark as usual.

5 Foods I Am (Only Somewhat) Ashamed to Say I Love 1. McDonald’s Filet O’ Fish Sandwich – When made right, the crispy deep fried mystery white fish with the creamy-can’t-get-enough-of-it tartar sauce and a toasty WHITE/refined bread product. YUM. 2. Cheddar and Sour Cream Flavored Ruffles – Ever since [...]]]> Following CNN’s James Oseland’s lead…

5 Foods I Am (Only Somewhat) Ashamed to Say I Love
1. McDonald’s Filet O’ Fish Sandwich – When made right, the crispy deep fried mystery white fish with the creamy-can’t-get-enough-of-it tartar sauce and a toasty WHITE/refined bread product. YUM.
2. Cheddar and Sour Cream Flavored Ruffles – Ever since my first taste at a young age, I have always loved the artificial cheese taste combined with the even more artificial tangy taste of the sour cream powder. Salivating just thinking about it.
3. Olive Garden Breadsticks and Salad – It’s probably one of the most commercialized representations of what a real Italian restaurant is, but I love the pillowy, warm breadsticks made with overly processed carbs sprinkled with probably-purchased-in-bulk garlic salt. How can you not love the tangy crunchy salad with their signature dressing.
4. Hostess cupcakes, ding dongs and twinkies – I love fake cake. What can I say?
5. Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip Icecream – Real mint doesn’t taste like this, but fake mint tastes so good! They’ve got the perfect ratio of choco bits and the size of the bits allow for a nice uniform crunch with the creaminess of the icecream.

Anyone else have “bad” foods that they love?

Oh boy oh boy! Another neighborhood Thai place NOT in Chinatown area. Love when we can save time and not have to drive all the way to Chinatown. Upon entering the restaurant, we were quickly greeted by the server and seated, [...]]]> Aranya Thai Bistro
4195 South Grand Canyon Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89147-7171
(702) 243-1912

Oh boy oh boy! Another neighborhood Thai place NOT in Chinatown area. Love when we can save time and not have to drive all the way to Chinatown. Upon entering the restaurant, we were quickly greeted by the server and seated, and I have to admit that I was quite impressed by the well done decor. That aside, I would have to say that I was pretty satisfied with the food experience.

Had to order some our usual fav’s (Being that it was our first time here, we decided to play it safe and order 2 out of 4 level spicy just in case we didn’t want our bootays kicked too badly):
1. Papaya Salad – We couldn’t taste the spiciness at all. However, I still enjoyed the tangy and sweet refreshing and crunchy papaya shreds. Perfect for summer.
2. Tom Yum Gong – This soup I felt was way too sweet and also lacked any spiciness 92/4 spicy level). Someone was a little heavy handed with the sugar ladle, but the bf seemed to slurp his up happily.
3. Pad Kra Pow – We ordered this dish in the chopped beef form and it actually had some spicy kick. Maybe they forgot to add the spice in the other two dishes? *shrug. Either way, this dish was my fav of the night. Spicy, minty and flavorful. =)

Conclusion 08.02.2010: I’ve certainly have had better Thai food at other places, but this place is very a-ok in my book.

Conclusion 08.03.2010: Yup! I went 2 days in a row, but it did help me solidify my conclusion that the food here is definitely on the wayyyy sweeter side. Still just a-ok and prefer other Thai places over this one. Sucked in by the nice owner and the wonderful zen decor!

Two words. Fried bread. I think that was the best thing to come out of The Maple Tree. The ooey gooey sweet syrup and the warm and chewy bread hit the spot.

The other stuff was pretty alright, too. 1. The New [...]]]> The Maple Tree
6000 W. Spring Mountain Rd. (near Jones)
Las Vegas NV
(702) 362-5151

Two words. Fried bread. I think that was the best thing to come out of The Maple Tree. The ooey gooey sweet syrup and the warm and chewy bread hit the spot.

The other stuff was pretty alright, too.
1. The New England Benny– (Two Crab Cakes, served on English muffin
halves, topped with two poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, served
with country potatoes). Crab cakes for breakfast?! Hellz yea.
2. Country Fried Steak and Eggs-(Tenderized sirloin steak, hand breaded and pan fried, served with our country gravy), salty and crunchy with some nice grravy.
3. French toast with peanut butter and banana off menu – I actually didn’t try this fatty concoction, but my friend really enjoyed it. It’s off menu, so it must be pretty awesome. =)
4. Corned Beef Hash – Last but not least, I had the corned beef hash, extra crispy. It’s definitely not the best that I’ve had, but I enjoyed the gritty very finely chopped texture. Could be crispier.

Conclusion: I love fried bread. mmm mmm. 3/5 beeps!

Mastro’s Ocean Club – Butter Cake Morton’s Steakhouse – Molten Chocolate Cake Joe’s Primesteak, Seafood and Stonecrab – Oysters, Stone Crab Claws, Havana Dream Pie N9NE – Caviar appetizer, Fries Stripsteak – Truffle mac and cheese and Duck Fat Fries (a.k.a. my crack [...]]]> Each steakhouse has it’s own shining star dish besides the steak of course…. what do you think?

Mastro’s Ocean Club – Butter Cake
Morton’s Steakhouse – Molten Chocolate Cake
Joe’s Primesteak, Seafood and Stonecrab – Oysters, Stone Crab Claws, Havana Dream Pie
N9NE – Caviar appetizer, Fries
Stripsteak – Truffle mac and cheese and Duck Fat Fries (a.k.a. my crack fries)
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse – bacon wedge salad. bacon!

Other Greats Yet To Try
Peter Lueger’s
Gary Danko

To give another chance….
Craftsteak … a.k.a crapsteak….

Never again
Flemings

(mostly limited to west coast because i haven’t had the fortune to dine well on the east coast yet *sniff)

July 1st, 2010 [pre-post excitement] My food fantasy has happened. Mastro’s is finally here in Vegas and I get to experience the scrumptious warm and buttery dream of a butter cake that they make so well. Of course, I will partake in their fantastic steaks [...]]]> Mastro’s Steakhouse
3720 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas NV 89109
(702) 798-7115

July 1st, 2010 [pre-post excitement]
My food fantasy has happened. Mastro’s is finally here in Vegas and I get to experience the scrumptious warm and buttery dream of a butter cake that they make so well. Of course, I will partake in their fantastic steaks and lobster mashed potatoes as well. Can’t Wait.

http://www.crystalsatcitycenter.com/restaurants/mastros.aspx

July 5th, 2010 [post disappointment]
I’m not sure if it was me expecting too much because all my other mastro’s experiences in california were Uh-Ma-Zing, but this experience at Mastro’s in Las Vegas was very much so a disappointment.

1. Kunomoto oysters were ordered off menu and pretty fresh and tasty, but I’ve had better.
2. By the time we finished our oysters, which was only a few minutes because we eat fast, we started our COLD crab cakes. I don’t know about other people’s experiences, but we’ve always had our crab cakes kind of toasty. Though it was crab-a-licious, I was put off by the temperature.
3. Our 22 oz bone-in ribeye was cooked rare plus and it was delicious! The extra sear with clarified butter is fantastic. However, I was not pleased with the amount of connective tissue in my half of the steak. I felt like I was prepping my own meal by having to cut through all that chewy stuff!
4. Here’s the moment of utmost disappointment. I was thinking about my fluffy, warm and tasty butter cake all night long, and it was a butter cake fail. It was not warm and fluffy as I remember. It was actually almost grainy and almost cold on the outside, save the inside was warm but almost soggy. The wonderful airy whipped cream was actually heavy and too sweet.

Conclusion: For being open for 6 months, should I expect it to be where its other Mastro counterparts are in amazing-ness, or should I expect it to be working out its kinks and be amazing 6 more months down the line? Regardless of kinks or not, I’m a sad puppy because other than the yummy steak mixed with connective tissue bits, everything else was just average compared to my other Mastro’s experiences. Mastro’s did not rise to the occasion to it’s reputation. Will I go back? For the love of butter cake, I will after more time has passed for this particular establishment.

[side note: If you do try this particular Mastro's, do asked to be sit in the nice atrium with the mollusk looking wooden structure and not right outside of it. I think you will get better service. It seems as if the table we were sitting at is a "blind spot". The servers liked to walk over an peer over the railing next to you and chat about the stores and patrons below as if you weren't there.]

With such a wonderfully fobby name, I just had to try it. We were first disappointed by the slightly higher price point as compared to other Vietnamese restaurants in the area, but most of the time, as long as it tastes extra good, price [...]]]> Bosa 1
3400 S Jones Blvd, Ste 2A
Las Vegas, NV 89146
(702) 418-1931

With such a wonderfully fobby name, I just had to try it. We were first disappointed by the slightly higher price point as compared to other Vietnamese restaurants in the area, but most of the time, as long as it tastes extra good, price can be overlooked in my book.

What we shared for lunch
1. Nem Nuong Cuon – Spring rolls with a vietnamese sausage. I enjoyed the flavor of the nem nuong + the extra BONUS of the crispy deep fried dough in there. The dipping sauce that came with was reminiscent of Brodard’s in Westminster. It was definitely not hoisin sauce heavy, but it had its own refreshing sweet appeal.
2. Bun Bo Hue – This was in LARGE print right as you opened the menu, so we figured that it was a sign to try it. We were not disappointed. I would have to say one of the better bun bo hue’s in town and we were very impressed with the appropriate accompaniments of veggies – finely shredded various cabbages and herbs like freshly chopped rau ram (Vietnamese coriander)

Conclusion: Minus puntos for being more expensive than other Vietnamese restaurants in the area. Minus puntos for being slightly stuffy and hot for a Las Vegas summer. (Sorry for the next person who has to sit in my sweatiness….ew…sorry bad imagery.) Plus puntos for having very tasty Bun Bo Hue with the fragrant veggie accompaniments and crunchy bonus in our nem nuong cuon. Also, it can’t hurt to have a fob-a-licious clever restaurant name. Overall, I will return when I need my Bun Bo Hue fix. 3/5 beeperoos.