It was our last day in LA and although we initially planned to make a repeat visit to Taiko, we decided on Chinese food instead. NTR, UK, and I headed over to S.W. Seafood & BBQ in Irvine for a late lunch. Incidentally, it happens to be located in the plaza across the street from Taiko.

We ordered a sampling of five dishes but first, we had some soup, which came with our orders. It was a pretty basic soup with tofu, egg, veggies, and mushrooms.

NTR ordered all of our items and asked for less MSG and oil. I was constantly thirsty during my trip so the call for less MSG worked out well for me. First came one of NTR’s favourite, the egg foo yung with scallops instead of shrimp. This was probably my favourite item here. The scallops were cooked just right and the eggs were creamy and had just enough salt. It went great with rice.

We were a bit lacking on the veggie content this weekend, so ordered some peas and broccoli with shrimp. The vegetables were nice and crunchy…as were the shrimp. It was a light dish but everything was quite fresh.

We also had some stir-fried white fish with mushrooms, carrots, and Chinese vegetables. There wasn’t anything too special with this but it was still quite tasty. The pieces of fish were quite large as you can see by the picture below.

The pan-fried noodles with chicken and veggies were also quite good. The noodles were crispy but not oily at all and the chicken with veggie mix made the noodles just soft enough.

Lastly came our indulgence for the afternoon. The deep fried squid with jalapenos and garlic was so yummy. I especially liked this because there was not too much batter and it was actually pretty light. The hint of spiciness from the squid was just enough and the squid went great with rice.

The dishes here were not overly large but was a great deal at $6.95 each. Believe it or not but even though we ordered so much, we polished off almost all the food we ordered! Even though we had asked for less MSG, I could still taste it in some of the dishes though and I was still quite thirsty even though I drank several cups of tea. Overall though, I was quite impressed with this place and enjoyed the food quite a bit.

Details:
5406-A Walnut Ave, Irvine, CA
Tel: 949-262-0128

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: 3 out of 5 stars
Price: $

After our feast at El Pollo Loco, NTR, UK, and I dug into the Double Rainbow pumpkin ice cream we picked up from Trader Joe’s. According to NTR, Double Rainbow is a small San Francisco-based ice creamery that is available mostly in California. Because it was Thanksgiving, we all felt it would be appropriate to have some pumpkin ice cream.

Double Rainbow boasts that they use all natural ingredients and this can be seen when you scan through the ingredients list. Our pumpkin ice cream was a nice orange colour and you could even smell the pumpkin once you opened the lid.

I liked this ice cream because it had a very strong pumpkin taste and was not too creamy. I find that the double-churned ice cream such as Breyers much too rich and creamy for me. The price was also reasonable at $3.49 for a pint.

Details:
Available at various Trader Joe’s locations

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

NTR, UK, and I were out late shopping during the weekend and stopped by for what they promised would be great Mexican-style grilled chicken at El Pollo Loco. I was told that it was like Nando’s Chicken here in Canada but even better. Although the sign on the restaurant door said they closed at 9pm and it was only 8:30pm, we were told by the workers inside that it was already closed! After some cajoling, we convinced them to open up the drive thru for us so we could order some chicken.

We’re still not too sure why but even though we ordered the 7 piece special for $7.99, we got 14 pieces of breast meat and wings! There were just the three of us so this was more than enough. Even though the drive from here back to NTR and UK’s house was quite short, the smell of the chicken in the car was making me really hungry.

NTR asked for extra salsa and I think they really delivered, don’t you?

Before we bought the chicken, we also picked up some whole wheat tortillas from Trader Joe’s.

NTR and UK told me that it is best eaten by creating a wrap with the tortilla, some salsa, and shredded chicken. This was a really simple yet great tasting dinner. The chicken was very aromatic and had a nice grilled and savoury flavour. The salsa also had a great tomato flavour and provided a nice zing to the chicken.

Let’s just say that we had so much chicken, we had enough for the three of us for breakfast the next morning. It tasted just as good the day after as it did the night before. What is even more amazing that we got all this food for $8.50 after taxes! I’m not sure if El Pollo Loco is limited to just southern California, but this is another good place to try. There seem to be several chains scattered throughout the Los Angeles area.

Details:
8245 E Santa Ana Canyon Rd, Anaheim, CA
Tel: (714) 921-4633

Summary:
Food: 4 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

As if we weren’t stuffed enough from our eating extravaganza at Taiko, we went for dessert next door at Yogurtland. Actually, UK and NTR were too full but I wanted to give the frozen yogurt here a try. Yogurtland is one of the new frozen yogurt joints following in the spirit of Pinkberry and Red Mango. I’ve never been to either Pinkberry or Red Mango but have heard several rave reviews so figured that Yogurtland was my chance to get in on the fro-yo action.

Yogurtland is different from the other frozen yogurt places in that it is almost completely self-serve. As soon as you walk in, you see that there are a wall of self-serve frozen yogurt machines with flavours ranging from green tea, pistachio, mango, straberry, etc. There is also a small station where you can add your toppings, such as fresh fruit, candies, or chocolate. I should have taken a picture of the inside because it was quite interesting but you get the general idea. Your whole creation is than weighed at the counter. At $0.30 per ounce, this is a really good deal.

I selected a combination of pistachio and green tea for my choice with no toppings. I was really full from lunch at this point so just wanted to try a small sampling. My whole order came out to just over $1. I wasn’t too good at swirling my frozen yogurt so the picture below doesn’t look so hot.

The pistachio had a distinct pistachio taste but was a bit too sweet for me. I liked the green tea more, which had a light and refreshing taste. The green tea flavour wasn’t too strong and I think this would have gone really well if I had added some toppings.

I think there is a real potential to open a frozen yogurt place like this in the Vancouver area. The taste is comparable to what is available at Yogen Fruz but at a much lower price. I also like the self-serve aspect at Yogurtland, which allows you to mix and match different flavours until you find one that suits you.

Details:
14775 Jeffrey Rd, Irvine, CA
Tel: 949-857-0884

Summary:
Food: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service: n/a
Price: $

I think I can safely say that NTR and UK’s favourite restaurant is Taiko Japanese restaurant in Irvine, CA. They have been going here for years and years…so much that they know all the servers and sushi chefs! They first took me here several years ago and I was completely wow’d by the amazing Japanese food. I was definitely looking forward to coming back here again.

We sat down at the sushi bar and were greeted by the sushi chefs behind the counter. Because NTR and UK are such familiar and repeat customers now, Ono-san, our sushi chef, started making dishes for us without even needing us to order. NTR told me that he will just automatically make what is the freshest for that day. Pretty cool.

First came the hamachi (yellow tail) belly. It is a bit firmer than the hamachi I am used to but slightly more fatty. This was definitely the freshest hamachi I had ever had.

Next came the giant clam and toro nigiri. I had never had giant clam before and really enjoyed its crunchy sweetness. The clam taste was also milder than the regular clams most of us are used to eating.

Toro is one of my favourite types of sushi and this was hands down the best I had ever eaten. The toro was bright pink and the fat was tightly marbled throughout my entire piece. You could really taste the richness of the toro but it did not feel heavy or have a fishy aftertaste at all. It was also firmer than most of the toro I have eaten.

Next came the salmon nigiri and the baby tuna nigiri. The salmon nigiri had some fresh onion slices and bonito flakes on top and was drizzled with Taiko’s special sauce. The crunchy onion slices contrasted nicely with the salmon and was all tied together by the sauce.

I have never had baby tuna anywhere but here at Taiko. It is slightly seared on the oustide and served with onions, chives, bonito flakes, and the Taiko special sauce. The baby tuna was so tender and has a nice mild taste compared to regular tuna. I think it is seared because the tuna is so tender that otherwise, it would fall apart.

Next came the uni. UK told me that this is from Ono-san’s special stash underneath the counter so it was extra good. I just have to say that the uni was amazing. It was so creamy, slightly sweet, and tasted like it was fresh from the ocean. Sometimes, uni has a bitter taste to it but this was not the case here at all.

Next came the tuna nigiri. This was made in a similar fashion to the salmon nigiri and came with bonito flakes, chives, and onions. I really enjoyed the Taiko way of jazzing up some of their nigiri with the special sauce and onions. It adds a nice contrast to the rice and fish.

Next was a special “creation” of NTR and UK’s. They found regular California rolls to have too much mayo so along with Ono-san, created a roll they called the Northern California roll. It was made with fresh crab meat but very little mayo and also had cucumbers, avocado, and carrots. Because there was so little mayo, you could really taste the fresh crab meat which took this to a new level. I also enjoyed the addition of the pickled carrots, which added a nice crunch.

After all these great rolls and nigiri from the sushi bar, we ordered something from the kitchen. Special No. 3 is a hot dish of fresh crab meat, avocado, and some other stuff that I can’t remember. The whole dish is than baked with Taiko’s creamy mayo-based sauce. This dish is really rich and best eaten with rice.

By now, we were starting to get quite full but decided to ask for one more item. Ono-san presented us with the soft shell crab roll and to make it easier to fit in our mouths in one bite, he made it thinner than the usual soft shell crab roll. I liked this much better than the usual short and fat rolls because the rolls normally fall apart after one bite. The soft-shell crab was also larger than normal…you could even see the meat inside instead of just shell!

We were also comp’ed with some spinach salad. The sesame dressing was not as creamy as I was used to but still very tasty.

I had a great time at Taiko. If it was possible, the food here was even better than I remembered, which was already super good. The food tasted so fresh and elevated the taste of all my usual favourites. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is in the area…but be prepared for the looooong waits. Taiko closes for an afternoon break at 2:30pm and when we left the restaurant, there were already people lining up and waiting for the dinner service!

Details:
14775 Jeffrey Rd Ste K, Irvine, CA
Tel: 949-559-7190

Summary:
Food: 5 out of 5 stars
Service: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $$

Well, it took a while, but I’m finally caught up on all my pre-trip reviews and I’m ready to start on the restaurants I visited while I was in California! I was there for the American Thanksgiving weekend and visited both the San Francisco and Los Angeles area.

NTR, UK, and I arrived in LA late on Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving is a pretty big deal in the US so most stores and restaurants are closed! NTR had the idea to go to Norm’s, which apparently is open every day of the year. They even have a sign that notes they are open for Christmas and New Year’s.

Since it was Thanksgiving, I went for the turkey theme and had a clubhouse sandwich. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this but it was still very tasty. I had a choice of fries, onion rings, or fruit to go with my sandwich and I went for the fruit option, which were cantaloupe slices. UK ordered the same thing as me but he had onion rings….yum.

NTR went for the full-out meal and chose the pan-fried tilapia. This came with some minestrone soup…

…and salad. Although it was just plain ol’ iceberg lettuce, the serving size was actually fairly large and all the veggies were quite fresh.

The pan-fried tilapia was also quite tasty. It came with a Chinese-style hoisin-based sauce that went very well with the fish. There was quite a bit of sauce though so it was good it was served with veggies and rice.

Norm’s turned out to be better than I expected. If staying at home for Thanksgiving isn’t your thing and you want to go out, this may be one of the places you can check out…if you are in LA. It is also open 24 hours.

Details:
1550 E Katella Ave (at Tustin), Orange, CA
Tel: 714-639-7562

Summary:
Food: 3 out of 5 stars
Service: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Price: $