Bite by Bite

Restaurant Review : Hansong Buffet (Korean buffet) $$ *6 out of 10*

Park your car around the back with valet and then enter through the magnificently traditional Korean gates of Hansong.  Walk through their manicured garden complete with a man-made river and over the bridge to enter the buffet. 

The buffet is large and clean and consists of a soup and salad station, a cold appetizer section, the warm meat section, the seafood section, the miscellaneous cooked section, a sushi section, and a dessert and ice cream section.  

There’s plenty to eat but it’s a bit hit and miss.  The Korean food is yummy, especially the Yuk Hae (Korean raw beef), the whole chili peppers with their awesome Sam Jang, their Kimchee, and their meats.   The sushi counter could use a lot of work and is not something that I enjoy there at all.  Their baked desserts are meager and dried-out but two thumbs up to their fresh fruit and soft serve + froyo machine!

Pricing is a bit stiff for what you get.  
-Lunch is $16.95/person.  
-Dinner is $25.95/person.  
With so many delicious dining options in Ktown, I find it hard to pay the prices at Hansong for food that’s not always so consistent.

Hansong Buffet
1925 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90006
Neighborhoods: Westlake, Pico Union
(213) 386-1100
http://hansongbuffet.com

Restaurant Review : Seablue (Seafood, Mediterranean) *9 out of 10* Las Vegas Strip, NV

Michael Mina does it again at Seablue. 

Seablue is located inside MGM hotel.  We came here for my friend’s bridal dinner.  Since there were 7 of us girls we didn’t want to bother with the hassles of ordering so we asked the chef to put together whatever he thought we would like.  I must say that they exceeded our expectations.   

What came out was spectacular.  We started off with some pita bread with a trio of dipping sauces.  Then came the cold seafood appetizers: Oysters, Smoked Mussels, King Crab Legs, Tuna Kibbeh with pinenuts and Asian pear, Prawn Cocktail, and Seared Albacore.  Soon after out came Lobster Fritters followed by the White Prawn Scampi.   Save the best for last.  We were presented with 2 entrées for our main course.  First, a whole Spanish Sea Bass that was expertly de-boned.  The meat was mild, seasoned perfectly, and absolutely amazing.   Then out came the HUGE Bistecca Alla Fiorentina, a Florentine Porterhouse that was perfectly medium rare, topped with sautéed mushrooms.  It was so good even on a full stomach that it made my heart jump a beat.  Whoa, I am salivating as I write this.  For sides we had grilled asparagus and sautéed spinach, I guess those were good too.

We were given warm towels to wipe our hands before our array of desserts.  Compared to the food, the desserts didn’t make as much of an impact but they were enjoyable along with my fresh mint tea. 

The service was friendly and impeccable as always.

So how much did all this come out to?  Oh, about $1200 or so…but we did have a lot of cocktails.

Seablue
MGM Grand
3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 891-3486
http://www.michaelmina.net/restaurant.php?restaurant_id=18

Restaurant Review : Palm’s Thai (Thai) Hollywood-Thai Town *8 out of 10*

Ever since Palm’s Thai moved to its new location down the street many years back, I’ve had my reservations.  But I’ve slowly warmed up to their huge cafeteria-like setting to make a fair assessment.

Like most restaurants in Thai town the food can be inconsistent at times but generally speaking, I think that Palm’s Thai’s food is the best of its kind in the area, along with good menu selections and pricing.

Besides, dining to the sound of Thai Elvis crooning to you in the background deserves its own merit doesn’t it?  Aside from the gimmicky aspect of his performance, he’s not that bad.

Some of my favorites here are as follows…

-Steamed whole fish (trout) with Spicy Lime Juice : Served on a fish-shaped cast iron plate atop a live fire, this dish is perfect for when you’re feeling under the weather.  It’s fresh, and warming to the soul.
-Steamed whole fish (trout) with Spicy Basil Soup : this is a different, more fragrant version of the dish above.  I love this too and opt for this on a cold day but not necessarily when I’m feeling ill.
-Pad Kee Mow : Always a good bet with a taste of the flame that it was cooked on top of.  A couple of times the noodles were served pretty broken up but they’re usually pretty consistent.
-Papaya Salad with Dried Shrimp : I always get mine with peanuts on the side.  I don’t like them clouding up my salad.  It fresh and tasty here and not too too sweet.
-BBQ Beef : Great for meat lovers.  The sliced steak is grilled and served at medium to medium well with a side dipping sauce.  It’s simple and hearty.

You can’t go too wrong here so experiment with the menu.  Their curries, noodles, soups, salads, rice dishes, seafood and meat dishes are waiting for you to consume.

Restaurant Review : The Shack (Cajun) Rowland Heights *7 out of 10*

If you like Boiling Crab you will probably like this place.  Steaming hot, flavorful, kick you while you’re down, Cajun seafood WITHOUT the lines!  It can get pretty full here but you can usually get a seat right away.

Their sauce is less garlicky and less greasy than BC so that’s either good or bad depending on your preference.  In my opinion, it’s pretty good. 

I have yet to try their famous Ridgeback Shrimp that everyone is raving about (they ran out) but I have tried a few other things.

-Mussels $7.99/lb : Frozen, half shelled mussels.  They’re big and a little tough.  5 stars
-Clams $8.99/lb :  Average. Small but fresh 6 stars
-Snow Crab Cluster $11.99/lb : Average. 5 stars
-Shrimp $8.99/lb : These were a good size.  They best thing here so far.  7 stars
-Fried Catfish Basket $8.99 : Fried catfish and seasoned fries.  This is definitely not as good as BC.  5 stars.

Selling points of The Shack are that it’s clean, there’s no line, the food is decent, and they offer Horchata and Orange Bang along with their soda selection for those with a penchant for sweet drinks.

Restaurant Review : Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (Seafood, Cajun, Creole) Long Beach *6 out of 10*

Bubba Gump’s gimmicky Forrest Gump movie-inspired décor is fun. The restaurant is even equipped with its own gift shop!  Too bad the food is so very mediocre.  But it is a convenient place to go if you’re visiting the aquarium and that is exactly what we did.  

We went to the aquarium, got hungry and walked a few hundred feet to the big happy Bubba Gump’s sign, waited about 5 minutes for a table then started with our dinner.   We had Shrimp Cocktail $12.99, 2 orders of the Baja Shrimp Tacos, 1 fried, 1 grilled for $10.99 each, and we had the Pear & Berry Salad.

The shrimp on the shrimp cocktail was small and not of the best quality.  The fried shrimp taco was over-battered and the salad was too sweet.  Our expectations were not so high in the first place so dinner was suitable and we were sufficiently satisfied.

Restaurant Review : La Cevicheria (Latin American Seafood) Mid-City LA *8 out of 10*

This is what ceviche is supposed to taste like.  Fireworks went off in my head and exploded into bright spots of flavor in my mouth.  ”YES! YES! YES!” I screamed quietly in my head.  

I had 2 dishes.  I had the dark and flavorful Conga Negro Ceviche with clams, onions, avocados, cilantro, mint with shrimp & octopus.  This was delicious and fresh and it brought happy tears to my eye.   Finally, at long last, I have discovered my place for ceviche.  

I also ordered the Mariscadas, a seafood soup with shrimp, mussels, & calamari served with steamed rice and a side salad.  This was buttery, warm, tasty and very pleasing.  

But yes, the neighborhood is a bit rough.  I had to question whether or not I felt safe leaving anything in the car, just in case…  The curb appeal of the restaurant is not so hot either with its barred doors and windows.   I wondered what I had gotten myself into and was praying for the best.  I walked into La Cevicheria and breathed my sigh of relief.  Its charming interior and warm comfortable service put me right at ease to enjoy my meal in the embrace of this teeny tiny restaurant. 

The prices are very reasonable the the ceviche is as good as it gets!

Restaurant Review : The Boiling Crab (Cajun) Alhambra, CA *7 out of 10*

I introduced my aunt to Boiling Crab about 3 years ago and now it seems like that’s all she wants to eat.  Since I meet up with her often I find myself eating at odd times to avoid the insane lines at this place.

The first 2 times I’ve eaten here I thought it was great.  I had just gotten back from a trip to New Orleans and I was happy to discover some Cajun style crawfish in LA.   The third time I realized that I was getting a little sick of the food.  The 12^th time I KNOW I’m over it.

You can’t come here thinking that you’re not gonna’ commit 110%.  You’re forced to commit if you don’t want to leave hungry.  Sometimes, I really don’t feel like committing especially when the return is so small; as in the size of the teeny tiny bits of meat from the tiny little crawfish they serve.  I’ve been sticking to the shrimp and the clams now.  And I also take a little piece of the fried catfish that my little 4 and 7 year old cousins are eating.  I must admit, this is fried to perfection, with no trace of the muddy catfish taste that I abhor.  And the seasoned fries that come with the catfish sure are tasty too.

Yes, the “whole sha-bang” is pretty awesome but it does a number on my stomach.  I used to say that I would LOVE a bowl of rice to soak up some of the sauce with.  Now, they serve rice and I don’t eat the sauce anymore because of the backlash!

Can you believe this location has only ONE sink and ONE toilet!!!  “All the girls standing in the line for the bathroom!”  Pharrell must come here to eat.  Haha.