We decided to go for All-You-Can-Eat Korean B.B.Q. for dinner last night. It's been a while, but since the weather is suitable for this type of comfort food, the night seemed appropriate to indulge here.
This is as good as it gets in my area. There aren't too many of these Korean Buffets around my home, so I consider fortunate that this place even exist. Dinner for adult is $19 each. Kind of pricey, but if you bring your appetite, it's worth it. For us little gals, it probably wasn't. And, I stuffed myself. Guys who eat lots of meat should make it worthwhile though. =)
The photos didn't turn out too good. Sis took them. I'm actually waiting to get my new little Cannon Digital Elph. Maybe Santa will bring it to me soon!
Green Leaf Letter and seaweed soup.
Some Kalbi and Bulgolgi, pork belly on the grill. The Kalbi was pretty good. But the pork belly was not edible... too tough!
Jap Chae, Edamame and a broiled fish we did not finish. We had to hide it under other plated to avoid getting charged an extra 20% on the bill.
Late night restaurants are at times difficult to find, especially for a picky eater like me. Ebisu closes really late, so when we browse around in Little Tokyo, we often end up here. Their Hamachi Kama is usually pretty big, unlike most other Japanese restaurants'. On Friday, after watching "Spirited Away", we were hungry and needed to eat some real food, so we drove over to Little Tokyo, thinking we wouldn't have to wait at Daikokuya. Boy, were we wrong! At 11pm, there was still a long waiting list there. Our tummies couldn't wait, so we headed over to Ebisu. I kind of like this "Japanese Tavern". Cozy and the food is good.
My favorite!
Pork Cutlet is really good. It's black pig.
I actually don't know what this starter dish was. The texture was like tuna, but kind of tasteless. I didn't care much for this.
Yesterday was Sis' birthday. Since we already had a family dinner together during the week, we decided to hop over to Tamaya for a quick dinner. The weather here was outrageously scorching hot, so instead of the usual soup Ramen we'd order, we opted for the cold noodles (good for summer months), gyozas, and some fried rice. I end up packing up the leftover rice since we had plenty enough to eat.
Gyozas are larger than most other similar eateries.
I think just about everybody who's ever been to Claim Jumper recognizes the large portions of food they serve. However to me, what's more important when eating out is quality over quantity. I rather have a little of really delicious food than a whole lot of mediocre food with nothing to rave about. I guess that's also a part of my particularity and "hard to please" character... some would say.I haven't been to this Claim Jumper (on Gale) for several years and as I walk in with 2 of my good friends, it's nothing short of a walk down memory lane. I have had a few birthday dinners here in the past and all were good times, though the food was not memorable. This time the company was great as well, thus the food tasted a little better than it really was and I didn't want to ruin the fun time by sending anything back! =)
I ordered the Cedar Plank Salmon. Somehow I recalled that the salmon was really served on a cedar plank in the past. It's been a long while, so maybe I could be wrong. Anyhow, the salmon was not that great, edible but not memorable. It has some sweet and sour brown gunk on top. My mistake for not reading the description of the dish. They only have one salmon dish so I didn't bother reading the whole description, thinking how bad can salmon be? And, I wanted to have salmon for dinner. Well, I had to scrape off the brown stuff... it was nasty flavor to be paired with salmon. I don't see the point of it. It simply ruined the entire piece of salmon. Also the salmon was a bit overcooked. Oh well. I wanted my omega-3s.
The black sauce does nothing for the Salmon.
My Side salad with balsamic vinaigrette was decent.
Allen wanted the Babyback ribs (full rack). We eat family style, so we share each others' food. I think the full rack has shrunk! Years ago, the portion seemed much bigger because we used to end up with more leftovers.
Even the Cheese Toast is kind of smaller than before.
Ken ordered something "safe" as usual, the Chicken Fried Steak. Can't really go wrong with it, since it's a pretty popular dish at Claim Jumper.
The Chicken Fried Steak usually is moist and tender and breaded properly, that is if you happen to get good pieces the day you visit. We got lucky because it was pretty yummy. Ken didn't even touch the rest of his food (mash potatoes and biscuit) since the two pieces of steak was plenty to make him full! The service that night definitely was not stellar. Our waiter never cared to ask us if we wanted dessert. We might have, if he asked. I guess he assumed since we boxed up our leftovers, we were too full to have anything more. Oh well, his loss.
One thing I never quite understood after all these years, is why do they give paper sacks that the food containers won't fit in. What's the point of the bag if you have to slide the containers in sideways to carry them. I just thought that was kind of ridiculous. Maybe no one ever bother to complain so they don't bother designing a better option.
When I was in college, we used to call Sam Woo "Sam's". Back then, when we say, " let's go to Sam's", it's basically for a fast slurp of some wonton noodles or beef chow fun. Fast food. Things have since changed, and so has my taste buds. I still enjoy the traditional wonton soup/noodles, simple fried rice dishes and the chow funs from time to time. But I think with so many more variety of dishes at "Sam's" now, at various locations... I prefer the "real food". I'm really not a "Sam's" gal anymore, with the exception of this one when eating with the family.
It's located at the San GabrielFocusPlaza (downstairs). Granted it's not the cleanest place in the world nor the friendliest, but the food is actually above average. The place is always packed! Prices are decent and they open till 1AM!
The Spicy Lobster Tofu Pot is full of flavor! You can ask for it to be less spicy if you cannot take it. The spiciness is not the kind that lingers in your throat, so the regular is just fine for me. I really like this dish... and I used to hate tofu when I was a little kid.
I also like the French Style Filet Mignon with Pepper sauce. The stir-fried filet mignon cubes are placed on some semi-grilled onion pieces. Very tasty. Too many Chinese restaurants offer this dish on their menu. However, only a handful can make the dish stand out. The quality of the meat is usually very tender here. The flavor is actually perfect, just enough pepper seasonings.
Although Mom and Sis don't eat a whole lot of shrimp anymore (due to fear of high cholesterol), they'll always order with the spoiled picky eater (me) in mind. And I always enjoy the Walnut Shrimp with Mayo. At this Sam Woo, they make a very thick batter to fry the shrimp with. If I had a preference, I'd go with the lighter batter or none at all. The flavor is alright, not too greasy. But if you have leftovers, I'd suggest you to heat it up in the toaster oven versus the microwave. If you toast it, the batter will still remain crunchy. If you microwave it, the batter will be limp, greasy and soft. The shrimp might also explode in the microwave! (From first hand experience.) This really isn't the dish you want to have leftovers though... with the mayo and all...
The veggies here are usually pretty fresh. I need to get some kind of veggies to go with my dinner... most of time, that is. This Abalone Mushroom w/ Baby Bak Choy is cooked very nicely. Not too soft, but just tender enough. The proportion of the mushrooms to Bak Choy is just right. This is a refreshing dish to go with the rest of dinner.
Dinner time is usually busy, so expect to wait about 30 mins or so for a table. Enjoy!
Address: 140 W. Valley Blvd., Suite 107, San Gabriel, CA 91776
