Sushi Studio, Long Beach

Sushi Studio
4917 E Pacific Coast Hwy
Long Beach, CA 90804
Phone: (562) 498-9008
Type: Japanese food / Sushi
Map

(Jim) Dam. Another post in Long Beach?!! My bad. But once you hear about Sushi Studio, you might thank me later. I've been to this place a few times-- but only on certain days of the week, and a specific time period. No, I'm not waiting for the right time to catch a glimpse of majestic blue whales. I'm just trying to get a seat during their Happy Hours. Sushi Studio has pretty good sushi and rolls already. The regular prices are about average for a sushi joint. But Happy Hour is when you get the homie discount. You see, from Monday to Thursday between the hours of 3pm-6pm, they offer a select few items for just $6 each. For some items, that's almost half off! It's only like 3 or 4 items a day, but some days, I'm willing to eat just Happy Hour dishes. The Happy Hour Rolls are different everyday and I'll have to post up what they offer for each day when I remember to write it down.
I know on Wednesdays, they have the Rainbow Roll, Xtreme Crunch Roll, and Monkey Roll for just $6. The Rainbow Roll is pretty much a California Roll with raw salmon, tuna, and shrimp on top. That was really good. The Xtreme Crunch Roll is a spicy tuna roll with crunchy flakes on the outside served with some kind of sauce/oil. That one's pretty good. The Monkey Roll is a Cali Roll with slices of bananas inside and other stuff which I forgot. That one's also good, but Mi didn't really like it too much.

I eat alot, so those 3 rolls didn't do it for me. I ordered another rainbow roll and we got the stuffed mushrooms which were pretty bomb. I think the bill came out to like $32 plus tip. Whenever you're in Long Beach near the Cal State in between the hours of 3pm-6pm, and you feel like some sushi or Japanese food, and it's Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, and if it's gonna be a full moon out, and they're showing an episode of Seinfeld in it's 5th season, and the geese are flying back north, and.... you get the point. Try this place.

Tofu Village, Garden Grove

Tofu Village
8516 Garden Grove Blvd
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Phone: (714) 534-7510
Type: Korean food / tofu soup
Map

(mi) I am in no way a food critic, but i like to eat. A lot. That said, i'd like to introduce to you a favorite dish of mine. It's called Soon Tofu, which is hot boiling silky smooth tofu that's served in a hot pot. Having tried plenty of restaurants that specialize in this dish, i've finally discovered Tofu Village. What's sets this place apart from other? Well, the service is impeccable and the decor is painted with warm colors and art adorns the walls. Don't let the outside of the restaurant fool you. The second you sit down, you are served water along with hot tea. Soon to follow are the many colorful small appetizers. Here, meals are accompanied by at least ten mini dishes which include a variety of kim chi, fish, noodles, and vegetables among other tasty plates. And don't be shy about asking for seconds.
Now to the main dish. There are many choices to choose from when selecting soon tofu. There's a seafood combination, beef, pork, mushroom, and more. I ordered soybean which is a mixture of mushroom, beef, and clams. YUM! You also get the choice of how much spice you want: none, mild, spicy and spicy spicy. Personally, i like spicy. There's also three types of rice flavors, but they're more like colors: white, black, and green. Can't go wrong with either one. When the bubbling hot pot arrives at your table, you have the option of cracking an egg into the soup. Do it! Now sit back and enjoy your meal knowing that all this delicious food will not create a huge dent to your wallet. This meal, which will fill you up without having that yucky greasy food coma feeling afterwards, will cost you less than ten dollars. Oh, and an added bonus, you get soft served ice cream for free!!!!!!

Seafood Soon Tofu

Soybean Soon Tofu

Why are you still reading this? Go try it!

The Old Spaghetti Factory, Duarte

The Old Spaghetti Factory
1431 Buena Vista
Duarte, CA 91010
Phone: 626-358-2115
Type: Italian food
Website
Map

(Jim) Just came back from eating dinner with my mom at The Old Spaghetti Factory in Duarte just off the 210 fwy. They have branches here and there in California and all over the U.S. It's been several years since I ate here and I thought they were gonna have more to choose from. Wrong! I myself don't eat red meat (just seafood and veggies and stuff), so I was limited even more with their already limited menu. You can check out their menu at their website. We ordered the garlic cheese bread which I didn't think too much of.

My mom got the meat lovers spaghetti and she said it was good. I had seafood earlier today at the Grand World Buffet so I decided to order the vegetarian-friendly Eggplant Parmigiana dish.

It consists of spaghetti with marinara sauce and broiled eggplant. It came with a minestrone soup and vanilla ice cream. After eating some of the garlic cheese bread, I wasn't expecting much from my main course. It turned out a little better than I expected, so I was satisfied in the end. I even have leftovers for breakfast the next morning. The total cost for 2 people was about $28 plus tax and tip. I wouldn't say this is a great place for me. I'm not a really big fan of Italian food anyways. I'm not saying it's a bad place at all, but the next time I come here will be because somebody else decided on it.

Grand World Buffet, Torrance

Grand World Buffet
21557 S Western Ave
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 328-8533
Type: Chinese food / Hawaiian food / buffet
Get directions


(Jim) Grand World Buffet is a Chinese/Hawaiian buffet located in Torrance, Ca. I ate there today with my family. It's similar to pretty much any of the Chinese buffets I've been to i.e. World Buffet, China Buffet, etc. There was a good selection of food from sauteed mushrooms, sushi rolls, several different soups, chicken of all types, and various seafood. My favorite was the shrimp with lobster sauce and the sauteed mushrooms. I had soft served ice cream in the end.
Overall, the service was good, the food selection was nice, and the prices were cheaper than I expected them to be. For 4 people, the total came out to about $30 plus tax and tip. That's about $7.49 per person. The best part about it was, my dad paid for the meal!

Food Joke # 1

Aside from reviewing certain dishes, we also like to post food jokes. Here is our 1st food joke. Dont choke now!

The Mexican

A Mexican family crosses over the border to the Land of Milk and Honey where the streets are paved with gold. But the husband can find no work.His family is hungry, so he takes a walk to a quiet place at the foot of a big hill, kneels at the base of a tree, and begins to pray: "Sweet Jesus, please show me a way to feed my family..."Eyes closed, the Mexican does not see the BLACK man coming over the top of the hill, who is stumbling wildly with a broken grocery sack. When the Mexican man opens his eyes, a large wheel of cheddar cheese rolls down the hill an lands at his feet!"Oh, thank you Jesus, thank you!" he cries, grabs the cheese, and runs straight home. Upon returning home, he gives the cheese to his wife and instructs her to make nachos."But wouldn't you rather have cheese enchiladas and burritos and other things?" she inquires. "No," the husband says, "Jesus sent this to me with a message... As I ran home,I kept hearing Him yell, ' THAT'S NACHO CHEESE! THAT'S NACHO CHEESE!'

Krua Thai Cuisine, West Covina

Krua Thai
935 S Glendora Ave
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 480-0116
Hours: Mon-Sun 9:00 a.m.-3:30 a.m
Type: Thai food
Map

"Pad Thai"

(Jorelle) Hello food scavengers!!! One of the local spots in the 626 area is Krua Thai. This Thai restaurant has many selection on their menu with reasonable prices. My favorite by far at that place are the fried rice dishes, but today I was feeling the need for Pad Thai and luckily it didn't disappoint my cravings. Pad Thai is basically a rice noodle dish can usually be found served up in fried eggs, crushed roasted peanuts, bean sprouts, thick reddish oil (don't know what kind of oil) and of course the chicken which I chose (optional of chicken, beef, shrimp, or combination). The dish was served with lime wedges which I notice it is very common at Thai restaurant

The food was above average compared to other Pad Thai's I have tried and I will be having it again. If you dont feel like eating rice this would be a good alternative. It has a sweet and a little bit of tangy taste. If only their service was half as good as their food, I would go here a lot. I've also found that the only way to get your check so you can pay and leave is to hunt down your server (which I'm not here to review) . Despite the service problem, I will continue to go to Krua Thai and mainly because the food just makes it worth the effort. (yahyaa) Closes late, delicious food, and the price is very reasonable. The menu is impressive, whether you are a Thai food lover or not, the dish is great. Waitresses need to be more attentive, that is all that is missing.

Pros: Wallet friendly, Variety of Selection, Opened till 3:30am for all you dogwatches

On the other hand, you got some restaurants you'd like to suggest we try out, just email us at SoCalFood@gmail.com or feel free to leave a comment if your reading this far. Blah

Sushi of Naples, Long Beach

Sushi of Naples
5470 E 2nd St
Long Beach, CA 90803 (562) 434-1122
Type: Japanese food / Sushi
Website
Map

(Jim) I know this isn't in the SGV, but I visit the LBC a few days a week, so you'll be hearing a lot from this city. So on that note, we visited Sushi of Naples on 2nd st. I've been passing this place for months without ever having step foot inside because I saw their menu on the website, and I thought their selection of rolls wasn't up to par with my standards. And I'm so glad I was wrong.
This is what we ordered:

• Crunchy Shrimp Tempura Roll
• Rainbow Roll
• Volcano Roll
• Mardi Gras Roll
• Mushroom Bon Bon

Everything that we ordered (except for the mushroom bon bon) was surprisingly good. I've been to many sushi places and I'd have to say this place is in my top 3 at the moment. You can never really go wrong with Crunchy rolls, and rainbow rolls. The volcano roll came with about 6 good-sized pieces. All the pieces were topped with an overflowing cream sauce. The Mardi Gras Roll was my favorite. I forgot exactly what was in it, but the thing that stuck out for me was the fried onions heaped on top of the rolls. Excellent! I don't really want to talk about the Mushroom Bon Bons. They weren't horrible, but compared to the others, I'd say they didn't hold their own-- especially since it cost $12.50 for about 6 pieces. The whole meal cost about $70 with tax and tip included for two people.

The overall experience at Sushi of Naples was great. The only downside is that the prices are a little bit pricier than most other sushi places I've been to. But it totally makes it up with quality and the portions weren't too bad either. The staff was very friendly and attentive. This sushi joint has become a place that I won't just pass by and think nothing of anymore. Top 3!

Intro

Hey everybody...... (anybody?) This is gonna be a blog about random restaurants mostly in the East San Gabriel Valley of Southern California that a group of friends visit. We also eat in other areas all the time, and we'll include those places as well.

The San Gabriel Valley is located on the east side of Los Angeles County. Our main stomping grounds include (but not limited to) Walnut, West Covina, La Puente, Rowland Heights, Covina, and Diamond Bar. If you don't know of these cities and never plan to visit them, then you're wasting your time here. Shoo!!

If on the other hand, you got some restaurants you'd like to suggest we try out, just email us at SoCalFood@gmail.com

So on that note, we hope you find this blog a BIG waste of your time!