West Coast Buffet, Hacienda Heights

West Coast Buffet
1655 S. Azusa Ave. #C.D.
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
ph: 626-581-9893
fax: 626-581-9873
Type: Japanese food / Chinese food / buffet
Map

(Jim) Where you eat homey?!! West Coast fool!!!!!! That's the name of the place I ate at on Sunday night (without the "fool"). We arrived there a little late at around 8:45 pm. The lady said they close at 10, so we decided to go ahead and eat there. After we got our table and ordered drinks, we headed over to the buffet line. The first thing I saw was sushi and sashimi. The salmon sashimi wasn't too bad. Considering it was late and I don't know how long they've been sitting there, it was the best sashimi I had from a buffet of this caliber. Next section was the crab legs. They tasted cool, except they didn't break easily. The crab meat always got stuck to the shell. I'm a master crab leg opener, and I wasn't getting those "great pieces." So moving on, the place had the usual shrimp cocktails, fried rice, soups, mussels, clams, oysters, meat, and so on. My favorite food of the day was the Coconut Shrimp. I don't really know if it was coconut shrimp. It was more like the honey walnut shrimps you get at Chinese restaurants without the walnuts. That was good, and luckily they had enough for me left. My mom was pissed cuz they stopped serving meat and steak and all that.

West Coast ain't bomb-diggety fo shiggety, but I'll roll up here again if Moms and Pops pays. Nah'm sayin? Just kidding. It was actually better than the other buffets I've been to. But then again, the $18.95 per adult price might have something to do with it. Holla-if-ya-hear-meh!!!

Gaju Soft Tofu Restaurant, Rowland Heights

Gaju Soft Tofu Restaurant
18797 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
909.839.1661
Type: Korean food / tofu soup
Map

(Jim) Yuuup.... another tofu restaurant review! This one's located on Colima Ave. in Rowland Heights somewhere between Nogales and Fullerton Rd. Gaju Tofu is a good place to eat the Korean dish known as "soon tofu." Inside is a pretty small place. I estimate it sits about 20-25 people at the most. There's no music playing or TV to watch so you either better be a good converser (don't know if that's a real word), or you're comfortable with "uncomfortable silences." It's quiet if there's not many people eating.

If you love soon tofu, this place shouldn't disappoint. The sides were nice. I especially liked the two small vegetable pancakes they gave. I wanted to ask them for more, but I was too pussy to do it.

The actual tofu soup was pretty much like any others-- which really isn't a bad thing. I got the Seafood Tofu soup and Mimi got the Combination soup I believe. I like this place for two reasons:
1. The sides were good (and they gave the pancakes)
2. The prices are a little cheaper than other tofu houses

I'm going here again... most likely on Sundays (cuz there's another Tofu House closer to me that I go to but they're closed on Sundays. But I'll get to that review at another time)

Great Shanghai Buffet, Irwindale

Great Shanghai Buffet
1250 W Foothill Blvd
Azusa, CA 91702
(626) 812-0138
Type: Chinese food / buffet
Map



(Jim) Went to another Chinese buffet. This one was in Irwindale, a few miles east of Pasadena off the 210 freeway. Anyways, nothing too special. They had crab legs that weren't very flavorful. Some sushi was thrown in the mix, but they also weren't anything special. I wasn't disappointed, but I wasn't super happy with the food either.

Nodaji's Restaurant, Rowland Heights

Nodaji's Restaurant
1739 Fullerton Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
626.810.1258
Type: Japanese food / Korean food / Sushi
Map

(Marlon) Good food, open late. If your looking for a place to chill, here it is. They have really good crunch rolls here. The prices are not necessarily cheap, but its a good place to hang out. The prices mainly range from $8.95 - $9.50. We ordered the Crunch Rolls, Firecracker Roll, and the beef bowl (FAT) which comes with a miso soup. Try this place out, just dont bring any outside food (They dont like that).

Crunch Rolls:


Firecracker Roll:


Beef Bowl/Miso Soup:

Chicken Udon (Noodle):

Enjoy. Peace.

Food Joke # 2

Fruit Salad

Three guys who were lost at sea ended up landing on an unfamiliar island. After wandering around for a while, a group of natives picked them up and took them to their hut. The chief came up to them and said, "We will let you live, if you can go out into the jungle and bring me 10 pieces of fruit." So the men agree and take off. The first guy brings back 10 apples and places them before the chief. "Now, you must stick the apples up your ass and not show a bit of emotion, or else we will kill you." The guy got one, and on the second, he flinched and was killed. The second guy walks up and shows the chief 10 berries. He is given the same task and makes it up to 8 and then begins to laugh histerically. He is also killed. When the second guy gets to heaven and meets up with the first, the first asks him "You almost had it! Why did you laugh??" The second replies, "I couldnt help it. I got the 8th up there and saw the other guy walking up with pineapples."

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Walnut

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Walnut
21710-Valley Blvd.
Walnut, CA 91789
909-595-1502 (phone)
909-595-1303 (fax)
Type: Mexican food
Map

(Jorelle) Fajita Burrito is what I ate at this place. To start it off the burrito came with Flour tortilla, cilantro-lime rice, choice of sautéed peppers and onions instead of beans, meat (I got steak) , salsa, cheese or sour cream, and romaine lettuce. This place basically lets you modify your burrito however you like, therefore you are not force to eat exactly what I got. According to Chipotle, the meat are marinated for hours on their chipotle adobo, then grilled. They also stated that "Our naturally raised meats are free of antibiotics and addedgrowth hormones, fed a vegetarian diet and humanely raised. Believe it or not, the food is very good. I would eat at this place again if I'm craving for Mexican food eventhough its an Americanize food chain. Overall the burrito is really tasty with lots of flavor and incredibly reasonable. This whole meal cost me less than $10. Beat that!!

PHO HOA, City of Industry

PHO HOA
Vietnamese Restaurant
15401-15405 Valley Blvd.
City of Industry, CA 91746
(626) 330-3046
Type: Vietnamese food / Pho
Map


(Marlon) FAT! We went out to eat again. Pho Hoa is a good place to eat if your low on cash. It's kinda ghetto to tell you the truth but the food is good. I always get the #1 combination soup which includes steak, noodles, and tripe and some veggies. The soups are pretty big if you get a large. The price for the large is $5.50 the small is about $4.75. I never tried any rice dishes though, but they look good. The soups come with a plate of uncooked bean sprouts, mint leaves, sliced spicy green peppers, and lemon.


This meal is the best on a cold day. I'll eat it even on a hot summer day. You should try this place out. All you fellas out there can get BASTOS after because its right next door to Spearmint Rhino.

Enjoy, Peace.

Tokyo Lobby, Hacienda Heights

Tokyo Lobby
1683 S Azusa Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 912-0908
Type: Japanese food
Map


(Marlon) Another favorite. If you like a variety of Japanese food, this is the place to go. There's a lot of different combos you can order. They have a pretty cheap lunch special everyday from 11:00am to 3:00pm even on the weekends. The prices range from $5-$7 and comes with salad and miso soup. Heres a lunch special menu, if you can see it.

Miso Soup Starter.......

California Crunch Rolls......

#1 Lunch Special (8 Rolls + Beef Teriyaki). Sorry for the picture, can't rotate.

If your in the hood, try it out. Its right across the street from Puente Hills Mall. Enjoy. Peace.

The Melting Pot, Rancho Cucamonga

The Melting Pot
12469 Foothill Blvd.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739
909-899-1922
*Only open after 5:00pm*
Type: Fondue
http://themeltingpot.com/
Map


(Marlon) Wanna take your lady on a date? Take her to the Melting Pot. It has a good atmosphere. Kinda on the pricey side, but on special occasions you have to try this spot. The pricey side meaning for two people the bill was $100. Yea, I know, but you only live once. Anyway, we went to the one in Rancho because we just went out to Pasadena the night before and I didn't want to pay for parking.

Okay..... they have a different style of eating there. Heres how it works:

1st you select your "Cheese Fondue". The selections range from Fiesta Cheese for you spicy heads out there to Spinach Artichoke Cheese.
2nd you select your salad. They have a really good Spinach Mushroom Salad or Ceasar Salad.
3rd would be to select your Entree. This is where it gets pricey. For Jim they got a vegetarian plate which would include Tofu and Vegtables. But they also got Filet Mignon, Lobster Tails, Shrimp & Sirloin, Curry Chicken and more.
4th Select your Chocolate Fondue. We chose the All white chocolate which was really good. Too sweet for me, but Karen Loved it. Desserts came with fruit, cakes and brownies.


The best part of the experience is cooking your food. all of the entrees are provided raw and then you cook them in the fondue.


Hahaha. I have never talked to my girl so much ever. The whole experience minimal is 2 hours. So fellas be prepared.....j/k.

Enjoy. Peace

Thai Original BBQ Restaurant, West Covina

WEST COVINA
1559 E. Amar Road, West Covina, CA 91792

HOURS OF OPERATION:
Sunday - Thursday 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.*
Friday & Saturday 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.*

Type: Thai food

http://www.originalthaibbq.com/general/index.html

Map

(Marlon) Munchies anyone? Went to The Original Thai BBQ the other day. Theres a lot on the menu but the best are the lunch specials. Lunch specials are from Monday through Friday 11:00am to 3:00pm. The prices range from around $5.95 each. A must grab would be the "S-1" Special which includes the Kai-Yang chicken with fried rice. Also included is some shrimp and special sauce. Sorry the pictures aren't that good. They're from my cell phone.

Before:

After:

For all you ladies out there, I know you like Thai Iced Tea and they got some pretty good Thai Iced Teas here, ask Karen.

So, if your ever in the hood and feel like Thai, this is the place to be. Hope you like it. Bless.

Aki Sushi Bar & Baiplu Thai Restaurant, Long Beach

Aki Sushi Bar/Baiplu Thai Restaurant
1626 E 7th St
Long Beach, CA90813
(562) 436-3123
Type: Japanese food / Thai food / Sushi
Map

(Jim) There's probably one thing I don't like about eating sushi... and that-- it's pretty expensive. Even at the cheapest sushi places you'll end up spending probably over $10 for your meal. Assuming that you order just rolls and sushi, $10-$15 worth probably won't get you full. And that's probably for the cheaper stuff. If you want the specialty rolls, those go for about $8-$12 each. So you have to kind of balance out the quality with the quantity (if you're on a budget).

And then I stumble upon Aki Sushi/Baiplu in Long Beach. What's interesting about this place is that it's a combination of a sushi bar and a thai restaurant. You can order Japanese food and/or Thai food. I love that concept because you can still order the special rolls and you know you'll be full because you can order just one dish from the thai menu to keep your stomach happy.

When I went, we ordered:
Hula Hula roll
Baked Lobster roll
Volcano Roll
crab fried rice

The rolls we ordered were pretty good except I wouldn't order the baked lobster roll again. It's a little sweet or something, and I didn't reallly taste the lobster. The total bill came out to about $30 something plus tip. The service was great and they were very friendly. I would definitely go here again.

Update: 12-5-07

I recently went here and found out that they have a happy hour on Sunday-Thursday at 3pm-5pm. I don't know if they change the items, but their bulletin board said the Popcorn Lobster roll, Albacore roll, Sweet Girl roll, and Rocky Roll are $5 per order. I'm gonna check it out soon.

The Baked Lobster Roll


crab fried rice and Hula Hula Roll


Volcano Roll

BCD Tofu House, Garden Grove

BCD Tofu House
9520 Garden Grove Blvd.
Garden Grove, CA 92844
Phone: 714-636-5599
Type: Korean food / tofu soup
http://www.bcdtofu.com/
Map



(Jim)It's around 2am. You're hungry, and you don't feel like the usual Denny's or Jack In The Box. Maybe you're craving something Asian. Maybe you're craving some Korean tofu soup. Well, if you're in the Garden Grove area, don't you fret my friend. BCD Tofu House is there to save you!
You see, BCD is open 24 hours a day (atleast the one in Garden Grove is, and some of their other locations). That's why this place appeals to me. To be honest, in terms of tofu houses, I'd rank BCD somewhere around the bottom for me. But it's the place I'll go to if I want tofu and it's really late. They don't serve too many sides at night and the selection isn't so great either. But their tofu is just as good as any other place.

Sushi Studio, Happy Hour

(Jim) Went to Sushi Studio today. Here's the Happy Hour rolls I mentioned in the last post. Each roll is $6 on those specific days if you order them between 3pm and 6pm:

Monday:
Sumo Roll
Crunchy Roll
In n Out Roll

Tuesday:
S.O.S. Roll
Las Vegas Roll
911 Roll

Wednesday:
Rainbow Roll
Monkey Roll
X-treme Crunchy Roll

Thursday:
Sexy Girl Roll
B.S.C. (baked scallop) Roll
Fantastic Roll

...sorry. There's no Happy Hour on Fridays

click on the image below to try and read the ingredients for the rolls: