The Boiling Seafood

The Boiling Seafood
19705 Colima Rd Ste 415
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(909) 594-1889
Type: Cajun Seafood Boil
Map

There's this new craze around So. Cal for Cajun-style seafood. You just order the type of seafood you want (shrimp, crab, lobster, or crawfish) and choose the type of seasoning. When it's done they bring you the finished product(s) in plastic bags. To eat it, you just get the stuff out of the bag, peel it, and toss it somewhere on the table (covered with butcher paper). That's it. But it gets messy.



I was a little late to this new trend-- if you wanna call it that. My friends used to rave about these kinds of places, especially a place known as Boiling Crab (review coming soon). I was put off from a similar experience when I went to San Pedro with some friends and had a similar style meal. It was just wack to me. Plain. Seasonings sucked. Never again. But it wasn't Cajun-style.

Some new place opened near the hood and my friends said it's supposed to be similar to Boiling Crab. They really really wanted to try this place out, so I dropped my past notions and joined in the hype and anticipation of trying this place.

The day of reckoning finally came. A big group of us rolled through. Luckily for us, the place was empty. Or maybe it's not so lucky for us. Not a good sign?

Since I didn't know crap about these places, my friends had to be our tour guides. First up, they ordered us 1 pound of king crab legs ($14.99). They said to get the "whole shebang" seasoning which is all their seasonings combined (rajun cajun, lemon pepper, butter). You get to choose how spicy you want it. We got medium. Next up 1 pound of shrimp ($8.99). Same deal. Whole shebang medium. We decided to get some items from the lower part of the menu. We got crispy oysters ($9.99), some corn on the cobs ($0.50 each), and some fries ($1.99).

you read their menus sideways


So first comes the side stuff. Crispy oysters and fries. You get about 10 oysters per order. They're deep fried obviously. I liked them. Nothing super outstanding, but they're cool. In my notes, I put the fries are decent and they give you a lot for 2 bucks. But having been to a few of these places now, I'm not getting fries anymore. Not that they suck. I prefer to eat the seafood with rice. What's good about this spot is you can order steamed rice, or you can probably bring your own. Yup. Do that instead.

crispy oysters and fries as a filler


(Before you get into all this mess, they give you a bib to protect part of that new, white shirt you stupidly wore)

The shrimp came next. I didn't do a great job with the picture cuz I took at an angle that makes it look plain and dry. Not the case. It's really soaked in a red sauce known as the whole-shebang. I think they had to change that name though cuz that's Boiling Crab's sauce name. I liked it. You just soak the shrimp in the sauce, remove the head, suck the head of all the juices, suck the body of whatever juices it has, peel the body, dip the peeled shrimp into the sauce again, and enjoy. No, this is not an instruction manual for a porno. But it might give you an orgasm or two. After my many experiences at these places now, I order more shrimp than anything else. For the money, it's just the best deal. I'll still order crab or whatever, but this is the staple of the meal for me.

Hi guys. Sorry you taste so good.


Alright. You gotta get some kind of crab. We always get the king crab legs cuz 1) I heard there's more to eat, and 2) it's cheaper than the dungeness. What can I say. It's crab. It's good. There's a lot more work to it than the shrimp, but the efforts are equally rewarded. Sometimes though, karma bites you in the ass when you're cracking them open and you get stabbed by the thorns on the legs. It's like I can hear the crab watching over us saying, "Take that!" But once you come out the battle field with your hostage (a fat slab of meat), I use a fat technique of pulling the pieces apart a little and soaking them back in the sauce. By pulling the meat apart, it exposes more surface area to absorb the sauce. It's a mathematical fact.

These things bite back.


somebody ordered some fried shrimp, but who cares, right?


I forgot to mention they also give you some lime, salt, and pepper that you mix together for a more citrusy flavor. It's good to have to change up the pace of whole-shebang.

bag o' goodies.


the rest of the carnage


Victorious!


So what's my take? For many who've tried this place and had the chance to compare it to Boiling Crab, they didn't like it. Some just straight up despise it. As of this writing, I've been to Boiling Crab about 3 times, and this place about 3 or 4 times. I've tried both, and yes, Boiling Crab is superior to this place in every way except that you can order rice just in case you forget to bring some, and it's closer to home. In all honesty, I don't mind going here again. And I probably will go here soon. I've brought people here who haven't tried B.C. and they liked it. Why spoil it? If they like it, they like it. I like it.

p.s. I heard they changed the name of this place to Michael's Cajun something or something. But for now, just look it up on Google as The Boiling Seafood. Also, don't wear anything nice. And maybe you might not want to go anywhere fancy after cuz you'll be smelling like seafood and garlic for a little bit.

Niko Niko - Rowland Heights

Niko Niko
19705 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(909) 598-7299
Type: Japanese food / sushi
Map



I remember the first time I had Niko Niko. That was in the beginning of my sushi career. I fell in love right away cuz their prices were decent for all the special rolls they had. I think the most expensive one is about $12. The one I tried was in La Habra. I remember one time I drove all the way from West Covina to La Habra just to get some rolls at Niko Niko!

Now, I've grown up, and I can say that I've been to a few sushi spots since then. But to this day, I still don't mind hitting up this place once in a while. Luckily, they have one closer to my stomping grounds in Rowland Heights. It's in the same plaza as Happy Wok, Boiling Seafood, and Albertson's. This time, we went here for my girl's bday. My mom treated us.

I used to love their dynamite appetizer ($7) here. I don't know what happened, but the taste for this has fallen off for me the last few times I ordered it. I probably won't get it again. It was just lacking in taste and I didn't want to finish it. When I say that, it must be ultimate wackness.

dynamite appetizer-- my ex-friend


My mom and bro got the combo meals cuz they don't eat rolls or sushi. My mom got the salmon and beef combo, and my brother got the calamari steak and salmon teriyaki combo ($10 something each?). My mom said her food was okay and my brother said the calamari didn't have much flavor. I wasn't too interested in what they ordered anyway.





I think my girl and I were extra hungry cuz-- or it might have been cuz my mom was paying, but we ordered a good amount of food. We got the Sapporo roll ($10.99). It was yellowtail on top of spicy yellowtail with crab inside. That one was good.



The baked spicy lobster roll ($10 something?) is usually a hit with me. This time around was no exception. I put "very good" in my notes so it must have been..... very good!

can't go wrong with Niko Niko's baked spicy lobster roll


Nowadays, salmon sashimi or sushi is like rice for me when I go to a sushi place. I always have to order it. The 7 piece salmon sashimi got a nod from me. It was fresh-- even though it was late night. I don't know if that really matters.



To round out our sushi selection, we got the 2 piece yellowtail sushi ($4 something) and 2 piece albacore sushi ($4 something). Both were good. The yellowtail was fresh, and best of all, they were fat pieces. The albacore had some ponzu sauce in it which luckily wasn't too tangy.



I've mentioned before that I've been here already. I think I've been to Niko Niko restaurants about 5 or 6 times. A couple times in Rowland Heights, a couple in La Habra and a few in Long Beach. They're all about the same. They're usually consistent with their stuff so I'm not worried about going to any other of their locations. It won't be my first choice, but I won't whine if we have to go there.

Casa Alvarez - Rowland Heights

Casa Alvarez
19744 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(909) 594-6463
Type: Mexican food / dining
Map



Back on the blogging horse once again! Giddyup.

I hit up Casa Alvarez with some friends after church one day. (Yeah, I go to church..... to make my mom happy) This place is located across the street from Happy Wok, Niko Niko, etc. and is right next to Stater Bros. on Colima-- just look at the map dammit. I've been here a few times before, so unless they pulled some nasty ish on us, I'll be going back again. If all you need to know is if the place is good, it's good. The End for you. If you're a nosey person and you wanna see what we ate, follow me....

So my friend Frans, she got the Beef Chimichanga ($7.95). As you can see in the picture below, they hook it up with the guacamole and sour cream. It's like they use ice cream scoopers for it. Nice. Frans described the burrito's brother as "fried to perfection." I take that it was good. On a side note, I forgot to mention they give you free chips and salsa at the beginning of the meal.

"fried to perfection" beef chimichanga.


It's about 6 or 7pm, and everybody's ordering their burritos and tacos. I order my breakfast classic-- huevos rancheros ($7.45). It's really hard to go wrong with this dish any time of day. I mean fried eggs with some beans, cheese, and rice is simple but hard to beat. And all you beans haters can eat a... bean. Just look how big the portion is. I had a little trouble finishing it. I would definitely get this again but there's just so many other dishes, that it'll have to wait its turn.

huevos rancheros. there's a plate under there somewhere.


You ever eat with somebody that always orders some wack stuff? They take forever to figure out what they want, and when they finally decide and their food arrives, they end up regretting what they ordered. I won't mention his name, but my homie Marcus is that guy. This particular day was no different. He got the shrimp burrito ($8.55) after much "umm"ing and "uhhh"ing over the menu. When it came, he was just like, "damn, I shoulda just ordered the chimichanga." I guess I used to feel sorry for him, but now it's just funny. He said the burrito was okay but the shrimp was overcooked, and he wouldn't get again.

shrimp burrito. okay. overcooked.


My friend Camille I guess wasn't that hungry cuz all she got was a beef taco and fish taco. She said both were good but she liked the beef taco better cuz the fish used corn tortilla. I myself like corn tortillas. But oh well.

fish taco


there's probably some beef in this taco somewhere


If you're in the area, and want a Mexican restaurant with a good sized menu, good food, decent prices for the most part, keep Casa Alvarez in mind. That's it.

Hi ho Silver... away!!!

Happy Family - Rowland Heights

Happy Family Vegetarian Cuisine
18425 E. Colima Rd., 2nd Floor
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
Tel: (626) 965-9923
Fax: (626) 965-9953
Type: Asian / Vegetarian / restaurant / food
Website
Map

located on the 2nd floor of the building




If you're vegetarian, and you live in the San Gabriel Valley, I hope you already know about Happy Family in Rowland Heights. If not, you'll thank me after you actually go and sit down and eat there. My friends told me about this place years ago, and now I'm passing it on to you guys.

Happy Family is located on the 2nd floor of some shopping plaza on Colima and Batson Ave. Sorry, I don't know the name of the plaza, but there's a Little Bean store in the same vicinity. It's a vegetarian restaurant with mostly Chinese dishes. They have plenty of imitation meat and seafood. They have lunch specials for nice prices for a vegetarian place.

When I went there, we ordered the Vege Deep Fry House Chicken ($5.25) lunch special. I always love ordering that cuz they give a good amount of the "chicken." I usually have leftovers-- and not cuz it's nasty.

vege deep fry house chicken lunch special


I think when you order the lunch specials, or maybe even if you order anything when you sit in the restuarant, they give you free soup. Can't complain about that.

free soup


We also ordered the hand roll ($1.75 each) just to try it. It's good and cheap enough for me to get the next time I come here.

Hand Roll


The Mongolian Beef was a little pricey at $8.95. The good thing was like every order here is that they gave a lot. Enough for two meals or more. I can't find the picture of that, but it looks like any other veggie meat. That was good as well. We had leftovers and my brother killed it when I got home. He said it was good.

Finally, another dish I like ordering here is the deep fried oyster mushroom ($8 something). I think they put MSG, but I don't give a dayum! Some parts are a little crispy, but I can't explain it. It's good though.

deep fried oyster mushroom


I recommend this place even if you're not vegetarian. I think a lot of people go here who aren't vegetarian cuz it's obviously bomb. There's a bunch of stuff to pick from the menu. I can't guarantee you're gonna order something great, but I know my batting average has been pretty good here.

Red Lobster - Rowland Heights

Red Lobster
17601 Castleton St.
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(626) 965-5112
Type: Seafood restaurant
Website
Map

When I was really young, I thought going to Red Lobster was for really rich people or for very special occasions. 20 or so years later, I find myself eating here-- paying for my own bill. Am I super rich now? Yeah right? Was it a special occasion? Every meal with my girl is a special occasion! heheh.

The real reason we came here was because the season for white elephants and gift cards just passed. I received a $25 gift card to this place so of course I had to put it to use the next day. We got there in the afternoon around maybe 4. The place wasn't packed at all, but there were spots of customers here and there.

Main thing I love about Red Lobster-- the biscuits. They're pretty plain, but they're just so good when they're hot. Plus, it's free, and you can keep ordering more and more.

FREE biscuits!

We ordered mostly appetizers: We got the "create your own appetizer" which consisted of calamari and stuffed mushrooms. The calamari was cool. It came with breaded broccoli. The mushrooms were cool, but they looked a hundred times better on the menu. I hate when that happens. That little combo cost $9.50. We also ordered the lobster and seafood artichoke dip ($8.99). I liked it, but I've had better. The jumbo shrimp cocktail( $7.99) was good. It's ridiculous how you only get so many shrimps and it cost so much. I know that's how it is at most places. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

calamari & stuffed mushrooms


lobster and seafood artichoke dip


jumbo shrimp cocktail... good but not enough

I needed some kind of soup to wash all the appetizers down. The lobster bisque ($5.50 for a small bowl) was okay. Very small for the price.

lobster bisque soup


The only regular meal we got was the crunchy fried fish sandwich ($7.50). It sounded good while ordering, but after the appetizers and bisquits, it was pretty wack. I think it tasted better as a leftover a few hours later.

crunchy fried fish sandwich... better as leftovers


All those appetizers and biscuits, you better believe we were full. I should've eaten more biscuits so I would have more leftovers for a complete second meal, but the calamari was pretty good. Would I go here again? Umm...... I probably would if I had to for somebody's birthday or something. I wouldn't choose to go here for the hell of it though. Give me another gift card though, and I'll be there. I'll even offer to drive.

Maxim Cafe, Rowland Heights

Maxim Cafe
18904 Gale Ave
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(626) 913-7777
Type: Chinese food
Map



Maxim Cafe's been around for a bit. It's located across the street from the 99 Ranch Market near the 60 freeway and Nogales. It's in the same plaza as Burger King.

I went here because I was fiending for some porridge. I remember that Maxim had some and it was late at night, so that was one of the places I know was open. I ordered their fish porridge was great in three ways: 1) it tastes good with soy sauce, 2) they give you a big portion, and 3) it's cheap! What more can you ask for?! The fish porridge was about $5 I think. Most of their meals are cheap.

look how much porridge you get for 5 bucks!


My girlfriend used to go here too, so she said to order the calamari. I was down with it, and I'm glad she told me to get it. The calamari tastes like their's MSG in it, but I don't care at all. That's what makes it taste great! They also gave a good amount for this dish.

MSG(?) calamari


The other dish my girl got was this Hong Kong noodle or something. It has like a curry taste to it. Wasn't feelin it. Although they gave a lot, it was just too dry for me. I for surely wouldn't get that dish again.

chow fun Singapore style noodles


I will definitely come back to Maxim. They're open pretty late-- between 1am - 2am. They got good food, good portions, and good prices! That adds up to a great place to eat in my blog.

Banana Bay, Rowland Heights

Banana Bay
18230 Colima Road
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
Phone: (626) 839-5511
Type: Thai food

Hours: Sun-Thurs 11am-1am

Fri-Sat 11am-2am

Happy Hour: 10pm - close
many drink specials

Map





What can I say about this place? Oh, it's just the place I go to at least once a week! Banana Bay has been around for a few years. It used to be an Asian buffet called Paradise Buffet (for those who haven't been here in the area for a bit). It's located on the corner of Fullerton and Colima in the Yes Plaza.

This review is way overdue because I've been going here for years. Banana Bay is under new ownership, and it's even better than before. I know the new owners of this place, so you may think this is a biased review, but I've liked this place before they owned it. Before, the service could get really, really bad. I once had to wait for my food for about an hour! If you look at some of the old reviews about this place, they'll all say the service was slow. The new owners knew that was probably the biggest complaint about the place, and they've done a lot to fix the problem. Main thing was getting more staff out on the floor. At their busiest times now, I never had to wait for my food for more than 10 minutes. And it gets really busy here. If you're really hungry you should go during the lunch or late night hours so you'll get your food right away.

While you're waiting for your food, on most nights there's a live band playing good music. Even when there's no band, the music they play has vastly improved. I remember going there a few years ago, and I'd always hear that Nora Jones song playing every single time. It's a nice song, but c'mon. Play something else. Now, there's a wide selection of good, classy R&B jams. There's also TVs where sports are usually playing.

The main reason why people come here is the food and its prices. I'll put a menu up when I get a chance so you can see for yourself why people keep coming back. The prices average about 6-7 dollars for a meal. Not only are the prices cheap, but the food is bomb. The pad see ew is bomb for sure. I always order the crab fried rice. Almost everything I ordered is good here. As of this writing, I'm usually ordering the King Noodle. Bomb! Trust.

Crab Fried Rice (eat it with the fish sauce)


Crispy Trout Fillet (gotta try it at least once)


Shrimp cake


Catfish w/ Chili Sauce


Another reason why I love this place is that they're open past midnight 7 days a week. I wish they were open til like 4am, but that's being greedy on my part.

That's all I got for now. If this review doesn't make you wanna try it, maybe knowing they were nominated as one of AOL Citysearch's best might do the trick.

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)