Claim Jumper

i brought my parents here for their 28th anniversary. they get married on the 28th and it's their 28 years!! i was planning to take them to Chinese restaurant, but they decided to try sometime new. we ordered the baby back rib, jambalaya pasta, and t-bone steak. their 24 oz t-bone is pretty good. but the pasta tasted bad compare with CPK. CPK get wayyyy better Jambalaya! the rib is pretty good too. but i think tony roma's is still better. it's good to come to American restaurant once in a while, but the menu looks kinda similar IMO.

New Capital 半島

i came for the king crab leg!! but it ends up to be lobster instead... i have never ate the whole king crab, the fresh one! i didn't see it on any table that night, so i guess the promotion was totally a lie. where's my 2.99/lbs crab! i ate at this place couple time only because they offer free lobster when you order over $30. otherwise i am not that into Cantonese 酒席 food.

Vie De France

i always buy some pastries here when i come shop at south coast. I grab a madeleines on the counter when i saw it. i had starbuck's madeleines before and i think it's very good, so i want to try others and found out latter it's from Donsuemor Madeleines!
http://www.donsuemor.com/
i had some for breakfast with black tea and i think it's as good as the starbucks one or even better. i always wonder where i can get good madeleines beside starbucks. i've tried the one in JJ bakery and it tastes bad. i guess i'll go for Donsuemor Madeleines next time since it's pretty cheap and good!!

Ruth's Chris Steak House

i finally get to try the restaurant! thanks to our company department dinner! I've been craving to eat their rib eye. i got a complete meal of $49.99 which comes with a salad, main entry, a side, and a dessert. I also ordered a orange citrus mojito which is really good! it's sweet and strong. i had my steak medium. i usually get Medium-Well, but since i heard their plate is hot, the meat will be over done a bit. so i think medium is good enough. but the meat is still a bit hard when i got to eat it, maybe Medium-rare would be better. the dessert comes with chocolate cake and cream with berry. the cake is pretty dense with cinnamon flavor, but I think it's a bit too sweet. i also tried their creme brulee which is a lot better than what i had. I would say their dessert menu is bit weak compare with other restaurants.
4.5 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$$$ 100 and above
i bet the check is over our budget since we had a lot food. but thanks to our boss that i don't have to pay anything for the dinner. i think Ruth's is a bit over priced for it's food. i think all steak houses are. but i think i'll try Mastro next time just for the sake of it!!

Porto's

We went to Porto's bakery shop after the brunch. i randomly heard this shop from others and did some research online. there are over 1,000 reviews on yelp which makes me want to check out this place! since it's close by where we are, so i must stop by the place and get some pastries. I was surprised by the long line when i get there. it's a lot bigger and a lot more people than i expect! but the line moved pretty fast and the service was really nice!

i got some of their popular pastry include potato balls, guava & cheese rolls, meat pies, and red velvet cupcake. Compare their red velvet cake with Sprinkle, it more of home made style and it's not too sweet as Sprinkle did. Porto's get a lot of pastry and cakes and all are pretty cheap. i wish i would have got more!! i think i'll try their mango mousse & opera cake next time when i am around the area again.

Castaway Brunch

i made another trip to castaways again! this time i am here for their brunch. I always heard their brunch is good and it actually did impressed me!! their brunch is much better than i thought and it's definitely worth the drive! I was surprised when i walked in the lobby b/c i saw the chocolate fondue with full of desserts!!! all the cakes look cute and it's unlimited fondue that you can dip it yourself. since we made reservation, we were sited in 10 min. I wish we had requested to sit at the balcony b/c the weather was really good on that day... they get huge selection on the hot food and sea food include roast beef, lamb, sushi, omelet, pasta, waffle, and king crab leg. i can't believe they also get osso bucco as one of their hot food!! it usually pretty costly when order off the menu. the king crab leg is a bit icy, but i still had a lot b/c it's still good. they also get flaming banana ice cream that's made to order!! i think everybody had this dessert and all love it!
4.5 ★★★★ for the food
$$ 30 per person include tax&tips
after eating, we went outside to take some pictures. the morning view is not much different than at night. since i think Castaway is pretty far away from the city, i think there's not much to see on the hill. but i would really recommend to have brunch here rather than dinner b/c their brunch is so much better than their dinner menu.

Chef's Kitcken 牡丹

i came here last time with friends and thought their food is pretty good. so i brought my parents here again for dinner. it's a small place located on Fairway and it's hard to notice it. Although it's kind small, the interior is nicely designed. The dish portion is a bit smaller compare with other Chinese restaurants around the area and they don't take credit card... I get to try different dishes such as 槽溜魚片 & 酸白菜牛肉, but i would recommend their 左宗雞 & 五更腸旺. i think it's the best! the total bill came around $35 which is decent. but i believe there are other places to go to that are cheaper and serve good food as well.

Potluck Dinner

i love to have potluck among friends once in a while. it make me feel like we are one big family. we went to ranch 99 to get some food for the dinner. We have lamp soup, steam buns, pork bbq, fried rice, and cold tofu. it's just a simple gathering on a Friday night, but i enjoy the dinner with friends. the highlight is the Tiramisu from Trader Joe's. i love that dessert!! the cake has a strong coffee taste and it's very good. i think i'll try Trader Joe's mango mousse cake next time b/c i heard it's good too. i also get to eat the egg tarts from 85C. it gets mochi in it which remind me the egg tart from KFC in taiwan.

Farmer Boys

sometime i crave for junk food~~~!!! I've only ate at this place for couple times. i free like Farmer Boys is more of a combination of fast food/restaurant. the interior has a bit of restaurant feel while the counter is designed as fast food with a drive through window. the food is somewhat fast food/restaurant taste and so is the price. their burger is a bit expensive compare with Mcdonald or Carl's Jr. i ordered 2 combos and a bowl of calm chowder end up to be $18 dollars!! since i don't know what's their best choice off the menu, i try to stick with the original, a cheeseburger! but after eating it, i think i still like In-N-out better. Something to mention, Farmer boys get better breakfast menu with pancakes and eggs w/ bacon which i think is better than other fast food places. I want to try The Counter or Habit Burger next time when I hit the area next time.

Souplatation

Become a vegetarian on Monday!! haha~ i just happen to come here on a Monday and it reminds me of this phrase. i usually come here when i get coupon of buy 1 get 1 free! otherwise i think the original price is too expensive! although is a buffet, i wouldn't pay $10 bucks for veggies~~ souplatation gets good salad, but i think their choice of pizza and pasta are too little and the dessert section are weak!! i still like to come here once in while when i want to act more healthy. maybe i'll come here for breakfast next time for something different.

Grey Stone Park

i randomly found this place online while surfing around. this place looks pretty nice so i decide to come here over the weekend to take a look. it was really sunny on the day we went and the place looks gorgeous!! the garden looks beautiful!! Since the mansion is not open to the public, the garden only take about 30~40 min to finish. too bad we cannot enter the mansion, we tied to peak inside, but there's nothing inside.

we went to eat korean BBQ for dinner. this place is located next to the Korean supermarket on Noglas. i like the bbq from this place, but it's not all you can eat. so the meal is kind pricy compare with other bbq around the area. i found out they also get porridge!!! maybe i'll come here next time for the porridge only!!

UCC Cafe

I heard some pros and cons about this place before coming. i heard the interior looks pretty nice, but the food sucks and pricy too! but I've always want to come here at least once! So I came here on Sunday morning and was planning to have some breakfast. but i end up ordered an omurice which I regret a lot. I should stick with the breakfast menu as i was intended b/c their breakfast looks soooo much better. the food on the menu looks a lot different than it actully came out. The rice was a little hard and it tasted just ok.

i also order a iced vienna coffe which tasted bitter, but no coffee taste. I expect their coffe suppose to be good since UCC is famous for their sumiyaki coffee, but the coffe is not as strong as i thought. the meal came out $30 for two of us which is a bit pricy. i think i wouldn't come back for their food, but maybe for the dessert and defintly another try on their breakfast menu. it's a nice place for couples or friends to hang out for an afternoon tea, but not a place for foodies.

Half & Half Tea House

Speaking of this place yesterday, i get to come to San Gabriel for dinner again. so i decided to stop by to get some tea. This place actually is pretty small. I heard they get some pretty good ice milk drink, but i haven't really try it yet b/c i always get caramel milk tea from here. Then, we went to B20 around the area for a friend B-day. We used to go to Indian a lot. But since we always need to wait for a long time to get a seat at Indian, I guess it's good the eat and try somewhere else instead. Similar to Indian, B20 is actually a beer house that serves Taiwanese style food.

something different about their food is their fried sticky tofu. they cut it in slice rather than minced. other than that, i think the food from beer house are just average. but it's a fun place to come with friends when you want some beer.

Jazz Cat

i heard of this place for a long time, but never get the chance to eat it. we went to the new location and the restaurant looks very nice and hip. it's actully a pretty cute place to hang out. their menu is basiclly hot pot with a lot of differnt soup base you can choose from. i had their spicy house special hot pot and the best thing i like about their meal is they get 魚漿!!! i haven't had 魚漿 in hot pot except in taiwan. also, the protion is pretty large. but i ordered a hokkaido milk tea which is a bad choose.. it's kinda plain~ i think even Apo Apo has better milk tea than they do. or i would go to Half&Half Tea House around the area.

Alice in Wonderland

I've been wanting to see this movie since last year!!! i love Johnny Deep and Tim Burton! so it's a must see!! it's my 1st time experience 3-D w/ IMAX! i was kinda scared that i'll get dizzy during the movie, but it turns out ok and I really enjoy the experiance watching it in 3-D. I went the 2nd day after the movie released, so it was really packed with a lot kids... the story turns out different than i expected. it's a after story for Alice in Wonderland when I expect it should translate the original plot. or i would expected some twisted Alice!! i still like how the story was interpreted, but after seeing the movie, i feel the movie is not cute at all!! maybe if i was a little child, i would think the characters in the movie are cute. but as an adult, i just can't love the Heart Queen and the Tweedledum... the only character i like is the Cat!!! and i don't remember if Mad Hatter exist in the old story, but i love Mad Hatter just b/c Johnny Deep plays it.

Yard House

M-F Happy hour until 6pm. decided to come here for the 1st time during HH. i ordered a onion tower b/c it looks really cool, but it didn't taste that great + it's kinda cold when we got it. i love their woodfire wings!! and the coconut shirmp looks good too! they get $6 drinks, 1/2 appetizers and 1/2 pizzas which i think it's a pretty good deal. i wish BJ or CPK have 1/2 off on their pizzas during Happy hours. yard house gets really noisy latter in the night. while i complained that their HH ends too early, the good things is we get to leave before the place gets too loud.

President Thai

we decided to come here since it's a new restaurant that we haven't tried yet. they get special menu from $6.99 and up. the decor looks nice and the food are good! i order a fish curry and a satay. i like both, but everything taste a bit sweet for me. i would expect Thai food to be more on the spicy side. but it something new to choose around the area other than Banana or Coconut bay.

龍龍美食

this place is famous for it's steam bun!! i passed by this place many time and finally went last week for dinner. the place has a lot elderly people who dining here and not that many young crowd. it wasn't full on the day we went, so the bun arrived pretty quick. the bun was really soft and it's pretty good. but i wish it could be a bit more deep fried in the bottom. somehow, it tastes very buttery to me which is OK, just different than what i've imaged. Other dishes they have look really good too, but we don't have space for others after the bun.

Shark Club

it's Happy Hour again!! they get special event going on this Friday with free admission. $5 drinks, 1/2 appetizer, 7-9pm. we arrived pretty early when there's not much of crowd. the place looks nice with a dance area, but i noticed the people hang out here are mostly middle-aged... never the less, i was so excited to come here to see the shark since the club was named after it. but they only get a small tank in the middle and i didn't even see many fishes in there. i heard the shark died long time ago, so i guess the only attraction here was gone. there are more young people coming in when the night gets latter and a lot of them are Vietnamese. I was planning to dance, but i don't really like the music, so I end up playing pools instead all night long.

Chocolate covered Strawberry

i did some home-made dessert again... i always do something really simple and easy that won't take too much time to make. i always want to buy chocolate coved strawberry everytime i passed Godiva. but actully never did b/c it's too expensive. so i tried to make it at home which is a success. i think i should dip some pineapple and kiwi next time.

上林鐵板燒

it's the only place i know that serves Taiwanese teppayaki. i love the stir-fry beef!!! the chef sometime will show off the skills while cooking. but i really don't enjoy watching it and just hope to have some good dinner~ i miss how i usually eat it at Taiwan's night market and it was so cheap. in taiwan, they also provide free soup and ice black tea! but everything here cost money...

Banihana

Banihana has new happy hours! $5 drinks, 1/2 appetizer, M-Th. until 8pm. i feel like i go to Happy Hour every week!! eating seem like the only fun after work . I've only came here once with my co-worker for the teppan-yaki, but I've never tried their sushi. they get pretty decent Happy Hour menu with plenty to choose from. But i think RA sushi get way better sushi than Banihana. the las vegas roll here just looks funny and doesn't taste good either. if i am paying for the same price, i would choose RA sushi wayyyy over Banihana.

Stonehill Tavern

we came here during the OC restaurant week. the place is pretty far away, i won't thought of coming here if it's not for the restaurant week. the restaurant is located inside the hotel resort which is very nice and pretty. the service and the environment are great!! it's definitely a place for a romantic date. but the food itself is just average, typical American food.5 ★★★★★ for the service and ambiance
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
i ordered a prime beef rib. the meat is tender and juicy. but nothing special on the sauce. I also tried their Trout. it's cooked rather middle and the outside is crispy. i think they get some good ingredient and serve high quality food. both entries taste fresh.
3 course dinner $40 comes with Tuna tarter, main course, and a dessert- root beer float. i like the root beer slash. but i end up not satisfied b/c it's too little to fullfill my sweet tooth!!!

Patisserie Chantilly

it's a small cake store located in Lomita. i come here for their Macaroons, but I heard their sesame cream puff is also a must have. Last time, I had their limited time offer- chestnut cream puff and I love chestnut better than the sesame cream. too bad they don't have it anymore the 2nd time i went. i also tried their Lemon macaroons which taste better than the Lavender i had last time. the Lavender is a bit over sweet for me. although Macaroons doesn't taste fantastic, i still craving for all different kind of sweets.

Q Noodle House 陽春麵之家

i like to come there for some Taiwanese noodle. they get large varieties of side dish to choose from. the price is average as well. i ordered rice noodle with minced pork, cold tofu, and pig intestine. the food all taste good, but nothing really stood out. i heard their pork chop is pretty good, maybe I'll try that next time. overall, the menu is pretty Taiwanese which is the reason that makes me coming back.