Duck House

chinese new year dinner with friends
i've ate at duck house couple time. i think it's getting worse every time i visit. the 1st time experience was great so was the food. to be honest, i never liked their Beijing duck. i only come here b/c i don't know where else that's famous for beijin duck beside here.

Fogo de chao

4.5 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4.5 ★★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
i've been wanting to try Fogo de chao and waited to come here during the DineLA week. $44 per person include salad bar, side dishes, bbq & a dessert, what a deal! i think it's so fun to eat Brazilian bbq b/c they serve it at your table and you got to decide when you want it. their cheese bread was so good(shown in the picture). i got to try all of their meat, except chicken. i like Filet Mignon the best!! rib eye and the lamb chop go for the 2nd. they also had garlic beef that night which was not on their menu was also pretty good. i would go back for their Filet Mignon!!
we had cheese cake and key lime pie for dessert. i wish they have dessert buffet as well... or include some fruits in their salad bar.

Asian American Expo

we went to the expo over the weekend and every thing looks the same as 2 years ago. same booth exhibits and shows. i wasn't very interested in watching the performance, so we went for the food exhibit~ a lot free samples and drinks. but it's very crowded went you trying to pass by all the hungry people... also, long line if you wanna get free prizes with the spinning wheel... i probably won't choose Asian American expo since it's $9 per ticket + $9 parking. during the Chinese new year, there are a lot cities having street festivals and most of them are free w/ free parking. LA18 also has an event coming up in Jan 30 for the Lunar New Year Festival at Torrance. i've been to their festival couple years ago and it's fairly big w/ the pretty much the same booth and performance.

Neptune's Lounge

3.5 ★★★ for the ambiance and the service
3.5 ★★★ for the food
$$$ 34.99 per person buffet style
we end up paying $50 after tax & tips. when we stepped in, the place was empty~~~~ some more people came latter, but it's still not even half full. and their service was super slow since there were only 1 sushi chef + 1 waitress. =x=
everybody came here for the lobster sashimi~ but lobster is not all you can eat. they only give 1 lobster per 3 people. so we had 4 lobster that night. but after just had lobster at little tokyo, i felt Neptune's lobster was just okay. it's not as chewy as the one in little tokyo.
i was here for the stone grill. it took a while for it to show up. the beef was good, but i only had one bite. i was gonna to order more, but their service was really slow. inside my OS, i think it'll never come once i ordered it... also, crab leg, unlimited crab leg. i love crab leg, but the one they served was kinda salty and not very fresh. but at least it's hot!! i don't like how other buffet had it ice cold...
some highlights, i love their uni rice served inside live sea urhin. it's still moving while we were eating it. i also love their porridge and mussel soup. their salmon and tuna was not bad either. overall, i think i won't recommend it. for $50 bucks, i would rather go to castaway's buffet brunch with more varieties.

Little Tokyo

3.5 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4.5 ★★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
started w/ live lobster sashimi. it's very chewy~~
it's my 2nd time here, the 1st time experience was just soso. i think b/c we were sited at the table, so the quality wasn't that great. this time we were at the sushi bar and had an omakase meal. all i can say is it a very deluxe meal~~ and no doubt the meal was great.
the lobster head went to the soup. i think the soup was great. miso based soup w/ lobster, veggie and undon. after the soup, i am nearly full!!!
sea urchin w/ squid sushi. the chef laid sea urchin on top of squid and i love it. i think it's better than uni sushi. even i am not a uni fan.
we also had the salmon sushi and scallop sushi, i think it's the best!! it's seasoned with light soy sauce and green onion on top. a bit fusion
seashell~~ i am not a seashell person... it's looks like snail... kinda yak...XP but it still went into my stomach.
we ended with spicy lobster hand roll and it tasted great.

Nook Bistro

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$ 30~50
we tried out this place on a Wednesday since we have 30% off coupon code. it's located in a weired small plaza. I don't even see a sign for it... and it's hard to find it since it's in the corner. and surprisingly there was a lot people! don't know if everybody came for the 30% or not. i had the pork chop which was huge. i also had the chocolate banana bread pudding. can't help it when it comes to chocolate. and so glad we did, the dessert was really good.

The Little Next Door

4.5 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$ 30 and below
1st meal on a new year! i heard of this place a while back and have been wanting to try it. i love their decor and love the blue paint on the wall. i ordered the french toast, just ok imo. i like my toast very soft, but little door had it thick sliced and it's a bit dry. the toast itself is just a 3 ★ the smoked tuna egg Bendite looks much better. We also had their fresh baked bakery. their chocolate croissant is the best!