Chubby Cheek Cafe

3.5 ★★★ for the ambiance and the service
3.5 ★★★ for the food
$30 and below
since our baby is still small, there aren't many restaurant that are BABY friendly.  this place just opened recently and i am urged to try it!  since it's newly opened, the place is clean and spacious, but mostly are booth and only suitable for 4 people which is understandable b/c it's good for single family. But we came with friends and they don't have many seating for large group.  we asked the waiters if they can arrange 2 booths into a large table and they give us a face.  The waiter definitely need more training.  but the owner was nice enough to help us out. the owner is very thoughtful and know how to treat his customers! Thumbs up!  i do not expect their food to be good since we are not here to eat. so i ordered the waffle and it was edible. better than i expected.  i would probably come here again when our baby is old enough to play at the playground. but they do charge $10 per kid.

Cat in the Custard Cup

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
3.0 ★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
Company dinner again! it's the 1st dinner this year so far. i guess i can count it as x'mas dinner as well. co-worker picked this place and i want to try their deer meat. but since we got a large group, we have to pick a pre-fixe menu. so i had the rib eye which is ok. i also tried their filet mignon, but i think their food are just soso. i wouldn't recommend it and won't come back again unless somebody else is paying for it.

Eva Restaurant

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$ 39 per person
we came here before the lakers game. we got the coupon online for almost half price off and decided to try out their Sunday dinner b/c of the good rating. sunday is a prefix 4 courses meal and you can always order more from the menu if you want. so it's a buffet style dinner. i believe they change their menu weekly b/c we got different entries from what they listed online. we started with salad and had whitefish and lamb "pot au feu". i like both, but we ordered the fish the 2nd time and end the meal with strawberry cobbler. the waiter was really nice and the food was great. but it was kinda slow and a little messed up. even we start eating at 4pm, we kinda rush it at 6pm.

Le Pain Quotidien

3.5 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
3.5 ★★★★ for the food
$ 30 and below
we went to farmer's market around beverly hills. but it's kind small and not much food vendors, so we picked a restaurant and had lunch there. we were thinking about Larchmont Bungalow, but there were too many people. so we tried Le Pain Quotidien instead b/c it's next door and the atmosphere is nice. i had the grilled chicken w/ wild rice. it looks appetizing, but the rice is ice cold. i was expecting a warm entry, but it was a salad instead...

Orange Hill

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$ 40 per person
it's the time of the year again! OC restaurant week! they have it twice a year. this time we decided to visit Orange hill again b/c i love the night view up there! i had sea bass and babe had filet Mignon, but prime rib came out instead. when we asked the waiter, he said that's what they have on the restaurant menu. for god sake, i saw the menu w/ my own eye, it clearly said FILET MIGNON! and i saw other people eating it as well! so does the online menu! but babe like prime rib anyway, so we didn't ask the waiter to change it. that's the only weird part.

Chin ma Ya

3.5 ★★★ for the ambiance and the service
3.5 ★★★ for the food
$ 30 and below
we were going to daikuya ramen, but there were over 10 people waiting in line before us. so we end up going to chin ma ya which is fine with me because i also want to try it out. i like their tofu over the noodle. but i would suggest another place located on the 3rd floor inside the plaza. they have much better ramen imo.

C&O Trattoria

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$ 30~50
i love the out door seating! it's a good place for people watching and good food. i ordered the flat noodle with boneless beef short rib. thumps up!

Kaori

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
we sat at the bar and had omakase style. the chef is young and what surprised me was the uni soup. it looks stylish, like a dish i would see in a French restaurant. but other than that, the omakae didn't impress me. i like the meal in little Tokyo a lot more.
oh no! where's my head.... lol

King's Fish

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
2nd company dinner this year! luv it every time when it comes to company dinner. we went to king's fish for seafood. i ordered the filet mignon w/ lobster tail. it was good, but i think TAPS has better entry. i love the NY steak from TAPS and TAPS also got better desserts. i also tried their nuts crushed halibut which i would recommend.

Chado tea room

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
3.5 ★★★★ for the food
$ $18 a person
i got deal online which cost us only $15 for the tea + $10 worth of tea to take home. we got 3 layered tea set and we got to pick any tea on the menu. i picked the darjeeling worder tea which is $9 oz. but the tea wasn't very strong b/c they didn't put tea leaf in the pot. when i ask for hot water on the 2nd run, it's just water~~ argh... i liked their sandwich better, but their scone was soso. we got to pick 3 kinds of tea to take home. i chose the earl grey and their house afternoon tea blend. we sat outside since the weather was lovely. we were there for almost 2 hours and went shopping around the Japanese village next to it.

Kanpai & 神樂

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$ 30 and below
Tonkatsu from 神樂. i ordered the tomato sauce one. i think the original is better. they gave u sesame to make your own sauce at beginning. we also had ramam for lunch at Kanpai. it's pretty good, their combo comes with small raman, salad and a side rice.

il chianti

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$ 30 and below
i went for their lunch set menu. there's only 3 options for the set menu and all comes with appetizer, soup, dessert and drink. i like how they made their appetizer into small bits and looks lovely. the lunch menu is a great value, but their regular menu seems to be much better tasting IMO. nevertheless, i love the ambiance after all.

七夕情人晚餐

4.5 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
3.5 ★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
Dinner at Gonpachi. love the ambiance! the place is actually a lot small than it looks on the website. i imaged it as a big castle w/ a big garden. they also got 2nd floor seating area which is cool! i got the kabuki 5 course set for $45. it comes with starter, sashimi, skewers from the grill, cold soba, and dessert. babe got the gopachi course which is pretty much the same but with extra main course included. food presentation was nice and it all tasted good. i am kinda surprised this place is famous for their soba b/c it's not the best i've had and i can't really tell what's so special about it. but I love their dessert! i just wish they could change thing up in their courses. it's kinda boring to get same thing on different course.

Il Buco

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$ 30~50
obviously i came here for the ink squid risotto. love it! it tastes great with a splash of lemon! the lemon is the secret weapon and makes it so much better. the service was really nice and made us felt welcome. i think it's worth a drive for the risotto. i don't know any where else can i find it.

4 season tea room

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
3 ★★★ for the food
$22 per person
貴婦day~~ sat. afternoon tea is totally for girl's talk w/ gossip~ i got the coupon online which only cost me $16 for the tea. the house was lovely. the room decor and tea set is very pretty. we had the sandwich w/ scone. i think overall the sandwich is ok. girls don't really come here for the food, but for the ambiance. we chatted for almost 3hrs at the tea room. lol~ good thing the owner didn't throw us out. the place wasn't really packed, mostly were mid-age women.

The Clubhouse

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$25.99 per person
i miss brunch buffet, so we researched online and found the clubhouse. it's almost like castaway! they got variety of food including oyster, prime ribs, crab legs, and chocolate fondue!! compare w/ other buffets in LA, i think it's pretty cheap! they also got live jazz band! lovely!

Savannah Chop

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$ 30~50
perfect 10 menu! love it! good food for good price. they also have truffle fries, but i like the one in vegas a lot better. i ordered the pork entry and it's quite unique. the place seems to be for elderly. I guess we were there too early for the dinner. i saw a lot grandma and grandpa sitting next to us.

McKinley's Grille

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
i forget to write about it until now. we went to McKinley's Grille for mother's day dinner. we got $75 gift certificate from restaurant.com when spending over $150. it's located inside Sheraton hotel. the place looks nice, but it's very empty since it's a hotel restaurant. their main entry is decent. the steak is flavorful. but we all got the same side which is kinda boring. i also like their cream burlee. they severed in 3 flavors including the regular, raspberry, and chocolate. but i would not recommend their ahi-tuna. it's dry, hard and tasted bad. their appetizers are just so so as well. their service was nice and i enjoyed the meal, but i probably won't come back again w/ the price i am paying. For a hundred buck, i rather try out other steak house instead.

TAPS

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$$$ 50~100
i love company dinner!! i had kobe new york steak. one of the special menu and i forget how much it is. our waiter even mentioned that non of the food is from japan b/c of the radiation. Kobe is a lot fatter and juicier than the regular new york.
i also tried their filet mignon. but compared it with kobe, their filet was a bit dry and tasteless. i started my meal with TAPS salad w/ shrimp. i do not recommend it. their soup doesn't looks so great either. i would go for oyster and their bread. they have garlic oil for their bread deep which is very good.
chocolate souffle.
i also tried their baked red velvet cake. it's too sweet. so i end up order another creme brulee for us to share.

La Petite Crêperie

4 ★★★★ for the ambiance and the service
4 ★★★★ for the food
$ 30 and below
crepe lover~~ this place made crepe out of wheat. the location looks kinda ghetto, but the decor inside is nice. i ordered the asparagus w/ Proscuitto. the crepe looks appetizing, but wheat crepe taste so dry... just wish they could add some sauce on it. and i love their press coffee!!