Steve L.'s Profile

After a short break I am back to yelping :).

I came here with two of my good San Francisco friends to drink, eat and catch up. After all, it was a yelp proclaimed izakaya stop in SF.

It's strange to me why there arn't more izakaya spots in SF, but hey, whatever. This was the first that I tried and I plan to check out the rest in SF. The food was good, simple and elegant. So was the restaurant. Clean, modern, minimalistic. Actually when I first walked in it looked like any other Japanese restaurant and when I saw patrons eating plates of sushi I felt that yelp was wrong about what kind of establishment this was.

Getting over the familiar restaurant feel that I ...didn't anticipate, I have to say that really do think this is a great place to come with a few friends to drink and eat. But, If you are not drinking - you might as well go somewhere else because it's basically a good place for Japanese bar food.

I do wish the menu was more extensive but there was enough verity to satisfy.

I recommend the shrimp tempera, it is a pretty good helping of shrimp and vegetable tempera. We also had the crunchy wedding roll, which was a table favorite - but interesting with a chili paste in the roll. The Grilled chicken wings (Teba shio) were also good.

The wait staff was interesting - actually she was a little awkward but it got better when the owner took over our table. Awkwardness or not, that doesn't really matter for this kind of restaurant, I don't expect to be treated like a king here. Food came out fast.. so did the drinks... That's all that matters :)

The price is not bad ($28 each after tax and tip) for what you get - we were all stuffed and we all had a large sake each.

What can I say, I am easy to please-- dinner was very enjoyable 4 stars.

I went to the Cravery for lunch in between meetings at work. Everything you want out of a pot pie is here. They have a great selection and the goods come fast.

You order at a counter, fast food style. Then they bring it to you at your seat. Its a great place to grab a quick lunch.

I will have to say that its a bit expensive at $6.75. I mean, I won't lie its good pot pie but over $7 after tax is a bit greedy.. lol.

POT PIE!

I went here with my friend because we have been looking for Korean BBQ that has coal grills in the Seattle area. Of course we found one on Aurora Ave N., where everything that is Korean is.

This place is clean, its really nice. I was on no date but I could see this being a place where you would take someone out for some Korean BBQ.

The wait staff speaks little English. No problem, just point to it on the menu.

The price? well, the price is about right. You get a lot of meat. Two big eaters can eat for about $30.

Oh, the Tofu Soup is from mix... but its Shoreline Seattle, just go down the street for good Soon doo-boo.

My sister used to live in Palo Alto and ever since I was 10, whenever we would visit this town, my family would go here for some good Hong Kong food. Now, I live in Palo Alto and the 5 minute trip to Mountain View for a scrumptious meal is too good to be true.  I have no idea why it is attached to an Inn but that means parking is plentiful.

This place is really good for takeout but if you are planning to dine-inn*, don't expect anything fancy. Its pretty much a place to go just for the food. There is not much of an atmosphere... but hey, we aren't going to go here for the atmosphere.

All the dishes I've tried here have been satisfying. Plus, you get free soup! Its really convenient to call in your order and pick it up on the way home!

The cost for a dish is no more then a super-sized number one at Mcdee's and we all know Mcdee's is so bad for you.

Try it out, its good.

Recently, I went back to the town that I grew up in to visit my parents and see some old friends. I got to say, the Asian population here is almost non compared to Seattle or San Francisco.

This place does need to be highlighted though. It is probably the only authentic Chinese place in the whole Tri-Cities. I mean they are opening a PF Chang's and there are about a dozen Chinese buffets( that serve the exact same thing). Who wants to go to those places if you are seeking real Chinese food anyways? So seriously, If you are looking for Chinese food and for some reason you are in the Tri-Cities, come here. It is at most 15 minutes from anywhere in the city.

And of course, because its in the Tri-Cities, the price is cheep and the portions are BIG.

I would recommend the walnuts prawns and the beef chow. Can't go wrong with those.

This place is superb it's no ordinary dim sum this is straight out of Hong Kong quality yam tza.

I came up to the City this weekend from Palo Alto to visit my sister for the weekend. I have been to Yank Sing a lot since it is a family favorite. Not until recently did I have a chance to peek at the bill. wow, dim sum for 3 for $80.00!!

Here is why its worth it:

First of all, its in SOMA. I mean the Fairy Building serves fish and chips for $17.50.  So you got to expect the price to be high. You are in a nice neighborhood, it doesn't smell like china town with that odd mixture of rotting garbage and good food. It smells fresh, its in a  part of San Francisco where the some comes out a lot. Prices are going to be higher for that reason. I mean, there are million dollar apartments around you.

And you have to talk about the quality of dim sum. Yes, I admit I have had better dim sum before, in Hong Kong. Each piece of dim sum is smaller then the dim sum peaces at places around the bay area. And you might be confused and start thinking that they are trying to rip you off  by using less filling in the dim sum. I can see that happening in this super sized culture we have created in the US. They aren't trying to cut the portions, its how dim sum should be. Tightly packed with pork or shrimp not filled with fillers like corn starch. The quality of dim sum is really high.

Service, last week I went to dim sum with a non-asian friend of mine. She asked why the waitresses were so rude. My simple reply was, "it's dim sum you aren't paying for service, you are paying for dim sum." Well, thats not the case here! Excellent service, I mean really superb. They speak multiple dialects of Chinese and you don't have to worry about them not being able to make out your English like you do in China Town. There was an old Jewish couple at the table next to us and they got served just fine. Speaking of being served. The carts come fast, there is no waiting for the cart with the dim sum to come around to your table, it's there. And! if it's not? Every cart serves has a headset and you can ask them for whatever you want and the order goes through the headset and comes in less then a minute. Ridiculously awesome.

The place is clean, super clean. This is authentic Chinese fine dining-- no fusion involved. This is something you see straight out of Hong Kong, a restaurant equivalent to a nice steak place here, culturally different of course. This is why things are a little pricier, the dim sum places you find in China Town are equivalent to going to Denny's for steak or maybe at best Outback Steak House, you get my point.

Anyways, enough with defending the price, here is my latest experience:

It was a nice Sunny Saturday morning here in SOMA, we were headed out for brunch then, we were going to head over the the fairy building for farmers market, we stuck to the basics:

Sui Mai - Har Gau - Lo Bak Goh - Wu Gock - Pai Gaut - Nua mi fun
http://chinesefood.abo...

They also had these really good Taiwanese dumplings called - xiao long bao. Goodness I haven't had xiao long bao since I was in Taiwan.

And to top it off we had some Pan Friend crispy noodle- which came with a generous portion of seafood, I mean, really good stuff.

Satisfied we paid and bought two jars of their house made hot sauce and we were on our way, full and satisfied.

So there you go, $80 bucks, great service, superb food; 5 stars for sure.

note: Don't get me wrong, I love going to china-town too. I really am not all posh and stuck-up as this review makes me out to be, there just needs to be a clarification of what this place is all about.

I came here twice since the ownership changed and I don't think I would come again. I came for both dinner and dim sum and both were disappointing. Don't confuse this with Joy Luck Place in San Mateo, that one is still good. They need to change their name so they do not corrupt the name of the restaurant I loved and grew up with. It's a sad day in Tino.

Sort review, for sort service. hastily written to reflect how the food was made.

If you do decide to try this place since the ownership change, get ready to eat room temperature food, wait forever for dim sum, and ask for your check a few times in a row.

I had a $40 dollar dinner here and $30 dollar dim sum. $70 dollars I want back.

This place is superb it's no ordinary dim sum this is strait out of Hong Kong quality yam tza .

I came up to the City this weekend from Palo Alto to visit my sister for the weekend. I have been to Yank Sing a lot since it is a family favorite. Not until recently did I have a chance to peek at the bill. wow, dim sum for 3 for $80.00!!

Here is why its worth it:

First of all, its in SOMA. I mean the Fairy Building serves fish and chips for $17.50.  So you got to expect the price to be high. You are in a nice neighborhood, it doesn't smell like china town with that odd mixture of rotting garbage and good food. It smells fresh, its in a  part of San Francisco where the some comes out a lot. Prices are going to be higher for that reason. I mean, there are million dollar apartments around you.

And you have to talk about the quality of dim sum. Yes, I admit I have had better dim sum before, in Hong Kong. Each piece of dim sum is smaller then the dim sum peaces at places around the bay area. And you might be confused and start thinking that they are trying to rip you off  by using less filling in the dim sum. I can see that happening in this super sized culture we have created in the US. They aren't trying to cut the portions, its how dim sum should be. Tightly packed with pork or shrimp not filled with fillers like corn starch. The quality of dim sum is really high.

Service, last week I went to dim sum with a non-asian friend of mine. She asked why the waitresses were so rude. My simple reply was, "it's dim sum you aren't paying for service, you are paying for dim sum." Well, thats not the case here! Excellent service, I mean really superb. They speak multiple dialects of Chinese and you don't have to worry about them not being able to make out your English like you do in China Town. There was an old Jewish couple at the table next to us and they got served just fine. Speaking of being served. The carts come fast, there is no waiting for the cart with the dim sum to come around to your table, it's there. And! if it's not? Every cart serves has a headset and you can ask them for whatever you want and the order goes through the headset and comes in less then a minute. Ridiculously awesome.

The place is clean, super clean. This is authentic Chinese fine dining-- no fusion involved. This is something you see straight out of Hong Kong, a restaurant equivalent to a nice steak place here, culturally different of course. This is why things are a little pricier, the dim sum places you find in China Town are equivalent to going to Denny's for steak or maybe at best Outback Steak House, you get my point.

Anyways, enough with defending the price, here is my latest experience:

It was a nice Sunny Saturday morning here in SOMA, we were headed out for brunch then, we were going to head over the the fairy building for farmers market, we stuck to the basics:

Sui Mai - Har Gau - Lo Bak Goh - Wu Gock - Pai Gaut - Nua mi fun
http://chinesefood.abo...

They also had these really good Taiwanese dumplings called - xiao long bao. Goodness I haven't had xiao long bao since I was in Taiwan.

And to top it off we had some Pan Friend crispy noodle- which came with a generous portion of seafood, I mean, really good stuff.

Satisfied we paid and bought two jars of their house made hot sauce and we were on our way, full and satisfied.

So there you go, $80 bucks, great service, superb food; 5 stars for sure.

note: Don't get me wrong, I love going to china-town too. I really am not all posh and stuck-up as this review makes me out to be, there just needs to be a clarification of what this place is all about.

Bites in Seattle is a good restaurant, please! ignore the low reviews.

I moved down to San Francisco and have enjoyed some pretty expensive sushi places, check out my reviews if you don't believe me. But I got to hand it to Bites in Seattle for putting together quality sushi at a more then decent price.

I believe I should defend Bites in Seattle because it is truly a great place to go. It is near Safeco and Quest Field-- Perfect for some pre- and post-game sushi, you don't even have to move your car.

I have been to sushi places in Seattle too since I have lived there for four years. Lets see I've been to... Umi's, Wasabi Bistro, Nikko, Red Fin, Saito's just to name a few off the top of my head. I got to tell you Bites in Seattle is up there with the rest.

Why is Bites in Seattle up there with the great sushi places of seattle??? Because there are places where you can get really good sushi for $$$$ or really cheep sushi thats *(one star)  but this place has good sushi at a good price.

Ada, was is also really helpful when I was setting up a party for my friend. Personally, I little personalized service goes a long way for this person.

So the story goes like this. My friends and I (22 of us) came here for a birthday party. I worked with Ada to set up the VIP arrangement. She was really helpful through the whole process. I really think that made the whole experience complete.

We managed to squeeze in their VIP lounge - a room separated from the main restaurant. The VIP room was awesome. There were leather couches low tables a place where 20 or so people can all talk to each other and celebrate a birthday.

The sushi was good and we ordered lots of it. The plating was nice and I think we just about ordered every roll on the menu. We also had some of their appetizers. The food cept on coming and we cept on hanging out.  We came at 7:00 and hung out until closing just eating and having fun. The place was really nice and the staff was really friendly.

I touched on the decor a little bit but the rest of the restaurant was decorated nicely as well. Like most sushi places it had a little modern touch to some Japanese culture. Very comfortable, very inviting.

You must check it out, or if you did-- give them another chance.

22 people the bill was $300+ tip plus we were in their VIP lounge.

Good Bites of sushi in the heart of Seattle.

Wild Ginger is one of my favorite places for Asian fusion food. I moved to San Francisco for the summer and took my Girlfriend here when I went back to Seattle to visit for a weekend.

It is easy to get to by public transportation. For drivers, They offer valet parking for seven dollars. Also, there is a parking garage right next to the restaurant. The convenience to get to the restaurant just adds to a very light evening out.

The food here is great, you couldn't expect  fusion food to be anything less then what you find at this place. I would recommend going for the satay  for appetizers-- since that is one of the things they are known for. The food itself has a South Asian hint at classical Cantonese dishes. Its a fusion of Asia that is very well orchestrated. The meal is served family style and always with Jasmin and brown rice.

The decor is elegant, Japanese influenced and very modernesque. I really enjoy dining on the balcony that overlooks the rest of the restaurant. The decor is a good fusion of environments which perfectly matches the fusion in the food.

The wait staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and really completes the whole experience. My last waitress had an incredible taste for both the food and wine and gave details in all aspects from flavor to texture. She made a really good recommendation on wine to accompany our meal as well. This is always a plus.

I give Wild Ginger 5 stars because the quality of food that you get here on top of the wonderful atmosphere and experience is hard to find at this price range.

For two, the bill was $110 plus a generous tip of course  If you are thinking  that is a little steep, just know that we had two appetizers; satay chicken and satay scallops, three main dishes; roast duck, steamed salmon and sauted portabello; and mango sherbet for dessert-- all accompanied by a bottle of wine. De'-lesh !