Lucy N.'s Profile

Ippudo NY with it's devoted East Coast fan base and infuriating long lines fell short. Considering how I rarely spend over $10 for a meal and my bowl of ramen was $15, I'm talking very, very short. With a price like that, I was expecting something life-changing. I left this place life relatively unchanged, and wallet hurt'n.

Shiromaru Hakata Classic ($15) - The soup was flavorful, but I prefer it creamier. The pork chasu was a bit too tough for my liking. With every bite, I just craved Daikokuya ramen more and more.

Hirata Chicken Wings ($7) - better than the ramen in my book. 3 pieces of honey-glazed wings exploding with ginger soy flavor. The skin was fried to crispy perfection. Can I dip everything in this sauce?  

If you're visiting NY, I say come here just to say you've been to the famous Ippudo. I'm glad I came, but I won't be returning. Totto Ramen in Hell's Kitchen is so much better though. Also, don't claim Ippudo to be the ramen ever until you've had my beloved Daikokuya in Socal, guys. There are better things out there. Trust.

TEAM DAIKO FOREVER

The tofu pudding here is cheap and delicious! The small is only $1 and they give you plenty. It's the perfect size for a small breakfast, or you can split it with a friend for dessert. The tofu was silky and fresh, but ginger syrup, however, lacked in ginger flavor.
The lady who works here, however, definitely had a stick up her ass. But then again, this place, like many other Chinese establishments, is known for its food, not its service.

BEST ICE CREAM.

I think my life changed when I took my first bite of Brown Bread from Scoops. It was like I never knew what it meant to be happy until then. I had never been so excited to get the very last scoop of ice cream.
But then it happened.
The worker accidentally dropped the perfectly rounded scoop.
And it fell.
Like my heart.
On to the floor.

Life goes on but I don't know if I ever recovered.
I don't know if you can recover from that kinda trauma.

Naan N Curry on Telegraph is very spacious and close to campus. I only come here when I have a deal. College life = broke life.

Chicken Tikki Masala: Ehh, I've had better. The chunks of chicken are either a hit or miss. I hate when they're dry :(
Vegetable Tikki Masala: Ehh. There's really nothing to say about this. It was acceptable.
Garlic Naan: Wasn't warm. Skimped on the garlic for sure.

Everything was mediocre at best. My food has consistently came out lukewarm too. I don't see myself ever coming here without a coupon. Best thing about this place is probably the free chai in the back!
For good Indian food around the UC Berkeley campus, I definitely recommend Indian Flavors Express on Bancroft.

I came here with a friend on a Monday afternoon around 12:30. This place had a much more homey feel than your typical TapEx. The lady told me that the boba wasn't prepared yet. If I had came during the morning, I would have been more understanding, but it was the afternoon already. Perhaps on weekdays they don't have their shit together because kids dont get out of school until a couple more hours later. Luckily, I'm not that big a fan of boba anyway.

House Special Patbingsoo ($7.50) - Shaved ice topped with a variety of fruits (watermelon, kiwi, mango, strawberry), mochi, fruity pebbles, red bean, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate syrup. The cereal was definitely interesting bc taiwanese shaved ice doesn't have that crunchy texture. I'm not sure if i like it. Considering the size, it was definitely overpriced.  

Duet (~$3) - Half coffee + Half milk tea = 100% goodness! Mine came with ice, but I'm sure you can ask for it hot. It was creamy and had the color of milk tea. If it hadn't been for my fellow yelpers, I wouldve ordered something standard like milk tea. My appreciation for yelp grows every day :D I definitely recommend this drink!

Good desserts & drinks, but service was inexcusably slow. We got our 2 drinks & dessert after a good 20 minutes. There were only like 3 other people in the place. Tsktsk.
Also, how are you gonna be called Boba Time and not have boba ready in the afternoon? Get it together.

Note: You definitely get more bang for your buck with Taiwanese shaved ice/snow, but if you want patbingsoo, this place is decent!

Before today, I associated Boiling Crab with Cajun/Creole food. Today, unfortunately, I realized that I'm not a fan of jambalaya or gumbo, which are basically the staples of Cajun cuisine. I came here with a group of friends for lunch at around noon on  Friday. We all ordered off the Cajun Specialties menu because we figured we could get standard breakfast food anywhere.

Creole Jambalaya ($8.25) - Plenty chunks of Louisiana Spicy Sausage and shrimp immersed in rice and soup. I had so few pieces of chicken that I almost forgot there was supposed to be any in this dish. For the price, this dish had a decent portion size. I imagined jambalaya to be thicker, but this dish was relatively soupy. I'm not a fan of the taste, nor the heat - in terms of both food and the bball team. The homemade cornbread that accompanied the jambalaya was definitely the best part of the meal. It was sweet and crumbly, just like cornbread should be.

File Gumbo ($7.50) - My friend ordered a small gumbo, and the portion-size was pretty reasonable as well. It was much soupier than the jambalaya, and she complained that it was watery and tasteless. She added a lot of cajun seasoning just to add some sort of flavor. It definitely fell short of expectations.

Looking back, I wish I had ordered a normal breakfast item like French Toast. Damn my adventurous foodie nature. Oh well, at least now I know I'm not a fan of Cajun food. That'll save me some money in the future, I'm sure.

Merely Sweets was a pleasant discovery as I was strolling down Birch after a nice lunch. The shop has such cute decor and I was surprised that a cupcakery hadn't opened in Brea sooner.

Nutella Cupcake ($2.95) - Good amount of frosting, just how I like it. Unfortunately, that's where the pros about this cupcakes ends. I couldn't taste any hint of nutella in this so it was basically a generic chocolate cupcake, and I've defintely had moister ones. A couple of bites into this cupcake, I lost my desire to finish it, but I killed it just because I already paid for it. Goddamn... I knew I shouldn't have strayed from my default red velvet.

Earl Grey Macaron ($1.65) - Crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Perfection! You can actually taste the earl grey flavor too!

Vanilla Bean Macaron ($1.65) - Just as delicious as the earl grey one. You really can't go wrong with this classic flavor.

While I was impressed by the affordable prices, I was sadly disappointed when I realized that you probably do only get what you paid for. The cupcake that I had looked a lot more appetizing than it really was, but the macarons hit the spot.

After being away at college, all I crave when I come home is Asian food. Lots and lots of Asian, preferably Chinese, food. Ding's Garden is a gem that is overshadowed by the likes of Coconut Bay and Boiling Crab.

Shanghai XLB (~$6) - 8 juicy and delicious steamed soup dumplings filled with pork. I haven't had these in a while and Ding's definitely did not disappoint. I highly recommend you eat these as soon as you get them. Remember to add vinegar and a sliver of ginger for optimal enjoyment!

Dan Dan Noodles - If you love peanut butter, you can't not order this. Peanut buttery goodness in carb heaven! They definitely don't skimp on the peanut sauce, which can't be said for a lot of establishments.  

Green Onion Pancake - I prefer the flat kind. These were a bit too doughy for me.

Shanghai Rice Cake - Very flavorful and portions are reasonable. They definitely could have given more meat though.

I highly recommend Ding's Garden if you're craving some legit Chinese food. The prices are affordable and service is quick!

Unlike many of the sushi joints I've been to, Kansai is very spacious and good for groups. I came here on a Sunday night with a group of 13 for my birthday dinner. I made reservations a couple of days in advance and they were very accommodating. he waitress came back often to check to see if we were ready to order, but never rushed us.
Happy Hour on Sunday lasts from 5PM-closing. I strongly advise you to come during HH unless you have money to blow and don't care about saving a couple of bucks. The rolls on the HH menu are all well under $10, which wins my heart automatically. The menu includes: Appetizers, Rolls, Handrolls, Udon, Combo Udons, Donburis, and Entrees.

Lion King Roll ($6.95)  - California roll topped with baked salmon and covered in mayo sauce. So bomb, especially because they don't skimp on the imitation crab meat filling. I hate when establishments load you up on rice once you order off the HH menu. The only negative aspect was that the roll fell apart quite easily. They were loosely packed, but as long as you don't care about aesthetic features, all is fine.

Unagi Handroll ($2.95) - Delicious and they give you a reasonable amount of unagi. It is definitely a good choice if you have a big appetite and know that a roll won't fill you up. I finished this and half my Lion King Roll and was well into food coma state.

Spicy Tuna Handroll ($2.95) - I didn't get to try this but my roomie, who is a big Spicy Tuna fan, gave me her seal of approval. She said that it was actually spicy, which is quite rare unfortunately.

Mocha Cheesecake w/ Green Tea Ice Cream (~$8) - This was a perfect way to end a delicious meal. The cheesecake was so smooth and creamy. My only complain is that it is a relatively small slice considering the price.

I'm glad Yelp me steered me to Kansai. The food was great, service was helpful, and the ambiance was welcoming.

As an avid yelper, I've known about this place for a while, but rarely do I make my way out to HH to eat. After finally trying Foo Foo Tei, I now have a great reason to make the trek over here. Although I will remain loyal to Little Tokyo's Daikokuya til I die, this little mom n' pop joint really does hold its own in the realm of ramen.
This place is not that big so of course the wait is dreadful, especially if you have a large group, which we did. Ravenously hungry, waiting 30 minutes to be seated was not the business.

#17 ($7.50) - There's a reason this is the most popular ramen here. I thought the white broth was creamy and delicious. Some of my friends, however, thought that it lacked flavor and had to add a lot of chili pepper flakes to give it some spice. I personally cannot handle spicy and was thus very satisfied with it. The noodles had a nice chew to it. I was unfortunately rather disappointed by the other components of this dish, which were average at best. The half egg lacked flavor and the chasu did not have the melt-in-your-mouth quality that Daikokuya's does.

Gyoza Dumplings ($3.50): You get 6 dumplings attached by a layer of crispy char underneath. The gyoza were nice pan-fried and had a good amount of meat. I don't think I would get these again though because they really weren't that special. I'd rather leave more stomach space for ramen!

Green Tea Calpico Slush - My friend ordered this and I got to try a sip. It has a very strong matcha taste. I thought it was delicious but I doubt I'd ever order it myself because as long as I'm ordering ramen, I don't see the point of getting a drink besides water.

Although it is no Little Tokyo Daikokuya, Foo Foo Tei is a must try for all ramen lovers in the area. It will definitely satisfy your cravings and leave you in a blissful food coma.