Nam N.'s Profile

I'm obsessed with Panera's Egg Souffles, particularly the Spinach and Bacon one. Similar to an individual quiche, the egg souffles are extremely savory and have a fantastic croissant-like crust.

With that said, they often sell out on weekends--FAST! So, per their own recommendation, I tried to call this location the other weekend to ensure they had the "goods" before I drove over there. Unfortunately for me, they chose not to pick up their phone after repeated calls. After 40 minutes of trying to get them on the phone, I drove to the store--thinking that they must be busy if they couldn't answer the phone.

To my surprise, the store seemed pretty darn empty with employees leisurely chatting with each other at the counter. I personally heard the phone ringing while I was there and none of them went to answer it--NO WONDER!

When I inquired about Spinach Bacon Egg Souffle, the staff member at the counter told me that they were out and tried to get me to settle on the two remaining 4 Cheeses Souffle they had---he even went as far as to say that the Spinach Bacon wasn't healthy for me. SERIOUSLY?!  Like the 4 Cheeses was any better for us?!

Needless to say, I turned around and left. HORRIBLE customer service at this location. I'll have to get my Egg Souffle fix at the Coleman Branch.

Tucked away in a small "alley-like" strip mall, Song Long has been an institution in the Little Saigon area since the 70's dishing up Vietnamese-French cuisine. My family has been coming here for almost 20 years and although the owners have recently changed, they still deliver up the same tasty dishes we've come to love over the years.

Quite arguably, Song Long was one of the pioneers for the whole "Com Bat Buu" trend that you'll now find in many Vietnamese restaurants these days. "Com Bat Buu" is red fried rice flavored with tomato paste. Song Long serves theirs with seafood and veggies in the mix and a fried egg on top.

We went there on a visit back home this past weekend.....with 6 adults and 3 kids (and a baby), we were pretty much able to order all of our favorite dishes. Among those are the:

- Com Bat Buu Ga Quay (Rotisserie Chicken with Bat Buu Rice)
- Com Bat Buu Suong Nuon (Grilled Pork Chops with Bat Buu Rice)
- Bo Luc Lac ("Shaken" Beef Tenderloin  Cubes with Rice)
- Thit Bo Kho (Beef Stew)
- Cha Ca Thanh Long (Grilled Tumeric Spiced Fish with Dill)
- Escargot

Items are served with their delish warmed dinner rolls, which are amazing when you want to sop up the garlic butter from the tender escargots or Thit Bo Kho.

Vietnamese Desserts and Specialty Drinks (smoothies, iced coffees, etc.) are also quite yummy.

Prices are extremely reasonable too with most dishes under $10.

Song Long....an oldie but goodie. :)

I am traumatized.....and it's all my fault.

I needed a last minute, cheap, and cute dress for a day wedding we were attending. Forever 21 seemed like a good idea at the time so I dragged the bf with me on Veteran's Day to get an outfit.

First mistake: Shopping at Forever 21 on a day when HIgh School Students have the day off. Ugh, what a rookie-shopper move I pulled. The store was jammed PACKED. But as stubborn as I am, I was determined to find that hottie-bargained dress.

Despite a few pushes and shoves I received from fellow shoppers (did I mention it was a madhouse?!), I found a few great pieces within 10 minutes. I jumped in line to try on the items and then proceeded to wait for 35 minutes. It was CRAZY!!! The staff did little to manage the flow of the line and as a result it grew into a beast cutting off major traffic flow in the store. People were constantly cutting through the fitting room lines to get to the other side of the store. I was seriously getting stepped on and I have a chipped pedi to prove it! :(

I finally got to try on the clothes and selected a cute dress for SUPER cheap. Bummer for me that I had to wait another 20 minutes in line to pay for it.

And although it was busy, I don't think the staff did a good job of managing the lines and traffic flow. Many other crowded stores during the holidays have just as many customers but are able to keep things moving.

NEVER AGAIN! And as I mentioned, it was purely my fault for making the poor decision but I have to give them at least 2 stars for cute clothes at affordable prices. Sometimes I hate being so cheap :)

We were finally able to give the WG location of Yuki Sushi a try this past weekend. The wait can be long but we took advantage of their "Call ahead to put your name down on the list" perk. With this, they give you an estimate of when you're table will be ready and you can arrive at that time. I don't know about you folks but I'd rather wait at home for my table to be ready than outside of a restaurant in the cold! :)

True to form, we arrived at our designated time and were promptly seated (sorry to the 10-15 people who were waiting ahead of us!). The décor of the WG restaurant is definitely more "modern" than its Santa Clara counterpart though I do miss the traditional tatami mat seating area that the original location has.

Since we weren't too hungry, the bf and I opted to share the following items:
- Beef Tataki (Seared beef with ponzu sauce)
- Agedashi Tofu (Lightly fried tofu with tenzu sauce)
- Hamachi Nigiri
- Wasabi/Hamachi/Avocado Roll

The beef was tender and wonderfully paired with the ponzu sauce. I LOVED the Agedashi! It was HUGE and the tofu was lightly crispy on the outside and somewhat "creamy" in texture in the inside. The tenzu sauce was DELISH---anyone have a great recipe for it? Our nigiri was ok--not spectacularly fresh but pretty good. As for our Chef's Specialty Roll, I can't exactly remember the name of it but it had avocado/cucumber/wasabi in the roll topped with a shiso leaf and chopped hamachi. Pretty tasty but it was missing a little kick.....maybe jalapeno like their Spicy Tuna?

Our dinner was quite enjoyable. No wait coupled with tasty Nihon food at a good price--- Arigato Gozaimasu!

I had some time to burn in Pac Hts. last weekend & decided to grab a snack and cool drink in the area. La Mediterranee has been on my "must-try" for YEARS so I thought--no time better than now!

After a quick perusal of the menu and reference check on Yelp, I went with the Hummus appetizer and a cold Stella Artois. As I waited for my items at my outdoor-al fresco table, I couldn't help but notice how may people were flowing in and out of the restaurant. Needless, to say, I was excited!

My beer came out shortly after....mixed reviews on that one. It did come out in the signature Stella glass but it was only 3/4 filled. Um, where's the rest of my beer? As for the hummus....it was "meh". The flavor was ok, though with more of a tahini flavor than I like. And what bummed me out was that the pita that it was served with was hard----and no, it was not pita chips.

Albeit this review was just for my appetizer and beer, I don't think I'll be back any time soon. There are SO many restaurants/bars in the area that I'd rather try another place out before coming back here.

I've never been one who LOVES them some In-N-Out Burger but it does hold a very old nostalgic place in my heart when my parents would pick me up a burger before dropping me off to cheer at high school football games. (And between you and I, that was a HELLA long time ago!!!)

However, sometimes when we drive by an In-N-Out, that smell can just pull you right in! So after years of a hiatus, the bf and I grabbed a burger after doing some Halloween shopping. He ordered the Double Double Combo and I got the Cheeseburger Combo---both ANIMAL STYLE!!!

Our orders came out piping hot and quick! And maybe it's because it's been awhile but it tasted DELICIOUS!!!!! Burgers were tasty though the fries were just "meh"....never been a fan of their fries. But what surprised me most about our experience that night was the AMAZING and personal customer service we received! One of the workers spent the entire time walking around, checking in on tables and seeing how things were. At a Fast Food joint you say???? Yup, I was surprised!

And although I am sure years will pass before I have another In-N-Out Burger, I am content to know that the next time I do, it will be pretty darn tasty :)

DE-LUXE!

Super fun event at the wonderful Melt Lounge. Since we got their early we were able to snag yummy quesadillas and crispy potstickers. Good thing too because the cocktails were flowing thanks to Rain Vodka and Firestone brewskies! :)

Everyone looked fabulous in their themed gear! A boa sure can oompf up the va-va-va-voom factor! :)

Big thanks to all our fab Yelp Gals for making another awesome event for us!

This store scared me beyond belief when the honey and I came in to get some costume pieces.....

The Cons:
1- HUGE lines of ppl who want Halloween costumes with only 3 staff members to assist (come on folks, it's the week before Halloween--BUMP up staffing!)
2- HOT MESS of disheveled items all over the store
3- HUGE lines at the register with customers wanting to pay for their costumes. See number 1 con.

The Pros:
1- Pictures of costumes are on the wall with designated number. You simply give the number to the salesperson who retrieves your costume (after the 30 minute wait that is).
2- Pretty good selection and reasonably priced

Someone remind me to shop ahead of time next Halloween!

The honey and I got it stuck in our minds that our little puggle, Bella, had to be Yoda for Halloween this year. (She has the wrinkles and floppy ears ........it works!)

After a failed visit to the Spirit Halloween off of Almaden Expressway, we called around and found that the Tully location had the costume in her size. They will even let you put items on hold until the close of the day.

When we got to this location, we found it to be quite smaller than our last store and it had significantly less merchandise. We still perused around for inspiration for our costumes though and tried on a few wigs (super fun!)

And although we didn't find anything for ourselves, we scored the costume for Bella......Jedi Master, She Is......

Prices are reasonable for their items and the store is a bit hectic and disorganized, but hey--it's a week before Halloween!

I heart you and everything about you, Mitsuwa!

In the past three weeks, the bf and I have stopped by Mitsuwa for some groceries every week (beat that Safeway!). From their wide array of Asian groceries and snackies, delish pre-prepared food, and SUPER fresh and huge selection of seafood--Mitsuwa has got it all! Let's not forget to mention their crazy Wagyu Beef selection.....I never even knew regular grocery stores sold Wagyu!

Somehow I never seem to be able to leave the store without some mochi/manju, Japanese seasonings, or snackies. Yummy, yummy, yummy!

I definitely recommend Mitsuwa for your East Asian grocery needs!