Mai H.'s Profile

For years and years I have had dim sum here.  It's the most convenient and good dim sum in the vicinity for me.  It's pretty consistent and always have the dim sum staples.  They even serve dim sum during the weekday which is always a plus since its less crowded.  The food isn't that great though since it isn't crowded.  

One thing that annoys me, is that they charge you for soda refills! It's such a little thing, but who charges for refills?! Oh and my mom swears that they cheat you sometimes when they add up the bill, so double check before you pay.

My heart and tummy still vote for Oriental East in Silver Spring for dim sum though =)

I am so glad I finally stopped in here after passing it everyday.  It's literally down the street from my house.  What drew me in today was their Monday and Saturday family dinner special.  $10.99 for a whole rotisserie chicken, 2 sides and pita bread.  The chicken was seasoned really well and had a nice crust to it.  We got the rice and chickpeas for our sides and they were good as well.  

They also have gyro platters, sandwiches, and salads on the menu.  I'll have to make a point to stop in for lunch to try everything out.  A great local place to eat.

My picky little 5 year old wanted sushi (he's quite the sushi connoisseur)  so I took him here out of convenience.  The service is very friendly and the sushi chef chatted with us and was really nice.  We shared the Bagel Roll (tuna,cream cheese, avocado) and 2 unagi's (eel)l and a teriyaki chicken.  

After dinner on the ride home:

5 year old:  "Mommy, when I tell you I want sushi, don't take me here ever again.  It tasted a little disgusting, and I feel like I want to throw up."  

Me: "Yessir!"

This place is not good enough for even a kid.

I hate seeing the negative things about this place.  But I loved it! Maybe because I'm an out of towner, it was fun for me.  Probably the MOST fun I've ever had at a sports bar.  

It was kind of dead when I got there, but soon they started clearing out the tables and chairs and people from the game came spilling in.  The folks here were super friendly.. our group made friends with a ton of people.  The music was going.. the beer flowing.. the jello shots passed.. oh my... oh YESSS!

Zaytinya never lets me down.  The bread is so delicious and comes out piping hot.  Everything I have had here is wonderful.  The setting is gorgeous and draws a great crowd.  I usually sit at the bar since my friend bartends here.  I came here last Friday night for a late drink and some food.  So yummy and consistent.  Great place to take out of town guests or a girls night. Definitely a group, so that you can try more dishes and share.

How awesome is that one of the best meals I've ever had falls to be my *100th review! Yay me and double yay to Makoto!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++

A few tips:
-Men don't even take the chance of not wearing a collared shirt and/or jacket.  We saw one man get rejected and his wife raised hell since they come there all the time.
-Girlie's.. don't wear your cute strappy buckled heels or knee high boots.  You have to take your shoes off and really no place to sit to take off your shoes in a tiny room.
-Expect not to understand anything, just nod your head say yes.. your meal will be amazing regardless.
-It's going to take at least 2 hours to finish.

We had the 10 course tasting menu with upgrades that are well worth it.  Every single course was so delicate and meticulous.  The sashimi melted in your mouth while the conch soup (served in a conch shell) warmed you from the inside out.  We ordered Uni off the sushi menu, and it is truly the best uni I have had to date.  Buttery, creamy, smooth..  How cliche of me to say that it was an orgasm in the mouth.. but there really is no other way to describe it!

We sat at the counter and got to watch the Chef hard at work, it's amazing to see one person putting these dishes together.  It's good that Makoto sticks to its strict dress code/no cell phone rule.  They have an image they want to uphold and cheers to them for doing so.  Will post pictures of my meal soon!

Came here Saturday night for a girlfriends birthday party.  I had the best time!  Which is a rare occurrence for me at clubs/lounges since they get overpacked and I get into bitchy mode when I keep getting bumped by 21 year old half dressed drunks.  

There was a good crowd there that night, not too young, not too old. Not overly crowded so getting drinks and going to the bathroom was a cinch.  The music was awesome Saturday night.  I like the table service area, its against the left wall and has a lot of room for each table.  My only gripe is that my feet are killing me from dancing all night!

I have to come back asap for dinner.  Since we were down the street at The W, we decided to stop in for a drink and appetizer at the bar before dinner.  I had the Conway oysters.  They were so fresh, buttery, I really could eat them without any condiments they were so good!  Also shared the grilled oysters.  They were got from the grill and wonderful.  Our bartender was awesome, he kept topping off our wine glass and didn't charge us.  Love those kind of bartenders!  

Apparently there is an Oyster Riot here every year, tickets are sold out now, but I will be on top of it when it comes time next year!

I love boutique hotels.  I love walking in to a dim lobby with lounge music playing and beautiful people wandering around.. well.. looking pretty.  Lu and I booked the W for our "stay-cation"  and had a wonderful stay.  The remodel is beautiful and the rooms are typical W rooms.

They offer what they call "Acura Experience" where they will drop you off anywhere complimentary in a fully loaded MDX.  Which is also stocked with water and wet wipes.  It is a little inconvenient that it's only a drop off service, but it still is an awesome gesture.  

As a staying guest, you can bypass the extremely long lines to go up to the POV Lounge on the rooftop.  I was a bit worried about how "exclusive" people were telling me it was, but it's no worse than waiting in line to get into any other lounge/club in DC.  The views are amazing and would be the perfect warm weather spot to hang out.  There are plenty of chairs and lounges to sit and chill and while the music is bumpin', its not overwhelming.  They didn't let it get too crowded, so its just a great place to go have drinks and chill out.  Drinks are pricey, but consistent with other lounges.  I had a Kir Royale and a beer for $14.  Not bad at all.

3 1/2 stars.  One of the very few places I found that had a Saturday brunch menu.  We had the place to ourselves! The best part? Bottomless Bellini's for $11.  I paired my Rose with Mango, Passion Fruit, and traditional Orange.  Each were very good and served its purpose.  

I had the Urbana Benedict:  poached egg, avocados, slice of tomato over a crispy English muffin and drizzled with a lemony hollandaise.  This dish was very good, it was missing something though, and for me it needed the saltiness of ham or something like that.  

Boyfriend had the St. Tropez omelet.  Really very very good.  The egg was puffy, chicken sausage was delicious, and the cremini mushrooms added a good chewy crunchy to the omelet.  

I would love to come back and check out happy hour one day and dinner.