Che's Bday Dinner @PF Changs

Here we are again at PF Chang's... This time, it's Cecile's birthday so she got to choose the location.  I think we all know the dishes but for some who do not, they are: Lettuce Wrap (we got one vegetarian and chicken), Wonton Soup, Kung Pao Chicken, Mandarin Chicken and Shrimp, Chicken Lo Mein, and Mu Shu Pork. Of course, all these with brown and white rice to match! 

I really like PF Chang's but it seems like their dishes are leaning towards the salty side.  I couldn't believed how much iced tea I drank by the time I finished my meal.  Maybe I'll just rest/refrain from this restaurant for a while... 

 

Lucille's Smokehouse & BBQ

Lucille's Bar-B-Que has become one of our regular place to go to.  It's not surprising since you get a lot of food! Its family-style serving and setting is perfect for any family or group gatherings.  The food is good and the drinks, bottomless!  They also give you as much biscuit as you like and with their butter... Definitely a plus!!! With this one, I think I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves.  Besides the cake, it's the only one I would not recommend.  We had it on a whim since we couldn't pick a dessert; not a good choice at all. 

BACKYARD FAMILY FEAST (Serves 4+) 
Like an outdoor picnic! Choice of two racks of baby back, St. Louis or beef ribs and two half BBQ chickens, plus your choice of four sides. Served with a half dozen homemade biscuits with apple butter, and your choice of one bottle of Lucille's BBQ sauce. 

Boiling Crab

Ahhh... My love, Seafood!!! If you love or just like seafood, I definitely recommend visiting the Boiling Crab! They have several locations in the SG Valley; Alhambra, Garden Grove, and Rowland Heights.  I've actually only been to Alhambra and RH.   The RH location is the newest and biggest of the two. They don't take reservations and the place already have a wait line by the time they open. Notice, they will only sit you if your entire party is present.  I've had better chance at lunch than dinner, of course.  1-2 hr wait for dinner is pretty normal for a party of 5 or more.

The Boiling Crab menu is pretty simple.... their main entree is shellfish and there's lots to choose from- crabs (2 kinds), crawfish, clams, shrimp, oyster and lobsters.  You can select it in four different kind of seasoning too; Rajun Cajun, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Butter and The Whole Sha-Bang (all seasoning mixed in)!  Of course, you can have it non-spicy to "XXX (I can't feel my mouth)" intensity!!  Personally, I like the Mild Rajun Cajun and the sauce is a good mix with rice, if you order rice on the side.

Whenever we go, we also like to order corn on a cob and they will mix it in with your seasoning so, you'll get the delicious sauce on it!  Sounds kind of weird, perhaps, but it's really good!  Sweet Potato fries are a perfect combination with the meal too!  Oh, I can't forget about the Fried Calamari for appetizer is yummy!  

The place is very casual, specially since they serve the food to you family-style.  Most of the time we get a couple of pounds of shrimp and several crabs, depending on how many people we have in our party.  The shrimp, which we usually get, are ordered in pounds.  It's is served in a plastic bag with lemons and drenched in the sauce you selected.  Everyone basically just digs in... be careful it's hot!!  The crab is ordered individually but priced of coursed by weight.  The crabs are large and I have yet to get one that is not full of meat.  Best yet, they are never "fishy"...Always fresh and so tasty!!!

So, if you're in the area or like seafood and willing to travel, I highly recommend the Boiling Crab.  I think it's reasonably priced and their servers are pleasant and very attentive.  The servers keeps coming back to check on you for refills and anything you may need, and I never felt like they were rushing us out either!  They seem to understand that people are there for the food and would like to enjoy and take their time to eat. 

I hope you try it out and no, unfortunately, I don't get paid to promote them here.  Just like to share...


By the way, the girl in the picture is my friend, Alina.

The Counter

My iPhone is running out of juice... Thoughts about this place to
follow!

Noodle World

Another place I like to go to for lunch- Noodle World! One of the thing I like working in Pasadena is the variety of food around me! So much options, sometimes I can't decide what to eat.

These items are; Fried Tofu with Sweet Sauce and Crushed Peanut, and my favorite soup, the BBQ Pork and Wonton Soup with Egg Noodles.

First, the tofu. Can't really go wrong with tofu, it's typical, but the dipping sauce is what makes any tofu dish. The sweet sauce is delish but if you're not into the sweetness, it's still good with soy sauce!

Next, the soup. There's nothing special about the soup, really. It is just your plain 'ol flavorful and well seasoned soup; which I think is the best kind! The broth makes any soup and this is no different. The BBQ definitely compliments the broth and the amount of meat and wonton is just perfect portion with the noodles. It's definitely a must-try if you're overwhelmed and can't decide with the tons of soups on their menu...Can't go wrong with this!!

PF Chang's Lunch Bowl

So glad this place is close to work! I like going to PF for their
lunch bowls. This one is the Crispy Honey Chicken; lightly battered
and served in a sweet, flavorful sauce over white rice. Normally, I
like their brown rice but not so much for this dish so, I went for the
full calorie meal! I would never give up taste for calorie count
anyway!!! I'm just saying... :-) Anyway, I actually want a bowl right
now!!

This is from one of our recent visit to Kabuki. I can't even remember what my sister, Cecile, is having but I just wanted to test this upload link from Picasa. Hopefully, it'll make posting easier and faster for me!!

Cooking Class @Roy's Hawaiian Fusion

Yes, it's been a while... not that I have stopped eating or something, that'll never happen!! I just really haven't had a chance to post anything lately.

Anyway, today we just came from Roy's Hawaiian Fusion restaurant in Pasadena.  They have this cooking class every month and it's pretty popular since they book fast! For this event, I made my reservations last month.

I originally intended to go to this event for my sister Cathy's birthday.  Her birthday is tomorrow, and since it's Easter Sunday I figure it would be hard to celebrate and go out;  since every year our family gets together and usually spend all day long at a designated relative's house - to do the egg hunting for the kids and eat lots of food for all!!  I guess, a typical family gathering.  But anyway, let me tell you about today...

So, Roy's Hawaiian Fusion is as you have guessed originally from Hawaii.  The restaurant is definitely famous in Hawaii and has now come across to the mainland.  Ironically, when we were in Oahu, we didn't get to visit their location there.   Our first visit to Roy's is actually here at their new Pasadena location.  Our chef tells us that this is actually their smaller restaurant and built different from their normal setup.  He mentioned that due to the economy at the time of building, they weren't sure how the location would do.  Now, he said that they are the third busiest restaurant out of their 33 locations!!!  

On to the class... when we came in to do the class, we didn't have any idea how it was setup.  We had different thoughts on how it would be and it turned out to better than expected!  The setup was simple, they bring you in to the kitchen, introduce you to the setup and food/menu, and then off to work.  Most of the work is actually done by the chef; today we had Sous Chef Chris.  He showed and explained to us the ingredients while going though the menu.  He also did most of the work by doing all the mixing, the cutting, and moving around in the kitchen.  While he did all the preparation, we get to watch, ask questions, assist and definitely taste!!!  I wouldn't trust us in cutting also if I was him!  We were all newbies except for a couple of people that took last month's class and one that is actually a cooking class teacher too, not really sure if she's a chef.  I guess she is but she's weird.  Of course, as in any class, there's always a show off; asked questions that they already know the answers to and make comments so that the chef will approve of them.  Oy vey!!!  "Let's move on..." is what I thought!  I'm hungry, darn it!!!

Sorry...now we can talk about, better yet, show the food... Overall the class was good and the food was great.  The preparation was easy to learn and re-create.  They also hand you the recipes for each dishes we made and followed it step by step with Chris.  Chris was definitely patient, who took his time to show us the works, and is also professional while not being dull at all!  After the seasonings were mixed and fishes and meat ready, he let us prepare the actual dish and cook them!  Yes, actually cook them while he observed!  This was the second best part, of course, first was when we ate the food! :-p

Here's what's on the menu today.  We actually made all these dishes and all of them were good!!

- Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi

- Hibachi Grilled Salmon

- Roy's Blackened Island Ahi with Spicy Soy Mustard Sauce

- Misoyaki Butterfish

- Honey Mustard Charred Short Ribs

Click here for the pictures!