Sesame Grill- Early Bird Specials!

Ads can help in many different ways to an advertiser. And well, it lured us back again to Sesame Grill, a place which we mainly eat for lunch because of their lunch specials. We typically don't eat here at night (lunch is a way better deal because of the special), but there was something new that was up for offer, and we went for the very occasional dinner here again.


At night, the feeling of the place is well, very different. More mood lighting is on, and the ambiance is darker. White cloths are added to the tables, and so are tea candles which are placed in a glass cup. A cloth napkin is also folded nicely on your plate at night.

But what really brought us here for dinner?


The Early Bird Special! It's actually a pretty good deal for the price, and depending on which choices you pick, it can be a very good deal, even when you compare it to the Lunch Specials.

We picked choices 1, 2, and 3 along with 3 different appetizers. But, what always comes free with any meal is some freshly made, hot bread, which also comes with some packets of California Dairies butter.


The bread today was a bit different- if you haven't had it before, it is extremely warm and somehow it has some wineish flavor to it. Today's bread was exceedingly soft and easy to rip which is different to the usual bread as usually, the texture inside is a bit firmer. They probably added something. I liked it, as the outside crust was lightly crispy on the bottom, and the inside was very soft and lightly chewy. Mmm...I could eat 2 of those please!


But, wait for a little while. Appetizers are coming full steam ahead. What arrived first was the Seasonal mixed greens, which has a mix of many different types of greens. It is then tossed in a balsamic vinegrette. And since the waiters know us very well (we've been a repeat customer for at least 6 years now...), they gave us a bottle of balsamic vinegar along with the salad.


My appetizer, the fried vegetable rolls, came next. If you notice the name of this place, this place has a bit of fusion in it. This is one of those dishes. Mustard and sweet and sour sauce are on the side there, plated very artistically (unlike what we have seen before).

On the bottom of the vegetable rolls is a bit of the seasonal mixed greens, and on top is the main attraction- the fried vegetable rolls, which is just like a Chinese egg roll minus the meat.The outside is crispy and thin, while the inside has a good amount of filling with no weird ingredients.

Bell peppers by the way, are also sprinkled on top of the egg rolls, and are diced into diminuitive cubes. Somehow, all of these ingredients and sauces go very well along with the vegetable rolls. I wouldn't have thought of this being a successful combo in the past (that was 5 years ago), but it turned out to be actually successful.


Soup of the day was Milestrone soup. Intrestingly, it had tubes of pasta all over, but to me I think they should have been left out as they were a bit too big for the bowl and very hard to eat without cutting. Otherwise though, the soup was good- very beefy and tomatoey. There was also some chickpea, carrots, tomato, onions, and celery in the soup itself.


We did have to wait a little for some reason for our main courses. But when they came, they came all together. Maybe they didn't want to give it to us one by one! Anyway, the dish that is shown on top is the Fish of the Day. There was a choice between sandabs and salmon, and I chose salmon. The dish overall was actually the same as the lunch portion, but the filet of salmon was bigger. A reduction of balsamic vinegar was added to the dish, and it helped with the fishiness of the salmon.

The salmon was very crispy on the outside and had a very tender and juicy inside. However, it was a bit fishy compared to past visits of eating salmon at Sesame Grill.

A bed of mashed potatoes, which are smashed and not fully mashed, was added to the bottom. To the side were petite veggies which were cooked lightly and had a good snap to them. On top of the salmon was some fried shreds of sweet potato.


This right here is the Black Angus New York Steak, which was excellent. The steak itself was grilled and was slightly charred on the outside, and the inside was very juicy and cooked to a medium well like we requested to. To the side were some more vegetables and another scoop of the mashed potato.

The sauce though, was really delicious! There was actually a different sauce for each type of meat. This sauce for the New York steak had a lot of beefy flavors with a touch of wine, and it was slightly smoky too.


This was the Black Angus Filet Mingon Medallions. There were 4 medallions in total, and with the medallions were some more mini veggies, mashed potatoes, steak sauce, and 2 potato crisps for garnish.

Again, this was another great dish- the meat was tender and juicy, and the sauce went well with it. We even asked for extra sauce which then came in a small metal bowl. This sauce, compared to the filet mingon, was less beefy, and more creamy. You could also taste the wine a bit more in this. It fit well with the mashed potatoes also, but pairing the sauce with the steak is a better use of the sauce.

Overall, yet another great experience again- good, friendly service, and great food.

You can also read my other previous experiences on Tripadvisor (click here to view). There are also photos from my lunch and dinner visits in the past.

Sesame Grill
308 E Huntington Dr
Arcadia, CA 91006-3746
Tel: (626) 821-0880