Mini Reviews

Short blurbs on places that might/might not get a review done with.

Hop Li Restaurant- Arcadia, CA

There is now new ownership and the new owner has chosen to serve lunch specials instead of dim sum. The food unfortunately has gotten worse, with awkward flavors.

Lunasia Chinese Cuisine- Alhambra, CA
OK place. Pricier but the items are of higher quality, like the rice noodle rolls which have a thin skin. However, some items have the addition of food coloring and such and taste weird, which makes us not want to go back again. It's okay though if you live nearby- we do not.

101 Noodle Express- Arcadia, CA
Replaces Nice Time Deli. No writeup on this place as my dining companions were not happy about this place and so was I. However I did try out some of the items: The dumplings were large and juicy- I had the fish and a meat and scallop dumpling. The fish was cooked nicely and had a hint of ginger. Scallops dominated the other dumpling, but the scallop had a bit of a fishy flavor- not good. Chive and Egg boxes (jiu cai he zi) were fried, and thus I did not like it very much. Noodle House's rendition (now closed) is still the best.

Liang's Village Cuisine- Arcadia, CA
Replaced a Japanese restaurant- right next door to 101 Noodle Express. Again, no writeup but I did try some items: The beef noodle soup's broth was very oily and not very beefy like Mandarin Noodle Deli, but the beef was well cooked. Noodles (both the thick and the thin) were chewy, but I preferred the thin noodles better as the thick noodles were not as chewy. Beef wraps (niu rou juan bing) were okay, abeit a bit too salty. Very one dimensioned in flavor. I would have liked more cilantro/green onion. Beef was tender and slightly warm, but it was pretty salty. The pancake was very oily, but otherwise an okay dish.

Pioneer Point Buffet and Grill-Monrovia (CLOSED, replaced by Zen Buffet)
It replaced Romano's Macaroni Grill in Monrovia.  But recently, the signage has been taken off. The cute wagon alongside is still there however.

Old commentary: Food is OK- nice light (factory like) desserts and BBQ selection. Get what comes out at the time if possible- especially in the Chinese section (very nice when fresh (Chinese owner and chef at work), not so much when it has been sitting out)! I'll call it a better low-end buffet. There's better stuff out there but if you are the person who likes fried stuff and "comfort food"/American food you'll enjoy it. Lacking in veggies though, in which nearby Souplantation excels at! Last comment: don't take pictures of the interior or the buffet area. Ahem, which is the exact reason my companions don't want me to go again.

Van's Natural Foods Organics with a Vitaminboost Waffles

Along with the two Fresh and Easy frozen food products I had bought during one trip, I also took a package of these Van's waffles. After all, the Van's Belgian waffles I had tried from Costco were pretty good, so why not try these out also? Besides, the Belgian waffles post received lots of views and comments; a famous large magazine also tried to interview me about it! And right now with this post, after I had posted the pictures for a day on Flickr, there were already more than 11 views per image. Everyone likes waffles! (to quote a friend)

As you could see by the first image and the title of the post, these waffles are directed for the health conscious crowd. Six grams of fiber, five grams of protein, and made from whole wheat! Those are some great stats.

Now I know what you are thinking: can something that is a healthier variation of a food taste as good or better? I felt that these were pretty good. Like any toaster waffle, these had a nice crisp after heating up. What was good about the whole grain was that it brought some nutty flavor towards the waffle- some extra flavor to complement any other additions, like maple syrup or fruit. The inside of the waffle was also denser with the whole wheat, but certainly still easy to enjoy. Overall, a very nice frozen waffle yet again! Van's knows what they are doing and this product shows- it is healthy and tastes delicious.

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P.S. I apologize for not posting for about three weeks now! School has been very stressful with multiple assignments, and thankfully now it is winter break...and now I am in a different country! That obviously means for you readers, plenty of good posts coming soon in the next few weeks. I'm trying to write them out as I visit each place now these days...so hopefully the posts will come soon enough and not in half of a year.

Also, a way to help me write more posts: give me good restaurant suggestions! I am running out of good NEW restaurants to talk about and writing repeat posts on reviewed restaurants or posts on so-so restaurants do not make me very happy...especially right now since it is almost the end of the year! We shall end the year on a high note, not a low one.