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Showing posts from September, 2011

Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen- Fountain Valley, CA

Our Irvine friend suggested that we try Shin-Sen-Gumi's Hakata Ramen, and so during a recent trip to Irvine we did! Shin-Sen-Gumi is easy to locate in this large strip mall thanks to its boldly colored signs. The colors actually represent "two" restaurants; one is dedicated to Hakata ramen (yellow) and the other to robata and yakitori (orange). Although there are two separate entrances and two separate rooms (connected by a small walkway), it is still possible to eat in either end of the restaurant and enjoy ramen. We were seated in the robata and yakitori side of the restaurant since the other side was full. (Thankfully, we did not need to wait for an open table) It was exciting to sit here, as occasionally there would be chefs cooking fried rice or preparing other dishes. Since my Irvine friend recommended the ramen, both my companion and I ordered ramen sets. At Shin-Sen-Gumi, they allow the customer to customize their ramen by adjusting the hardness/softness o

Koi Palace- Daly City, CA

While we were driving, I searched for restaurants outside of San Francisco so we could eat and not deal with evening rush hour traffic. I came to the conclusion that Koi Palace was one of the best Chinese options in the Bay area after glancing through Foodnut's website and looking at various restaurant photos on Yelp and Urbanspoon, and so we stopped at Koi Palace for dinner. The exterior of the restaurant suggests a fancy, upscale look, and while Koi Palace sounds like an original name, its Chinese name is not. Similar to other Chinese restaurants, Koi Palace's Chinese name is an allusion to a famous place or restaurant in Asia; in this case, Koi Palace's Chinese name, pronounced as "Lei Yue Mun", is a allusion to Lei Yue Mun in Hong Kong, a popular place to enjoy fresh seafood. ( read more about Lei Yue Mun at the Hong Kong Tourism Board website ) Entering the restaurant we were greeted with large seafood tanks which housed quite a vast variety of seafoo

Driving Scenes: Los Angeles to San Francisco

  There are certainly a multitude of ways that one can get from Los Angeles to San Francisco, but driving allows one to perceive the amazing landscapes along the way. Driving to Los Angeles to San Francisco can also be done in several ways; one can pick the Interstate-5  for the shortest drive, the U.S. Route 101 for a "more interesting" drive, or the State Route 1/ Highway 1 for a long, oceanside drive. Although my companions and I chose the 5 freeway to go to San Francisco, we still passed by some picturesque areas: plenty of farmland and mountain views. Maybe it was coincidence, but the blue sky and beautiful clouds enhanced the appearance of everything we saw during this drive. The clouds that day were beautiful; arranged in beautiful patterns, it was easy for me to get distracted from my reading selection. In this picture it seems like as if a fleet of clouds are moving towards one direction. Simple scenes such as a curve around a hill were so beautiful thanks t