Eat. Travel. Eat!

Established in 1986, Javan Restaurant is a Middle Eastern restaurant located on the Westside focusing on Persian food.    Inside, the environment was decidedly upscale, with a bar, a white grand piano, stone tables, wood accents, and plenty of pictures adorning the walls. All the waiters, moreover, were dressed quite formally with dress shirts and ties.

A growing 100% organic, plant-based restaurant chain, Cafe Gratitude offers healthful vegetarian foods in a positive, modern, and friendly ambiance. I was recommended to visit it by a friend, who lauded the positive atmosphere, and was pleasantly surprised by how tasty the vegetarian fare was. Inside, Cafe Gratitude is happy, positive, and clean, with natural tones and casual furnishings. The mood is set by the positive adjectives not only listed on the menus ("I am...") and boards, but also the employees, who are content and wear shirts that say "love" and other terms. Mindfulness, health, and wellness permeate the entire environment.

Mercado La Paloma, a local community gathering place, is also home to a fine hodgepodge of quality restaurants--Thai, Ethiopian, American, Mexican, and Yucatecan cuisine can be found here. Chichen Itza, the restaurant that consistently has the longest queue of all the restaurants, specializes in Yucatecan cuisine (southeastern Mexican cuisine)-- the menu is filled with unique regional specialties . After ordering in person at Chichen Itza's counter, one receives a wooden stand with a number (for the employees to keep track of where to bring food to). Prior to the arrival of the food, an employee will bring over beverages as well as Chichen Itza's house Habanero Hot Sauce. It's a potent, fruity, extremely spicy, and slightly acidic hot sauce.

Widely known as a bibimbap specialist (their website is " bibimbap.webs.com ," if it wasn't already understood), Jeon Ju is a venerable place to visit for a Korean meal. Not only is their bibimbap well done, but so are lots of their other items.  As we perused the multi-paged menu, cups of smooth, weak barley tea were provided at the table. After ordering, we were presented with a wide array of banchan. There were six common items for the whole table--bean sprouts, marinated potatoes, sweetened, dried shrimp, daikon kimchi, a green pajeon, and napa cabbage kimchi. For each individual was a bowl of noodles in a lightly spicy broth and napa cabbage water kimchi. We found everything to be nicely done, and found the dried, crispy shrimp really fun to snack on. A condiment of green onions, sesame seeds, peppers and soy sauce was also provided for a larger haemul pajeon and yeong yang dolsot that we ordered.

After visiting Bhan Kanom Thai , we decided to follow along with dinner at Pa-Ord Noodle, which has been famous for its noodle soups. Inside Pa-Ord Noodle was a homey atmosphere, with a small marketplace of imported and locally made snacks and desserts, several warming stations with food, and festive Thai decorations. The staff were extremely friendly, smiling happily and welcoming to offer suggestions and advice on the menu.

Caesar's Palace has quickly become famous for their Bacchanal Buffet, which is now the top-rated buffet in Las Vegas. Yet, during the holiday season, wait times were hours long, and prices were at their highest. Moreover, a quick visit inside the buffet did show lots of good options and a nice design (the same designers designed Cafe Too as well), but this experience was hampered by loud catwalk music from the speakers. the Given these factors and our limited time in Las Vegas, we decided to pursue another option: Nobu, located next to the Nobu Hotel lobby inside Caesar's Palace.

In a a wall of frosted glass and an exterior from the Mirage's French Polynesian theme (now being transformed to a simple, modern feel with dark colors and pinks) sits the Mirage's VIP lounge, situated between the check in area and the main port cochere's entrance into the hotel. Like the Bellagio's VIP lounge , it sits unadorned with any signage outside, but unlike the Bellagio, is marked on the hotel maps with VIP. And after closing time (approximately 9pm), there is a sign stating that the VIP lounge is closed. The inside of the Mirage VIP lounge is small and intimate. The check in area, encased in white marble and topped with chandeliers, dominates as one walks inside to the lounge. This aspect--brought due to the smaller square footage of the lounge--however, detriments people from actually staying inside the lounge during their stay, for throughout the day, the check in area is busy with people checking in, only to be a small distance away from the rest of...

We wanted to visit Shaab Japanese Cuisine in Pasadena, CA again recently, but at the entrance stood a different restaurant: Osawa. Quite confusing, considering Shaab has existed for so many years in Pasadena! (consequently, photos taken with my phone, a Nokia Lumia 920) Though we were about to change course, we had to first do some analysis of the lunch specials and  winter specials--which vary upon the day--as well as the regular lunch menu . All of the menus expressed quality ingredients, and with that thought, we walked in.

Sagami is "beloved among actual Japanese people" and is "quite possibly the only place in Orange County" that serves hitsumabushi , said Edwin Goei of Monster Munching . It didn't take much after that for me to add Sagami, a 24 year old Japanese restaurant located in the Crossroads Shopping Center in Irvine, CA, to my Orange County restaurants to visit list. Thoughts to try the hitsumabushi that Goei raved about in his review, however, were slightly complicated after we were seated in the cozy interior. For, a weekend lunch special page presented an additional appealing option: uni and ikura bowl. Furthermore, additional dishes to try out were posted on menu boards as seen in the above photo. Luckily, after some thought, we ordered both of those appealing dishes, and some more. In the meantime, we enjoyed the complimentary hot green tea, whose flavor was especially apparent thanks to the use of reverse osmosis water .

It happened to be Easter on a recent trip to Irvine (coincidentally, we did this also three years ago ), so was it the time to take chances and drive to an unexplored area of town for lunch? Not really. So, we headed to a familiar location -- Fashion Island -- and finally tried out True Food Kitchen, which was under construction back when we visited its next door neighbor, Flemings .

Sometimes I have a positive and negative visit to restaurants, and Lunasia certainly fulfilled in that case in that specific order. It is annoying, but since I already posted half of this post's pictures before that negative visit, I might as well document all of it. The first time we went for a dim sum brunch, the restaurant was full, and we had to wait for quite a while until we were able to sit down-- at a table right next to the main walkway! The atmosphere was eventful, reminding me (along with the interior) of Zen Chinese Cuisine in Hong Kong . The second time (during dinner hours), however, the restaurant was empty with an exception of some family diners and banquet customers, and the mood was quite different. Rarely do I see cast iron tea pots used in restaurants, so I took the opportunity to take a picture. Tea, by the way, has a 1.25 USD charge during lunch hours, but during dinner service the tea is complimentary. We began our lunch with some excellen...

On July 13, from 12-3 PM, Starbucks gave away Tall sizes of its recently launched beverage, Starbucks Refreshers. The new product comes in Cool Lime and Very Berry Hibiscus flavors, and regularly costs 2.95 USD for a Tall Size. Starbucks describes the Cool Lime flavor as "a lively blend of lime, citrus and hints of mint and cucumber, shaken with real lime slices," and the Very Berry Hibiscus flavor as "a thirst quenching combination of tangy blackberry and hints of hibiscus." Notably, these drinks feature Starbucks' green coffee extract, which is taken from green (not roasted) arabica coffee beans and offers the "natural energy" of coffee but without the coffee flavor.  Unlike some free offers, each of these Refreshers were made by order. There was no special advertising at the store to signal a "free" Refresher; you just asked for it and the cost was deducted. Some customers shouted aloud to their co-workers about the deal as...

A recent trip brought us to the St Regis Monarch Beach, where the room rate included a voucher for breakfast. After a night's rest, we went downstairs to check out the offerings. Reaching Motif requires a stroll down a flight of stairs. During our visit, the staircase, as well as the rest of the property, was adorned with decorations for the holiday seasons. Motif's interior likewise was adorned with the holiday decorations. Like the rest of the hotel, the decorations added a pleasant touch of color. I find the blue glasses a nice touch to the restaurant. Motif, being located in the center of the hotel, offers a great view of the pool, golf course, and ocean. This view is great to begin the day.