Sam Han (三漢) Korean BBQ & Buffet in Rowland Heights

For a buffet restaurant, this place was surprisingly good. Quite a lot of choices for meat and seafood, price was affordable too.

Aria (아리아) Korean BBQ Sushi Bar in Buena Park

Tried this Korean BBQ restaurant in Buena Park today. Loads of side dishes and $60 for 2 people, managed to have some left over to take home. Service was slow though. Food was okay, nothing spectacular. Not sure whether we will come back for more though.

The Counter in Irvine

The Counter is a custom built gourmet burger place. Our relatives recommended this place to us. We visited their Irvine branch on the 9th Dec (Fri) for dinner, but was packed and long queue. We decided to go back again today for late lunch and this time we had seats. You can either order from a list of burgers or build your own one. To build your own burger, you can choose at least 4 kinds of toppings, cheese, sauce, type of meat, and size of burger. The smallest size is 1/3, that's still way bigger than the quarter pounder at McDonald's. Their burgers are the best we had so far. We also ordered vanilla milkshake and that's lovely too. Service was good, but they did mix up with the change. Their burgers are in the pricer range, $10 per burrger. A treat every now and then!

Macy's Signature Kitchen at South Coast Plaza Mall

We stumbled upon this great restaurant/food court inside Macy's Home Furniture Store while shopping at South Coast Plaza. We often have impression that restaurant/cafe or food court inside a department store isn't usually nice or just pricey. But to our surprise, this restuarant served great food and price wasn't expensive at all. It features 3 different menus from 3 famous/celebrity chefs. They are as follows: 1) CCQ (Cat Cora's 'Que) - salads, sandwiches, wraps, and platters in BBQ style 2) Marc Burger (Marcus Samuelsson's) - a variety of burgers including a mini "kobe", turkey, and chicken breast 3) La Brea Bakery (Nancy Silverton) - classic sandwiches and grilled paninis, along with soup and salad

We chose La Brea Bakery and Marc Burge. The tuna melt panini was tasty and served with soup. However, the panini looked just like a 'toasty', rather than the proper European panini we had back in England. Lack a bit authenticity. The burger was real nice but it's weird to have crisps inside. Anyway, burger was juicy, lots of saucy, loved it. $16 for two people, affordable pricing. Recommended!

Corner Bakery Cafe at South Coast Plaza Mall

We found this lovely cafe while shopping at the South Coast Plaza. They have several combo sets on the menu. We chose the Ravioli combo that served with cesear salad - $8. It was lovely but not enough for 2 people to share, so we had to order an additional pasta. They have free wifi too. Worth going back for more.

Luminarias Restaurant in Monterey Park

This restaurant located at the hill top of Monterey Park, right next to the Monterey Park Golf course. They serve mainly Mexician dishes. As we had a party of more than 10 people, we had to order from the set menu... either salmon or steak. The steak was good but not so much for the salmon. Service was a bit slow even though the restaurant wasn't full at all. It has a nice view, but not sure whether we will come back for more in the future.

Javier's Cantina & Grill in Newport Beach

My brother took us to this Mexician restaurant for dinner and it is by far the best Mexician restaurant we tried so far in US. Their nacho with hot salsa sauce was great, we couldn't stop ourselves from eating that. In the end, we had to order extra nacho and salsa sauce to take home. They also have a good selection of margarita. Service was good and they made you feel very welcoming. Price was reasonable too. A must to bring your family and friends there.

Shilla Restaurant in Gardena

Both service and food were good at this Korean BBQ restaurant. My wife loved one of the BBQ beef. There were 9 of us and we had the private room. Apparently, a number of sportsmen and sportswomen, e.g. tennis star Maria Sharapova, came to this restaurant before, pictures of their signed autographs were hanged on the wall at the entrance. Dinner was $240 altogether.

Romano's Macaroni Grill in Cerritos

Second time we came to this Italian restaurant in Cerritos. They have an open kitchen where you can see how their food is made. We ordered meatball spaghetti, pepperoni pizza, Romano's sampler (some deep fried seafood stuff) and grilled prawns. Food was okay, nothing spectacular, service was a bit slow. Atmosphere was good, there's a guy who sang 'Happy Birthday' in Italian for birthday boy/girl. $75 for 3 people. I doubt that we will return to this restaurant in future.

Ka Ju Tofu Restaurant in Irvine

Another soft Tofu place in the Irvine area. It is right outside the freeway 5 Jeffrey exit. This restaurant has various tofu sets. We tried seafood, mushroom and pork tofu sets, and they all came with grilled fish and rice as usual. My favourite dish was actually... Oi Kimchi. I previously tried curry tofu here but the flavor was so weak that I didn't feel like I was eating curry, so that dish is a no-go! $34 for 3 dishes was reasonably priced. May come again.

Benihana Restaurant in Anaheim

We tried Benihana in London before and this is the first time we tried it in LA. Seatings in this Benihana were cramped, but packed with customers. Chefs and waiter/ess were all very entertaining, and they sang 'Happy Birthday' in Japanese to almost every table. Teppanyaki is always tasty, this one is no exception. Each set is around $30, much cheaper than the London ones.

BJ's Brewhouse Restaurant in Laguna Hills

BJ's is a chain pub food restaurant. Food was ok. Pizza was good, so as the salad. But my spaghetti was a bit dried, without much sauce. Fish and chips - served in mini fish portion just like the Cheesecake factory. They brewed their own beer, quite a few choices. We will probably eat at BJ's again some day.

JJ Cafe in Monterey Park

A Hong Kong style cafe in the main street of Monterey Park. The portion was big and we barely managed to finish the dishes. Parking is at the back. Reasonably priced and service was quick too. I prefer this restaurant than Harbor Kitchen.

Freshia Market in Tustin

Freshia Market is a Korean supermarket in Tustin and Torrance. Things are generally cheaper than H-mart and they have over the counter marinated meat for sale. Within the same complex, there is a small food court, a boutique shop and a mobile phone shop. Korean beer also seems to be cheaper here.

Henry's Farmer Market in Tustin

A good fresh food/organic supermarket in Tustin. Compare to The Whole Food Market, it is much smaller in size. But everything is so easy to find and the staff are extremely helpful. While we were shopping inside, one of the staff was wheeling a trolly of freshly baked french bread and offered to customers... which I think it's a very nice touch. Price is also inexpensive, we will definitely shop here more often from now on.

Sammy's Woodfired Pizza in Carlsbad

We came to this restaurant after we went shopping at the Carlsbad Premier Outlet. The restaurant itself looks like a sports bar kind of place. There were quite a few choices for think crust pizza on the menu. We were genuinely surprised by the quality of pizza and spaghetti, both dishes were delicious. The spaghetti dish wasn't too authentic though as noodle was used. $35 dinner for 2 wasn't bad at all. If we ever go to the outlet again, we wouldn't mind coming to this restaurant again.

Honda-Ya Japanese Restaurant in Tustin

We tried out this popular Japanese restaurant at Tustin this evening - as recommended by my brother. There's usually queuing at this restaurant but not today though, maybe because it's a Monday. We had yakitori, salmon avocado, grilled Shishamo (Willow Leaf Fish), chawanmushi and more. We were most impressed with a dish called Avocado Volcano... it's not only delicious, but it also look the part (see photo). Service was good. Two people for just less than $70. We would come back for more at this cozy looking place.

Cocary BBQ Restaurant (可加麗) in Monterey Park

Cocary is a Taiwanese hotpot/BBQ place. They serve hotpot/BBQ on a table for 4 peopl as well as on the rolling-belt at the bar individually (as seen in picture). You just grab the meat plates ($2.99/dish) and veggie plates ($1.99/dish) from the fridge, and cook that yourself. Tea, rice and sweet potatoes congee are all included. There is currently a 20% off for lunch. Only $20 for 3 of us, that's a bargain. There was also a railway train going around the rolling-belt, but no food was on those small plates on the day. Recommended.

MPV BBQ & Seafood Restaurant (新順景海鮮燒臘) in San Gabriel

It's the second time we came to this restaurant. If your order is over $30 (dinner only), you have a selection of dishes that can be ordered with a discount, e.g. lobster for $1.99, baby pigeon for $2.99 each, prawns for free, etc. We opted for the lobster as usual. Peking duck was only $9.99. However, the scallop weren't that good, they were rather small and overcooked. Apart from that, food was great but the restaurant does need a good renovation.

Capital Seafood Restaurant (金都) in Irvine

First time we tried dim sum in the Irvine area. We came to this restaurant inside Diamond Plaza along Jamboree Road. We ordered 8-9 dishes and cost less than $30 for 3 people. I still prefer dim sum restaurant up in Monterey Park area.

The Cheesecake Factory in Irvine

We had lunch at the Cheesecake factory inside the Irvine Spectrum today. Service was good and the waitress was very friendly. I had fish and chips for the first time since I left England. It's certainly different to the fish and chips that I used to have. Instead of a single fried cod, the fish was given in several portion. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the dish and the colesaw was fresh and good. My wife ordered the meat loaf. It's also different to what we used and it didn't taste that good. Mind you the brown bread was soft and the best so far. If we come back to Cheesecake factory again, we definitely stick to desserts haha.

New Capital Seafood Restaurant (半島海鮮酒家) in San Gabriel

A great seafood restaurant inside a Chinese shopping center in San Gabriel area. We ordered the Alaska Crab cooked in garlic soup base, that's delicious but it did take almost 45 minutes to get the dish.

Byul Daepo (Star BBQ) Korean Restaurant in Garden Grove

This Korean BBQ restaurant has a all-you-can-eat menu. The menu contained two choices: $15pp or $19pp. The difference was the choices of meat on offer. We ended up having 4 dishes of meat to share among 3 people. After the meat feast, we each had a bowl of hot noodles (as seen in the picture), that's actually my favourite dish. It's a great place if you're seriously hungry.

Daphne's Greek Cafe in Irvine

First time we tried this little Greek cafe restaurant. The food was tasty and the price wasn't expensive. I had burger, which wasn't like your regular American burger. The fresh fries was freshly made. $20 dollars for 2 people ain't bad.

BCD Tofu House in Irvine

This is a Korean tofu chain store that opens 24 hour. They have many branches in Los Angeles area and Irvine alone has two. We went to the one in Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center. Each tofu set comes with grilled fish and small side dishes. Dinner was less than $20 for 2 people, which is fairly reasonable priced.

Whole Foods Market in Irvine

We first came across Whole Foods Market in London, UK. They sell quality organic food as well as health products. You can certainly get all kinds of health supplements there. This store is ten times bigger than the one in London. This place also has a food court/counters and you can eat before you shop. I just love the digital price tag display on the shelves, pretty high tech.

True Food Kitchen in Fashion Island Shopping Center, Newport Beach

A very nice place for organic food and drinks. The service was great too, the waitresses were very informative. There was a great selection of deserts, but the chocolate cake was really rich. Definitely a good place to dine after some serious shopping at the Fashion Island Shopping Center.

85 Degree Bakery Cafe in Irvine

There's always long queue inside and outside of this bakery shop in Irvine. The breads are definitely tasty but I am not sure whether it is worth queuing for 20-30 min. To avoid queuing, always good to go there around 3-4pm. You won't be able to get anything after 9:30 though as most of the stuff are gone. Also tried the chesscake, but that's thick and chessy. Stick to the breads lol.

L.Y.L. Garden Seafood Restaurant in Monterey Park

Decoration is a bit dated and not a big restaurant, but the food is nice. Like many restaurant in the area, they have deals on lobsters ($3.99 each), prawns and pigeons ($2.99 each). In order to take this offer, you will need to order over $25 for the dinner. We were impressed with the Scallops on Tofu, black chicken soup and fried fish. $60 for 5 people, reasonably priced.

Tea Station Alhambra

Tea Station is a chain cafe/restaurant. We came here today for a late lunch. The food was surprisingly good as we weren't expecting that at a tea house. We ordered shredded beef noodles and fried fish fillet with rice. From the long list of tea on the menu, we chose Taro milk tea. The tea was yummy! We will definitely come back to try other types of tea. Service was rather slow though. Still highly recommended.

Big 3 Seafood BBQ Chinese restaurant in Alhambra

Big 3 Seafood BBQ aka New Macau Street... Another day, another lobster. This restaurant offered roasted pigeon and lobster for $2.99 each. We opted for the lobster and 4 other dishes for our dinner. Food was delicious. Restaurant's relatively small and there's queue when we arrived at 8pm. They also have lunch special - buy 4 get 1 free, and night time special (from 9:30 to midnight) - buy 3 get 1 free. Service... so so.

Alejo's Presto Italian Restaurant in Westchester

My uncle brought us to this fine busy Italian restaurant in Westchester. We were served bread with garlic, which's different to those that served olive oil. House red wine was good too. Their Pizza weren't the typical American deep pan pizza, they were just like what we used to have in Europe - thin crust. The Spaghetti was creamy and delicious. The photo didn't do justice to the food. Halibut was a let down though, dry and rather fishy. All in all, good service and we will come back for more.

New Capital Seafood in Rosemead

Like most Chinese restaurant around Monterey Park area, this restaurant has special offer on lobsters. We came to this Chinese restaurant for lunch. However, in order to get our hands on these lobsters, we had to order at least 6 dishes of dim sum. You can get the lobster for $7.99 each, also it's buy one get one free. What a deal! Just look at that picture, isn't it yummy? You also get dim sum ladies pushing trolleys in this restaurant.

Surah Korean BBQ in Buena Park

A nice Korean BBQ restaurant. Loads of side dishes and meat were tasty. The cold noodles were great and the peaches compliment well with it. Maybe a bit pricey but worth the money I guess. Service was good. The restaurant has a TV showing my favourite channel - Gol TV! There is a Korean supermarket in the same complex, handy if you want to stock up some groceries on the way home.

Harbor Kitchen in Alhambra

A Hong Kong style cafe in Alhambra. Loads of dishes to choose from. After 3pm, they serve afternoon tea menu, which is much cheaper. But we were there before 3pm. We ordered shredded pork rice noodle and Japanese grilled unagi rice today, but they were not as good as the other dishes we had before. Disappointment.

Arirang BBQ Resturant in Irvine

We like this place. More authentic than yesterday's Shik Do Rak restaurant. We ordered BBQ set A, that came with 4 types of meat, pot of steamed egg and a bottle of my favourite Korean beer - OB. Price is slightly more expensive - around $70 (included 10% discount voucher), but there were plenty leftover to take home. We will definitely go back. Very friendly and welcoming, good service.

Shik Do Rak Korean BBQ in Irvine

A busy Korean BBQ restaurant, always seems to have a long queue outside. Today we came here earlier, around 5:30pm and managed to get ourselves seats without any waiting. We ordered a combo set #2 - a mixture of beef including two types of beef, dinner was about $55 for 3 people. Meat's good and we were all full. Queue was building up by the time we finished our dinner. We were given the bill even before we asked for it, tried to get rid of us asap. Anyhow, I guess it is one of the good Korean restaurants in Irvine, still prefer restaurants in K-town though.

Curry House Irvine

We tried out the Curry House for the first time tonight. It is located at Culver Drive, off Freeway 5. Many choices on the menu and not just curry on offer. Three drinks and three dishes for 3 people cost $50, reasonably priced. I had Pork Katsu, as seen on the photo, and tasted good. But the portion is relatively smaller than those in other restaurants in the US. Nonetheless, this Curry House reminded us of the family restaurants in Japan. We filled out a customer survey form at the end of the dinner as well. Curry House has other branches in SoCal - Little Tokyo, Torrance, Cypress, Gardena, Puente Hills, Cupertino and Monterey Park.

California Pizza Kitchen in Tustin's Market Place

After watching a movie at the Edward Cinema Tustin Market Place, we had dinner in the nearby restaurant called California Pizza Kitchen (aka CPK). Price is okay, 3 people for $40 - 1 starter to share and 3 main dishes. We were given a 'Thank You Card', basically a prize winning ticket inside, it could be anything from a 4-night stay at the Four Seasons Hotel at Beverly Hills to cash reward. However, the catch is... you cannot open the envelope and reveal the prize yourself as it becomes null and void; so you have to go back to the restaurant to let the CPK manager to open it for you in your next visit. So tempting to tear it open!

99 Ranch Market in Irvine

We went to the 99 Ranch Market in Culver Plaza for the first time. A variety choice of fruits to choose from. There are two '99' in Irvine and we chose this one as it looked newer and cleaner. There are also shops in the complex where you can get Chinese cakes, roast duck, roast pork etc.

Cho Dang Tofu & Korean B.B.Q. in Irvine

We went to Cho Dang Tofu for dinner tonight. Reasonably priced and friendly atmosphere. Lady owner kept talking to us in English and explained everything. $30 for 3 people. Free ice cream as well. Resturant is inside the Northwood Center. There is a Korean supermarket nearby as well.