♥ Yakiniku Master Japanese Barbecue Restaurant

Hello Everyone,

Sorry for being MIA for the past I-dont-know 2 weeks!!! It was my fault though, I procrastinated all of my projects and studying 'till the last minute. So it was HELL for me in the past 2 weeks. I do apology! I didn't get go out to eat much lately, cuz i was buried in the library! I'm glad SUMMER is finally here, so i can travel and try new places--somewhere in the East Coast!!!

I was browsing through the internet, and saw this beautiful restaurant called Yakiniku, a Japanese BBQ restaurant and it is ironically located in Shanghai, China. After seeing this magnificent restaurant, I just want to book a one-way ticket to China and live there! I hope you enjoy the pictures.

♥ Eat With Style

(original: Eat Drink Chick)

The concept was to give McDonalds food a complete makeover and re-brand the fast

 food giant with an aesthetic suitable for a 5 star restaurant.

It will be harder to say no to 'em fries and the mcfancy burgers :(

♥ An Eccentric Atmosphere

Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cafe-hiro-cypress
My Overall Ratings: 4.2/5
Review: Sunflower + Thanh

Here is their menu: Lunch | Dinner | Dessert | Wine | Drinks

Since I'm getting old, clubbing is a big NO NO! I'd rather catch up with old friends over dinner--a meal and a glass of Pinot would be perfect! I randomly found this place on my facebook and decided to give it a spin! I was expecting an authentic Japanese restaurant due to the name, "Cafe Hiro." But this restaurant WOWed me with their eccentric design. The walls are painted with tribal looking suns, the tablecloths are influenced by the Italians, the foods are very Westernized, and the workers are, of course, Japanese. As I sat down, I laughed a little to a pair of chopsticks that was arranged with the silver forks, knifes, and spoons! Overall, I really like this restaurant cuz it gives a very French(y) atmosphere. 

P.S. Surprisingly, every SINGLE table orders a glass or bottle of wine. That was very usually!!

Salad: 3.5/5
Come with the Duck Entree. The sauce is perfect,
but nothing extraordinary.

Creamy Crab Cake: 3.8/5 
Very expensive crab cake! It's good if it was 3/4 dollars,
but not 6 dollars. Overall, I had better crab cakes for way cheaper.

Sea Urchin "Uni" Spaghetti: 4/5

All the Yelpers talked and raved about it, so I had to order 

one for myself. And yes! Yelpers finally got something RIGHT!

This dish is delicious in its own way. Thanh, my date, didn't think it was amazing at first, 

but the more she ate, the more she liked it! TIPS: Mix the Wasabi

evenly with the noodles to have an extra kick to your taste.

Pork Cutlet Curry: 4.1/5

I love curry! Therefore, I'm very picky on what I eat! This curry could have
been a 5-star dish, but the rice and 'curry sauce' didn't do it justice. The rice and curry
 sauce were good, but nothing special! I can, basically, get the curry sauce anywhere. One thing, I'm so obsessed about this dish is the Pork Cutlet! It's so soft and tender! 
Next time, I will just order the pork cutlet by itself!

Soup: 3/5 
This soup comes with the Duck entree. It's decent.

Duck Entree with rice: 3.9/5
LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the duck!  Never mind
about the rice, but the duck meat is to die for.

Custom order-- Duck with vegetable: 4.6/5 

 Thanh and I loved it so much, so we decided to custom made our 2nd Duck order! 

We substituted the rice (which was good, but got really heavy with the cheese after

 a few bites) with vegetables. BEST DUCK MEAT EVER!!!! A bite of the duck meat 

and a sip of red wine completed my world! We were very satisfied 

with this dish. We will (or I will by myself) be back for more.

Here is my date, Thanh :] and

CHEERS to the wonderful things in life :] 

♥ Killin' Me Softly With Sprinkles

Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/sprinkles-cupcakes-newport-beach
My Overall Ratings: 4.4/5
Review: Sunflower

Sprinkles is killing my "body" softly with its cupcakes. No doubt, my dream body can never be established if I live 25 mi. radius of Newport. Sad to say, good things only come from sugar! And yes! there are lots of sugar in these cupcakes. 

Sprinkles was originated from Beverly Hills and stole America's heart in just a few years. I love everything about Sprinkles--the customer service is outstanding, the cupcakes are fresh and delicious, and the design is very modern and clean.

Everything is displayed in the wooden counters. Some flavor might not be displayed,

so ask the cashier if something is out of sight.

They even sell cupcake mix for all flavors

There is the address! Enjoy the BEST CUPCAKES in orange county

Yellow :: Banana | Red :: Red Velvet | Pink :: Vanilla | Coconut Sprinkles

4.2/5 Ratings :: Banana 

      4.0/5 Ratings :: Red Velvet  

  4.2/5 Ratings :: Vanilla    

  4.3/5 Ratings :: Coconut 

- Enjoy Your Sweets :]

♥ Late Night Cravings

Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/gyu-kaku-huntington-beach
My Overall Reactions: 4.4/5
Review: Sunflower

The main reason that I'm gaining weight cuz I eat wayyy too much for my size! And I munch way too much at night. Usually, I "try" not to eat after 8pm, so I can digest properly. But tonight, I was craving for meat, so decided to visit Guy Ka Ku. I absolutely love their Happy Hour Menu, especially the ALL YOU CAN EAT.  I arrived at around 10:30pm, so didn't want to stuff myself with the AYCE course.  So, I got each dish individually.

 

(You can view the happy hour menu in pdf, here.)

(3/5 Ratings) Spicy Cabbage Salad was too salty! Next time, I will ask the chef to put less of the spicy pepper sauce. Nothing special about this dish, but I order this every time cuz it seems to complement with the meat.

(4/5 Ratings) Hawaiian Ahi Poke was delicious! When tasted the tuna, my eyes burst in tears! How can something be soo delicious and is soo inexpensive!? No soy sauce is needed, the dish is already seasoned to have that sweet and sour taste to it.

(5/5 Ratings) Mushroom Medley is soooo amazing! No words can described how delicious this dish is! If Usher went there, he would be singing "OMG" the whole night.  

 (2.6/5 Ratings) Calamari was decent! I had better at many places.

(2/5 Ratings) Fried Cheese Wonton was a disappointment! 

They should take this dish off their menu!!! NOW!!!! This was NOT memorable at all.

 (3.7/5 Ratings) Yummy Brown RICE :]

 (4.2/5 Ratings) Bristro Harami Miso is amazing! All of the meat portions

are very small! If you a big eater, I recommend getting the ALL YOU CAN EAT course.
 

 (4.2/5 Ratings) Kalbi chuck is also delicious. I can't really describe the taste, 

but this is one of their popular dishes.

 (4/5 Ratings) New York Steak is, also, one of my favorite meat.

(5/5 Ratings) Hands down for the Lychee Sorbet With Plum Wine!  

I finished off with the best dessert EVER :]

 I love the design! But the service can be a miss or a hit!

♥ How To Make: Young Coconut Jelly

 Serves 1 or 2

Original Recipe: AllRecipesAsia

Ingredients: 

• 3 each young coconuts
• 1/4 teaspoon agar
• 2 cups (500ml) juice from coconuts
• 4 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup (100g) meat scraped from coconut

Directions:

1. Prepare the coconuts by chopping off the bottom, so that it can sit level. Then chop off the top so that the dome of the nut sticks out a bit. With one chop, cut the top of the dome and let the juice come out into a bowl.
2. Scrape some of the meat, about one cup's worth. Strain and measure out the coconut juice, you will need cups worth of juice. You should also taste the juice. If the juice is sour, you will have to get new coconuts.
3. Mix the agar into the coconut juice in a wok. Let the agar sit for 10 minutes. Begin to heat the juice and add the sugar and salt. When the juice is bubbling, simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the coconut meat and cook for 5 more minutes. The juice should be clear and slightly syrupy in appearance.
4.  Divide the juice and meat between the 3 coconut shells and place in a refrigerator. Chill the coconuts for 3 hours before serving.

♥ Brunch With A Twist

Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/break-of-dawn-laguna-hills
My Overall Ratings: 4/5
Review: Sunflower

Finally, I made it! I finally woke up on time for LUNCH :]  An alarm clock and a date will do the job. Vicky and I went to Break of Dawn, before heading out to study Statistics. The service was great, everybody really enjoyed their meals. And I do like that it's a twist on the usual without turning your breakfast experience on its head. We were both satisfied with the food, but got food comas LOL!

(4.3/5 Ratings) This Mac & Cheese definitely had a twist on the "normal" mac&cheese. I actually enjoyed this dish a lot. Cause someone, finally, cooked the eggs to my linking with a perfect oozy yolk. The mac & cheese were stacked on top of each other in a rectangular shape--how creative. The best part was the sauce! Very creamy and light.

 (3.5/5 Ratings) Smoked Salmon was alright. The smoked salmon lacked that sour taste to it, so I had to ask for extra lemons. Overall, this was a very intriguing dish.

(1.5/5 Ratings) The Chocolate Creme Brulee was ....an epic fail. Didn't like it at all.

Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cream-pan-tustin

My Overall Ratings: 4/5

Review: Sunflower

Cream Pan has the best CAKES and CROISSANTS in Orange County. This place closes early, so try to make it before 3:40pm. I always miss this place due to traffic on the 405.

            

 (4.5/5 Ratings) Strawberry Croissant is the bomb--not to sweet nor too plain. The cream is amazing, the croissant is crispy, and the strawberries are so fresh. Pricey, but well worth it.