Brunch @ Sweet Maple

Today I decided to go to Burma, a restaurant that served Burmese dishes, recommended by my good friend Kelsey.  Unfortunately, I accidentally typed in the wrong address on my GPS (good job Lina) and ended up at Sweet Maple (another restaurant Kelsey recommended) instead.  I decided to stick around since 1.  driving around downtown San Francisco is a nightmare, 2.  finding a parking spot is difficult, and 3.  I already paid for parking.

Why I wasn't too excited for Sweet Maple:

Breakfast foods do me no good.  Honestly, breakfast isn't my thing.  Even though it's the most important meal of the day, I usually skip it.  I don't like eggs because they get me a bit on the gassy side.  I'm not lactose intolerant but I might as well be if I can't handle a glass of milk (unless if it's complimented with dessert).  French toast and pancakes can be too sweet and bacon...well bacon is probably my favorite breakfast foods, but even then it's a little greasy to start the day.

HOWEVER, I'm glad I decided to try this place out.  I ordered the Norwegian Eggs Benedict which consisted of smoked salmon sandwiched between an English muffin and a poached egg smothered in their specialty Hollandaise sauce.  The salmon was nicely complimented with capers and spinach.  Every ingredient used in this dish tasted unbelievably good especially since I'm not a breakfast lover.  The spinach was a little slimy, but, you soon forget about that ooey-gooey feeling after taking a bite.

The dish came along with a medley of roasted potatoes.  For me, the crispier the potatoes, the better.  Unfortunately, some of the chunks on my plate were big and tasted a bit mushy and uncooked.  The smaller pieces had more flavor too since the seasoning complimented the potatoes and not the other way around; which I wasn't a big fan of.

When the dish itself came out, it was nicely presented so I give this place an B+ for taste, A for presentation, and a B+ for the atmosphere.  It's a lovely place for brunch and/or take time to enjoy the day by yourself.

<3 Lina Chen

2101 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94115

415.655.9169.   www.sweetmaplesf.com

Steak House: Clearman's North Woods Inn

After a long day of spending together, Eric suggested to get steak for dinner.  It was that or shabu shabu, but knowing my lover all too well, I already knew what we were eating for dinner.  I'd ask him multiple times which steak place we were going to, but he only responded with "you'll see."   As he pulls into the parking lot, my first impression was where are we?  We were at Clearman's North Woods Inn.

Funny name for a restaurant, right?  If anything the place itself looked really cheesy on the outside with fake snow covering the roof; the interior was that of a woodsman's cabin home: dark and dimly lit with a warm ambiance.  There was even a stuffed bear for decoration.   Surprise, surprise.   I wasn't too fond of eating here.  What  made me re-think about this place was that this place was PACKED!  By the time we had our names on the list, there was already about 10-12 groups ahead of us.   That alone was impressive.   I have to admit, my mouth was salivating by the time we got to Clearman's and knowing that I had to wait 45 minutes for a table was a tease. 

We don't normally order appetizers unless if it's a great deal or we can't wait for our entrees, but knowing that Eric loves shrimp cocktails, we couldn't resist.  There were five jumbo shrimps, slightly cool to the touch, laying on a  small bed of salad.  I wasn't all that impressed, but what could I expect since this place is more well-known for their steaks.  Later on our waiter comes to our table with slices of cheesy bread, salad that's drenched in bleu cheese dressing, and another bowl filled with sliced purple cabbage (for those who like to mix the cabbage with their salads).  

The salad and the cheesy bread hit the spot.  The cheesy bread seemed a little bit too cheesy after the first bite, but I made sure there was a 50:50 ratio between the salad and the cheesy bread  so  that there was a balance in my mouth.  I love bleu cheese dressing and so I couldn't help myself for another helping or two.  By the time my medium-cooked, 35 oz. porterhouse arrived I was hungrryyy and happyyy!  Presentation wasn't all that great but that didn't matter after taking a bite of this big juicy meat.  It's so good, you have to try it for yourself.  

We don't normally go to steakhouses, but when we do we go out with a BIG... SCRUMPTIOUS... BANG! 

<3 Lina Chen

7247 Rosemead Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91775

626.286.3579.   www.clearmansrestaurants.com

Ojiya Udon

Just last night I had the chance to catch up with Ruby's, my boyfriend's cousin, post-marriage life.  You can read about her wedding here if you are interested in reading my opinion about her wedding!

Originally she had recommended me to go to a Japanese curry place in Rowland Heights but after catching a nasty bug, I wasn't feeling up for it.  Instead I had asked her if she wouldn't mind getting some Pho or sushi.  We went with the latter.

I was all up for sushi until I looked at the menu and realized perhaps today isn't a good day to eat something raw while being sick.  There was no use in changing locations since this place was popular.

We both sat down and after looking over the menu, Ruby suggested me to get something warm and soothing for my sore throat; I'm glad that I did.  I ordered the Nabeyaki Udon.  At first I was hesitant to even order the dish since to me, udon is so-so, but it was much needed.    The soup was a bit more on the saltier side, but what do you expect from a soy sauce based broth.  The noodles were squishy and slurpy--even better!  Not sure why but the fatter the noodles, the more slurping sound I like to make, but I made sure I didn't make too much sound.

I did get a chance to try a piece of Ruby's spicy tuna and it was remarkable.  Very fresh and it was spicy enough not to burn the back of my throat.  I think overall, I would go here for the sushi more-so than I would for the udon, but like I said, udon isn't "my" thing. 

I must apologize for the poor quality of the image above.  I had forgotten my camera and my camera phone quality doesn't truly depict the delightful dessert we had last night: the black sesame cream puff.  This cream puff was nice and cold in the middle as if there was ice cream, but not ice cream.  So every bite you take, there is a sense of tingling feeling of coldness that runs from your gums all the way to the back of your tongue.  It was goooooood.  Not too sweet, but tasty enough to just call it good for the evening.

I would recommend this place to those who are around the Chino Hills area.  It didn't necessarily leave a memorable feeling or a place I'd highly recommend, but if you need your sushi fix, then go for it.

<3  Lina Chen

 4183 Chino Hills Pkwy, Chino Hills, CA 91709

909.606.8638.  www.ojiyausa.com

#1 Sushi Place of All Time: Goyemon.

Not many people fancy raw fish, but those who do enjoy fresh sushi or sashimi have their favorite go-to place.  THIS WOULD HAVE TO BE MY FAVORITE SUSHI RESTAURANT OF ALLLL TIIIMMEEEE!  No joke.

I've been to so many all-you-can-eat sushi places and tons of Japanese restaurants in my lifetime that I feel confident saying that Goyemon has one of the best sushi's in the States.  This would probably be a whole different story if I've been to Japan, but that has yet been crossed off my bucket list.  In the meantime, this place is my #1 spot.

So why do I love this place?  Although Goyemon currently has 4 stars according to Yelp, I feel that it depicts this place so wrongly.  It should receive 5 1/2 stars. That's how great it is.  Being Asian and all, I have come to love rice.  White, brown, sticky, broken...I LOVE rice, just ask the boyfriend.  When it comes to sushi, the way the rice is prepared makes all the difference in the world.  Trust me, I know.  If the rice is too sticky, you'll be sitting there all day chewing on sticky rice.  If there's too much rice vinegar then the sushi rice just falls apart once chopsticks come in contact with it.  This place does it right.  They "cut" the rice in such a way that it's one with the sashimi/raw fish.  The portion between the fish iteslf as well as the sushi rice is perfect.  Some places either put so much more rice hoping it'd fill you up faster, but that just takes away all the trust a customer has in the restaurant as well as the sushi chef. 

Anyways, let the photos speak for themselves...

Bomb dynamite.  A lot of sushi places are starting to add rice at the bottom of these delectable appetizers, but it's really taking away the taste of this delicious dish.  Goyemon thankfully doesn't do that.

Mussels.  Can't go to a sushi restaurant without getting mussels...

If they ever provide this option as a part of the all-you-can-eat-deal, then I say get it.  This is the salmon belly.  What's great about it is, is that it's very much like salmon, it just melts so much more in your mouth.  You've got to try it if you can.

And the one fish I can never cheat on, white tuna.  My absolute favorite. 

Generally at all-you-can-eat places I leave a little room for dessert.  Goyemon's lychee sorbet dessert is one of a kind (to me).  It's not your regular sorbet, a little bit more on the sticky side as if you were chewing on mochi, but not as chewy as mochi.  That may not make any sense, but in a way it melts nicely in your mouth, sort of like soft, snow that is just falling down. 

If you plan to eat there, make sure to head there early in the day right before they open.  It's a little slow at first, but it quickly gets busy 15-30 minutes later.  It's so packed, people are just waiting out the door.  What's even more interesting is that the location isn't even that great.  It's a little off the strip (15 minutes away), but I love that about it.  It attracts locals and very few tourists go out there so you aren't bombarded by tourists even though you may considered as one. 

Already missin' you....

<3  Lina Chen

5255 S. Decatur Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89118

702.331.0333.   www.sushihousegoyemon.com

Dear Fatties

To all the fatties of the world, whether it physically shows or not, we have a common ground: we love food.  We have this hunger to discover new dishes and salivate to the sweet scent of yummy goodness!

Ever since the birth of this young buck blog, I hope you find my delicious and not-so-delicious findings and share with your lovely friends.  This is to document where I've been to, but also help the "Fatty Likes to Eat" community!  I know I have yet to update this empty food diary, but wait and see for more lovely foods coming your way.  I also have a Pinterest board dedicated to food and food only so feel free to follow me via Pinterest to find interesting recipes!

<3 Lina Chen