Las Vegas' Bachi Burger!

Dear Bachi Burger,

I cannot wait to go back to Las Vegas just to have your savory burgers in my mouth.  I would love to try your Oxtail Chili Cheese Fries, Banh Mi Burger, Miyagi-san's Grass Fed Wagyu Burger, Spicy Miso Burger, and The Crusty Crab.  So basically the entire menu....

I wasn't able to experience the feel of the restaurant since I was sitting in the hotel room aching with tremendous pain, but luckily my best friend (Erica) and her boyfriend (Son) brought back the Pork Belly Steamed Buns as well as the Kalbi Burger.  That initial bite into the Kalbi Burger helped temporarily alleviate the sharp feeling in my leg.  And let me tell you, nothing could really get my mind off of it, so that means a lot.  What I loved about this burger was that it came with a side of Korean-styled, spicy red-pepper cucumbers also known as oh ee ji (Korean) or liang ban huang gua (Chinese) which is my absolute favorite Korean side dish of all time.  Their menu has Bachi Pickles but I'm unaware if they are referring to the cucumbers as described above. On the inside, the Kalbi Burger is light pink with juices oozing after each bite.  It has a thin crispy, brown layer from the sweet kalbi marinade and has kimchi, ko chu jang mayo, and green onions for added flavor.  Wasn't able to get a snapshot of the burger since it disappeared before I could get my camera.  Yeah, it was that good.  Love Korean food?  You'll love the Kalbi Burger.

Bachi Burgers' Pork Belly Steamed Buns were equally delicious!  These Vietnamese-inspired pork buns consisted of pork belly, hoisin, scallions, cilantro, Chinese black vinaigrette, and a boiled egg (which was excluded in our order).  I just remember the pork fat melting while the soft puffiness of the buns filled my mouth with the saltiness of the hoisin and the distinct taste of cilantro.  Bachi Burger is known for their creative Asian fusion burgers, but this wasn't necessarily the first time I've had something like the Pork Belly Steamed Buns.  Can't remember where else I've had this dish, but its still a must-have especially if you would like order it as an appetizer and share with other people since they are bite-sized and comes in an order of three.

Thank you to both Son and Erica for introducing me to Bachi Burger, my new favorite, creative burger joint of all time.

<3 Lina Chen

9410 W. Sahara Ave.,  Las Vegas, Nevada

702.255.3055.  www.bachiburger.com

Yard House: A Full Rack

Just to let you know upfront this will be a pretty extensive review very much like the one I did for Taps Fish House and Brewery.  If you haven't read the review for that place, definitely check it out by clicking here. 

Now where do I begin with Yard House (YH)....Just a mental note, this will be my third visit but my first review.  From what I recall service was average and the food is pretty good.  Can't really remember what I ordered in the past but I can tell you exactly what I got this time around.  By the way, we also ordered a lot of food here so hopefully you can keep up with me by the end of this entry, if not, feel free to just scroll through the images and their respective reviews if something looks interesting to you.

First the appetizers...

Grilled Artichoke

Great appetizer especially if you haven't had grilled artichoke's before.  I love spinach and artichoke dip so I had no doubt that I wouldn't like this starter.  What's unique about this dish is that you break a piece of the artichoke wedge off of it's stem, dip the bottom of the wedge into the aioli dipping sauce, bite into the wedge and slowly scrape off the artichoke off of the skin with your teeth.  I thought that was genius!  Just being able to discover new ways to eat foods just fascinates me.  Not knowing this any sooner just surprises me since I've been to countless restaurants and this is the first time for me.

As far as taste, it was good.  Squirt the lemon on top of the wedges and you are good to go.  The chips were excellent since they kept it's crispy texture throughout the night.

Ahi Poke Bowl

I'd pass on the ahi poke bowl.  This dish consisted of raw, marinated ahi tuna with sliced carrots and daikon atop of two deep-friend wonton chips with a slice of avocado on the side, which was weird to me. It would have been better if they incorporated the avocado into the dish instead of it being a sidekick.  Sharing this dish was a little bit harder because of that reason.  Everyone's forks are trying to break up a piece of the avocado, some bigger than others, but if they were already diced to proportion then maybe there wouldn't be that problem.  

Out of all the raw dishes, this one was a bit tasteless.  I think you really have to rely on the marinade in this one because the carrots, daikon, and the wonton doesn't do much for the ahi tuna.  Also, if everyone in your party took a large portion of the avocado, you're basically S.O.L.  I'll give it a try again next time only if someone else decides to get it.

Spicy Tuna Roll

Died and went to heaven.  Only thing that kind of threw off the dish was the edamame but who cares, they sort of fell off of the roll and I really didn't bother to eat them with the spicy tuna after the first bite with it.  The mushy texture from the avocado + spicy tuna and the hard bite into the soybean didn't do much for me.  The dish itself is still heavenly especially if you are a avid sushi eater.  For an American restaurant, they did a pretty good take on a spicy tuna roll.

Truffle Fries

The truffle fries are a must here.  I adore french fries so when they are fried in truffle oil with shredded parmesan and herbs to finish it off?  It was to die for.  I can just imagine myself going to YH just for their truffle fries.  Okay, maybe with the Spicy Tuna Roll too. ;)

And the entrees...

Ahi Crunchy Salad

I love salads that have a strong sesame dressing.  Maybe it's because I'm Asian, but what can you do.  Greens were fresh, wontons crunchy, and the ahi tuna was nicely seared.  Don't mind getting this again the next time I'm feeling like I want a light salad for din din.

Pepper Crusted Filet

The boyfriend ordered the pepper crusted filet after the waitress had recommended it to us.  I've had wayyy better steak.  Kind of disappointed to see this on the not-so-good side of the review because I was pretty stoked after having all those delectable appetizers to start with minus the ahi poke tuna bowl.

St. Louis Style Ribs

NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!  I did a review on the baby back ribs at The Stinking Rose, but that place had some dry a** ribs.  YH did good.  My baby back ribs were sweet, tangy, moist and finger-lickin', mother-may-I-have-some-more, gooooooood!

With my FULL rack of baby back ribs!

I usually like carbs on the side whether if it's rice or bread with my meat but it's all good since the creamed corn and the beans made up for it.  I don't like beans unless if they're in my Chipotle burrito but that's about it, but these beans had a sweet taste to it.  The cilantro is a plus (since I love that stuff!).  The creamed corn comes close to a second when it comes to this dish.  After I had eaten as much as I could, I see forks coming left and right going after my creamed corn!  Sharing is caring but internally, I was struggling to let my boyfriend and his sister-in-law take some.  Next day when I took my leftovers to work, I only had like a mini, clear plastic sauce containers you dispense ketchup in at a Burger King.  Sad, but I couldn't let it go to waste!

Last image is just a piece of artwork hung right behind me.  I'm starting to show bits and pieces of the restaurant so that you can somewhat have an idea how it's going to be.  This artwork doesn't sum up the entire setting, but it caught my eye.  That and I felt that the bandit was going to steal my food!  Not this time cowboy!

<3 Lina Chen

13881 Peyton Dr.,  Chino Hills, CA 91709

 909.631.2200.  http://www.yardhouse.com

Mexican: El Farolito

This is as good as Mexican gets.

First of all I love this little town.  It has a genuine Mexican feel like you would see in the movies.  Okay, I can't say I've been to Mexico before but according to my boyfriends family, it reminds them of the little towns south of the border.  As we got there the lines were long (maybe 10 groups ahead of us).  We ended up putting our name on the list but roamed around the town in case if we found a restaurant that had less of a wait but was also suitable for our taste.

I'm glad we went back though.  This restaurants success is from the hard work that they put into it, but also stems from a strong family bond--love.  The food reflects that love.  Below is an image of their story which is displayed on the front of the menu...

"'El Farolito,' which meant to him ((Dad) the light of hope."

First their salsa and chips.  Chips were thick and extra crunchy.  I love ALL things crunchy so the chips were bomb-ski!  And once you dipped it into their spicy salsa, it was like a fiesta in your mouth.  Talk about it being SPICY!

Horchata is also a must for me every time I go to a Mexican restaurant.  It had a strong sweet cinnamon taste.  A great side drink if you want something other than water.  Although I have to say that this place ranks second as far as their horchata.  Maybe if they had real bits of cinnamon pieces like the one at Liliana's Tamales in DTLA, then they could possibly tie for first.  Just a suggestion if anyone from El Farolito is reading this.

Machaca de Carnitas

As far as entrees go, I wanted to try something new instead of my Meixcan favorites chile rellenos (which I absolutely love to death) or enchiladas so I got the machaca de carnitas...  First off, I must rave about their beans.  I dislike Mexican pinto beans (unless if it is in my Chipotle burrito) because they've always tasted like plain old mush with a muddy look that has always disgusted me.  BUT, I always take a bite regardless in hopes that there would be a restaurant that can prove me wrong and El Farolito did that.  I STILL don't like them but the beans here aren't bland.  They added something to it to make it tasty and rather desiring to eat.  It's still on the mushy side but the taste makes up for it.  

After my encounter with their beans, I knew this place was going to be good.  And it was.  I recall the pork being extra juicy and salty but once it was placed on the corn tortilla, with rice and beans, and topped off with their specialty salsa from their chips and salsa, it was pretty damn good.

Best Mexican restaurant I've been to in a very long time.

<3  Lina Chen

201 S. Bradford Ave.  Placentia, CA 92870

714.993.7880.

Shanghailander Palace

This place is perhaps one of the fancier Chinese restaurants I've ever been to.

A dragon-like door knob guarding the entrance.

So fancy on the inside!

An ol' fashion telephone.

Decor near the restrooms.

Parts of the ceiling was glowing with these colorful lights.

Through the window, you can see chefs hand-making their dumplings.

Attention to detail.  Love the colors and the velvety, plum chairs.

Decor for one of the dishes.

Sweet Braised Pork

The food here was wonderful and rather tasty.  We ordered the braised pork served in this big old, cool looking pot.  It had a sweet honey taste to it, but I can't say if there was any honey in it or not.  Everyone seemed to like it.  Luckily everyone at the other table wasn't able to finish their braised pork so everyone at my table were able to get seconds of this appetizing entree. 

 

Water Spinach w/Garlic

  The water spinach with garlic was our only vegetable dish.  A table full of carnivorous

Kung Pao Chicken

You can never go wrong with Kung Pao chicken.  It is an upgrade from your regular Panda Express that's for sure.

Black Peppered Beef

Black peppered beef was definitely dark and peppery.  At first I wasn't sure what it was, maybe the darkness of the color meant that the meat was charred, but after a bite or two I realized that the color of it is from the black peppers that they used here at Shanghailander Palace. 

Fish Fillet w/Seaweed

Fish fillet = a fancy word for fish sticks.  Make sure to wait a bit till grabbing a bite of these since they can be extremely hot in the middle.  Very good, but hot.  I just remember holding my hand up to my mouth trying to blow out the hot air and visually seeing my glasses fog up.  

Special Fish Soup

The last and final dish was the special fish soup.  Apparently this dish is pretty authentic because of the big ole fishballs that they used in this dish.  For me, I could go without it.  Like the image above, it just seemed like it was cabbage/lettuce soup.  Not too appealing to me.  I'll stick with my meats. 

 

<3  Lina Chen

1695 South Azusa Ave.,  Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

626.839.7777

Little Sandong Chinese Restaurant

Little Sandong Chinese Restaurant reminded me of my dad's Chinese restaurant.  We used to use the same place mats that is depicted in the picture below, but also our restaurant was called Sandong Restaurant.  This was long before when I was a little elementary/middle school.  Oh the memories.

Ahjangpi - Combination Plate with Vermicelli

This was the first time I've ever heard of ahjangpi.  It was good.  They served it with a side of Chinese mustard which I didn't care for but everyone else in my party ended up adding more of the sauce on their plates.  The picture above depicts the ahjangpi before it's mixed all together.  Iust wanted to show you their attention to detail cause technically they could have brought the dish out already mixed.

I ordered the jajangmyeon since that's what I used to eat at my dad's restaurant all the time.  Jajangmyeon, also know as black bean noodles, is an inexpensive, wheat noodle dish with a black, salty soybean paste mixed in with onions, vegetables, meat, and sometimes seafood.  For the longest time I thought jajangmyeon was a traditional Chinese dish (which it still is); however, after reading the history about it, the popularity of this dish didn't boom until it was first introduced in Incheon, Korea when the Sandong Chinese immigrants settled there during the Japanese rule in Korea.  he jajangmyeon above is the Korean-version which is wet, creamy, and dark black.

Little Sandong's jajangmyeon unfortunately wasn't as good as my dad's jajangmyeon when he owned his restaurant.  My dad's jajangmyeon has much more meat and veggies whereas this dish at Little Sandong has more noodles and black bean sauce which was a little too bland for my taste.  It did seem as though the owners at this restaurant were remodeling, but according to Yelp, they have 64 reviews, four stars, but people have commented that there has been a change in ownership so it might not as be as great as before.  Who knows what it is...

<3  Lina Chen

11740 Artesia Blvd, Artesia, CA 90701

562.809.3887.

TAPS Fish House & Brewery

Fireplace creating a warm ambiance.

My Raspberry Quince Tea

My unsweetened raspberry quince tea was good after adding about 5 (maybe 6 or 7 or 8...) packets of sugar.  There's a light raspberry taste, so if you're used to drinking sweet drinks like sodas and juices I wouldn't get this.  However, if you like tea from just tea leaves/packets without any additives, then you may like this.

Manila Clams

Manila clams slowly cooked in a buttery, white wine mixture with herbs and garlic.  A must-have as an appetizer.  Clams in all that buttery goodness made it worth while.  What's even better is that once everything has been consumed, you can dip the complimentary sourdough bread in the broth without wasting any of the juice!  Yup, fatty status.

Complimentary Sourdough Bread

TAPS' sourdough bread is paired with minced garlic swimming in a balsamic vinaigrette and olive-oil infused dip.  I've been to places where they've only served olive oil on the side, but combining it with small pieces of garlic and vinaigrette is genius!  Generally I like to avoid eating bread because they are fillers, but we couldn't stop ourselves from asking for more.

Oysters

Three types of oysters but unfortunately I didn't catch their names.  The four oysters at the top let corner were okay.  The next four in the middle and the last four were my favorite.  Both similar to one another but the middle oyster had a stronger seafood taste.

Eric's 32 oz. Tomahawk Chop

This tender cut ribeye was my favorite.  The meat alone had so much flavor but the charbroiled taste is what got to me.  The cheesy sauce on the potatoes were too flavorful and over empowered the potatoes so I stole some of Eric's potatoes that didn't have as much sauce on top.

Cold Water Maine Lobster Tail

The cold water Maine lobster tail was huge--I mean HUGE!!!  It was so big that I had to take a picture with it so that you can have something to compare it to.  Like everything I tried thus far, the lobster was tasty and worth every bite.

New England Clam Chowder

The clam chowder at TAPS is the best better than the clam chowder they serve at Fisherman's Wharf which I think says a lot.  Don't believe me?  Go see for yourself.  I even confirmed it with both Eric and his dad who are also avid food lovers.  I don't know what it was but this clam chowder had the right amount of creaminess to it too.  

N'Awlins Style Gumbo

Last night was the very first time I've tried gumbo and was it good.  The first bite I took I immediately associated the taste with beef jerky and pizza.  A weird combination, but I guess I didn't expect gumbo to taste like it did.  I had this false notion that gumbo was made of various seafoods but last night's N'awlins Style Gumbo had sausages and tomatoes hence why I thought it had a pizza taste to the dish.

I ordered the special of the day which consisted of a 12 oz. filet mignon with sautéed mushrooms and asparagus and lobster mac and cheese on the side.  This dish was superb.  I enjoyed ever bite of it.  Earlier I pointed out that I the 33 oz. steak above was my favorite and it still is because it had that charbroiled taste.  Both dishes are wonderful and I wouldn't hesitate ever getting this dish ever again.  Unfortunately this is a special that they rarely serve at TAPS, hence why I ordered it instead of their well-known dish, the miso-marinated Chilean sea bass.

Red Velvet Cake

Before our waitress arrived with the main entrees, she had asked us if we wanted dessert.  At first I thought that was odd, but after listing a couple of their dessert items I realized that some of their desserts take about 30 minutes to prepare.  The red velvet cake is one of those desserts.  The waiter/waitress brings out the red velvet cake in a small skillet, then prepares the dessert right then and there by spreading the cream cheese, vanilla frosting on top, and adds toasted pecans and fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries).  Served with a side of vanilla bean ice cream on the side.

Happy Birthday Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Even though Eric's moms' birthday isn't until the end of this month, I had requested the restaurant to place a candle on top of the red velvet cake I had ordered because it's rare to have the entire Fang family all together.  Surprisingly they brought a cup of vanilla bean ice cream just for her birthday and then another one for me after our waitress found out my birthday was at the end of this month.  Our waitress was so nice.

Last night's plethora of foods was unbelievable.  Finding a gem like this place was like hitting the jackpot--only it was food.

<3  Lina Chen

101 E. Imperial Hwy, Brea, CA 92821

714.257.0101.   www.tapsfishhouse.com