Yoko is one of the few Tonkatsu (Japanese style fried chops) restaurants around.  I’m very picky about my fried food, I want the outer layer to be crispy, crunchy, flavorful but not oily, and the inner layer to be juicy tender,and of course flavorful.

Yoko did exactly what i expected and more. All meals comes with miso soup, small dishes, and self grinding sasame sauce. They also offer combo options where you can order any type of tonkatsu ( chicken, pork, shrimp..etc) and pair it up with some sushi rolls, udon noodle…etc.

If you’re in the mood for some fried japanese pork cutlets, this is the place to be.  Highly recommended.

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Yoko
4566 Beach Blvd
Buena Park, CA 90621
(714) 739-4353

Boiling point is a  individual hotpot restaurant.  Its a little bit different from other shabu shabu places where you are given raw ingredients and you have to cook your meal.  Boiling point cooks your food for you, then they put all the ingredients into a little wok with a small burner on the bottom for you to eat from. This way your hotpot will stay warm until the end of your meal.

Boiling point have about 6, 7 kinds of hotpot for you to choose from, including beef, pork, lamb, seafood, and vegetarian.  Each of their hotpot comes with with their unique own soup base and ingredients.  You can also order extra ingredients to add into your hotpot.

Their hotpot is very basic, and standard. You can probably make it at home if you have the ingredients, but going to boiling point will save you the trouble if you just want to grab a quick steaming hotpot for lunch or for dinner.

One of their house specialty is Taiwanese stinky tofu. It can be added into your hotpot or you can eat it separately. It’s not really stinky, but its a different style of tofu if you’ve never had it.  Another thing that sets them apart from the regular shabu shabu joint is that they have a sauce bar with a variety of sauces and condiments, so you can make your hotpot sauce just the way you like it.

I’ve been to the boiling point in Monterey Park and Hacienda Heights. I ordered the House Special pot at both locations, which came with some meat, fish balls, vegetables, and stinky tofu.  They tasted about the same at both locations. My friends thought the one in Monterey park have better service  and it seemed to have more food than the one in Hacienda heights.

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Boiling Point
2020 S Hacienda Blvd Ste E
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
(626) 369-0928

Taiwanese food is a lot like Chinese food, some might argue its basically the same, some might disagree. In most cases Taiwanese food is a lighter version of the Chinese food, its less spicy, less salty, less saucy.

This place came highly recommended by one of my Taiwanese friend who used to live around this area.  But since I don’t normally hang around Torrance, this was my first time ever experience at this place, and it completely exceeded my expectation.

We asked the owner to give us some suggestions as to what would be a good take out item, she quickly suggested that we should try the Chicken Thigh plate, and the Ham Hock plate.   My friend and I  decided that we’re each going to get both of the plates that she suggested.  We thought we’re only getting two regular sized bento boxes, and that’s it.  But we thought wrong, we got two over stuffed bento boxes filled with jumbo sized chicken thigh/ ham hock, minced pork rice, vegetables, and eggs.  Plus a small tub of vegetable that she made for a vegetarian catering order.  Plus a huge tub of fish ball soup filled with yummy ingredients.  The cost of all these, was a mere 16 dollars.

I tried a bit of the chicken thigh and ham hock after I got back to Irvine, it tasted just like how your mom would make it, not to salty , not too greasy, everything is just right.  It’s 100% home made cooking. The chicken was tender, moist, and well marinated. The hock was the one of the best hocks I’ve ever had. It was cooked to perfection, the meat would just fell off the bone, with a flicker of the chop sticks. Regardless of its dark color, its flavored just right, its not too salty nor soy saucy. The meat and skin are cooked to have just enough texture and still easy to chew and swallow. It doesn’t melt in your mouth, but its probably the closest ham hocks will ever get.

I tried the fish ball soup the next day, it was very flavorful, you can taste the richness of the soup, even tough its clear.  There were not just a few, but almost a tub full of fish balls, it almost felt like I need more soup with them fish balls.  There were three kinds of vegetables in my bento, cooked cucumbers, broccoli, and cabbage. They’re relly fresh and still their crunch in them, the broccoli was surprisingly good, and I usually avoid broccolis. I think overall, all the food took me about a week to finish. But I would definitely go back there again if i was ever in the area.

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Ju Ju Shine
1631 W. Carson St
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 782-8988

Curry house is a restaurant that specializes in Japanese curry. If you’re not familiar with Japanese curry, its a creamier version of the Indian curry, the sauce is more dense almost like a paste, and its usually not as spicy as Indian curries.

Normally curry house is a bit over priced for the quality and quantity of food they serve. However, a couple times during a year they’ll have promotions such as 20% off , or $5 katsu curry promotions. That’s usually when me and my friends go swarm in.

Usually when people go to curry house, katsu curry is their go to item , katsu usually means its something fried in a steak like form. Therefore a pork katsu curry would mean fried pork chop on top of rice with curry  sauce on the side. In this case a hamburger patty is fried and put on top of the curry sauce and rice.

Since I’m not a big fan of spicy food or fried food, I usually go for the tofu and ground chicken curry. It usually comes with ground up chicken and tofu all mixed up in curry sauce. It might not sound as appetizing as my description, but its good. And with spinach mixed into the rice, you’d get your daily vegetable while you’re chowing down the curry too.

The other thing that I always get at curry house is the corn soup. Its a very creamy version of the corn soup, kind of like the cream corn they serve at prime rib steak houses, but more refined, Most of the corn is blended into the base of the soup and left you only a few grains of corn. My mouth waters as I’m typing this up, you should definitely give it a try if you like creamy soups.

If you’re not a big fan of curry in general, there are also other dishes that you can try, they have pasta, omelet,teppan, gartin…etc

You can find out more about their selection and location from their website.

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Portillo’s is a fast food chain restaurant that serves Chicago style hot dogs. They have most of their restaurant locations in Chicago, 2 in California and 1 in Indiana.

This was my first time eating a Chicago style hot dog, and I absolutely loved it! There were so many toppings on my hot dog and they were all so delicious together. The regular hot dog with everything has: mustard, relish, freshly chopped onions, sliced red ripe tomatoes, kosher pickle and sport peppers (of course you can ask them to take off the stuff you don’t like). All that piled onto a perfectly steamed poppy seed bun. All that for $2.45. GLORY.

I quit eating fast foods 5 years ago, but this place was so Worth-It to break my no-fast-food diet. I heard they have really good beef dips too, I want to try.

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Portillo’s Hot Dogs – Buena Park, California
8390 La Palma Ave.
Buena Park CA 90620
714-220-6400
http://www.portillos.com/

Let me start off this post by saying, I’m a big brunch fiend. I love brunch, and the Plums Café is one of the best places I have ever been to for brunch.

Plums Café is this little busy restaurant located in the back corner of a Costa Mesa strip mall. I arrived this place a little after 11AM on a Sunday and it was PACKED. We waited for about 20 minutes for our table. Once I talked in, I immediately felt relaxed. This place is cozy with it’s simplicity. It was busy, but just had enough open space to make the place feel uncluttered. There is also a patio, for those who like to soak up the sun while eating. Definitely a very ‘happening’ place.

Once I looked at their menu, one item immediately caught my eye: Coconut French Toast. It is french toast topped with Strawberries, Papaya, Banana, Orange Butter & Maple Syrup. The presentation of this dish was just beautiful, they certainly did not skimped out on the fruits. It tasted just as appetizing as it looks. The fruits were fresh, and the toasts were thick, crispy, a little crunchy on the outside, and very soft on the inside. With the powdered sugar and maple syrup on top, every bite was just heaven. It’s perfect food for a warm summer day. Very very delicious.

My friends also really enjoyed their food, they had Dungeness crab & asparagus omelet, Santa Fe Eggs Benedict, and one of my friend made her own omelet. I had a couple bites on their dishes, and they were also really tasty. They all came with a side of house potatoes, and toast.

This place is a little on the pricey side. The dishes average around $15 dollars, but the portions are generous. The ambiance is great, everyone in the restaurant really seem to enjoy themselves in there. And it’s not hard to tell that it is also a local favorite breakfast dive. I would definitely come back for the french toast the next time I visit south California.

Tip: Make reservations!

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Plum’s Café and Catering
369 E 17th St
Ste 7
Costa Mesa, CA 92627
(949) 722-7586
http://www.plumscafe.com/

This place only has 3 items on their menu: $1.50 Fish Tacos, $2.00 Shrimp Tacos, and $1.00 Pop. And yup, that’s all it takes to keep this place busy. The tacos are made fresh to order and right infront of your eyes. There’s a salsa bar with shredded cabbage, six different salsas including: HOT mango salsa, HOT guacamole, and one sour cream they call it the ‘magic cream’.

I ordered 2 fish tacos, and 1 shrimp taco. After I visited the salsa bar, I went out to the patio and took my first bite, and it was yummmmm! Not too far off from the tacos you will get in Los Cabos. If you don’t feel like drinking pop, you can also bring your own beer/alcohol there, which is really cool.

It is a family owned restaurant, I chatted with the owner, and he was just a really relaxed and down to earth guy. He looked like he really enjoyed working there. He offered us free drinks to go with our tacos and also made a free root beer float with haagen dazs icecream for this one kid in the restaurant – bonus! So if you ever see a middle aged man standing behind the counter, don’t be afraid to chat with him, you might just end up with some free food!

If you’re looking to eat in a relaxed environment that is also cheap, this is the place you should check out.

Note: Cash only! Parking is tricky, but its LA.

5 stars, thumb up!

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Best Fish Tacos in Ensenada
1650 Hillhurst Ave
Los Feliz, CA 90027
(323) 466-5552
www.bestfishtacoinensenada.com
http://twitter.com/bestfishtaco

When I visited California, I told my Californian friends that I want to eat fresh seafood at a relaxing patio environment with a nice view, they brought me to Malibu Seafood. I have to say, Malibu Seafood was exactly just that.

This place is beautiful. The patio over looks the pacific ocean which is just across from the street. I saw the menu, and I could not hold myself back. I ended up ordering steamed mussels, steamed clams and a tiger prawn cocktail. The mussels and clams were super fresh, and the broth was sweet and tasty. I highly recommend the steamed mussels, you will not be disappointed. The tiger prawns were big and chilled, prefect for hot summer days.

The place is really laid back, there’s a patio which you pick your own seats. You will not find waiters or waitresses here. It’s like going to a fast food chain where you order your food, and you wait for your number to be called when it’s ready. This is a busy joint, but the wait is not long, and with the view it offers, you will not mind the little wait. When I went to pick up my order, we were offered a complimentary clam chowder, and it is one of the best chowders I’ve ever had. Definitely something to come back for.

Note: Parking might be hard to find during peak hours (lunch, dinner).

5 stars, thumb up, must visit.

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Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market and Patio Cafe
25653 Pacific Coast Hwy
Malibu, CA 90265
(310) 456-3430
www.malibuseafood.com