Kat's 9 Lives

On Saturday, Lil Bel and I hit the mall up. I hope she got the Prada sunglasses she liked. They looked wonderful ^_-. Since she has never tried the Nordstrom Cafe, I had to introduce her! I have been going to this place since High School. This time I decided to order something different from the first post. Just a friendly reminder, I have been to many different Nordstrom Cafes and they all vary slightly. My favorite one is still in Mission Viejo Mall. The service there varies, but the interior decor is always pleasant. It can get rather crowded on the weekends, but it's worth the wait.
As usual, I had to get the Roma Tomato with Basil soup with delicious extra Garlic Cheese Bread. They were actually out when I got there, so I had to wait a while to get my soup. It was a little annoying that they took a really long time to bring out the soup because it came with the sandwich. I couldn't really get a head start on the soup, so it got a little cold as I kept trying to work from one dish to the next. The soup of course was great as usual.
I decided to showcase the Pesto Chicken Panini. If you like sun-dried tomato and creamy pesto, then this would be perfect for you. The sandwich is always loaded with thinly sliced chicken breast. It's a very filling sandwich and goes great with the soup. The only thing I don't like about the sandwich is that after eating it for a while, it scrapes the roof of your mouth. It came with fresh made potato chips on the side. This is the best panini there in my opinion. It has the most flavor out of the three.
Lil Bel decided to try the Roasted Chicken with Roasted Vegetables. I have never ordered that dish, because I hate chicken with bones. To my surprise it was almost boneless. There was only a small wing bone still attached. The chicken was roasted to perfection and very moist. It was a little lacking in flavor, but very healthy. I liked the slight lemon flavor. There was a ton of roasted vegetables, which would be my Krytonite. Yuck! lol O=P I am a carnivore! I am allergic to all vegetables. O=) The dish was very filling over all. I had to help Lil Bel with her dish, which led me to take half my sandwich home.
To fulfill her sweet tooth, Lil Bel ordered the Crème Brûlée. They seemed to have forgotten it and I just told the server, she immediately brought one out without even checking to see we ordered one. I must say they were very trusting. They have pretty good desserts at this location. I have tried them all. The Crème brûlée that day was a little TOO creamy for me. It was very thick. The torched sugar made it taste a lot better. I wish they put different fruits, but I guess they weren't in season. Usually there's a wide variety of fruits and not just a lot of raspberries.

All in the food was good and solid. The service here varies. I like the mint chocolate strips they give you at the end so that you will tip them. I guess it's a smart ploy. The cafe is always nice and clean. I will most likely be back soon again with MBA, as I have made her addict of the soup. ^_~

It was MBA's B-day on May 28th. We had a delay celebration by going to a restaurant of her choice. She chose Tutto Fresco in RSM. MBA has loved this place ever since I first took her there a few years ago. It's tucked away in the back between Trader Joe's and Target. I usually try to come here on Friday or Saturday because I love their chicken tortilla soup! Even though the soup has beans, I still love the soup and eat everything in it. They are usually pretty busy on the weekends and it's definitely a favorite of locals. The interior has a rustic decor. It's not quite as corny as the Venice paintings in every possible Italian restaurant, but the walls are still the same color. =P
They always bring you fresh moist bread with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The bread here is usually pretty flavorful and tasty. The texture reminds me of a mix between corn meal with flour. It's still soft with a bit of a gratier texture. My meal came with a soup and since it was Thursday I couldn't choose chicken tortilla soup. =*( I chose to try their Meatball Soup recommended by our server. I'm glad I listened to her because it was extremely flavorful and filled with substance. The meatballs were good and the fresh stewed vegetables were just right. To finish the soup off, I dipped the bread in to add more texture. Now I might come back on Thursdays so I can get this soup again. I am so torn now!
MBA always gets the same dish because it's her favorite. She ordered the Tagliatelle alla Norcina. It's flat ribbon pasta with sautéed red roasted peppers and Italian sausage in a tomato cream sauce. The sausage tastes very similar to the meatballs and they were good. She loves to dip her bread into the sauce as she eats. The portions are always very generous and definitely enough for a next day's meal.
I keep ordering different dishes when I go there because I haven't found anything that is amazing to me like the Tagliatelle is to MBA. After many hits and misses, I think I have finally found something that I would get again for sure. I ordered the Carre di Agnello this time. It's New Zealand spring rack of lamb with a mustard garlic sauce. At first when I read mustard, I was grossed out but since it said garlic and I wanted lamb then why not try it. I am so glad that I did because the portion was tremendous. They actually gave a huge rack of lamb! It might not be of the best quality but I am all or the portion-size! ^_- yum yum! The sauce was surprisingly tasty! There wasn't a strong mustard flavor, it was more of a creamy taste. I gave MBA a taste and she loved it. The pasta was only decent, I think I will go back to the Rosemary potatoes instead. If you love lamb then you should definitely try this out.
To finish off the night, MBA ordered the Spumoni. It's your typical Italian ice cream of chocolate, cherry bits, and pistachio layers. The portion was very generous for the price. MBA always gets the ice cream here.
All in all this place is solid. I haven't always gotten things I liked, but I keep coming back because I was sold on the soup and bread. This time I finally hit gold and found a dish that I really liked. The food here is pretty consistent and the prices are very reasonable. I always say yes to this place when MBA has a craving. =)

We haven't been back to Chef Chen in a while because the quality of their food has been going down a lot. It's still acceptable enough to come back once in a while since the price for lunch is cheap. They are a pretty new addition to the restaurant choices in Irvine off of Jefferey. It's nice and clean with a mahogany furnished interior. I have been there so many times that all the servers know who my Mom and I are. Some of them are really nice and some are just decent, depends on your luck.
The lunches come with Hot & Sour Soup and salad, but we never get the salad. I don't like the plum dressing, so they know not to give us the salad. My favorite dish was the Black Bean Fish Fillet. It used to be so good, but keeps getting worse and worse. Normally I order it and then add another order after it comes out, that way to guarantee they are prepared individually. I think they have gotten lazy and don't batter and fry the fish fillets anymore before stir frying. The flavor varies from day to day and even the same day, they really need to work on consistency.
We usually get the Shanghai Spare Ribs, which is usually good. It's a sweet soy-based sauce that is thickened onto chopped spare ribs. The ribs are crispy and tasty. Some times there's a little too much sauce, but the meat is consistently good. It's very similar to sesame chicken, except with pork ribs. They have a salt & pepper ribs, but that isn't the same cut of ribs. The Shanghai ribs are actual real tiny diced ribs versus the salt & pepper are like pork chop cuts.
All in all the food is decent, they are really a hit and miss a lot of the times. They are pretty popular since they are one of the new places that opened up. Their lunch varies from $5-$7. I have only been here once for dinner and it's definitely not worth paying full price. Try to catch this place for lunch, they have lunch every day of the week. Got to love Asian places and being open all the time!

I love going to Sam Woo B.B.Q for a quick fix. On Saturday I was up in Irvine for an info session so I wanted to get home but also get some decent food for lunner. My favorite thing to get is the Three Delicacy with Rice. I always choose Roast Duck, Roast Pork, and Soy Sauce Chicken. The pork was extremely flavorful and tender! Recently they have been making really great roast pork. Makes me want to go back and pick up a few pounds to keep in the fridge for snacks. The cut of the duck was not very good, but still flavorful. Some times I change the third option depending on the mood.
The best thing is their awesome deal for take-out at the bbq side. You can choose a 3 item combo for only $5 plus tax. It also comes with soup! This time they gave the Egg Drop soup with Corn, which was actually pretty light and tasty. They some times have Egg Drop soup with Seaweed, which is tasty and healthy for you. I mean how cheap can you get! For the carbs I chose noodles. My favorite thing is the Salt & Pepper Shrimp. If you order it on the restaurant side then you pay a lot more. It's a give and take because when it's made fresh it tastes wonderful! One thing I hate is peeling shrimp, but my love for the dish somehow overcomes my laziness. O=P Being cute and sweet goes a long way! When I was ordering I used Mandarin and a cute tone. If you choose shrimp for all three items they usually really skimp. So the strategy was to order shrimp first, which they give a very generous amount. Then I ordered the Salt & Peppered Pork, their's is not one of my favorites. Some times it's way too greasy or fatty, but this time it was good. Then for the third item I say shrimp again in hopes they don't skimp too much. Depending on your luck, this time I showed the right amount of cuteness, the lady kindly gave me tons of shrimp! The grand total was 18 shrimps! WOOOOO HOOOOOO! For $5 that was awesome! It made my day!

I know it is shocking for me to say I LOVE a salad since I am a carnivore and all. This is one of the rare places I go to just for their salads! My favorite Nordstrom Cafe is the one in the Shops at Mission Viejo. Each store has a different daily soup. Mine has the AWESOME Roma Tomato with Basil soup as there daily soup. I have gotten many people addicted to this yummy soup, you know who you guys are! ^_^ They also come with their delicious garlic cheese bread. I always ask for extra bread. If you are ever in Mission Viejo then you definitely need to stop by try a bowl!
A bowl of soup is never enough. I usually order a delicious salad or a tasty panini. Currently my favorite salad is the Parmesan Chicken Crusted Salad, which is a cobb salad. The chicken is always made to perfection in flavor, moistness, and crisp texture. My favorite use to be the Chicken Caesar Salad because they would have wonderful moist grilled chicken and their sauce as delicious especially if you add lemon. Their Chinese Chicken Salad is delicious as well. It is a colorful mixture of red & yellow bell peppers along with a variety of fresh crisp vegetables. The sauce is a little too sweet, but still great. They add delicious wontons on top. If you are a fan of blue cheese and fruit then you must try their Chicken Fruit Salad. The blue cheese really brings out the sweetness of the fruits.

Nordstrom Cafe also has delicious hot panini's. My favorite is the Chicken Pesto Panini. They always have a generous amount of moist grilled chicken, sundried tomatoes, cheese, & pesto. So delicious! The only thing about the sandwiches is that after a few bites they scrape the roof of my mouth, but they go swimmingly with the tomato soup!

As you can see I love this place and have tried almost EVERYTHING! I often try their specials too. Note that not all Nordstrom Cafes carry the same menu items nor do they taste the same even if they are the same items. Still I would give any of them a try and I have, that is why I know they are all different. All in all, they should be a good place for a light meal.