Kat's 9 Lives

After I got back from Vegas, I barely had any time to breath and I headed down with my Mom to meet Ms. Lin in San Diego. I basically spent ALL DAY in a car. We didn't get there until late at night because I took my sweet time in getting back in a car to head down through the traffic. So what is there to do in the Gas Lamp district in San Diego late at night? Well Ms. Lin looked up Mangu, a Caribbean restaurant, to try. They are suppose to be known for their happy hour and late night dining.
Man was the service SLOW! I mean they were really nice and we were seated immediately but the server informed us that the kitchen was slow that night... boy were we in for a surprise! Everything really did come out slowly and my hunger was growing. We did order a cocktail for happy hour and sat there drinking it on an empty stomach... not the best idea. Eventually we got the Caribbean Wings that are Cinnamon Rum Spiced Chicken Wings with a Habañero Cilantro Lime Mayo. Ever since Breezes in Vegas we have been craving for some awesome wings but these were definitely not it. They were sweet and on the wet side. I was hoping for some dry rubbed wings that are cooked to perfection. The flavor was not too bad but it's not the jerked wings that I craved for.
My favorite item of the night was the Carne Frita (Tradicional). It's marinated Fried Pork Chunks topped with Red Onion. Be sure to squeeze the lime to add that extra kick. The only beef (or should I say pork) I had with this dish was that the meat was not cooked well. I think I was eating some raw pork, but I didn't really care enough to send it back as it might take 5 billion years for it to come back out! At first I really wanted to get another one because it was pretty flavorful and juicy, but the wait was just too excruciating and it was getting late. They were out of a few things on the happy hour menu when we arrived and that made me sad. I really wanted to try some of the ceviches that people rave about. Actually they might not have been discounted but I really wanted to try them and it didn't matter how much. Unfortunately, any of the ones that actually sounded tasty were all gone! =*(
We decided to get the Hamburger & Fries and an Empañada that was offered on the happy hour menu. Sadly, these dishes fell super short of execution. The meat in the hamburger was tiny and didn't taste anything special. I would rather get a Whopper than eat this. The fries were crispy and good to munch on but nothing impressive. I was not a big fan of the empañadas. The crust was decent but the ground meat on the inside wasn't anything memorable. These two really wasn't anything special. It definitely was not worth the wait.
All in all the place was nice but the food wasn't anything special. I would describe this place like an Americanized, hip, modern joint that wants to claim it has Caribbean influences. For a late night snack, it's fine and they offer some decent deals. I would probably go back one more time to try their ceviches but after this experience, I wouldn't expect much.

Mangu

Since A16 and SPQR are sister restaurants and I thought A16 was not bad, we decided to check out SPQR. Ms. Lin had wanted to try this place since it's highly rated. Maybe we had too high of an expectation? I thought this place was WAY OVERRATED! It's really interesting how one restaurant can be so much better than the other when they do serve some similar items! @_@ Arrive early if you don't have reservations so you don't have to wait long. SPQR is a lot smaller than A16. We arrived early and shopped around... and bought something very expensive that I do not need. O=9
The food here was not very good, but the service was very very friendly. It was much better than A16. Ms. Lin ordered red wine and didn't like the taste, the server brought different red wines for her to try until she found one that she'd like. I felt really bad about it and commented that I liked my Moscato d'Asti! ^_^ Yay, I caused less trouble!
At SPQR they have a bunch of Antipasti to choose from. They are $8 each, 3 for $21, or 5 for $32. Since we always want to try everything possible, of course we chose 5. I will start by commenting on the only one I liked. We ordered the Bay Scallops with Meyer Lemon. What I really loved about this dish was the FRIED Meyer lemon pieces among the fried scallops. As I have mentioned time and time again, anything fried gets bonus points. I have never had a battered and fried lemon. I also don't like Meyer lemons but they did it in a way where I loved it, which is why I really like this antipasti. It was simple and tasty with a nice texture.
Sorry to rain on the parade, but the rest of the antipasti we chose was horrendous! Ms. Lin read that the Chicken Livers were a crowd favorite and she has to try it. I warned her before she ordered it that she would eat this ALONE. The most I would do is take a nibble. It was not that good. The portions were generous, but this was bad news for Ms. Lin. I felt so bad for her having to eat the whole plate of liver that she didn't quite like. Then again, I warned her. ^_^
We both like sweetbreads so we ordered Sweetbreads with Celery, Garlic, Lemon, and Oregano. It was not the type of sweetbread I am use to, so I stopped eating it shortly. I tried to shove as much down without gagging, but unfortunately for Ms. Lin I gave up. She had to eat most of this plate as well. Poor Ms. Lin! Darn the Asian within us that can't waste food! The sweetbread was flavorless and the celery flavor was overpowering, which made me nauseous.
One dish I wanted was the Lobster Brodo with Shrimp, Spigarello Greens, and Ceci Beans. I was mislead when reading this dish. It was just a dish of tiny shrimp in a lobster broth that was very salty and overpowering. If you dip the bread it will lower the salty taste. I actually tried to eat most of this dish since it was my fault, but of course Ms. Lin helped a lot since I don't eat beans.
We also ordered the Grilled Pork Ribs with Fennel and Rosemary. Most of the time I can tolerate any dish full of meat, but this fell short. It was bland, dry, and a little tough. Overall all the antipasti dishes were disappointing except the fried Meyer lemon and scallops. After we got all our food, Ms. Lin's eyes started wondering over to other tables. We should have ordered the Mozzarella sticks, even though it's not really worth the price. What we ordered was so bad, we both regretted not ordering that dish. **sob sob**
Luckily for me the main course was not bad tasting or I would have gone starving for the night. Ms. Lin was very full after the antipasti since I barely touched them. We ordered the Heritage Pork Saltimbocca with Giardiniera. The presentation was lacking and the meat seemed a little dry, but looks are deceiving. This dish was actually decent, probably because it tasted much better than the antipasti.
All in all the food was extremely disappointing, but the service was very nice and much better than A16. Food wise, I would try A16 again but the service was very bad. They should switch the servers at SPQR and A16 would be perfect! ^_- The food here at SPQR are definitely not worth the effort or try, although I loved a store nearby where I spent a fortune! ^_^

SPQR
1911 Fillmore St
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 771-7779

Good thing we arrived early for dinner at Manora's Thai in SF, because it started to get really busy after 7PM. There were rave reviews on the internet for this place so we decided to step out and give this place a try. I believe I have been to this neighborhood on my last trip and tried this really bad restaurant that I still have yet to blog about. From the outside you can't really tell that the interior of this restaurant would be nice. They have this neon sign outside that looked kind of broken down, but once you step inside you would see the nice furnishing. I really liked the wood furnishings and gold finish. The fresh flowers really add a nice exotic touch.
To start off the night we both ordered Thai Iced Tea. I couldn't resist a nice refreshing glass that night. Their drink was good, but nothing special. We had to try the highly recommended appetizer, Pirate Treasure. It's a combination of shrimp, chicken, and bean thread sheet marinated in Thai herbs with a touch of lemon spicy sauce. This was definitely a different item from what I have seen at other Thai restaurants. It was very flavorful, tangy, sweet & sour with a touch of spice. I really liked the bean threads. Ms. Lin loved the sauce and kept it around so that she could mix it with the rest of the dishes. The presentation was on point and the taste was great even with the raw cabbage provided. I think this was the best dish of the night.

All the appetizers looked good and we debated for a long time before deciding on what to order. As a compromise, I got to choose the second appetizer and Ms. Lin will get to order a dish she really liked at her favorite Thai restaurant in Boston. As I have said before, I love anything fried. O=P We got the Katong Ton that was crispy batter cups filled with garlic shrimp, chicken, and vegetable mixed with curry served with chili garlic sauce. The presentation was very nice and cute. As for taste, it was good but nothing special. I think it's more about show than taste, but I did like the batter cups.
The Pad Thai here were suppose to be really good and highly recommended. It's pan-fried rice noodles with shrimp, tofu, egg, and bean sprouts. I thought it was only decent, I have definitely had better. It was a little bland for my taste and I didn't like the squishy texture of the tofu. Most of the Pad Thais I've had in the past were firmer tofu that packed more flavor. I don't think I would get this again or recommend it, try more appetizers instead! ^_-
One of my favorite Thai dishes is the Gang-Gari-Gai, Yellow Curry Chicken. Ms. Lin suggested that we get duck instead of chicken, so we ordered the Gang-Ped-Ped-Yang. It's roast duck cooked in curry with coconut milk & red chili sauce with pineapple and spinach. I thought it was yellow curry because I don't like red curry. The duck was good but I didn't like this dish because the pineapple taste was weird in my opinion. At first I though they were potatoes. Guess I didn't read the description before ordering. Ms. Lin ordered the Hoi-Tod because it's one of her favorite dishes. It's Thai style pan-fried mussels that's fried in crispy batter with spicy Thai herbs mixed with egg and bean sprout served with chili garlic sauce. The areas that were crispy tasted good only with the sauce. Overall it was quite disappointing and it wasn't what Ms. Lin imagined it to be. I definitely wouldn't get this dish again. It reminded me of the Chinese oyster omelette, Owah Jien. Trust me, skip this dish if you ever go there.To end the meal we ordered the dessert of the day, which was Fresh Mango with Sticky Rice. The presentation was nice, but the mango wasn't too ripe. It wasn't what I'd thought it to be, I like it when there's some custard on top of the sticky rice. The sticky rice with coconut milk was good, but nothing different from what you can get at other Thai restaurants. All in all this place was good, better than normal Thai restaurants but nothing spectacular. Overall the service and ambiance was nice. There's a lot of nice choices that differ from what you normally see in other Thai restaurants, but I think what stood out the most was the appetizers. If I lived up in SF, I would come back and try their other dish and appetizers.Manora's Thai
1600 Folsom St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 861-6224

It's hard to imagine that I didn't like lamb at all not so long ago. Now I can't stop eating lamb chops, lamb loins, rack of lamb, and more! Yum Yum YUM! This was actually the first place I ate on the night of my arrival to SJC Airport. We went to Santana Row for dinner, but we arrived to early so we dilly dallied around. You will notice all the drink places we stopped off for. We thought that Amber opened at 5PM but they didn't open until 5:30PM. From the outside, Amber looked very modern and pretty. As you enter the decor that sticks out in my mind was the starry ceiling. It definitely was not your typical Indian decor, but I really liked the feeling and ambiance. The glittering lights adorned above and across on the walls by the bar really give off the feeling that you were off in your own universe. That is until a lot more people arrive and the volume level was cranked up sky high. Other than that I really enjoyed the stylish decor.
We started off the night with the Paneer, Feta & Spinach Phyllo appetizer. Baked cumin spiced paneer, spinach, & feta phyllo rolls that come with two types of sauces. They gave the typical mint and tamarind sauces for you to add flavor to the phyllo rolls. I didn't like their mint sauce because it was quite salty and their tamarind sauce was a little to pungent for my taste. The phyllo roll itself was very light in flavor so you would need sauces to really bring out the taste, but as I mentioned the sauces weren't great. Eventually I decided to just eat the appetizer with no sauce, but it was really bland. I definitely don't think I would get this again because it's not worth the price if it wasn't delectable at all.
Ms. Lin loves this place mainly for one dish and one dish only. It's the Frontier Kebab that really sold this place. Lamb chops prepared in a ginger and yogurt sauce. This was one of their signature dishes and rightly so. The meat was extremely tender and flavorful. Each bite was juicy and a perfect combination of savory delights. Even though it was made with ginger, you really can't taste the flavor of ginger. At first I was very skeptical because I despise the taste of ginger but I was pleasantly surprised about this dish. The lamb chops were laid atop raw onions on a hot sizzling platter. This dish comes with 4 pieces of lamb chops for the price of $28, which I guess is normal price. If you come down Santana Row, you should DEFINITELY come try this dish.
For our second dish we decided to try the Achari Lamb Pasanda Kebab, Achari spice flavored lamb picalla kebabs. Since Ms. Lin raved about the other lamb dish, I thought that we could get another dish that sounded similar. Alas, I wish we ordered two orders of the Frontier Kebab if I knew it was that good. This dish was decent, but not anything to die for. The best part was that it was boneless pieces of lamb, but they were a little bit dry. Overall the meat was tender, but nowhere near the tastiness of the other dish. At first I didn't like the Achari flavor. As the meat cooled off more and I took more bites this dish, it started to grow on me more. This dish might have tasted better if we didn't have the other dish, which was miles and miles beyond in flavor.
We ordered the Kulcha, leavened bread stuffed with Masala Potato. Somehow the server made a mistake on our order and brought us the Assorted Bread Basket. I was wondering why there were so many pieces of Kulcha and why they were all different. This was only decent, I didn't really like the bread that much.

All in all this place was fairly good. It really wasn't an authentic Indian restaurant. The best thing was that one lamb dish and that was what sold me. Had they charged me for the bread basket then I would give a really bad review because I didn't even like the bread. The server a little hesitantly changed the price on our bill. Overall this place was like a middle to high end Indian restaurant with a little touch of fusion. I would come back again for the Frontier Lamb and maybe try some other dishes. The ambiance and food did leave a good enough impression, although thinned my wallet. =P

So far! I drove back up to LA today again and on my way grabbed lunch & dinner. For lunch I went to an old favorite, Asakuma. It's a well known Sushi place and there's valet parking that's only $2 with validation for lunch. I like going at lunch because some of their cooked dishes are good and cost less during lunch but the same portion size as what you'd get for dinner. Their interior was the same ole wooden touch but with a hint of modern. They were super busy for lunch, but as it went past 2PM there were less people around.
I had to start off the lunch with my favorite appetizer, the Spicy Tuna with Crispy Wonton Skin. They have the best and most flavorful spicy tuna ever. I was never that big of a fan of spicy tuna until I had it here. Every time I stop by LA I debate about ordering some for take out and devouring it in the car! I have their number programmed in my phone that should tell you how much I love this. O=P They have spicy tuna on crispy wonton skins with creamy wasabi sauce, black tobiko, and cube-cut avocado. The sauces that they drizzle atop the spicy tuna only adds to the lusciousness of the spicy tuna. They use roe and an abundance of sesame oil in the spicy tuna itself that gives a delicious lingering taste in your mouth.
Both of our orders came with the typical Miso soup and Sunomono. I don't know if it was because I was starving or not, but the soup was very flavorful. Personally, I don't like the sunomono here but then again I am "allergic" to all vegetables. For my main order, I got my favorite New York Steak Teriyaki. I usually change the order because I don't like the vegetables and side dishes that normally come with the meal. My favorite part of this dish is the fried udon noodles. So I always ask them to just give me more noodles and just the meat would be good enough for me. I asked for medium-rare to rare, but it came a little overcooked. As for flavor it's not bad, but I am purely their for my yummy fried noodles.
My Mom got the Sashimi Plate with 3-Tuna, 2-Yellowtail, 2-Salmon, 2-Albacore, and 2-White Fish. The cuts were generous, but I do agree with Burumun that eating in the dining room was nowhere near as fresh or tasty as what you'd get at the sushi bar. Next time I will sit at the sushi bar because the lunch plate was not cheap and I rather pay a little more for much fresher fish.
All in all the food was good, the only thing spectacular was the spicy tuna on wontons that's my favorite dish there. The service was a little inattentive. Their service got worse as there was LESS people there, go figure. I like Asakuma a lot, it's a common place for me to go. It's just good and reliable, although a little bit pricey. They do have some interesting "new-age" sushi that's worth trying if your willing to dish out the dough!

Asakuma

Got to love Claim Jumper for their huge portions for a reasonable price! Of course the best part was to spend a nice meal with your friends ^_-! After a nice long day of shopping, what better way to unwind than with a wholesome meal. I haven't been to Claimy's **my special nickname for the place** for a long long time. Usually Ms. Lin DRAGS me there when she comes back home to get her Blackened Prime Rib, bleh.
I got one of our ultimate favorites, the Corn Muffin with Honey Butter! It's a huge steaming hot muffin that you can cut into smaller pieces and glaze on a huge goop of wonderful honey butter. The muffin just melts in your mouth and a party begins in your mouth. I know it's hard to pass up their awesome traditional Garlic Cheese Toast, usually when I eat with Ms. Lin we get both and share!
Coconut's meal came with the Garlic Cheese Toast. It's a sourdough bread that's layered with globs of garlic & butter with crisp cheese atop. Just the smell or thought alone makes me drool! I couldn't even stop myself from sneaking a yummy bite from Coconut's bread O=P. Two of them also ordered the Clam Chowder soup. It was thick and flavorful, personally I like the Chicken Tortilla Soup there.
I ALWAYS have to get the ever so blissful Chicken Tenderloins, but don't be greedy like me and order anything else! Unless you share this appetizer with some people, you will be soooo full. I spent the entire meal eating this because it's the best part of the meal! Gigantic tender chicken light battered and fried to perfection. The portions were extremely generous and it's just pure meat, my favorite! I always ask for the Spicy Buffalo sauce on the side, along with Blue Cheese and Ranch to balance the spice. I know Ms. Lin is jealous that I got to eat this YUMMY appetizer without her!

Little Bel got the Strawberry Lemonade. She said it was decent. I bet it's nowhere as good as the strawberry banana smoothies she makes for me! ^_- She decided to get the Clubhouse Sandwich with turkey, sweet ham, bacon, Gouda, Muenster, garlic mayo, tomato, and greens. It was a HUGE portion. The entire plate was covered with the sandwich and fries, definitely a meal for days. I only wished that there wasn't so much bread, it's a triple decker sandwich. You really get what you pay for in quantity!

Her beau ordered the Sausage & Pepperoni Pizza with mild Italian sausage and pepperoni with fresh mozzarella and marinara sauce. They have a mini size of this dish in their Happy Hour menu. I have been there many times for Happy Hour, but it's not that great of a deal. Their pizza was flavorful and packed full of toppings. The crust was just right, not too think & not too thin and not too dry.
Coconut ordered the Rotisserie Chicken made with their original recipe, half a chicken slowly barbecued and basted in its own natural juices & herbs. For her side she chose the Cheese Potatocakes. It's made with Parmesan, cheddar, monterey jack, cilantro, onion, dill, & mashed potato that's lightly breaded then fried and topped with herbed ranch. Always a favorite of Ms. Lin. I think I have had it way too much to say I would order it, but it's still delicious. A crispy texture outside and a soft flavorful center. The chicken looked a little dry but flavorful. Coconut said it was tender, moist, and delicious.
I shouldn't have been so greedy! For my main course I decided to get Baby Back Ribs on the Junior Jumpers menu, no not a kids meal. The appetizer and main course almost came out at the same time so I had to choose which dish was more important to me. Did you even need to ask? Of course it's the appetizer! So I barely touched the dish and just let it sit. I felt so guilty that I should have ordered more than just an appetizer. I asked to substitute my fries for the corn muffin, but they still gave me the fries. Eventually I took a small bite of the ribs, it was only okay. This could be due to the fact I was getting full from the chicken tenderloins or because I ate it as it was getting cold. Their ribs do vary in taste and texture a lot. Sometimes you get a great cut that's moist and packed full of flavor and sometimes you can get a piece that's over cooked and dry. It's really hard to say, but their flavor is usually good.
Bel & beau got the World's Smallest Sundae with vanilla bean ice cream, hot fudge, whipped cream, sliced almonds, & a cherry. There's no such thing as small in Claimy's, their portions are always enormous! Just look at the Chocolate Motherlode Cake! Coconut decided to get the Red Velvet Cupcake. I never knew they had that there. It was decent, the outside was chewy and the inside was moist.
All in all the food here is pretty consistent. I grew up eating this place so you know I keep coming back. Despite running into a lot of server issues before, I still come back for more. The server this time was nice. She basically gave me the corn muffin and I think either she messed up my order of the Junior Jumpers by putting in the kids meal instead or she just charged me wrong. Either way my meal was cheaper than what I thought it would be so I can't complain! Of course I will come back, hopefully with Ms. Lin!

Mango, Coconut, and Banana Split were back for more Mexican food! Aren't we a fruity bunch! I also have to pay homage to Tofu for the name Banana Split. So after the fiasco with Taléo Grill, we decided to get Mexican food again. This time we ventured over to the Kaleidoscope for some El Torito Grill. Their decor was very festive and colorful. As you will see the dishes were plated on very colorful plates. The ambiance was very similar to a family restaurant, down to earth. Service was friendly and pretty prompt.
A great thing about this place would be the free delicious fresh flour tortillas with sweet butter and fresh salsas! There's no limit to how much you can get too. They really do a great job with the tortillas. It's soft, chewy, and flavorful! I love buttering the tortilla and dabbling some salsa then wrap it up to eat it like a taquito. Watch out for drippage!
Mango had to have her favorite dish the Lobster Quesadilla. Tender lobster, jack & cotija cheeses, pastilla chiles, mango salsa and chipotle sauce in a flour tortilla served with fresh guacamole. It's an appetizer but the size was tremendous. You can definitely make a meal out of it and more! Mango was in heaven and wants everybody to know that the dish was superb. I have had this dish before a long time ago and I can't really recall much about this dish except that it was huge. If you don't share it with a big group, then it's really a meal in itself.
Coconut ordered Carnitas Soft Tacos. Two flour tortillas tacos with carnitas inside served with homemade beans, avocado relish, and sweet corn cake. She opted to substitute the beans for rice, which they made a mistake of the corn cake and took a while to get the rice. I guess the good thing was she got more of the corn cake!
I ordered the Carnitas Yucatán to see how they measure up here at El Torito Grill. Tender pork with garlic, achiote, fresh lime, orange juice, and spices that's slow roasted and later topped with citrus-habañero marinated red onions served with red & black beans, rice, avocado relish, and sweet corn cake. If you don't all know yet, I HATE BEANS of any sort. So I definitely had to substitute and what better place than here! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE their sweet corn cake! It's almost like a sweet corn tamale, which is one of my favorite things. I just love the sweetness that the corn has and the soft texture of the cake. It's a blissful blend of flavors. Man I want to go back again soon and just eat plates & plates of the sweet corn cake for a meal! For people who know me, it must be good for me to forgo meat and want to eat this!
The carnitas were decent, definitely better than the ones at Taléo Grill. At least the carnitas here looked like carnitas, the other place just looked like a big drumstick de-boned. The meat was a little bit saltier but blended well with the compliments. I didn't really like the sauce at the bottom because it was heavy and smokey. This was almost the exact same dish as Coconut except that I had to wrap my own tacos/burritos. The dish was good enough that I'd get it again, but I think I would substitute the rice for more YUMMY sweet corn cake!
All in all this place was good and reliable, consistent. I haven't really found a dish that is to die for in my opinion, except the awesome tortillas and sweet corn cake! Who can say no to free delicious tortillas? What really sells me is the fabulous sweet corn cake! Overall it's a good place for group gatherings, a quick bite, or just 'cause you crave the sweet corn cake. Can you tell I love the sweet corn cake yet? O=9