Category

http://www.kingshawaiian.com/

2808 W Sepulveda Blvd, Torrence, CA. (310) 530-0050

Have you ever tried King’s Hawaiian bread? Well, did you know you can have it warm and fresh at their restaurant?

We started off with some classic King’s Hawaiian Bread. Having it fresh was so much better than buying it at a supermarket. It was very soft.

Royal Platter ($10.95) - this huge, plentiful platter offered samples of five of their menu items, which included teriyaki chicken and beef, Spam masubi, wings, and fried calamari. The teriyaki chicken was tasty and the jumbo-sized wings were crispy and delicious.

Won Ton Min ($7.75)

Saimin Teriyaki Chicken ($7.65) - I thought the noodles were nice and thick. I didn’t realize that the Royal Platter came with the same teriyaki chicken. I should have ordered regular Saimin noodles. There was too much food for two people.

The bakery has assorted goodies, such as cakes, pies, cookies, and bread. As you can see, they were ready for Halloween!

I took home a Rolled Florentine ($1.30) and Chocolate Dipped Butterfly Cookie ($1.55). The Rolled Florentine was delicious! I bit into one end and to my surprise, it was filled with chocolate cream. The Butterfly Cookie was crisp and flaky. The desserts are reasonably priced.

They also have a cafe called “The Local Place” located at 18605 S Western Ave, Torrance, CA. (310) 523-3233. It’s a smaller and faster version of the restaurant featuring Porky Boy Sandwiches and authentic Hawaiian Shave Ice. I need to try that next! While I was in Kauai, I had Hawaiian Shave Ice with ice cream at the bottom and it was delicious! Sort of like creamsicles!

The service was very relaxed and friendly. There’s plenty of space… nice large booths. This was definitely a great casual dining experience!

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 3/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 15/20

8360 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90069. (323) 653-7145

http://sweetladyjane.com/

Who doesn’t like a good dessert? I know I’m always on the lookout for something sweet to try. My cousin introduced me to Sweet Lady Jane. I’d put this place in the same category as Extraordinary Desserts. It offers a selection of cookies, cakes, and other sweets (which varies each day). They also have a wide selection of coffee and tea. It is very small and you’d be lucky to find a table. During their busiest times of the day, there is a maximum time that you are allowed to sit.

I tried the White Chocolate Janoli. There’s a thin layer that’s sort of like soft peanut brittle wrapped around some kind of white chocolate cream inside and the ends are dipped in chocolate. It was delicious!

Taste: 10/10
Presentation: 4/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 18/20

42505 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90265. (310) 457-3095

http://neptunesnet.com/

Neptune’s Net… sound familiar? It was one of the locations in the original “The Fast and The Furious.” I’ve wanted to try this place out ever since I saw the movie. Sadly, I was disappointed. It’s out of the way and not very noticeable… you may even drive past it.

Something that I found to be funny was this sign, “Neptune’s Net only serves DRY patrons. If you’re dripping wet, NO SOUP FOR YOU!” There are also other funny signs posted around the restaurant.

There are two sides to Neptune’s Net… the restaurant side serves clam chowder, grilled foods, salads, assorted combos and sides. The seafood side has live or fresh shrimp, clams, oysters, crabs, and lobsters that you can order to have cooked.

I had the Shrimp Basket. The fried shrimp and fries were ordinary.

Dave had the Clam Strip Basket with half a pint of New England Style Clam Chowder.

I think the appeal for locals is that it is right across from the beach. Whatever you do, DO NOT use their restrooms. They are portable restrooms and completely disgusting!!! If it weren’t for the restrooms and the far distance, I might go back and try the seafood side.

Taste: 5/10
Presentation: 3/5
Service/Atmosphere: 3/5
Total: 11/20

Hollywood and Highland Shopping Center, 6801 Hollywood Blvd No. 1.5-153, Hollywood, CA 90028

http://www.muginohousa.com/

We were in the Hollywood and Highland shopping center checking out all the cool shops and eateries around the area. Right when we were about to leave we found ourselves at Beard Papa to get our parking ticket validated.

Beard Papa originated from Osaka Japan and claim to have the world’s best cream puffs. All the ingredients that go into their pastries are all natural and baked fresh. I’ll let Beard Papa tell you his story himself. They have many locations around the U.S.

They have everything from cream puffs, mochi ice cream, cheesecake sticks, fondant au chocolate, and eclairs. Their cheesecake stick look interesting and I was tempted to give it a try. I will tryt it next time I come back.

I wanted to try their green tea flavored cream puff, but all they had that day was vanilla and coffee. I decided on the vanilla, which was dusted with a little bit of powdered sugar. They don’t fill it with cream until you order it, so that it keeps the pastry from getting soggy.

The pastry itself had a nice crunchy and soft texture that I really liked. The cream itself was excellent as well. If you look close enough you can kind of see the vanilla beans inside the cream. That was a definite plus to know that they actually use all natural ingredients. Hopefully next time they will have their green tea flavored puff ready for me.

Taste: 9/10

3300 W 6th Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020

http://pinkberry.com/

On my trip to LA one of the places I wanted to go to was Pinkberry because I heard so many good things about it. Pinkberry reminded me of a Jamba Juice, but frozen yogurt instead of smoothies. The decor of the inside was really trendy. They had mini pebbles for their flooring and many bright colors to make the inside stand out more. Despite how cold it was that day, there was a huge crowd that night. It kind of seemed endless as people kept flowing in. We didn’t even have a place to sit, so we stood up for the most part. It isn’t that big inside and they only have about 6 or 7 tables.

You have the option of regular, green tea, shaved ice, or smoothies. This was their medium size regular yogurt with 3 toppings($4.99). The frozen yogurt was different than most yogurts i’ve tasted before. It wasn’t as sweet as most yogurts and it had a different texture unlike the smoother yogurt you normally get. I definitely liked this version better than the normal frozen yogurt we are use to. What makes Pinkberry special is that fresh fruit they use. My pineapple was cut fresh and not canned. Since the yogurt was slightly sweet it didn’t cover up the taste of the fresh fruit. Because the fruit was so fresh it helped sweetened the yogurt and it was a good balance of flavors.

I would go here almos everyday if there was one in San Diego. Pinkberry is a nice healthier alternative for dessert. You wouldn’t feel as guilty eating a order of yogurt.

Taste: 9/10