Restaurant Name: AnQi Bistro by Crustacean
Cusine: Asian Fusion
Location: Bloomingdales, South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, California
Company: Maddie Ota (:
Overall Experience: WE MET CHEF AN! WEEEE







Since Pizzeria Ortica was apparently closed (on a Sunday night?!), we decided to eat at AnQi for Chef An's famous garlic noodles. [Hopefully, a post for Pizzeria Ortica will appear soon :D]








The garlic noodles were very different from what I was expecting. I was expecting some sauce that would obviously be flavored by garlic, but what arrived instead was a bowl of dry noodles that were magically garlic flavored. I don't know how they did it, but without the presence of garlic the flavor still had a strong presence. The noodles were nothing OMG SPECTACULAR. They packed a lot of deep flavors but the texture of the noodles did not seem to match perfectly with the sauce. I think that if the noodles were slightly warm, to give the "just-came-out-of-the-pot" idea it would have been better. I am used to either hot or cold noodles, but rarely room temperature noodles which made these seem a bit odd. The flavor was definitely there, but the overall dish was somewhat unimpressive.












These are Anqi's filet mignon potstickers. For potstickers, I thought that the shapes were very interesting, as in different. What happened to the enlongated and sculpted potsticker? When the plate was set down, I was slightly confused at first what this dish was, and then I realized. I don't really understand the purpose of making their potstickers more shu-mai shaped than the original potsticker shape. The dough was average, if not a big more doughy that I prefer. The filling was nothing unique or mind-blowing (dang..have I been eating too much good food before that I don't salviate at the sound of filet mignon?). Each bit was half dough and half filling which was a bit more dough than I would prefer. I like having a crispy and light dough that provides a crunchy contrasting texture to the softness and juicyness of the filling. However, eating this felt like I was eating a mini crunchy bao-zi (an Asian bun). It was good, but for the price and resturant, I was expecting something awesome.







AHH. It has been so long that I actually don't remember exactly what was in these or what they were called. I remember the creamy sauce on top, however, which was probably the only thing about this worth remembering. It was like a very light mayo with added spices and chiles to give a kick. However, the actual tuna (I'm assuming and pretty sure) was just okay. Nothing like your awesome freshly and well-cut piece of raw fish from your traditional sushi restaurant.







This I definitely remember: Tofu Cheesecake with banana caramel, pistachio dust, and crispy banana. This dessert was definitely interesting. You have the flavor of tofu infused with the soft creamy texture of cheesecake. It was very very interesting. Almost weird, but definitely cool and high on weird-ness. The caramel was difficult to taste given just like five mini dots of it. The crispy banana tasted like softened dried bananas, therefore not of my list of things to go back and eat. The cheesecake itself was delicious and extremely fascinating!



Overall, I'm not quite sure if I would come back. The food was nice. The garlic noodles were nice. The small plates were nice. And the dessert was nice. Nothing extraordinary. The price was a bit much for the type of food that we have. Don't get me wrong, I love paying for food, but only if it's absolutely delicious! But yes, I felt that AnQi was bit pricey for the quality of the food that we got. But the ambiance was extremely nice and the interior was very appealing.

Restaurant Name: Cafe 222
Cusine: American, breakfast/brunch
Location: San Diego, California
Company: Kato and Raymond
Overall Experience: Great weather + Great food = THE California Experience





The decor was super cute! There were these two chandeliers that were tea cups with flame-like light bults! The walls (as picture) were brightly colored to match the cheerful and upbeat atmosphere of the resturant. The decor was super chic and simplistic, yet with tasteful and subtle accents. For example, the salt and pepper shakers bore the name of the restaurant, yet in a very cute and un-ostentatious fashion.



The menu was adorable, just like the decor. The first page, with drink, was subtitled "First things First." After seeing the Peanut Butter & Banana Stuffed French Toast on Food Network's "Best Thing I Ever Ate--Wake Up Call, I knew that I just had to get it! It was claimed as Bobby Flay's favorite breakfast dish and was simple wonderful!




Raymond ordered the "Eggs Italia" which was a scramble of tomatoes, goat cheese, and pesto, served with potatoes and focaccia toast. The eggs were absolutely divine. The pesto made the eggs and the entire scramble seem very fresh and pleasantly flavorful. It was perfectly seasoned and was not overpowering in flavor. Ever bite did justice to the flavors present, the pesto, the fresh tomatoes, and the delicious goat cheese. The potatoes were on the ordinary side, yet that does not go without recognition of its tastiness and its perfect seasoning. Like the scramble, the potatoes were able to exuberate their natural flavor, without being overpowered by any salt, pepper, or other seasoning. I did not try the focaccia toast, but I wonder if it was housemade..







After hearing and watching Bobby Flay's mouth-watering description of the famous Peanut Butter & Banana Stuffed French Toast, right when I sat down, I knew that this was just what I was going to order. In contrast to other french toast, the peanut butter in this one allowed it to stray away from the overly sweet french toasts that breakfast consumers are typically faced with. Although the peanut butter made the dish intensely rich, the bananas slightly counterbalanaced the richness while providing a sweetness to it. The only shortcoming that I discovered was that I could only consume one of the three french toasts present. However, I was satisfied with my meal and was able to take some home to enjoy later in the day!

Restaurant Name: Hodad's
Cusine: American, burgers
Location: Ocean Beach, San Diego, California
Company: Quinn, Kato, Raymond, and Skinny Kevin!
Overall Experience: FOOD COMA (:





The decor was entertaining and interesting. As we waited for our server, our eyes scattered across the room, intrigued by the variety of state license plates and their clever sayings. It had a very surfer/chill ambience ambience (am I allowed to use this word to describe places that are not super nice? ohwells..I WILL!)





We decided to order "Frings" which are fries (wedge fries) and onion rights. The onion rings were good, but I felt that the batter was a bit dense. I prefer a lighter and fluffier batter like that from Umami burger which uses tempura bread crumbs. However, I felt that Hodad's onion rings represented the typical American heavily-battered onion rings, like those that you find at Phil's BBQ not too far away. The wedge fries were delicious! Nothing special about them, but the outside was outstanding-ly crispy and perfectly fried while the insides were just the right texture. Soft, but not overcooked that it just destroyed in your mouth.





This is the burger that I came for. It was featured on Guy Fieri's show, "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" as well as another Food Network show, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate," on the bacon episode. The hamburger patty was flavorful and delectable. The cheese was a bit overwhelming for me. I have been spoiled by top-notch cheeses and felt like the cheese used on the burger was just an ordinary piece of cheese. This is actually the reason why I typically order just a plain hamburger in contrast to a cheeseburger. I just feel that there are much more effective and better uses of cheese. The bacon definitely made the burger delicious. You know what Guy is talking about in your first bite. While the other components of the hamburger, like the bun, patty, veggies, etc, are typical and nothing too extraordinary, the bacon is absolutely crispy and perfectly done to add that special, salty, bacon-y crunch that every bacon cheeseburger should embody. Hodad's definitely knocked this one out of the park. However, one thing to mention about their burger is that without the bacon, I do not think that the burger would have been as delicious. The patty was better, but not remarkably. The vegetables were typical, if not a bit excessive. Yet, Hodad's bacon cheeseburger was delicious and definitely worth repeat trips.






Skinny Kevin and I split a strawberry and vanilla milkshake which was super yummy! As you can see from the picture, the shake was inundated with ice cream (delicious of course!). It was bit on the sweeter side, yet what shake is not? The ice cream was delicious and made the shake a very nice refreshing way to end the night and meal (:


Hodad's was an interesting place. We arrived around 7:30pm on a Tuesday night and had to probably wait about half an hour (CRAZY!) But it was worth the wait and made for quite and interesting experience. The meal was eaten with an appetite mustered playing tennis, the "frings," burger, and shake were eaten with much joy. Although half way through the burger, my marginal utility dropped significantly, it cannot go without say that I had still gained a considerable amount of utility in my last bite.