Eileen Likes To Eat

Javier’s Cantina and Grill
45 Fortune Dr
Irvine, CA 92618
(949) 872-2101
http://www.javiers-cantina.com

We finally went to Irvine Spectrum for the first time after living in Irvine for 5 months.  We were smart and got there around 11:30am.  There were plenty of parking the parking structure.  But when we left around 4pm, the parking was just crazy.  It took us about 20 minutes just to get out of the parking structure.  So it is best to go a little early I think.

We wanted to eat first before shopping.  Looking at the directory, I thought….  Hmmm, I like Cheesecake Factory and California Pizza Kitchen, but I’ve never been to Javier’s Cantina before.  Should we stick with a restaurant we like, or try something new?  Since both Dr. P and I are adventurous food eaters (haha….), we decided to take the risk to try a new place.

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December 28th, 2009 | Category: EAT | Comments (7)

Wafu of Japan
320 Bristol St #G
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 641-7321

I bought a $25 gift certificate from Restaurant.com during their 80% off  sale.  I have never heard of the restaurant, didn’t know anything about the restaurant, and bought it only because Dr. P loves sushi.  I went with my intuition and picked a few random Japanese restaurants in the OC area to buy GCs.

After I purchased the gift certificate, I went on to Yelp to read reviews about the restaurant.  Wafu of Japan has pretty good reviews.  We came to the restaurant on a Saturday night with lots of anticipation.

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December 28th, 2009 | Category: EAT | Comments (2)

El Pollo Loco
88 Corporate Park
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 756-0380
http://www.elpolloloco.com

After our lobster tails dinner, Dr. P was still hungry.  I guess two small lobster tails can’t really fill up a man’s stomach….  We looked through our coupon piles, and Dr. P decided to go to El Pollo Loco to get his second dinner.

2 Pieces Chicken Meal ($2.99)

The coupon was for a 2 pieces leg and thigh meal for $2.99.  Regular price was about $5 I think.  It doesn’t come with a drink though.  Dr. P got bean and rice for his side dishes.  I didn’t eat any that night.  But I’ve always like El Pollo Loco’s chicken.  They didn’t give us any salsa.  We learned that you have to ask for the salsa at the drive thru window if you want it.

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December 24th, 2009 | Category: EAT | Comments (1)

One of my favorite supermarket in Irvine is Sprouts Farmers Market.  Their produces, meat and seafood always have high quality.  The market feels like a cross between Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.  I bought 4 lobster tails there.  The sale price was $2.99 each.

Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter

It was my first time cooking lobster tail.  I just cooked it like how I would cook shrimps.  haha….  I deshelled the lobster, and wrapped the lobster tails in foil with garlic butter.  Garlic butter was made with butter, minced garlic, and chopped parsley.  Sprinkled some salt and pepper on the lobster tails, and baked at 450 degrees in the oven for about 12 minutes.  So the lobster tails turned out to be a little undercooked.  We had to pop it back into the microwave for a few seconds.  But the garlic butter was tasty.

I’m still not sure if I cook the lobster tails properly.  Should do some research on how to cook it….  Any suggestion for my next lobster tails dinner?

December 24th, 2009 | Category: COOK | Comments (2)

Seafood Village Restaurant
避風塘潮粵海鮮酒家
684 W Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 289-0088

For my weekly lunch with my parents last Wednesday, I suggested to try Seafood Village Restaurant.  My ex-coworker Iris always tells me how great Seafood Village’s lunch special is.  My parents have been to the Temple City location before.  This time we dicided to try the Monterey Park location.

We walked up to the door, and spotted the big red “C”.  Hmmmm….  I guess this place is rated “C” for Chinese only?  haha….  The place was packed.  Seemed like nobody really cared about the C rating.

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December 22nd, 2009 | Category: EAT | Comments (6)

Beef and Bok Choy Stir-Fry is another dish I cooked from Real Simple Magazine’s recipe.  (RECIPE HERE)

Beef and Bok Choy Stir-Fry

I always had trouble cooking beef slices.  Somehow it always turned out to be too dry and tough.  My mom taught me that by adding some cornstarch to the beef and let it sit for about 10 minutes before cooking will result in perfectly tender beef slices.  I tried the method, and it worked!  The beef was juicy and tender.  Dr. P and I LOVE the sauce from this recipe.  I don’t really like ginger, but somehow really enjoyed the grated fresh ginger flavor in the sauce.  I could also taste the rice vinegar, and it was very appetizing.  I ate way too much rice because of this yummy sauce.

This dish was so easy and fast to make.  Absolutely love it!

December 22nd, 2009 | Category: COOK | Leave a comment

I really like the magazine “Real Simple“.  One of my favorite section in the magazine was their food & recipes.  All of the recipes in the magazine consist of a few simple everyday ingredients.  The recipes is also easy, fast and delicious.

Tilapia with Peppers and Olives

I made Tilapia with Peppers and Olives (RECIPE HERE) for dinner last week.  I bought fresh Tilapia from the supermarket.  It tasted so much better than the frozen tilapia.  The fish didn’t need much flavor except salt and pepper because it tasted so fresh.  Also the sauteed onion, red bell pepper, and olives had tons of rich flavors.  The onion and red bell pepper was sweet, the olive was salty, and the lime juice added some sourness.  It tasted Mediterranean.

We both love the taste of the dish.  It is also a very light and healthy meal.  Definitely will make again soon!

December 21st, 2009 | Category: COOK | Comments (3)

S.W. Seafood & BBQ Restaurant
三禾燒腊海鮮麵家
5406A Walnut Ave
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 262-0128

I always see a lot of people getting take out from S.W. Seafood & BBQ Restaurant.  So I assume the food must be pretty good and wanted to try this place.  Well, I learned that my assumption was wrong.

This place is obviously trying to rip off Sam Woo’s name.  Their English name is S.W., and their Chinese name sounds just like Sam Woo’s Chinese name but with different characters.  What a copycat!  I should’ve seen that as a warning sign.

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December 21st, 2009 | Category: EAT | Comments (3)

Honda-Ya
556 El Camino Real
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 832-0081

To celebrate finishing another semester, Dr. P treated me to dinner.  He told me I could pick any restaurant I want.  I picked Honda-Ya because I wanted some icy cold beer on an icy cold winter night!  haha….

Sapporo ($5.50)

Ahhhh!  Beer!  When celebrating, you just gotta have beer!

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December 17th, 2009 | Category: EAT | Comments (5)