Jan 02

Brodard Restaurant – Garden Grove, CA

9892 Westminster Blvd R

Garden Grove, CA 92844

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Located in the heart of Little Saigon in Garden Grove, Brodard Restaurant serves up popular Vietnamese dishes inside a small shopping plaza. As one of the most well-known Vietnamese restaurants in all of Orange County, we felt we had to give Brodard a try. After reaching the restaurant, we realized you could park in front and behind the building to reach the restaurant. When we entered the restaurant, we signed in on a sheet of paper and waited a couple of minutes to be called to an available table in the busy restaurant. We were seated at the far end of the restaurant and provided with menus. After reviewing the large menu, we were ready to order.

After realizing that Brodard did not serve any pho, we decided to order the pork spring rolls, luna rice cakes, wonton and BBQ pork soup noodles, and dry noodles with BBQ pork. Brodard is known most for their spring rolls, and they did not disappoint. There is a delicious savory flavor that is complimented by the special sauce, but it is odd that they do not add any rice noodles inside. The luna rice cakes are another one of Brodard’s popular items, but they were not one of my favorites because you can really taste the mung beans. Dipping the rice cakes in the sauce does add some savory flavor though. The wonton and BBQ pork soup noodles tasted good, but it just tasted like the Chinese variant. The pork in the dry noodle dishes was delicious and you can really taste the marinade penetrated in the meat. A common theme in all of the dishes was the excessive use of black pepper. You can really taste it in the spring rolls and wontons, but it is evident everywhere, which was a bit odd.

Overall, Brodard does serve up some tasty spring rolls, but if you want to eat pho, you would need to look elsewhere. The other highlight of the meal was the marinated pork in the dry noodle dish. Unfortunately, there was an excessive use of black pepper in the dishes. Prices are affordable, and service is mediocre as expected. However, it feels weird to ask for the check, be given the check, have the server wait over you as you locate your credit card, have the server bring the card and receipt back, and have the server wait while you add the tip and take the folio away. Other than that odd situation, the food tasted good for the most part, and the restaurant lives up to its hype for the spring rolls. Give them a try if you like their way of doing business.

Dec 29

Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen & Udon – Irvine, CA

6404 Irvine Blvd

Irvine, CA 92620

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

With multiple locations and concepts throughout the Los Angeles area, Shin-Sen-Gumi serves up Hakata Ramen to the masses at very reasonable prices. When we entered this Orange County location, we had to sign in and then wait outside to be called. We were seated by a server, provided with a menu, and ordered drinks. When we were ready to order, another server came by but realized we were not given a paper ordering slip to place all of our selections, so he went and grabbed one and allowed us time to fill it out.

Today, we decided to order two regular size Hakata ramen, extra pork chashu, spicy miso bomb, flavored egg, extra noodles, and gyoza. The soup base tasted a bland with some saltiness. There were plenty of noodles in the bowl with an appropriate amount of pork, but it was all not very flavorful or savory. The spicy miso bomb was not that spicy and was not worth $2.00 because you can add the free spicy flakes and hot oil to get close to the same flavor. The extra noodles were plentiful and a great value if you have soup left. The flavored egg tasted good with a soy sauce flavor. The gyoza were quite small and salty but plentiful for the price.

After eating the regular bowl of noodles, some gyoza, and then a refill of the noodles, I was stuffed. Overall, Shin-Sen-Gumi serves up a great value for ramen if you don’t add too many extras, but the flavor was lacking. Although the gyoza was small, $5.50 for 12 pieces is a great value. If you are looking for a good value for a fulfilling meal, you can definitely find that here, but there is better tasting ramen restaurants elsewhere.

Dec 26

Pizza Rock

1020 K St

Sacramento, CA 95814

Rating: ★★★★½ 

Located on popular K street in Sacramento, Pizza Rock serves up a variety of Italian food on a diverse menu. As you get close to the restaurant, you are either greeted to smells of fresh food or street odors of urine. Coming in for lunch, there were plenty of tables available, and servers were attentive and cordial. After a review of the menu, the server came by to take the order.

Today, a classic Caesar salad and Margherita pizza were ordered. The salad was extremely fresh and the cheese was delicious. The salad was lightly dressed and tossed and came in a perfect size to share. The Margherita pizza arrived piping hot on a thin crust. The sauce was aromatic and fresh. The mozzarella was melted just enough to cover the basil. All of the ingredients just went perfectly together, which makes sense since their Margherita pizza has won awards.

Overall, Pizza Rock serves up some tasty pizza and salad at reasonable prices. Service and ambiance are great. There are plenty of items on the menu to cater to everyone’s needs. If you are in search of pizza, then you should definitely give Pizza Rock a try.

Dec 22

Thai Farm House bbq & bistro

1049 Broadway Suite 40

Sacramento, CA 95818

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Located near the Target off of Broadway, Thai Farm House replaces a defunct L&L Hawaiian BBQ in a small strip mall. As we entered the new establishment, the first thing we noticed were the old red-bordered L&L tables. There was no hostess or server around when we arrived because he stepped outside. We were eventually seated by someone from the back, and the server returned. We were provided with waters and the server took our order.

Today, we decided to order the satay chicken, yellow curry with chicken, and the crispy pork belly with Chinese kale. The satay chicken came with a tasty peanut sauce and cucumber salad. The chicken itself was fairly thin, but was very tender. This was the most tender chicken satay I have ever had. The yellow curry came with an adequate amount of rice as well as a salad. The salad was tasty, and the rice tasted delicious smothered with the curry. The potatoes were a bit on the under-cooked side, and there could have been more chicken, but the dish was adequate. The crispy pork belly with Chinese kale tasted alright, but the pork was not crispy at all as described, the entree was quite oily. The kale attempts to make the meal healthy, but it tastes far from it.

Overall, Thai Farm House serves up decent Thai food, but there could be improvements in decor, food quality, and service. Prices are in line with many other Thai restaurants, but quantity seems to be below average. The satay chicken was the highlight of the meal, and I definitely recommend ordering that if you decide to visit.

Dec 19

Noah’s Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine – Merced, CA

1327 W 18th St

Merced, CA 95340

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Located near busy Main Street, Noah’s Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine serves up many traditional Vietnamese dishes along with some other pan-Asian dishes. Noah’s also offers many vegetarian options. When we entered the restaurant, there were only a couple occupied tables, and we were quickly seated. The server provided us with menus and took our drink order. We had some time to review the menu by the time the server brought us back our drinks.

Today, we decided to order the chicken satay, large beef pho with rare steak and meatballs, and chef’s special rice plate with pork chops. The chicken satay arrived first, and we were quite surprised. We thought the appetizer item would just be marinated chicken on skewers, but it was actually sliced marinated chicken over a bed of salad. The dish still tasted really good with the peanut sauce, but it just really threw me off in terms of expectations. For only $6.50, the dish was a great value. The beef pho arrived in a decent portion size, but it came with onions even though I asked for no onions. The broth was light, but flavorful. The meat was tender and the meatballs tasted OK. I like how they included cilantro in the soup. The chef’s special with pork chop was also a great value because it also included a bowl of soup and an egg. Each piece of the pork chop tasted marinated and tender. The light salad and soup was a nice touch to round off the meal.

Overall, Noah’s Vietnamese Fusion Cuisine serves up some delicious tasting Vietnamese food, even though the chicken satay was completely unexpected. The pho and pork chop dishes really tasted authentic. Unfortunately, service was quite slow for the server and kitchen, which was let down considering the food actually tasted good.  If you are in Merced and are in search of Vietnamese food, do not feel turned off that this is a fusion restaurant and actually give this place a try.

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