Nov 16

CJ House Korean BBQ – Milpitas, CA

260 S Abel St

Milpitas, CA 95035

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Located near the Great Mall off of South Abel Street, CJ House Korean BBQ serves up both all you can eat BBQ and regular Korean cuisine. For just $22.99 per person on the weekend, CJ House attempts to compete with Gen Korean BBQ for a few dollars less. When we entered the restaurant, there were only two other tables with customers in a mostly empty restaurant. The hostess was fairly courteous in getting us seated. The server who subsequently served us did not seem like she wanted to be there. We had to look for her when we were ready to order.

We opted for the all you can eat meal instead of per dish today because we were quite famished. There were around fifteen items to choose from, with only around seven to eight meat choices. Today, we decided to order the beef brisket, miso pork belly, rib eye, beef bulgogi, spicy pork bulgogi, beef short rib, and grilled corn. After ordering, we did receive a small array of side dishes, which tasted OK, but were not amazing. The grilled corn tasted good at first, but the excessive mayonnaise was a little much. We started grilling the meat and realized that we were not provided with any dipping sauce, so we had to ask the server who apologized for forgetting to bring the sauces. The beef brisket came rolled and frozen but cooked quickly and tasted delicious. The miso pork belly tasted OK, but was not that flavorful. The meat was also leaner than expected. The rib eye steak was tender and fresh. The beef bulgogi felt like it needed more marinade because you don’t taste the sauce much. On the other hand, the spicy pork bulgogi had a strong alcohol-like taste to the sauce and was overly-sauced. The beef short rib meat was tender, but there was excessive fat.

Overall, CJ House Korean BBQ serves up decent tasting Korean BBQ, but some of the meats were lacking in flavor. The quality and taste of the food does not live up to what you would receive at Gen. I did like how the server provided extremely large quantities of meat in each order. However, due to the large portions, we were only able to order one refill before getting full. Service was mediocre and does not even come close to the excellent service we received at Gen. CJ House is great for those unwilling to wait 1-3 hours for Gen on the weekend, but if possible, I would suggest just going to Gen for the larger selection and better service for only a few dollars more per person.

Nov 13

Cellar Bistro

1115 Front St

Sacramento, CA 95814

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Located in quite the unexpected location with the most peculiar name, Cellar Bistro serves up a variety of Chinese cuisine, mostly Hong Kong cafe style. You can park in the available street parking or at the garage near the Tower bridge. The restaurant will validate parking from the garage unless the garage is pre-paying for parking. When you get to the Cellar Bistro, you actually need to take the stairs down to get to the restaurant. Once we got to the restaurant, we were quickly seated by the server and provided menus. After much debate and review of the menu, we decided on what to order.

Today, we decided to order the Malaysian Roti, katsu pork with fries and rice, and the egg flower prawns chow fun. The katsu pork was part of the chef’s recommendations menu, so it also included a free drink. The Malaysian Roti was more of a green onion pancake with sweet curry sauce. The pancakes were delicious and the curry was sweet and flavorful, which went well together. The katsu pork was fried perfectly and was crispy all over. The same curry sauce went well with the pork as well. The fries were fresh and rice cooked properly. The egg flower prawns chow fun tasted delicious. I was not used the chow fun being cooked more with soy sauce prior to the egg flower and prawns, but it did add some savory flavor. The prawns were huge and fresh. The egg flower added a delicious texture to the entire dish.

Overall Cellar Bistro serves up some delicious food at excellent prices considering the location. There were quite of few items on the menu that we still want to try, but that will need to wait for a future visit. From the experience and food from this visit alone, I can definitely recommend Cellar Bistro to anyone looking for Chinese food near Old Sacramento.

Nov 09

Mo Ran Gak – Garden Grove, CA

9651 Garden Grove Blvd

Garden Grove, CA 92844

Rating: ★★★★½ 

On our last day in So-Cal, we decided that we had to eat some Korean food in Garden Grove, so we stumbled upon Mo Ran Gak. Minimal parking is available adjacent to the restaurant, but there seemed to be plenty of street parking. After entering the restaurant, a server quickly seated us and provided menus. While reviewing the menu, another employee provided us with a water bottle with cups along with a kettle full of beef broth and two cups for broth. The broth tasted delicious and full of body.

After drinking some broth, we decided to order the Mo Ran Gak combination A with black angus brisket, black pork belly, tofu soup, and steamed egg. In addition to the combo, we also ordered a small regular cold noodle and a small spicy cold noodle. A few side dishes and salad were brought next along with a small dish of mung bean pancakes. The pancakes were nice and crispy and went well with the provided sauce. Unlike other Korean BBQ restaurants, the servers here actually cook the meat for you. Unfortunately, they did not provide any direction for this, and we had to figure that out on our own. While the meat was cooking, other servers dropped off the cold noodles for us. The spicy cold noodle tasted good and fresh. The regular cold noodle was just as tasty and had a very refreshing taste. For just $4.95 for each cold noodle, the added food was well worth it. The tofu soup tasted good and was mildly spicy. The steamed egg almost overflowed from its vessel and was extremely fluffy. The brisket was leaner than some other places, but actually more flavorful and tender. The black pork belly tasted delicious with its marinade and was cooked perfectly. Drinking the beef broth while enjoying the meal made the entire meal that much more satisfying.

Overall, Mo Ran Gak serves up some delicious Korean dishes at very reasonable prices considering the amount of service and food we received. We did over order by one or two cold noodles, but they were worth trying out. If you happen to be near Garden Grove and was looking for some delicious Korean food, definitely give Mo Ran Gak a try.

Nov 06

Jolly Holiday Bakery Café – Anaheim, CA

Disneyland

Main Street U.S.A.

Anaheim, CA 92802

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

Located right on Main Street, Jolly Holiday Bakery Café serves up simple sandwiches as well as quite a few dessert items. While waiting in line, we decided to order the oven-roasted turkey sandwich on ciabatta, Mickey Mouse macaron, and Matterhorn macaroon. The bread was quite large and dry for the plain sandwich, and I wished there was more turkey. The chips tasted freshly fried and tasty. The last Mickey Mouse macaron they had been damaged, but it tasted light and delicious. The Matterhorn macaroon was loaded with coconut and held together very well. The frosty peak was also mildly sweet. Overall, Jolly Holiday Bakery Café serves up OK sandwiches, but better desserts. If you decide to come here, come here for the desserts because they actually taste very good.

Nov 02

Three Broomsticks – Universal City, CA

100 Universal City Pl

Universal City, CA 91608

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Located in the new Harry Potter area of Universal Studios, the Three Broomsticks serves up as variety of food to the park-goers. Since we arrived pretty early, breakfast was still being served. Since we didn’t want to wait any longer for lunch and also felt that breakfast would be fulfilling, we were able to pass up a few people in line so that we can order.

Today, we decided to order two American breakfasts. Each meal came with a drink, so we opted for orange juice and butterbeer. The breakfast was fairly standard, but it actually tasted really good. The bacon was crispy and fresh. The sausage was juicy and flavorful. The eggs were not runny and held up very well. The sliced potatoes were seasoned and delicious. The croissant was fresh and flaky. The orange juice was just your basic Minute Maid, but I was excited to try the butterbeer. Unfortunately, the butterbeer was just a slightly diluted cream soda with extra bubbles.

Overall, the Three Broomsticks created a simple tasty meal at a reasonable price that included drinks. I was really looking for more when it came to the butterbeer, but I wasn’t sure what to expect anyways. If you happen to be in Universal Studios, then I can definitely recommend the Three Broomsticks, at least for breakfast.

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