Jul 14

Chick’n Rice – San Jose CA

1078 E Brokaw Rd #40

San Jose, CA 95131

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Located at the busy intersection of East Brokaw Road and Oakland Road in San Jose, Chick’n Rice serves up varieties of chicken rice plates to the masses. This Thai street food joint offers many popular dishes, and I was able to try one of them today. I selected the fried khao mun gai (fried KMG), which was a fried chicken with sweet Thai chili sauce over chicken rice served with sliced cucumbers and Chinese broccoli. The chicken itself was quite juicy and tender, but the crispy breading was quite thick and crunchy. The chicken went well dipped in the sauce. The Chinese broccoli was tender and tasty, which went well with the refreshing cucumber. The rice was very flavorful and fragrant. The meal was also served with a side of chicken broth soup, which was very rich and refreshing. Overall, the meal was quite fulfilling and tasty, other than the fact the breading not as appetizing.  Prices are reasonable and service was excellent. If you are in the mood for a tasty Chicken rice plate, then Chick’n Rice is the place to be.

Jul 10

Mod Pizza

771 Ikea Ct Suite 100

West Sacramento, CA 95605

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Located in the IKEA shopping center, MOD Pizza serves up customized pizzas cooked to your liking at reasonable prices. Like Pieology and Blaze pizza, MOD Pizza does the same with their own variations. When we entered the restaurant, it was not too busy, and we were able to quickly place our order. We ordered one predefined pizza called the jasper, which included red sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms, and spicy sausage; and we also ordered a custom pizza with red sauce, garlic, mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, roasted broccoli, roasted corn, spinach, bacon, ground beef, mild Italian sausage, spicy Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, and salami with red sauce dollops finish. Both pizzas were cooked in a reasonable time after payment. The jasper had a nice balance of flavors and was very cheesy. The customized pizza was a bit over the top with the sheer number of toppings included. The roasted broccoli flavor did not go very well with the rest of the pizza, but it made the monstrosity of a pizza seem healthier. Service was great and the prices are reasonable. Compared with the flavors and topping varieties of the other quick-pizza restaurants,  I would put MOD Pizza at the top, then Pieology, and then Blaze. I would definitely recommend MOD Pizza if you haven’t tried them already.

Jul 07

Pho Le

8785 Center Pkwy

Sacramento, CA 95823

Rating: ★★★★☆ 

Located in the shopping center shared with the United Artists theater and 24-hour fitness, Pho Le serves up traditional Vietnamese food to the masses. When we entered the restaurant not too long after they opened that day, we were quickly seated at an available table. We were provided with menus and water. Not too long after, a server came by to take our order, but we were not ready yet. After reviewing the menu for a bit longer, we were ready to order.

Today, we decided to order the grilled pork spring rolls, the grilled pork and egg roll vermicelli rice noodles, and the rare steak beef pho with wonton added. The grilled pork spring rolls tasted OK, but we had tried much better spring rolls at Quan Nem Ninh Hoa. The rolls went well with the provided peanut sauce. The vermicelli rice noodles had some very tasty peeled shrimp on top that were peeled very well all the way to the tail. The grilled meat was flavorful, which went well with the noodles. The dishes also came with bean sprouts, thinly sliced cucumber, and cabbage. The broth from the pho was very flavorful and reminded me of the flavorful broth from Saigon Restaurant on Fruitridge Road. There were adequate amounts of sliced beef in the soup, which went well with the large amount of noodles in the large-sized pho. I did end up adding some hoisin sauce to the soup for additional flavor.

Overall, Pho Le serves up some tasty Vietnamese food in South Sacramento. Service is quick, and prices are reasonable. There are plenty of items on the menu, and all are Vietnamese dishes. If you are in the South Sacramento and Elk Grove areas, then Pho Le would be a nice pho spot to visit without having to drive up to Stockton Boulevard.

Jul 03

Chinchikurin Okonomiyaki – Los Angeles CA

350 E 1st St

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

Located in Little Tokyo, Chinchikurin Okonomiyaki serves up their famous okonomiyaki to the masses. When we arrived, we were able to sign in on our own, and stood outside to wait. We waited a good 30-45 minutes before we were seated for lunch right before they closed. At one point during the waiting, the hostess removed the sign in sheet so that no one else could sign in anymore to keep their 2pm closing time on track. When we were called in, we were offered seating at the counter, so we got to watch the chefs cook. We were provided with menus, and our drink order was taken. There are actually two restaurants running together consisting of the okonomiyaki side run by Chinchikurin  and the takoyaki side run by TaNoTa, but you can order everything though your server. After reviewing the okonomiyaki and takoyaki menus, we were ready to order.

Today, we decided to order the 4 piece original takoyaki, the Chinchikurinyaki okonomiyaki, and the Hiroshima okonomiyaki. While sitting at the counter, we watched the chefs cook multiple orders of okonomiyaki. Each okonomiyaki comes with batter, fish powder, cabbage, tempura crisps, bean sprouts, pork, noodles, egg, sauce, and seaweed. Depending on which okonomiyaki you order, you get different toppings or have some of the normal ingredients removed or switched around. The takoyaki arrived first, and this being our first time trying takoyaki, we did not know what to expect. The original takoyaki was tasty and had some savory flavors, but each bite was very mushy, and we really never got used to that texture. The Chinchikurinyaki okonomiyaki tasted flavorful at first due to it including beef instead of pork. Each bite contained plenty of noodles and beef. I found myself adding more sauce to every bite because the dish started to get bland. This dish was truly nothing like anything I have eaten before. The Hiroshima okonomiyaki actually had more flavor than the Chinchikurinyaki probably because of the pork and fried squid. Although, after eating that for a while still leads to the same flavors, which got repetitive.

Overall, Chinchikurin Okonomiyaki serves up an interesting traditional Japanese dish that incorporates many different types of food into one large meal. The long wait and fairly high prices for what you get are a deterrent to coming back again. The experience of eating here was nice since the food was served on a hot plate. For customers seated at tables, they had a warming area in the center of the table as well. If you are someone who loves Japanese food and have not tried okonomiyaki before, then you should give Chinchikurin Okonomiyaki a try.

Jun 30

Kokio Chicken – Hawaiian Gardens CA

12569 E Carson St

Hawaiian Gardens, CA 90716

Rating: ★★★½☆ 

With multiple locations around the Los Angeles area, Kokio chicken serves up popular Korean fried chicken to the masses. We decided to order takeout through Yelp, but later found out that the menu prices on Yelp are higher than if you just called in the order from the restaurant, so keep that in mind. After reviewing the menu on Yelp, we decided on what to order.

Today, we ordered the half and half, which includes the original fried chicken and a choice a flavored chicken of which we chose the honey bee flavor and we also ordered the spicy rice cake. When I arrived for pickup early, they confirmed that the order would take a few more minutes and offered me to sit down to wait. The servers were very nice during this process. Not too long after, the food was ready, and I was on my way. Upon opening the to-go boxes, we were greeted with a large box of chicken and a bowl of spicy rice cake. The original fried chicken was very crispy as expected, and each bite was juicy. However, there were many pieces of chicken that seemed like they were cut off funny. From eating a few pieces of chicken, it seems that Kokio cuts up whole chickens, which is nice since the chicken is fresher, but this makes the pieces harder to eat. The honey bee flavored chicken was very flavorful and contained the same cuts of chicken, but with the added tasty glaze. The spicy rice cakes were cooked perfectly and had just the right amount of chew. The spiciness was on point and came with an adequate amount of fish cake. The egg was also tasty and went well when dipped in the spicy sauce.

Overall, Kokio serves up some juicy crispy chicken, but the cuts can be a bit odd. The spicy rice cake is definitely worth ordering. This particular location also works with multiple food delivery vendors, so although the restaurant may not seem busy, they may have a lot of delivery orders. Prices are fairly reasonable if you order directly from the restaurant. If you are in the mood for Korean fried chicken, then Kokio would not be a bad choice.

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