Ramen in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

Came to Daikokuya Original Noodle & Rice Bowl because the long queue here attracted my attention.

I was there at 9, but there was still a long queue!! So, I waited for 15-20mins. This restaurant closes at 12am, try to go there later at 11 and see if there is a queue;)

I am happy with the ramen there as it tastes similar to some random ramen places in Tokyo.

Environment - "eat-and-go" restaurant, where is not good for friends gathering.
Service - not bad
Price - around $15/person

Food

1) Tsukemen, $8.95 - cold noodles + hot soup + pan fried chashu

I like this one more as the noodles are chewy and the chashu smells and taste better after slightly pan fried it.

2) Daikoku Romen, $8.50 - noodles in hot soup with chashu

This one tastes good as well, just that the noodles are less chewy than the one above. Other than that, the two are pretty much the same.

Don't forget to bring cash, they don't accept credit card.

I will visit this restaurant again if I come to LA next time. ;)

Joe's Crab Shake at Fisherman's Wharfs

It's my last day in San Francisco, so I give it a try to this touristy restaurant.

Price - it's not too expensive, around $28-30s per person.
Service - standard American services
Environment - big and a bar-like restaurant

It's a nice try, but I won't give it another chance.

Food

1) crabs + clams + lobster
The flavour is pretty strong, spicy, that it's hard to taste the freshness of the seafood. The crabs aren't good at all as the meat is a bit spoiled and overbooked.

For this dish, only the lobster and corn are good.

















2) crayfish + shrimps
This dish is not as spicy as the first one, however, the crayfish is soooo small and shrimps are normal. Again, they are all overcooked.

After all, I don't rate this restaurant and could probably try others at Fisherman's Wharfs.

Daikokuya at Little Tokyo at Los Angeles

Lots of young people hanging out and busy till quite late.

Urasawa on Rodeo Drive at Beverly Hills, Los Angeles

I haven't even eaten at this restaurant and they've already annoyed me. Walked in out of curiosity to inquire and heard a few good things, and the waitress rudely said, "No. Reservations only." She immediately proceeds to close the sliding door on us.
Understand that may be the case, but customer service 101 (which Japanese ia very well known for) would suggest an apology, and a question if we wanted to book for an available night.
This lead me to read a few of the reviews on yelp, which uncovered a few interesting things. There seems to be quite a few queries as to the underlying quality and skill of preparation of the food. Just presentation only!? Superficial?
I have clients too at a professional level and we treat them with respect and courtesy. Perhaps they should think about that.
Not sure I will ever find out though.

Bouchon, Napa Valley, California

This restaurant is recommended by a friend of mind when they know that I will be driving to Napa.

Soup of the day- Gaspacho, $9, a cold soup that tastes a bit sour with a sense of freshness of It's an interesting soup, but I won't order again as I like hot ones.

Soft shell crap $14- tastes gooood!! It's pretty fresh and you can actually taste every bits of the crab. It's totally different from Asians' cooking method which usually deep fried the crab.

Clams, $1.95 each - too small bit still fresh, ones at Hog Island are better. Not recommended

Lamb, around $30- not especially fresh and taste normal. Could order something else instead.

Well, probably won't be back, will try other places.

There is a Bouchon Pastry right next to the restaurant which will be talked about in the next review.

Safari West in Santa Rosa, California

I found Safari West while I was searching on tripadvisor.com. So I decide to stay here for a night while I am traveling in the States.

I have just done the safari tour and dinner at the Savannah Cafe here. I list out the things I like and don't like:
The good parts are:
- the tent (room) is big, unique and comfortable
- everything is vey clean here, just like the photos on the website
- the staff at the check-in office and tour guide are friendly
- the safari tour is interesting
- the steak and chicken for dinner are good (not the dessert)
- lucky enough that a giraffe came over during the safari tour
- had a chance to pet a 3-month antelope while it was having a walk
- see different animals in relatively close proximity

The parts I don't like are:
- finished the tour at 645p, food is taken away while we are still eating (feel like they are rushing to clean up)
- well, I wouldn't say that the tour is bad, if I know this is the type of safari I would experience, I would definitely do a tour here only, not staying overnight as it's expensive - $250 for a night.
- I would say that it's a "zoofari". It's something in between. Basically, you stay overnight in a gigantic zoo.
(eg) A chance to walk in the birds cage and get closer.

So, I strongly recommend you to do a day trip here only as you can get a nice hotel in San Francisco with $250.
*the comments here are globally relative, with the money I spend here $444, $250 (tent)+$68*2 (tour)+$29*2(dinner), we can fly to Kuala Lumpur for a days.

I will probably come back again only if i have kids as it's a safe way to encounter animals.

Besides, you can also visit Charles M. Schulz (who drew Snoopy) Museum and Research Center, www.schulzmuseum.org , it's cool. Only 5-10 mins drive away from Safari West. I spent 1.5 hours there looking around and taking photos. The admission fee is $10.

Ghirardelli at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, California

"World famous ice cream shop" is their claim. What a huge stretch.

Ordered a warm brownie sundae for $8.95 (but they give out $1 vouchers nearby). The photo of the sundae is on another camera, but all I can say is it is very generic. Seems like random ice cream, fudge and nuts bought from a random supermarket and dumped together. No comparison to a similarly priced Jean Philip in Las Vegas.

It is crap.

There is also a cookie store or something adjacent to the ice cream store, but seriously, no interest.