Maggiano's at the Grove

This is my lobster, clams, shrimp, mussels with pasta over tomato lobster sauce. Quite delicious!
This is my favorite appetizer dish: mussels. I don't know how they make it, but it is absolutely yummilicious. I ended up eating most of this (plust you can drink the sauce as soup)...so my boyfriend got another appetizer: fried calamari. Honestly, out of all the fried calamari's I've had, Buca Di Beppo has the best.

Anyway, I've been looking forward to Maggiano's for a year, reserving it for my birthday dinner restaurant. When we came last year, there was the All you can eat option for a pretty good value. Plus you can bring leftovers home! But apparently, they changed the policy...only valid for 4 people or more... ]: Sigh. Overall, pretty good food and huge portions.

Katsuya @ LA Live

I came here with my girls for my early birthday dinner. The restaurant definitely looks pretty fancy but the food was also pretty pricey. First of all, I came there thinking that it's another version of Geisha House. The music at Katsuya was not as loud, which is good. I am able to have a conversation with my friends across the table :]. And the waiters/waitresses aren't wearing skimpy Hooters-like outfits or geisha dresses. Whew! This place is actually decent for a nice dinner. I got the salmon dish while most of my friends got sushi dishes. Personally, I don't think the sushi is worth it considering the small portions and the price. This salmon ($15) at least got me full and quite delicious too.

Guppy's Tea House

Picture shown: dark chocolate homemade brick toast
My favorite Taiwanese place to eat! Too bad they only have it in Southern California :[ But who knows? Maybe someone will franchise it in SF! :] Anyway, I tried a couple of their dishes, they're all yummilicious. Their shaved ice and brick toasts are definitely dessert favorites. What I want to try next is their pineapple fried rice. The fried rice is served in half a pineapple!

HAPPY HOUR @ Benihana! Must go there more often!

Half off sushi and drinks?!!! So worth it!! Mondays-Thursdays from 5-7 pm. Instead of paying $8-10 for a roll of sushi (about 8 pieces), you pay $4-5 for a whole roll! Why didn't we know about this earlier?? So I came here for my super early birthday dinner with the $30 bday certificate that Benihana sent me :) thank you! I used it all on sushi! hehehehe! My friends all got the Happy Hour prices! About $10 for two full rolls of sushi and you're good for dinner!

Here's my worth of $30 sushi (the certificate can't be used for happy hour prices but that's ok). Also there's another plate of Las Vegas rolls that is not shown in the picture :]

Hand-pulled fresh noodles @ King of Noodle

King of Noodle on Irving and 18th Ave. This place is sooo good. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it's Beijing style? They are famous for their delicious dumplings and noodles! Their noodle soup...ohmygosh...this place may even be better than pho! The prices are a lot cheaper for their huge portions! My boyfriend and I shared a plate of beef and carrot dumplings and a bowl of spicy beef noodle soup (hand-pulled fresh noodles, of course). They make it fresh once the order is received! As you can see from the picture, the soup is extremely spicy! Yummm!

My craving for juicy burgers!

Where's a juicy burger joint in SF? Check out Roam Artisan Burgers on Union St. I got the classic burger (hamburger) and it was sooo juicy. Patty cooked medium rare with a crunchy bun. YUMMILICIOUS!

What's the best food in cold weather?? PHO!

Seriously. Best food in cold weather AND the cure for your hangover. Definitely want to do the pho challenge sometime --> 2 lbs of meat, 2 lbs of pho noodles, and a huge bowl of broth. Finish in one hour. If you finish everything, you get your picture taken, free tshirt, and a free meal. If not, you're paying for the meal. Any takers?