A few things...

My friends have been here this week visiting me from Chicago. This has caused me to go out to eat for almost every meal... you'd think I'd be happy but my stomach is yelling at me! Anyway, I figured I'd do a post on one of the places, Ha Noi Restaurant in Santa Ana.

When my roomate told me this place only has pho with chicken, I was sad.. since rare beef is my favorite, but I decided to take the trip up there anyway, especially since my friend wanted to sight see in the Orange Co. area.

We both ordered the Pho Ga, which is just the basic pho with chicken.

I got up to wash my hands before eating. When I came back to my table, there it was... along with tons and tons of basil, bean sprouts, and other veggies. I know I should have pictured those as well but the waiter was giving me funny looks.

We also ordered the fried sweet potato/shrimp appetizer. Quite yummy...Anyway, the pho was excellent. The best I've ever had. The broth had just the right mix of oil and flavor, the noodles were perfect, the chicken almost melts in your mouth, and it is cheap! 5 dollars a bowl. The sweet potato/shrimp appetizer was also good, but not amazing or worth all the fried clotted arteries I will soon have.

Not sure why that was underlined and I can't figure out how to change it.

So I recommend Ha Noi, very yum!

Even though this is unrelated, I must post a picture of my recent hawaii-food splurg at Marukai. My roomate ate my last okinawan sweet potato manju! She says she'll get me more though...


Ha Noi Restaurant
9082-9086 Bolsa Ave.
Westminster, CA, 92663

Sitar: A hole in the wall... literally

For today's dinner, I had delicious indian food at Sitar. Sitar is literally hole in the wall. It is located in the Sorrento Valley Shopping center foodcourt. The hours are longer than those of the other food court restaurants... and the food is MUCH better.

Well, those of you who know me know that I struggle with taking pictures of food. I feel like it never looks good. This is a perfect example. I ordered baingan bartha-- which is basically
eggplant in a curry-like sauce.

The nice thing about sitar is for a relatively low price (~7 dollars) you can get a full meal in their "combinations." With each combo, you get Naan, Rice, Yogurt, Lentils, and your main dish. You can also order the main dish a la carte which is a bit cheaper (however the combo is definitely bang for your buck). Right, so anyway...

In addition to the baingan bartha combo plate, I got an order of samosa, which are wonderful at Sitar. You have to request the sweet tamarind sauce with it, which i recommend.

My friend Fanny ordered the Palak Paneer which was also delicious. I didn't take a picture of it because I had so much trouble with my dish... I was too frustrated. Anyhow, one word of caution. They will ask you "mild, medium, or hot?" ... Unless you are used to VERY authentic indian food, don't say hot. Most people's hot is their medium. I get medium and it's comparable to most sichuan restaurants, and also about the same spice level as some korean foods like Kimchi Jjigae. Anyway, that's all for now.

Sitar Indian Cuisine

(858) 535-1941 9450 Scranton Rd # 114C San Diego, CA 92121

coming soon... Sitar Indian Cuisine

Indian Rice
Originally uploaded by staceycookie.

The best indian place in San Diego I've found to date... Sitar Indian Cuisine. I'll be going there tomorrow with Ling and Fanny... hopefully I'll get some good pictures too!

(this is from india house in lincoln square, chicago)

and so it begins

I am jealous of food bloggers. I will begin by hi-liting a few Chicago restaurants that I often frequent. My posts will be erratic and rare, because my food picture taking skills are yet to be refined. Anyway, I will begin with one of my favorite "american" food places, Grand Lux Cafe.
The Malaysian salad at Grand Lux is hands down the greatest salad ever. It is chicken coconut curry with peanuts, grapes, mangos, and others in a fresh leaf of red cabbage.

Well, that's the only picture I have from grand lux but more to come. Evidently, there is a grand lux location in LA as well.

Another favorite of mine in Chicago is Green Tea Japanese Restaurant. I am always talking about this place because their sushi is reasonably priced, yet good. I'll tell you why it's good while I use the following visual aids:


Notice the small amount of rice they use. This is a good thing... it allows for more fish. Also, the fish is incredibly fresh, the rice is made just right, and the rolls stay together well. For $11 being the most expensive roll, this place is a diamond in the rough.

Lastly, I must hi-lite Dee's restaurant on Armitage in Chicago. No, I'm not only doing this because the owner is my friend's mom... and no, I'm not doing it because my friend is the manager... I'm doing it because their food is tasty! However, it does satisfy a more expensive taste.
Again, superb sushi. This is more of a chinese/mandarin restaurant, however they have an excellent sushi chef, tanaka-san. If in the mood for chinese food, the sesame chicken and crab rangoon are quite good (this is more yuppie chinese food, not your super authenitic type, but still delicious!) They also have an excellent manager :)

That's all for now but I'll come back later... in 12 years, and do more foodie posts. Possibly about san diego, since I live there now.

Grand Lux Cafe
600 N. Michigan Ave
Chicago
312- 276-2500

Green Tea Japanese Restaurant
2206 N. Clark St.
Chicago
773-883-8812

Dee's
1114 W. Armitage Ave.
Chicago
773-477-1500

Sisters in Christ

sonya, you bafoon! now i have 3 blogs. thank you :)