Food Review: Rainbow Drive-In (Honolulu, HI)

One of the great staples in Honolulu "where to go" according to... 

DINERS, DRIVE-INs AND DIVES

Go right up and order and then the wait is fast.

What's a real Hawaiian kind of meal?

They've got enough seating in the front....

and the back =0)

We decided to do take out (what with the baby already asleep in the hotel)

We get:

Root Beer Float (just because)

Mixed plate (of meats)

The meat is very tender. Not overly salty and all around very good.

Mahi Mahi

What's not good about fried fish?! 

The Mahi Mahi was delicious. The fillets are big and filling, the fish wasn't dry, and the fish wasn't overly battered. All in all, they did good on this dish.

Loco Moco (Beef, Eggs, Gravy)

This is all around the tastiest and fattiest thing I've ever had. It's a rice version of a hamburger (without the veggies). Soooooooooooo good! It's a Hawaii favorite!

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This is the place to go if you're looking to go for the tasty and none of the health. It was a fun and tasty experience.... once in a while! =0)

Taste ................ 4.5/5

Service .............. super fast

Atmosphere ................ Lots of character/Hawaiian

Food Review: Diddy Riese (L.A)

How about a snack review!

Cookies anyone? Maybe.... Ice Cream Sandwiches too?!

Well, this is probably BETTER and CHEAPER than any Sprinkles cupcake or In-N-Out's' milkshake to satisfy ones sweet tooth.

Ice Cream Sandwich ........... $1.75

(Your choice of any 2 cookies, 1 scoop of ice cream)

A single Brownie ................... $0.75

A single cookie ..................... $0.35

3 Cookies .......................................$1.00

Ice Cream; 2 scoops ....................... $1.75

Ice Cream Sundae ................................... $1.75

Cookie Sundae ........................... $2.00

Hawaiian Shaved Iced ........................... $1.00 ($1.50 w/ scoop of ice cream)

Their cookies are soft and chewy! Just the way a cookie should be.

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But not only does the product and low cost lure one into the store, the store itself is old school (founded in 1983) and located in the heart of Westwood Village by UCLA. Perhaps, this is where the "Freshman 15" came about! ;O

And the choices are endless......

Ice Cream Flavours

Vanilla Bean

Cookie Dough

Rocky Road

Mint Chocolate Chip

Strawberry

Chocolate

Espresso Chip

Butter Pecan

Strawberry Cheesecake Chunk

Peanut Butter Cup

Chocolate Chip

 Cookies & Cream

Cookie Flavours

Chocolate Chip with Walnuts

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut

Peanut Butter

Double Chocolate Chip

White Chocolate Chip

Oatmeal Raisin Nut

Chocolate with White Chocolate

Sugar Cinnamon

Candy

Chocolate Chip

The ice cream comes from Dreyers. Very good! 

So what are you waiting for?! Make the trip and leave with a big and bright smile! =0)

Food Review: Five Star Seafood Restaurant 半島海鮮酒家 (San Gabriel, CA)

Heading down to San Gabriel for lunch, we go to a more familiar place.... DIM SUM, it's been a while.

Of course, being from Toronto, I didn't expect much from this place. hehe

We get to the top floor: big space!

The space is nice and pretty clean. 

The food is rolled out and lots of choices might I add.

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The plates are a good size and the food smells pretty good. Now... for the taste test:

The chicken feet: Just as good as any Scarborough (Toronto) restaurant

One of my favorite jelly cakes: Taste exactly like the one I had in Hong Kong... except it was a lot less sweet (not bad in my books).

But the taste test comes with a mouth full of "Egg Tarts"

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I like the flaky skin. It's not too oily and the filling tastes just like a real egg tart. hehe 

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the everything. 

Even the waitresses had a little "fun" in them while they were rolling their carts and making their dish items the best to buy.

So, if you're in L.A and looking for a good dim sum restaurant, look no further and head out to San Gabriels' FIVE STAR SEAFOOD RESTAURANT!

=0)

Food Review: IN-N-OUT (L.A)

Franchise or no franchise, 

IN-N-OUT 

is a burger joint that serves up delicious burgers.

You might yourself, why is this place so famous/popular? Is it just the hype? Are their burgers REALLY the best? Well.... to native Angelenos, YES! But for people like me, who are just visiting, YES!

Why?

It's not your typical fast food joint that works like a fast food joint.

Their stuff is FRESH TASTING. I love that you can see how the make everything through their open concept kitchen and windows (photo below). 

Their burgers aren't frozen and pre-made and they taste that way.

"Double Double"

Double meat patty and two slices of cheese (photo above)

Cheeseburger (photo above)

Different meals, I've tried the single and the double, and I've got to admit, the single cheeseburger is already very filling. The double is only for when you're hungry-enough-to-eat-a-horse.

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When I had my first bite, I was expecting "fast food" burgers... i.e. flat burger patty, very weak looking lettuce and tiny circles of tomatoes. But that's not the case. It was like I ate a burger at a friends' bbq. And the bun isn't flimpsy but tough enough to hold the burger until the last couple of bites.

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Aside from a great burger, I love how they package it for you. It's snuggled into a pouch so you can easily take it out of the bag and just go at it. And cute, but not as necessary, they have a reading section on the burger pouch about how they began and what's In-N-Out about!

And it doesn't hurt that the prices are fast-food BEST!

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Double-Double - $3.30

Cheeseburger - $2.25

Hamburger - $1.95

French Fries - $1.60

Shakes - $2.05

For me, the best thing about coming is on a Cheat Day! Then I get to order a well-deserved regular milkshake (and only costs $2)! And it's sooooooo great! It's thick and creamy and all the bad-good stuff you love!

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This hyped up spot actually was true to its gossip. I loved it and I would come back every Cheat Day I can get!

Thanks for the love In-N-Out!

Food Review: Jetsun Juicy Burger (North York location)

In the heart of North York's downtown -Empress Walk-Sheppard Grande Centre, you'll find that many of the foodie places are Mom & Pop stores... and for that I'm happy! However, this "Jetsun Juicy Burger" can't quite be called a Mom & Pop now that it has 2 locations. It's growing and I'd thought I'd give it a try... before it got really big.

The interior is decorated like a very cheesy old diner. It gets the feel across that you've went back in time... unfortunately the prices stayed in the present time.

The price range for burgers alone are $6-9. It's an average among most burger joints.

What drew me to this place was their milkshakes. For some reason, I feel like I rarely see item anywhere.... but then again maybe I haven't "really" been searching for it. And then they've got combos for about $10 (regular size fries & drink -$1.00 upgrade)

I ordered the regular "Jetsun Juicy burger and another one with cheese. 

2 burgers came to $14.22

How'd it taste?

The burger wasn't very thick, but the juiciness made it into my book of good. My only complaint is it wasn't a mouth full when I bit into the burger.

Overall.....

Service: Slow but friendly (went on a Saturday morning, 11:40am)

Atmosphere: Medium size restaurant, fairly clean

Price: Average 

Taste: Average (like any other burger joint)

2.7/5 stars

Food Review: Mr. Ravivo Restaurant

Thornhill has a hidden Mediterranean restaurant nestled in the bushy suburbs just north of John Street on Green Lane and east of Bayview Avenue.

The decor was old fashion and just plain old, but since it was a place that a family member recommended, then I had hope that they survived purely on their taste. 

Like a typical Mediterranean restaurant, they had all the usual dishes to offer. Good start.

For our starters, we ordered a cold plat of eggplant with pita bread basket

I must admit, the pita bread blew my mind. When you look at it, it doesn't look that special, but when you break bread, the bread becomes fuller and fluffier. It was the softer and semi-dense pita bread I've ever tasted. It was delicious. And of course the grilled eggplant platter was very seasoned to taste.

Salad & Hummus

The salad tasted very fresh and with a nice presentation

The hummus, like all good hummus tasted divine (it's one of my favorite dips).

And for our main course, we ordered some Grilled Chicken Breast filet, Lamb Chops, and Seasoned Potatoes

The lamb chop was a little tougher, but the chicken was incredibly soft and tender and the taste was just right. I also really like how they seasoned the potatoes. 

Overall, it was a very delicious meal.

4/5 stars