Green Street Tavern - Pasadena, CA

L's birthday just passed! Yay to another year towards old age! Since it was her birthday, I gave her control to the reigns and she chose Green Street Tavern. The restaurant is right across the street from Buca di Peppo and Gyu-kaku. I must have walked past this place so many times and never even noticed it! I need to explore Pasadena some more. So many wonderful places to try.

Our wine for the night

We each started the meal with a glass of wine. I'm not a big wine drinker, and when I do drink wine it's mainly sweet, white wine. I chose a German Gris-Ling and L chose a Pinot. I tried her red wine, and it was too dry for me.

Grilled Quail Salad

Miniature Baked Brie

Pan Seared Foie Gras & Duck Confit

We started off with 3 appetizers, all were equally delicious. The grilled quail salad was yums, but the little bones got annoying to eat around. I was recently introduced to brie. I'm not a big cheese lover, but I love brie! This dish was extra awesome because the brie was baked. It was all warm and creamy. I would come back for the brie and the foie gras! It was my first time eating foie gras, and I know... it's an evil way to treat animals and whatnots, but goodness I been missing out on all yumminess! I love the Asian style BBQ duck and this reminded me of it. By the way, my mouth is just watering thinking about these dishes.

Lobster Ravioli

Three Little Piggies went to the market….
And none of them came back home!

Our main courses consisted of the lobster ravioli and the Three Little Piggies. L ordered the lobster ravioli. I'm not a lobster fan, but I decided to give it a try. The flavor was a bit too fishy for me, but like I said, I'm not a big fan of lobster. I ordered the Three Little Piggies. The extremely long name of the dish totally caught my attention. It's basically a trio of pork dishes. Starting from the top right going clockwise: crispy pig ear salad, smoked ribs, and braised belly on top of pureed yams. Although I did enjoy the dish, I was a little disappointed because it didn't wow me. Maybe I was too "wow"-ed out from the appetizers.

Honestly, I would come here again, especially for the appetizers. :) I really did enjoy all that we ordered though. Happy birthday L! 

Green Street Tavern
69 W Green St
Pasadena, CA 91105

Laters~
R

New Kingswood Teppan Steak House - San Gabriel, CA

So L and I was trying to figure out what to eat for dinner one night, and we wanted something different from our usual choices. I ended up suggesting this place. I've been here before, but L has yet to try it. Basically New Kingswood is like Benihana, with both doing a teppanyaki styled meal. For those who don't know, teppanyaki comes from Japan. Teppan meaning iron plate and yaki meaning grilled or pan fried. So put it together and teppanyaki means pan frying/grilling on an iron plate.

Our teppan

We had to share the table with a family. Man did those kids eat... I tried to take a picture without the kid, not much luck there.

Our chef

Our chef did little to interact with us. Maybe it was because the other party had like 3 kids. He probably figured that the kids would get more of a kick out of his little tricks. *tsk tsk* The kids could have cared less... L and I were more interested in his show.. The kids were more interested in their DS.

Veggies

 I always loved eating the vegetables. I totally need it to balance out all the meat. The vegetables included mushrooms, beansprouts, zucchini, squash, and onions. It was sauteed perfectly. I would come here just for the vegetables!

Scallop and Steak

 I ordered the scallop and steak combo. The meat was the first to be cooked, and I am one to wait for my entire meal to be ready before I start, so when the chef finished the vegetables, which was about 10 minutes after the meat, the steak and scallop wasn't as hot as I liked them to be. The meal was good nonetheless. The steak was cooked in garlic (lots of it) and black pepper sauce. The scallop was just cooked with garlic and butter.

Steak and Fish

I forgot what fish it was specifically that L ordered. She couldn't wait for the vegetables, so she started to eat. I had to stop her to take a picture! The fish was pretty good. I just didn't like the teriyaki sauce they put on it. L also got her steak cooked with garlic and black pepper sauce. 

Our failed volcano

I assume many of these teppan places do the volcano. I heard Benihana does it too, but I've never been so I couldn't tell you from firsthand experience. The volcano failed right after he lit it, so we didn't get to see the whole fire and steam event. O wells...

Overall, this place isn't too bad. I do notice that a lot of butter is used throughout the meal. If you like butter than go for it, but if not I'm pretty sure you can ask for them to use regular cooking oil or something. The other section to the restaurant is an all you can eat hot pot place. I have never tried their hot pot, so I wouldn't be able to comment on it. 

New Kingswood Teppan Steak House
250 W Valley Blvd Ste L
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Laters~
R

Henry's Taiwan - Seattle, WA

There is little better than a bowl of beef noodle soup. On a ever-so-typical cold, rainy, gray day in Seattle, beef noodle soup is a major craving of mine. But lately I haven't had any, as there is a severe lack of it in my neighborhood. I finally filled that void.

This is a bowl from Henry's Taiwan, situated appropriately near the ornate Chinese gate in Seattle's International District. It is a fairly tiny place with maybe six booths and two tables. There was no wait this particular day, but it would be worth it anyway. Don't worry, they play Mandarin pop for your entertainment.

Order the beef noodle soup and you get a sizeable bowl filled with chunks of stewed beef (and some tendons, watch out now), spiced broth, and homemade noodles. These noodles can also be ordered with shaved-style noodles - I spaced and should have ordered those, but this bowl was still delicious.

Not a fan of noodles? They serve a nice variety of rice dishes and appetizers. Henry's Taiwan also has red bean dessert! I didn't have any, but I regret that decision. 

Sliced pork belly served with a sweet soy-garlic sauce. There is no pork belly that doesn't taste amazing.

Stinky tofu. Ah, I didn't partake. Sorry, I can't do it.

This post is dedicated to C, L, and R, as I am trying to bribe all three to visit Seattle. Come to Seattle and you can have all the beef noodle soup (plus rain and trees) you want!