Blog has moved

Hi fellows,

All of the posts of this blog have been moved to the main blog page now under the Restaurant Review label. I'll be hiding this page eventually. New reviews will be posted on the main blog only.

Thank you,
Kanan

Coconut Bay

One of my favorite restaurants for Thai food on the Peninsula. I actually like Narin that's next door from this place better, but since I ate here only last week, I thought I'd write about it.

I do have to tell you that it's a little pricey for the amount of food they give, but it's good nevertheless. The place is very well lit from the inside and also has quite a lot of daylight because of being located on the corner.

For lunch, as a vegetarian you don't have too many choices but you can request them to make a meatless/egg-less Pad Thai noodles and their Panang Curry is quite good.

They have a bar next door as well and the place is small but very cute and clean. The service is good but they get very busy at meal times so if you're planning to eat there, make reservation or go a bit early.

* - the dinner item I've tried in the past and liked.

Garden Fresh Rolls * - Rice paper rolls with fresh vegetables served with a carrot sauce

Roti with Curry sauce * - Grilled East Indian flat bread served with a curry dipping sauce

Jungle Tom Yum Soup * - (Special request to make it vegetarian without chicken broth or meat) Chicken or prawns in spicy and sour soup with mushrooms, tomatoes and lemon grass

Papaya Pok Pok Salad * - Shredded green papaya mixed with green beans, Chili, carrots, tomatoes and ground peanuts. This stuff is very delicious! They do give a small amount for this one.

Vegetarian Delight Salad * - Green salad, bean curd, tomatoes, cucumbers, Red onions, bean sprouts, topped with peanut dressing.

Then they have a whole section for the veg. items:

Spear & Shield - Sautéed asparagus spear with whole shitake mushrooms and garlic sauce (Seasonal)

Curry Powder Vegetables - Sautéed mix vegetables with mild curry powder and garlic

Tangy Vegetables - Sautéed mixed vegetables with pineapple, onions tomatoes, cucumbers and black fungus

Oyster Sauce Broccoli - Sautéed broccoli with oyster sauce garlic and black mushrooms

Vegetable Combo - Sautéed fresh seasonal vegetables with soy sauce and garlic

Curry Vegetables * - Fresh seasonal vegetables in panaeng curry with coconut milk mushrooms and sweet basil

Peanut Sauce Vegetables - Boiled spinach, cabbage and bean curd topped with mild curry peanut sauce

Sweet Basil Bean Curd - Sautéed bean curd with sweet basil, chili, garlic, zucchini, bell peppers, green beans and snow peas

Bean Curd with Eggplant * - Sautéed bean curd with eggplant, egg, chili, black bean sauce and sweet basil

They have about five or so desserts. I've tried the fried banana with ice cream only, but I am sure others will be good as well. Can't wait to try the fried banana with honey the next time I go.

My rating for Coconut Bay: 4/5

Name: Coconut Bay
Type: Thai
Average Price: $8-10/person (Lunch), $12-18/person (Dinner)
Address: 1300 Howard Ave, Burlingame, CA 94010 (At the intersection of Howard & Park Rd)
Phone: (650) 558-8268
Website: http://coconutbayrestaurant.com/

Vaso Azzurro Ristorante

Classy Italian-French dining - that's what I call it. I love this place. If you're going out on a dinner date or for lunch with your colleague, you will love it here.

The food is great and the service is awesome! The staff is very polite and always smiling to help.

It gets a little crazy when they are crowded so the best time to go is in the early hours to avoid waiting for your meals.

My favorite dishes are:

* - my personal favorites

PANINI

Vegetali Panino - On a bun with aioli, grilled marinated eggplant, zucchini, roasted bell peppers, portabella basil, and sun-dried tomatoes, served with mixed baby greens side salad.

ANTIPASTI

Bocconcini Di Mozeralla Lombardy - Fresh mozzarellas, tomato slices, basil, oregano, olive oil & balsamic vinegar.

Aubergines Au Grill Modena - Hot stew of marinated eggplant with olive oil, diced red onions, tomatoes, garlic, roasted sweet red peppers.

Bruschetta Milano * - Freshly baked bread topped with fresh chopped tomato, red onion, garlic, basil & olive oil.

INSALATE

Insalata Della Casa * - Spring baby greens, kalamata olives, red onion, grated parmesan cheese & house dressing.

Insalata Trevisiana * - Fresh spinach, arugula, radicchio, caramelized walnuts & cherry tomatoes, house dressing. (Arugula is a herb)

Insalata Avocadro * - Fresh avocado, romaine lettuce, gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, tomatoes, lemon-herb dressing.

Insalata Arugula * - Fresh baby arugula, hearts of palm, goat cheese, cherry tomatoes, lemon-herb dressing.


ENTREES

Capellini Al Pomodoro Fresco - Angel hair pasta, fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, EVOO, and spinach.

Penne Alla Diavola * - Pasta tubes with chunk of marinated eggplants, garlic, onion, basil, red bell pepper, spicy marinara sauce. If you like a spicy Italian dish, this is the one to order. It's very delicious!

Gnocchi Di Spinaci Al Gorgonzola - Spinach and potato dumplings in rich creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce, splash of chardonnay. Great if you are a cheese lover.

Ravioli Con Spinaci Di Mascarpone * - Pasta, stuffed with spinach and ricotta cheese, sauted in a marinara mascarpone cheese sauce.

Risotto Fungi - Imported Arborio rice with Portobello mushroom, peppercorns, sundried tomatoes, and touch of cream.

You can practically order anything else that you see on menu and request them to not include the meat and they are kind enough to make it for you.

They have a fantastic collection of desserts as well, ranging from Italian ones to the Middle Eastern ones, including Flan, Mud Pie, Tiramisu *, Creme Brule, Cheesecake, Chocolate Fudge Cake, Baklava *, Affogata, Zabaglione, Sorbet, Gelato *, Chocolate Sundae, and Helen of Troy.

And btw, if you still didn't know, Vaso Azzurro means blue vase; they do have a whole bunch of them in the restaurant as well.

My rating for Vaso Azzurro: 4/5

Name: Vaso Azzurro Ristorante
Type: Italian-French
Average Price: $10-14/person (Lunch), $12-18/person (Dinner)
Address: 108 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041 (At Evelyn Ave)
Phone: (650) 940-1717
Website: http://vasoazzurro.com/

Firehouse Grill & Brewery

Pretty good for a brewery to have at least one vegetarian item in each category. I like this place and have been there numerous times. You don't get too much of a choice as a vegetarian but the food is quite good and so is the service.

Starters: Bruschetta - Tomato, Basil, Garlic, Sourdough Crostini
Mozzarella Sticks. They also have Fire House Garlic Fries for dinner.

Soups & Salads: Fire 'House' Salad - Seasonal Greens, Carrot, Cucumber, Red Onion.

Pizzas: Margherita - Tomato, Basil, Mozzarella.

Pastas: Roasted Vegetable Ravioli - Tomato Basil Sauce, Parmesan Cheese.

Sandwiches: Fire Roasted Portabello - Fontina Cheese, Spinach, Eggplant, Roasted Peppers, Pesto, Served Open Faced.


Surprisingly enough, I still haven't gotten a chance to try out any desserts at Firehouse. They have Blackberry Parfait (includes alcohol I believe), Chocolate Mousse, Crème Brûlée Cheese Cake, Mud Pie, Apple Pie, and assorted Gelatos & Sorbets.


My rating for Firehouse Grill: 3/5.

Name: Firehouse Grill & Brewery
Type: Brewery
Average Price: $10-14/person (Lunch), $12-18/person (Dinner)
Address: 111 S Murphy Ave, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 (At Evelyn Ave)
Phone: (408) 773-9500
Website: http://www.firehousegrill.com/

Fina Estampa

Got to eat lunch at this place back in September of last year. I didn't really have a choice to decide because I was there with a group and majority of the people wanted to eat Mexican so we decided to go to this place. The place does not look very impressive from the outside. It is located right at the corner of Van Ness and Geary in SF downtown. Once we were inside, the atmosphere was quite authentic. The place has a Spanish/Peruvian decorations and the looks quite nice, not too fancy but makes you feel at home.

The menu has two lists of items - one Peruvian and the other Spanish/Mexican. A lot of Spanish names sound very original and you can tell it's not American-Mexican but authentic Mexican food.

They have THE BEST salsa ever. The chips and salsa are served as soon as you are seated. They also serve warm fluffy white bread (looks and tastes mostly like the French bread) slices with butter. There are four different kinds of sauces/condiments served as well.

After trying to make up my mind between the two kinds of ethnic foods, I decided to go with Peruvian. They have separate section on the menu for veg. items. This dish I tried (I forget the name) has sauted vegetables with French fries and is served with steamed rice. It was very delicious and has become my favorite now. I can't wait to go there again and try out other veg dishes that they serve along with the dessert.

There is parking available on the street as well as across the street under the Cathedral Hill Hotel where public can park for reasonable hourly rates.

For the fans of Mexican/Peruvian food, this is a must-eat place.

My rating for Fina Estampa: 4/5

Name: Fina Estampa
Type: Peruvian & Spanish/Mexican
Average Price: $8-14/person (Lunch), $11-16/person (Dinner)
Address: 1100 Van Ness, San Francisco, CA 94109 (At Geary Street)
Phone: (415) 440-6343
Website: http://www.finaestampasf.com/

Tabla Flavours Café

So last night I got to eat at this place. First of all, I didn't know where it was located so we had to roam around the shopping plaza to find the place. Eventually, we ended up finding it hidden behind other shops in the Charter Square Shopping Center.

I found out at the end of my dinner that they call themselves a cafe. Since I didn't know about that I had expected a little more. And then I thought since the place was in Foster City, it would have it's signature charm, etc. but sadly enough I was when I entered the place.

I had seen the menu outside so I was looking forward to find out what the South Indian food tasted like. The service was below average... the main waiter looked like he was having a bad day and didn't smile all throughout the ~45 minutes we spent there. We had just been given the seats and he walks over and asks us whether we already ordered. I felt like giving him don't-you-have-any-common-sense look but refrained. We told him we hadn't ordered so he threw the menus at us, literally. We ordered all the things we wanted but he forgot to write down the last item that I had ordered, which I realized half way through my meal because it never did come. Just to double check, I asked him whether I had actually ordered it, he said yes and that he remembered I ordered it, but then he came back from kitchen saying I hadn't ordered.

The food took quite a while to come, specially the thaali. So two of us who didn't order thaali got the meals quicker and rest of the two were waiting till the first two were done with their meal. So at any given time, two people were sitting at the table, just waiting - either for food or for others to finish their meals. Quite ridiculous if you ask me.

The food was alright but quite spicy, which I don't mind but it was mainly the service that disappointed me a lot. If you're craving for spicy Indian food, this is the place to go, but be prepared to face the waiters who seem like they haven't been fed any food for days and are mad at you for just being there.

Their menu mainly has the basic South Indian items. It also has quite a few non-veg items made from halaal meat.

We requested the grumpy waiter to make sure our food was vegetarian and he looked annoyed, we had to soften him up saying we just wanted to make sure for it. He didn't seem to like it.

They have the veg thaali listed with $7.99 but we were charged $8.29 + tax and similary the mysore masala dosa we ordered was actually for $5.99 but we paid $6.29 + tax. We didn't wait to deal with the waiter any longer so we just kept mum and paid and left the place.

They also have a few other locations in the bay area, I wonder whether they are the same as this one. Would I go to the place again? I seriously doubt it.

My rating for Tabla Flavours: 1/5 (that's for the food).

Name: Tabla Flavours Café
Type: South Indian/Pakistani
Average Price: $8-$10/person (Dinner)
Address: 1088 Shell Blvd, Ste C, Foster City, CA 94404
Phone: (650) 638-1555
Website: http://www.newtabla.com/