Category

2956 Kress St, Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii. (808) 245-3271

This hole-in-the-wall place is very popular among locals and tourists because you can get a bowl of noodles for about $7 or less. There is limited seating at various counters. Expect to wait in line for a seat.

The kitchen is adjacent to the dining area, so you can watch as they prepare your meal.

This is the Special Regular ($7). It’s special because it’s loaded with slices of pink and white fish balls, half a boiled egg, some wontons, chunks of BBQ beef, and bits of ham. It’s the regular sized portion.

I ordered the Medium Bowl ($4.50) with a side of BBQ Chicken ($1.40). My noodles were topped with ham and cilantro. The hot noodles were very good even though it was a hot and humid day. The BBQ Chicken smelled great and tasted even better!

Inside Hamura’s Saimin is another counter where you can order shaved ice.

This is the regular sized Shaved Ice ($2.25). You can get up to 3 flavors. I picked lychee and passion fruit.

This is the Shaved Ice with Ice Cream ($3). The flavors are strawberry and lime. The vanilla ice cream is at the bottom and it is much better than the regular shaved ice. It sort of tastes like a Creamsicle.

Overall, this place is a great value, but don’t expect any frills.

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 2/5
Service/Atmosphere: 2/5
Total: 12/20

4622 Park Blvd, San Diego, CA 92116. (619) 813-2272

http://www.leilounge.com/

Lei Lounge has an inside bar with seating for dining outside. If you have at least 6 people, try reserving one of their white cabanas.

Like great tasting food at bargain prices? Check out Lei Lounge’s Happy Hour special on Mondays from 5 pm to 10 pm: 50% off their samplers!!! (The following prices are already discounted.)

Tempura Sampler ($6) - rock shrimp, veggies, and lobster. The rock shrimp and lobster tempura were very good, but I didn’t like the broccoli tempura. Veggies are supposed to be healthy and there’s nothing healthy about deep frying them. I’d rather have steamed veggies instead of all that extra oil.

Skewers Trio Sampler ($6) - ahi tuna, lemongrass chicken, and beef kabob. The ahi tuna was seared, so I didn’t try it. I like my fish fully cooked. I didn’t try the beef kabob either. The lemongrass chicken was a little bland so make sure you dip it in one of the sauces. It was topped with very fresh, sweet, delicious pineapple.

Dumplings Sampler ($5.50) - scallop, beef and scallion, and ginger vegetable with assorted sauces. This was the only sampler that I didn’t like. Even with the discount, it was not worth $1 per piece, especially when comparing it to the other samplers. Beware, the ginger vegetable dumplings were very spicy hot!

Lei Cabana Sampler ($6) - 5 pieces of the chef’s selection of daily menu items. Our sampler had more of the ahi tuna skewer, lemongrass chicken skewer, veggie tempura, and veggie dumpling. The only new item was the Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls (brown thing to the top right of the sauce).

They even have drink specials! Mondays through Fridays from 5 pm to 7 pm: 50% off their signature cocktails. Lei Tropical Cooler ($3.50) - coconut rum, creme de banana, melon, syrup, pineapple and lemon juice.

Thai Sticky Coconut Rice ($5) - It doesn’t look good, but it tastes delicious! You can even see the whole strands of coconut.

Chocolate Bento Box ($16) - Definitely not worth it! Their dessert menu is a verbal menu, which means your waiter will describe their sweet offerings, but they don’t mention the outrageous prices! They were out of the Chinese-style fried doughnuts, so they gave us another piece of the pistachio cake, which wasn’t good, and another cream puff, which tasted like it was frozen and hadn’t completely thawed yet. The chocolate dipping sauce and the raspberry cake was ok. The standouts: the dark chocolate piece was sinfully decadent, very smooth, melts in your mouth… The circular creme brulee had a cheesecake like consistency, nice and thick… The last piece was white chocolate lemon cake? The smooth finish was sweet.

And… do you want an even better deal? Go to Costco and purchase their $100 San Diego Gift Card for only $80! You can also use it at over 100 restaurants in San Diego.

http://www.sandiegogiftcard.com/

The service wasn’t the best. We got there right as they were opening. There was only one waitress and it was a little difficult to get some service at times.

Lei Lounge also serves brunch and champagne cocktails.

Taste: 8/10
Presentation: 5/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 17/20

225 E 60th Street, New York City, NY 10022. (212) 838-3531

http://www.serendipity3.com/

During my East Coast Trip in May, I managed to visit Serendipity 3 to try their world famous frrrozen hot chocolate. I had first heard about this place a few years ago in the movie “Serendipity” and I had wanted to try it out since then.

This is the table where Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack sat at (or at least that’s what I was told by the waiter).

We stopped by after watching the Broadway play “Mary Poppins” so it was a little late. They were only serving desserts and drinks instead of their full menu (salads, soups, sandwiches, crepes, pastas, etc.) at that time.

I ordered the Peanut Butter Frrrozen Hot Chocolate ($9) and it was delicious! It was cold and smooth. I could definitely taste the peanut butter, but it wasn’t chunky at all.

My colleague ordered the Dark Double Devil Mousse ($8).

One treat that I’ll probably never be fortunate enough to have is their Golden Opulence Sundae. It holds the Guinness World Record for being the most expensive sundae… $1000!!! This requires a 48 hour notice. Why is it so incredibly expensive? It’s “made with 5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world’s most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela’s coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It’s sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac. The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgence served with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel.” If anyone has the money for this, please invite me along… =)

This is just a fun place to enjoy a sweet treat. The servings are large enough for two to share. They also have a little shop where you can buy books, candy, and other knick knacks…

Taste: 10/10
Presentation: 5/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 19/20

8360 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90069. (323) 653-7145

http://sweetladyjane.com/

Who doesn’t like a good dessert? I know I’m always on the lookout for something sweet to try. My cousin introduced me to Sweet Lady Jane. I’d put this place in the same category as Extraordinary Desserts. It offers a selection of cookies, cakes, and other sweets (which varies each day). They also have a wide selection of coffee and tea. It is very small and you’d be lucky to find a table. During their busiest times of the day, there is a maximum time that you are allowed to sit.

I tried the White Chocolate Janoli. There’s a thin layer that’s sort of like soft peanut brittle wrapped around some kind of white chocolate cream inside and the ends are dipped in chocolate. It was delicious!

Taste: 10/10
Presentation: 4/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4/5
Total: 18/20

1430 Union Street, San Diego, CA 92101. (619) 294-7001

http://www.extraordinarydesserts.com/

This review is long over due. I think I went several months ago. This is the second Extraordinary Desserts. It is located in Little Italy and is larger than the Hillcrest location. There is a different feel. The atmosphere is more contemporary. The menu offers a wider selection than just desserts.

Kiwi Lemonade ($4) - Dave says, “No big surprise. Pretty much lemonade with chunks of kiwi in it. Nothing spectacular.”

Turkey Breast Panini ($10) - with smoked mozzarella, cranberry mayonnaise, and butter leaf lettuce. The turkey was moist, but the bread was too crunchy.

I think this was the Serrano Ham Panini ($10) with buffalo mozzarella, balsamic onions, and red plum conserve.

Sorry, but I can’t remember which chocolate desserts these are either! But, I will say that every single dessert that I’ve had at both locations has been pretty good… very rich and decadent!

Taste: 7.5/10
Presentation: 4.5/5
Service/Atmosphere: 4.5/5
Total: 16.5/20