Mandarin Buffet & Grill

A trip to Seattle means shopping, eating and meeting up with Goose and Mother Goose. Former residents of Vancouver, now transplanted into Bellevue, they visit every now and then. So it's a bit of a role reversal when we visit them. We decided to go for dinner the first night we were there. Some ideas were floated around such as Cheesecake Factory, Claim Jumper, Red Lobster etc... Yah, they're all chain restaurants - been there, done that. However, they all offer something a little for everyone and are kid-friendly. But Goose wanted to try something else and suggested a nearby Asian buffet. Alright, when those words rolled off his tongue, I immediately went into "I'm not going to eat at an Asian buffet in Bellevue" mode. 

Yah, we're from Vancouver, where Asian food is pretty darn good for North American standards. So let me see, you want me to eat Asian food in Bellevue and it's going to be in a buffet format. Are you nuts??? I seriously was wondering if Goose had lost his marbles. Images of Dragon Inn and their infamous smorgasbord started dancing in my head. That's right, dancing spring rolls, chop suey and fried chicken balls were frighteningly appearing in my sights. I wanted to run, run all the way back to Vancouver. But wait. Goose has a good hold of Asian food. He did say that some people have told him that it was decent for the money. Oh alright, I'll give it a shot. What's there to lose? My appetite... But there are not many things I won't eat.

So off we went to Mandarin Buffet & Grill. Which happened to be right across the freeway from where we were staying. Conveniently located in a strip mall right next to a Safeway, the restaurant is relatively hidden from street traffic. Apparently, there have been about 3 other restaurants that have come and gone at this location. I guess we'll see what happens to the buffet... For a Thursday night, the place was hopping with lots of customers. Alright, that is a good sign. Full house = fast turnover of food. Another good sign was the pricing. At $12.99 for adults Monday thru Thursday and $13.99 on weekends, it seemed quite reasonable. Weekday lunch is probably the best deal at $8.99. 

For kiddies, I like the pricing where they charge by year from ages 3-11. 55 cents for lunch and 65 cents for dinner. After we sat down, I went to take a look at the offerings from their... count >them... 7 stations! I was overwhelmed by the massive quantity and selection of food. In the first section I visited, there was 2 types of fried shrimp, mussels, crab, shortribs, fries, sesame balls, garlic bread and frog legs. The second section consisted of North American Chinese food such as broccoli beef, General Tso's chicken, sweet n sour chicken, pizza, stir fried asparagus, baked mussels, fried rice, fried noodles and a few other stir fries. On the end were a selection of 3 soups. The next section was a mishmash of items such as crayfish, clams, sea snails, fried whole shrimp and a few other stir fries.

Directly in the centre of the place is a Teppanyaki grill doubling as a Mongolian grill. Right next to it is an actual grill for steaks. Yes, you heard me right, in addition to the usual items you'd find at a Mongolian grill, there were full sirloin steaks. They are grilled to your liking right in front of you! The items at this station included beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, sirloin steaks, sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, noodles and snap peas. If this sounds a lot like U-Grill, it is and imagine that, you'd probably spend $13.00 there anyways! Directly behind the grill station is the Japanese themed section with grilled squid, fish and tempura. There is also a selection of rolls and nigiri sushi. 2 more stations consisting of the salad bar and desserts (which were pretty weak except for the cheesecake) are to the side of the Japanese section. Highlights from this area include oysters on the half shell, seaweed, grilled asparagus, lychees (canned, but good) and fresh fruit. Wait, there is more! Last item is the soft-serve ice cream station with sprinkles and nuts. Yah, it's a buffet on steroids that would put the defunct Foodie Goodie to shame.

Okay, now the food wasn't outstanding; but it was more than edible. I came in with real expectations for the price and venue. Of course a buffet is never the right situation to experience great food and honestly, most buffets will never advertise that. Thus, I was only expecting acceptable food. The highlights had to be the grilled to order sirloin steaks and the Mongolian grill. The clams were good and so were the frog legs. I was not impressed with the oysters or crayfish, they didn't seem fresh. Although the sushi rice was pretty much a joke, the fish itself was half-decent. I really liked the seaweed and took lots. The North American Chinese food was pretty much what you'd find at Panda Express; but that is to expected. I did like the freshness of the veggies in all of the stations. It also helped that there was high turnover of the food. So the food wasn't great; yet it was pretty good for what it's worth, especially for the price. I wouldn't recommend it if you wanted quality food; however, if you wanted to get full while having an enormous variety of food, this is your place.

The Good:
- Incredible selection
- Most of the food is fresh and refilled expeditiously
- Many expensive items available

The Bad:
- Definitely quantity over quality here
- Some items were not so good (but that is to be expected)
- Sweet strawberry glaze over bananas? WTH?

Salumi Part II

Last year, I visited Salumi for the first time. For those who unfamiliar with Salumi, it's run by Mario Batali's father, Armandino Batali. Famous for their cured meats, sandwiches and gnocchi made every Friday by his older sister Izzy. I tried 2 of their sandwiches. Both were not very impressive, especially since they were almost $10.00 each. Why? Well, when I was in line, I noticed 2 Rubbermaid storage containers full with pre-made sandwiches in the cooler (refer to the picture). When I ordered my 2 sandwiches, I witnessed them being retrieved from those same storage containers. They were sliced in half and wrapped up for me to go. When I opened the packages up, it revealed very little filling squished between ciabatta buns. The chewy and cold sandwiches tasted alright; but Viv and I really didn't feel they were worth $10.00 each. Furthermore, why would I need to go to a place like Salumi if I wanted pre-packaged sandwiches?

Now with my post came passionate, sometimes rude attacks which ranged from dismay to downright unsubstantiated remarks. Now, I have no problem if someone points out that I was wrong about something. For example, I incorrectly identified the schnitzel at Old Bavaria Haus as veal when it was pork. Fine, my bad, I stand corrected. That is a factual error. Now, when people say that I was wrong or I am on drugs to say I personally didn't like Salumi... then some people have truly mistakened opinion over facts. There is no right or wrong when it comes to personal preference. Plain and simple. Just like someone can like a restaurant that I do not like. It's a free world, people can like whatever they want. So I was a bit taken aback when people would just not quit in saying that I was wrong. In fact, one person even implied I was lying since he has never seen pre-made sandwiches for all the times he's went to Salumi. Uh... I have a picture to prove it. Therefore, I really don't understand where some people get their facts. I always report what I personally experience. Some suggested I tried the wrong sandwich, especially since I did not try their signature Porcetta sandwich. Okay, that's fair enough. I was more than game to try it once I made it down to Seattle again. Of course that was not good enough for some, and they continued to exert little jabs whenever they could in the comments section.

Okay, enough of my ranting. So, to fairly assess Salumi, I lined up for a second time in the cold to get at some sandwiches. One thing I immediately noticed was the absence of the Rubbermaid tubs. Second, when I ordered a Porcetta and a Tongue Sandwich, the cold tongue sandwich was made freshly in front of me. When I finally got at Porcetta, I gotta admit, it is one darn fine sandwich. Tender, fatty pork laced with fennel topped with onions, green peppers and fresh mozzarella on herbed olive oil brushed bread danced around in my mouth. Now that is worth the money! The only thing I'd change about this sandwich is the bread. I realize it has to be firm to hold up to the moisture from the pork; but it is a bit too chewy. Every bite only helped destroy the sandwich further. Now, for the tongue sandwich. As you know, I love tongue! The sandwich consisted of ciabatta brushed with herbed olive oil with the same peppers and onions along with thinly sliced tongue. Everything tasted alright; however, I though the tongue was way too salty and took away from everything else. Also, once again, the ciabatta was too hard for my liking. Don't get me wrong, just like the last time, I didn't hate the tongue sandwich. In fact, it was pretty good. But it was not that good and certainly a bit expensive.

So my final thoughts about Salumi this time around? Yes, the Porcetta is one fine sandwich. I totally agree with everyone who has said so. Worth every penny. As for the other 3 sandwiches, they were good; but not outstanding. I would say that the tongue sandwich was better than the Muffo and Prosciutto, Figs & Goat's Cheese that I had last time. If I were to base my thoughts on this visit alone, I would not hesitate to press "I like it" on Urbanspoon. However, based on both visits, I would still categorized my feelings as "indifferent".

The Good:
- Awesome Porcetta sandwich
- Naturally, they're famous for their cured meats
- Quality ingredients

The Bad:
- I personally don't like their bread choices
- Other than their Porcetta, there is not a lot of meat
- Pricey

Ezell's Famous Chicken

It's interesting how we often get sucked into visiting places because a celebrity happens to like it. The fact they are famous doesn't necessarily translate into good taste. After all, food is a very personal thing and just because they like it doesn't mean someone else will like it. Case in point, Guy Fieri seems to like everything he tries on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. However, to me at least, some of the stuff looks plain gross. Is it because he truly likes it or could it be that it would be unbecoming of a Food Network personality to trash someone's food? Have you ever seen Rachel Ray pan something she ate? It's always a "yum-o", not an "ewww". Although, I do give her credit for liking Top Pot Donuts. I personally like them too. Now, when Oprah seems to like something, it turns to pure gold, whether it be books, cars, mittens or food.

So with her recommendations, I eagerly made my way to Ezell's Famous Chicken in Lynnwood while we were on our way to Bellevue. Of course, I already had an inkling of what I was in for since Kim had tried it and surprise surprise... didn't like it (LOL). Well, despite his warnings, I had to see for myself at what all the fuss was about. Not really knowing what to expect, we were hoping to eat-in. No dice. This place is purely takeout with absolutely no seating at all. Great. Fried Chicken, eaten in the car with 2 kids. I think we went through an entire pack of wipes for this one meal. Yes, partially because it's fried chicken and more noticeably, the darn chicken was really greasy. I got half regular and half spicy which included 4 freshly made buns.

The positives were that the chicken was crispy and the spicy batter had plenty of flavour. As for the regular, the batter was bland. On that note, the chicken in both versions were very bland. The white meat was particularly dry. I was gnawing on it and not enjoying it. The dark meat was significantly more moist; but definitely not as moist as Lee's or LA Chicken. Honestly, I was not overly impressed. In fact, you could say I was disappointed. However, the fresh buns were pretty good. A bit sweet, nice and soft, we all enjoyed them. For curiosity purposes, I added a small order of Spicy Fried Chicken Livers. Although we liked the crunchy spicy coating, we didn't like that it was even greasier and overcooked. Luckily we only had a small order. I'm not sure how we could've eaten more than 2 pieces each. Now that we were greasy, the kids greasy, the car greasy, my camera greasy and using up all of our wipes, we felt a bit gross. As for Oprah liking the place, she has her opinion. For me, I was indifferent bordering on not liking it. It wasn't cheap either! At the very least, it proves once again that celebrity endorsements mean nothing at all. Hey, look at how Rosie really loved the Pontiac Aztec...

The Good:
- Big pieces of chicken
- They got fried livers and gizzards (gotta give them props for that!)
- Great buns

The Bad:
- Greasy, bland and overcooked chicken
- Expensive
- No where to sit

Royal City Thai

*Restaurant is now closed*

Is it just me or are food bloggers roaming around in packs from restaurant to restaurant? Could it be safer in numbers? Is it a pack mentality? Well, it certainly takes away the awkwardness of taking pictures when you have many more people doing the same thing. So once again, we have a few of us, armed with our DSLRs, meeting for another meal. The destination this time around was thanks to Karl. In the former location of Royal City Cafe comes Royal City Thai. Yah, I know, not very creative with the name; but it gets the point across. Of course New West is not the hot bed of Thai food; yet there can be gems found here and there, such as Lhy Thai in Burnaby. Also joining us were Kim, Jessica & Mark.

I brought my daughter with me this time since Viv was busy. I didn't bother bringing my son because he doesn't even eat hamburgers, let alone Thai food. For a Sunday morning, I struggled mightily to find a parking spot on Columbia. I must've circled quite a few times before I got one right in front. So even before we got down to ordering the food, I did my usual spiel about how good Kim's pictures are. Once and for all, he wanted to stop my endless gibberish about his pictures. So he proposed that we switch cameras for today's meal. Naturally, I was a bit apprehensive since the usual questions bothered me, such as: what if the pictures I take suck? Or what if they are good? Do I even know how to use his camera?

Well, I must add that Kim was at a disadvantage since my camera settings in manual mode are a mess since I don't really fool around with them much. Kim's camera was already setup and all I needed to do was take the picture. Furthermore, he has a much more superior lens. With that out of the way, we all decided to try their all-you-can-eat lunch for $12.95. Looking over the menu, it reminded me of Thai House and their AYCE that they no longer offer. The server asked us what we wanted to order and unanimously we all replied, "Everything!" And one by one, everything arrived. We started with the Tom Kah Gai. This for me was a bit average. It was a bit bland with neither a strong coconut or spice flavour to it. I realize that they do not want to make it too bold since it might alienate some customers. Thus, if you like it spicy, just ask. That's what we did for the second round of food.

Next up was an order of Calamari. This was not bad with soft squid in crispy breading. The dipping sauce was pretty standard sweet chili. In the form of more fried goodness, we go the obligatory Spring Rolls. They were crunchy and filled with veggies and vermicelli. What can I say? They were spring rolls. I wasn't that fond of the diluted sweet and sour sauce. I dipped it in the sweet chili instead. The sweet chili sauce accompanied the Fried Chicken Wings as well. It went well with the crispy wings. The fried appies were decent; but we all know that the main event are the curries and stir fries. The first to arrive was the Chicken Red Curry. It was quite pleasant if one was looking for a mild curry. Let me rephrase that, if one was looking for a coconut sauce. Yah, once again, to appeal to the masses, this tasted watered down without much in the way of spice. Our bad for not asking at the start of the meal. Otherwise, it was alright with chicken, bamboo shoots, peppers, onions and basil.

Next up was the Basil Beef Stirfry. I know this is AYCE; but there was a serious lack of meat in this dish. Try looking for it, it's like "Where is the Beef?" Once again, this was pretty decent with fresh veggies and tender beef. And again, not much spice to speak of. However, in the second round of food, this dish was much spicier which made it ultimately better. On a personal note, I could've eaten spicier. Although that would've put the flavour profile of the dish into an unbalanced state, which some people may not like. That once again explains the blandness of the dish - to not alienate the majority of people who do not eat that spicy.

Next up was the Pork Yellow Curry. It was slightly more spicy than the red curry. Furthermore, I felt that the meatiness of the pork added more depth to the dish. Somehow I find chicken to be a bit bland and it really doesn't enhance a dish. On that note, I still like the texture of chicken over pork and beef when it comes to curry. I guess you really can't have the best of both worlds. This curry was predominantly sweet with underlying heat. One particular dish I didn't care about was the Chili Pepper Fried Rice with vegetables. It's partially due to the fact that fried rice was probably the lest interesting dish other than the white rice. It was a tad dry with not a whole lot of flavour. I had to put some curry on it to liven it up. I did like the texture of the veggies, they were still a bit crunchy.

Continuing with more stir fries was the Gai Pad Namman which consisted of snow peas, peppers, pineapple and chicken in a black bean sauce. As expected with this dish, it was not spicy. Not much to really complain about it. The veggies were crisp, chicken was tender and an interesting sweetness provided by the pineapples. As you can see from the picture, the whole dish appeared quite glossy which is from the coating of oil on all of the ingredients. I guess that helps the food slide down your esophagus?

The last curry to arrive was the Beef Green Curry. Somehow, this one had a lot of beef in it. Maybe that's where the beef is? I not sure if my taste buds tricked me or not; but I found this curry to be the mildest of all (which shouldn't be the case). Not really all that spicy nor much coconut flavour, I found this one almost bland. However, I did like the pieces of tender beef and eggplant. It's interesting that the AYCE menu did not have the ever-popular Pad Thai. Rather, there was Pad See Ew available instead. This is nothing remotely close to Pad Thai since the flavouring is predominantly soy sauce rather than tamarind. Furthermore, there are veggies in the form of broccoli, baby corn and carrots in this version. Although we like our rice noodles al dente, this one was bordering on uncooked. But I really didn't seem to mind it that much, much better than mushy. The second time around for this dish, it was significantly spicier and the noodles were a bit softer.

In a nutshell, my initial reaction was that both the menu and food was very similar to Thai House (especially seeing how both AYCE menus are alike). Now, they can either take that as a compliment or an insult. However, it really depends on expectations and the clientele. For people who crave spicy, flavourful Thai food, the normal iterations of each dish are quite conservative (like Thai House). Not necessarily a bad thing considering where it is located and the majority of their customers will not want tongue-burning food.

The Good:
- Food is decent for its location
- Nice decor and wide open seating
- Friendly staff and efficient service

The Bad:
- Food is on the safer side of things, although you can request to have it spicier
- Reminds me of Thai House (can be a compliment if that's what you're looking for)

Kim Saigon Sandwiches (in Golden Garden)

If you were strolling by on Main Street, it would be very easy to miss Kim Saigon Sandwiches. Hey, that's exactly what has happened to me. I wasn't even aware it existed even though I've probably walked past it a number of times. The reason for this apparent oversight is that Kim Saigon is located within another restaurant, which happens to be Golden Garden Vietnamese. Well, it is all one restaurant per se; but a Banh Mi stand greets you when entering the place. Returning from downtown, I was going to pick up some food for Viv and suggested that I get some Vietnamese subs. Knowing Viv, I had her at banh... Seeing how I've already tried Viet Sub and Ba Le (Chinatown), something different was in order. I quickly punched in "banh mi & Chinatown" into google and there it was - Kim Saigon Sandwiches. However, the address made me think since I didn't remember any banh mi joint at that location.

Pulling into a parking spot in front, I realized that it resided in a former wonton noodle joint. In fact, Golden Garden is fairly new being roughly a year old. So I decided to get one each of the Cold Cut, Chicken and Meatball. Yah, it wasn't all for Viv! While waiting for my order, the sandwich making process was interrupted more than a Windows Vista user doing file management. What should have taken only 3 minutes took longer than 10. I don't blame them because it got really busy in the restaurant. However, not necessarily a good thing if someone was in a rush for take-out.

When I finally got the sandwiches, I opened up the wrapping to let it breathe so that it didn't moisten up too much on the ride home. It turns out that the subs remained crisp and crusty, at least on the outside. If you look at the pictures, the bread itself is a bit dense and is not as airy like the ones at Ba Le (Kingsway location) or Tung Hing. However, that did not mean that the subs were bad. Conversely, I thought they were quite good. I particularly liked the cold cut as it reminded me of Ba Le's version (which I like). There was a good amount of fish sauce added so there was lots of flavour. The meatball and chicken subs were also quite good with a decent amount of meat. Not the best banh mi I've ever had; but pretty solid nonetheless.

The Good:
- Enough filling
- Fresh ingredients
- Crusty, if not a bit dense, bread

The Bad:
- Sandwich maker doubles as hostess and cashier, can be interrupted often
- Crusty, if not a bit dense, bread

Chill Restaurant & Lounge

*This restaurant is now closed*

For quite a while now, I've been eyeing Chill Restaurant & Lounge as a potential late night destination after hockey. However, their kitchen closes at midnight and since our games have been rather late, it's a no-go. Lately, we've run into a string of games that are actually quite early; thus it opens up a whole set of potential dining options. Seeing how Ben and Karl had visited Chill recently, it was on my mind once again. After our game, I suggested it to the team (more like told them) that we go try Chill. They all seemed quite willing, so off we went. Joining me tonight were Polka King, Milhouse, Boss Woman, Emilicious, Mr. Blueberry and Gadget Girl. That was awesome since we could try out so many more dishes! Yah, I don't mind their company either...

For a Friday night, the place was extremely busy and there was definitely a buzz. It could be the fact that most of the clientele were younger and/or the place is licensed (hence, alcoholic bubble tea!). Due to my expeditious driving, Polka King and I arrived earlier than everyone else and were lucky to secure a large table. As everyone began filtering in, we were given takeout menus since all of their other menus were being used. This was the first sign that they were really busy (an omen of things to come). Is it just me, despite the takeout menu being more or less the same as the regular menu, I find it less appealing to look at? Totally psychological I'm sure; but I wasn't even interested in anything until I got to look a the actual menu.

And about that menu... It's a real mix of items. There is a collection of "Asian" tapas mixed in with Taiwanese Beef Noodle and a whole whack of drinks and bubble teas. In some cases, the word tapas is used loosely to describe what is essentially "da lang" or Chinese late night portions of food. Mr. Blueberry and Gadget Girl decided to share a few "tapas" plates including the Beef Roll, Fried Capelin, Chill Tempura and Sweet & Sour Pork. The beef roll arrived nicely plated on a bed of shredded cabbage. Mr. Blueberry liked it and said it was nice texturally and taste wise. However, both the fried capelin and tempura were a bit off. Although the capelin was fried up nice and crispy, there was some odd taste in the oil. That was the same for the tempura. And about that tempura... Uh... Is it just me or does it just like a pile of poorly made fries? Actually, it is fish cake cut into strips and then fried. I can't see what does tempura has to do with this dish. Texturally it was neither crunchy nor tasty. Gadget Girl suggested that there should've been both a spicy dip and garnish on the plate. But the biggest problem was the odd oil flavour again. We can only guess that there was something cooked in the oil beforehand that contaminated the flavour. They disliked it so much, it was sent back. To the restaurants' credit, they took it off the bill. As for the sweet & sour pork, it was quite good. Rather than using fatty pork, we were amazed to find out that they used pork chop to make this dish. The result was a meatier version of this dish. Furthermore, there were nice big chunks of pineapple, peppers and onions within the tangy sauce. This dish was surprisingly a winner considering this would be the last place you'd expect find good sweet & sour pork.

Emilicious went for one of their specialties - Beef Noodle. However, when it arrived, it was a Tomato Beef Noodle. Again, to their credit, they took it away and returned with the correct version. With big ribbons of just past al dente noodles in a somewhat flavourful broth, this was an okay bowl of beef noodles. I found that the beef was actually quite tender, although they were in little pieces. Boss Woman wasn't all that hungry and ordered the Pineapple Shrimp. Presented as a fairly large portion for the price, it was good. She said both the shrimp and flavours worked well together being sweet. Not sure about the "oil" problem that plagued the other 2 fried dishes; but possibly the plethora of sauce hid any odd flavours. Now by this time, no one but Milhouse had received their drinks. We had ordered 4 bubble teas and only got one. He got the Cookies and Cream BBT featuring real Oreos. He thought it was fantastic.

For me, I started with the Mix & Mash. Okay, it's not a drink nor is it a box of Betty Crocker instant mash potatoes. Rather it is a mixture of items such as bean curd, seaweed, beef tripe, beef shank, chicken gizzards and beef tendon. I got to choose 3 for $6.99. I think they were trying to imply "mix & match" or "mishmash". Or maybe they meant to do that and combine the two. Just sounded funny to me... I ended up with tendon, gizzards and tripe. No one seemed too interested in trying it. Their loss! Everything was quite good with everything being tender and well seasoned. Thus, it was a bit of overkill to have so much salty sauce on top. I also liked the side of pickled carrots and daikon, very vinegary. Portion-size, I personally thought there should've been more considering other Taiwanese BBT joints give you a big plate full for the same price. I also added the Nikutofu Noodle as per Emilicious' request. She wanted to see and try it out. Resembling a type of Ja Jeun Mein, there were chewy noodles with a sauce consisting of dried tofu, pickles and meat with Shanghai bak choy and sprouts on the side. Not bad, probably better with thinner noodles; but alright nonetheless. I liked the sauce, it provided a bit of salt and sweetness without overpowering the noodles.

When Polka King got his Satay Lamb with Vegetables, we were confused as to what it was. He didn't even know it was the dish he had ordered. Somehow the description didn't lend itself to the actual product. However, he checked the menu and the picture was indeed a match. It's probably because the meat didn't look or taste like lamb. Good for those who don't like the gaminess since it didn't taste as such. The dish was okay; yet would've been better if there was less liquid. Funny how this dish was actually the first to arrive at our table and his second dish arrived last. Not sure how they expedite their food in the kitchen... So his second dish was the Salmon Rollies. It's basically blanched asparagus wrapped in smoked salmon. Pretty simple and okay except that the outer skin of the asparagus was a bit tough. Milhouse also had an order of the sweet & sour pork and he concurred that it was very good. In addition, he had the Tomato Beef with Rice. If you look at the picture, it sure doesn't look very tomatoey. In fact, it looks much like a brown sauce with bits of meat; however, upon tasting it, it did taste like tomato beef. That is very strange, especially since we didn't see much of any tomato at all. My personal thoughts are that it was passable; yet needs a little work on presentation and more meat.

So believe it or not, almost near the end of our meal, I got my Mango Milk Tea with coconut jelly. A full 20+ minutes after Milhouse got his drink. Once again, the drink was very good. Smooth, and not too sweet with plenty of mango flavour, this was refreshing. At this moment, Polka King set his timer to see how long it would take for his drink to arrive. Yup, another 20+ minutes and his Blueberry Tea showed up. Also very good. Poor Boss Woman, her Pina Colada slush arrived as we were all finished. I must credit the restaurant for offering her a fresh slice of cheesecake as compensation. Despite her long wait, she was in good spirits since her drink was also very pleasing. But still no cheesecake. 10 minutes pass. No cheesecake. Remind server. Another 10 minutes, no cheesecake. What? Are they making the cream cheese or something??? Mercifully, after another 10 minutes, we all gave up and just left.

Alright, to be fair, all the servers were extremely polite and apologetic for the slow food delivery, wrong noodles, odd tempura and even slower drink arrival. We had absolutely no problem with the service (despite the errors). However, it was essentially a comedy of errors and screw-ups. Yes, I realize that it's a Friday night and the place was packed (with one large birthday party as well). However, this is prime time for them and it's their opportunity to shine. Instead, they struggled mightily with every facet of their operation. C'mon, drinks should not come in 20 minute intervals and halfway or at the end of a meal. That's plain inexcusable. No matter how busy you are. Their drink menu is a page full, so if that is one of their specialties, there should be enough resources in place to produce them expeditiously. In terms of their food, it was hit and miss. Some things were good (S&S Pork, Beef Noodles, Pineapple Shrimp, Beef Roll), some were mediocre and some not so good (Tempura, Tomato Beef, Capelin). So there is definitely potential there. I must give kudos to them taking back the tempura and taking it off the bill. Of course a restaurant should do that; but that's not always the case at an Asian establishment. Also props to the complimentary cheesecake offered for the approximately 1 hour wait for the pina colada slush. Too bad it didn't arrive nearly 30 minutes after it was offered. I don't get it. Honestly I don't. I know it's a lounge and we're supposed to hang out and "chill". But it's very difficult to chill when waiting is not only a virtue, it's a necessity for drinks, food and even comps to make up for the wait in the first place.

The Good:
- Really nice decor and vibe
- Excellent drinks
- Pleasant staff

The Bad:
- Waits for food, drinks and even makeup items take excruciatingly long
- Pleasant staff; but slightly disorganized
- Some food items get lost in translation