Confucius "子曰：民以食为天 (Confucius says: For the common people, eating is as ..."

Confucius says: man who “eight” at ocho, must rate what he “eight”.

Confucius says: First is not often the greatest.

After I came to Redmond years ago, people suggested Ori to me as a “decent Cantonese restaurant”. I continued to go there for quite a while as a satisfied return customer due to their large selection and good price. Usually lunch, rarely dinner. But after a while, the taste started to get bland and tasteless. I rarely go back now.

Confucius says: Like the maple leaf, taste changes with season.

This restaurant has mostly dishes from the Eastern part of China (Shanghai, Zhejiang, etc.) Mostly decent and genuine. I’m not sure where the Americanized food comes from. Most likely you need to ask for the “Chinese version” of the menu. The only complaint I have is that the food is bit oily where as the Eastern Chinese dishes I’m accustomed to tend to be lighter and leaner. (A few dishes still has fatty meat, but overall, “healthier”.)

Confucius: Speaking the same language doesn’t mean one actually understands you.

This restaurant would have gotten a 5-star rating because:
1) they search eastern Chinese style food.
2) the food are actually quite tasty and authentic.
3) decent variety and reasonable price.

However, they really messed up a birthday cake we had. It’s clearly marked Haagen Dazs and we clearly told them to put it in the freezer. At the end, when they brought it out, it was all melted because they’ve just left it out sitting. This is a real bummer and they didn’t offer any compensation or even a gesture for this mistake.

Because of the nice food, I’m willing to give them another chance.

It is a bit hard to find, so make sure you check the map. It’s past crossroads mall on 8th. Make sure you don’t make the first left after the mall. That’s not the parking lot entrance but is very deceptive.

Confucius says: No matter how good the food is, it’s useless if you can’t get a table.

Then again, maybe that’s why the food tastes good because they starve you to the brink before even giving you a table.

This place does NOT have reservations, so you must go their and wait. One saving grace is that at least you can shop in the mall next door if the wait is long.

I, being an old man I am, do not like to wait. And I dont particularly like cheesecake, so this place will not get 4-star from me.

Once they seat you, the food selection is actually not bad. Aside from the desert attraction, there isn’t anything particularly appealing from the general food section of the menu.

Confucius says: When McCormick meets Schmick, good food happens.

Uncertain if there was any brokebacking, but whatever there is between M and S, it surely created one great restaurant (chain).

I’ve tried the one in Bellevue, but the one on Westlake has a much better environment and view. For some reason, the setting and atmosphere feels much more comfortable. (Or perhaps it was just my company? =P) Anyway, the lake is readily visible through the wide glass windows that almost surrounds the floor. The only unfortunate thing is that one can’t see the sunset view on the lake since the restaurant is on the west bank.

The service was impeccable and the waiter was very friendly and prompt. Everyone was busy helping the customers (good tip helps). With almost full occupancy, the place didn’t seem loud or overly crowded. Just the right level of Ninki (people-chi).

The food (seafood) was very tasty and they had some uncommon selections. I recall it was pretty filling, too.

Confucius says: Double check thy bill.

This is your typical plaza Thai place but the interior is nicer and cleaner than expected. Food came relatively quickly and the waiter is pretty friendly. Seems like he may be the boss since usually bossman tend to be nicer to customers than your average joe waiter.

Turn down: they charged $1 for rice per person. Also, I’m not certain but they may have over charged us for lunch dish. The menu said lunch = 6.50 or so, but the bill came showing 8.50. Probably my mistake (weekend rate?), but thought I would report here anyway.

Confucius says: Restaurant that helps you with more than food deserves publicity.

I’m very happy with how this restaurant helped me with my lost credit card. After I called them, they sent the CC to me via mail the very next day. This saved me the hassle of canceling the card and changing a whole bunch of billing info.

Food wasn’t bad either and price was reasonable.

Confucius says: Individualism > Communism.

The biggest difference this place has over traditional Chinese hot pot is the fact that everyone gets their own pot! Yes, you read that right. No more need to fight over the valuable real estate with your friends. No need to safe guard your precious piece of fish from your ravenous foes. No need to strike the delicate balance between HOT (as in spicy) pot eaters and the not so brave.

They give you a big plate of various veggies, fish balls and other interesting non-meat items. This comes with a “combo” dish if you choose to order with meet. Then you can order sm/md/lg plate of meat or other exotic items for 1-2 bucks. But beware, some dishes have very little actual food. You are going for variety here, not quantity.

Confucius says: Fatburger is Phat like getto style Kongfu!

Aside from the bigger meat patty, one thing that I love about Fatburger is the condiments they put in. Ranging from the typical onion, tomato, to eggs, mushrooms, anchovies. (kidding about the anchovies). But still, just tell them to add “everything” and I promise you it will be tasty.

It’s oily, so use the wrapper.