Now, you walk into Daikokuya and you KNOW you’re in a ramen house. They’ve captured the ambience pretty well, all the way down to the temperature. I went on a Sunday afternoon at about 4pm, thinking that it was a good time to miss both the lunch and dinner crowds. Probably true, but there was still a wait of about 15 minutes. We put down either table or counter so my party of 2 sat at the counter, which I think added to my first Daikokuya experience.

I really like the menu and how you really have no choices about what ramen to order. Sometimes, too many choices (like Shinsengumi – ugh the one in Rosemead was awful!) takes away from your experience, and it’s nice to just have your decision made for you.

I ordered a bowl ramen and Dave ordered the ramen and eel rice combo. We also got the fried spicy tuna appetizer, which was kind of pricey but definitely tasty (I really liked the leaf that they wrapped the spicy tuna in – I don’t know what it’s called but it comes with your spring rolls at pho restaurants). Since we sat at the counter, we got to watch them prepare all the food, which was fun.

The broth, which is not clear like normal shoyu ramen but murky (which must mean there’s a little miso in it… I think?), was very tasty. The chasiu they use is pork belly I believe, so it was very fatty and lacked the heavy pork taste that the Orochon chasiu had. I thought it might have been a little too fatty, but I really liked the flavor. I also appreciated how all the essentials (bean sprouts, green onions, bamboo shoots, roasted egg, chasiu) came with the standard bowl of ramen, rather than having to add any of those things separately like at some places. The only thing that took away from my otherwise perfect bowl of noodles was that I thought they overdid it with the green onions, so much that the onion flavor overpowered the pork flavor of the broth. Other than that, it was quite possibly the perfect bowl of ramen, with perfectly cooked noodles (just enough chewiness) and a very flavorful broth (which was the perfect temperature too). Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the eel rice was very good also.

I was expecting a lot when I finally tried Daikokuya, because everyone talks about this place. Because of its reputation, I would give it 4.5 stars rather than 5 if I could, because of the overabundance of green onion. However, I’ll round up on this one, because it’s not very often I leave a restaurant as satisfied as I was that day.

This restaurant is known for their taiwanese sausage. You can get it a myriad of ways, with toppings ranging from basil to chocolate to strawberry. My favorite is the sausage with sliced garlic, but that’s biased because I haven’t tried all the variations (I just can’t get myself to order strawberry sausage).

But besides the sausage (which is really good and tastes a lot fresher than most other places), they serve a smorgasbord of taiwanese dishes, and I must say, everything I’ve tried has been pretty good and authentic (and I know my Taiwanese food – I make visits every year just for the food… hehe..). I get their sausage rice and pork chop noodle on a regular basis (order to-go and your order is ready in 5-10 minutes.. 5 if it’s sausage rice) and I love it every time.

However, aside from the yummy food and authentic taste, I’d have to say my favorite thing about this place is probably their service. It’s usually packed around lunch- and dinner-time, but the workers are always very efficient, and more importantly, FRIENDLY (well, not rude.. which is the equivalent of friendly at a chinese restaurant). This is hard to come by if you frequent bustling Chinese restaurants.

Oh, and it’s really cheap too. The last time I was there my friend and I were starved so we ordered 5 things off the menu (2 main dishes and 3 sides), and the bill came out to be $20. How’s that for fine dining?

I had the shaved ice here once it’s pretty darn good too. They’ve got a pretty good ice shaving machine, because the ice was quite fine and didn’t crunch like so many other places (ahem Life Plaza and Guppy House). The ingredients were tasty and the girl put the perfect amount of condensed milk on it (the last time I had their shaved ice there wasn’t enough condensed milk and I had to ask for more). I always get shaved ice with condensed milk, without the sugary syrup, because I think the combination of the two is just way too sweet for my taste buds. Anyway, so their dessert is good too. I would give this place 6 stars if I could.

But remember – they’re closed on Tuesdays. I don’t know how many times I’ve gone there on a Tuesday only to leave with a pout and an empty stomach.

How can you not love a thai restaurant that serves beer, stays open till the wee hours of the night, has a chainmail elvis statue, and last but definitely not least, serves reeeeeally good food?

I’ve only been here a handful of times, most of those times after a long night of drinking, so while I always thought the food was great, I was never sure if it was truly delicious or just the alcohol talking.

But the last time I went sober and ready to eat. We ordered 5 dishes between 2 people, and every dish was absolutely delicious. This place has hands down the best pad thai I’ve ever had. Pad Thai can taste overly sweet or peanutty or a slew of other overpowering flavors, but Palms does it right, and puts just the right combination. Their duck curry is very good, slightly sweet because of the pineapple they add. But like I said, everything I ever ordered was good. Which is definitely a first for me – usually there are certain dishes you can order and certain ones you should stay away from.

Just one warning though – if you’re not a hard-core spice fanatic, order things “mild”. We got the pad kee mao “medium” and it was too spicy for all of us. I love spice but can’t handle too much of it, so “mild” was perfect for me.

Anyway, don’t worry and try something new here. You’ll probably like it. And if you want to have a laugh and some ambience with your meal, come here in the evening for the Thai Elvis performance. You won’t regret it.

This is a teeny place that I recently heard a lot of great reviews about. Especially the hainam chicken. I love this dish normally, especially the chicken rice that usually comes with it. So when some coworkers suggested coming here to eat one night, I jumped on it.

I found out when we got there and were waiting for a table that their shrimp rolls were also very famous and very delicious. So when it came time for me to order, it was a no brainer – hainam chicken with shrimp rolls.

I have to say, for all the rave reviews, the chicken was just OK. I don’t think I’d crave it, and the chicken rice was bland for me. Strange, considering I usually like things on the lighter side. I asked for all dark meat, and they gave me half white half dark. I guess none of it was dry, really, but just lacking in flavor.

The shrimp rolls were amazingly yummy though. That made up for the lackluster hainam chicken. Plus, I tried the beef stew curry that my coworker got, and that was very good. I also tried a bit of the black pepper sauce that they smother the filet steak in. I LOVE black pepper and smother my ketchup with it before I can dip fries, but OMG it was waaaaay too much black pepper for even me to handle. Still, good if you like that sort of thing.

Overall, their selection of dishes is great because there’s a lot of variety. The shrimp rolls were very delicious (albeit piping HOT! be careful when it first comes out) but I was disappointed with their famous chicken dish.

I’d definitely come back to try the other stuff on their menu. And to have some more shrimp rolls.

Two words: garlic butter. Mmmmmmmm.

This place has the feel of a very old hamburger joint, with its bright interior and plastic tables and chairs. The counter gives that distinct feel too. The menu is pretty simple – there is a choice of maybe 14 combo plates, or you probably have the option of ordering any of those meats by themselves. If it’s your first time, I’d stick with what they’re famous for – the chicken. Just get a whole chicken – you’re going to want leftovers.

They’re not stingy with their portions, and give you a whole package of pita bread with your meal. That’s pretty cool, although I always forget about my limited stomach space and devour one or two of the pitas and get full quickly. What you should really get to go with your food is their rice. I swear, they add crack to the rice or something, because I can eat it straight out of the container and OMG I can’t put it down. Be brave and add a little garlic butter to the rice – your arteries may hate you for it, but I promise it’ll taste amazing.

I’ve tried the felafel and it wasn’t that good – I don’t think I’d order it again. The shwarma tri tip plate was decent, but I think I prefer the chicken. I’m not going to try new things next time – I’m going for the quarter chicken with a tub of rice.

The hummus is decent too, and comes the way it should – with a big pool of olive oil in the center.

I don’t know, I’m a little torn about this place. First of all, I want to give it more stars because it wasn’t bad, and it’s the only Korean place within walking distance of my office building (that I know of). Plus, they get props for making a fast-food Korean restaurant.

Still, for the money I guess it’s not THAT good. You can get better food if you drive a little bit to Arcadia, or a little bit further to K-town. Which is why I settled for the 3 stars.

I’ve only been to Seoul Bros once, and I ordered the spicy chicken. I thought the flavor was good and I could definitely taste the flame-broiled (+points for that), but I thought some of my chicken pieces were questionably pink and I was scared that I’d get sick. I didn’t, though, so maybe I was just being paranoid.

One big reason for the lower star-rating is the sad excuse for panchan they offer here. I don’t even remember what it was that I got, but it was NOT GOOD. Oh, the clear noodles, that was one of them, and wow, were they bland. I think I poured all my excess spice originally for the chicken into the noodles in an attempt to give them some flavor. They still didn’t taste good, but at least they had flavor after I added the spice.

They do give you kimchee, but man, I have never seen a side dish so small. I think the cups they use are like, 1 oz cups, no joke. Cheap cheap cheap! One of the main reasons to go eat Korean food is the abundance of sides, so without that it just wasn’t as good.

All in all, meats are decent, rice is, well, rice, sides are not good, and I can’t believe they skimp on the kimchee. NOT cool, not cool.

I’ve been to Sushi of Naples for lunch three times in the past 5 months. And every time the food has been decent to good. I got the sashimi bowl with udon combo once, the grilled black cod lunch special another time, and the chicken katsu with egg bowl with udon the last time. The sashimi bowl was just okay, but I liked the udon. The cod was very tender and grilled perfectly – that was my favorite by far. The chicken was a little dry, but still not bad.

For the food, Sushi of Naples earns a solid 3 stars. And one out of three times I had decent service. But the last two times I went there with a big party (9 or more) and OMG was the service horrid. It was the same awful waiter both times, and I swear he has the attention span of a goldfish and the memory of Dory in Finding Nemo. I swear, he had to be reminded at least twice on everything we asked for, and he actually gave a little bit of an attitude when we asked for the miso soup that should come with the meal. The first time he forgot our miso soup (my 2nd visit there, 1st with the awful waiter), we were cordial. There were maybe 8 out of a party of 12 that were supposed to get the soup, but he conveniently forgot all of them. We asked him for it, and about 20 minutes later, they came. But at least it was before our food. The last time I went, only one person actually got miso soup with their order. So of course, he forgot the soup again, and when the food was delivered and we asked for the soup, the waiter gave an attitude. WTF?! Like, is he supposed to DO that, when it’s obviously his fault? On top of that, he got 2 orders wrong (brought udon instead of soba), had to be asked twice for the soy sauce and red pepper, and one of our party didn’t get his food until about 25 minutes after the rest of us all received ours – and he ordered the same thing as 2 of us. I really think our waiter just got everything mixed up and forgot to place the order or something.

Now, conveniently, they tack on an 18% gratuity on parties larger than some number smaller than 9. 6 probably. So, if you’re coming to Sushi of Naples, don’t come in a group of 6 or more, because you’ll probably get stuck with the bad waiter. Go with 2 people – the waitress in the front is plenty nice and accommodating.