Archive for the ‘Peninsula’ Category

5 Jan
2009

Zen Peninsula Restaurant Review Dinner, Millbrae

Posted by admin, January 5th, 2009

Zen Peninsula Dim Sum 11

Zen Peninsula is a Cantonese Chinese restaurant in Millbrae. Millbrae is ground zero for some of the best Chinese food in the SF Bay area. It has been around since 2004 and specializes in wide selection of Dim Sum for lunch and special dishes for dinner.
They have an overwhelming set of different extensive printed menus that you order from. Order from items with pictures.  These seem to be the best bets.

Zen Peninsula Dim Sum 7

It was not very busy for a Friday night dinner, a big change from their busy lunch dim sum times. The reviews on Yelp mainly cover dim sum lunch or big banquets. Performance of banquets with lots of tables and big dishes do not equate to normal dinner performance.
You can easily pick out Chinese Cantonese restaurants, as most have tanks of fresh fish, crustaceans.
This place is one of the few to serve fresh eel from the tank. $19/lb and approximately 20lbs each equates to a meal much more expensive than French Laundry!

Menu pics

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Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 13

Compact Menu

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For Abalone and Shark’s Fin connoisseurs only

Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 5

Another high end Chinese Cuisine prix fix meal

Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 4

Even more expensive..

Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 2

Gourmet Hot Pot city

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Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 6

Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 8

Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 11

Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 10


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This is where they shine

Zen Peninsula Dinner Menu 1

Website menu

Picks:

Zen Peninsula Millbrae Dinner Geoduck Clam

Geoduck Clam before Slicing

Zen Peninsula Millbrae Dinner Geoduck Sashimi

Geoduck Clam Sashimi ($25/lb) is sold by the pound, with each live clam weighing in the 2lb neighborhood. Yes they look gross, but are tasty. It was a little fishy, but very crunchy and fresh. It is served with wasabi, lemon, and soy sauce on the side.

Zen Peninsula Millbrae Dinner Geoduck Soup

Geoduck Clam Soup ($8) takes the remnants of the clam and makes soup out of it. Really good broth that was flavorful. Includes tofu, greens, and cooked Geoduck.

Zen Peninsula Millbrae Dinner Squab

Crispy Squab ($12) was kinda small but cooked perfectly to a brownish crisp. Good flavor.

Zen Peninsula Millbrae Dinner Roast Pork

Zen Roast Pork ($8) with peanut sauce was their take on classic Roast pork. On the sweet side but a very good combination.

Zen Peninsula Millbrae Dinner 7 Spice Sea Bass

7 Spice Sea Bass ($16) was deep fried to perfection. Tender and juicy, it was very good.

Zen Peninsula Millbrae Dinner Red Bean Dessert

Free Red Bean and pastry Desserts

OK:
None

Pans:
None

Service was a little better than average for a place like this. The breath of items was excellent, more extensive and more inventive than nearby places Hong Kong Flower Lounge.
Food quality was very good, but with the busy and top rated The Kitchen nearby, we can see why it was not that busy. The Kitchen has a lots of great dishes too. Many is a different style.
We would definitely come back here if we wanted Chinese food and were nearby.

Restaurant.com $25 Dining Certificate for $10
Entertainment Book 2 for 1 restaurant, food coupons, and much more

Overall Rating:

Come Back?

Food Rating:
Service Rating:
Atmosphere Rating:
Value Rating:

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Fair/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:Full Bar
Attire:Casual
Hours:M-F 11am-230pm/530pm-10pm. Sa/Su 10am-3pm/5pm-10pm
Parking:Street, Free Lot
Reservations:Yes
Prices:$6 - $68

Zen Peninsula

1180 El Camino Real

Millbrae, CA 94030

650-616-9388

Website

Filed under: $$$, 2.5 stars, California, Chinese, Cost, Cuisine, Dine Again?, Go Again, Location, Peninsula, Rating, Restaurant, United States | Tags: , , |

29 Dec
2008

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ Restaurant Review

Posted by admin, December 29th, 2008

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ Exterior

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ is a food concession that appears at some of the country’s largest State Fairs, Nascar Races, and Livestock Shows since 1996. We have eaten their food several times over the years and found it to be pretty good.

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ Smoker

Decor, Vibe - Huge smoker with tons of meat cooking. Long lines most of the time. Lots of families chowing down on fair grub.

Menu Pictures

Website menu

Picks:

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ Ribs

Pork Spare Ribs ($7.50) were great. Lots of tender meat and very good BBQ sauce. Messy but delicious. Forget about the dinner with sides, get pure ribs.

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ Corn on the Cob

Corn on the Cob was fresh and cooked well.

OK:
Tri Tip dinner was average, had to slosh on the BBQ sauce to make it reasonable.

Pans:
None

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ serves up a quick fixing of good BBQ. Look for them at the next county fair. The ribs are on par with Memphis Minnes.
They have restaurant locations in Paso Robles, Visalia, Atascadero, and Merced, but reviews on Yelp do not look good.

Restaurant.com $25 Dining Certificate for $10
Entertainment Book 2 for 1 restaurant, food coupons, and much more

Overall Rating:

Come Back?

Food Rating:
Service Rating:
Atmosphere Rating:
Value Rating:

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Fair/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:No
Attire:Casual
Hours:Event hours
Parking:Paid Lot
Reservations:No
Prices:$1 - $9.75

Big Bubbas Bad BBQ

CA

Website

Filed under: $, 2.5 stars, American, BBQ, California, Cost, Cuisine, Dine Again?, Go Again, Location, Peninsula, Rating, Restaurant | Tags: , |

26 Dec
2008

Izakaya Mai Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Posted by admin, December 26th, 2008

Izakaya Mai San Mateo_0000

Izakaya Mai is a Japanese Izakaya or Japanese drinking establishment that also serves food. They are more small plate oriented restaurants. This restaurant has an extensive drink menu.
This restaurant is located in the downtown San Mateo area that has Japanese restaurants on almost every block. Japanese people run it so it must be authentic. The menu is full of translation errors.

Izakaya Mai San Mateo_0021

Decor, Vibe - Pretty small cramped restaurant with sushi bar, traditional seating, and regular seating. Pictures all over the walls. Most asians in their 20’s to 40’s were eating. Some families. There were people waiting most of the time for tables.

Menu Pictures

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Izakaya Mai San Mateo_0008

Dinner Menu

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Fried & Boiled?

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Izakaya Mai San Mateo_0010

Grill menu?

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Specials Board

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Picks:

Izakaya Mai San Mateo_0044

Hamachi Kama ($10.50) - Classic yellow tail collar was tender and delicious. Came with dipping sauce.

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Pork Sausage ($5.50) had 6 small hot dog like sausages that looked terrible but tasted good. Includes a Japanese mustard that looks like peanut butter.

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Oden ($6.50) had several kinds of fish cakes and an egg. Home style delicious dish.

OK:

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Kushi Yakitori ($4.50) was 2 skewers of chicken with teriyaki sauce. Average, nothing special here.

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Chicken wing ($4.50) was 3 small pieces of grilled chicken. It was flavorful and tender but pretty burned

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Homemade Stewed Pork ($5.75) had 3 pieces of pork that were stewed and then grilled. Fairly average dish.

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Baked Squid Tail ($5.75) had lots of quantity but was a little salty and very chewy.

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Tekka ($3.95) had pretty fresh tuna in the middle.

California Roll ($3.95) was a pretty average implementation of the classic.

Pans:
None

Izakaya Mai had fair service, slightly above average but the server did not come by that often. The food was fair, not great, but the diversity allowed us to try a lot of different dishes.

This is better and more authentic than O Izakaya Lounge in San Francisco’s Japantown area. It is a welcome change to the usual Japanese fare that is served elsewhere. Frankly nothing wowed us, this place might be best for a quick bowl of Champon noodles and an adult beverage. It is also open late. We have to try Saizo in Sunnyvale and Gochi sometime.

As with most other small plate places, prices can add up quickly, but the fun is in trying different items.

Izakaya Mai Japanese Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Restaurant.com $25 Dining Certificate for $10
Entertainment Book 2 for 1 restaurant, food coupons, and much more

Overall Rating:

Come Back?

Food Rating:
Service Rating:
Atmosphere Rating:
Value Rating:

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Fair/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:Beer, Wine, Sake
Attire:Casual
Hours:Tu-Fri 1130am-2pm, Tu-Sun 6pm-Midnight
Parking:Street
Reservations:Yes
Prices:$9.95 - $100

Izakaya Mai

212 2nd Ave (Between S Ellsworth and S B Street)

San Mateo, CA 94401

650-347-2511

Website

Filed under: $$$, 2 stars, California, Cost, Cuisine, Dine Again?, Japanese, Location, Maybe Again, Peninsula, Rating, Restaurant, United States | Tags: , , , |