Food Galleries

La Fermette Marbeuf 1900 : La Fermette Marbeuf 1900 is a French restaurant in Paris, France. It is a few blocks to the west of the Champs-Elyssee. Reservations are required. I would rate the restaurant as follows: Ambience: 7/10 Food (appetizers): 7/10 Food (main): 5/10 Food (Dessert): 5/10 Service: 0/10 Lens used: EF 24-70 f/2.8L

La Fermette Marbeuf 1900

La Fermette Marbeuf 1900 is a French restaurant in Paris, France. It ...

Updated: Oct 30, 2007 10:41am PST

Cut : I had dinner at CUT for my birthday. CUT is one of my favorite restaurants in Southern California (second only to Urasawa). I took a lot of these pictures in high ISO (even 3200 for many of these) because the lighting was pretty dark and my lens was not very fast. I applied noise reduction (Nik Dfine 2.0). I used the Tamron 18-250 for all of these pictures.

Cut

I had dinner at CUT for my birthday. CUT is one of my favorite restau ...

Updated: Oct 11, 2007 6:19pm PST

Mr. Chow NYC - 2/25/2007 : Dinner at Mr. Chow in NYC on 2/25/2007. I had dinner at Mr. Chow in NYC. My friend really raves about this place so we went. I read a lot of negative reviews on the internet but I wanted to keep an open mind. There were 3 of us dining. Usually there are some stars there but I didn't see any the night we went. My friend did have a few stories of eating at the table next to LeBron James, various actors, etc. Most of the negatives on the internet were actually positives for my friend. These include things like: 1) The waiter really tries to push you into letting him order for you. My friend says "it's so cool. They don't even give you a menu. It's part of the whole Mr. Chow experience!" 2) They never actually tell you how much anything costs. My friend says "yeah and they don't even tell you prices. You just pay. It's one of those places where 'if you have to ask, you probably shouldn't be eating there'. 3) Food is overrated. 4) Internet reviews say that the chicken satay is pretty good so try it. My friend says "OMG! The chicken satay is sooo good. I'm gonna get like 3 orders for just me. You can get 3 so we'll get 6 orders!" Sure enough, the waiter didn't show up with a menu and pushed that he would order for us and just bring out good stuff from the kitchen. We agreed and told him the list of foods that some of us don't like at the table. My dining companions are not very adventurous so they ruled out duck, pork, fish, any non-traditional fouls (e.q. squab), etc. During the course of the evening, we also ordered a few other things in addition (crispy beef, Mr. Chow noodles, etc.). The waiter also offered up a glass of rose champagne to start the evening. The 2 of us agreed. During the course of dinner, they would offer to refill the glass. I declined after the first glass. My friend got his glass filled another 2 times. We started with the chicken satay. I think he got like 5 orders. It was ok (decent texture in the chicken, peanut sauce was good) but when I pointed out to my friend that "dude, go to any thai restaurant and they have chicken satay that's better than this"...he was crushed. He was like "what? I thought chicken satay was a Mr. Chow original!"...heh. Next we had the shrimp eggrolls. It was good but not unlike the kind you find at any mediocre dim sum restaurant. They gave us 2 sauces...a chili sauce and a soy sauce mixture. This is when things started to remind me a little too much of PF Changs. We got a shrimp fried rice which was mediocre and not much of a step above any local chinese place. The main dishes came out. We had chicken with walnuts, steak, lobster, bok choy, crispy beef, and Mr. Chow noodles. Most of these dishes were barely edible. The quality is somewhere along the lines of Panda Express and PF Changs. We passed on dessert. Finally, the check. As you may guess...it was expensive. $431.88 for 3 people. With tip, it was $500. Here's the breakdown: Evian water: $10 Ginger ale: $8 (2 glasses) Laurent Perrier Rose: $120 (4 glasses) Prix Fixe: $192 ($64 x 3) Mr. Chow Noodles: $18 Crispy Beef: $32 Chicken Satay: $18 ($6 x 3 - extra orders that didn't come with the prix fixe) My ratings: Food: 2/10 Ambience: 7/10 Service: 2/10 Value: 0/10 Pictures were taken with the Canon EOS 30D and 24-105mm f/4L IS with no flash. Post processing work in Photoshop to increase exposure and set white balance.

Mr. Chow NYC - 2/25/2007

Dinner at Mr. Chow in NYC on 2/25/2007. I had dinner at Mr. Chow in ...

Updated: Mar 22, 2007 11:41pm PST

Matsuhisa : I had an early dinner at Matsuhia in Beverly Hills at 6:00pm on 7/8/2007. This time I ordered the $150 omakase. Last time, I had the $90 omakase so I wanted to see if the more expensive omakase is any better. I spoke to the waitress about the differences between the levels of omakase and she explained that they are all similar but the higher up omakases include better ingredients (seared toro instead of seared tuna, etc.). It looks like all of their omakases consist of 7 courses (the last course is dessert). As far as a top level Japanese omakase goes, this one was pretty good. It's really no match for Urasawa but Urasawa is also about double the price. I added some pictures at the end of some dishes that I got at other Matsuhisa trips before and after.

Matsuhisa

I had an early dinner at Matsuhia in Beverly Hills at 6:00pm on 7/8/20 ...

Updated: Feb 23, 2008 10:36pm PST

Nobu Matsuhisa - 4/22/2007 : I had an early dinner at Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, CA. We had a 6pm reservation. I did not see Nobu around this time. I ordered the $90 omakase. It was a pretty good omakase...not overwhelming, not great, not terrible...but pretty good. In the end, I would recommend the omakase because the variety is pretty good and it include the main dishes that Nobu is best known for. I only used my 50mm f/1.4 lens this time. I shot with no flash and it was kind of dark inside so I wanted to use my fastest lens.

Nobu Matsuhisa - 4/22/2007

I had an early dinner at Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills, CA. We had a 6pm ...

Updated: Apr 23, 2007 1:28am PST

Nobu Malibu - 3/15/2007 : Dinner at Nobu Malibu on 3/15/2007. I like Nobu Malibu if we have a larger group (like 5 or more) or if we bring my son Tyler along. Matsuhia in Beverly Hills is great (and you can usually catch Nobu there) but it's a little too small and cramped and less child friendly. The food was great here as usual. I took these pictures with the Canon EOS 30D and 24-105 f/4L IS lens. I took some of these pictures with a flash but most of these were taken without the flash in ISO 400 or ISO 800 with some minor post processing (mainly to increase exposure).

Nobu Malibu - 3/15/2007

Dinner at Nobu Malibu on 3/15/2007. I like Nobu Malibu if we have a l ...

Updated: Mar 22, 2007 11:41pm PST

The French Laundry - 2/13/2007 : Dinner at The French Laundry on 2/13/2007

The French Laundry - 2/13/2007

Dinner at The French Laundry on 2/13/2007

Updated: Mar 22, 2007 11:42pm PST

Fin : Fin is a chinese restaurant at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The total bill for 4 people was about $275 (including tip and wine). The food was pretty good overall with a good mix of Americanized Chinese food as well as more authentic dishes. There were many Chinese people dining here and the wait staff speaks fluent Chinese. Reservations are necessary. In fact, it's a tough reservation to get in Vegas (I had to use some connections to get one). There were periodic stragglers who walked in unknowingly and they were all turned away. The menu says that children under 5 are not allowed but they didn't seem to enforce this rule as there were kids here and there (and even a stroller in one of the private rooms). I highly doubt they would make a high roller leave. Overall, I would give this place the following ratings: Food: 7/10 Ambience: 8/10 Service: 5/10

Fin

Fin is a chinese restaurant at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The ...

Updated: Nov 26, 2007 9:15am PST

Abigail Paik's Birthday Food : Food at Abilgail's birthday party

Abigail Paik's Birthday Food

Food at Abilgail's birthday party

Updated: Mar 22, 2007 11:42pm PST

Wine :

Wine

Updated: Dec 31, 2007 6:44pm PST

Arado : Arado is a Korean style Japanese sashimi restaurant located in Koreatown (Los Angeles). The fish is always fresh and the variety is good.

Arado

Arado is a Korean style Japanese sashimi restaurant located in Koreato ...

Updated: Jun 17, 2007 11:33pm PST

Urasawa : On September 27, 2007, I had dinner at Urasawa. Urasawa is my favorite restaurant in Southern California and definitely one of my favorite places to dine in the world. I used my Expodisc for white balance and shot in RAW. I adjusted the exposure in Photoshop CS3. I also too another trip on November 9, 2007. Rather than create a new set of pictures, I simply added to the end of this one. I didn't take pictures of everything...just some dishes that I didn't already have pictures of. Lenses used: EF 24-70mm f/2.8L EF 100mm f/2.8 macro

Urasawa

On September 27, 2007, I had dinner at Urasawa. Urasawa is my favorit ...

Updated: Apr 06, 2008 7:41pm PST

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon : L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is in the 7th arr. in Paris. The restaurant is bar style seating (although I did see one table off to the side along the wall). I like the seating arrangement because you have very good access to the waiter. I don't know how well this will work for larger groups of 4 or more but for 2 people, it works well. The decor is very modern and the service is very friendly and knowledgeable without being snooty. The food is top notch. As can be expected, it is fairly expensive with the average meal costing around $100 per person including wine. We ordered a lot of different dishes as well as a few of the expensive dishes (e.g. truffle pasta) so our total was a whopping $400 for 2! 5, Rue Montalembert 75007 Paris, France +33 1 42 22 56 56

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon is in the 7th arr. in Paris. The restauran ...

Updated: Jan 16, 2008 9:04pm PST

China Garden - Mumbai, India : China Garden is one of the best chinese restaurants in Mumbai. The food is a mixture of "authentic" chinese food such as shark's fin soup, etc. as well as Indian-Chinese food such as "vegetable manchurian". The vegetable manchurian is very good btw. We ordered soup, dumplings, fried paneer, vegetable manchurian, spicy noodles, tofu, and a few other dishes. Total for dinner came out to $100 for 3 people. We did not have a reservation so they sat us in a very small table. The table looked like it was the size for 2 people but just had an extra chair added for the 3rd person. It was very small and cramped so we asked if we can move to a bigger table. The manager said that the other tables are all reserved so we could not. There were well over 10+ tables that were empty with no sign of people coming in but oh well. We briefly thought about leaving but decided to stay anyway. After we ate, most of these tables were still empty. The food itself was medicre. The fried paneer was barely edible. The hot and sour soup was ok. The tofu, spicy noodles, etc. were all ok but nothing exciting. The vegetable manchurian was excellent...fried just right and the sauce was full of flavor. I give this place 2/5 stars. The only redeeming quality was the vegetable manchurian.

China Garden - Mumbai, India

China Garden is one of the best chinese restaurants in Mumbai. The fo ...

Updated: Feb 04, 2008 6:13am PST

Khyber - Mumbai, India : This restaurant came highly recommended by my guidebook (Fodors) and our hotel concierge. I thought the food was excellent. My friend is Indian and thought the food was mediocre but oh well. We had bottled water, beer, vegetable samosas, pakora, daal, shrimp masala, chicken tikka masala, 2 orders of garlic naan, butter naan, and steamed rice. It was about $80. I thought the food, ambience, cleanliness, and service were all good. The service was a little slow and our waiter and busboy were a bit lethargic. This place is probably not "authentic" Indian cuisine and is probably a lot closer to what you eat in the US but for me, I like that kind of Indian food. I give this place 4/5 stars.

Khyber - Mumbai, India

This restaurant came highly recommended by my guidebook (Fodors) and o ...

Updated: Feb 04, 2008 6:14am PST

Shiv Sagar - Mumbai, India : Shiv Sagar is a local restaurant with locations all over Mumbai. Their menu is pretty extensive (around 5 pages or so) and features everything from Indian-Chinese, South Indian, North Indian, and more. I went to the location near Marine Dr. My friend and I ate like pigs and the total for all of our dishes + 2 litres of bottled water was 385 rupees (slightly under $10). The service was good, food was excellent (especially the dosas), and the place was overall clean enough so you won't get sick. I give this place 4/5 stars.

Shiv Sagar - Mumbai, India

Shiv Sagar is a local restaurant with locations all over Mumbai. Thei ...

Updated: Feb 04, 2008 6:17am PST

Airplane Food : Ok, I know most people don't like airplane food (including myself) but I have taken a few flights recently where the food wasn't so bad. Sure, at the end of the day, the food is going to end up being reheated before it's served to you but I've had a few fresh dishes that weren't so bad. Anyway, here are some random pictures of airplane food.

Airplane Food

Ok, I know most people don't like airplane food (including myself) but ...

Updated: Apr 17, 2008 3:06pm PST

India - Misc :

India - Misc

Updated: Feb 04, 2008 6:29am PST

Misc Food :

Misc Food

Updated: Feb 04, 2008 6:30am PST

Siori Sushi Bune : Siori Sushi Bune is my new favorite local sushi place in the South Bay. It is located on PCH/Torrance Blvd. so it is easy to find and only a few minutes from my house. It just opened a few weeks ago and the response has been pretty good. When I got there on Friday night, it was packed so I had to wait about 20 minutes to get a spot at the bar. As you can see from the pictures, they have a full sushi bar as well as the rotating sushi boats. My recommendation is to order sushi from the sushi bar (as you would any normal restaurant) and if you see something float by that you want to try, just grab it and try it out. The portions are huge, the sushi is fresh, and there are some innovative and fun rolls. It's a great casual sushi place!

Siori Sushi Bune

Siori Sushi Bune is my new favorite local sushi place in the South Bay ...

Updated: Apr 18, 2008 10:36pm PST

Hump - Santa Monica, CA :

Hump - Santa Monica, CA

Updated: Feb 13, 2008 10:40pm PST

Melisse - 10/4/2008 : I had dinner at Melisse on 10/4/2008 to celebrate my birthday! I had the tasting menu with a few supplements (foie gras, etc.). We started with 2 amuse bouches (both were tasty). They just got a shipment of white truffles so they offered truffles with most dishes as well. I ordered the foie gras, john dory, roast duck, and chocolate^3. I also got the wine pairing so the sommelier poured a glass of wine that he selected with each course. I enjoyed most of his pairings. The decor of the restaurant is clean and nice. They iron the tablecloth on each table so that's a nice touch. They also provide a small stool for each woman's purse which was also a nice touch. Service was excellent although the sommelier didn't really seem that friendly to us (he didn't talk much). IMO, this is the best French restaurant in LA. I place this 3rd behind The French Laundry and L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon (in Paris).

Melisse - 10/4/2008

I had dinner at Melisse on 10/4/2008 to celebrate my birthday! I had ...

Updated: Oct 07, 2008 10:32am PST

Cafe Intermezzo - Berkeley, CA :

Cafe Intermezzo - Berkeley, CA

Updated: Nov 10, 2008 8:44pm PST

Myung Dong Kyo Ja :

Myung Dong Kyo Ja

Updated: Nov 10, 2008 8:46pm PST