Din Tai Fung

Front of the New Restaurant

(The Old Restaurant is behind this building in another plaza)

Checklist Menu

This is the House Chicken Soup (steamed). The broth is very light, and the chicken is very tender. This soup is good to order when you are ordering a lot of food because it helps you be refreshed when you can no longer eat any more food.

All the Greens they have at this restaurant are good. Most of them are cooked with garlic. This dish is called Sauteed Spinach with Garlic. I like to order vegetables when I come here because they complement the rest of my food very well. You can basically eat the vegetables with almost anything you order there!

This dish is called Shrimp and Pork Wonton with Spicy Sauce. Although this dish may look very salty, and you might think how can you eat with without rice? But actually, the meat inside the skin is perfectly combined with the sauce and the green onions that once you put it in your mouth, it almost melts away. It is also not as spicy as it looks for those people who can't take very spicy foods.

The famous Juicy Pork Dumplings! This restaurant is very well-known for this dish. It comes in 10 pieces, and if you pass by every table in the restaurant, almost all of them order this dish. It is so perfectly steamed that once it comes to your table, you won't be able to resist not eating it right away. As you can still see the steam coming out of the dumplings, once you put it on your spoon and put the sauce of your preference, it is pretty much like you're in heaven. Once the skin splits open, the juice inside oozes out into your mouth and it tastes so delicious. These dumplings are one of the finest I've ever had, and not many places can compare their dumplings to Din Tai Fung's. For those who have never been to this restaurant and don't know what to order, I promise you that you will not go wrong with these Juicy Pork Dumplings. 

For any type of dumplings I order, I like to make this specific sauce. Every table already comes with a little bit of ginger in this mini dipping plate. I then put a little bit of soy sauce, and fill the rest with vinegar to the amount I want. I also add some chili along with the chili oil because I like to have some spiciness. This sauce tastes extremely well with any type of dumplings you order.

Everyone I am with that orders this dish is absolutely in love with it. It is called Pork Chop Fried Rice. Although it looks very simple and original, the way they cook their fried rice is absolutely amazing. I've never had such amazing fried rice in my life. It is not too salty, and it is not too plain. It seems like the put a lot of egg inside, and that is probably why it tastes so good because it doesn't just taste like all the other fried rice I've had from other restaurants. Also, the pork chop is not hard to chew and is not dry, like other places. It really complements the fried rice, and if you run out of things to order, you really can't go wrong with their friend rice. 

Finally, for dessert, I always like to order their Sesame Bun. There are a lot of times where they do not have any more left for dinner because they are so popular during lunch time. So you have to be lucky if they have it at nighttime. The bun is steamed and inside has sesame paste. It is pretty hot, and when you take a bite out of the bun, the sesame oozes into your mouth. I would highly recommend this to those who like sesame.

Inside the Sesame Bun

As you can see, the total is $50.68. This is the most expensive restaurant out of the four other restaurants I have talked about. This is probably because it is set in a nicer area, and is a little higher-class for certain people, compared to the other restaurants. It is also the most well-known restaurant around the SGV area. Even though it is pricey, I still think the food is worth the money to spend! I highly recommend this restaurant to anybody who stops by the SGV!

Sinbala

Front of the Restaurant

Menu

Menu

Menu

Shaved Ice Menu

This is sort of an appetizer/small snack. On the menu, it is undered Stewed Dish and its called Simmered Combination, which consists of bean curd, seaweed, and egg. The sauce is a salty sauce that adds more flavor if you want some on the food. It is a good way to start off before you have your main meals.

This noodle soup is called Duck Vermicelli Noodle Soup. The soup base is very light and delicious. It fits well with the duck because the duck is on the saltier side. There are also vegetables in there and the noodles are blended nicely with the whole soup.

This taiwanese dish is the most well-known dish at Sinbala. It is called Sinbala Sausage Rice. For those who have never had the taiwanese sausage, it tastes almost like hot dogs, but not quite the same. It has a taste of its own, and is definitely worth trying. This dish is very filling, because it has eggs, corn, broccoli, sausage, and rice with a little bit of shredded meat on top. It is a very well-rounded dish, and anybody who has never been here before should definitely try it at least once.

The shaved ice at this restaurant is very well-known too. You get a choice of 5 toppings, and you can pick from the Shaved Ice menu (see above). I normally get almond jello, taro balls, grass jelly, flan, and peanuts. It is standard for them to put brown sugar over the ice to have a sweeter taste to everything. Some people also like to put condensed milk, which also counts as a topping, but I personally think it's too sweet. It is all up to you on how you want to eat your shaved ice. I would highly recommend getting shaved ice on a hot summer day from here!

Here is just a picture of the toppings they put inside the shaved ice.

As you can see, the bill comes to a totaly of $25.01. This restaurant is usually pretty busy during lunch and dinner hours. We had to wait almost thirty minutes in the afternoon, but in the end, it was all worth it. The quality and quantity of the food, as well as the pricing, is all worth the wait. If you are ever in the SGV, you HAVE to stop by Sinbala for a bite!

101 Noodle Express

Front of the Restaurant

Menu

Menu

Menu

This noodle soup is the restaurants most popular and well-known dish. It is called Lamb Noodle Soup, with hand stretched noodles. The noodles are different than regular noodles because they stretch the noodles so that they have a little more chewy-ness to them. I would highly suggest people to try this dish. Although it may smell a little funky due to the lamb scent, it is very delicious.

This noodle soup is called Beef Noodle Soup and it is also with hand stretched noodles. At this restaurant, you can pick either regular or hand stretched noodles. The beef stew is not too light, yet it is not too heavy. It is just perfect, and the beef is cooked well so that it is very tender. Most of the noodle soups that the restaurant has includes cilantro, green onions, and other vegetables to make the scent and taste stronger.

This dish is called Beef Roll. It is very tasting because inside this fried pancake wrap, consists of beef, cilantro, green onions, and this sweet/salty sauce that goes very well with the whole roll.

As you can see, I am enjoying my Beef Roll. It is very yummy! 

For the amount of food we got, the price is very reasonable. We had three people in total, and if you think about it, the price for each person would be less than $10. I think this restaurant is good and is not overpriced. 

Savoy Kitchen

Front of the Restaurant

Full Menu

In the picture above, my little brother ordered a refreshing bottle of apple juice. On the right of the picture, I ordered an Iced Chrysanthemum tea, one of my favorite drinks from Savoy. This tea is not only sweet and delicious, but it is also quite satisfying on a hot day.  Just thinking about the taste of its delicate flavor makes my mouth water. 

One of the most popular and well-know dishes from Savoy is the Hainan Chicken Rice. The chicken is tender and placed on a delicate bed of warm rice.  Chopped garlic and sweet chili sauces accompany the dish.  The combination of the chicken and sauces make this meal even more equisite. The soy sauce serves the purpose of adding more flavor to the rice or chicken, not that anything is lacking in flavor.

Another dish that I enjoy is the beef curry. The unique feature of this dish is that it does not posses the normal curry flavor that one would find at a Thai or Indian restaurant.  Instead, this curry is much stronger, but it still has an aromatic touch.  For those who appreciate this kind of flavor, I would recommend this dish. 

One of the next dishes that Savoy offers is their baked esgargot with Herb butter.  The escargot is cooked perfectly, and it sizzles right in your mouth when you take a bite. One would first taste the light buttery flavor, but as you bite down, the escargot seems to take a different form.  The texture is a pleasant chewiness but seems to melt in the mouth.  It is baked with such perfection, and there is nothing compared to the way it comes out of their kitchen.

As you can see, the total bill was $28.66, and it was very filling for three people, making this a reasonable price. Because of the amazing taste and quality that Savoy has to offer, it is worth every penny.

Luscious Dumplings

Front of the Restaurant

Our family usually orders this as an appetizer, though it is quite small to share with a family. It is called flavors stewed bean curd, and it is cooked with soft perfection and tenderness. When you take your first bite, it might remind you of tofu. The sauce around it emphasizes the soft flavors of the bean curd.  The sauce has the perfect taste to complement the bean curd, as it adds the perfect amount of flavor to the dish.

This noodle soup is called flavors stewed beef. The soup has a strong beefy taste, and they use yellow noodles and add a generous amount of vegetables. The portion is perfect for one, and it is very appetizing. However, it can be on the saltier side depending on the individual's taste. Despite that, this dish is one of the customers' favorites.

This noodle soup is called shredded szechuan pickle and pork. The pickles in the soup have a sour taste, but it is not overpowering and instead blends well with the soup base. The soup base is a light broth with shredded pieces of pork and vegetable complementing the whole dish. Depending on the individual, if you are up for a new taste of adventure, this noodle soup is the way to go.

These 5 pieces of dumplings come with each noodle soup order. However, you can also order these steamed dumplings by itself, where the serving is 10 pieces instead. This small portion that is included in the combo is very popular. It has chives, pork, egg, and shrimp inside. These dumplings are steamed to perfection and are so delectable that I absolutely recommend them. 

On each table, there is a small plate of sauce that consists of soy sauce, vinegar, and spicy oil sauce. One has the option to use any sauce or combination of sauces for the dumplings. Most people like to put a small amount of soy sauce with a generous amount of vinegar.  Many also add spicy oil sauce depending on what level of spiciness is desired. This sauce makes the dumplings taste ten times more outstanding. 

These 2 pieces of dumplings that are cut into halves are also part of a combo when you order a noodle soup. These fried dumplings consists of chives, pork, egg, and glass noodle. It is also very well-known in this restaurant to order, and the way they fry it is perfect and it also has an aromatic smell.

Done with all the food with the help of my mom and little brother! Yum! 

This is the sheet that you order from when you first dine in. It is also the receipt at the end. As you can see, with all this delicious food, the total only came out to $21.75, and filled three hungry people. I would say this is a good place to dine at and the food and the quality is totally worth spending!