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teddyguy

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  1. I was passing by Mclean on Dolley Madison Boulevard and saw this restaurant while stuck in traffic. It looked interesting because I've been to Little Serow and enjoyed the flavors, so a Thai restaurant closer to me with those similar flavors would be great. Searching online, I only found a Facebook page, and it looks like they had a soft opening on June 18. Does anyone know more about this place or has visited? Thanks for any info!
  2. Yesterday, a friend and I decided to try Breakers, a recently opened Korean barbeque restaurant that replaced Old Country Buffet in Fair City mall in Fairfax. Though the restaurant was not getting great reviews in Yelp, my friend had been to the Breakers in Georgia and wanted to go. Inside, the space is huge. Plenty of tables and private rooms as well. Lots of beautiful pictures and a nice long bar in front. The menu is simple, either all you can eat BBQ or individual dishes. We chose the all you can eat for $24.99 each, which included beef and pork brisket, pork belly, teriyaki and spicy pork and chicken, beef bulgogi and spicy squid. The quality of the meats were good. We tried all the meats in the all you can eat menu and preferred the beef and pork brisket, pork belly and squid over the rest. The side dishes that came out were standard Kim chi, egg and soup and were decent. Service was pretty good until our waiter got busy, then we had to cook the meat ourselves, which we didn't mind. Overall, I think Breakers was above average Korean barbeque, but there are better options in Annandale and Centreville. If you're in the Fairfax area, it's certainly a good choice for a night out.
  3. I went to B-Side with a friend last Saturday and enjoyed it. When I'm craving a beer in the Merrifield area, more often than not I stop by here for some beer and good charcuterie. This time was no exception; the wild boar pate was meaty but still spread well over the bread, the beef salami was salty and delicious, and the cheese (I forget the name, but the one with a line of ash) was nutty and went well with the honey they served on the side. We also ordered beef fat fries and pig wings. The fries were a tad too salty for my taste but had a beefy savoriness to them. The pig wings were a bit dry and needed their spicy sauce to counteract the dryness of the rib. Everything went well with the beer I was drinking. Speaking of the bread, the last time I went they still served tigelles. This time, they served me grilled slices of bread with my charcuterie. Did this change?
  4. With a caveat that I am a friend and relative to some of the people at Happy Endings Hospitality Group, I wanted to say that I greatly enjoyed this new tea house, although there have been a few wrinkles in service they are ironing out. It's located in the same building as May Jewelers right before you take a right into Tysons Corner off Route 7 Leesburg Pike. There is ample surface parking. It's not a large space, but there's enough seating for a casual tea house. The menu are some original recipe and customizable teas and milk teas, Vietnamese coffee, sweets in the form of French macarons and "pillow cake," and savories in the form of garlic truffle fries and basil popcorn chicken. I've had two teas so far: - Flower Bomb: a sweetened chrysanthemum tea with aloe vera. Very straightforward refreshing; if you like chrysanthemum tea you will like this version, which has the flowers in the cup and nice bits of aloe vera. - White Rose Cream Tea: a sweetened white rose tea with cream and rose petals in the tea. Definitely can taste the rose and the cream compliments the flavor of the tea. Also a very pretty drink. I've also had almost all the flavors of the macarons and to my taste, they are delicious. My favorites are the coconut taro, red velvet and pistachio. The macarons are baked in-house, and are slightly chewier and denser than other macarons I've had in the area. The garlic truffle fries and popcorn chicken provide a savory and salty bite that encourages more tea drinking. The wrinkles in service are that they tend to get backed up with tea orders when busy or when you order unsweetened tea, so you may have to wait a little bit for your tea. Also, some flavors of macarons get sold out quite early in the day. Teas cost $3.95 for regular and macarons cost $2.75 each. Website is http://teasnyou.com.
  5. Yesterday went to Kapnos Taverna in Arlington and had a good experience. Started with the tzatziki, smoked eggplant and taramosalata spreads which were all excellent, with the standout being the taramosalata with its hint of fishiness balanced with creaminess. The bread they give you was delicious. Moved on to some mezze. The shishito peppers were plentiful and well seasoned, the saganaki was not flamed tableside but still had nice grilled flavor on the cheese, the octopus was exceedingly tender and probably the standout dish, the spit roasted lamb was inconsistent, with some pieces exceedingly dry and others moist and delicious. Overall, a good meal that didn't reach great, but would go back and try other things on the menu.
  6. I went to dinner here last night with a close friend. We started with two tightly rolls, a spicy tuna and a negitoro. We then got the calamari pasta, and while we both thought it was excellent, my friend thought it could perhaps use a touch of acid because it was so rich with uni and the quail egg. We then had grilled baby octopus, which was good and surprisingly tender with a teriyaki-like sauce covering it. I opted for the Fresh Cuts of the Day, which that day included two bronzini, two chu-toro, two scallop, two clam, two smoked ankimo and a spicy scallop roll. The sushi tasted fresh with no off-tasting fish slices and generous cuts of each fish. APparently they now have a liquor license because we drank an Echigo Koshihikari and warm sake with our meal, which I thought was a good contrast of cold and warm on an icy night. Overall, this is an excellent sushi place that serves great fish and has great service. Definitely to my taste matches the other top sushi places in Northern Virginia. While we were there, a trickle of customers continually came in and there were a few take out orders as well. While I am slightly dismayed that they didn't have more business, it may be harder to get in if it gets popular because it is definitely not a very big place.
  7. I went to Marumen perhaps two weeks ago with my mother. My mother is a fan of Japanese-style ramen, so I wanted her to see whether she should bring my father here as well. We ordered two bowls of ramen (one shio and one miso), pork buns, karaage and a Diet Coke. The Diet Coke came out in a can and a glass full of ice. The karaage came in a deep bowl in a larger than expected portion with two sauces (a mayo and soy-based sauce) and bonito flakes on top. The chicken was hot, crispy and tasted pretty good with its accompaniments. The pork buns were the standard ubiquitous pork belly bun with scallions (I think), cucumber and a white bun. I enjoyed the two buns that came in an order and thought that the pork belly was soft and seasoned well. However, it's an item I probably wouldn't feel compelled to order again in favor of trying other items on the menu. The ramen was very good. The shio broth was rich and complemented the noodles well. The bowl included pork belly, half an egg, some scalliions, nori and perhaps a few more additions I can't remember. The miso broth wasn't too different than the shio borth, and the addition of miso wasn't too strong and it did not overwhelm the rich meat broth flavor. Of the DC area ramens I've had, I will say it was better than the last time I went to Toki about three years ago, but worse than Daikaya. In my opinion, a great addition to the ramen scene in Northern Virginia.
  8. Not sure about alcohol,because honestly the place doesn't have a lot of seats, just two long tables and a row of bar seats. My impression is that it's geared more towards takeout than dining in.
  9. Have to disclaim that I am related to one of the co-owners, but Roll Play Vietnamese Grill is currently soft opening in Tysons Corner. It's located at the intersection of International Drive and Leesburg Pike in the same office building as the Healthy Back store and Peet's Coffee. It's located right by the entrance of the parking garage. Its ordering system is a bit like Sheetz and Wawa; you order at three kiosks located in the front of the store, and then you either pay with credit at the kiosk or take the receipt to pay with cash at the pick up area. You pick from several different options, including pho, banh mi, spring rolls or a bowl and then customize it with a choice of protein, veggies, sauce and other fixings. There are several side items such as mini crispy spring rolls, small size pho and a papaya salad as well. I ordered a pork belly and lemongrass steak banh mi with all the fixings and added an egg as well. I also got a side order of crispy mini spring rolls and a side beef pho. My son ate the pho, but the tastes that I had were definitely beefy and aromatic as a pho should be. The banh mi was stuffed to the gills with pork belly, steak, and all my selected vegetables in a medium soft roll. While the egg I ordered it with was not runny, the overall flavor was meaty with a crunch of pickled and fresh veggies. The crispy mini spring rolls were great, their fillings were meaty but they were not too oily. Their drinks are also interesting. They have a young coconut drink which is a whole coconut opened on the spot, a house-made limeade, vietnamese iced coffee and a Puck's soda fountain. I enjoyed the coconut drink the most because of the novelty drinking from a coconut and the fact that you can also eat the coconut meat afterwards. Overall, I enjoyed Roll Play, and while it definitely "Chipotle-izes" vietnamese food, I think the flavors are solid and the concept is interesting. I was invited and received the food for free because of the family connection, so I can't comment on the overall value. However, I thought the food and drinks had great flavor and are worth a stop if you're in the area.
  10. It was my grandmother's birthday last week, and because she's from Pyong Yang we decided to go here to celebrate. It looked different from its previous incarnation as a crab house and drinking place. We sat in the front room, and it was slightly chilly as people came in and out. The food came out in good time, and we got the man doo, and the soondae and chicken soup combos. The soondae was delicious. In fact, my parents, who don't particularly like soondae, enjoyed the slightly spicy blood sausage and commented that it was probably the best soondae they had in Virginia. It defintiely tasted better than Seoul Soondae in Annandale or the soondae that they give you at Gamasot or Gomtengee. The liver and intestines were pretty tasty as well. My grandmother definitely enjoyed the soondae. The chicken soup was delicious, with pieces of skin and meat floating in a very flavorful broth. The soondae soup was less memorable, but it was probably because my father refused to put any salt in it. The man doo were good, but nothing really stood out about them. The fermented flounder that came out was pretty good and nicely spicy. The service was friendly and seemed eager to please. When they heard that my grandmother was from Pyong Yang, they gave us extra soon dae.
  11. There's a new korean bbq place next to the Giant in Annandale which tries to emulate Goor Dae Ji (Honey Pig). It opened recently, and the prices are about $3-4 cheaper than Goor Dae Ji (a fresh pork belly was $9.99). The meat seemed a little more fattier and greasier than what you would get at Goor Dae Ji, but perhaps it was simply opening jitters in quality. The good thing is, instead of stools like most of Goor Dae Ji, it's more of a restaurant environment. It's open 24 hours and for the drinkers, soju is $6.99!!! That's a dollar more than buying it at the ABC.
  12. I guess I'll give a short review: I've been to this place 4 times, including once at midnight. The wait for tables is surprising for a Korean restaurant. I thought going at midnight would be okay, but even then I waited 25-30 minutes for a table. The food is good. I like the gochu jang pork bellies (comes iwth vegetables), the regular fresh pork bellies (they grill kim chi with it), and any of the chul pan dishes (stir fries where they make fried rice with the leftovers). The tables are usually far too small to handle the stuff they put on it. This especially presents a problem if you order their excellent kim chi jige or their less impressive daenjang jige. Service is uneven, especially because they're so busy. I've had a couple times where I've received excellent service, and one time where the waitress basically just left us alone for the whole time. Be prepared to flag down the waiter/waitress if you need anything. Definitely wear the apron. Pork fat splatters. But it's darn tasty.
  13. Sorry about that. But I thought it might be good info to know, although it is only hearsay. I do like Gamasot for my soon dae related needs, though. They have a decent soon dae soup as well. Another BBQ place that would be good to try is Ham Ji Bahk in Centreville. They have good food and good service.
  14. I guess these are my takes: Honey Pig: Good food, service is either okay or bad (might be because they're so busy right now), and they do the whole fried rice after your stir fry thing. Has uncomfortable stools, crowded seating, lots of drinking, and that whole Korea vibe. Takes a while to eat, seems minimum 2 hours. Also open 24 hours a day. Seoul Soon Dae: Rumor among Koreans has it that a rat was found in the soon dae soup. It's still pretty tasty to me, so I guess I like the mystery meat. New Korean Chinese place: Good fried food, regular black bean noodles needed more salt or something. I've heard that there's a new seul lung tang place in Centreville which is open 24 hours.
  15. On the topic of Jung Mi (Lunch Time), the chef/owner who made the hand pulled noodles sold his business to his employees and has sinced moved on to a restaurant/grocery in Prince George's County. I haven't tried the new restaurant/grocery, because I can't find it. For what it's worth, the food at Lunch Time has changed. The noodles are ordinary now, but the ja jang sauce that covers it is still quite good. I had always preferred Jung Mi over Choong Hwa Won, but now it's more because the sweet and sour pork and the fried chicken wings are better at Jung Mi than Choong Hwa Won. There are other places to get Korean-Chinese food in Annandale and Centreville, but these are probably the best two examples I can think of right now. I have also been to Da Rae Won, and find the hand pulled noodles there slightly disappointing. Not chewy enough for my tastes, but I haven't been there in a while. Jung Mi at its prime was the best.
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