Hard Rock Cafe- Guam

It is across from the DFS Galleria in Tamuning, not too far a walk from hotel row.

My Navy buddy was crazy about this pull pork sandwich from another Hard Rock Cafe and he wanted to try it again. When I went to the one in Houston, it had a pretty good mac and cheese.

The other Navy buddy got the pull pork too. It was just as the other one remembered it. I got the side of mac as I didn't feel too hungry. The mac was good, though a little spicier than I would have expected. I was glad I only got the side and not the whole entree which would have been $18.

I was disappointed with the Haagen and Daz at our hotel. It looked like quite a large shop but it had only three boring flavors- vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. So I was tempted to look at the dessert menu and got the Creme Brulee. Well the Creme Brulee here is the worst I have ever tasted. It came in a good sized shot glass instead of the typical shallow round or oval ramkins and it was nothing more than overly sweet goopy cream. The only thing they did right was the brulee part but everything below that was pure disgusting I could only force myself to eat no more than half the glass. When the waitress came and asked how it was I told her "terrible". She asked what was wrong with it I told her it tasted only of sugar, no other flavor and she said that she hears that is what it is supposed to be. I tell her no, the ones I've had are so much more than that and she asked me where I had it. I tell her that I've had them mostly in California but they are pretty authentic. And she tells me that they would be more authentic than Guam...but it just seems like the way the Creme Brulee was made was so sloppy and careless. Would it kill them to add a vanilla bean or a hint of something special like taro or something?? Even the green tea creme brulee I've had at Shin Sen Gumi tasted better.

My Navy buddy left to buy souvenirs for his kids downstairs. I thought about getting a magnet and it was like $13, so overpriced. I was happy with the Hard Rock in Houston; the server was friendly and helpful, but the one here in Guam was terrible and completely loopy like she must have been smoking something funny before she got to work that night. She kept passing my our tables but not checking on us. And when she collected our payment, she collected the one behind us too, but when she brought them out again, she did it one by one which was kind of annoying, as in she returned the card of the guy behind us first. Then she went back inside to return ours, but it would have been more time efficient to just bring both of ours back. And when I asked for the Creme Brulee she stared at the other 2 for a while and one of my buddies had to finally say they didn't need anything else and she laughed.

I do not recommend this Hard Rock at all. For regular American food, the prices are terrible; it is clearly targeted for tourists. You are better off going to TGIF across the street next to the DFS.

K'ya Lounge II

Since I enjoyed the food the first time, I thought it would be fun to have a post-Christmas dinner here before venturing to see the Newport Beach boat parade.

I made reservations in advance. Happy hour starts when it opens at 4:30pm. However, when we got there at 4:30pm, there was a group of people already and when we asked the hostess for help, she said she had to help those other people get seated first and she would get back to me.

Well, once those people got seated, I had to get her attention again by standing really close to her and making eye contact. She finally asked "do you need help?" like we never spoke before. I said that I made reservations and she asked if I wanted to make reservations. I said no, I made reservations today at 4:30pm. She finally led us to a very small table next to the kitchen. We had to ask for a better seat.

It was my fault for mistaking K'ya for the Rooftop Lounge because when you go to their site, it also advertises the Rooftop Lounge with the beach view. It is kinda confusing.

Well the service was pretty good despite the initial mixup; I don't like the waitresses too much though it is understandable they get busy and confused themselves with the large crowds and people that stay at the hotel. Perhaps they get priority.

I got the mushroom ravioli and the pomegrante martini. It was a bit strong.

My sis got the Shrimp Fra Divolo. When it came out, my ravioli was piping hot but her dish was luke warm. So she got it remade and it was fresh and hot. All appeared well until the waiter asked my sis if I was her daughter. LoL.

I really liked my ravioli but I think they only gave like 6 pieces. The cream sauce was good and it was not too cheesy so that you could really enjoy and appreciate the mixture of the ingredients. The Shrimp pasta was pretty good too once they provided a fresh hot one. It was not too shrimpy, which meant that the shrimp musta been fresh; you know when you can tell when certain seafood's been lying around because it stinks! On the other hand, I am not a huge shrimp fan and it was kinda just like an ordinary penne pasta with tomato sauce and shrimp to me.

I don't think I would want to come here again. The food is good, but the servers (and waiters) can make you feel a bit uncomfortable with their uncouthness. For me, it was the difficulty in getting seated (twice) by the hostess and for my sis, prob the unwanted assumption by the waiter. I do want to try the Rooftop Lounge though for the view.

Rock Bottom Brewery

I had a very late dinner with a Navy buddy at Rock Bottom Brewery Friday night in Long Beach.

It is a good place to meet people who have a tendency to arrive late as the restaurant closes as late as 2am and hence one does not need to worry about the time or a need to "migrate".

My initial impression was that the service was poor. This was because the server did not introduce herself like most other establishments. She just took me to the booth, didn't ask me if the location was OK, asked if I was waiting for someone and left. I had wanted to order a starter at least while I waited and maybe even a drink. I would have liked a martini but I think the place serves only beers and the ilk.

I saw an unoccupied booth at the window and asked if I could sit there instead and she kind of gave me a look like "why would I care?" but she said yes. I moved the utensils and menus and glass of water and she did at least help wipe the table, though only the spot with the ring of water.

My buddy arrives and we order starters. I get the Green Chile Mac and Cheese. He gets the Nachos. They were pretty good. And the salsa that came with the mac and cheese was rather tasty and not too spicy for those who don't like spicy things. The Nachos came in a rather impressive rectangular spread.

For our main entrees, he ordered the Lobster and Shrimp Tacos. And I got Chicken Fried Chicken. It came with slaw but I asked not to have any so they substituted with veggies which is nice. Well after I had the Mac and Cheese, I was actually pretty stuffed and the Chicken Fried Chicken wasn't impressive enough for me to finish. They put some kind of cheese gravy sauce on top. As for the mashed potatoes- well it could use some butter...I didn't like it too much, but I am not a fan of white gravy. They made it with cheddar. The best Chicken Fried Chicken I've ever had was in Oklahoma and nothing has beaten it.

As for my buddy, he did not like his tacos. He thought it would be one taco with lobster and the other with shrimp but it was actually just one which they mixed together. When the waitress came and asked how everything was, he said he didn't like his dish too much. So, when the bill came, she had deducted the cost of the tacos from our bill which was rather nice. After that, we didn't think she was so bad. My buddy had asked her what she recommended and she couldn't give a straight answer. Most servers would just say everything on the menu was good even if they didn't know. And also, he pretty much had to chase her down for some paper napkins. They only give you the cloth kind that wraps around the utensils when you sit down. She just didn't seem to be paying that much attention to us, but the place didn't look that packed. It seemed like most people were just there to drink and have snacks.

It is just a typical American restaurant with a bar. There are some interesting items on the menu, but I'm not so sure I would return.

Parking is a pain. You could do metered parking which is free after 9pm but I didn't find any spaces at all. I ended up parking at the structure next to the restaurant. However, it was like $1.25 for each 15 minutes. Fortunately, Rock Bottom offers validation for the first 2 hours so I only had to pay $5.

Wild Thyme Cafe & Bakery

I had the Wild Mushroom Pasta for the 2nd time last night. The first time was amazing! I had trouble deciding what I wanted to eat for dinner last night. I was almost tempted to try one of those fancy restaurants because it's "Restaurant Week" but decided I didn't feel like breaking the bank with a $26 meal. $11.53 was perfect thank you very much- that's the price of the pasta which came with a slice of bread.

They are very nice about ordering things to go by phone. The guy asked if I wanted garlic bread or zucchini bread. I read a review that the zucchini bread was a must so I asked for that...well I think I should have gone for the garlic. The zucchini bread was like sweet, not really good with the pasta...I mean it tasted almost like carrot cake, like that type of sweet. The texture was amazing, moist and fresh, no complaints about the quality, just that it didn't go too well with pasta. I ended up saving half of it for afterwards, like a snack, which was good.

The only thing about ordering it to go was that whatever oil, truffle oil perhaps, that they used spilled out of the box. They could have used a better container so the pasta probably wasn't quite as flavorful as it otherwise could have been by the time I got home to enjoy it. Otherwise, service was pretty good.

Even indoor seating, the first two times I went, it was quite good. They have free refills for most of their drinks. Their freshly squeezed lemonade is amazing, not too sweet, especially refreshing on a hot summer's day.

My only complaint would be I wish their bread portion was larger but considering they are a bakery, not a high end Italian restaurant, they probably want you to BUY their bread and not mooch off of free bread baskets.

I would return and recommend this place to people that enjoy a comfortable relaxing environment and who appreciate fresh bread and organic cooking.

Gypsy Den

The Gypsy Den is located at the anti-mall, a rather laid back area in Costa Mesa. I love the atmosphere and the food was not bad either. It has both indoor seating and outdoor seating. Indoors seemed a bit cramped and dark; we chose to eat outside in natural setting. There are trees and green plants abound; a bright red lounging chair in a cozy corner. People reading; on the computer; singles; couples; families. It was very pleasant and relaxing.



My dining buddy had the Special of the Day- Garlic Chicken Broccoli Casserole. I had a sample; it was a bit cheesy for my taste, but he had no complaints. It came with a soup or salad; he chose the potato corn chowder. And some kind of Italian soda to drink.






I got the Garden Quiche and Garden Salad with a green herby dressing on the side. The Quiche looked more like a huge chunk of cake instead of a slice of pie as I'm usually more accustomed to. But the shape did not hinder me from enjoying it. They did not skimp out on the bread, like a lot of places do these days. The bread appeared to be homemade. And the butter certainly made it better! The dish is excellent for aspiring vegetarians like myself. I even liked the salad with its fresh leafy veggies. The dressing was not bad as in it wasn't vinegary; usually I detest dressings because of the high vinegar content.

The quaint cafe has an excellent selection of green and black teas. I had my meal with Dragonwell tea. I was excited to see that tea on the menu. But Dragonwell tea tastes better as loose leaves at an authentic Taiwanese tea place than as a tea bag.


Service was good with friendly waitresses.

The only downfall would be it doesn't have its own restroom. I didn't need to use it at all, but it would be an inconvenience for those who do.

All in all, highly recommended!!

BJ's Restaurant' Brewery

BJ's is always crowded Friday nights so I joined my friends for dinner before they headed to watch Ironman 2.

One guy ordered the Mediterranean topped with fetta cheese and olives. I don't like it. Not just because of the toppings but because the crust is like mushy.

I ordered the mini pizza with just 2 slices; I had corn and roasted garlic, but it was really lacking in flavor of any kind. Would it have killed them to add butter to the corn, salt and pepper? And for roasted garlic as one of the toppings, I sure didn't taste much of the garlic. Again, the crust wasn't crunch at all; it was like doughy, like it hadn't been baked long enough or something.

My friend later explained to me, it's because it's deep dish; that's all BJ has. And that thin crust is for me.

I had the broccoli cheddar chowder and it's too much cheese! Why don't they call it cheddar chowder instead with broccoli bits? Also I had to ask for crackers. They don't give you crackers or bread to start out.

As for the dessert, everyone else liked it. The Pazookie is essentially a large thin cookie topped with like 5 scoops of vanilla ice cream. How come they don't make their pizzas like that, thinly crusted? Anyway, it seemed like a kid made it. You could do the exact same thing buying Pillsbury chocolate chip cookie dough, stick it in the oven for 5 minutes. It was kind of a disappointment to me. And would it have killed them to decorate it up a bit with a cherry on top?

Yard House

After the free Screenwriting Workshop at the Newport Beach Festival, located at Fashion Island, my friends and I had lunch at the Yard House. I got the Macaroni Cheese squared. They got the BBQ Bacon and Cheese Burger and the Crab Cake Club Sandwich. No complaints, so I assume all the dishes were good. Maybe because all the dishes had bacon. Service is excellent, as usual with friendly staff. One friend wanted steamed veggies instead of french fries that come with the sandwich so they were happy to make the substitute with no extra charge.

The Mac and Cheese had thick slices of bacon and chicken with truffles. It is one of the best Mac and Cheese I've had. However, this time around, I felt they might have overdone it with their truffle oil.

I don't approve of their Creme Brulee. It is mushy, but not very creamy and not brulee'd much, with bananas and chocolates, a combination I'm personally not too fond of.

Yard House never gets old. There are chains all over including Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Rancho Cucamonga and Pasadena, so you should have no excuse to not have dined at one.

Extraordinary Desserts

To top off the evening, we headed towards Little Italy for dessert at Extraordinary Desserts. The place was mad packed, even at 11pm! We had to wait about 10 minutes to get seated.



While waiting, we browsed through some of their products and fine decor.


the white pyramids are macaroons;
and the bottom is the Macadamia Nut Pie


wonder what kind of magic the tea does


big Buddha head statue

They sell an assortment of exotic teas, some claiming to be "magic", books, lotions, bags, and other non-dessert products. That's the way to make big money in a successful business.

We finally got seated and ordered. I got the Macadamia Nut Pie and my buddy got the Gianduia.


Gianduia - chocolate cake with rasberry filling and
chocolate cream between the layers, encrusted with nuts,
with rasberry sauce on the side


Macadamia Nut Pie with whipped cream

The desserts looked gorgeous. As you can see, my pie was topped with yellow flower petals and sat on top of some caramel sauce. It was warm and tasted heavenly with the whipped cream, even though I'm not much of a cream type of person. My buddy enjoyed his Gianduia, but I felt it was too sweet for my taste. To each his own.

We shared a pot of green sencha tea. The water was piping hot; the taste unexpectedly bitter, even for me. If not for the bitterness, it essentially is would have no flavor, rather disappointing to the traditional Japanese sencha, not at all what I had expected.

There is also a non-dessert menu with paninis and the ilk for those who are afraid of sweet overload.

In all honesty, I'm not sure if this place is really my cup of tea, but everyone should go to Extraordinary Desserts at least once to experience the exciting atmosphere of energetically happy late night-diners and just to say you've tried something extra-ordinary...and that includes the price!