Las Vegas Caesar’s Palace – Hyakumi Japanese Restaurant Sushi Bar & Noodles
After walking around all day towards Caesar’s Palace, which simply amazed us, we were hungry of course. But we had to eat light! How else would we last for more buffets? We didn’t even eat breakfast just to save our appetite.
Caesar's Palace
Caesar's Palace Main Entrance
Just had to show this picture that came out great of the fountain inside the main entrance. Restaurant and more importantly, food after the jump!
Las Vegas MGM Grand Buffet
The flight to Vegas and hauling luggage to check in at the MGM Grand made us famished. We couldn’t wait to eat at the buffets we always read and hear about. Naturally, staying at the MGM Grand, we just had to try the Buffet there!
MGM Grand Buffet Food Counters
With 4 long rows of food, there was a great selection. Mexican, Seafood including Sushi Rolls, Italian and of course American dishes. Too many dishes to list, really. The only regret was not taking more pictures of food directly. We didn’t want to be rude and flash away at every moment while drooling at the food.
MGM Grand Buffet Brisket being carved
A number of stations with meats being grilled, carved and served on the spot. There was steak, brisket, soups, turkey (it was near thanksgiving) and a good amount of other meats to choose from. More after the jump!
Soho Park Cafe
Soho Park
62 Prince St (near Lafayette)
New York, NY
(212) 219-2129
SUMMER RECAP:
On this beautiful summer day on Friday, July 20, the bf and I took a half day from work to go to the anime convention in Baltimore with a few friends. While waiting for them to drive down from Somers, I managed to the drag the bf to SoHo where I attended to shopping matters. Of course knowing me, I get hungry afterwards. Ah heck, when the hell am I not? I complained like a mad woman to the saint-like patient bf, and alas, after walking all over soho, we found this cute place called Soho Park. It didn’t look too pricey and dingy like a fast food restaurant which was a good enough reason to go in.
It’s packed in here, but amazingly it wasn’t loud at all.
You get a license plate after you make a purchase. Pretty neat huh? The purpose of this is to set it on your table so the server can serve you your orders.
Park Burger w/shredded iceberg lettuce, sliced pickles, tomato, and special sauce.
Price: $5.50; $7.50 w/fries.
I could have sworn that I ordered the Belgian fries, but apparently not. Oh well, regular fries will have to do even if everyone else around me is having that. Bahh. This burger is definitely not worth the price. Maybe it’s because I’m such a cheapo and prefer more bang for my buck, but I swear, I’ve seen bigger burgers for the same price.
Ok, so I may sound a little bias, but if a burger is of average size like this, it should at least make up in taste for it’s mediocre size. But no, there’s nothing special about the taste. The patty is cooked very well since it’s moist, juicy and gosh darn tender, but unfortunately it’s pretty bland.
This is what I get for ordering the most basic burger on the chopping menu. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad burger. It tastes pretty clean…almost organic, and it compliments well with the lettuce, pickle and tomato. I didn’t love this burger, nor hate it. Nonetheless it’s still comfort food which makes me happy.
My rating: 3/5
Recommended: No.
Dipping Sauce for Fries
Price: $.0.50
Your choice of:
Basil Mayo
Roasted Red Pepper
Garlic
Black Olive Mayo
Curried Mayo
Spicy Sambal Ketchup
Smoked Paprika
I swear, when you’re in SoHo, merchants will charge an arm and a leg for everything, even goddam dipping sauce. They should just have a giant pump with all the sauces and give it to us for free.
But I understand why they do it, I just want to gripe about it.
Left: Roasted red pepper; Right: Garlic
I did not like these sauces at all. I’m sure it’s just a personal preference, but the roasted red pepper is very strong and tasted bitter in my mouth. The garlic one is also strong, but I felt like I was dipping grease. Yuck.
The fries taste much better without the dam sauce, in my opinion. It’s already nice and salty so don’t even bother seasoning it. I liked it.
Herbed Buttermilk Red Onion Rings
Price: $5.00
This is by far the worst batch of onion rings I had in my entire life. Like, where’s the batter? I felt like I was eating greasy ass crispy onions. This is disgusting. And no amount of dipping sauce would help me through this arduous eating process.
Recommended: No way.
I love the look of this place, but unfortunately that’s essentially what you’re paying for.
Chelsea Gallery Diner
Chelsea Gallery Diner
72 7th Ave, New York 10011
(Btw 14th & 15th St)
212-691-5200
When I get a craving and there’s no White Castle around, I’ll settle for burger and fries at a diner. Something happy and magical about a diner that I can’t quite put my finger on. Maybe because it’s loaded with fattening comfort food that sends me into a trans-like ecstasy mode. Yeah that’s it.
This diner is on the outskirts of Chelsea Village, literally blocks from the bf’s work site. When you know the restaurant isn’t trendy, or the waiters aren’t gay, you know you’re no longer in the heart of the rich Chelsea village.
Anyways, after when I pick up the king after work, we walked around to find a place that’s not too pricy and not too dingy, cause you know you get for you pay. So ultimately we settled for this joint.
As I walk in, I can’t help but notice that maybe there’s some kind of early bird special because all the old people in nyc are sitting right in my face. There are a sprinkle of young, my age, gay and lesbian couples here and there, but majority of them are old. They’re eating eating along, or they came with their girlfriends and families to chat. Not that I have a problem with that, it’s just a new experience that’s all. I thought I was at the old folk’s home or something. Let me tell you, this is certainly not a trendy place. The audience here is mainly caucasian, especially when I went there. But the people here are friendly and the staff are super cool.
The waiter, who’s pretty old himself asked us what we wanted to drink to start off first. Nothing goes down better with fries than a nice ice cup of pepsi. After I got my drink, I knew what I wanted to get.
Mushroom Burger!
Price: $6.25
I didn’t want to order something too heavy and I always think putting mushrooms into anything makes it healthy. I know it’s not, but as long as I dam well feel it is, then it is!
I forget that at a diner you have to essentially build your own burger. I kind of wished I didn’t have to because I’m such a lazy ass, and also because I think it’s better built because it can have all sorts of juicy sauces in it. This lacked that sauce. This isn’t your fancy smanchy high-scale diner joint; this place serves it to you the good ol fashion way — you build it and you can add ketchup, mustard, salt and/or pepper.
The french fries are the best. It just hits my sweet spot. That doesn’t mean to say that I’ll settle for any fry — I have to have a french fry that is crispy and golden on the outside, and soft hot on the inside. This fry wasn’t too thin or thick which is just the way I like it. I didn’t need to put any salt on this because it’s perfectly salted, but my bf only because he’s a salt-maniac!
The burger is very bland and dry especially if you don’t add condiments. I wish they made a special sauce with this burger, but at least the beef patty itself isn’t too dry.
Recommended – Only if you love mushrooms on your burgers!
Rating: 3/5
Bacon Cheeseburger w/ onion rings
Price: $6.75
Without repeating myself, all I can say about this burger that my bf ordered is that there’s bacon and lots of it. I love bacon and it makes anything taste great. I wished I ordered a side of bacons with my burger, shoot. I like my burger loaded with ketchup and a little of mustard like on my hot dog. Without it, your mouth is going to be bored sheitless, believe me. The only thing exciting on these burger plates are your side orders — in this case, onion rings which was crispy and somewhat golden on the outside, and sweet on the inside, which was somewhat the way I wanted it to be.
Recommended: Yes
My Rating: 3.5/5
Now I leave you guys with the city’s health inspection report.
CHELSEA GALLERY
72 7 AVENUE, MANHATTAN 10011
212-691-5200
Violation points: 26/28
Inspection Date: 07/13/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
Sanitary Violations
1.) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained.
2.) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin exist.
3.) Wiping cloths dirty or not stored in sanitizing solution.
4.) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
5.) Evidence of flying insects or live flying insects present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
6.) Eggs found dirty, cracked; liquid, frozen or powdered eggs not pasteurized.
May Wah Fast Food Restaurant (Chinese)
May Wah Restaurant
190 Hester St
(btw Baxter & Mulberry St)
New York, NY
OPEN THROUGH FEB 18, 2007
ACT NOW!!
Sometimes I forget to do reviews for the little ma & pa restaurants because I take it for granted. Like how fast food restaurants are, I go in, get my food, get out and eat as fast as I can that I forget to take time to reflect on it. It’s really metaphoric of what life really is — a quick way to satisfied your insatisable life. Like, you go to the place you want because you desire it, and when that feeling of desire and want is gone you leave. To me, May Wah is hedonistic food, that’s what it is. And knowing that it’s going to close down soon, it really breaks a nerve and all I can do is immortalize it forever on wordpress.
After a zillion times eating from this place, I finally had the chance to take a picture of the restaurant and of the food. If it wasn’t for the rumor that softrice told me about this place closing down, I wouldn’t even had done this review.
I grew up knowing the original staff in May Wah and my parent’s even had a good relationship with the owners. This restaurant was a place to share love, good times, and happiness and you can literally taste it in their food. Their food I believe is primarily, Tawainese and they have a few signature dishes. The one I love the most is:
Chicken leg over May Wah’s specialty rice
Price: $4.75
I usually don’t have the time to stay and eat, so I order out.
Sigh, this will be the last time I’ll see all of this:
This also comes with pork chop and spare ribs. I prefer the chicken the most. I have no idea what’s the brown/meaty sauce, but it tastes so heavenly. Without this sly sauce, it would not be a party in my mouth. The rest are nappa (the green veggies) and this sour vegetable that I don’t know in English. But yes, you are definitely not going to find anything remotely like this. Mix the rice together to get the sauce flowing through the white rice to get extra flavor of course. The fried chicken, that’s not beer battered, is very very delicious. It’s salty and even saltier when you eat it with the rice. Believe it or not, it’s a great combination!
I regret not to take pictures of all the other dishes I had in the past. I have had their pork chop and spare ribs over rice, shanghainese fried rice, shanghai stir-fried rice cakes, and several of their other rice dishes that I eaten before. Of everything, their signature chicken leg over rice is the best. THE BEST.
So I will have to urge you all to try because this place shuts down forever. This place really meant a lot to me. Ever sinced I moved away from there, things drastically change. Their staff, containers, price and methods of making the food slightly changed. Sigh…I will definitely miss this place a lot more. I am not really looking forward to its vegetarian counter part.
Cleanliness
MAY WAH FAST FOODS
190 HESTER STREET, MANHATTAN 10013
212-925-6428
Current violation points: 9
PASSED
Inspection Date: 01/04/2007
Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
1.) Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
2.) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to vermin exist.
3.) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
