Kaya Restaurant

I haven't discover many Korean BBQ place around Columbus. If you come across some good Korean BBQ place around the area, please comment below and let me know. Last time when I went to Poong Mei, there was another restaurant located right next to it. After google searched, I learn that it's a Korean restaurant that have BBQ. On top of that, I got have good deal off from Groupon, so it's prefect for a trip to Kaya. 

When I first walk in with my friends, there are no staffs greeting us. All we can see is the staff busy running around and helping take out order from the kitchen or serving the customers. After about ten minutes waiting at the front door, one lady come and ask us how many people to get us situated.

Seafood Pancake

Mok Sal Goo Yi [Sliced Pork] BBQ

Combo [Kalbi, Chicken, Bulgogi] BBQ

One thing to be cautious is the meal can be very lengthy which due to unresponsive staffs. The restaurant is not full house; however, all of them seems super busy and running around, but we have no idea why they are so busy. When we ask them to refill some lettuce and sauce, they forgot two out of three times. And the staffs also doesn't seems please to serve us. However, when it comes for check, they are super responsive and seems like they want to rush us out. And no, we came at six in the evening, which is not even their closing time at all!


At last, I think the environment and the food is pretty decent. Unfortunately, bad staff plus no customer service will be a downfall for those who enjoys good food and good service. In the end, if you love to have some unique experiences like this, you could definitely give this a try!

Restaurant Info:

Kaya Restaurant

4710 Reed Rd,

Columbus, OH 43220

Fukuryu Ramen

It's a magnificent sunny day on the weekends, making it another food exploration road trip around Columbus. Last week, I heard there is a new Japanese Ramen restaurant coming to town. As a loyal fan of Ramen, I excitedly wanting to go try this new restaurant.

I arrived at the restaurant at around 12:30 pm and saw the line are outside the restaurant. The line move fairly smooth and I order from the front counter. The staff will give you a buzzer and you seat either on normal or bar table. Even though they are busy and packed with people, the main dish came out pretty quick. It does seem like most of the ramen bowls are being made in advanced though.

Miso Ramen

Originally, I was going to order the Tonkotsu Ramen, but the staff explained that it was available only at dinner time. So, I ordered the Miso Ramen along with two appetizers. I do recommend to mix and dig deep down below the noodles, cause there are some sauteed onion with minced pork. If you don't mix it well enough, the noodles will taste plain and the broth at the end will be extremely salty! Speaking of noodles, as I started digging in, I noticed the noodles were still a bit uncooked . The broth have a rich miso flavor; however, it is a bit over powering for me. 

Tebasaki Chicken Wings

Pork Gyoza

The appetizers came in while I'm half way done with my noodles. The staff then informs me that they are out of Kara-age, so I end up with the Tebasaki Chicken Wings. I never have this style of wings before. Basically, it's deep fried wings topped with salt and pepper. 0 out of 5 for these wings! They were all under-cooked inside. Additionally, you could tell that they just grab a handful of salt, threw it onto the chicken pieces. Making it unbearable to eat. As for the Gyoza, crispy outside but not fully cooked inside, for the price they selling it for, I'm not a fan at all.

There are quite a big room for improvements as a new restaurant. I will be appreciated if the appetizers can come before my noodles, some of the tasting of the dish can be adjust... I'm still very excited about a new Ramen restaurant open in Columbus. As show in their menu, there will be more new menu item in the near future. I will definitely give this place another try later. Oops, one more thing. If you are a fan of green tea ice cream, they do have that available. 

Restaurant Info:

Fukuryu Ramen

1600 W Lane Ave, Ste 160,

Upper Arlington, OH 43221

Noodles and Company

Cloudy day in the Wednesday evening, tired from the whole day of work and feeling super hungry. Those are the excuses that I always use to end up treating myself into some good foods. As I was looking for restaurants for grubs, I realize that I haven't been to Noodles and Company for several years. So it's time to see what they changed.

Gyoza

Pad Thai with Chicken

Pad Thai with Shrimp

The last time I had Noodles and Company was back in the old college days. I reminisced that I wasn't a big fan for them. That's why I haven't try them in awhile. After this visit, it gave me a new perspective about this restaurant. First off, it's the Gyoza. Super juicy meat filling cover with crispy wrapper, goes very well with the sweet and sour dipping sauce. The Pad Thai was really good. Both of the shrimp and chicken were tender. Noodles are al dente with a lot of ingredient, bean sprout, crushed peanut, cilantro...

This will be a new place for me to grab a quick dinner, for those gloomy and lazy night. Also, they do have giant size of cookie and rice crispy available as little sweets after dinner.

Restaurant Info:

Noodles and Company

1528 Gemini Place

Columbus, OH 43240

The Walrus

Lately, I had been craving for some seafood. Plus, my friends told me their past experiences in Maine. Fresh seafood are spotted everywhere there, or so I've been told. Thus making me wanted to go there in an instant! But as of now, that's too far of a reach. Instead, I browsed through hundreds of menus from different restaurants to look for dishes that my friends have given me details about over the trips. After hours of research, I stumbled upon The Walrus. They have one of the snacks I've heard so much about from my pals, therefore I gave it a try!

Located toward the end of downtown, there lies The Walrus. If you can't find it, just look for the big sign with the little mustache man. When you first walk in, you can see a spacious waiting area. The interior is pretty classy and you can see all the bar-style table. If you just want to grab a drink, their bar is at the end of the restaurant so you could walk straight through there.

This place seems to be quite busy by the time I arrived, hence the noisy level is pretty high. After my friend and I were settled down with a table, the warm - welcoming server come to greet us. Their servers are really enthusiastic, seems to be very passionate, and enjoying their job! For that reason, the service was such a top-notch!

Portobello Fries

Our appetizer was Portobello Fries. It came out as hot as it's still in the kitchen. The breading is very crispy; however, it will be better if the breading is not as thick. It also served with chipotle mayo; without the sauce, the fries will be plain! As a result, the sauce is a must have!!

Lobster Rolls

Next, the entree, Lobster Rolls. The dish that I was curious so much about from my buddies. To be honest, this is the first time I had a lobster rolls. And seeing those big chunk of lobster nuggets sitting on top of a toast, make my mouth watering. As I took on the first bite, I can taste the crispiness of the toast. Separated from the super juicy, tender lobster nugget with a hint of lemon mayo sauce. It went so smooth when it was combined together yet, I can still taste different ingredients when it's being eaten. I would hate to admitted, but this is one of the greatest foods I've tried ever!

Lobster Mac & Cheese

As we were having the extremely yummy lobster rolls, Food Network is showing lobster mac & cheese on TV. Perfect timing, cause The Walrus have it as well. So we go ahead and ordered one. Creamy mac & cheese topped with crispy layer of cheese with chunk of lobster meat in between the macaronis. Personally, I'm not a big fan of mac & cheese. But this one will be an exception.

The Walrus is my new favorite place to go. Their food and service are both excellent. I also love the decorations inside as well as the lightning. Throughout the month, they will have artist performances as special events. Of course, you can also contact them and host your own event/party.

Restaurant Info:

The Walrus

143 E Main St,

Columbus, OH 43215

Los Guachos Taqueria

There are quite some authentic Mexican restaurant spotted around the town. Today, I discover another little Mexican shop that located close to Sawmill Road. Los Guachos Taqueria is a small shop and be expect to share the table when it's super busy. 

Fish/Tripe/Steak Taco

Beef Tongue Tortas

Horchata


Lime and Toppings

Their food choice is very similar to some other little Mexican Restaurant. Taco, Tortas, Quesadillas... But they do have some differentiate factors that you should give this shop a try. First, they have special wooden booth and tables. On top of that, you can choose to seat on the sliver bar table and see the chef freshly make your order. Second, they have big bowl of salsa and lime sit on top of every table. So you can top your food as your own liking.

Restaurant Info:

Los Guachos Taqueria

5221 Godown Rd,

Columbus, OH 43235

BonChon Chicken

Korean Fried Chicken, reminded me of the Korean drama that I watched a few years back, "My love from the star". The female main character favorite snack is "Chi-Mc", which is a compound word formed from chicken and beer in Korean. And after the drama get released in China, Chi-Mc become very popular.

Anyways, there is a restaurant in Columbus that served Korean Fried Chicken and recommended by one of my friend. So I decided to give it a try.

Chicken Combo [Wings+Drums]

Fried Calamari; Takoyaki; Potstickers

For the fried chicken, you have the option of wings, drumsticks and strips. You can also pick from their combo, which include both wings and drumsticks. Spicy or soy sauce are the two sauce option that you can pick from. The way the chicken is breaded is definitely different from American fried chicken. As you bite into the chicken, the breading is very crispy. At the same time, you can also taste the juiciness of the meat.

We also order some other appetizers to go along with the fried chicken. Both of the fried calamari and takoyaki is a little bit over cook, that cause the food a bit to the dry side. The other item that I like is the potstickers. Golden coated surface with super juicy and soft filling, such a prefect combination for potstickers.

Beside their famous Korean fried chicken, they also have some entree items, such as bibimbap and bulgogi. If you are looking for some new style of fried chicken, I do recommend you to Bonchon Chicken. Maybe you can try in "Chi-Mc" style and let me know how you like the combo.

Restaurant Info:

BonChon Chicken

3586 W Dublin Granville Rd,

Columbus, OH 43202

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

Another lazy Friday night, my fridge is empty from left to right. On top of that, I don't want to cook for this evening. So right after work, my friends and I head out for dinner. Downtown was our plan originally, but sitting in traffic, searching for a parking spot is not a good idea for me, thus we stayed in the Polaris area. 

On a typical Friday night, everywhere is quite busy, so we waited for about 20 minutes to get seated. One thing I like about BJ's is they have so much variety of foods and drinks. From burger to pasta, and other special cocktails and taps, it is hard to get bored with their menu.

The food didn't take too long to arrive after we placed our order. However, they brought out the wrong food for one of my friend. While my friend waiting for his food to come out, the manager came back and apologize for the mistake. He also offer a soup on the house. The management handled the situation exceptionally well for their staff mistakes!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

New Orleans Jambalaya

Jumbo Spaghetti and Meatballs

Cookies 'n' Cream Pizookies

The portion of their food is pretty huge. I like their Jambalaya because of the amount of different ingredients that they used [Grill chicken and shrimp, sausage, green pepper...] The only thing is they are pretty oily. Spaghetti and Meatballs is way too spicy. So please be cautious if you cannot handle spicy food.

We spend like quite some time in the restaurant chit-chatting. We left the restaurant around 9-ish and there are still a lot of people waiting to get seated. Overall, I like their variety choices on the menu and their staffs is very friendly as well.

Restaurant Info:

BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse

1414 Polaris Pkwy,

Columbus, OH 43240

Huong Vietnamese Restaurant [2nd visit]

Not too long ago from the first visit, and here we go for the second. I came around 12:30 pm and the restaurant is still packed with people. Even thought this location is not the usual spot that I hang around, but Huong is worth the drive. This time I step away from my normal routine to tried something new. 

Com Tam Suon Bi Trung

Com Tam is Vietnamese rice dish. Pork chops, sunny side up eggs and shredded pork topped on rice. In this dish, Vietnamese would use broken rice instead of any other kinds. It is more choppier than other rice, since it's collected from the breakage rice grain during cleaning. Pork chop is super tender and I can taste that they marinate with lemongrass. Shredded pork is chewy but does perfectly blend right into the dish as you started to dig in. This dish also come with fish sauce to enhance the refreshing opponent.

Bun Bo Nuong + Tom

Bun Thit Nuong is Vietnamese rice vermicelli noodle salads. At the bottom, there are lettuce, cucumber, bean sprout and basil leave. On top, it's the noodles with grill beef and shrimp. Before you dive in, toss in the crushed peanut, then drizzle some fish sauce as dressing. I'm not a big fan of pure green salad; however, I don't mind this style of salad. 

Che 3 Mau; Che Thai

I had been a fan of Vietnamese desserts because they are creamy and extremely rich in flavors. I always want to try their durian smoothies, but due to winter season, they don't have durian. Che 3 Mau is mix with three colored beans, agar jelly, coconut milk and ice. Che Thai is similar to Che 3 Mau, except it contain jackfuit instead of three colored beans. Make sure you mix well before you enjoy this delicious goodness.

Restaurant Info:

Huong Vietnamese Restaurant

1270 Morse Rd,

Columbus, OH 43229

Lotus Grill

I been in Columbus about 6 months now, and there are still tons of restaurant that still waiting for me to explore. I'm amazed that the restaurants that I had been to so far, they are very good in term of service and food quality. That make me more excited to continues my food exploration journey in Columbus. 

Today, there is another hidden gem that had been discovered. Lotus Grill is a Chinese restaurant that located in Crosswoods Commons. Once you step into the restaurant, you can spot the enlarge version of menu listed at the left side of the wall. If you are looking for more authentic Chinese dishes, you can ask for a Chinese menu. Just be cautious that the Chinese menu don't have translation to English, but the staffs are willing to explain the dishes for you.

After you order your food at the front, you can walk to the right and get seated. You can pay the food after you done eating. Their restaurant set up is quite special and all of the table is in line. If you pick the table in the middle of the line, you can sneak peak in the kitchen for fun!

Meatball Soup

House Tofu

Twice Cooked Pork

Stir-fry Shrimp with Eggs

Despite the very bad interior setting, I would consider their menu items as comfort food to me. Sometimes you don't need to use expensive ingredient in order to perfect the meal. Simple ingredients with the dedication from the chef can tie customers back to bubbles of good memory.

Restaurant Info:

Lotus Grill

150 Hutchinson Ave,

Columbus, OH 43235

Northstar Café

Toward the end of February, who can image temperature can go up to the 60F. It's just like someone press the fast forward button, and allow spring to join us in advance. I should not complain too much, since next week may go back to icy cold, winter weather. To enjoy such a beautiful day, my friends and I decide to head out to the Easton Town Center. Before we start our day off, they recommended an awesome place to fill up our tummy first.

Northstar Cafe located aside the Barnes & Noble in the South District. The bright open area and natural decoration gave me a touch of upbeat feeling. We get there around noon, but they are already pack with people. Not only that, there was a waiting line alongside the cafe as well. Even though it's a long line, it moved fairly quick. The staff will periodically comes out to give us the menu to look at while we waiting, just to speed up the order time. Their brunch menu is not big, and that's awesome for indecisive me. You order your food when you get to the cashier, find a table, and they will bring out the food to you.

[From Left to Right]Prosciutto and Poached Eggs ; Big Burrito

I would say that Prosciutto and Poached eggs is my favorite dish from this restaurant so far. Slightly toasted rosemary focaccia, bedded with parmesan, prosciutto and poached eggs. There are a lots going on in my mouth when I took the first bite. The crunchy focaccia, along with the savory prosciutto and the richness of the golden egg yolk. I think this can never go wrong with this combination. 

The Big Burrito filled with eggs, roasted sweet potatoes, sauteed peppers and onions... This was my first time trying sweet potato as an entree, thus I have to dislike this combination a bit. Mainly because I prefer sweet potato for deserts.

This cafe is a prefect spot for you to grab a brunch on the weekends. Additionally to their Breakfast and Brunch dishes, they have variety of freshly baked items from the bakery. One thing to be caution is they are quite busy during brunch/lunch hour.

Restaurant Info:

Northstar Cafe

4015 Townsfair Way,

Columbus, OH 43219

Diamonds Ice Cream

Most people would prefer ice cream during the summer time, meanwhile some are just real wild like me, yup! I eat it in the cold as well! No matter what kind of day it is, I'm down for ice cream! Three hundreds sixty-five days per year.

Furthermore, as my craving for sweets started to kick in, I began to search till I found Diamonds Ice Cream Shop. This is a Mexican's desserts and snacks paradise located in Columbus, Ohio. They have an insane amount of ice cream flavors, paletas [popsicles], aguas frescas, and different kind of snacks.

I browsed through all of the sweets buckets, and found so many flavors in which I never thought such things would exist. Aside from a broad selections of ice cream, the staffs were very nice! After having a few samples, I decided on arroz con leche [Mexican rice pudding] and Hazelnut Ferrero. Both of these two were creamy, but not too sweet. It was just perfectly made for savoring till there's nothing left.

My friend also suggested me to try the Chicharron Preparado. On top of the crispy pig skin, bedded with cream, cueritos, cabbage, tomatoes, avocado, salsa and hot sauce. Cueritos are pork skin that pickled in vinegar and the texture is very chewy. I think this snack is very summer-like and prefect to have it while enjoying the sunshine.

I really recommend you guys to give this unique ice cream shop a try. I bet that you guys would be wowed as soon as you see their display freezers! 

Restaurant Info:

Diamonds Ice Cream

5461 Bethel Sawmill Center,

Columbus, OH 43235

SuperChef's

Dc vs Marvel, one of the most intriguing debates, that people would discuss intensely over to this date. Fortunately at SuperChef's, a unique joint in Columbus, Ohio, offers a unique blend of both Dc and Marvel Comics breakfast atmosphere. Almost all of their dishes are named after the heroes from both sides. So with this fusion, I am safe to say, this is an awesome place for comic nerds [like me] to be in. Not only a spot for comic enthusiasts, but it does serve great foods as well. They have two locations, located in Downtown and Gahanna, in which I been to both of them. Personally, I prefer the Gahanna location, since they have bigger space and the restaurant is fully decked out with superheroes theme.

They are always packed with people waiting in line, so I went in kinda early this morning. Luckily, I got the last table right before the waiting list started. 

 Smoked Salmon and Cheese Omelet

The "Juggernaut"

Smoked Salmon and Cheese Omelet, was pretty fulfilling for a breakfast order. It is just a big omelet but wrapped inside it, was melted mozzarella cheese and smoked salmons with red pepper sauce all over the fish pieces. It brings out the juicy salmon's flavor. Overall, this dish was excellent except for the fact that, the potato comes along the side was a little bit cold. 

The "Juggernaut" is a waffle sandwich that stacked up with pieces of fried chicken, eggs, candied bacon and cheeses. On top of honey and syrup drizzle, it comes with a small container of strawberry jam. I like the combination of the savory fried chicken with the sweetness of the syrup. The height of this sandwich make it a bit hard to handle. Regardless of the big portion, this would make my top lists for breakfast must-try.

There are other options on the menu as well, so make sure you try different thing to keep yourself amazed. One thing to be caution is their service is under staff and the wait can be frustrated due to limited space. In the end, whether you're a pro Dc or a pro Marvel, just give this place a try for an astound time with amazing foods. 

Restaurant Info:

SuperChef's

[Downtown]
199 E Board St,

Columbus, OH 43215

[Gahanna]
1344 Cherry Bottom Rd,

Gahanna, OH 43230

One Line Coffee

The super cold weather in Columbus finally kicked in this weekends, making it a good time to find a cafe spot. Use the place as a way to get out of your house instead of just stay shut-in as usual. As my coffee journey continues, I am still amazed with so many coffee shops in Columbus. One Line Coffee is another to go place for hang out and catch up some work. Their staffs is very nice and chill in a cozy setting of the shop. Just in case, when you walked in without knowing, they do have bar tables in the front and booth tables at the back. 

As a coffee newbie, I am still fresh to the coffee sense. However, I do know my preferences for coffee; something that not super strong. Thus, mocha is obviously my favorite. Their mocha is pretty good! I liked the heart pattern marked on top of my mocha crafted by one of the talented baristas.

Restaurant Info:

One Line Coffee

[Short North]
745 N High St,

Columbus, OH 43215

Poong Mei

Being as an Asian, I am no different from other people that in love with all Asian Cuisine. Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, to name a few. I can have food all day long. What do I feel like for this particular normal Saturday afternoon? After doing some research on Yelp, KOREAN had been chosen and Poong Mei is the first Korean restaurant that I want to try. 

The environment of the restaurant do give me a sense of authentic Korean restaurant. Their menu is very colorful and full with picture and description. Along with different popular Korean food, they also serve sushi. 

Korean cuisine always come with a few of little side dishes. Kimchi and pickle vegetables is the most common side dishes for different restaurant. The content of the side dishes will be depend on the restaurant and that is one of the uniqueness that I like about Korean cuisine.

Spicy Tuna Hand roll

Seafood Pancake

Stir Fry Jampong

Hot Stone Seafood Soup

One thing that I love about Poong Mei is their food selection. Even though I am not from Korean, I think they do have high quality and authentic Korean food. Their use of ingredients are fresh. Plus, their portion is super big and the price is pretty reasonable. I will definitely return to Poong Mei and have another fulfilling and satisfy Korean meal.

Restaurant Info:

Poong Mei

4720 Reed Rd,

Upper Arlington, OH 43220

Day Trip to Cincinnati OH

I've never thought that in the winter, we are able to have a day of spring-like weather. However, while I was venturing into Cincinnati today, it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. The temperature reach above 55 degree. I been to Cincinnati once and figure it will be great to revisit the city again. 

My first stop of this road trip, started out with a tour at the American Sign Museum. Their vision is to promote and preserve the history and culture of the American signage. I am not a big fan of museum, but this place gave me a different perspective about museum. It is open to public, but you can either purchase the ticket on site or online. They do have tours twice a day, and it is included with the admission. The tour guide is super informative and the tour is just about an hour long. So don't forget to reserve a spot for it.

After some educational museum tour, I stopped by Sushi Kingdom to enjoy some All-you-can-eat sushi. If you like to see more detail review for this restaurant, Click here ^^

They provide a pieces of paper that you can order from. From appetizers to desserts, they do have some variety of choices to choose from. 

Next stop is Ikea. Super busy on a Saturday afternoon and there are quite some people waiting at the check out line. I always like to browse around Ikea and love to see different showroom for furniture display. One of the amazing features is their own restaurant. Their prices are very reasonable for a decent quality of food selection. I would recommend their Swedish Meatball if you never try them. 

Before heading back to Columbus, I took a quick coffee break at Cavu. I like the atmosphere of this cafe. They are very spacious, so you can choose to relax in variety of seating; from comfy coach to office desk to bar table. Their Iced Mango Tea is super refreshing. Also, the Iced Hazelnut Mocha have a unique favor from the patch of coffee that were brewed exquisitely by the baristas.

In the end, thanks to the sunny, spring-like weather, another successful relaxation mini-road trip is accomplished. Couldn't ask for more during the winter time! 

Info:

American Sign Museum

1330 Monmouth St,

Cincinnati, OH 45225

Sushi Kingdom

12140 Royal Point Dr,

Cincinnati, OH 45249

IKEA

9500 Ikea Way,

West Chester, OH 45069

Cavu Coffee

7755 Cox Ln,

West Chester, OH 45069