Darna Moroccan Cuisine

16076 S Harbor Blvd
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

To visit their website, click here.

**Darna offers a lunchtime buffet for $9.99 (not including tax) on Mon-Sat from 12PM-3PM.

The décor was definitely warm and inviting. The lady that took our order was super sweet. It turns out that it is a family-owned restaurant and they are a friendly lot.

We got some some complimentary appetizers-hummus,bread, and pickled radish.

I would say that the food is more on the expensive side. I ordered chicken tajine for $13, but I was not expecting what I got. Even though it tasted pretty good, I will order something different next time. The whole, intact chicken was difficult to handle and I made a mess. My parents ordered the usual meat plate and they were happy with their choice. They got the beef kabab plate and the chicken kabab plate, each for $12.

^This is the poor chicken after I was done with it.

For dessert, we had some Moroccan cookies for $2/cookie. They tasted great!

Food: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

**For Ramadan, Darna is having an Iftar buffet everyday. Call (714) 775-7000 for more details.

 

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Usmania: Indian and Pakistani cuisine

7362 Westminster Blvd
Westminster, CA 92683
(714) 889-1517

It’s a tiny place located at Westminster and Hoover, but you can’t miss it while driving by. There is a big sign that reads “Usmania-Indian and Pakistani Cuisine”. I think they bought out a fast food outlet because that’s what it looks like from the outside. The inside is clean and comfortable, but a little small. It seems like it is family-owned.

^Chicken Biryani, $7.99

^Lamb Qorma, $8.99

^Raita,$3.00

The food tasted fresh and authentic. Even my parents, who are normally very picky about this kind of food, were impressed by the culinary skills of the unknown chef. I have a feeling that the ‘auntie’ is the one that does the cooking. The prices to me seem a little on the high side, but the taste is worth the price.

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 3/5 (they take their time)

Overall: 4/5

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Pho Ellie

765 S. State College Blvd., Suite B
Fullerton, CA 92831

My first ever authentic Vietnamese cuisine turned out to be a hit!

After hiking, my friend and I decided to try this place out and I liked it so much that I decided to come along with my parents the same week. The place is warm and cozy while the owner is really nice. 

 

The décor was lovely and the restaurant itself was neat and clean, which is a must for my parents.

This was the first time I tried pho (even though I grew up in Orange County).

The portions were very generous and I had to take some food home (which I normally don’t do).

I ordered the ‘ellie’s combo’ which came with a hot sandwich and an extra small pho (which turned out to be a generous portion) for $7.95.

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4.5/5

Overall: 4.5/5

Technorati Tags: food review,food,vietnamese,cuisine,restaurant,pho,pho ellie

Spinner’s Turkish Kebab

16076 Harbor Boulevard,
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Our community has been blessed with many Turkish restaurants in the past couple of years. There have been three that I know, which have opened up in the past three years, only a couple of miles away from each other.

I think the atmosphere of this restaurant was definitely friendly. There was much activity because there were three little girls, all around 3 years old, running around. I found out that the restaurant was opened up by three brothers and each one had a daughter.

I ordered Beef Doner Kebab- thin slices of seasoned beef that are cooked on a flame broiler. The taste was quite different than what I’ve eaten before and I really enjoyed it. I wish the portion size was a little bigger, but I think I am just a big-eater. The dish was served with rice, bread, hummus, and salad on the side. The service was prompt and owners were friendly.

 

Food: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Overall: 4/5

Technorati Tags: food review,food,turkish cuisine,fountain valley

Special Thai Restaurant

511 S Brookhurst St
Anaheim, CA 92804

 

Great food. Good price. Just a little small. 

This business would be at a greater advantage if they could somehow figure out a way to accommodate the large number of customers that choose to dine here. It gets pretty stuffed on Fridays. They have an amazing buffet for only $9.99 per person (minus tax) on Fridays and Sundays. There is a huge selection of food and it tastes AWESOME! Service can be a little lacking sometimes.

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 3/5

Overall: 3.5/5

Plate no.1= (Clockwise starting from top) Chicken Tom Khai Soup, Papaya Salad (my fav),Beef Salad

Plate no. 2= (Clockwise starting from top) Steamed rice, Yellow Chicken Curry, Beef Panang, Garlic Shrimp

Plate no.3= (clockwise starting from the top) Fried rice, Kung Pao Chicken, Chicken Chili Basil, Spicy fish

Plate no. 4= French fries, Fried shrimp, Baked Chicken, plus an unknown item.

Plate no. 5= Vegetable Chow mein-(which I was unable to finish)

P.S. Drinks sold separately

Hatam Persian Restaurant

1112 North Brookhurst Street
Anaheim, CA 92801

This place does not look like anything special from the outside. In fact, you can’t really tell that it’s a restaurant. It’s located behind a gas station and placed next to a grocery store. The front does not show any signs of life inside, except the voices from behind. Once you are seated inside, it’s a cozy living room space turned into an eating area. The food seems a bit expensive when you read the menu with the prices, but the portions are HUGE. It’s well worth the money.

They brought some pita bread wrapped in cloth.

We ordered a salad and ate it with the pita bread.

The main dish I ordered was called Fesenjon. It’s a chicken stew simmered in pomegranate sauce. It had a sweet taste and the tender chicken pieces went well with the sauce. It cost $12.99 and I think the portion size was generous. I ended up taking a large portion of it home since I was unable to finish it.

This is my dad’s all-time favorite restaurants.

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 3/5

Overall: 3/5

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Lotus Chinese Restaurant

16883 Beach Boulevard
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Lotus is located in Huntington Beach at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Warner Avenue.

From the outside, it doesn’t look so big, but it’s very spacious inside.

The decor is lovely.

 

 

First, I had some Jasmine tea.

Then, we ordered some soup.

 

Our main course consisted of: Chicken Chow Mein, Chicken with Mushrooms, and steamed rice.

 

The food was good. However, I have eaten here many times before and the food has been much better. I guess the place has its good and bad days. Sometimes the food is incredible while other times it can be just so-so. This time, it was in the so-so range, but somewhat on the better side of that so-so range.

          ^Some hot chili on my Chow Mein

The service was so-so as well. They could have smiled a bit more.

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.5/5

[Remember, this is just the score for this particular day. Other days, I would easily give their food a 5 and their service a 4.5.]

Technorati Tags: food review,food,chinese cuisine,chinese,huntington beach

Quick Kebab-Turkish Cuisine in Westminster

14502 Beach Blvd.
Westminster, CA 92683

If you want yummy Turkish cuisine, I have the place for you. Well, first of all, I haven’t really been to many Turkish restaurants in Orange County (this is the second one) and so I am no expert in this cuisine, but nevertheless, I think I would know good food when I taste it:)

This little (it’s quite tiny) place is located on the corner of Beach Boulevard and Hazard Ave in Westminster.

The place inside has a good amount of seating, though I wonder if they would be able to accommodate large groups that might decide to dine there. The space is a little tight because of it’s size, so I wouldn’t recommend bringing your extended family along with your in-laws to have a birthday bash. The chairs are a little uncomfortable, but I do like the decor overall. It’s pleasing to the eye, yet it’s not overdone.

The service was a little lacking because when we ordered the food, we asked for drinks, but the server forgot to give us glasses. We thought maybe they would bring it to us, but after about five minutes, I decided to ask at the front. I waited for about five more minutes so I could tell her that we would like some water! (She was talking to another customer on the phone). I think the main problem here was understaffing- if they maybe had an extra person, things would run a little smoother.

After we got our food, every complaint took a backseat because I was so engrossed in enjoying my food. I ordered ‘beef kebab’ and the order came with rice, salad, and some yogurt on the side. The portions were very generous. YUM!

 

 

 

So, next day, I felt like eating some more Turkish cuisine and decided to order ‘Governor’s plate’ from this same place:) This time, however, I had a takeout order.

 

 

 

 

Food: 4/5 stars

Service: 3/5 stars

Overall: 3.5/5 stars

Click here to be taken to the restaurant’s website.

Technorati Tags: food,food review,westminster,turkish,turkish cuisine