Came here after Legoland and we made a reservation since this place gets busy. First time here, the…read moreplaza was crowded when it comes to parking. This was a different Korean BBQ experience, very unique because you actually get to choose and grab your own meat, and their salad bar had good selections from spice to non-spice. Also, the perks they serve boba drinks here which was a plus for the kids, small selection, but it had Tapioca which made them happy. The table setting can be a bit tight, chairs close to other tables was my only con. The meat was favorable, the staff members were attentive and the kids loved the fact that they had a variety to choose from. I do like how they have the fans above the grill because it didn't smell as much like a typical Korean BBQ restaurant.

So glad we came here! We were seated right when we entered…read moreand staff were friendly and approachable. Our drink order was taken and we're told we could immediately go pick which protein we wanted to pick. There is a sauce and side dish station along with a self serving of rice and miso soup. I loved the kimchi and radish, it was a great pairing with the meat we ate. There is a variety of protein such as beef, chicken, and sea food. We arrived early around close to 4:50pm and they weren't busy at all. Towards the end they give you free ice cream which tops off your meal. Will definitely be coming back!!!

for nearly two years, Scout, my orange, husky-looking mut and I have been driving by their…read morenow-shuttered Encinitas location four times a week after playdates at Power Lines Dog Park. every time we do, I think "we gotta back there for another visit." pretty sure CHIKO has aged out of my draft queue. now that I've finally gotten around to finishing the review, they've been closed for months. in the draft, I suggested CHIKO might not be a destination restaurant, but if you happen to be in the neighborhood, it's definitely a place worth stopping by for eats. if you wait long enough, like I did, the nearest ones are in the DC area and probably not worth a cross-country trip. sad.

Post-mortem... I was sad to hear that CHIKO permanently closed their doors at the end of last year…read more It's rare for an East Coast based Asian chain restaurant to migrate to California, but that was what CHIKO did. As noted by its name, this place served a fusion of Chinese and Korean cuisines. Their Encinitas location took over what used to be a roadside diner along N Coast Hwy 101. The seating capacity was less than 40 people which included a few high-top counter spots. At my last visit, I came for a late dinner before their closing time. A large menu was posted on the wall behind the service counter that listed about two dozen food offerings. The items seemed to be comfort food like pot stickers, spring rolls, fried rice, and chicken wings but flavored with unique combinations of seasonings and spices. I started my meal with the Marinated Beef Tri-Tip Skewers which came as a set of three and a Chinese mustard for dipping. The meat was very tender and well-seasoned. I also ordered the Cumin Lamb Stir Fry which the cashier said was medium spicy. After tasting a couple of bites of the noodles from the serving bowl, I agreed that the heat level was moderate, even for my palate. I thought the portion size should have been more for the price. That was my main criticism for both items, otherwise the food was solid for an Asian fusion eatery.

I wholeheartedly agree with a lot of the yelpers on here. I got to take the team out for a great…read morelunch here today. It was absolutely amazing. For $25 you get a starter (think edamame, marinated cucumbers, dumplings, etc.), a choice of Chicken, Pork or Beef, and a soft drink. It also includes all the dipping sauces, broth, rice and vegetables. Everyone loved that you could customize it to their own liking and it was just a fun experience cooking together with everyone. Definitely will come back and it was an awesome value at only $25 a person.

I want to start by saying that I very much enjoyed eating at Tabu Shabu. It's very fair to state…read morethat my three star experience is mostly my own doing more so than the restaurant itself. Our server was fantastic, the setup clean, and the menu was fairly easy to navigate. Where it fell apart for me all came after that. This is not my style of cooking. So many places I've been to, where you cook your own food on a grill or hot plate at your table, you're mainly dealing with thin cuts of meat, salt and pepper, and possibly a dipping sauce. This makes the cooking simple, a quick sear, a light crust on the beef or pork, and the finished product is basic and delicious. Shabu, though ... it's boiled meat. That's not to say that Tabu Shabu isn't good, but unless you're really adept at making soups, it's easy to be completely out of your element. And I can safely say I was a bit over my head at this restaurant. You start with your broth, where I am ashamed to admit that instead of opting for the Tonkostu with its deep and rich fatty flavor, I chose the basic umami of the White Miso. Because of that, I spent most of my meal mistakenly chasing flavors I would normally find in a Ramen Shop. They give you a plate of chopped herbs to add and some basic instructions ... I like garlic, so I added the whole thing, radish sound alright, so add in the whole ball, what was the last thing I put in? They give you a few squeeze bottles of oils with paper labels ... this one makes it more sour, this one makes it more spicy, this one has sesame, and I'm too timid to add enough of any to truly add to the flavor of the broth, so it just keeps that basic umami flavor without being as salty as it should be. Then you have a plate of vegetables to steep in your creation. Cabbage, broccoli, spinach, bok choy, tofu ... all of it serves as a way of soaking up that broth you've made. Other options, like the carrots, mushrooms, and squash, become sweet and tender after taking their turns in the pot. And they're nice as they offer a different flavor other than that umami. And then there's the meat. A wide variety of options ranging from salmon, to chicken, to pork, all the way down to multiple versions of beef. But, all of the meats we ordered seem to differ only in texture after spending some time in that broth. Some fell apart on the tongue, some still had a nice chew, but all shared that umami from the pot, with an aftertaste of beefy flavor before swallowing. After a few initial pieces, I found myself thankful for the dipping sauces to distract me from how boring I had made my broth to be. You also get a choice of rice, which I don't think you really need. You get a choice of noodles, which they give you a good amount where it doesn't fill you up with carbs. And anything left over is readily bagged up to eat at home after the flavors mix together and mature. In the end, it's a very filling and fairly healthy meal. I think it's difficult to not compare this to eating a bowl of Pho or Ramen. All the ingredients are there, just instead of eating it with a spoon, you pull out the individual bits with some chop sticks and pretend you're not eating boiled beef and spinach. If I were a better cook, or had another ten visits worth of practice, Tabu Shabu could easily be 4-5 stars. As it is, though, I think I would rather just go to GONZO and get another chef's creation to be sure of the flavors I want. Regardless, I want to come back here and try again one day. The variety of options and the wait staff alone are enough for me to learn more and expand my Shabu options, as well as recommend this place to others.

Cute little place in Oceanside, right past CVS, by Flying Pig. We never really walk out that far…read morefrom the pier area (and it's not really THAT far), but decided to go out a bit just to check it out. Scanned the QR code on the big banner from the outside and checked out their menu. Saw lumpia and thought it was a Filipino spot). Saw they had a happy hour menu and decided to check it out before our movie. The vibe we really cute and played reggae music. It was a relaxing, chill atmosphere with lots of tvs. The server, Jaz was really nice, friendly and very hospitable. She spoke of their Guamanian food, heritage and community. They've been in the current spot for the last 7 or 8 months, so fairly new, but were down the street for many years before that. We ordered 2 different kinds of BBQ chicken wings. Two orders of the sweet chili glazed (Pine Doni) and one of the other which was like a honey bbq glazed style. All were supposed to have 6 wings, but the honey BBQ one had 5 (?). The sweet chili was our fave of the two. Their chicken empanadas were huge, and served 3 per dish, were delicious and crispy, with an aioli like sauce with a wonderful kick. The spam roll was a masubi-like and was good (husband said it was the best he's ever had). The side of mac salad had great flavor! Jaz brought us some red rice to try on the house and it was really good! It reminded me of Vietnamese chicken rice, with chicken broth infused into the rice, making it really tasty and savory. First time having Guamanian food and we're stoked we tried it! All in all, great food and awesome service! If you've never tried it before...put it on your list! You won't regret it!

This place is kinda far from where we live, but we wanna try a better Chamorro restaurant; (the one…read moreclose to us in Temecula, we have it a 1-star rating ). The place is, of course, decorated with an island vibe (just like the restaurants in Guam but a little bit fancier-as well as the price), coupled with an island music playlist. We ordered the Maga Lahi ($46.99) comes with salad, 4 small scoops of red rice,chicken kelaguen, empanada, 4pcs each of grilled pork ribs (so tender the meat falls off the bone) and boneless chicken with finadene; chicken kelaguen appetizer that comes with 2 scoops of red rice and emapanadas (3pcs an order). Overall we gave a 3.5 stars for the food because having tried the "real deal" in Guam, we haven't found anything like it here in the mainland US. Our server was very attentive even when it was pretty busy on a Sunday lunch and he was working by himself.

The food was so delicious. I fell in love with the food. The service was amazing, the waitress kept…read morechecking in with us and made sure everything was good. The ambiance was so chill and friendly, the only problem was one bathroom which I understand you can't change it.

We came in for a late dinner while in the area. I've had it bookmarked for a while so it was…read moreserendipitous that we happened to be in Vista for a birthday party just around the corner. The restaurant is small, cozy, welcoming and aesthetically pleasing. It isn't well suited for larger parties as most tables are tables for 2 unless tables are pushed together. They do have patio seating and heaters outside, but it didn't appeal to me being so close to the street/loud traffic. Gabriel checked us in, seated us, took our order, served our food and waited on us for majority of our visit, I would give him 10 stars just on his impeccable service. The food though? The food was AMAZING!! Everything we ordered was the best we have ever had anywhere. The buns were very kawaii (and we ordered ever single one to try). The fillings were savory, but we also loved their seasonal panda bun with ube filling while the kids preferred the nutella bunny. Best chicken karaage we've had by far, the coating almost tasted like it was rolled in kinako powder. The ramen broth was "chef's kiss" with so much flavors, the crab rangoon were jumbo and the filling was delicious, but the chicken katsu was also the best we have had anywhere (including Hawaii). The breading was just top tier crunchy while the chicken was thick and juicy. There isn't one bad thing I could say about this place, from the service to the food, I would make the drive out here again. Super duper, highly recommend, don't sleep on this little place, you'll regret it!

We were actually in the neighborhood in vista and saw bbq chicken on yelp so we ordered several…read moreitems for pickup. We normally go to Sorrento valley. The service was good and it's smaller than the other place but nice inside. Always like their chicken. My daughter enjoyed all of them from the hospital. Would definitely go back.

Super thick batter Mid flavors…read moreExpensive Inflexible ordering Food is 3.5 stars but considering ambience and pricing it's more like 2.5/3 stars With Don, chicken basket and Krave gone, we don't have a good Korean chicken option anymore

The staff who helped mom with a takeout bowl was super friendly and packed some hot sauce without…read morebeing requested. I'll definitely be back when I visit North SD next. Thank you!

Still love East Village!…read more The rule here is you place your order, always get an app if your dinner is the monk pot, because you'll have to seriously wait 10 minutes after the food comes or your lips will melt off. It's SO worth it though. My go to is the fried spring roll which are rolled up fat boys filled with fresh vegetables that are then deep fried and served with a sweet chili dipping sauce. I then always order the monk bowl with ribeye. The blend of crispy rice on the bottom of the pot, mixed with vegetables, the protein of choice and the egg on top creates a masterpiece. Add the two sauces that come to the table and it's a dream come true. The hubby added chicken this time but said he much prefers the steak, salmon, or shrimp. We've had their dynamite fries a few times and sub out carnitas for ribeye instead. Their fried coconut shrimp is a delight as well.