Top Asian Fusion Restaurant in Monterey
Full Moon Mandarin Cuisine
429 Alvarado St, Monterey, CA 93940, United States
This is a Sichuan cuisin restaurant that started out with some authenticity several years ago, but now is just another generic Americanized Chinese restaurant in California.I have been going there on a regular basis since they opened several years ago and had been quite satisfied with their Szechuan dishes. They were moderately spicy and numbing. The Sichuan flavors used to pop and overwhelm taste buds. In the last couple years however, I noticed the dishes have evolved to be a bit sweeter, more salty, and much less spicy and essentially no peppercorn numbing flavour classically associated with Sichuan cuisine.To people familiar with different regional cuisines of China, the Sichuan influence is still there, but to the average non Chinese customer, this is just another Chinese restaurant serving excessively salty and oily food. Yes, excessively salty.The restaurant has lost its original flavors. The chillies and numbing peppercorns that are the essence of Sichuan cuisine are gone. This restaurant has succumb to the average, generic, uncharacteristic taste buds and is unfortunately just another mediocre restaurant on Alvarado street in Monterey.
Golden City BBQ Restaurant
108 N Garfield Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91754, United States
This is a great place for a authentic home cooked Chinese meal. I can understand the frustration from other reviewers who review Chinese restaurants because they live in the area of where there are so many Chinese eateries, that they become really picky when eating at a fine establishment. This restaurant is nice, and the ambience is very homely. The staff are very attentive and always willing to help out. On some occasions, they serve a daily soup which is always nice because you never know what kind of soup they brew and its definitely refreshing. Plus, you dont have to sit and wander if you need a soup to start of the meal. But for those who want a great authentic Chinese-foodie experience, I would suggest a soup. Dont order the usual hot and sour or egg-drop soup. Order maybe the seafood soup, fish maw soup, or even ask the waiter for something to your tastes. Then order dishes you wouldnt get at a regular fast food Chinese joint. Such as ordering Fish Filet in black bean sauce, steam rice, sweet and sour pork, hot pot with tofu and seafood. Those are just some of the dishes that you should definitely try out. Thats what we would order if we go here. So, this is a restaurant for those who havent tried great authentic Chinese food to enjoy what a real Chinese establishment has to offer.
Teriyaki Dude
4112C Monterey Hwy C, San Jose, CA 95111, United States
This place is the real deal: no-nonsense, quality teriyaki, not upscale or an afterthought to sushi. Teriyaki bowls, sandwiches, and burgers. No sushi. No stir fry.We ordered take-out at the counter. Parking is easy. The strip mall location is a little run down but clean. The hand-lettered menu is quaint. The guy who took our order and cooked our food was super friendly. I felt completely at home.We got the chicken bowl and beef bowl, not spicy. Protein was perfect. Chicken thigh tender and well trimmed, no hunks of gristle or fat. Beef was sliced sukiyaki-thin and tasty. Good proportion of protein to rice. Rice was perfect. Broccoli and carrot slices were nicely al dente. Even the presentation was tidy.The teriyaki sauce was surprisingly complex, not just your usual sugar & salt bomb.Prices are really good considering the quantity and quality of food.I cant wait to go back.
Sushi Confidential Morgan Hill
17340 Monterey Hwy, Morgan Hill, CA 95037, United States
Terrible service and communication!Waited over an hour for entrees that ultimately never arrived. WiFi was down, but that does NOT affect ability to communicate or to cook. Manager Caitlyn did nothing to resolve the issue other than closing out our check and asking us to still pay over $40 for 3 mediocre drinks. Completely ridiculous. Will NOT be returning.Update: Owner Randys response is nonsensical. Caitlin was comping the drinks for her own tables and all of her tables were receiving prompt food. When we asked her why the other tables were getting served and we werent, see shrugged and said because they were her tables. Completely ridiculous to me that the manager/assistant managers tables were getting priority and comped drinks, while the rest of her employees tables were left with a meager shrug. I also run a technology-reliant small business and when the power or internet is out, we communicate with our customers and handwrite and fulfill the orders. Randys response only solidifies that we will NOT be returning!
Kitchen Of Grace
16135 Monterey Hwy, Morgan Hill, CA 95037, United States
Its okay, the food was enough. Sure, at the time I was a little disappointed because Ive come to expect to receive a fortune cookie from here. This time was different. Everyone I was with got a fortune cookie, but me. Id be lying if I said it wasnt tough hearing everyone read out their marvelous fortunes. I had to just sit there with a fake smile and act like I was so happy for everyone else. Unfortunately, I wasnt fortunate enough to receive a fortune cookie. Then I started to think, getting a fortune cookie is just an added bonus. Majority of restaurants dont give out free food, but this place does. I would have been completely fine if I thought I wasnt going to get free food from a place that typically doesnt give free food. My expectations ruined everything. Its like if kids are told that Santa is real, theyre going to be utterly disappointed when they find out hes not. I know from experience, I was a believer for way too long. If they were never told about Santa in the first place, there would be nothing to be disappointed about. Theyd probably be more appreciative to their parents for getting them all those presents every year. All Im trying to say is that not having a fortune cookie just made me sad because I knew they existed. Instead of expecting fortune cookies every time I come here, Im just going to be pleasantly surprised if I get one. Anyways, the paid food I got was so good that it helped me forget about the free food I didnt get.
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Stokes Adobe Restaurant
500 Hartnell St, Monterey, CA 93940, United States
I was so excited to have snagged a reservation here during one of our frequent trips to the Monterey Bay area. I have to say that this visit was not worthy of a five star review like the many five star reviews that blanket Stokes Adobes page.We arrived for our reservation on time, at 7:15pm. The hostess seemed very confused about how to actually seat us or even acknowledge our reservation. This was definitely not an issue, but it was a good indicator of what was to come.We were eventually seated right around 7:20. A person that Ill assume was a waiter came by our table 20 minutes after wed been seated and didnt even introduce himself, short of saying (literally) Ill be right back. Alas, that was the last we saw of him for the evening.Another 20 minutes goes by...at this point we had been seated for 40 minutes without any service. Someone approached our table and asked if we had seen a water, I said no, but we had seen someone 20 minutes before that aaid theyd be right back and promptly disappeared. That person informed us he needed to get some paper and hed be back.10 minutes later (we had now gone 50 minutes without acknowledgement from a waiter) the person returned with his paper and apologized for our non existent waiter. He advised that he typically didnt take orders but he was making an exception for us. Thanks for the favor buddy, after 50 minutes without any service youd think that theyd have more empathy.The rando person wrote our drink orders on his paper and disappeared. We sat for another 15 minutes with no interaction with any waiter (we had now been seated for AN HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTES and decided wed better go somewhere with waiters if we wanted to ever eat.At that moment someone actually came to our table with drinks! Unfortunately they werent our drinks.After an hour and 20 minutes of literally no meaningful interaction with waitstaff and ZERO service (not even the drinks we ordered) we decided to bail and cut our losses.In summary, we sat waiting for over an hour with no service at all. Ive never had worse service ever. This place really needs to start focusing on its customers. If youre short staffed because of Covid, dont fill every seat in the house.It was my birthday dinner and this place let me and my husband down hard. What a bummer.
Pacific Bowls & Rolls
475 Alvarado St, Monterey, CA 93940, United States
We had the intention of going to another place a few doors down, but decided to try this place on a whim as we were walking by. It was a bit pricey but the food was great! Everything was fresh and delicious! I have a shellfish allergy and they were so sweet and accommodating. I felt so comfortable that I ordered a sushi roll (one thing I miss dearly from prior to my sudden allergy)! I ordered the spicy tuna roll, which they made it on a fresh surface to avoid any cross contamination. As you can imagine, I was super excited to enjoy this roll, and there was no disappointment whatsoever!! My kids each got a bowl that they customized to their liking, and they loved it as well! We will definitely be back to enjoy more! Just a quick side note for you vegetarians or vegans out there, they have options on the menu for you too! My teen is vegetarian and ordered this ginger mushroom bowl -- it was bomb! I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day! ;)
Champa Kitchen
5560 Monterey Hwy, San Jose, CA 95138, United States
This restaurant has a unique offer which is halal Vietnamese cuisine prepared by a minority Muslims community in Vietnam called Champa. The menu is small but they use the best fresh ingredients and execution of each dish is authentic. I have lived in south east Asia 25 years and I can say with certainty they prepare dishes with authentic recipe. The staff are extremely polite and well mannered. The dishes to must try is the beef stew with french baguette, very uniquely vietnamese. I learned of this dish when Anthony Bourdain visited vietnam in his show. A French vietnamese fusion dish. I have been to about six different vietnamese restaurant in bay area and 5 in Canada never seen this beef stew on the menu. The mango salad is fresh, herbatious, sour, slightly spicy, nutty and sweet all same time. I have tried the chicken pho which is very subtle but good quality organic chicken. I most of the times eat the spicy beef pho and I always ask for extra spicy chilly paste or sate. Truly unique experience is also their curry which is unique to their region. To me its very similar to Thai muslim or malay style coconut curry type broth. If you like malay style or even Burmese Muslim style curry you will like the Champa curry. I have tried their fried wings simple, good quality fresh chicken and simple seasoning of salty, sour and sweet glaze typical of South East Asia cuisine balance of these flavors together. I have visited this restaurant five times with a gap of one month each time. Every time they delivered the end product with the same excellent quality. This is a relatively new restaurant one year or so. I wish them lots of success in the future. I hope others come to this wonderful restaurant to experience the unique cuisine of champa. We need more places like Champa that bring unique cuisine from minority community all across the globe. A must place to try.
Tokyo Fried Chicken
122 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754, United States
Ever since my friend SZ started posting pictures of her meals at TFC, Ive been wanting to come here. The food looked so good! So I made my friends Gardenia H and Keri W take me here for my two-month-belated birthday celebration. We came on a Wednesday (theyre closed on Mondays and Tuesdays) around 6PM so we could hopefully beat the crowd. And our plan worked! We were immediately seated at a corner table surrounded by cute chalkboard writing. Apparently this place used to be The Open Door but was replaced by Tokyo Fried Chicken (but same owner/chef). Ive never been to The Open Door but I love TFC! The place is really cute, the staff are nice and friendly, and the food is delicious.I started off with their YUZU LEMONADE, which is a bit tart but completely refreshing. It definitely helped balance out the heavy meal that was coming. And it comes with complimentary refills :)We shared their CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN SKIN appetizer. They brought out their three sauces when they gave us the skin. I wasnt a fan of this appetizer; the flavour was just okay and it seemed like empty carbs to me.For our meal, we got their CHICKEN DINNER SET. This is $12.50/person and all sets are mixed dark meat (drums, wings, thighs) although chicken breast can be substituted for a drum and thigh upon request. I love dark meat so I was completely happy with the set as is! We did DINNER FOR 3, which comes with 9 pieces of chicken, three regular sides, chicken rice, and house pickled ginger cabbage.-- SIDE 1: CURRY CREAMED CORNFrom what I saw on Yelp, this seemed to be a popular side so I got it. It was pretty good. Quite creamy and heavy, as it should be, but I didnt think it was amazing.-- SIDE 2: GLAZED SWEET POTATOWe wanted the sweet and spiced butternut squash but our server said that was gone and instead they were offering glazed sweet potato. I love sweet potato so we went with this and were quite disappointed. Definitely our least favourite of the sides; it was pretty hard and bland. Would not order this one again.-- SIDE 3: MAC AND CHEESEThe mac and cheese is an upgraded side, which means it costs $1.50 extra to add it to a dinner set. The serving size does seem larger than the regular sides, and I love mac and cheese so I was happy with this side. It was creamy, cheesy, and had a pleasant crispy topping too!-- CHICKEN RICEI think the rice is cooked with chicken broth? Not sure, but it was delicious!-- HOUSE PICKLED GINGER CABBAGEOur server referred to this as coleslaw so I think this is the same thing as the coleslaw on the sides option. I really liked this as it provided a refreshing contrast to the heaviness of the meal. I wish we had more... but I guess thats why they offer it as a side. Next time I would definitely get this as a side because I felt like it was a necessary part of the meal.-- CHICKEN!The most important thing here. And OMG the fried chicken was SO GOOD. I said before that I didnt like the chicken skin appetizer, but the crispy fried chicken skin on the actual fried chicken was AMAZING! It was so perfectly cooked and crispy and flavourful! I didnt use the ponzu sauce at all because I felt the chicken was perfect as is. And since the chicken is dark meat it is moist and juicy and the whole thing was just oh-so-good. Im in love with the fried chicken here :)No meal is complete without dessert, right? They dont have a written dessert menu here since they only offer a few things, which our server told us about. They offer popsicles from Quenelle, and we opted for their APPLE PIE BAR. I forgot what the description was but I know it involves Granny Smith apples and graham crackers. Whatever they put in it, it tastes like apple pie and is sweet and delicious!Despite the crispy fried chicken skin appetizer and the sweet potato side both being quite meh, I immensely enjoyed my meal here and would love to come back. As a result, Im bumping this review from 4.5 stars up to a full 5! Get the fried chicken here and the apple pie bar, you wont regret it :D
Chubby Cattle Monterey Park
501 W Garvey Ave #108, Monterey Park, CA 91754, United States
It has a great concept of selling an AYCE BBQ experience with premium options. The meat quality was good. However, it was one of the worst dining experiences Ive had. The tables are very small for large groups and the ventilation is horrific. Service was ok, but one server was absolutely awful. Pacing was incredibly rushed, and they implemented a 6 plate order max per order (its their rule whether you have a table of 2 or 7) which limited the amount of food we could order. We arrived at 4:25pm on a weekend and there was already a long line (we missed the 1st wave and got seated at 6:10pm). They don't take reservations. It could be a decent experience if you come in a small group (2-4 people), but it was absolutely awful with a group of 7.Food- 4 starsWe ordered the gold tier and the items were a hit or miss. The M6 short rib, brisket, tuna nigiri and wagyu uni nigiri were good. We only received 1 order of the A5 tender meat due to limited supply, and it was decent (not the marbling and fattiness that you expect from most A5 beef). Everything else was standard (the M9 meats and seafood)The ordering system was incredibly frustrating. They allowed a max of 6 orders per order on the menu (this included appetizers, nigiri, meat, seafood and veggies), for a table of 7! So we basically could order 2-3 meats (the plates were pretty small), 1 nigiri, 1 appetizer, 1 seafood, and 1 vegetable plate at a time. This was an incredibly waste of time as we were only able to order 3-4 times before they showed up with the check. They even had a last call order when we were 50 minutes into our meal and they still enforced the 6 order maximum per order. We had to complain about ordering a bit more during last call since we were still hungry due to their ordering protocol, and they somewhat obliged with more orders at last call.Ventilation- 1 starThe building isn't ready for an indoor BBQ atmosphere, as it was pretty small and poorly ventilated. Groups of 4 or more were seated near the wall with a weak vent. Smaller groups were seated in the middle of the restaurant without a vent, but they had high ceilingsWe were seated in the outer booth tables, which can seat 4 comfortably, but was packed with our group of 7. As mentioned, the vents at the booths felt like low-end home appliances. The smoke was awful as we reeked of smoke. It got so bad that we had bloodshot eyes and were tearing up because of the smoke and poor ventilationService- 2 starsThe busboys were good with clearing plates and changing grills.The servers were decent but its unfortunate that they had to enforce the 6 order rule for a party of 7.However, 2 servers ruined my night. Around the 40 minute mark of our dining period, 1 of the servers gave us the last call order and only allowed us to place 6 orders. He wouldnt relent on the rule, and it wasnt until I complained that we were still hungry and that we still had 50 minutes left that we were able to place a few more orders to our last call. 10 minutes after that, an older female server shoved the bill next to my plate (this is at the 50 minute mark, with 40 minutes left in our timer). She came back 20 minutes later (when we still had 20 minutes left and we literally just received our last plates of raw meat) to tell me that I had to pay right now. I understand enforcing their 90 minute dining rule to accommodate more guests, but I was disgusted by how they were forcing us out when we still had 20 minutes on the clock and our last order just arrived.Ambiance- 2 starsThe interior design was nice with a modern bar and great roof decorations. It would be a cool experience to dine in the middle of the restaurant with a small group. However, it was miserable being in the outer booths with a large group. It was like eating in a house of smoke with no windows with loud music blaring. Theyre going for the hipster BBQ vibe, but it felt like a torture chamberBottom LineI rarely write negative reviews, but this was appalling. Ive never truly been upset when dining at a restaurant until this night.