I’ve been wanting to try the new Yummy House out on Hillsborough for a while and we were finally out that way today so we stopped in for lunch.  It was really crowded.  The restaurant is a lot bigger than the other one, but the waiting area was very small and people just kept coming in the door.  We had to wait about 15-20 minutes, but the food was worth the wait.  We started off with the salt and pepper calamari.

This is one tasty appetizer.  Granted, I shake off most of the pepper and other stuff on it, but Loren enjoys every last bite.  The batter it’s dipped in is light and crunchy, the calamari is tender and the salt just adds an amazing little zing to it.  There are a lot of items on the menu and it’s all very reasonably priced.  Loren settled on the beef short ribs with black pepper sauce.

He said it was good, but he probably wouldn’t order it again because it was difficult to eat since the ribs were still on the bone.  It had a very intense black pepper flavor to it.  I ordered the orange chicken.

It was very tender with a sweet mandarin orange flavor.  You do have to order rice separately here, but with a drink the entire meal was $36.  Everything is just very fresh and flavorful.  They also walk around with dim sum and other items on carts that you can order, but we both had leftovers as it was, so we didn’t try anything else.

Yummy House China Bistro
2620 E Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL
813-237-3838

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Loren was craving Chinese food tonight, so off to Big Bok Choy we went.  The table we were sitting at was kinda dark, so my photos are a bit on the blurry side.  But that didn’t change the tastiness of the food.  I’m still on my fried dumpling kick, so we had to get some for an appetizer.

Yum, yum, yum.  The filling was very flavorful and there were actually more than we could eat if we wanted to be able to finish our entrees.  The leftovers made for a great snack the next day.  We didn’t stray from our normal dinner order, there are just some things that are so good, it’s hard to pass up when we come back here.  First some wonton soup, then the hunan chicken for Loren and the honey garlic chicken for me.

The hot peppers in Loren’s dish were bigger than usual, which was probably a good thing so he could pick them out of the dish.  Even pulling them out, he was still sniffling a little from the heat.  But, he loves how they enhance the flavor of the dish.  My chicken was tender and the sauce is sweet, but not overly so.  It has a tanginess that keeps me coming back for more.  Total bill with a drink was $45.

Big Bok Choy Bistro
3730 Tampa Road #6
Oldsmar, FL
813-854-1961

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A friend and I went to lunch at Big Bok Choy today for her birthday.  We both got the wonton soup and chicken dishes.

I got the honey garlic chicken which is so tender and tasty.  I don’t know how they get the chicken so tender.  The sauce on it is both sweet and tangy.  So delicious.  Total bill for the two of us was $20.

Big Bok Choy Bistro
3730 Tampa Road #6
Oldsmar, FL
813-854-1961

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We were planning to eat at another restaurant that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives when we got back to Vegas, but it was mobbed so we ended up at Kung Fu Plaza Restaurant instead.  We started off with some fried calamari.

It was crispy and tender and really yummy.  I could have eaten this for my entree.  Loren got the garlic beef and I went for the orange chicken.

Both dishes were very flavorful and cooked perfectly.  You could just tell there was someone in the kitchen who knew what they were doing.  It also didn’t look like there were a lot of tourists eating here, mostly locals, which is a good sign in my book. Based on everything I ate in Vegas, if you get the opportunity to eat off of the Strip, I highly recommend it.  The local flavors were much more reasonable in price and had better flavors.  Total bill with a drink was $32.

Kung Fu Plaza Restaurant
3505 S Valley View Blvd
Las Vegas, NV
702-247-4120

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We ate dinner at Big Bok Choy tonight.  We had the whole restaurant to ourselves tonight.  We both started off with the wonton soup, mine without scallions of course.

It was warm and tasty on a very rainy day.  Loren & I stayed in our comfort zones tonight and ordered the usual.  He got the Hunan chicken.

It’s funny watching him eat this dish.  The first order of business is to pick out all the hot peppers. They add a lot of flavor, but he makes very sure that he doesn’t bite into one of them.  I won’t even get near the dish, it’s way too spicy for me.  I ordered the honey garlic chicken.

What’s nice about this dish is that it isn’t too sweet.  The garlic takes away some of the sweetness and it ends up with a nice balance of flavors.  Total bill with a drink was $36.

Big Bok Choy Bistro
3730 Tampa Road #6
Oldsmar, FL
813-854-1961

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We were on our way back from Orlando and stopped at Yummy House in Tampa for dinner.  I’d read some reviews that said how awesome the food was, so we had to check it out.  It’s not a very big restaurant and it was packed.  We weren’t greeted when we walked in and that always bugs me.  From the get go, it just wasn’t a friendly environment, but the food was really amazing.

We decided to try the salt & pepper calamari since a lot of people had recommended it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the name, but this dish had some amazing flavors in it.  The calamari was thick and tender with a wonderful crunchy coating on it.  The pepper in it was hot red pepper, which I ended up scraping some off since it was really intense.  Loren liked the combination of scallions and cilantro that it was tossed in.  Very, very yummy.  Our entrees came out almost immediately after the calamari, so timing of the meal wasn’t great.  I guess since the line at the door never stopped, their main goal is to get you in & out as quickly as possible.

Loren ordered the Kung Po chicken.

He said it had a depth of flavor to it that just kept him eating more.  The chicken was tender and it had zucchini, celery, peppers and peanuts in it, plus a few of those really spicy peppers too.  I ordered the orange chicken.

This dish had a really tangy sweet orange sauce and perfectly cooked chicken.  It was really good.  Our waiter asked us if we wanted rice and then forgot to bring it out.  When we asked about it, he finally brought it out, but I was a bit dismayed to find out that a bowl of rice costs an extra $2.

Service was strange here.  I’m not sure if the same server came to our table more than once.  We had different people taking our order, bringing our drinks, bringing our food, our bill, etc.  While they were at the table, they seemed friendly, but otherwise they all seemed rather aloof.  I think this is a restaurant where I’d order take-out because the food was delicious, but probably not want to eat inside the restaurant again.  Total bill with a very flat Pepsi was $30.

Yummy House
2202 W Waters Ave
Tampa, FL
(813) 915-2828

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We ate lunch at Chef Li today in Oldsmar.  Our lunches came with soup and we both ordered the wonton.

It was ok.  I scooped out the green onions & tossed them in Loren’s bowl.  He got some hunan chicken & I went for the orange chicken.

Though I liked the flavor of mine, the chicken wasn’t tender enough.  A bit too chewy for my taste.  I got the sauce non-spicy, so it had a nice sweet & tangy flavor.  Loren’s chicken was in much smaller pieces than mine & he liked it.  Quick lunch for $14.

Chef Li
4013 Tampa Rd, Ste 20
Oldsmar, FL
813-814-9988

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We headed over to Big Bok Choy for some dinner tonight.  They were pretty busy, but the food was as tasty as ever.  We both started with the wonton soup and reverted back to our old favorites.

Loren got the hunan chicken and I got the honey garlic chicken.

Lots of flavor and perfectly cooked.  Definitely our favorite Chinese restaurant in town.  The chicken was very tender and Loren’s had lots of veggies and just enough heat to make it interesting.   The honey chicken here isn’t overly sweet, but has a nice tang to it.  Yummy stuff.   Total bill with a drink was $35.

Big Bok Choy Bistro
3730 Tampa Road #6
Oldsmar, FL
813-854-1961

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We ate dinner at Shanghai Express in Clearwater.  Believe it or not, in order to keep business to a minimum on Sunday night, they actually turned off their sign even though they’re open until 10pm.  We almost drove right by and would probably have been better if we had.

We ordered some crab rangoons, Loren got the hunan chicken, and I ordered the beef and broccoli.

There wasn’t much beef in the beef and broccoli and the entire thing was way too salty for me.  Loren thought his tasted ok.  The crab rangoons and egg rolls were typical fast food Chinese fare.  Our combo meals also came with fountain drinks which were completely flat and undrinkable.  For $19, we’ll be going elsewhere when we’re craving Chinese food.

Shanghai Express
2296 State Road 580
Clearwater, FL
727-726-9120

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We actually wanted Thai food for dinner tonight, but the place we were headed was closed on Sundays, so we ended up at Chef Li for Chinese food instead.

Loren got the kung po chicken and I got the sweet & sour shrimp.

I think I’ll stick with the sweet and sour chicken instead of the shrimp.  There was just too much breading on the shrimp and some of them had a recently frozen taste.  Loren liked his dish though.  Total bill with a drink was $23.

Chef Li
4013 Tampa Rd, Ste 20
Oldsmar, FL
813-814-9988

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We attempted to eat dinner at Bonefish tonight, but it was mobbed, so we headed over to Big Bok Choy.  With several other food events going on in the area tonight, the restaurant was empty except for us, which makes for a nice, quiet meal.

We both started off with the wonton soup.  Loren’s with green onions, mine without.

Loren got the Hunan Beef and I tried something different tonight, the chicken chop suey.

Mine had very mellow flavors, which is what I was after tonight.  The chicken was tender and there were plenty of veggies.  Loren’s had just enough heat for him.  He likes this dish because it has a lot of vegetables. 

I don’t think we’ve ever had room for dessert here, but the owner surprised us with a complimentary piece of cheesecake. 

It was very thick and creamy with a nice overall flavor.  Even though we were stuffed from dinner, we managed to eat the whole thing.  Total bill was $39.

Big Bok Choy Bistro
3730 Tampa Road #6
Oldsmar, FL
813-854-1961

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We ate lunch at Chef Li in Oldsmar today.  Loren ordered the Kung Po chicken and some wonton soup.

I ordered the sweet & sour chicken with an eggroll.

There was a lot of chicken in this dish and it was cooked perfectly.  The batter was crunchy but not too thick and the chicken was very tender.  The sauce was very sweet and tangy.  There was so much chicken on the plate that I was only able to eat about half of the eggroll.  Total lunch with a drink was $14.

Chef Li
4013 Tampa Rd, Ste 20
Oldsmar, FL
813-814-9988

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Grabbed some take-out from China Taste in Oldsmar today, some wonton soup, a spring roll, and some crab rangoons.

I love the crab rangoons here.  They’re definitely my favorite of all the places we go to.  Nice and crispy with lots of filling inside.  The spring roll has shrimp in it and it’s also got some nice flavors going on.  I was really impressed by the won ton soup.  So many places give you two, maybe three wontons at most, and there were 6 in this small order and they were yummy.  For $7.30, it was a quick, tasty lunch.

China Taste
13887 W Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL
(813) 818-0881

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It’s been a while since we had Chinese food, so we made our way over to Big Bok Choy in Oldsmar.  It was around 6:30pm when we got there and they weren’t very busy, but by 7pm, the entire restaurant was full.  Unfortunately, it seemed the kitchen got overwhelmed and the owner was trying very hard to keep up with the dining room.   We watched one table  just get up and leave after getting their menus and another party came in, saw the crowd and left.  

In this economy, being busy is definitely a problem you want to have and for the most part, it did seem as though the customers were willing to wait the extra time for their food.   I’ve always found that our patience has been rewarded. 

I say this every time we eat here, the family that owns the restaurant is just very friendly.  She recognizes us and remembers things about us as well.  She started us off with some spring rolls.

Light and crunchy with a really nice flavor.  Loren was trying to save room for his dinner, so I ate most of it with the sweet dipping sauce.  I finally remembered to ask what the other veggie besides carrots were on the side of the plate.  It’s daikon radish.  I know it’s just a garnish, but it’s one of those simple little things that has such a fresh flavor to it. 

We both got the wonton soup.

This is Loren’s bowl, because they remember here that I don’t like scallions.  Loren got the hunan beef with evil hot peppers in it.

He said the beef was very tender.  He likes this dish because of all the veggies.  It’s funny if you look at his plate halfway through since there’s a line of peppers all around the edge of the plate.  Surprisingly, he even had some leftovers.   I tried something different this time, the Lemon Chicken.

It was a very attractive presentation with all the thinly sliced lemon sections on top and it had a wonderful lemon aroma as well.  The sauce was fairly thin and very tart.  With just the rice, it was a little too tart, but with the chicken it blended very well. 

Total dinner with a drink was $37.  As I said at the beginning, they were very busy, so we were there for quite a while.  Regardless though, the owner always had a smile on her face and stopped to chat for a minute with the regular customers.

Big Bok Choy Bistro
3730 Tampa Road #6
Oldsmar, FL
813-854-1961

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We ate lunch at Chef Li in Oldsmar today.  It was pretty busy, which is always a good sign at a small restaurant. 

Their lunch specials come with a choice of soup or eggroll and Loren got the wonton soup.  He said it was flavorful and tasty.

I just nibbled.

He ordered the Kung Po chicken.

It must have been good because he ate all of it.  He did say there were a few too many green peppers in it though.  I got the orange chicken.

It had a little bit of heat to it.  Very tangy and the chicken was tender, but there was definitely some red pepper in the sauce that warmed your mouth.   For $14, it was a pretty tasty, quick lunch.

Chef Li
4013 Tampa Rd, Ste 20
Oldsmar, FL
813-814-9988

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Chef Li has opened up in the space where Hin Lee II was in Oldsmar.  The restaurant looks exactly the same, but I have to say, the food was much better.

I ordered the teriyaki chicken lunch special which came with an egg roll and white or fried rice.

The chicken was tender and flavorful and the white rice was cooked really well.  I guess I’ve just been to too many places where the rice has been sticky or not cooked enough that it was quite delightful to actually have rice that was cooked just right.  The egg roll was ok, but nothing special.  Lots of food for under $6.  We’ll definitely be back to try some other dishes.

Chef Li
4013 Tampa Rd, Ste 20
Oldsmar, FL
813-814-9988

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I’ve been craving Chinese food for a while now, so we headed over to Big Bok Choy in Oldsmar.  Greeted by my favorite young host, he sat us in a booth, gave us our menus and did his formal little bow.  There is something about that kid that puts a big ol’ smile on my face every time.  

The last time we were here was in February, and yet the owner still remembers us.  In fact, this was the first time I had been recognized from this blog.  But what amazes me most of all, is that she remembered that I don’t like green onions in my soup.  I know it seems like a little thing, but for someone that pulls green onions out of everything, it’s a nice little touch.

They were  fairly busy tonight, so the food took a while to get out.  In the meantime, though, she brought us some egg rolls.

I don’t think we’d had them before and they were really tasty.  The first bite, I got a slightly peppery flavor, but it wasn’t overwhelming.  They were nice and crispy and went well with the sweet dipping sauce.  I also scarfed the pickled veggies on the side.  Those are just yummy. 

We both got wonton soup and Loren ordered Hunan Pork tonight.

This dish had tender, thin pork slices and lots of veggies.  He had to spend a little time removing the evil peppers, but the dish just wouldn’t taste as good without them.  They’re great for seasoning the dish, but killer if you actually bite into one. 

I ordered the honey garlic chicken.

Now, this is how honey chicken is supposed to be cooked.  Tender chicken covered in a sweet, thick sauce.  Soooo delicious.  There was a lot of chicken on the plate, but I still managed to finish it off.  It was too good to leave any. 

Total dinner was $33 and we both left very happy.  The funniest thing about the dinner though, were the fortune cookies.  This is the first time I ever got a fortune that was written in Spanish on one side and of course, that was the side I opened first.  It just made me giggle.

Big Bok Choy Bistro
3730 Tampa Road #6
Oldsmar, FL
813-854-1961

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I saw the signs for Takee Outee on East Lake Road and figured Chinese food would be good for lunch today.  Unfortunately, there were no redeeming qualities about it.

I ordered the honey chicken lunch special which came with an egg roll and I also ordered some crab rangoons.

My idea of honey chicken is not battered chicken and a bowl of thin honey to dip it in.  I expect the chicken to be cooked in the honey sauce so it gets a nice gooey coating on it.   The chicken was tough, I managed to break my plastic fork just trying to pick up a piece.  Both the crab rangoons and the egg roll were less than appetizing.  This is definitely a place I will not eat at again.  This was $10 of wasted lunch money.

Takee Outee
3408 East Lake Road
Palm Harbor, FL
727-787-3898

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Don’t you hate it when you order take-out and realize when you get home that you didn’t get what you ordered?  I should know better by now to not check when I’m picking up the food, but I’m usually in a hurry and just grab the bag and go. 

I went to China Taste in Oldsmar to grab something quick while the rain had stopped momentarily.   On plenty of occasions, instead of beef and broccoli, I’ve asked them to substitute carrots for the broccoli with no issues.  I also wanted two orders of Crab Rangoons, so I’d have some to eat for dinner as well.  When I got home, there was one order of rangoons and an order of beef and broccoli.  And to top it off, my fortune cookie was broken and there was no fortune in it.  It just wasn’t a good lunch day. 

I was also so bummed that I forgot to take a photo.  Don’t get me wrong, the food was good.  They make the best rangoons around as far as I’m concerned, that’s why I wanted two orders of them.  For $14, I had plenty of leftovers for dinner, but I would have been much happier to have received what I had ordered.

China Taste
13887 W Hillsborough Ave
Tampa, FL
(813) 818-0881

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We haven’t been to Big Bok Choy Bistro in Oldsmar since Christmas Day, so it was way past time to head back to one our favorite restaurants. 

It’s a small Asian restaurant in a non-descript strip mall, but it has never disappointed us.  Everything is fresh and the people who own it are extremely friendly.

You’re greeted at the door by their young son who seats you, hands you the menus, and then takes a step back and gives you a quick, full bow.  He is the most polite, cutest child I’ve ever seen.  I find myself watching him as he greets other customers and it just puts a smile on my face every time.

We’ve eaten here enough times, that they know what we like and how we like it before we even order it.  I think they’re surprised when we actually order something different.

We both started out with wonton soup.

Hot, flavorful and perfect on a cold evening.  I also like it when I’m able to order my entree without scallions and they automatically don’t put them in my soup either (the picture is of Loren’s bowl).

Loren ordered the garlic chicken.  Normally he orders something either Szechuan or Hunan which comes with really hot, evil peppers, but he went a bit less spicy this time.

The dish had a lot of flavor and did have a spice element that was more than just garlic.  Everything is so fresh here and has great flavor components.  The garlic chicken comes with lots of broccoli and water chestnuts.

I ordered the teriyaki chicken. 

I’ve been hooked on this dish since I ordered it the first time.  The chicken is incredibly tender and has a nice teriyaki flavor.  It also comes with fried or white rice, lo mein, broccoli, two dipping sauces, and a little side of pickled veggies.  I don’t think I’ve ever finished the entire thing.  There’s usually some noodles, rice and broccoli left over. 

Our two entrees with soup came to $33.  Everything is made to order and well worth the wait and price.  They seem to do a lot of take-out business as well.   One of the really nice things about them is  that they’re very good at warning you about the spice levels or ingredients in the dishes.   You can tell they really care about the food they serve and want their customers to have a great experience….which we always do.

Big Bok Choy Bistro
3730 Tampa Road #6
Oldsmar, FL
813-854-1961

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