Badmaash

Badmaash
108 W 2nd St
Ste 104
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-221-7466

Badmaash is a weird sounding name for an Indian restaurant.  Located a couple doors from Pitfire Pizza, my friend and I were drawn in by the smell of Indian spices.

A small sized restaurant with more seating upstairs.  It's dark and gives off a nightclub atmosphere.  

Salmon "Boti" Kabaab, $19, marinated in yogurt with fresh dill, lime, and serrano chilies, in a smoked tomato chutney.  The farm raised salmon was very moist and tender, with a wonderful flavor  The chutney was ok, I wasn't a fan, but I would have been very happy with the salmon without the chutney.  It's a decent sized portion, but I think it is overpriced.

Traditional samosa, $4 each, potato, peas, coriander seeds, cumin, and ginger. This came right out of the fryer and was very good.  The light, flaky, wrapper was perfect fried.  The inside was soft, tender flavorful potatoes with the right amount of spices.  Now, $4 is a steep price to pay.  They are good, and a good size, but not worth $4.

Service was good.  Nice, friendly, and quick service.

I understand that downtown LA is changing and the rent for commercial space are also increasing.  While the food at Badmaash was good, it wasn't worth the high price tags.

Happy Kitchen-Chino Hills

Happy Kitchen
3233 Grand Ave
Ste J
Chino Hills, CA 91709
909-628-5488

David Allen recently reviewed Happy Kitchen in Chino Hills.  I must have passed by tons of times, but never stopped in.  Located in the same shopping center as the now closed R & R Pizza, which is now a pho restaurant.  This Happy Kitchen has nothing to do with the Happy Kitchen in San Gabriel that I reviewed back in 2010.  Nor does it have anything to do with a Happy Kitchen in Upland, which is a very Americanized Chinese restaurant.

Like David Allen wrote, this is an authentic Chinese restaurant, not a PF Chang's.  About a medium sized restaurant with plenty of tables.  Decor is sparse, but you're not coming here for the ambiance.  

Shrimp chow mein, $7.95.  This was a bit dry.  They could have added more soy sauce or something.  There were about six medium sized shrimp, that were well cooked.  There were some carrots, cabbage, and green onions.  The noodles were cooked perfectly.  A good dish, despite the dryness.

Broccoli shrimp $11.95.  About 8-10 shrimp, with brocolli, carrots and garlic.  The broccoli was crispy and fresh.  The shrimp was cooked well and there was a sauce that had a garlicky flavor.

Service is good.

While shopping at the Albertsons I have seen lots of people waiting outside at Happy Kitchen.  So prepare for a wait or go during an off time.  I like Happy Kitchen and will go back to try other items on their menu!

Man Sun Japanese

Man Sun Japanese
21190 Golden Springs Dr
Walnut, CA 91789
909-594-9717

It must be a full moon tonight, because for the second time another terrible experience at a restaurant.  My first terrible experience was the fairly new Far East Cuisine.  This time at Man Sun Japanese, a long time restaurant in what used to be Walnut, but is now Diamond Bar!

The restaurant is packed, but that's not hard because it's a fairly small restaurant.  

I want sushi for take out.  I get the sushi menu and place my order.  The guy takes my order and gives it to the two sushi chefs behind the sushi bar.  I go out to make some phone calls and then to see if the nearby liquor store has a certain beer I like, Kronenbourg.  I come back into the restaurant and a female server tells me they do not have a sushi chef!!  WTF are those two guys behind the sushi bar doing?  Why didn't the guy who took my order tell me, instead of having me waste about ten minutes?  What kind of sushi restaurant doesn't have a sushi chef on a Saturday night??  Stupid management and restaurant!!

Terrible!  I won't go to this terrible restaurant again either!!

Far East Cuisine

Far East Cuisine
1220 S Diamond Bar Blvd
Ste C
Diamond Bar, CA 91765
909-612-1695

I recently noticed Far East Cuisine and decided to give them a try tonight.  This location used to be Taza Fresh, which closed within a year of my 2008 review.

To be blunt, this place sucks!  The tables and floors are dirty and dingy.  I don't really mind because I'm ordering take out.  There is one lady waiting for her take out order and nobody else in the restaurant.

I'm at the counter ready to order, and instead of helping me, a couple walks in and the man who I believe is the owner, helps them!  They called in an order, but I should have been helped first!

I place an order at about 6:20pm and he tells me it will be 7pm until my order is ready!  Again, there was one woman, who got her order, before I ordered, so there is nobody in the restaurant!  So why would it take almost 40 minutes to get my two dish order?

Some people just shouldn't be in the restaurant business!!  Terrible!  I will not come to this terrible restaurant ever again!

Fish Market & Grill-Closed

Fish Market & Grill
1084 W Mission Blvd
Pomona, CA 91766
909-629-2555

Fish Market & Grill has been opened for four years.  Hopefully giving stiff competition to Pomona Fish Market.  Not only do they serve fried fish and shrimp, they serve teriyaki, sushi, Chinese food, and boba tea!!

From the decor, this must have been a Mexican restaurant in a past life.  It's dingy, in need of a good cleaning.  The TV was on, showing the mass shooting in San Bernardino!  There are about 15 booths in the restaurant.  You order and pick up your food at the counter.

Three piece fish and three piece jumbo shrimp-$8.99, two hush puppies, and cole slaw.   You can pick from catfish, red snapper, sole and tilapia, I picked sole and are cooked to order..  The batter is a cornmeal batter that was very well seasoned.  The pieces of fish were thin and maybe added up to maybe four ounces.  The shrimp were large sized and good.  I pretty sure the seafood is fresh, not frozen.

Service is ok.  The guy is friendly enough, but when I walked up to the counter and never said anything while making a couple smoothies.  After that, he was nice and answered my questions about the restaurant.

I would say Fish Market & Grill is just a notch below Pomona Fish Market, but I would go back to Fish Market & Grill before going back to the terrible service at Pomona Fish Market!

Thai Diamond BBQ

Thai Diamond BBQ
1832 E Rt 66 Unit D
Glendora, CA 91740
626-335-4738

Thai Diamond BBQ is located in the same shopping center as ZuZu Chicken and the now closed, China King Buffet-which was a very good Chinese buffet!   A corner restaurant with an L shaped dining area.  The sad part is when I went in today, they had the TV on showing the mass shooting in San Bernardino!!

Shrimp fried rice, $9.95.  A good dish, with large silvers of onions and quartered tomatoes.  About 5 medium sized shrimp and a short gain sticky rice.  Just like most Thai cuisine, there was a sweet flavor to this rice.  A good dish.

Service was good.  Nice friendly people in the restaurant.

I would go back to Thai Diamond BBQ. 

Saladang

Saladang
363 S Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105
626) 793-8123

Saladang is a very popular Thai restaurant in Pasadena.  It's located on an industrial area, a good ways from the hustle and bustle of Old Town Pasadena!

The restaurant itself has a very industrial feel, with exposed duct work and ceilings.  They were doing renovation on the men's bathroom, when I was there!  A very open restaurant with lots of seating.  There is another Saladang that shares that same parking lot.  I understand that location is more upscale. 

Spinach with black bean sauce, $9.  The spinach was perfectly cooked and fresh.  The black bean sauce was very salty.  I did like the dish, but they need to cut down the salt.

Shrimp Chow Mein, $12, egg noodles and assorted vegetables- carrots, celery, green onions, bean sprouts, and snap peas.  A very good dish with six large shrimp that were perfectly cooked.  The noodles were also cooked perfectly.  The veggies were fresh.  There was a sweet taste to the dish but nothing overwhelming.

Service was good.  We were greeted and seated quickly.  Our server would come by on a regular basis and refill drinks and made sure everything was good. 

I like Saladang, but it is very Americanized.  Not that it's a bad thing, but if you're after authentic Thai food, you're better off going to Thai Town.

Kitty’s Fish & Chips

Kitty’s Fish & Chips
147 N Grand Ave
Covina, CA 91724
626-331-8874

Kitty's Fish & Chips is located in a shopping center that used to house a Fresh and Easy Market.  It's pretty clear that Kitty's used to be a H. Salt Fish and Chips.  The shopping center could use a renovation, but without a lead anchor store, it's doubtful that will happen.

Kitty's is very bright and clean restaurant, with a small dining area as you walk in and long narrow dining area as you go towards the back. 

Two piece fish, pollock, one jumbo shrimp, $6.99.  This was a special listed on a sign as you walked in.  The fish was fried nicely.  It's easy to tell the fish was frozen, but even frozen fish can be good.  This was cooked to order, not sitting under some heat lamps.  Towards the top point, there was too much batter and not much fish.  But, towards the bottom there was a lot of fish-light, flaky and fairly good. 

Two piece jumbo shrimp, $4.20.  This is another frozen item.  It's two pieces of batter fish made into a ring.  There was too much batter and very little shrimp.  It was average.

Service was very good.  A very nice lady welcomes you when you walk in.  She is very welcoming and helpful. 

I wouldn't rush back to Kitty's but, it's a pretty good example of fish and chips in the area.