Lac Viet Bistro

Bonjour!!

The other day, I was treated to lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant named Lac Viet Bistro on East Colonial Dr. The restaurant is decorated with cultural Vietnamese accents, which has an atmosphere that makes you feel like you’re not even in Orlando. We were welcomed by the friendly staff and were seated quickly since it was a week day and it was during lunch time. For my beverage selection, I decided on trying their Strawberry smoothie made with milk. I have to say it was pretty good; they have several other flavors to choose from including mango and raspberry. We then ordered our entrees. I decided on going with one of their rice platters. The rice platter was served with grilled chicken, a sunny side up egg, steamed pork loaf, grilled shrimp, and a side salad. Even though it was filling, it was delicious and so no dessert was ordered at the end of the meal.

I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who is trying to experience the Vietnamese cuisine. They are opened everyday from 10am to 10pm. The food was great, as well as the staff, who were very courteous. Below are the pictures taken for you all to see. Enjoy!

And so, onto the next food journey we go…

Salut!

Lady M

Strawberry Smoothie

Grilled Chicken Rice Platter

Chicken Wings with Buttery Sauce

BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse

Bonjour everyone!

I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I have updated this blog. But here it is…

So for a girls night out on the town, we decided to have dinner at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse by the Millenia Mall. Since it was a Saturday night, there was a wait time of about 20-25 minutes before we were seated. After being seated, our server took our beverage order. I, of course, decided on choosing their Strawberry Lemonade. I have to say it was pretty good; wasn’t too sweet in taste. So no complaints in that area. One of my friends asked for a Strawberry Lemonade also; took the waiter about 15 minutes before she brought it over to her. Of course we understand that it was on a Saturday night, so they servers are bound to be busy. We then ordered an appetizer for all of us to share. I have to say that the Avocado Eggs Rolls were amazing! As described on the menu, they are Crispy golden wontons wrap a tantalizing blend of avocados, cream cheese, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, pine nuts, chipotle peppers and spices, and its served with a sweet tamarind sauce.  We later ordered our entrees. I decided on trying their Grilled Chicken Pesto Flatbread. It was pretty big in size, but it was very tasty. I also ordered a side order of their gourmet macaroni and cheese, it was good but not entirely great.

One thing that is to be pointed out, unfortunately, we encountered an unclean plate and utensil. Nonetheless, the food was delicious. The service was good for it to be on a busy Saturday night. I would recommend this restaurant if you are feeling in the mood for eating some American cuisine. Below are pictures from the different dishes we chose.

Salut!!

Lady M

Avocado Egg Rolls

Grilled Chicken Pesto Flatbread

Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese

Deep Dish Pizzas

Chili's

Hey there! 2012 is finally here! Happy new year to everyone!

So for the last day of 2011, before I had my traditional family dinner, I decided on going out to grab something to eat for lunch. Since we were on a “budget”, I chose on going to Chili’s on West Colonial Drive. You know they have the 2 for $20 meal, where you choose one appetizer and two entrees, which is a pretty good deal.

For starters, I choose the strawberry lemonade. Normally, it is pretty awesome, but for some reason, this time it was good but not great. We chose our appetizer, that being the half order of Texas cheese fries. I think they should make it a whole order and not just a half order, because I have to say that it was delicious. For my entrée, I decided on going with the Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadillas. Comes with a small order of ranch dressing, sour cream, and their house-made pico de gallo. I’ve tried them on previous occasions, and its pretty good, even though this time I didn’t get to finish the entire meal.

The service was pretty good. Felt like we were rushed a bit, but over all the staff was friendly. I would recommend Chili’s; their 2 for $20 deal is very good offer. Chili’s is pretty popular, so if you havent tried it yet, go ahead and give them a try soon.

I’m pretty excited to see what new places we decide to try in this new year…

Till next time…

Salut

Lady M

Half order of Texas Cheese Fries

Bacon Ranch Chicken Quesadillas

Half-Rack Baby Back Ribs w/ Homestyle Fries

Elephant Bar Restuarant

On to another food adventure, I decided on going to Elephant Bar Restaurant located at the Altamonte Springs Mall. This was the second time I have gone to this restaurant, but I wanted to try it again for our food blog. Since it was a weekday, there was no wait time on being seated. We were asked by our friendly waitress our beverage choices and I went with the Strawberry lemonade. As I mentioned before on a past entry, strawberry lemonade is one of my favorites. I have to say that their lemonade is simply amazing. Not too sweet, just perfect in taste. It was a great way to start off the night while we decided on what our entrees would be. They have a variety of selections to choose from, such as seafood or Asian cuisine. I was thinking of going for some seafood this time, so I went for the Shrimp Adventure Platter. The platter came with coconut shrimp, grilled teriyaki glazed shrimp, and hand-breaded fried shrimp; a total of 15. It was also served with vegetables and French fries (you have the option of substituting it with sweet potato fries if you would like). Out of the shrimp, the coconut shrimp was the best. The grilled shrimp was good but I feel could have been a bit better; and the fried shrimp was pretty good as well. The French fries were delicious. The platter came with two sauces, sweet and spicy Pan Pacific and Oriental dipping sauces.

Overall, I would say the dish was pretty good. I would recommend for anyone to go ahead and give Elephant Bar a try. With their numerous selection of entrees, it’s a good place to try if one can’t decide on what type of food they want to munch on.

Till next time…

Salut!
Lady M

Shrimp Adventure Platter

Hardwood Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl and Three-Cheese Macaroni

Harold Square Market

Bonjour everyone!

I know our blog is about finding the best food spots around Orlando, but I got to travel to my hometown recently which was pretty great. New York is known for being a melting pot, when it comes to cultures, races, and of course food. I really wished I had more time to spend there but I thought I would share with you all about one of the food spots I happened to go to, just in case one of you readers decides to travel to the Big Apple. While shopping in Manhattan, I came across a “salad bar” type-of-place called Harold Square Market. It shouldn’t be that hard to find, since it’s on Harold Square between 34th and 35th street. It may be not be a restaurant, but it sure has pretty good food. Once you enter, you find yourself with a buffet style setup, with both hot and cold foods. One thing that caught my eye was that their food was very fresh, which is always a plus. I happened to grab some Greek style salad, crab salad, grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and fried shrimp (picture below). All those selection rang up to a pretty good price. In case you were wondering how a salad bar works, they charge by the pound, so make sure you keep track of how much food you want to purchase. As for my beverage, I could not forget one of my favorite drinks, Snapple’s Kiwi Strawberry, which is just awesome if you haven’t tried it. After you purchase your meal, seating is available on the second floor.

I would recommend Harold Square Market for those who are on-the-go; it may not be a “restaurant” per say, but it’s a great place to stop by and grab something to eat after scooping out the city.

Till next time…

Salut á tous!

Lady M

Dave and Busters

Bonjour everyone!

So I didn’t think I would be out to try something new so soon, but I guess I was wrong. A new addition of “fun” was added to the Orlando food spots in August of this year; that being Dave and Busters. After seeing their commercials several times, I was quite happy to know that they were going to be established here in Orlando on International Drive.

I thought it would be quite interesting to try their menu, since Dave and Busters is known more for having a huge arcade. I went on a weekday evening, so there wasn’t a wait to be seated. We were greeted, seated, and were handed our menus to look over. Our waitress asked for our choice of beverages, I chose pink lemonade, which was pretty good. As we looked over the menu, I was a bit undecided on what to try, but I went for the Baked Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo. It consists of shrimp and grilled chicken breast sautéed with tomatoes, tossed with pasta and a three cheese Alfredo sauce. You have the choice of whether or not you want mushrooms cooked with the entrée. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good dish. The grilled chicken was very good, but I would have wanted a bit more shrimp in the mix. It was quite a filling meal that I didn’t need to look at the dessert menu; but I did notice that they had chocolate cake, cheesecake, and sundaes. Below are pictures of two dishes that are served at Dave and Busters.

My experience at Dave and Busters was very pleasant. The food was great and the staff was nice and welcoming. Definitely a place to try if you’re looking to eat and then play. On a side note, they have a wide variety of games to play, so you’re bound to have some fun here.

So what will be the next food spot to experience? Who knows. Till then….

Salut á tous!
Lady M



Baked Chicken and Shrimp Alfredo


Bar Burgers & Wings Platter

The Cheesecake Factory

Bonjour everyone!

I have the pleasure of writing our first entry for our food blog, J’ai Faim.

As we venture through Orlando to find the best food spots, this past weekend I had the chance to finally try a popular restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory.

I decided to choose the Winter Park location, since it was the location closer to where I live. There wasn’t much of a wait time to be seated even though it was the weekend, but the staff was polite and welcoming when showing us to our table. We were greeted by a young lady who was going to be our waitress. She gave us our menus and left us to choose our beverages until she came back. They had strawberry lemonade, which is one of the beverages I tend to choose when I go to a restaurant. I have to say that it was great, not to mention it was served in a 20 fl. oz. glass, so no complaints in that area.

As we looked over our menus some more, I decided on trying the Chicken Di Pana. There was about a 20 minute wait until we received our entrees. As described on their menu, it is a “lightly breaded sautéed chicken breast served over a white wine butter sauce with mashed potatoes and broccoli”. I have to say that this meal was delicious. The breaded chicken was great, as well as the broccoli, which was nicely steamed. I was served two portions of mashed potatoes, which consisted of red potatoes and were prepared, as one would say, in a “homemade” style with a creamy finish.

Afterwards, our waitress offered us some dessert. I would have wanted to give their cheesecake a shot since it is the Cheesecake Factory, but I was just too full after eating my meal.

For the first time at this restaurant, I would recommend this to anyone who would want to try their cuisine. Not to mention the Chicken Di Pana, which turned out to be an excellent entrée (picture below). The staff were very courteous and the service was good as well.  I also added two other pictures of two other entrees that are available at the Cheesecake factory.

As for me, can’t wait to try another food spot soon!

Salut à tous!

Lady M

Chicken Di Pana

Fresh Grilled Salmon

The Factory Burger