Chowvel:Traveling to Eat

Review
If you are a fan of pork, so is Shin Sen Gumi. They wrap anything they can find in bacon. If you come, sit at the bar, point at the mini skewers you desire, if you’re not a pork fan, they have many other items that fits any preference. The mini skewers are placed on a grill and seasoned with spices and salt. Yakitori is was originally for skewered chicken, but has expanded to other types of protein. Order from the menu if you like and if you order a beer, get ready for the loud roars from the staff shouting something in japanese in glee as though you’ve made their day by ordering a beer. Order as many different types of skewers as you can and enjoy them with the special spicy green sauce. This spicy sauce packs a punch, which makes you come back for more.

Review
If you hear Chinatown, the first thing that doesn’t come to mind is Banh Cuon. Nestled in a small strip mall in Chinatown lies Hoan Kiem, which is known for its banh cuon. Banh Cuon is rice based crepe filled with some sort of meat and vegetables, usually served with fish sauce and garnished with cilantro, cucumbers, and pork meatloaf. This place is also known for it’s Pho Ga or chicken Pho. The broth is hearty and homemade. If you’re feeling a cold coming down, stop by Hoan Kiem and grab a bowl, it’s tastes better than any medicine you’ll ever take. The hours are a bit inconvenient since it closes early for dinner hours, but a nice spot for a quick weekend lunch.

Review
When you think good Mexican food outside of Mexico, you think San Diego. When you find good Mex on the total opposite side of San Diego, it’s a pleasant surprise. The taco plate special gives you quality tacos at just under 6 bucks, affordable for anyone. The quality of the tacos are similar to the roach coaches you find all over Los Angeles. To get an idea, I would put this place up there with the better tasty roach coaches. This place a chain up in the Seattle area, so if you see one driving around Seattle, stop by for a taco or two, just like desert, there’s always room for one taco.

Review
Vietnamese are known for their Pho and Spring Rolls. There are so many other great types of cuisines in the Vietnamese cultural menu to choose from. The broken rice dishes are good and other soup dishes are always a good choice and Green Leaf is one restaurant that does these other dishes right. If you are tired of the typical Vietnamese dishes, go to Green Leaf to try something else. It’s a bit on the outskirts of downtown Seattle, but worth a slight detour. Try the Hu Tieu soup, it’s rice noodles mixed with a plethora of seafood proteins.

Review
The Sinbala Sausage is out of this world. The dish will run about 5 bucks and for that price and that taste, you cannot beat it. It’s located in an Asian Plaza full of all asian joints, the only non asian joint that I know would probably be the Bank of America ATM, which comes in handy since most places in the plaza take cash only. There looks like a lot of dishes that you can try without going wrong and all of them are reasonable. After the main entry, make sure you get the Taiwanese shaved ice which is flavored with some sort of brown sugar mixture, some condense milk, and your choice of toppings. The red bean and condensed milk go really well together, so make sure you get that sort of combination.