Spice Thai & Sushi, Lakeland

Reporting for go gin chow this is the food ninja. Today I will be giving my review on Spice Thai  in Lakeland. Great service, affordable prices and nice atmosphere. You're greeted and seated with a smile and warm hospitality. The servers are attentive and polite making you feel at home kind of like a home away from home. The food is good and flavorful and you're given a nice amount of choices, so there is going to be something in their menu that will appeal to you for sure and the decor is all hand crafted and put together with heart and soul. It gives off and warm and cozy feel. You can be at ease there. That to me makes the food taste so much better. So if you happen to be in the Lakeland  area on South Florida  Avenue, stop  on in and give it  a try, you will be happy. Take it from the food ninja, please enjoy!

Greetings from Shadow.  Currently the only Thai Restaurant in Lakeland, they hold their own pretty well.  Nice, clean modern decor with some  traditional Thai elements.  Staff is friendly.  Dishes are presented well, beautifully garnished with Thai purple orchids.  Crab Rangoon were good, pretty plump and flavorful with crispy dough.  Sushi fish tasted fresh, though I felt the Volcano roll was too sweet.  I like that they have the option on their Sushi menu to create your own roll, I might try that next time.  Pad Thai was also way too sweet and noodles were soggy and over sauced.  Authentic Pad Thai should be dry.  the Lad Nah was just ok.  I would have been happy with just the American broccoli substitution, but it had all sorts of sacrilegious vegetables in it like baby corn and crinkle cut carrots, not good.  Traditional Lad Na is served with just Chinese broccoli.  One thing that they got right was the side of crushed dried chilies we requested  to add extra seasoning to the dishes.  They were very, very hot so use with caution.  Not that this place, does not do authentic Thai style, you may have to request it or go with a Thai friend and have them request it.  In the past I got a very good Som Tum (papaya salad) and they did do a better Pad Thai.  Overall good dining experience, however some dishes may be inconsistent.  

                                            Spice Thai & Sushi
                                            3615 S Florida Ave
                                            Lakeland, FL 33803
                                            (863) 709-8321

Crab Rangoon

Volcano Roll & Tuna Rolls

Lad Nah Pork

Pad Thai Shrimp

Ho Ho Choy

This is Food Ninja reporting for go gin chow commenting on a tasteful dim sum restaurant called Ho Ho Choy in Tampa. The prices were reasonable and the decor was nice and updated, way better than the last time I was there the dim sum was so good and filling. You definitely wont be hungry. Service was a little rusty, needs work. The servers need to be more attentive being busy is not an excuse to check on your customers. Well ok, back to the food, all in all the food was great. That is what kept me there. Honestly every little dim sum container that came to our table as nice and hot and flavorful and gave my taste buds lots of joy. Now if they can get a better service system this would right on spot. The decor is upbeat and clean. I felt good sitting at my table while I waited for our food. Definitely a place to go eat at. Take from the food ninja you will be back for more. As I always say, please enjoy!

Shadow Here.  Great place for Dim Sum.   The place can get busy though and with the handful of servers you may not always get the attention you deserve, though they were friendly and helpful when you could wave them down. Food is superb. Lots to choose from.  Everything tasted freshly made.  The skins on all the dumplings were tender and not too thick.  Steamed spareribs had a nice flavor to them similar to Pho broth.  The duck had to be the best Chinese style roast duck I have had in a while and definitely one of the reasons to come here, flavor was not too gamey, lots of meat not too much bone or fat and the skin was crispy.  The stuffed bean curd and stuffed tofu were both disappointing, cooked with similar sauce, they were bland and you can get better renditions of these elsewhere.  Bathrooms are clean.  All in all, solid choice to satisfy that Dim Sum craving.

                                              Ho Ho Choy
                                              1441 E. Fletcher Avenue Suite 125,
                                              Tampa, Florida,  33612
                                               Phone: (813)962-2159 / (813)962-2290

Shrimp Wonton Soup

Beef Tripe

Pan Fried Shrimp Dumplings w. Chives

Fried Shrimp Ball

 Stuffed Tofu

Stuffed Bean Curd Skin

Shrimp Dumplings

Shrimp Dumplings w. Chive

Fried Mixed Dumpling

1/4 Roast Duck

Water Spinach w. Garlic Sauce

Steamed Spare Ribs

Beef Ball

Outback Steakhouse, Noth Lakeland

Food Ninja here to comment for go gin chow restaurant reviews on Outback Steakhouse. Great food and good service. Nice atmosphere keeping with the Australian theme, a nice touch it brings the outdoors indoors. Prices are reasonable, everything nice and sanitary. Cannot complain. So if you ever see an outback I would give it try and you wont be disappointed so take it from me the food ninja please enjoy!

This is Shadow.  For a chain restaurant I was pleasantly surprised.  Clean and Cozy atmosphere.  Walls are adorned with all sorts of Australian outback themed items such as tribal paintings, boomerangs and other hunting trowing sticks.  Even a whole alligator was hanging on the wall by the restrooms.  Pretty cool.  Food was decent.  Complimentary bread was a dark pumpernickel like loaf with butter, nice change from the usual white bread found in most restaurants.  The 9 oz sirloin was surprisingly large.  It was cooked perfectly medium as requested and was flavorful, tender and juicy.  Crab cakes, while not the freshest tasting crab, were made from mostly crab and not too much breading and the accompanying sauce was pretty tasty.  The chocolate brownie desert did not disappoint.  I would also recommend their prime rib, which I did not order this time, but has been consistently good.  Only complaint was the slow service, though our server was friendly and attentive.  Happy eating!

                                                            Outback Steakhouse
                                                            4208 US 98 North
                                                            Lakeland, FL 33810
                                                            (863) 858-9468

Bread and Butter

9 oz Outback Special Signature Sirloin with Crab Cakes

Chocolate Thunder from Down Under

MD Oriental Market, Tampa/Brandon

Welcome back to restaurant reviews by the food ninja for goginchow. I have a nice little special place for you to go look at. It is an oriental food market located in Tampa/Brandon Area. This is definitely  a hidden gem they have everything you will need to quench your thirst as far as carying the vegetables and seasonings and many other great oriental related items that you will need in order to be cook up that creative Asian  dish for those you love. They have everything from frozen  foods to live fish. It is really something. The live fish will keep your kids attention for sure. They also carry some nice little souvenirs that are reasonably priced, varied on each item that would be good in your home. You are sure to find something you will find interesting and if you can not find it, they will be happy to assist you how ever they can. So in my opinion this a place to visit. So take from me, the food ninja, you can not only find good food here but you can find the ingredients to make great food. As i always say, please enjoy!

Shadow here.  Wonderful place.  It is huge and very clean for and Asian Market.  Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.  They have a cooked food section were they sell roast meats like duck, pork and chicken.  I guarantee it will be hard to pass up when you see that whole roast duck hanging in the glass case on the counter.  Now is the season for tropical fruit.  I was thrilled to see that they have Lychee and the ever rare Mangosteen two of my absolute favorite fruits.  I have to wait a whole year to get my hands on these and both these fruits have such a short window for being in season and that window is almost over so run...run and get them while you still can.  They also had rambutan, rose apples, dragon fruit and much more.  On occasion I have even seen fresh Durian and Jack Fruit sold here.  My spoils this trip were of course lychee and mangosteen as well as cherimoya (custard apple/sugar apple), roast duck, and sliced pig ears.  Lychee were very good, they are fresh and Florida grown.  The mangosteen were quite pricy, not the freshest looking (they are flying them in from Thailand after all), but did not taste too bad.  If you have never tried mangosteen before, you are in for a treat.  The cherimoya was hard when I first bought it, but I allowed it to ripen in a brown paper bag for two days and it was superb, very sweet!  So head on down here and check this place out.  Happy Eating.

                                                 MD Oriental Market
                                                 10127 E Adamo Dr
                                                 Tampa, FL 33619
                                                 (813) 443-2188

Lychee

Mangesteen

Mangosteen (sliced open)

Cherimoya (Custard Apple/Sugar Apple)

Cherimoya (sliced open)

Roast Duck

Sliced Pig Ears

Jack Fruit

Saigon Bistro, Lakeland

Restaurant reviews by the food ninja for goginchow reporting on the Saigon  Bistro in Lakeland in Lakeside Village Mall. Great hospitality, good food,  nice decor, and good prices. Friendly servers seat you as soon as you enter the door. They are attentive and polite and the owner treats you like family when she does her rounds to make sure everyone is happy and satisfied, as she has a nice little conversation with you. Now the beef soup or pho is great. A lot of heart went into making it and a lot of good ingredients as well.  The bahn mi sandwiches could use a little work  but not bad. The herbs and vegetables that come with the soup come out fresh and crisp they have a great menu there that I am sure will have something that appeals to everyone. so you will be happy the prices are reasonable, I didn't complain. The inside decor is warm and welcoming. It also has an open floor plan so you don't feel packed in and the bathroom is clean. So if you are just shopping around that area or coming out from just watching a movie, this is a great place to hang out with friends or family to get some great chow within your budget. I would highly suggest going there. This is the food ninja, you wont be disappointed. Well as  I always say please enjoy.

Greeting folks.  This is Shadow.  Thank goodness for this place!  I am a happy man.  Recently opened in the middle of the mall right next to the movie theater, excellent location.  The decor is very hip and modern like a college cafe.  Everything is very clean and brand spanking new.   They have bright flat screen  TV's on the walls and stylized lights hanging from the ceiling.  Not your typical looking Vietnamese place, you would not expect to get authentic food here, but yet the food is pretty authentic.  The best thing on the menu by far is their Beef Pho.  The broth is flavorful and tastes freshly made, the clove and cinnamon are definitely there, just slightly too sweet, but I cannot complain, you will not find a better bowl of Pho anywhere else in Polk County.  Almost all the cuts of meat can be found here - Beef Eye of Round, Brisket, Meatballs, tendon, and tripe.  Portion size is generous.  The Pho is served with a side of basil and bean sprouts.  I did feel like the bean sprouts could be fresher especially since they are served raw.  I really did not enjoy anything else on the menu as much as the Beef Pho.  Pho Seafood was ok, but really nowhere near as satisfying as the beef.  Their Chief's Famous Soup was not bad, but the menu promised enoki mushrooms (my reason for ordering it) and they were nowhere to be found in my bowl.  Fried Spring rolls were pretty good, I liked how they served them with fresh mint.  Bahn Mi was disappointing, but was not far off.  Their rice plates with grilled meats look very appetizing as the plates are garnished well.  I really did appreciate that the owner always makes an effort to stop your table and say hi, thank you for coming, and even offer to show you how to eat the food if it is unfamiliar to you. Definitely make an effort to check this place out if you are in the area.  Happy Eating!

                                         Saigon Bistro, Lakeland
                                        1554 Town Ctr Dr W
                                        Lakeland, FL 33803
                                        (863) 686-6560

Crispy Spring Rolls

Grilled Beef Rice Plate

Chef's Famous Soup

Pho Dac Biet

Pho Seafood