Bushi-Tei Bistro

July 30, 2009

My cousin Kim and his wife Adrienne (proud Kiwis and new residents of the South Bay) were up in the city tonight to catch a show at the Fillmore. Gomez, an English band, apparently has a hit single called The Theme Song from Grey's Anatomy or something close to that. (Note: Kim was a fan way before they sold out.) Anyway, it wasn't my cup of espresso, but I was still happy to join for a pre-show dinner nearby. We decided on Bushi-Tei Bistro, one of my dad's new Japantown staples.

Bushi-Tei Bistro is a casual offshoot of the fancier Bushi-Tei 2 blocks away. Opened earlier this year, the bistro offers a taste of chef Seiji Wakabayashi's French-Japanese-Californian fusion style in a cheaper, more accessible package. The main Bushi-Tei has received some acclaim, including 3 stars and a Rising Star Chef award for Chef Waka from the Chronicle. The bistro has gotten a less enthusiastic welcome (at least based on some mediocre Yelp reviews, and the relatively empty dining room). Still, I find it to be a reliable Japantown option that offers legitimate cooking at a pretty low price.

The menu is split into some appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, and entrees (with pictures!). You enter from just inside the mall, near Juban and Suzu. I guess the location is best described as "under" Over the Bridge (the restaurant). As this was a family affair, we naturally decided to share everything.

CRAB SALAD - crab meat tossed with shungiku "chrysanthemum leaf" -$9.80First up was this crab salad. The chrysanthemum leaf is popular in HK cuisine, but is basically always served cooked. Here, it lends a refreshing, slightly herbal tone. The amount of crab meat was generous.

CUCUMBER & GRAVLAX - home cured herb marinated salmon, cucumber spaghetti, crème fraiche - $9.80Here, crisp strings of cucumber are wrapped in cured salmon. The fish has a light flavor with a very pleasant, smooth texture.

GYOZA - pan-fried vegetable potstickers, tomatillo sauce - $9.80I swear, some things you will only find in San Francisco. I've never seen tomatillos paired with anything Asian at all, and it's used quite effectively here in place of a typical gyoza sauce. The flavor isn't too far off from the green tomatillo salsa you'd find in your local tacqueria, and the combination with gyoza is an interesting twist.

COCONUT OYSTER - fried coconut oysters, corn relish, curried tartar - $9.80Probably the best photo of the bunch, but the least succesful dish. While the oysters were nicely crisp, they were slightly dry on the inside. I don't recall any significant flavor contribution from the corn relish or the curry, and I would have had no idea that coconut was even involved.

SHRIMP CAKE - choppped shrimp & crispy vegetables, citrus beurre-blanc sauce - $9.80This one is a little tough to peg. I'd say it's best described as a cross between a Thai fish cake (tod mun) and a typical Western crab cake. The result is pretty tasty - it has the texture of tod mun with a shrimpy, buttery flavor.

CAPELLI D'ANGELO - angel hair pasta with tomato, garlic, basil, and extra virgin olive oil - $10.80No fusion involved here, but Bushi-Tei Bistro turns out some pretty good pastas. This capellini pomodoro has perfectly al dente noodles, a nice tomato flavor, and zero sogginess.

FETTUCCINE - flat thick pasta with mushroom, bolognaise chicken, and arugula - $10.80A tomato-less twist on your typical bolognese, this has Jap-Ital written all over it. Moist, flavorful ground chicken complements the fettuccine nicely. Kim says he liked this 15 times more than the other pasta. (To be fair, the rest of us thought both were good and pretty incomparable.)

SCALLOP - sauteed hotate scallops with kiwi vinaigrette - $16.80This one was a bit of a letdown. These "scallop scallops" were well-cooked and tender, but nothing spectacular. The kiwi vinaigrette gave it a bit of tang which I did not enjoy much. I've realized I'm not much of a kiwi fan in general (the fruit, not the people).

TONKATSU - breaded kurobuta pork cutlet - $16.80Bushi-Tei is very strong with pork items, and this tonkatsu is a perfect example. The meat is moist and very tender, and has just the right amount of fat. At the same time, the breading is fairly light and grease-free. They also have a sauteed pork loin dish that is very good.

Not pictured are a pair of desserts that were better than expected - a substantial, not-too-sweet cheesecake creatively paired with some sorbet and chantilly cream, and a nice crisp apple tart.

Bushi-Tei is also a great lunch option, as they offer a bunch of good rice and noodle dishes, including a great katsu-don and supposedly pretty good ramen. It is definitely on my short list of places to grab a bite if I need something in Japantown. Hopefully, business will pick up - the place has a decent number of seats, and I've never seen it more than 30% full. The food is solid, and let's be honest... the options in Japantown are pretty limited if you're not throwing down for Ino, Kappa, or Kiss.

La Compagnie des Comptoirs

August 13, 2005

It was Monday, and our week of amazing eats was all set to begin. My dad's longtime friend Alain had something to do in Marseille, so he took the chance to meet us for lunch before he drove down. We decided to go check out Avignon for the day. Avignon is somewhat reknowned for its theater community, and it just so happened that a theater festival was taking place the week we were there. The walled city was quite crowded indeed, with huge groups of stage troupes and tourists alike, as well as fliers plastered on every imaginable surface for the countless plays being performed.

We ended up eating at La Compagnie des Comptoirs, a beautiful restaurant tucked away to the side of the main road. It's a new place opened by the Pourcel brothers, chefs of Jardin des Sens in Montpellier (which we'd visit later in the trip). La Compagnie des Comptoirs is a semi-chain of restaurants, with I believe 5 or 6 locations around Europe. Their slogan is "pour d�couvrir autrement les saveurs des suds" which translates roughly to "to otherwise discover the savors of the south(s)." The concept seems to be a sort of fusion cuisine that combines Mediterranean flavors and ingredients with those from European colonies and other exotic places. The branch in Avignon is very new, and it shows. A seemingly small building from the outside, the compound is quite big and very modern on the inside. As you walk in, you pass a trendy green-lit bar on your left, at which point you see the door to the interior courtyard, where all the lunch seatings are. The place is simply beautiful - quiet, serene, and bright. The menu is interesting, if a bit gimmicky. It's divided into categories of classic preparations and flavors influenced by Asia. So interestingly enough, this will be the only meal filed under "Fusion" from the trip. :)

pressed tuna brandade, romaine with parmesan, beets - 14 euros This sounded interesting, but it kinda ended up being a fancy tuna sandwich, and not the greatest one at that. The bread was a bit too chewy, and the salad was a bit overdressed.

braised jarret de beouf salad with mustard ice cream - 13 euros My dad's jarret de boeuf was more successful. It tasted kinda like a Chinese-style beef sausage. The mustard ice cream, which started melting a bit, became more like a cold mustard dressing.

calamari a la plancha, espagnole of vegetables, lemon confit vinaigrette - 24 euros Calamari two meals in a row may seem like much, but I wanted to check out how they did this non-fried calamari. I'm glad I went with this. This is was the first time I'd ever tried calamari in whole pieces like this. They were sliced halfway into rings. The squid was cooked very well - tender on the inside with some slight browning at the edges. There was a tad too much lemon vinaigrette, but it was fine as long as I didn't drench the squid in the sauce.

apricot tart with homemade vanilla ice cream and mojito shot - 11 euros This simple apricot tart was a special. We saw one going by to another table and it smelled and looked delicious, so a bunch of us ended up getting it. The tart was wonderful, with a nice, cakey texture and an intense apricot aroma and flavor. The ice cream was delicious too. The "mojito" was pretty gross though - it was like drinking sugar straight up.

berry tiramisu with pistachio They finished by throwing us this freebie of berry tiramisu topped with pistachio. I'm not really sure what made it a tiramisu exactly, but it was good. Light, creamy, and refreshing. While the food here wasn't up to par compared with what we'd be eating in the next few days (well, the prices weren't either), the restaurant itself is worth a visit for lunch. The dishes were a bit overcomplicated, but still pretty good, and sitting outside was a wonderful experience. Dinner at Oustau de Baumani�re is up next - my first 2 star meal...

The House

July 21, 2005

So my mom and I were again looking for a place to eat dinner the other night. We decided on The House, a restaurant I pass by all the time while going to Mo's. I went to The House many many years ago, and more recently (but still a long time ago) I also tried the bigger but now closed House over in the Sunset. I'd say that the original House on Grant was one of the earlier fusion restaurants - they started doing it way in the beginning, back when Oritalia was on Fillmore I think. Years later, I still remember House's delicious garlic noodles. The restaurant hasn't changed at all from what I can tell. The dining room is clean, simple and modern, not to mention rather small. We got a table near the window with a good amount of natural light still coming in.

blue lake bean tempura with pickled ginger soy - $7.5 My mom was all over this dish - bean tempura is one of her favorite dishes, I think. The beans here were big, crisp, and meaty. They were maybe a touch greasy, but that's really nitpicking.

deep-fried chicken liver with baby greens - $8 This sounded better than it tasted. For some reason, I sort of half-expected an overbattered mess, which luckily these livers were not. They were tasty with that familiar livery texture, but not mindblowing. The accompanying salad was just okay.

vegetarian wasabi house noodles with tofu, carrots, eggplant, mushrooms, I forget what else... - $? So the garlic noodles I remember have now become wasabi house noodles, which are usually served with something else - on the night we went, it was flatiron steak (listed at $17; I'm sure our vegetarian one was less). The waiter told us making a vegetarian version would be no problem, so my mom opted for this. Now I'll be honest: I didn't really taste any wasabi in these noodles. That didn't matter though, because these noodles were awesome, and they could have called it whatever they wanted and I'd still have eaten them. These noodles just had a wonderful texture and substance to them that made them slightly chewy and delicious. I'll definitely order this with the steak next time...

grilled ahi tuna (rare) with spicy mustard aioli - $21 Lucky for me, my mom's noodles didn't win the dinner. My ahi tuna totally stole the show, considering we went in expecting great noodles. As you can see, the menu description totally does not do this dish justice. Other than mustard aioli, the tuna was surrounded by rings of two more flavors - some chili oil, and also some kind of lemon-infused oil. The mixture of the aioli, the chili, and the citrus, PLUS the roe, created a delicious dressing for the tuna (which itself was moist, nicely seasoned and cooked just right). Combined with rice, this was almost like eating a really good maki. The simple spinach and fried vermicelli were just icing on the cake. I wiped this plate completely clean, as did the guy eating next to us who ordered the same thing.

apple crumb pie a la mode - $7.5 We asked the waiter to suggest a dessert, and he said the apple crumb pie was the best hands down. It was very good indeed, piping hot and very crumby, with a good ratio of apple to crust. It's good to see The House still doing well after so long. I'll definitely be back.

Fusion

December 14, 2004

Don't worry guys, I'm just fine. I had 2 research papers due yesterday so I was kinda out of commission. Anyway, earlier in the semester Dave brought me to Fusion (his parents' restaurant) again. They were having a wine pairing event (I didn't drink any of the wine) and we got to tag along. I was impressed on my last visit to Fusion. Nice place, especially considering it's middle-of-nowhereness in East Longmeadow.

petite risotto croquette, asiago-roasted pepper salsa, toasted pignoli

tuna wontons, tossed with chinese mustard sauce & chili oil

plantain crusted scallops on potato gaufrettes with a mango-guava champagne butter Everything was coming out as a set menu for everyone there. Since we were with the owners, we could get unlimited seconds of anything, which was a... bonus. The risotto croquette for example wasn't that big of a serving for everyone else. We kinda just got a plate of them and shared it. Pretty good - texture was a bit on the cakey side. Maybe the risotto was undercooked slightly. The tuna wontons were great, and addictive. Rare tuna on the inside, with a slightly tangy sauce. We got a few extra plates of this stuff. The scallops were pretty good, but I found the sauce a bit too sweet. I like their regular menu scallops better.

roasted duck breast and syrah poached pear, cherry brioche french toast, sangria glaze

goat cheese crusted lamb lolli-pops, nicoise olive tapenade, chartreuse demi glace

chocolate bread pudding martini, vanilla stoli and godiva white chocolate drizzle The duck was the worst dish of the lot... dry and overcooked. The brioche was also dry and a little tasteless. The lamb was MUCH better. Very juicy, and the goat cheese was not overwhelming. It blended well with the gamey flavor. The bread pudding was delicious. I literally ate that thing in like a minute. Hot, doughy, and simple... no extraneous ingredients - just chocolate and vanilla. Mmmm I want more. I think the food along with a wine pairing for each course was $60 or $70, but I'm not sure. Definitely a good deal for everything you get. A couple of the items I'd surely go back for - the wontons and the bread pudding. Of course, it's even better for free... Thanks Dave's parents. :)

Cortez

December 4, 2004

Finally, my last set of photos from San Francisco! Cortez is the new small plates restaurant (the small plates thing sure is really really huge now) from the great people at Bay Bread. I really hope that Bay Bread doesn't get too big for its own good - I'd hate to see the quality decline. I like a lot of their places, such as Chez Nous and even more importantly Galette. Let's hope they can keep up their success. Val was in SF for as a stopover between Taiwan and Boston, so she joined my mom, Keith, and myself for dinner. Cortez came strongly recommended by Auntie Raphaela. The restaurant has a nice, modern and decidedly hip decor (though it doesn't come close to Frisson). I actually recognized that they were playing Thievery Corporation as we sat down, giving the place a cool loungey feel.

"today's crudo" - marinated hamachi

warm summer salad of sweet corn raviolinis, cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas & herbed zucchini pur�e - $9

fries with harissa & zaatar spiced aioli - $6 A solid set of appetizers. There are a lot of interesting sounding things on the menu, so it was hard to choose. The hamachi was good - fish was high quality, though nothing special compared to a good sushi joint. It did have a markedly different taste than what you'd expect eating sashimi thanks to the aioli dressing/marinade on it, so it had its own unique twist. The raviolinis were excellent - every ingredient was fresh and bursting with flavor. The peas were particularly crisp and refreshing. Everyone (my mom especially) loved this one. The fries were very good, and are definitely inspired by (probably copied from) the fries over at Chez Nous. The harissa aioli (which they also use at Chez Nous) was the better of the two sauces.

slow baked wild salmon with manila clams, roasted chiodini mushrooms & garlic clam foam - $14

prawns a la plancha with basque pimentos, lemon garlic butter & creamy crab rice - $11

slow cooked chicken breast with gnocchi & chanterell ragu, parsnip pur�e & creamed scallions - $14 Again, good stuff overall. I liked that the salmon was cooked quite rare, giving it a smooth and fatty texture. I think the dish overdoes it a little though on the clams, and the two different flavors end up clashing a bit. The prawns were huge and meaty - a real plus in my book, and matched well with the lemony sauce. The crab rice tasted good, but was slightly too al dente for my taste. The chicken with gnocchi was the class of this group. The chicken was unbelievably tender (it's all breast meat!) and the gnocchi were the perfect starchy complement. Although, I'd have been happy eating either just the chicken or the gnocchi too - both parts of this dish would be strong enough to stand on their own. Really a great combination.

chocolate ginger milkshake shots - $4 for 2

sugar & spice beignets, vahlrona chocolate fondue - $9 The milkshake shots were hard to resist. They're literally shot glasses (okay, maybe double shots), and the flavor changes every day. It's gimmicky, no doubt about it, but fun I guess. I think I would have liked them better if they were just chocolate... I guess I'm a purist like that. The beignets were good but not as good as Piperade's. In retrospect it was a mistake ordering two "spicy" desserts. I've realized I don't really like ginger and whatnot in desserts very much. Overall, I enjoyed the meal. The raviolinis and the chicken were very memorable, and there's a lot of other stuff I want to try on the menu. Not to mention it was my last meal in SF before another long Boston semester...

Frisson

November 28, 2004

Here is Frisson, a relatively new place also near my new home in SF. The chef is Daniel Patterson, formerly of the now defunct Elisabeth Daniel. The place has probably some of the most jaw-dropping decor you'll see in a while: orange ambient light, a dome-like ceiling, and some very wacky furniture. It's actually pretty interesting to see in person, but you can get an idea at their website (warning, there's music too which you can turn off). The bar area looks pretty cool too. Apparently they feature DJs, but there wasn't one there when I went with my dad. Anyway, here's the food.

cornmeal crusted foie gras, lavender, balsamico tradizionale - $15

seared sea scallops, bouillabaisse granit�, saffron oil - $12

black bass, braised lettuce, pork belly, litsea cubeba

sweetbread ravioli, black truffle - $16 These were the first and second courses... like at Quince, the menu is divided into 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, sorta pressuring you into getting something from each category. Though looking at the menu now on the website, things may have changed to Large vs Small plates. The foie gras was very interesting. It was like a normal seared foie gras, but with a crunchy crust on the outside. I actually liked the concept a lot, but unfortunately it was just too salty. Fix that and it would be a great foie gras preparation. The scallops were also very interesting - the bouillabaisse granit� was literally granit�. In other words it was icy cold, and slowly melted on the hot scallops while I got through the dish. By the end it was a liquid sauce. Very tasty too; I liked this dish a lot. The bass was my dad's so I only had a bite, and it wasn't particularly memorable. The sweetbread ravioli was by far the best dish of the night. Can't see too much, but there's a few fairly large ravioli buried in that cappucino-like broth. The ravioli were plump and tasty, and the sauce had just enough truffle to give it that delicious truffle aroma.

coriander scented duck breast, escarole, huckleberry-olive emulsion - $17

venison loin, yuzu kosho, onion-pear pur�e, chinese broccoli - $18

roasted blood peach, lime sorbet, vanilla, fromage blanc - $10 Main dishes were just alright. Duck breast was okay, but again nothing particularly memorable. Venison isn't on too many menus, so I took the opportunity to order it... I like all things gamey. I liked it better than the duck. Very lean, but quite tender and juicy. We opted to share the blood peach dessert because it just sounded so interesting. It was pretty good, but to be honest, I don't even know which part of the dish was what. Overall I think the place had too high of a "ingredients I don't understand" quotient. What's litsea cubeba or yuzu kosho? I ate them and I still don't know. The servings were on the small side (except for the ravioli), and the place ends up being pretty pricey. Although, let me mention that I had a really good and refreshing fancy juice/tea thing from the bar. All the drinks are really expensive too though. Still, probably worth checking out the room and maybe grabbing a quick bite while enjoying the atmosphere. I'll let you decide if the place is trying too hard to be hip. Not the best place to go if you're looking for a big serious meal.

Vics

September 8, 2004

Here is some food from Vics, a club near the Workers' Stadium. Yep... real food in a club.

cheese pizza

indonesian fried rice Pretty good, all things considered. I wasn't expecting food in a club, let alone decent food. The pizza was pretty nice. Indo fried rice wasn't Nud Pob elvel but it wasn't bad.

Chaya Brasserie

August 28, 2004

Last dinner in SF before my trip to Asia was at Chaya Brasserie, a fusion Japanese/Western place originally from So Cal. They have a full sushi bar which is pretty good.

crispy dungeness crab cake, chiffonade salad, red bell pepper coulis & chili olive oil

filet mignon with sonoma foie gras, potato filled soba crepes, sauce perigeux Don't have the exact prices, but I remember the crab cake was in the mid-high teens and the steak was in the mid 30s. This place is expensive at dinnertime. Food was all good though... Crab cake wasn't quite as good as the one I had at Houston's a while ago, but still tasty in its own right. Less crab in it, but a nice crunch. The steak was good. Piece of foie gras was interesting... a little crispy on the outside. The potato soba thing was really good. Interesting twist on the potato side dish required for all steaks I guess. This place is a much better deal during lunch time.

Lüx

August 2, 2004

My dad and I went to L�x, the new offshoot of Isa that supposedly puts out Asian-influenced small plates. The place was pretty packed, but we got a couple of seats at the bar.

vietnamese red snapper ceviche with cilantro, mango, tomato & onion

tartare of grassfed steak with lemon, shallots, chili & taro crackers

green onion pancake stuffed with local king salmon and zucchini, dill creme fraiche

salt & pepper black tiger prawn tempura with lobster oil & seaweed salad

hama hama oyster beignets with sambal aioli, green onion & cilantro

grilled rack of lamb with baby artichokes, balsamic & sour cherry

blueberry & blood orange semifreddo Overall, not bad. The place is a bit cramped and pretty noisy. The food was alright though. Ceviche was nothing special. Tartare was pretty interesting - had a bit of kick from the chili oil. The green onion pancakes with salmon were very good I thought. A little bit more like a quesadilla than a cong you bang though. Tempura wasn't very good. The oysters were alright, but I'm not a big fan of oysters. Oyster lovers would think they're great I'm sure. The rack of lamb was great... Lamb was cooked very nicely. The sides weren't too good though. The dessert was a special, and described as a semifreddo, but was sort of more like a zabaglione type of dish... which is good, since zabaglione is probably my favorite of the Italian desserts. This thing was REALLY GOOD... great mix of berries, definite influence from the blood orange. Too bad it's not on the regular menu.

Feenie's

July 15, 2004

David treated us to lunch the day after his wedding. We went to Feenie's, a "Canadian bistro" of Rob Feenie's who is a Food Network Canada celebrity. Sorry about the weird lighting of the pictures; it was weird in our spot somehow and I wasn't careful when I took them.

wild spring salmon tartare, with black & white sesame seeds, cilantro, and tamarind glaze

duck confit, with butter lettuce, radicchio, poached pears, blue cheese and a warm hazelnut & bacon vinaigrette

scallop & prawn spaghettini, tossed with fresh herbs, tomatoes, Thai chilies, and white wine

pan-roasted halibut, with soya beans, bok choy, oyster mushroom and a herbal tea infused fumet It was pretty good. The salmon tartare was alright, but they put pieces of tomato in it which we strongly suspected as salmon replacement filler. Spaghettini was good - sauce was a bit too strong for me, but the seafood tasted great.

Butterfly

July 5, 2004

I was only in SF for one night, and got in this one meal with my mom. Went to a newish fusion-y place called Butterfly near our new apartment.

ahi brothers tempura roll, tobiko caviar with thai black rice, cucumber salad and wasabi sauce

bowl of gnocchi and spring pea stir fry, chilled hearts of palm and asparagus salad with grated parmesan and white truffle oil

ponzu grilled niman ranch hanger steak, portobello mushroom and sweet pea stir fry with cabernet jus de veau and a potato gratin Good food. The ahi roll was nice, but nothing too different from the crazy rolls you get at sushi places nowadays. The gnocchi was nice... good texture, but the dish as a whole was a bit bland. Hanger steak was good. Overall it was a nice meal. Place was a bit loud; there was a DJ and a lot of talking. Great view of the waterfront though.

Fusion Cafe Part 2

February 15, 2004

Fusion Cafe Part 2...

margherita stone pie

duck confit quesadilla

lamb chops 'sake style'

fried ice cream

creme brulee with fresh berries They have a "stone pie" section on their menu which is pretty much just pizza. Margherita was not bad, a little cheesy, but good. The duck quesadilla was good, but sadly didn't bring back memories of Ocean Taq or the taco truck. The lamb chops had some kind of sake glaze. We ordered it medium rare but got rare... all of us could handle rare easily though, at least. The fried ice cream was good... ice cream wasn't as rock hard as usual. Creme brulee was pretty standard. Dave's parents said we totaled about $160 for 4 people, which isn't too bad considering how much food we got. I imagine we could have been "full" for half that.

Fusion Cafe Part 1

February 14, 2004

Dave's parents recently opened a restaurant... Fusion Cafe in East Longmeadow, which is a bit over an hour from here. They bill themselves as fusion food served tapas style. Dave brought me, Ahrie, and Mike for a HUGE meal the other night. I'm gonna post twice on it probably.

max roll (california with unagi on top), philly roll (for dave), spicy tuna roll

spicy tuna roll, passion roll (hamachi with avocado/cucumber), tuna nigiri

shrimp cocktail

boston rose - tuna, crab, lobster, asparagus, chives, wrapped in seaweed and tempura'd

blackened scallops over smoked chili risotto

lobster rolls with happy face sauce There's the first round - I'll do more later. Everything was really good. The best part is that I guess our waitress knew Dave was coming, so the first thing she brought was a PITCHER of Coke for Dave because apparently last time he got like 10 glasses. Dave managed to finish the pitcher himself with ease. Anyway, the food... The sushi was pretty solid. I still think "Philly Roll" is blasphemous but Dave loves it. The max roll was pretty good. They didn't have toro on the menu though. The shrimp cocktail were absolutely HUGE. The lobster rolls were like glorified crab rangoons, but not bad. I like crab rangoons. :) The scallops were alright, but I've had better. The "Boston Rose" was pretty interesting. It looked like sushi, deep fried, without rice (does that make any sense)? Tasted like the big mix of seafood it was. Very nice. More from this meal to come later... I'm also cooking tonight for V-Day so that will come up in the near future.

Show Case

December 25, 2003

Had lunch at Show Case on Christmas Day. Show Case is the restaurant inside Delta Pinnacle. They have an interesting system where you have your appetizers buffet style (with a bunch of stuff... sushi, seafood, salads, antipasto, etc.) and an entree that you order. I had the prawn and fennel risotto.

prawn and fennel risotto Not bad. The appetizer buffet has a lot of food to choose from. My aunt and my cousin Karen both unwisely went with a "BBQ Pork Congee" which turned out pretty bad. Rule #1: don't order Chinese food at western restaurants. My risotto was pretty good though.