My birthday dinner at Basta Pasta

Basta Pasta, a Japanese restaurant serving Italian dishes. was established in Tokyo Japan 1985, which was designed after the TV program Iron Chef with a totally open kitchen as a Kitchen Theater. As soon as the waiter brought our glass of water, we were served a slice of toast with gorgonzola and mascarpone cheese. A basket of freshly baked bread and breadsticks and virgin olive oil for dipping was brought in with our glass of Pinot Grigio. For my Antipasti, I had the Tortino di Granchio Crab meat, avocado, green apples, Yukon gold potatoes & basil aioli with grapefruit jelly, daikon radishes & chayoteTrina had the Frittura di Mare con Verdura Primavera "Kakiage" in tomato sauce (mixed shrimp, sea scallops & spring vegetables tempuraMy Primi Platti was the Penne with shrimp with cauliflower in vodka sauceTrina's Primi Piatti was the Spaghetti con Uova di Pesce(translation: Spaghetti with tobiko (flying fish roe) & shiso(Japanese basil))And finally, for dessert, we had the Tiramisu.

Maybe next time, we will try their famous Spaghetti Con Prosciutto E Parmigiano (spaghetti with parmigiano reggiano and parma prosciutto) served in half a wheel of parmesan cheese at table. No, we did not have this dish. I figure, I can make this dish with so few ingredients.
For anyone interested, here's the information
Basta Pasta
37 W 17th St
New York, NY 10011-5503
www.bastapastanyc.com
(212) 366-0888

Elliott's Oyster House, Waterfront Seattle

Trina was dying to eat oysters. I tried only one. I was reserving my appetite for the dungeness crab. We did not expect to pay so much for the crab. I wonder why they have to remove the "taba", and I wish they serve vinegar as dipping sauce for the crabs.
The mussels with chili in coconut sauce was so good.The clam chowder soup was served by mistake. I took two spoonfuls to taste but we ended up not eating it, although the waiter did not remove the dish. There was too much food and not enough space for my tummy for something we did not order.

More eats in Seattle

Of course, Starbucks coffee house.


another conveyor belt sushi restaurant - Sushi land in Queen Anne area of Seattle.


French bakery at Pike Market
Seattle Chinatown - We were late for the dimsum eat-all-you-can lunch hour.

Piroshky at PiKe Market, Seattle

Eat-all-you-can Sushi restaurant - Vancouver

This all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant does a different take compared to Minado or other Japanese restaurant in NY.
They provide you a checklist of the menu and you order everything you want. Your order will be brought to your table one after the other. Should you want to order more, you can request for second servings. Give the waiter your list and second servings will be brought to your table. However, for the sashimi and expensive entrees, there is a limit as to the amount that can be served to you. Hey, they need to make money somewhere.
Whatever is your take, you always end up eating more than you should in any restaurant that serves you to your heart's content. More tea please....

Sweet Basil - Thai Restaurant in Vancouver

Dear friends indulged us to dinner while we were on vacation in Vancouver. This Thai restaurant in Metrotown, Vancouver offers popular Thai dishes. We had Tom yun soup, green papaya salad, seafood fried rice served on scooped half pineapple, Thai bbq chicken and tilapia with pineapple and Thai spices.
We did not notice that we consumed all that food as we were all chatting throughout dinner. Thank you, ladies for such a wonderful dinner. Hope we will all see other soon.

Genki Sushi - conveyor belt sushi restaurant

We arrived at our hotel in Seattle after our 8 hours flight from New York and wanted to get quick dinner before we rest for the night. We were fortunate to see this sushi place so close to our hotel.

I've never been to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, although I've seen a few in NYC. Genki sushi is a sushi chain restaurant in Hawaii. This location in Seattle just recently opened. Here's the list price and for someone who's hungry and can't afford to go to one those expensive Japanese sushi restaurant, this place is highly recommended.
Conveyor belt sushi restaurants are usually considered toward the bottom end of both price and quality compared to traditional sushi restaurants but have a popular appeal nonetheless.