I swear, this is the second to last LA Food Adventures post before I can finally move on to something else 
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But today, I am bringing you to Laguna Beach and Santa Ana. My sister and I decided to do a day out in the area and check out some of the beaches there. To be honest, I was not a huge fan of the main Laguna Beach and found myself much preferring Thousand Steps Beach and Victoria Beach. They were much cleaner in terms of the sand and the crowd wasn't as crazy. I would definitely recommend those areas instead.
But anyways, F O O D! 
We were originally going to go to another place for lunch but considering the fact that they had an hour long wait, we opted to go somewhere else instead. We were also hoping for some seafood since we're right by the beach and so we found ourselves at Slapfish.
Once I saw the menu, I immediately knew that I wanted to order Fish & Chips 🐟 as that is my go-to whenever I see it on the menu. It came with a very large serving of fries (or chips) 🍟 and had a large piece of fried white fish on top. I'm not entirely sure what kind of fish it was but it was perfectly fried. The fish was also incredibly fresh. The only one downside to this dish was that I did find that the batter to fish ratio a bit skewed - there were more batter than fish in some areas. Otherwise, I was very satisfied with my choice. The price for this was $11 which was very reasonable.
My sister ordered the Traditional Maine Lobster Roll and found it incredibly fresh as well. She said that it was much fresher compared to other lobster rolls that she has had in the past so she was well-satisfied with that as well. It also came with a side of fries but it was quite dismal looking compared to my portion. The market price for her lobster roll on the day that we went (7/7/2018) was $24. Since I don't usually order lobster rolls, I'm unsure as to whether or not that price is fair but my sister seemed satisfied and not surprised by the price so I assumed that all was well.
Her boyfriend was also there and ordered the Ultimate Fish Taco (not pictured, sorry! ) for $7 which was quite a steal to be honest. The taco was huge and he mentioned that it was very healthy tasting (i.e. quite bland) so thankfully Slapfish provided quite a number of hot sauces for instances such as that.
) for $7 which was quite a steal to be honest. The taco was huge and he mentioned that it was very healthy tasting (i.e. quite bland) so thankfully Slapfish provided quite a number of hot sauces for instances such as that.
My sister also later ordered a Creamy Clam Chowder ($7) which I believe she mentioned that it was just okay - nothing too special. For the same price, I personally would have gone with the Ultimate Fish Taco because that taco looked really satisfying.
As for the service, Slapfish is a small place and gave off fast-food-like atmosphere so there was pretty much non-existent service. However, I found the food to be fresh and the price very reasonable so it was overall a win for me.
Overall Verdict on Slapfish: 🌟🌟🌟
After a full day at the beach, we decided to go to Santa Ana for dinner since it was on the way back home. Plus, we weren't really feeling any Western food and were really craving Sichuan food. So when my sister found that a chain of Sichuan Impression was there, we headed there.
I realized afterward that I should have taken individual photos of each dish but since they all came at the same time, I ended up doing a group photo instead 🙈 sorry!
The first dish that we ordered was the Spicy Fried Chicken 🐔 (top picture). I actually have not heard of this dish before and it was recommended by my sister's boyfriend who claimed that it was very good. I'm also not entirely sure about the price for this dish because it wasn't on the menu - it was something he ordered off-menu. However, it was incredible! The fried chicken was extremely tender and it was so flavorful with the chili numbing spice. It was sauteed with strips of celery, green peppers and dried chili peppers. Tons of flavor was found in this dish and we found ourselves pretty much devouring the entire thing.
The second dish that we got was the classic Mapo Tofu (bottom left picture). This is the one dish that you always order at a Sichuan restaurant to see how authentic it really is. I was pleased to find that this dish was delicious. They really succeeded in that spicy numbing flavor because this dish had a lot of numbing spices to it. The waiter even mentioned that they added extra. I also noticed that the Mapo Tofu here was vegetarian which is interesting because the ones that I order back in NYC usually comes with minced meat or they, at least, have an option to have it or not. But not here. This dish was $11.99 which I found on par with the prices in NYC.
The third dish that we ordered was the Couple's Sliced Beef in Chili Sauce (bottom right picture). Out of all of the dishes we ordered that night, I was most disappointed with this one. It was good but because the slices of beef were cut too thickly, I found that there was a lack of flavor in some of the pieces. I tend to prefer the slices to be cut very thin so the chili sauce can really soak into each piece. This dish also usually comes with ox tripe but in this case, I only found a few pieces here and there which was a bit disappointing. It also came on the warmer side which is odd for me because this dish is usually categorized as a cold appetizer so it was a bit off-putting. This dish was $9.99 which was actually on the pricier side.
I realized afterward that I should have taken individual photos of each dish but since they all came at the same time, I ended up doing a group photo instead 🙈 sorry!
The first dish that we ordered was the Spicy Fried Chicken 🐔 (top picture). I actually have not heard of this dish before and it was recommended by my sister's boyfriend who claimed that it was very good. I'm also not entirely sure about the price for this dish because it wasn't on the menu - it was something he ordered off-menu. However, it was incredible! The fried chicken was extremely tender and it was so flavorful with the chili numbing spice. It was sauteed with strips of celery, green peppers and dried chili peppers. Tons of flavor was found in this dish and we found ourselves pretty much devouring the entire thing.
The second dish that we got was the classic Mapo Tofu (bottom left picture). This is the one dish that you always order at a Sichuan restaurant to see how authentic it really is. I was pleased to find that this dish was delicious. They really succeeded in that spicy numbing flavor because this dish had a lot of numbing spices to it. The waiter even mentioned that they added extra
. I also noticed that the Mapo Tofu here was vegetarian which is interesting because the ones that I order back in NYC usually comes with minced meat or they, at least, have an option to have it or not. But not here. This dish was $11.99 which I found on par with the prices in NYC.The third dish that we ordered was the Couple's Sliced Beef in Chili Sauce (bottom right picture). Out of all of the dishes we ordered that night, I was most disappointed with this one. It was good but because the slices of beef were cut too thickly, I found that there was a lack of flavor in some of the pieces. I tend to prefer the slices to be cut very thin so the chili sauce can really soak into each piece. This dish also usually comes with ox tripe but in this case, I only found a few pieces here and there which was a bit disappointing. It also came on the warmer side which is odd for me because this dish is usually categorized as a cold appetizer so it was a bit off-putting. This dish was $9.99 which was actually on the pricier side.
We also ordered another dish - Boiled Fish with Rattan Pepper. We were originally going to order the classic Sichuan Boiled Fish but because everything else we had ordered was already in that same red chili numbing sauce, we opted for something different for our palates. To be honest, I was initially hesitant about ordering this dish because it looked really similar to the sour and spicy version (my Google sleuthing says that dish is Suan Cai Yu or Sour Vegetable Fish for a direct translation). However, the waiter said it wasn't sour, just spicy. So we ordered it and I am glad that we did. It was honestly very similar to the traditional version but so much cleaner. It was spicy but it didn't have that numbing aspect to it. It was also less oily hence a cleaner taste. The pieces of fish were also very large and very tender. If I had to pick a favorite dish, it would be a toss up between this one and the fried chicken. The price for this dish was $13.99 which I found very reasonable for the amount of food in it.
At the very end, we ended up ordering another dish (not pictured, sorry! 🙈) because my sister was still hungry
. We mostly got this dish because we saw a waiter go by with it and my sister thought it looked really good. I believe that this dish was the Sauteed Shredded Potato but I'm not 100% sure mainly because, as stated, we saw this dish go by and ordered it from that and not the menu. However, if it is that dish then it was $8.99 which I believe is quite reasonable.
Overall, we were quite satisfied with our dinner and the dishes that we ordered. There wasn't a single one that wasn't good which is always a plus. The service was also very decent as the waiters and waitresses around were always attentive and willing to answer any questions asked. The restaurant was also very packed when we first arrived and had to wait about 15-20 minutes before being seated.
Overall Verdict on Sichuan Impression: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
At the very end, we ended up ordering another dish (not pictured, sorry! 🙈) because my sister was still hungry
. We mostly got this dish because we saw a waiter go by with it and my sister thought it looked really good. I believe that this dish was the Sauteed Shredded Potato but I'm not 100% sure mainly because, as stated, we saw this dish go by and ordered it from that and not the menu. However, if it is that dish then it was $8.99 which I believe is quite reasonable.Overall, we were quite satisfied with our dinner and the dishes that we ordered. There wasn't a single one that wasn't good which is always a plus. The service was also very decent as the waiters and waitresses around were always attentive and willing to answer any questions asked. The restaurant was also very packed when we first arrived and had to wait about 15-20 minutes before being seated.
Overall Verdict on Sichuan Impression: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
I N F O R M A T I O N O N R E S T A U R A N T S/P L A C E S M E N T I O N E D
Slapfish (many locations)
211 Broadway St
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 715-0460
Website | Yelp
Sichuan Impression (many locations)
13816 Red Hill AveSlapfish (many locations)
211 Broadway St
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
(949) 715-0460
Website | Yelp
Sichuan Impression (many locations)
Tustin, CA 92780
(714) 505-9070
Website | Yelp
IF YOU HAVE BEEN TO THE PLACES MENTIONED ABOVE, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THEM. - Stephanie
- Stephanie
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