KUTA Satay House and Wine Bar

Kuta is a small dimly lit pan-Asian restaurant that serves a variety of Southeast Asian dishes such as pad thai, beef rendang, curry, and satay skewers, although it also dabbles in American staples like steak, burgers, and crab cakes. Their menu is extensive and reasonably priced - a pre-fixe dinner is a mere $25, which includes a choice of satay skewers, one starter, one entree, and dessert. Despite many choices requiring supplemental costs, most choices do not, and the portions are enough to satisfy a small Chinese girl with a voracious appetite, like myself.

The small narrow L-shaped interior is manned by a single waiter who did his best to accommodate and receive orders of our party of 26. Gracious and polite, he embodies the perfect waiter that many restaurants can't seem to boast of. The steak I ordered was cooked rare instead of medium rare and when I asked to have it reheated, he cheerfully brought it back to the kitchen without giving me an attitude. Unfortunately, the steak was seared for too long and both sides were blackened, even before I asked it to be cooked a little longer. The dipping sauce was too salty and although it specified on the menu that it was a cilantro-lime spicy dipping sauce, it merely tasted like au jus. The size of the steak was incredible, at least two inches thick and at least 12 oz., the menu never stated. I prefer a strip steak, so this is not on my list of the best of steaks.


On a better note, the Korean Kalbi satay skewer I ordered was scrumptious, although a friend of mine said her's was too fatty. Mine was tender, juicy, and not burned like the shrimp skewers other members of my group ordered. Nevertheless, upon trying a Jimbaran Spicy Tiger Shrimp skewer, I was happily surprised to find that there was at least some heat to its name, unlike many other Thai/Malay/Indonesian restaurants that label dishes as spicy and do not put out.


A must-try at Kuta is their Jimbaran Crab Cake, which comes with a spicy aioli that complements the dish well. The heat adds dimension to the crab cake without overpowering the flavor of the crab cake. And the crab cake is generously packed with lots of crab meat. Although this is my first time ever trying crab cake, I must say that I was thoroughly satisfied with the dish.


Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Food: 3.5/5
Decor: 2.5/5
Service: 5/5
Value: 4/5
Pricing: $$ ($10-20 per entree)

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Ramen Setagaya

They have tables along the walls and window and then a long table in the center.



The professional ramen makers and that's a tray of utensils but also seasoning! They have a variety of tiny bottles with interesting tastes that you can add to your soup base and or ramen. I highly recommend this orange/red one but sadly they all look kinda similar =X

Dumplings (I didn't try them but they smelled good)


Curry-don (pretty good, if you can totally try it)


Buta-don


R1 (I think) If you are not a fan of scallion I don't recommend this, well I mean I'm not a fan of scallion either but I guess you should pick the other ones if you can, also if you are a meat lover this is not the dish for you. As you can see, there is only one piece of meat which they call Cha-Syu. Their cha-syu is pretty good too, not too dry and enough flavoring. Aside from the meat and the scallions, this dish has seaweed, bamboo and an egg.


R3 - I like this dish, if only there were more pieces of meat =( I don't remember the soup base but it was good and the texture of the ramen... there was something about them but it was good. This type of ramen is different from the R5 dish and in my opinion better. They should combine the two lol


R4 - I didn't try this but I think what you are suppose to do is to put the ramen into the soup bowl and then knock yourself out :)


R5 - Well you already know my thoughts in regards for the ramen (don't get me wrong, it's still good) and yay more meat :)

I may be a dollar or two off but for lunch I think each bowl is around $8 and after that around $10. If you want a bowl of ramen + an appetitzer (dumplings or curry/buta-don), there is an additional $2? If you are not full from one bowl save your soup! You can order an extra bowl of ramen for $2 which in my opinion tasted even better.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5
Food: 4/5
Decor: 2.5/5
Value: 3.5/5
Service: 4/5
Pricing: $$ ($10-20)

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The Park

The PARK sign on the far right looks like an actual parking lot sign which I thought was cute and there an actual parking lot across the street so don't get confused.

The decor of the main dining room is very classy yet at the same time it has a diner/homey feel to it (my picture does not do it justice). The Garden is where we ate at and it really did make you feel like you were at the park; the green and pink tiled tables added to it. During the day it would feel like lunch at the park but at night the lighting would be very dim and the lit up trees just made it romantic and pretty.

Scallops Cerviche
Crisp Calamari with Chipotle Aioli and Spicy Marinara Sauce

For the appetizers I highly recommend the Scallops Ceviche and the fried calamari. At first I thought the chips + the cerviche would be a bit strange but the combination worked. As for the calamari, I do not recall the marinara sauce being spicy but it was good calamari none the less.

Grilled Atlantic Salmon with Avocado Tomatillo Salsa, Asparagus and Corn on the Cob
Pasta with shrimp, roasted red peppers and baby spinach

Their salmon was cooked wonderfully and it wasn't dry at all. As for the pasta dish, overall it was good dish but the sauce was little bit too strong for my taste.

Their dessert menu had a variety of desserts and they all seemed delicious but I was only able to try a few (they were good.) However, the tiramisu I did not enjoy. You could smell the rum before even tasting it and the rum taste overpowered the dessert.

You must try their appetizers and desserts, but don't and i repeat DO NOT order their water. It is overpriced and they charge you for it. It would of been nice to be informed of that though. Our waitress was extremely nice and I suppose the head waitress? was very on top of her people making sure they were doing their job and that we were satisfied.

Overall rating: 4
Food: 3.5
Decor: 5
Service: 4
Value: 4
Pricing: $$$$ out of $$$$$

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