Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine - Anaheim, CAMy family and I had dinner here, celebrating my sister-in-law's birthday. We all had never been to any of the Roy's restaurants, so we were rather excited (especially me) to eat here.
Location: Located in the newly built Anaheim Gardenwalk, conveniently across the street from the Disneyland Resort, it is quite easy to get to this restaurant ... if you're on the right side of the street. The island on Katella makes it somewhat difficult for cars coming from Harbor to enter the parking structure for the Gardenwalk. You'd have to make a U-turn, or instead of entering on Katella, you'd have to enter on the alternative entrance at Disney Way. Either way, it's all quite visible while you're on the road. -
8.5 Jocey FacesParking: The structure for the Gardenwalk is quite large, and rather spacious. There are plenty of spaces (of course this was a Wednesday evening), along with an optional valet section. There were some areas slightly confusing, due to the fact that some of the labeling was not completely clear. I could read the signage for the specific parking areas for the 300 Bowling Alley and 24 Hour Fitness, but others may miss it, since it is rather subtle. Other than that, parking was great. -
8 Jocey faces
Ambiance: When you walk into the restaurant, you can feel the "coolness." There's a bar right at the entrance with a large TV playing some kind of local sporting event. People are at the bar conversing with one another with various alcoholic beverages in their hands. Sitting down, it just felt like you knew you were going to have a great time. Everyone's awesome personalities, along with the lighting, and the way the decorations matched the table settings just made you want to stay and enjoy yourself. -
10 Jocey FacesCleanliness: PRISTINE. Seriously. Everything I saw was very clean. The floor, the table, all the plates, etc. I did not go to the restroom, but I was told it was very clean, and I believe them. Even the napkins were re-folded for us in order for our areas to look clean! I was like "WTF?" but it was very nice, which leads me to the next category! -
10 Jocey FacesService: Steve, our waiter, was awesome! Even though during our experience they ran out of 2 of the dishes we had previously ordered (trout, and the Creamsicle dessert), he was able to suggest a substitution for both, AND because of the inconvenience, deducted the price of the trout from our bill as an apology for running out of the products! Aside from that, the expediters and bussers were SUPER attentive to our table! It was great! Even the manager came by several times! He came by to ask how we were doing, then he brought out our desserts, AND he bussed our table once! When does a manager of a restaurant do that? PRACTICALLY NEVER. It was great. Awesome. -
10 Jocey FacesQuality Of Food: Here's the good part. The part of the review everyone's waiting for ... THE FOOD! :) Ok people here's the low down: IT'S AWESOME! I'm only going to deduct a 1/2 point, due to the fact that some of the items my family ordered had run out ... but my thinking is that they ran out of those items because THEY WERE SO GOOD! I wasn't able to try them this time ... but I'll be sure to return. Of what we DID eat ... oh boy ... it was awesome. Here we go ...
While waiting we were given some seasoned edamame. It was complimentary, which was awesome, and the flavor was great! They used some kind of chili and salt on it, so it had a little spice to it. Great stuff.
On the menu we had a choice between choosing our own appetizers, entrees, etc. or choosing a prix fixe menu which had an appetizer, entree, and dessert. About half my party chose our own stuff, while the rest chose from the prix fixe menu.
APPETIZERS!My brothers and I shared the
Roy's Canoe Appetizer For Two (even though it was the three of us hehe), which included grilled beef satays, Szechuan Baby Back Ribs, Seared Tiger Shrimp, Lobster Potstickers, and Panko Spicy Tuna Roll. Starting off with the tuna roll, the flavor was quite good. They had a little kick to them, but it wasn't too spicy. The slight crunch meshed well with the sticky rice. Next were the tiger shrimp. Honestly, these were a tad bit bland, compared to the previous offering, but the sauce they offered with it had a sweet and spicy essence to it. It was decent, but not the best. After that were the ribs. MMMMMM RIIIIIIIBBBBBBSSSSS. These were great! They had some sort of hoisin glaze on them, and it was very tender. The smoky flavor was carried through all the way to the bone, and it was just a great piece of meat. The beef satay following the rib fell slightly short in flavor compared to the rib. There was a distinct curry flavor to the beef, but it just couldn't hold up to the flavor of the rib. Finally the lobster potstickers. OMG SO GOOOOOD!!! It was so creamy, rich, and delicious! They were crisp, and the filling melted in your mouth. The sauce accompanying it was so buttery and delicious ... my brothers and I were tempted to just eat that all night long. EXCELLENT.
I then tried the appetizer my aunt, sister-in-law, and dad got from the prix fixe menu (Summer season), and it was the
Crispy Shrimp Lumpia with a Mango Sweet & Sour sauce. These were actually quite good! The crispy shell of the lumpia matched the silkiness of the shrimp. The flavor was quite light, and slightly sweet, but it wasn't overwhelming. It was rather refreshing!
Don't know why Blogger made my pic turn sideways, but whatevers hehe.ENTREES!There were basically 5 different entrees that I was able to taste while at dinner. Each had their own flavor profiles, and each provided my mouth with AWESOMELY DELICIOUS FLAVORS. :) I'll start from my less than favorite (though it was still good) to my most favorite.
Caramelized U-10 Sea Scallops & Teppanyaki Seared Tiger Shrimp with a Curried Yellow Tomato Coulis, and Wild Mushroom Risotto. This was my bro Ben's selection. If you know the Uy family, you know that we're suckers for seafood. Seriously ... if you took meat away from us, as long as we had seafood, we'd be happy ... so this dish is right up there for us. The Flavors were very clean, and the mushrooms in the risotto were very earthy and nice. The scallops were also quite good, though I think it needed just a tad bit more seasoning. Same with the shrimp. The coulis provided decent flavor, but it wasn't as flavorful as I think it could have been.
Grilled Salmon & Roasted Beets on a bed of Wilted Spinach and Goat Cheese. This was my aunt's selection from the prix fixe menu. I had read online that many of the "Yelpers" that had ordered this dish had regretted this decision, so I was hesitant when I saw the dish come to the table ... especially with the little globules of goat cheese surrounding the dish. But honestly, the flavors of the dish were quite good! It had a light sweetness to it, and the goat cheese, along with the earthy spinach added another element to the salmon. Salmon and goat cheese was just as good as lox & cream cheese ... it was that same combination that just worked together. The beets had reduced to almost a candied flavor, and their sweetness accented the salmon so well.
Pecan Crusted Rainbow "Trout" with Farro, & a Shaved Fennel & Tangelo Salad. This is what my mom, dad, and aunt originally ordered, before our server told us that they had run out of trout. My aunt settled with the salmon, while my mom and dad asked our server for a replacement suggestion. He suggested that his favorite fish was
barramundi, which is another type of white fish. So they ended up ordering the same preparation with the different fish. Honestly, I think the restaurant running out of trout was a good thing, because the barramundi was delicious! It was very light and easy to eat ... it didn't weigh you down once you were done eating it. The citrus flavors all were mellow, and flowed together with the pecan crusted fish. The farro and fish together were really good. They accented each other perfectly!
Yama's Kobe Beef Meatloaf with Scalloped Potatoes and a Shiitake Mushroom Sauce. This was my sister-in-law's dinner, and I believe she chose something REALLY good. The meatloaf itself just melted in your mouth when you ate it. It was so fork-tender and delicious FOR A MEATLOAF, it was unbelieveable. The cheesy scalloped potatoes and the sauce just went along with the richness of the meatloaf so well. You can't go wrong with Kobe beef ... seriously.
Roy's Classic Roasted Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with a Maine Lobster Cognac Butter Sauce. This was MY dinner. :) I'm just going to let the pictures speak for this. :) (FYI: The sauce makes this dish. You could eat saltines with this sauce, and it would be uber delicioso!)
The only dinner I wasn't able to try was my bro Brian's surf & turf combo of the
Pink Peppercorn Crusted Filet Mignon & Teppanyaki Seared Tiger Shrimp with a Horseradish Cream Sauce & Potato Au Gratin. I'm assuming that it was because it was so delicious that he just happened to eat it all. It did look good, so I completely understand. :)
DESSERT!Dessert was fun. :) I was lucky enough to be able to try 3 different desserts during my dining experience.
Macadamia Nut Tropical Shortbread (not sure of actual name ... this is what I came up with). This was the free dessert my sister-in-law received for her birthday. They even decorated the plate in chocolate with her name, and the Hawaiian greeting for Happy Birthday! It was very light, citrusy, and delicious. At the end of a meal, I wouldn't mind eating something like that, since my stomach felt like it still had room for that dessert. That's always a comforting thought.
Mango & Orange Creme Brulee. My dad and aunt got this after the "Creamsicle" dessert had run out. I want to eventually try that Creamsicle the next time I go, but oh well. This creme brulee was excellent. With a creme brulee, it's all about technique, and their technique is flawless. Beautiful and crispy caramel crust, and a light and creamy custard on the bottom. The mango and citrus flavor was very light and subtle, but it was a welcoming flavor profile in my mouth, after the delicious meal I had just had. Great suggestion by the waiter, and a great dessert in general.
Roy's Melting Hot Chocolate Souffle. This is basically a flourless chocolate cake with a molten chocolate center, and it was served a la mode with homemade vanilla ice cream and a raspberry coulis. If you like chocolate, you will LOVE this dessert. I was reading on Yelp.com before going to the restaurant some of the review, and many of them have said that they would return to the restaurant just for this souffle, and I don't blame them. To produce something like this in mass quantity is extremely difficult, and to be able to pull it off every time is quite a sight to see. We had 2 of these on the table, and each one was just as the other one, hot, delicious, and divine. Technically it was perfect, and the flavors were perfect too. It was rich, chocolatey, and the centers were molten hot, just as described. The homemade vanilla ice cream and the raspberry coulis really brought the flavor of the chocolate to the forefront, and all the flavors supported each other very well.
Quality Of Food - 9.5 Jocey FacesOverall Score: 9.3 Jocey Faces (WOW WOW WOW!)It was an excellent meal, and quite the first impression to me. I will be sure to recommend this location to anyone in the area, and I'll be sure to visit again ... when my wallet is a little heavier. :) That is one main concern that I did not take into consideration for this review. It is quite pricey to eat here. But if you're at the Anaheim Gardenwalk, you should already be prepared to spend a bit of cash. Money should not be an option if you go here. :)
Apparently in the show itself, the vampires who are "good" (i.e., the ones that don't like to kill people) drink some kind of synthetic blood beverage, which the title of the show is named after.
