Tara Thai

9811 Washingtonian Blvd # L9,
Gaithersburg, MD 20878-5354
(301) 947-8330

‎ tarathaiatriocenter.com

Mon.- Fri: 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. / 4:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Sat: 4:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.
Sun:4:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

Rating: 1/5


To everyone there own, sorry but let me start off by saying that I gave more hope to this place than it deserves. This place has poor decor, horrible food and over priced. Service was so so.. it wasn't horrible but it wasn't stellar either. Ive been to both the Tara Thai on the 355 Rockville Pike and the one in RIO which is the one I'm doing the review for. Nothing catches my eye, food is bland and it is not worth it. Not saying its not for everyone. Just not for me.

Tom Yum soup is one of my favorite things to get at a Thai restaurant. However this dish didn't hit the spot too much.. Small bowl, over priced and stuff that came in it wasn't good.. Pork instead of Shrimp... You had to mix this from the bottom to actually get the sour lemony taste.

This is #45 - $12.95 Pattaya Noodles.
Really it wasn't that good and it was more of a soup than sauce.. Also the other DISGUSTING part was the "diced" tomatoes in which they use the entire tomatoes including the rotting stem... this is one of the many reasons why I rated it so poorly. O yea, 2 chili peppers next to it on the menu doesn't mean its spicy.

#44 Seafood Fried Rice $12.95
Wasn't a festival of Seafood... its hard to mess up fried rice.. but it really wasn't that great either..

No idea what this was again.. but I know it wasn't that good.

Yep.. same with this one.. it doesn't taste better then it looks..

#38 - Gaegn Ped Yang $11.95
Red curry.. this was spicy.. would be nice if it was thicker. very SPICY!

I believe they have taken this off the menu as it was a green curry. It was super spicy.

All in all this place had nothing special.. the price was not fairly matched with anything, and the food was poor.. One of the biggest disgusting factors about this place was sitting inside the restaurant and having to fan every min to get the swarm of flies from falling into your food. Although I understand that some people may like flies and get extra protein and flavors from them, it is a horrible thing to go out to eat but spend more time swatting flies and fanning them away than putting food into your mouth. Disgusting and would not recommend or ever go back.

Bubble Express

Bubble Express
765 Rockville Pike,
Rockville, MD 20852
(301) 545-1708 ‎ ‎

Price: around $9


Rating 4/5





I'm confused as you are. Jumbo Jumbo Cafe, Asia Taste, Bubble Express??? People have many different names for this place. Even the store says Bubble Express on the top and Jumbo Jumbo cafe in the window. One this is for sure. GREAT PLACE! I believe its Taiwanesestyle food, but it's missing Oyster pancake and stinky tofu, with that it would be a 6/5 rating! This small store serves up the best Taiwanese style popcorn chicken and bubble tea. The bubble tea is always good, although not fresh... it uses a good syrup and not that nasty medicine tasting powder..

Passion Fruit Smoothie and Blueberry Smoothie. Has tapioca starch bubbles inside of it. Make sure you always Shake well before drinking!

For the entree! Taiwanese style chicken with pork over rice! This was VERY Filling for me and could only finish half. Basically its Taiwanese fried popcorn chicken, and two scoops of rice with ground pork on top. Personally my favorite now. However it could use more rice..

Over all This place is nice to go to. Very relaxed and good for a quick good bite!

Tackle Box

3245 M St NW
(between N Potomac St & N Wisconsin Ave)
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 337-8269

tackleboxrestaurant.com

Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 11 pmPrice: $11 - $15

Rating: 3/5

Seafood comes in only two different forms here, grilled or crispy (fried). First I thought about the original fish and chips, however it works differently here. Tackle box has a unique way of ordering. First you pick your meal, either the Maine meal or the Tackle Box meal. Maine has +2 sides and Tackle Box is only +1 side. You choose you fish from the menu, the fish are cooked either grilled or crispy, AKA fried. You than pick a sauce and a side. Although the portions were smaller than I would hope for the price, surprisingly the fish was fresh, tasty and well seasoned!

Tackle Box Meal, Fish: Crispy Haddock, Side: Mac and Cheese, Sauce: Pesto.
The Haddock was very good and perfectly salted on the outside yet the first was a bit sweet.
It really was the best fried piece of fish I have had! Very well seasoned without drying out your mouth. However the mac and cheese wasn't up to par, nor did the pesto sauce go good with this. Even though this was well seasoned don't be afraid to use old bay.
Price: $9.50


Maine Meal, Fish: Grilled Cod, Side: Fries & Corn Brad. Sauce: BBQ Sauce
This was the grilled fish and yes, once again I feel the portions are small, but still tasty.
Sides again missed the mark as some of the fries were paper thin..
Price: $13.50

Tackle Box Meal, Fish: Crispy Shrimp, Side: Coleslaw, Sauce: Tarter
Not a big fan of Coleslaw, however the shrimp was good and not fishy.
Price: $9.50

Tackle Box Meal, Fish: Grilled Trout, Side: Grilled Asparagus, Sauce: Lemon
Yes.. Lemon is considered a sauce... This was was all around good again. I'm pretty sure they catch the fish fresh and cook it right there and than. This time the side was good, but than again it was 4 pieces of asparagus. I guess you would go to this place if your trying to diet.
Price: $9.50

Tackle Box Meal, Fish: Grilled Blue Fish, Side: Fried Green tomatoes, Sauce: lemon-garlic Aioli.
Sides was once again disappointing, it looked good but it wasn't hitting the taste as its suppose to. Good fried green tomatoes are salty on the outside and sweet on the inside.. not bland on the outside and sour in the middle. I guess its not in season. The fish however was once again good, however I wasn't impressed by the skin being burnt like that. The sauce was also not as described and instead of a "lemon-garlic Aioli" it should just be changed to Mayonnaise.
Price: $9.50

All in all the food was all right.. Portions can be larger and equal to the price. Sides needs to be taken care of as much as the fish has been. Not sure why you can only have one sauce. Don't know why you would consider lemon as a sauce. All in all the fish was the best part, however this is the restaurant that you need to make a pit stop at a fast food place after. O yea, FYI the price does not include a drink, drinks are $2. ENJOY!

Matuba Japanese Restaurant

4918 Cordell Ave

Bethesda, MD 20814

(301) 652-7449

www.matuba-sushi.com/

Sit Down Hours:
Monday - Friday 11:30am - 10:00pm
Sat - 12:00pm - 10:30pm
Sunday 5:00pm - 9:30pm

Buffet Hours:
Thursday - Sunday 11:30am - 1:45pm, 5:00pm - 9:30pm

Price:
Buffet - Lunch $13 Dinner $18.50
Dinner Sit Down - TOO MUCH FOR TOO LITTLE +$20
Rating: Buffet 4/5 , Dinner Sit Down 2/5

Located in the heart of Bethesda, Matuba is a small restaurant that serves quality sushi in its buffet, but poor sushi in the sit down. To start the sit down seating consist of two levels... and holds maybe a max of 20 tables.. very small. The buffet area in the back is the only reason why anyone should go here. For the same price as a buffet you will receive lower quality sushi and walk out of the restaurant trying to find the nearest McDonald's.


What you see here is the dinner sit down, in which I myself ate the Spicy scallop, Ikura 2pcs and Uni 2pcs.. Uni was $7.25 and was just not for me I guess..
Ikura for $6 something.. and for 2pcs I would think that there would be MORE Ikura loaded into it.. NOPE.. it was a layer..
Spicy Scallop only had scallops on the top.. he middle was tempura and that was about it.
Sit down? Not worth it.. only buffet from now on.
Everything you see on the picture to the left was $23..

Matuba Rotary bar Buffet!!

Sushi buffet in which the food comes to you. You will never need to leave your seat unless your making a phone call, or going to the bathroom. How awesome is that! Its a great idea but not many places can do this right.. actually there has not been any other that can compare to the quality and price. Although there is limited choices the quality is still good and taste great.

Shrimp Temp dish with other Tempura.

Spicy Tuna Hand Roll. Looks good and taste that much better!

California roll, just without the mayonnaise and shrimp egg.

Tempera Chicken

I want to say its a fried seafood ball thing. I know that its good!

Pot Stickers!! Make sure you get them hot.. so they are still crispy and not soggy.

Chicken Teriyaki. Actually very tasty and moist!

Ell nigiri. They also have Octopus, Salmon, and Tuna Nigiri.

Pretty sure its temp squid. This is very good also.

Fried Sushi! Its always good to have spicy Mayo Sauce on it!

Spicy Tuna rice tar tar? I think he made this special for us.

The sushi chef making all this food is very fair, kind and generous. If you feel as if the other tables around you are pigging out faster than you can, and grabbing your dishes that you want, just ask the chef directly and he will make the dish for you and hand it off. Food actually travels around and people aren't too greedy and grab things they don't eat. Its always fun to try to eat your moneys worth here and player sushi towers! All in all this is one of my favorite sushi spots in Maryland. Hope you guys can come visit this place and indulge and enjoy yourself.

Honey Pig Gooldaegee Korean Grill

7220 Columbia Pike

Ste C
Annandale, VA 22003

(703) 256-5229

www.kt411.com/bbq

Hours: 247!!

Price: Around $15 per person

Rating: 3.5/5




Korean BBQ. Opened 247! That is a major plus as this place is always packed when I go (normally at 12am.) A great chill post CLUB or Party to go eat. Forget the fast good and drive through, forget eggs and packages too. Real adults needs there meat late at night.

You will first start off with an appetizer dish. Personally I LOVE the salad and the potato salad. Super simple but when its 12am and your starving I guess everything taste great.

Than you get your plate of raw meat that is cooked in front of you on a hot plate.
They have all the different variety from seafood, chicken, pork and beef.

<== Bulgogi. Its pretty good and its the standard thing to get.
















Forgot what this was, but it was good.==>

Who needs pancakes and eggs when you have spicy pork belly as your bacon and marinated short ribs cooking in front of you. Instead of pancakes we get rice and mini dishes.

Cooking time for the meats aren't that long.. that or your just having too much fun with your friends and time flies fast.

At least for me, the steamed egg that we get always comes late near the end of the meal.

Korean BBQ. Open all day every day.. The only sad part is that its in VA and not Maryland.. Could really use one of these places on Rockville Pike. Service is decently good but only expect to see them three times, once when they come to your table to take your order, second is to bring the food, and third is to give you the check. Make sure you get everything you need in the short time you spend with them. Also it HELPS a million to have a Speaking Korean person in your group!. Enjoy!

Pho 95

785 Rockville Pike

Ste H
Rockville, MD 20852

(301) 294-9391

www.pho95md.com
Hours:
Mon, Wed-Thu, Fri-Sat 11 am - 9 pm
Sun 11 am - 8:30 pm

(Closed Tuesday)

Price: $15 (2 bowls of Pho and Spring Rolls I think...Honestly forgot the price.)
Rating: 6/5

Why 6/5, its the same thing when you get an +A. This place has gone beyond everything your looking for in a restaurant. For me, I can have this anytime (others only in the winter.) This is like the perfect Asian Hangover, Comfort Food. Vietnamese noodles cooked in beef broth with generous portions of meats.

Crispy Spring Rolls. These aren't the average disgusting oily unfilled spring rolls. They are super crispy all the time and the filling is also of a larger portion. The dipping sauce pairs perfect with the crispy spring rolls. YOU MUST TRY THIS! No OTHER PLACE HAS THIS!

The main course and the 2nd favorite dish on my list is Pho Noodles. (Regular #1 with all the fixings) The soup base is warming and soothing with a rich taste of the beef broth. The noodles are actually soft and not crumbly, it also soaks in the broth giving it extra flavor. The meat also is tasty and soft, NOT stringy. Personally I like my meat to come raw on the side to have it even more flavorful and soft. Regular #1 also comes with beef tripe and also fun stuff that you may not like..

All in all this place is friendly, cheap, close and tasty. The service is happy and always remembers you. The place is actually CLEAN and unlike most Pho's the accounting is actually legitimate and allows CREDIT CARD! Splitting checks and paying for it is a WALK in the park (which is important when you go with people that may not always pay full.. ) I only trust one Pho place and this is it. Besides noodles there are other things on the menu such as Rice dishes and other stuff. The only thing that could make this better is if its open 247.

Sushi Damo (Rockville, MD)

36-G Maryland Ave

Rockville, MD 20850

(301) 340-8010

http://www.sushidamo.com/

Hours:

Mon-Sat 11:30 am - 3 pm

Mon-Thu 5 pm - 10 pm

Fri-Sat 5 pm - 12 am

Sun 12 pm - 9:30 pm

Price: Lunch is around $15
Dinner is at least $50 if you get 1 special roll and 3 normal rolls.

Rating: 4/5


Sushi Damo, one of the many sushi restaurants in Montgomery County, but what sets this apart from all the other ones is the unique lounge feeling and constant quality of food and service. Its hard to find a real Asian ran restaurant that brings food to the table promptly and that has good service. Although a bit pricey, your paying for the atmosphere and the constant quality that Sushi Damo Delivers.

Grilled Salmon Bento Box $12
Salad on the top left, grilled piece of Salmon on the top right
3pcs California roll bottom left, fried mini dumplings (I think), and rice that is shaped as a flower.
Decently good and just filled the tank a bit. Could have a large piece of fish, but I'm just a big eater.

Beef Teriyaki $13.50
Same as the top swapped the Grilled Salmon for the Beef. This was a good portion and hit the spot, however as a sushi place, they could have given more rolls and maybe add some sushi sashimi scraps to the salad.

Ikura $3 sashimi style. Pretty good and is fresh every time I've gone.

Rainbow Roll $9
Simple plating, bite size and fresh.

I want to say this is the Out Of Control Roll for $15 but I forgot.

My first impression of Sushi Damo was high, as it came from New York City, and yes it did meet my high expectations. Ive been back 4 times and have tried many of dishes. Every time I've gone back it has provided consistency of fresh fish. But to be honest, besides the the atmosphere and consistency of fresh fish, it doesn't have anything savory that will make you come back. There isn't a dish that you must have or that you are craving that another restaurant does not have. All in all there is not one dish I recommend that jumps out to me. Not saying that this place is not good, but its nothing special. Consistent and good atmosphere is what it has going.

Sushi-Ko

2309 Wisconsin Ave NW

(between N Calvert St & N Hall Pl)
Washington, DC 20007
Neighborhood: Glover Park

(202) 333-4187

www.sushikorestaurants.com/

Price: $ +90


Rating 2/5



Sushi-Ko apparently gets fresh fish almost everyday, however I must have gone of the day that they did not have fresh fish. Sushi-Ko is ranked pretty high for sushi lovers in Maryland.. but I think otherwise. Besides from it being plated nicely there wasn't much going for this place. The sushi I received did not seem fresh at all and even the rice seemed a bit dry. The two big O's are that the food was old and over priced.

My favorite sushi is the Salmon Roe aka Ikura - $6 for two I believe. The Ikura wasn't even that fresh and the worst part was that the sea weed warp was getting soggy.. Which meant it was sitting out for awhile.. We were the only customers in the restaurant at the time too..
Second on the dish was Yellow Tail aka hamachi nigiri - $6 for two.

2nd dish came with the special Fatty Tuna that day which is maguro and Uni.
Uni is sea urchin and I have yet to find a place that has good tasting Uni.. that or I just don't like the taste.. Pretty sure the Uni I got was not fresh.

Last dish of our meal was a sashimi dish that ranged from $17-$25.
Mixed with Red Snapper, Salmon, Yellow tail and Sea weed.. This dish was not worth it as fresh fish should not smell like fish.. good sushi taste wonderful, sometimes sweet.. not a pungent odor of decaying fish.

All in all I wasn't so pleased with this place and I have no idea how it even made it to the top 10 sushi places in Maryland. Besides from the mediocre sushi, the decor in the up stairs dining room was also not that great. I really do not recommend this place and would not return.