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A Suga Taster’s Review for Casa Sensei, FL!

by Restaurant Reviews & Ratings

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Suga Taster Ratings for Casa Sensei, FL

Date and time of visit: October 13th at 7pm

No. of diners: 2

Server: Dane N

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★★

Ambience: ★★★★★

Décor: ★★★★★

Comfort: ★★★★★

Service: ★★★☆☆

Speed: ★★★★☆

Food quality: ★★★☆☆

Serving amount: ★★★★☆

Plating: ★★★★☆

Value for $: ★★★☆☆

A Suga Taster’s Breakdown !

A friend and I selected Casa Sensei as the place to be when we decided that a night out was overdue. Casa Sensei had been high on our list of places to try, since the cuisine is pan-Asian mixed with the dynamic culinary traditions of Latin America.

The restaurant does not have its own parking lot, but there is a parking garage within close proximity and payment is collected via the Pay By Phone App.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted quite pleasantly by hostesses, Kamilah and Daniela, who seated us within five minutes of our arrival. Although the interior of the restaurant is Asian-chic, we decided to dine outdoors by the waterfront, overlooking the Himmarshee Canal on Las Olas Blvd.

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Our server, Dane approached us shortly after, provided the food and drink menus, and took our orders quickly. However, within one hour we no longer had our server’s undivided attention and we had to be asking other servers for him to fill our glasses with water on several occasions.

Closer to the end of our disappointing dining experience, we were approached by Barbara, who I was told was the night manager. She was seeking feedback on our evening. She apologized for the server’s sparse attention and stated that it was due to it being a Saturday night, where the restaurant had its fair share of patrons. With regards to the saltiness of some of our dishes, she urged us to give them another try. Despite the mediocre service and food quality, we had already planned on returning to try their Sushi dishes. Complimentary Cotton Candy was also a sweet ending to a salty night.

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Kimchi Flavoured Popcorn (4/5) – The Kimchi flavoured Sauce gave the Popcorn quite a spicy kick. It would have been more enjoyable if the Kimchi sauce was evenly distributed though.
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Tom Yum Shrimp Soup (2/5) (USD$6) – The soup had the potential to be delectable but the sodium level was at an all time high. It was returned to the kitchen.
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Blue Crab Rangoon (4/5) (USD$9) – the Rangoons were deep fried to perfection and the sauce was just the right amount of sweet. The only complaint was that there should have been sauce drizzled on top of the rangoons as well.
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Rock Shrimp Tempura (4/5) (USD$13) -The Rock Shrimp Tempura was perfectly fried and then bathed in a sweet chili sauce. The only downfall was that the Shrimp was sliced up.
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Lobster Curry Curl (3/5) (USD$19)- The red curry sauce was also high in sodium and the flesh of the lobster was hard to remove from the shell.
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Pescado Frito (3/5) – The fish, although fried to perfection was a bit on the salty side and the accompanying sauce was quite congealed.
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Sensei Special Fried Rice (5/5) (USD$18) – House special fried rice with pork, chicken and shrimp. I’m not a big fan of rice, but I enjoyed the quantity of various meats incorporated within the dish.
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Coconut Cream Creme Brûlée (3.5) – This is my absolute favorite dessert in the world and while the flavours of the coconut milk and the berries came shining through, it was clear that the Creme Brûlée was not set, because it was very lumpy in texture.
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Lycheetini (USD$10) and Melontini (5/5) – Both were delicious.

***N.B. Prices quoted subject to additional tax and Service charge***

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Casa Sensei

Location: 1200 East Las Olas Blvd. #101 Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33301

Ph: 954-530-4176

Instagram: @casasensi

Edited By: Gabrielle Burgess (Founder/Owner of Suga Lifestyle)

If you liked this Blog, follow Suga Lifestyle Online, on Instagram (@sugalifestyle), Twitter (@sugalifestyleja) or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

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Lunch by the Dock

by FoodpornRestaurant Reviews & Ratings

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Three Mondays ago on a sunny day in Florida, my husband and I went to lunch at Boatyard at 1:30pm.

I was instantly impressed by the courteous staff, who were well uniformed from head to toe. They looked comfortable but professional in their loafers and quite preppy in khaki pants and shorts, topped off by baby blue Polos to complete the look.

The restaurant had a spacious layout with tasteful décor. My husband, Randy was in disbelief that I chose to dine outside since it was a sunny day out, but I could not pass up dining dockside with a scenic view. He was pleasantly surprised by how cool it was out there and umbrellas provided shade by the table as well.

What is Boatyard Known for?

Boatyard is known to serve fresh catches from local fishermen and premium cuts of meat. They also boast about having the highest quality raw bar, which usually includes oysters, shrimp and ceviche.

Boatyard offers Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Cocktails and Wine. They are also called Bimini. Their Brunch, familiarly known as ‘Brunch at Bimini’ is quite popular.

You can enjoy unlimited Bloody Mary, Bellini and Mimosas for $25. In addition to that, you can hit the Omelet Station for $14USD or the Benedict Bar for $16USD. If you would like other options, you can order from the main menu that offers Bimini favourites such as Steamed Eggs, Buttermilk Waffles, Shrimp and Grits, Smoked Salmon, Bagel platters and more. So even though I love Tap 42, Suga will switch things up for Brunch at Bimini next time.

What Suga Wanted but Could not Have

I missed out on the Florida Paella that I was looking forward to. The original plan was to have dinner at Boatyard, but we had dinner at our family’s house instead. Realising that the Paella was not on the lunch menu, I expressed my disappointment to our lovely server, G.G. She did her best to check if they could still serve it, but it wasn’t possible because they didn’t prep for it yet. You can imagine the prep that goes into it too, because Paellas are usually stacked with Seafood. Their Paella has Shrimp, Clams, Mussels, Calamari, local Fish, Saffron rice and housemade Chorizo. I definitely will return for it!

G.G. came back to us with other options and really sold us on their Healthy Bowl for the day, which was a Salmon dish. Boatyard is another restaurant in Florida that keeps it fresh. They change items on their menu often, but usually keep the favourites.

Appetizer (Shareable)

We started off with the shareable Charred Octopus ($17USD). I loved that they managed to keep the meat tender and saturated with flavour. It was also value for money with the serving size given.

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Charred Octopus ($17USD) with wilted kale, garbanzo, fingerling and chorizo vinaigrette.

Entrees

I decided to have the Grilled Swordfish ($26USD) complemented by a tasty lemon flavoured sauce, along with fresh market greens. It was delish! It had a moist and very meaty texture as it should.

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Randy’s Healthy Bowl ($22USD) was quite delightful. Thanks for the recommendation G.G.! It consisted of Grilled Salmon topped off with a Cilantro lime sour cream drizzle, accompanied by Avocado, Mango and Black Bean Salsa, Sweet Corn Salsa and a Petit salad.

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Boatyard’s Healthy Bowl for the Day with Salmon ($22USD)

Suga’s Endorsement

Courteous staff, spacious Layout and tasteful Décor, impressive Menu Options, Quick Service and most importantly, Delicious, Flavourful Food a.k.a Value for Money. Boatyard is Suga Endorsed and I will return.

Boatyard

Location: 1555 SE 17th Street. Fort Lauderdale. FL 33316. USA

Ph: 954-525-7400

Website (Menu): www.boatyard.restaurant

Opening Hours: Mon. to Thurs.: 11:30am-11pm; Fri. & Sat. 11:30am-12am; Sun. 10am-10pm

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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La Bonne Crepe in Florida

by Restaurant Reviews & Ratings
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Cappuccino

 Two weeks ago, Suga took a walk on the strip of Las Olas Blvd. in Florida in search of a late Breakfast. It was quite a busy atmosphere because of the Festival taking place. People were everywhere!

I wanted to try somewhere new too so the sign, ‘La Bonne Crepe’ caught my eyes. I was like great, Breakfast Crepe.

Missed that though, because upon entry my friend and I were greeted politely then told that they were switching over to lunch so we may have a little wait. It was about 11am and we were fine with that.

Our waitress was not initially pleasant and she was a bit up in age but thankfully she warmed up as time went by.

We ordered Salmon and Turkey crepes with cheese ($15.70USD and $14.64USD respectively). Prices were reasonable and the Crepes on their menu were in different categores such as Breakfadt Crepes, Dessert Crepes, Cheese Crepes, you name it.

They are also a Café so a variety of coffee, hot and cold and other beverages were available.

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Turkey and Cheese Crepe with Bacon

After much anticipation, HUGE Crepes came our way but we were not impressed. We had no idea it would be crispy Crepes and they were bland. The meats needed more seasoning and a different kind of cheese should have been used to complement them or add some flavour. So it really was just a big pile of nothing that just satisfied my hunger. I enjoyed my frozen Cappuccino though. The experience makes me have to big up our local, Tea Tree Crêperie, although they usually have you waiting on the one person making their Crepes, the quality is good, consistent, tasty and the flavours are brought out well in the Crepes.

So next time I go back on that strip I will just go with what I know, YOLO!

La Bonne Crepe

815 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale,

FL 33301,

United States