Lunch Specials: La Limena

Now it's time for the second installment of Lunch Specials!

For this special, I go to another Peruvian restaurant in Rockville.  Who knew that there is a significant Peruvian presence in the area?  Well, that's good for me and anyone that likes good food.

Tucked away in strip mall covered up by IHOP (cue the vomit) when driving down Rockville Pike is La Limeña.  Not only is it in the strip mall, it's located in a far corner, so it took a bit of a walk from the main parking lot.

I came here for something that they have on Fridays.  And it's only $9.50!  So what is it exactly?  It's a bowl of whatever soup they make that day and a big plate of arroz con pollo (rice with chicken).  And I do mean BIG.

 

The rice cooked with cilantro, giving it its green color.  The chicken varies week to week.  In my previous visit, the white meat was cooked in cilantro while the dark meat was used in the soup.  In my first visit, it was rotisserie chicken or pollo a la brasa, which is divine by the way.  It's made fresh everyday and you see it when you first walk into the place.  

 Everything you get also comes with a little plate of two sauces: ají verde (spicy) on the left and huancaína (mild) on the right.  Great for the dipping the chicken.

So next time on your Friday lunch, head on down to 765 Rockville Pike and start your weekend off with a nice big lunch.  I mean, its Friday after all, what could go wrong...

Dinner at Yuraku: A Oceanic Feast

When I posted on my time at Yuraku's lunch buffet, I said that I would talk about what it's like to have dinner there.  This is no ordinary dinner.  This is a gorgefest of oceanic proportions.  A dent to the world's supply of seafood.  Well, sort of.  But I can say that the sushi overall is of better quality during this time.  

As my family and I look through the menu, we receive a bowl of carrot, celery, and cucumber sticks with a dipping sauce.  The one thing I always get here is the platters of sushi, sashimi, or a combination of both, which come in a variety of sizes.  The one my family got consists of 4 rolls and 66 pieces of nigiri sushi and sashimi.  The one thing I always get here is the platters of sushi, which come in a variety of sizes.  But I will get to that in a bit.  

Before we get our sushi, we get additional complementary items.  First, a small egg custard called chawan mushi, with fish cake slices.  

Then, a plate of grilled salmon head and collar, which I absolutely love.  They only serve half of a head.  Since we were all excited about it, we devoured it like a pack of wolves before a picture could be taken.  So here's one from a previous visit.

Finally, the house salad of lettuce and cabbage served with a peanut dressing.

Now on to the main course.  The combo platter: it's massive, colorful, and diverse.  A barrage of seafood such as squid, octopus, mackerel, tuna, white (albacore) tuna, toro, salmon, salmon belly, red snapper, flounder, yellowtail, and clam.  Dragon, tempura, eel, and masago rolls round out the platter.  As a sushi purist, I just eat the sashimi and nigiri, which was all good for me.

Somehow we managed to finish every single piece.  As we got our check, the dessert arrives to our table.  This time, it's hand rolls, or temaki, filled with salmon and masago.  At this point,  none of us could bare to eat anymore.  But we managed to anyways, overwhelmed by how amazing the service was.  

Disclaimer:  We were only able to get all of the complementary items by spending a substantial amount of money on the platter ($100).  And I believe they only give the fish heads to Asian clientele.  Finally, since my family and I have been coming to this place for years, I have to admit we do get some special treatment.