This is Harvard’s NEW favorite restaurant and the only one that rivals Todai. Hokkaido is like the buffets you see in Las Vegas – only for the gluttonous. There you will found mountains of shrimp and crab legs, not to mention fish cheeks – yes all you can eat fish cheeks!

Lunch: $9.99 (weekdays) $19.99 (weekends), Dinner: $19.99.

This renowned seafood buffet restaurant is located in the Bay Area at various locations.

This is the perfect place for a relatively quick sit down sushi meal. We go there at least a few times per month. Our favorites are the lunch specials that range from $6.75 where you can get soba or noodle and two hand rolls, to other bento meals for only $9.50. It is located in Downtown San Mateo, where street and ramp parking is cheap and relatively easy to find. Don’t forget to check out the Ichiban Kan, the Japanese dollar store down the street or the boba places along 3rd Avenue.

This place opened within the last year in downtown San Mateo. Great place for Hong Kong style desserts. Check out Harvard’s favorite, the Super Mango, a combination of fresh mango, jelly and slushy stuff.

Another one of Harvard’s favorites, but this time it’s all about Korean food. The concept of Palace BBQ buffet is this: Get food. Grill meat yourself at your table. Eat. Eat. Eat. They have lots of good marinated beef and spareribs as well as little Korean side dishes. This restaurant is next door to a large Korean supermarket, so you can meet all your other Korean food needs as well.

Free parking. Lunch ~$12, Dinner ~$23

This is a modest size restaurant with moderately priced tofu (~$10) or rice dishes. A typical meal includes, soup, rice, a bunch of small Korean dishes and your own pot of sizzling tofu (beef, seafood, and mushroom flavors). It’s very tasty and filling.

This is the only place around where you’ll find authentic Taiwanese breakfasts like shao bing you tiao, not to mention hand cut beef noodle soup, dao shao mian! Everything here is great. When you enter this small restaurant, you will see a wall shrine of famous Taiwanese celebrities who have dined here before. This is our Taiwanese version of Hotaru – we got there at least a couple of times per month and it’s not pricey. Take a walk by the waterfront after dinner.

The good stuff is in the Chinese menu and NOT on the English one. For the English translation, print out the online menu.

This place is famous for their dim sum and seafood. Although we haven’t had their dim sum, we have had their family dinners which usually includes steamed fish and crab - it is great and for a good price. And yes, you can get SHARK FIN SOUP here. This place tends to be crowded even though it’s a big banquet hall so make sure to make reservations ahead of time.

This place is another restaurant in downtown San Mateo we frequent a lot for lunch and dinner. Although Sichuan is known for their spicy food, they still have a lot that you can choose from the menu. Our favorites include the initially-very-spicy-but-you’ll-end-up-loving-it “spicy cold noodle”.

This is a hole-in-the-wall place known for their scrumptious (and cheap) dumplings. Shan Dong is located in Oakland Chinatown and people come all over just to get the dumplings. You can order a frozen bag to bring home as well. Their noodle dishes and BBQ pork buns are good as well, but the highlights are the dumplings.

If you’re in San Francisco Chinatown and you don’t know which restaurant to pick, this one would work just fine. They have modestly priced dishes and a lot on their menu. It’ll satisfy everyone in your group.

Located in downtown San Francisco along Van Ness, this place is THE happening steak place in San Francisco. Harvard and I went there once at 8 pm on a Tuesday and it was jammed packed with tourists and after work diners. Always make a reservation. However, the food is also worth it if you love meat. You get a hunk of juicy steak, which they cut right in front of you. Valet parking is available, as with street parking in the evening.

This place is the same type of deal as House of Prime Rib (the chef from House of Prime Rib moved to Broadway Prime), but newer. The major difference is that Broadway Prime is a little cheaper and not located in downtown San Francisco. Harvard thinks that it might even taste a little better than House of Prime Rib. Call to make reservations.

Ribs, ribs, and more ribs. Harvard and I haven’t gone there lately but it Harvard’s wannabe staple back in college. It’s located in Jack London Square, a pseudo-touristy area where you can walk along the waterfront from the Oakland side.

Great place if you’re in the mood for some unique Asian food. The dishes are elegantly displayed and yet very flavorful. The décor is a little more upscale but it’s affordable for a nice dinner out. They have three locations: San Jose, San Francisco, and Palo Alto – Palo Alto was the one that President Clinton went to when he was visiting Palo Alto.

Free parking in their lot.

This place tops our list for BEST service and best Istrian food (well – it’s the only Istrian restaurant on the west coast). Located a couple blocks off of the main thoroughfare of North Beach (Little Italy), Albona is a hidden little restaurant that serves a fusion of Italian and eastern European food. Tell Bruno, the avuncular proprietor that you were referred by Cindy for Oregon (doubtful that he’ll remember) but he’ll still treat you extra special and tell you some stories growing up in Albona. It’s a bit of an event eating here. Valet parking is available – not sure if it’s still free. Call ahead for reservations and ask about parking.

This is the biggest “99” plaza in the Bay Area (17 acres) where you’ll find over 60 Asian restaurants and shops. Our favorites include Dar Da, which serves Chinese-Muslim and Northern Chinese food family style. Hot Pot, Mayflower, and Penang Garden are popular as well.

The village is a little smaller than Milpitas Square, but it also contains a 99 Ranch market and a bunch of Asian restaurants. You can’t go wrong going there. I heard that there is a new dumpling place that just opened, but I haven’t checked it out yet. A&J Restaurant is supposed to be good though. See Reviews.