Arashi

Check out the video 5 Guys 1 Plate Vs. Arashi

Location: Unit 118D, D1 Eon Building, Dedeo

Hours: Mon - Sun

Lunch: 11:30am – 2:00pm
Dinner: 5:30pm – 9:30pm

Phone: 633-4443

Facebook: Arashi

Price: $8-15 Avg

Robbie:

Lunch was at "Arashi Restaurant" in Dededo. Entered and got a welcoming japanese greeting. Nice. Sat down was informed drink and soup are self service, interesting and convenient(near our table). Order a spicy shrimp mayo sushi roll and shrimp and chicken yakisoba. Meal came pretty prompt, nice presentation. Yakisoba had a fish skin like thing on noodles that was moving, hesitant to find out what it was. Tried the yakisoba and whatever that was it really gave the meal a really nice smokey taste. The sushi roll was very good, lots of wonderful flavors all at once, including the wasabi paste kicker. Tried fried whole garlic clove, good flavor I dont know how they masked the hot kick from garlic. Great. If you play junk kin po with staff and win, you can get 10% off your bill. Awesome. I lost. Review: 5 plates out of 5 for food flavor presentation. 5 fun and nice atmosphere. 

Drew:
Parking (4) - I didn't have a hard time finding a spot, but as we were leaving, it was pretty full.  Come early to get a good spot.

Ambience (5) -  Arashi has a very friendly and fun feel to it.  There is a lot of anime or cartoon character decorations on the walls.  There is also a big collection of action figures behind the cash register.  The menu has a comic theme to it.  Not the biggest dining area, did start to feel crowded as the lunch crowd came in, but never uncomfortable.

Service (5) -  Our waitress was very friendly.  She offered suggestions on the menu and to take our pictures.  Arashi has a "self-service" drink and miso soup station.  So it's up to you to refill your drinks unless you order anything other than water and tea.  I didn't mind it at all, because our table was right next to it.  I see it as a problem if you come later when it's crowded and you're seated far.    Again come early and get a good seat.  Arashi has a fun little way to earn a 10% discount.  You challenge the staff to Jan Ken Po.  It's a one shot deal, either you get it or you don't.  No matter the outcome it's fun.

Food (5) - I ordered the Karage and Tempura Bento Box and the Hawaiian Tuna Poke.  I also tried a little of the other guys items.  The Karage is different to Fuji Ichiban, but still very good.  It has a lighter, less crunchier batter.  It was juicy, crunchy and had good seasoning.  The shrimp tempura also had a light and crunchy batter.  The dipping sauce made it stand out though.  It's not your usual tempura sauce, it had a nice Benito flavor to it, which was a very nice surprise.  The Hawaiian Tuna Poke had a sweet, kimichi base taste to it.  It wasn't the best poke that I've tried, but it was still good.  I sampled the guys  fried calamari, it too had a light and crispy batter with very good seasoning. 

Overall - I'm surprised that I've never heard of Arashi.  It's a very fun, little place that has delicious food. I will definitely go back and highly recommend that you go try it.  I give Arashi a 5 plates out of 5, but go early to get parking and a good seat.

Doug:

Fresh from our little adventure over at KUAM, we decided on an impromptu lunch and headed off thru Dededo to find our spot.   After  change number 1, we set our sights on  a little place by the name of Arashi.

Parking was a little tight, luckily they converted a dirt lot into some extra parking.  During rainy days it would probably be a dirty affair but the weather held up and I made it in ok.  The interior of Arashi is definitely unique.  Being a japanese restaurant, it follows a more modern style, including influences of manga/anime and action figures, comparison to the usual asian theme. The menu is laid out in a comic-book style, with white text describing the dish. 

They have daily specials and the menu was varied enough that everyone should be able to find something to suit their taste.  $1 miso soup (endless!) and self serve drinks start the dine-in service.  Interesting to say the least. The tea for iced tea was flavorful and the miso soup was tasty. 

I ordered a kalbi and chicken teriyaki bento box, which came with rice and salad, and a fried bulb of garlic (good thing I'm not planning on kissing anyone).  The bento came out and there was certainly more than enough food to feel full.  The garlic....I can only describe it as unexpectedly good. I didn't exactly know what to expect,  but the taste was mildly garlicky with a texture of fully cooked potatoes.  It was served with a side of some slightly salty paste which I believe may have been miso paste.   It was good!

As always, everyone passed their dishes around so that we could all get a taste of the menu. I definitly liked the shrimp rolls, we had two different varieties and one was slightly different (and better) than the other. But both were excellent.  The yakisoba was served with plenty of dried bonito flakes that gave the dish a nice "smoked" flavor that I thought may have overpowered the dish, but instead was one of the highlights.   The fried calamari was one of the best that I have had lately,  served with a wedge of lemon and delicious dipping sauce. Seriously good!  The poke was both pika and sweet, but it is not something I would order again.

One nice thing that Arashi offers is a chance at receiving 10% off of your bill if you beat their staff at jun ken po (roshambo or paper scissor rock...for those not in the know).  Unfortunately our "ringer" lost to the waitress, and we didnt get anything off.  I think she heard us discussing our strategy!

I was not familiar with Arashi before today, but I can tell you it is on my list of places to revisit.   What can be better than good company and good food.  A fun,  quirky, and delicious lunch!

4 plates!

Kalbi & Chicken Teriyaki Bento

Fried Garlic

Hawaiian Tuna Poke

Zach:
This wasn’t a planned outing, but after our meeting at KUAM it was nice that we decided to eat out together. Destination chosen was Arishi, a Japanese restaurant in Dededo. Upon entering, we were the only customers there and the waitress had us seat wherever we wanted. The menu was colorful with many entrees and pictures to go along with it. It was just a one single page front and back but well organized. Additionally, I can tell that the restaurant caters to locals as there was a “Pika” section. Today, I didn’t feel like eating Pika. I ordered the “Bento Salmon and Tempura Set” and a side of “Ginger Fried Calamari.” The guys had ordered some other sides as well, one “Shrimp Tempura Roll, one “Spicy Shrimp Roll” (more on this awesome side) and Tuna Poke. The sides came out pretty quickly, maybe 7 minutes. While we waited for our order, we were advised of the self-service station with any choice of drinks and miso soup. I really liked that. This in itself was a plus to me. Actually mostly all aspects of this restaurant were a plus. The side orders soon arrived after our intake of the soup and drinks followed by the main courses not long after that. My main course, a salmon fillet (not small by any means) was very moist and had a nice flavor with a dipping sauce similar to Guam’s own finadene. But I was not “wowed” by it. My main course also included 4 large fried shrimp tempura, an interesting fried green leaf tempura, green salad, and a good portion of rice. In fact, the whole portion of this Bento Box could have fed 2 people or 1 person with a healthy appetite. I did like the main course here, with the exception of the shrimp tempura. Although it was large and looked amazing, it was too crispy. So crispy, it reminded me of KFC’s Extra Tasty Crispy fried chicken. It still tasted good though. But before the main course came, I was already enjoying myself with the sides. In fact, this is where I was “WOWED!!!” The Spicy Shrimp Roll was SOOOOO good!!! The flavor of the roll was perfect. It balanced perfectly, with just the right amount of flavor, texture, and presentation. It came out on a 10” rectangular platter with 8 rolls, 2 tail end shrimps facing up with sprinkles on top. Just writing about this dish is making me hungry for it again. Plus it was SOOOOO good (just in case I wasn’t clear on that). The ambience was cool with a huge mural covering the whole wall on one side. It looks like a very busy Japanese city and other simple artwork on the other walls. I felt like it blended well, not the greatest but nice and simple. I also liked the fact that that we played “Jan-Ken-Po” with a server. If we were to have won that game we would’ve got 10% off the total price. How cool is that? Well it would have been if we had won. Thanks Rob. Even without the 10%, the price was still reasonable with the portions on each plate very plentiful in my eyes. Overall, I give Arishi 5 out of 5 plates. I am definitely going back there.

Karage & Tempura Bento Box

"Good Food, Good Company"

Horse & Cow

Location: 868 Marine Dr, Tamuning
Phone: 646-2692
Hours: 4PM - 2AM 7 Days a week
Facebook: HorseandCow
Price:$10 Avg

Doug:

Horse & cow.  If the name doesn't throw you off., the mechanical bull just might! 

The parking is decent and the atmosphere is fun...with tons of navy related items throughout the establishment.  There are no kids allowed and smoking is ok, so this is an adults only place. Plenty of seating and several large TVs for watching whatever sports game is on. Awesome.

The theme for this episode of 5 guys was definitely wings....175 of them to be exact: 100 medium (heat scale), 50 XxX (hot), and 25 DOA (insanity).  Flavor wise, I thought the wings and sauce were good, throughout the heat scale.  There is a definite sweet taste to the sauce.  If you like the tangy buffalo style....this is not it.  The heat of medium was quite mild, while the XxX started slow and intensified after a few minutes until I was visibly sweating and reaching for my drink.  Actually...I think it was Zach "these wings are not that hot" B.who had sweat dripping from his brow.  I did make a weak attempt to eat one of the DOA wings and truthfully, my mouth was either numb or they just were not any hotter than the XxX.  We also ordered two buckets of fries, cajun and garlic.  Wow. I couldn't stop eating them and they definitely did not last long.  More please!

HNC has daily specials, wings for a quarter and dollar beef tacos are just two examples.  I love deals and I think their daily specials are pretty good. 

The food is decent.  The atmosphere is nice. Good wings. Good fries. Good specials. Lots of space. And plenty of TVs for the games.  Whats not to like?  

On another note, we also had a little going away lunch for one of our friends who is relocating to the states.  Bye Zac (see I can spell it right).  From all of us, we wish you and your wife the best.

3.5 plates out of 5.  (Take away half a plate because it was a little hot in the area we were at...the place is big and the cool air did not reach us at all)

Drew: 

Our visit to Horse and Cow was bitter-sweet, because it was also the going-away for one of our brothers, Zack C. Good luck brother, to you in your future endeavors, you will be missed.

Parking (2) - For being so big and spacious inside, Horse and Cow's parking lot is relatively small. I see parking as a big potential problem, especially if there is a sporting event on tv.

Ambience (2) - The way I see it, Horse and Cow is mainly a bar and just so happens to have a grill too. So keeping that in mind, the look and feel of it screams sports bar. There are all sorts of Navy submarine and ship banners hanging from the ceiling and walls. There is a mechanical bull, coin-operated sports games, and of course big screen tv's for watching the games. The only problem I have with H&C, is that minors are not allowed in, which is too bad. They don't allow minors in because they are a smoking facility, so be prepared for that. If they changed their policy during lunchtime hours, were there was no smoking and allowed minors in, I'm sure H&C would have a lot more visitors.

Service (5) - Our bartender/waitress handled our big group really well. She was friendly and patient, and always seemed to come at the right time asking if we needed anything. I should also note that there was only two bartender/waitresses working at the time and there was already a big lunch crowd there watching the baseball game. So I think service was outstanding.

Food (4) - We went family style and ordered 100 medium, 50 XXX, and 25 DOA wings. We also ordered two buckets, yes "buckets", of seasoned fries. The first was Cajun style and the second was Garlic. The medium wings were a bit sweet and the heat only picked up after eating a few. The XXX wings were spicy, but the kind of spicy that makes you want to eat more and more. I did not try the DOA wings, because by the time they came out, my mouth was already on fire and I had started to sweat a little. I'm not sure if it was from the wings or trying to beat the high score on the basketball game. Either way, I didn't want to chance it with some DOA wings when the XXX wings were already spot on. For me the fries stood out as the best tasting item that we ordered.

Overall - I give their wings 4.5 plates out of 5, they are good and for the price, can't be beat. I definitely will be back to try their other menu items, and especially their very cheap lunchtime specials. Overall, I give H&C 3.5 plates out of 5.

Medium

XXX

DOA

Robbie:

First time at Horse n Cow... The Cajun and Garlic flavored bucket of Fries is awesome, great presentation.Perfect balance of crunch with seasoning blend a great full filling appetizer in a metal pail. Nice. We ordered the mild, XXX, and DOA buffalo wings. Wing flavor was perfect, but DOA was not as hot as expected. Perfect lunch spot. My son loves wings for days, but atmosphere more for adult crowd, a bar setting. 4 out of 5 food and presentation. 3 out of 5 atmosphere. I would go back for wings anytime.

Wings!

Brian:

Horse n Cow...first off the Cajun bucket of Fries is handsdown a winner...perfect balance of crunch with seasoning blend..they went quick..we needed two buckets..lol. We ordered the XXX wings which was not too spicy but the buffalo wing flavor was perfect...service was quick...perfect lunch spot..you have a choice of sitting at bar watching the game or at a table  away with more privacy....perfect place to watch a game....5 guys are craving those fries again..lol

Bucket of Cajun Seasoned Fries

Bucket of Garlic Seasoned Fries

Shuffleboard Graffiti

The Bull

"Good Food, Good Company"

National Greasy Food Day

Brian stuffing on the go!

National Geasy Food Day was a success!  Started out with some breakfast at Wendy's.  Good cheap eats at Horse & Cow for lunch.  For dinner some ribs at Tony Roma's. 

Now you see them

Dougie Fresh

Now you don't

Jorge and ribs

Ben N Yan's

Location:  Manhattan Bldg, Route 16, Dededo

Phone: 649-3849

Hours: Mon-Sat 0700-2330

           Sun 0700-2200

Facebook: Ben N Yan's

Price: $8-15 

Doug:

I'm back! I missed the last installment of 5 Guys at the Mermaid Tavern due to taking some time off in Japan, where I had the opportunity to eat some great food, even Horse Sashimi!  That was a great trip but I'm glad to be here for the Ben & Yan experience.  The Mermaid Tavern looked like a great experience with some really good food too.

On to the good stuff.  I'll say that the first thing I was happy about as I approached B&Y was that there seemed to be ample parking.  The strip has multiple storefronts and the parking lot was fairly empty at around 11:20.  The lunch crowd was either not that big or I was still early enough to luck out.  Parking my truck was a breeze.

The restaurant itself was nice.  The interior fairly large, but seating did fill up as lunch progressed.  There was enough seating, however, and I did not observe anyone having to wait for a table.  The atmosphere was nice, with plenty of Filipino décor and a large TV with Filipino news showing.

The guys were busy cracking jokes as we waited for everyone to show up.  Our server came over a few times and eventually we ordered some appetizers: the Shanghai lumpia and fried Calamari.  Can't really mess up lumpia.  Standard taste and quality.  I thought the Calamari was very good, the outside remained crispy down to the last one, and I even ate the batter that had fallen off.  Both appetizers were served with tasty sauces.  Beverages are canned or bottled, no refills or fountain drinks here.

Finally everyone showed up (no names mentioned...they know who they are) and we started to seriously browse the menu.  There are a lot of dishes to choose from.  Having lived on Guam since 2005, I have had my share of local and Filipino cuisine.  But I was torn between trying something new or going with something familiar.  Oddly enough, I settled in on their sizzling platters and ordered the Sizzling beefsteak.  I needed my interpreter to help me with the pronunciation of some of the more exotic dishes (Zack, we needed you!) I think I fell for the "sizzling" description, just throw that in front of any dish and it would sound ten times better.

When the food finally was served, I couldn't help but be impressed by the amount of food we had.  There was enough to go around and then some.  I don't think anyone will go there and leave hungry.    My sizzling beefsteak came out on a cast iron plate and was marinated strips of steak with caramelized onions.  I wore white, not a good color as there was quite a bit of grease flying from the "sizzle".  We hit it up family style, passing the dishes around until everyone had some of each dish.  My beefsteak was not bad. Fairly standard marinated steak with onions. The ox tongue was surprisingly good.  It reminded me of a very tender roast but with a lot smoother texture.  The rest of the dishes were ok, including 2 styles of pancit, chopped snout, crispy knuckle, and soup.

I knew this review would be challenging.  I felt like the food was good and tasted fine, but nothing really stood out as being great.  I think the quality is on par with something you would be served at a party or someone's house.  Not bad at all, but nothing outstanding.  The service dropped off a little as the restaurant got a little busier.  The biggest detractor for me was a sticker from Payless left on one piece of chopped red pepper in the dish that was delivered to the table.  Not good, as I am left wondering what else they missed as the sticker was fairly obvious.

3 plates.

Drew:

Parking (5) - The parking lot is huge and had no problem finding a spot.  The only problem though is their location.  If you're coming north on route 16, you have to do a u turn in front of the mall. This can be pretty dangerous to do.  There actually was an accident while we were eating.

Ambience (5) - It has an open and well lit layout.  The tables are simple, yet the chairs have a nice monogram on each back.  It was comfortable even though it got busy.

Service (2) - Our waiter was very friendly and helpful when we first arrived.  He suggested a few popular dishes to try, because it was my first time.  After we placed our orders and received our food the service became non-existent.  He never came around to see how we were doing or offer new drinks.

Food (3) - I ordered the Crispy Pata and the Sisig, both were tasty.  I've heard a lot of great things about BNY and had high expectations.  Unfortunately they did not live up to the hype.  Although the food was good, I wasn't wowed.  None of the dishes stood out and made me want to come back.  

Overall: 3.5 plates out of 5.  Nice place, good food, bad service.  

George:

When I pulled up to BNY I was kind of shocked because the building looked old. But as soon as I entered the restaurant I felt better it was nicely decorated.  The service was good until we received our food after that they never checked on us.  I ordered lechon kawali, it was good but then again anything fried is always good.  Rate 2.5 of 5. Service sells.

Brian:

B n Y "Lengua estafada"-Beef tongue. I wanted to be brave so i ordered the beef tongue. Scared at first but first bite was awesome...thinly tender slices w/ mushroom sauce, garlic and bell peppers was a perfect combination. Taste was a cross between a roast n salisbury steak. Definately 5 out of 5 plates. Perfect portion for two people...a side a white rice and your set. Delish'.   

Robbie:

First timer at "Ben and Yan", and was a good experience with straight up filipino food. I would have to say it brought me back to when I was little and my grandmother would cook us some of her filipino foods. I had the house special (couldnt pronounce the first part of name of dish)mixed  seafood in creamy white sauce. It came in a family  portion (gianormous bowl) with a locally inspired laddle (coconut shell). Very interesting twist. The soup itself could feed a family of four humbly with enough seafood to fill the bowl. Service was alright, I guess due to lunch hour rush. Environment is cozy, catering to the filipino culture TFC channel.  I would give it a 5 plates out of 5 for food flavor and interesting presentation. Great place for home-like filipino food.

"Good Food, Good Company"