Chef Woo Can Restaurant Critic & Food Blogger

03/24/2023

If your frustrated looking for a fantastic Chinese American restaurant with the best sushi around, come to the Orient Restaurant , Perry Hall and ask for David. He takes the time to get to know you and makes every effort to make your experience there the best!

Chef Woo can
chefwoocan.com

03/24/2023

Famous Pappas restaurant has arrived in Bel Air, MD with tremendous fanfare. A Maryland Institution and reputation has prevailed for so long without compromise.
If you reside in lower, PA, or Cecil County, MD, come on down to Md and try their delicious crabcake platter which includes 2 sides. Great value for the money!

Chef Woo can
chefwoocan.com

10/19/2022

Promenade Grill, Havre De Grace, MD

Sometimes we visit an establishment and leave with a very good impression. That is the case with the Promenade Grill in Havre De Grace, MD. Where can you find an eating establishment that provide a Promenade area where you can sit with your family and enjoy the bay.
My wife suggested this place awhile ago and I order the beer batter fish and chips made with cod fillet. The special included 2 hush puppies, French fries and a dolop of butter and fresh tartar sauce. I mean fresh tartar sauce. Not the ready made kind that you peel off the lid and resembles tartar sauce.
The batter on the cod was extra crispy and so golden in color. The fillet was flaky and very fresh and the price with inflation and all is a great value at $15.00+.

Since last year the price has stayed steady. I went back a number of times and the establishment has maintained consistently a good product every time. No reduction in size of the cod, no substitute unless you want white fish and always piping hot when I receive it. It's worth the 1/2 drive. It's just a very relaxing place to dine. Fresh air, ocean breeze, quiet but make sure you go there Thursday to Sunday. Before I forget, they don't take Amex.
So on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being excellent, I give Promenade Grill a "100", they are that good. They have ice cream, shakes, smoothies to boot. So before the end of the year, visit the Promenade Grill. You'll be glad you did!

Chef Woo Can
chefwoocan.com
www.etsy.com/shop/creationsbywoo

Shop Creativity & Innovation is key to success by CreationsbyWoo located in Bel Air, Maryland. Top shop for gifts. Buyers bought gifts from this shop and gave them 5-star reviews!

09/02/2022

Red Lobster

Red Lobster has been my go to seafood restaurant for years. Yes, I know the food is mainly frozen and seafood is sourced to the most reputable companies. This organization has maintained changes going on with new generations and life style changes.
They maintained good value for your money considering inflation with price increases. Besides that I love the fact that the restaurant is always clean and staff is friendly and professional. That combination of good value food with excellent customer service is the perfect combination.
I have never had a bad experience at Red Lobster and that goes a long way with brand reputation and customer loyalty.

Last night I went there on a Thursday. Fairly empty but clean. My waiter wass very professional and courteous. I reviewed the menu and it has been streamlined considering the tough times in the marketplace. Place those dishes that are good sellers and make room for new ones.

I order the Fried Coconut Shrimp, a Red Lobster tradition. Fried with a golden color, crispy and very fresh, not sitting around. The sauce was delicious and perfect balance of crushed pineapple and sweetness. Excellent. Appetizer had about 6 Coconut Shrimp, perfect and just enough.

I ordered a small Caesar Salad. The only complaint was the Rommaine lettuce was somewhat wilted. Disappointing but can understand when its slow for a Thursday. 99% of times, the Caesar salad is fresh, and crisp.

I ordered the Lobster Bisque. I tasted the Sherry flavor, not a creamy bisque but no Lobster pieces but I blame it on a slow Thursday night.

Main entree was the platter of 1/2 lb of snow crab legs, small Maine Lobster tail, garlic shrimp and fried shrimp all excellent.
I got my filled of seafood and very satisfied.

If your looking for a seafood restaurant tahts reasonably priced, perfect atmosphere, clean and staffing is polite and professional then Red Lobster is the place for you.

On the Chef Woo Can scale of 1-5 with 5 being ecellent, I give Red Lobster a 10.
I have and always will go back.

Chef Woo Can
chefwoocan.com
www.etsy.com/shop/creationsbywoo

Shop Creativity & Innovation is key to success by CreationsbyWoo located in Bel Air, Maryland. Top shop for gifts. Buyers bought gifts from this shop and gave them 5-star reviews!

06/25/2022

Manor Buffet
2090 Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, PA 17602

Times are a crazin! Prices of everything going through the roof. Fast food is getting boring, same chicken sandwiches, medium size restaurants charging ridiculous prices for basic foods and through it all, we are mildly satisfied just based on the fact that we went out to eat just to be out trying to be served like a king or queen.
Well, on Father's Day, although I am not a fan of buffets, my friend told me about a good buffet in Lancaster, PA. I'm in Bel Air, MD and within close proximity, there are no buffets around. Covid forced the last buffet to go out of business.
Now, think about this, you pay one price and get a variety of different foods. Out of curiosity, I wanted to see what they had to offer. Now, in comparison, going to a regular restaurant, with an appetizer, and entree, the minimum per person would be like $ 50/per person. A family of 3 with a daughter's appetite, the bill would be about $ 150.00. The buffet at $ 18.95 per person would be about
$ 60.00.
It was a nice drive to Lancaster, Pa, and in 1 hour, we saw the sign of Manor Buffet. It was semi busy towards the tail end of the holiday at around 6:30 pm.
The place was very clean and well organized. The interior reminded me of being in a casino buffet. Grabbed a plate and looked around, mostly the standard foods but I particularly noticed a couple of traditional dishes. Fresh roast duck, salt and pepper prawns with shell on, steamed fish, mayo shrimp,
Since I know you can load up on carbs, I tried very hard to avoid carbs but it was so difficult, fried rice, lo mein noodles, sushi rolls but I was able to focus on an assortment of goodies. Yes, I was stuffed but what did I expect. In a buffet, it tough to control your appetite, you want to try everything.
In the final analysis, during these tough times, this buffet is well worth it, at $ 18.95 per person and senior $ 2.00 heaper, having an assortment of food was a delight. Now, once in awhile is ok and won't be returning any time soon.
The atmosphere was very clean, staff was very professional and service was top notch.
I highly recommend this place if your looking for a budgeted dinner meal.
On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being excellent, I give Manor Buffet 10 rating. It was that good.

Chef Woo Can
www.chefwoocan.com.

06/04/2022

Naughty Dogs Restaurant
2306 E. Churchville Rd, Bel Air, MD 21015

I haven't given up on going out to eat. For me, it's the last bation of freedom and relaxation.
Well, on Memorial Day 2022, my family and my daughter's friend joined us at Put Put Golf. It was freakin hot out, we wee thirsty and I guess the heat made us a little hungry.
On the way home, we decided to go to the Naughtys Dog Resturant off of Rte 22 in Bel Air, MD. Although it was about 4 pm and the dining room was empty, I was impressed by how clean the dining room was. Our waitress was very friendly and accomodating.
Now, one of my all time favorites is Fish & Chips and noted that they use white fish. It doesn't matter what type of fish is used only concern is the batter must be crispy and fresh. It was being served with fresh cut french fries. Not frozen but fresh and they were truly refreshly cut.
I was very impressed with my fish & chips. It was 4 medium size pieces of fish on a plate of french fries. Even the tartar sauce was or appeared fresh, not the packets most places give out. My daughter had the same fish & chips.
I also ordered the apple pear Candied Walnut Bleu cheese mixed salad and it was just fabulous. The fusion of the saltiness of the bleu cheese and the sweetness of the candied walnuts blended well together.
It was relaxing, everything was right and at the end of the meal, I felt relaxed and really enjoyed my meal.
On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being excellent, I have to give the Naughtys Dog a 100 score. It was that good and I'd go back again and try another dish. Any recommendations?

Chef Woo Can
chefwoocan.com

06/04/2022

Abingdon Grill

418 Constant Friendship Blvd
Abingdon, MD 21009

Ok, Let's look at things right now. Covid is suddenly disappeared, the world is unstable, gas prices are going crazy, food prices are insane, children are being killed for no reason at all and inflation is uncontrollable. We're bailing out a country that has been unrightly invaded with millions of dollars of equipment, Russia is destablizing the world, our own administratio doesn't know what they're doing. They're bailing out or cancelling student loans which when u consider all this, its impacting higher prices everywhere!
So, on a nice weekend I wanted to take my family out to eat, something different and I heard this place was supposely good.
Now, considering I know how to cook and have high expectation of what I expect for dinner, I really wanted this dinner to go well. Well, when I say go well, I expect whatever is on the menu, they should be fully stocked especially on a Saturday evening. I expect my appetizer and salad to be brought out before the entree. and finally when they show the ingredients on the menu, I expect it to be an uncut ingredient.
I know that restaurants are struggling right now. They have so many other expenses to deal with during Covid, prices of goods is expensive, labor is hard to get good help, overhead is showing no mercy but considering this, either downsize your menu, cut the square ft of dining area and implement training on the basics of what the customer wants and expects.
Well, we started with fried Calamari, it was ok, I would say it was a serving for 1. We were a serving of 3 which included a 13 year old who's always hungry. I also order a cream of crab soup, None "Ran out", and a caesar salad which never came only after I asked after my meal where is it. I order pasta with a lemon butter sauce with sea scallops. I'll tell you this much, the pasta was al dente but the sea scallops? where cut up in quarters and the sauce was pre made ahead of time, somewhat starchy!
My daughter had a steak, she knows next time not to order that. My wife ordered a salad and it was ok. and although the waitress was friendly, she didn't know what her customer ordered.
The meal appeared to me like no sense of pride was involved in the prep. The waitress actually didn't realize she forgot to give me my Caesar salad and when I got it, it was the blandness salad I ever had with a side of dressing and no grated parmesan cheese.
I work damn hard for my money and didn't get what I expected from Abingdon Grill. It was like everything was mechanical. Dip into the salad bag adn grab a handful of salad, or get the ready made pasta and pre-made sauce and refrigerated scallops and to look like I;m getting value, slice up the scallops.
As to running out of cream of crab soup? no excuse, a mark of a poorly run restaurant.
On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being excellent, I give the Abingdon Grill a -1,000, yes a -1,000.

Chef Woo Can
​chefwoocan.com

05/31/2022

Thinking of adding a home baked dessert while entertaining guest, relative and friends. We'll add some home-made Organic Madagascar Vanilla Bean extract rather than the McCormicks store bought artificial extract.
Just note that once you finished the extract, you just add any type of your fsvorite alcohol and with the vanilla beans in place, it will make another batch for you in a couple of months!

www.etsy.com/shop/creationsbywoo

05/31/2022

05/16/2022

With this crazy weather, I was in a mood to make a hearty beef stew.
It was just fabulous, savory and most of all tasty.
Check my links on YouTube under Chef Woo Can and my website, chefwoocan.com

04/19/2022

Chef Woo Can is offering in person Asian cooking demonstrations in Bel Air, MD. Host a cooking demonstration at your home with friends and relatives.
Just go to chefwoocan.com and click "Book Now" to register and choose your favorite dish listed on the calendar.

It's fun and entertaining and you can enjoy the dish too!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Chef Woo Can
chefwoocan.com