Il Fornello @ Bayview Village

Never been to, but seen and heard of Il Fornello through a few media locations before. On a Sunday girls night out dinner, my two girlfriends and I decided to try it out.  The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing, our waitress and service were excellent.  All of us wanted to try different things on the menu, so we decided to share all our dishes.

We started with the Calamari for appetizer.  We opted for the 'grilled alla puttanesca' served with tomatoes, black olives, capers, lemon, olive oil.  If one likes spicy and sour mixed in a dish, then this will be a perfect appetizer for them.

Next, we decided to get a pasta and a pizza.  We weren't sure what to get so the waitress recommended us  the Penne Capri served with grilled chicken, mushrooms, spinach, cherry tomatoes, white wine garlic and grana padano.  It is one of the lighter pasta on the menu.  It was definitely worth a try because it tasted delicious with quite a few slices of chicken mixed in the pasta.

Last but not least, we opted for the Fichi pizza.  It was served with mascarpone, prosciutto, figs, shaved grana padaneo, honey, and arugula.  This pizza was also recommended by our waitress and I like it very much.  It was a bit sweet and fruity which made it very special.

To.live.my.life was extremely satisfied with the dining experience from Il Fornello, and will recommend and dine there again in the future. A rating of 8.5/10 will be given due to the highly rated food and service qualities. 

Niwatei Japanese Restaurant

Normally I won't buy Groupons for a noodle or a burger place but since Niwatei Japanese Restaurant is so close to where I live, I bought a $10 for $20 coupon.  However, after dining there, I figured I should of bought a few more for nights that I am lazy to cook :p  I made a reservation for Miss J.Lui and myself that night because usually it is a requirement for the usage of a Groupon.  I am glad I did that because the family owned restaurant located at J-Town was packed when we got there at 6:30 until around 8-ish when we left.

Both of us looked through the menu and opted for the $12.80 Ramen Set that comes with appetizer, ramen and dessert.  For appetizer, I ordered the Gyoza and Miss Lui ordered the Steam Rice with Mixed Vegetables.  Nothing too special or bad about them.

For our ramens, both of us went for the Tonkotsu Ramen in pork-bone based noodle soup.  The soup was tasty, it does not taste like it was made with any or too much MSG.

As for dessert, we ordered the 'Dessert of the Day'.  Miss Lui got the Cheese Cake, which was baked with sponge cake instead of cream cheese.  I got the Earl Grey Cake.  The cake was quite special because the earl grey flavor was very strong in the cake and I never had that before.

Overall, dinner was casual and filling.  To.live.my.life gives a rating of 7.5/10 to Niwatei Japanese Restaurant .  We were both very satisfied with our dinner and mentioned that we will return again.   We thought it will be better if they have more variety of ramens because after a few times one might get bored of the same ones.  The pricing is pretty good too (especially with our Groupon :D)