Go Big Or Go Home! – Day 05
We had a restful sleep and this time, we did not wake up in the wee hours. We decided to miss the complimentary breakfast and instead have an early lunch.
Our choice of lunch venue today is The Cheesecake Factory located at The Mall of Millenia. This is a popular American chain restaurant offering sizable portions from a vast menu including their signature cheesecake. Although we arrived early, there was already a line.
While waiting to be seated, we ogled at the cake display. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before we were led to a table.
A basket of freshly baked bread was served promptly and we tucked in, debating what to order. It was an easy decision for ZA as he simply loves the Orange Chicken here. Jarod settled for Meatloaf and Ashley had Carbonara. I ordered Grilled Salmon off the lunch special. The portions were indeed huge!
Although we did not have much room for dessert, we could not leave without having one of the signature cheesecakes. We were not in an adventurous mood and ordered one slice of the Original Cheesecake for sharing. True to it’s name, it was a delectable creamy goodness on a Graham Cracker Crust with Sour Cream Topping. Yummy!
After lunch, we decided to head to the Factory Outlet. We shopped while walking off our sinful lunch.
We stopped in all our favourite outlets – Coach, Kate Spade, Under Armour, Addidas, Nike, New Balance , Izod, Tommy Hilfiger and more. We found a good tri-climate jacket for Ashley from The North Face in anticipation of our visit to The Grand Canyon which could be snowing by then. And indeed we shopped and clocked 16501 steps. Our reward – loot-filled shopping bags!
We were getting tired and hungry and proceeded to Seito Sushi, a highly ranked restaurant on TripAdvisor for which we made a prior reservation. We were early and while they tried to seat us, Ashley helped herself to the lollipops at the waiting lounge.
Soon, we were led to a table. The interior is stark and very stylish with a floor to ceiling wine display. One thing to note, the service we receive in Orlando have always been good. The servers and staff have always been obliging. We were presented with an extensive menu filled with amazing choices – signature rolls, sashimi, nigiri, appetizers, soups, salads and main courses highlighting Korean and Japanese cuisines. In the end, we went with the server’s recommendation for appetizers. We had Korean Style Short Ribs and Peking Duck Fried Rice. They were both delish, especially the Fried Rice. Who could have imagined a good Peking Duck Fried Rice in a Japanese Sushi joint in America.
We ordered some sushi rolls from both the Signature and Classic selection as well as a Kid’s Salmon Bento for Ashley. Although I could not remember what we ordered exactly but we definitely had these rolls – Sunset, Yellow Fever, The Distinguished Gentlemen, Eel and California. As we caught a glimpse of our server approaching with our sushi rolls beautifully arranged on a large wooden slab, drama unfolded and we watched in amusement. He looked like he had lost his balance and the wooden slab was sent flying towards us as he desperately tried to maintain his balance. He was tossing the sushi back and forth till a diner helped steady him and landed the wooden slab of sushi safely on our table before we all let out a huge breath. Throughout the episode, Jarod had thought that it was a staged entertainment and the server had acted so well.
After having some wonderful sushi rolls in Anaheim last year, I did a research before deciding on Seito Sushi. I must say that we were not disappointed. The sushi were fresh and tasted heavenly. It is no wonder that Seito Sushi has been getting rave reviews and we were glad we had dined here to see what the hype was all about. We would definitely return to Seito Sushi on our next visit to Orlando!