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The Mesa Press
March 18, 2014
Restaurant Review
J Wok spices up traditional Asian delicacies with a modern twist
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By David Nguyen ocated on the corner of Eighth Avenue and Market Street is J Wok, an Asian modern eatery. What does that mean? Started in 2009, J Wok restaurant wanted to serve a great selection of Asian fusion foods pieced together in their very own J Wok touch. The perfect location with a beautiful view of Petco Park from your seat is a great addition to the uniqueness of this restaurant. First thing customers will notice is the
The most noticeable feature in J Wok is the Chopstick Tree that adds a nice vibe. Photo credit: David Nguyen, The Mesa Press
huge wooden door before they enter the restaurant. The workers were welcoming when walking in and offered to sit either inside or outside on their patio. The design of the restaurant sets off a nice cooling vibe while dining with options of sitting around stone tables or wooden tables. Along with their cooling layout of the restaurant, the most noticeable feature is their Chopstick tree, which is hovering over some tables on the left side of the
restaurant. J Wok is a great place to grab lunch, dinner and perfect place for dates. On their menu, they have a pretty fine selection of different types of Asian fusion foods, such as Korean BBQ Beef Philly sandwich, Teriyaki Salmon plate, Yellow curry chicken, J Wok Spicy noodles and plenty of more combinations. One of the popular plates is the Teriyaki Salmon seafood plate, which is served with an 8 ounce fresh salmon top
of steamed vegetables, side of salad and a choice of rice, and any other sides the customer would like to add. Quench your thirst with their selected Asian Iced teas, such as Thai tea, Jasmine, Mango and Passion fruit. If you are in downtown and looking for a spot to enjoy some delicious Asian fusion food with a nice calm vibe, make sure to check out J Wok!
Movie Review
‘300: Rise of an Empire’ is all brawn with no brains
Too heavy on the action and light on the plot, ‘Rise of an Empire’ does not live up to its potential.
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By Danielle Bellavance
Some of the popular items on the menu include the Teriyaki Salmon Plate, Korean BBQ Beef Philly and Big 3. Photo credit: David Nguyen, The Mesa Press
The modern touch of the restaurant gives off a welcoming and comfortable feeling for customers. Photo credit: David Nguyen, The Mesa Press
ction packed movie “300,” based in ancient Greek, was met with huge amounts of success when it hit theaters back in 2006. There’s no question that a sequel would eventually follow up the film’s tragic ending. After the release date was pushed back for more than six months, “300: Rise of an Empire” officially became available for public viewing on March 7. “Rise of an Empire” started off at a rather fast pace, drawing all the viewers in. A young Greek, Themistocles, is shown killing the king of Persia with a bow and arrow in the middle of an intense and chaotic battle. His son then becomes the new king of Persia, ruling alongside the beautiful female Greek commander Artemisia of the Persian Navy. Fast forward 10 years later and Themistocles has become the accomplished general from Athens. He then receives word that King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 men have been killed in a battle against the Persian Army. Themistocles takes action to combine forces of all the Greek states and is hopeful against defeating Artemisia. Although “Rise of an Empire” was thought to be a sequel to “300,” it takes places before, during and after the events of the first movie, which at times were confusing and hard to follow. In addition to an unclear plot line, this was a very
bloody and violent film, even more so than the original, and much more than anything released in recent years. It seemed as though this movie was directed more towards teenage boys and young men. With the action packed battle scenes and even an erotic sex scene, this movie would not be highly appealing to the female gender apart from the shirtless, sweaty, muscular men seen throughout the movie. “Rise of an Empire” was not nearly as good as the filmmakers could have made because of their lack of focus in the wrong areas. If they had spent more time on story progression and a bit less on the fights between the Persian and Greek Navies, it might have made for a more interesting movie. This is not to say that the computer animation and graphics were not, for lack of a better word, “cool.” The best special effects were definitely the slow motion scenes which intensified the 3-D shots. The movie wasn’t terrible — just not worth seeing on the first night of release. Wait a few weeks for the crowd to die down because “Rise of an Empire” was not as good as it could have been.
Rating: 3/5