I'm In the Mood for Dim Sum

I'm in the mood for dim sum! So let's share a delicious dish together.

Does anything below catch your fancy?

Shrimp Dumplings
from Sea Harbor in Rosemead, CA


Steamed Taro Cake with Black Olives
from Happy Harbour in Rowland Heights, CA


Steamed Sticky Rice Sui Mui
from Mission 261 in San Gabriel, CA


Chilled Coconut and Taro Pudding
from Sea Harbor in Rosemead, CA


Custard Rabbit Dumplings
from Mission 261 in San Gabriel, CA

To check out my Flickr Photos (foodie and otherwise), please click here!

If I Could Cook...Eggplant

If I could cook aka if I had the patience in general and I was in the mood for eggplant, below are some recipes that might actually get me in the kitchen, courtesy of images I saw on Foodgawker!

Eggplant Bake
- Tasty Palattes

Eggplant and Turkey Lasagna
- Rainy Days and Sundays

Manolla's Venezuelan Pickled Eggplant Salad
- Palachinka

Eggplant Mousse with Butifarra Negra
- Spanish Recipes

Stuffed Eggplant
-Tastorama

Bon Appetit!

Discover LA: Estouric Black Dahlia Tour

Other than being a great foodie town, LA has much to offer and while this blog will still be primarily about my culinary experiences, I also wanted to share with you other things about LA that have definitely made me smile, think, chuckle, appreciate and so much more and hopefully, they'll also help you discover an LA you've never known before and may want to know better.

For years, I've heard about the "Black Dahlia", but what or who it was about, I was never quite sure. Of course, I've heard bits and pieces about a bizzare unsolved murder of a woman found in the middle of the fields in the 1940s, but I was never interested enough to find out more. Then one day, I boarded "The Black Dahlia Tour" led by Estouric and I could finally understand the fascination many had with this case.

Before I go into the tour itself, I should mention that the name of the victim was Elizabeth Short and at only 24, her body was found mutilated, severed in half and drained of blood. Her face was also slashed from the corners of her mouth toward her ears. This is pretty gruesome stuff. Unfortunately, in our world today, mutilated bodies are becoming more commonplace than they should be, which can definitely lead to a lot of desensitization.

In 1947, when Elizabeth's body was found in that state, it sent shock waves through Los Angeles and eventually launched a manhunt unlike any other. Interestingly enough, the Esotouric Tour was more than just about the sensational aspect of this grizzly murder. It really touched on walking in the steps of Elizabeth Short up to when she disappeared.

From the time we boarded the bus and while en route to the Greyhound Station, either Richard or Kim, our guides, started giving us some of Elizabeth's biographical history. For example, she was raised back East and had 4 sisters. At a young age, she had a thing for fly boys (military pilots). She was even engaged to one who unfortunately died.

Jump forward a bit to where she was staying in San Diego with the French Family and eventually was able to get a ride from Red Manley, an acquaintance. After listening to this background, we went to our first destination, the Greyhound Bus Terminal.

Red brought Elizabeth to the the terminal because Elizabeth wanted to check in her luggage until she was able to get her bearings. At the terminal, Richard read one of the many letters found in Elizabeth's luggage, some of which were written, but never sent to a fly boy she was seeing at the time. There was something poignant about that letter, almost wistful, as she talked about the meaning of love.

After checking in her luggage, Elizabeth asked to be dropped off at the Biltmore Hotel. Not wanting to leave her alone, Red Manley waited for over 2 hours with her at the lobby before Elizabeth got him to leave by telling him her sister was coming to pick her up. Reluctantly, Red left her and soon after, Elizabeth walked over to the Crown Grill, diner by day and gay bar by night.

Like Elizabeth, our tour also took us to Crown Grill, now known as Club Galaxy. Crown Grill is the last place anyone saw her alive. A few weeks later, her body was found in front of a residential area in Leimert Park right in the middle of a field.

Visiting the location of her body dump was towards the end of the tour. As we made our way to Leimert Park from Downtown LA, we made other stops that had more to do with getting a feel of the life Elizabeth Short was living and also how life was like in LA in the 40s for young women in general, where perhaps the only meal you're going to get that day is the one you'll get on a date, whether that date was single or married, it didn't matter. Unfortunately, there would be times when you'd have to provide more than just company over a meal.

As we finally made our way to those famous fields, both Richard and Kim, founder of Esotouric Tours, would in turn discuss the actual investigation itself and also mentioned some of the suspects, one of which was Red Manley. Even with all theories and questioning of witnesses and suspects, this mystery was never solved and to this day is still a fascination for murder mystery buffs of all ages.

The fields right now are houses with only the fire hydrant a few feet away being the only original thing left from that era. It was quite peaceful, but you're left wondering if Elizabeth's restless spirit still lingers. By the way, "Black Dahlia" was the nickname friends gave her, after a screenplay called "The Blue Dahlia" with the words "black" replacing blue since she tended to wear a lot of black.

On the way to our final stop for snacks at Krispy Kreme, Kim, talked about a new theory that actually is one that sounds really plausible. Do you know what to know what it is? Then you better take the tour. :) I can't tell you everything.

Overall, I learned a lot and believe me, you'll get more detailed info about "The Black Dahlia" on the tour than I can give you here, but if and when you ever want to delve more into the story behind the "Black Dahlia", taking this tour is a great start.

To see photos I took while I was on the tour, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157605471742248/

To get information on the Black Dhalia Tour and other tours, please visit:
http://www.esotouric.com/

The Mysterious, But Delicious Dishes of Little Dhaka

Using the word "Mysterious" as part of the title of this blog entry is probably not as mysterious as it may seem, but heck, it made you look, didn't it? Seriously, I'll tell you about the mystery later, but before I go into that, let me tell you how I ended up at Little Dhaka, a Bangladesh restaurant and market in Artesia.

It all started with an episode on Bizarre Foods where Andrew Zimmerman did a show on Indian cuisine. The part of the show that perked my interest was when he sampled Bengali cuisine. Go figure that I once had a Bengali college roommate, who if I had the same culinary interests as I did now, may have opened my eyes and my palate to this type of regional Indian cooking. You can read about the show by clicking here. What interested me in particular about Bengali cuisine was the utilization of mustard oil as a main ingredient. I've never had any food where mustard oil was used, at least not that I know of, so I was curious.

In my quest, I decided to ask the opinion of Smita, owner of an Indian ice cream shop, Saffron Spot, in Artesia. I previously had done a couple of ice cream tastings at her shop, so I figured, she'd steer me in the right direction. She directed me to Little Dhaka, which was also in Artesia. When I looked it up, I noticed that it was a Bangladesh restaurant, which also served as a small market. Confused, I thought maybe she made a mistake, but after some more investigation, I found out that Bangladesh means "Country of Bengal" in Bengali. To find out how Bangladesh and Bengal are connected, click here.

Finally, it was time to check out Little Dhaka and with Smita's help, the owner of Little Dhaka gave my dining group a nice meal deal where for $10 we got a salad, a choice of two entrees, naan, paratha bread, rice, a rasmala dessert and a soft drink. Even without that special lunch price, great cheap eats can still be had. Little Dhaka has steam tables and each of the entrees run around $3.00 to $4.00. Realistically, you can have a tasty meal for between $10 to $20, depending on what you order and there's great variety since they switch out the dishes they serve every day. Luckily, my group likes to dine family-style, so we broke up into smaller groups, sat at different tables and proceeded to share our bounty.

First up was a simple, but fresh salad. Nothing to it but cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions and a slice of lemon. Interestingly enough, I used these veggies almost as a palate cleanser (except for the red onions) in between the entrees. The thing about the entrees was that they were just so flavorful. However, since I was unfamiliar with the spices being used for this cuisine, the "Mysterious" thing about these dishes was that I couldn't really describe what I tasted. I felt like I could taste the tang of mustard oil, but maybe I was imagining it? Of course, there were probably a myriad of other seasonings included in everything we sampled. The strange thing was that I asked the owner briefly about his use of mustard oil in his dishes and he told me that Bangladesh cuisine is actually all about the usage of poppyseed oil. Huh? Now, I was totally confused.

In any case, regardless of what spices or seasonings were used, I just really enjoyed the food at Little Dhaka. Unfortunately, I left the notes I made about the actual names of the dishes at the restaurant, but based on the photos and my general descriptions, you should be able to order them on your own. So as for the only other veggie dish we ordered, I'll simply refer to it as sauteed potatoes that were cut in spears and cooked with chili. It had a nice kick to it and I appreciated the fact that the potatoes weren't over cooked and mushy.

The entree sampling started with the Beef Curry. The beef was tender and the sauce it was cooked in tasted great spooned on my rice and the addition of green chilis hiding under the sauce gave this dish some heat.


Next was the fried fish, which in retrospect, would have been better if it came straight out of the fryer, especially if you're someone who likes crispy fish skin, like me. At least, the fish meat was delicately tender.


My favorite dish was the mutton with lentils with a sauce that also went well poured over my rice and I liked the fact that the mutton wasn't gamey.


Although their lamb curry was a little more oily than I would have liked, this bone-in tender lamb still had great flavor.


I think the only entree that didn't do it for me was the roasted chicken with spices. The sauce was just too thick for my taste and of all the entrees didn't seem seasoned enough.

As for the rasmalai dessert, I didn't really know what it was until I Googled it when I got home. It's basically cottage or ricotta cheese dumplings soaked in a sweet, thickened milk flavored with cardammon. I liked the texture and the flavor of the cardamon, but the milk was just way too sweet for me.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at Little Dhaka. These days, whenever you can find affordable dining where the food also tastes good, it's definitely a good thing and I think Little Dhaka offers both.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157606283028231/

Little Dhaka
18159 Pioneer Boulevard
Artesia, CA 90701
(562) 865-5230

"The Great Pizza Hunt" at Tony's Little Italy Pizza

A while back, I decided to start a new restaurant series for my dining group, Pleasure Palate, revolving around pizza. Considering how many pizza joints are in Los Angeles, I knew that this would be a dining series that would probably take me into infinity, but you gotta do, what you gotta do sometimes, so "The Great Pizza Hunt" was on.

First up was Tony's Little Italy Pizza in Placentia. The reason I decided to start with Tony's is that their specialty is Chicago-Style Pizza. My only experience with Chicago pizza was actually in Chicago at Giordano's, where their pizza is referred to as a stuffed pizza. I found out later that the main difference between a stuffed pizza and a deep dish pizza is that the stuffed pizza has a layer of dough that goes on top of the pizza and the deep dish version doesn't. If there are any Chicagoans reading this review, please correct me if I'm wrong. Although I'm more of a thin crust pizza kind of gal, I did enjoy my foray into Chicago Pizza and was hoping to find something similar in LA; hence, Tony's Little Italy Pizza.

Walking into Tony's, I could definitely tell that the owners loved their Chicago sports teams with one wall devoted to the Chicago Bears and the other wall that was all about the Chicago Cubs. Since I had been running late due to an accident on the freeway, my group was already there and took the initiative to order two deep dish pies, although stuffed pies were also on the menu. Lunch was going to consist of Tony's Special with sausage, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions and one pizza that was half with pepperoni/sausage and half olives/bell peppers and onions.

When both pizzas arrived, our eyes widened with wonderment. Wow, these pizzas weren't delicate little darlings. They looked substantial.

I tried a slice of the half pepperoni/sausage pizza first and than a smaller slice of the bell pepper/olive/onions pizza.

Then I had a slice of Tony's Special.

Do you know what words came to mind after each slice? Disappointment soon followed by More Disappointment. Granted, it's been several years since I've had that pizza at Giordano's, but I remember it being a thing of beauty. The ingredients were nicely layered and they weren't drowning in a sea of tomato sauce and cheese. In fact, I could even tell where all the ingredients were laid out.

Both the pizzas I tried at Tony's were literally a "Hot Mess." Just like I mentioned above, it was a spillage of tomato sauce and cheese, all mixed up together. At one point, I couldn't even tell that the sausage/pepperoni pizza even had pepperoni until I looked more closely at a cross-section of one of the slices and saw pepperoni just above the crust and underneath the cheese. It just felt like there wasn't any restraint. Also, I felt that they really limited the quantity of toppings. If you got any of the toppings on any of your pizza slices, you were pretty lucky. At times, it felt like all I was eating was crust, tomato sauce and cheese.

When you add to all this, a crust that was a little burnt at the edges, which made it harder to chew and ingredients that should have been more flavorful, neither of the pizzas at Tony's were the Chicago pizza of my dreams. Come on, how can pepperoni and sausage not have any flavor??? As for the sauce, it was okay, although a little sweeter than I would have liked and at least the cheese was ooey and gooey, so that's one positive thing to note. Overall, as I mentioned earlier, I was pretty disappointed and definitely have no plans to make a return visit to Tony's.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157612266070156/

Tony's Little Italy Pizza
1808 N. Placentia Avenue, Unit B
Placentia, CA 92870
(714) 528-2159

www.tonyslittleitaly.com

I'm In the Mood for Seafood!

I'm in the mood for seafood! So let's share a delicious dish together.

Does anything below catch your fancy?


Pacific Roasted Pacific Red Snapper Fillet, Black Rice & Charred Jalapeno Vinaigrette
from Traxx in Los Angeles, CA


Sashimi Rice Bowl
from Chiba in North Hollywood, CA


The Mayflower Lobster Special
from Mayflower Seafood in Los Angeles, CA


Ginataang Hipon (shrimp in creamy coconut sauce with string beans)
from Alejandro's in Eagle Rock, CA (Now Closed)


Octopus Carpaccio with Tomatoes in Pizzaiola
from All'Angelo in Los Angeles, CA

To check out my Flickr Photos (foodie and otherwise), please click here!

If I Could Cook...Duck

If I could cook aka if I had the patience in general and I was in the mood for duck, below are some recipes that might actually get me in the kitchen, courtesy of images I saw on Foodgawker!

Crispy Roast Duck with Spicy Molasses Soy Glaze
- The Hungry Mouse

Home-Cured Duck Prosciutto
- The Hungry Engineer

Duck Sheperd's Pie
- [eating club] vancouver

Duck and Cognac Rillettes
- wrightfood

Duck Pot Pie with Cranberries and Orange
-the single cook

Bon Appetit!

Discover LA: Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels

Other than being a great foodie town, LA has much to offer and while this blog will still be primarily about my culinary experiences, I also wanted to share with you other things about LA that have definitely made me smile, think, chuckle, appreciate and so much more and hopefully, they'll also help you discover an LA you've never known before and may want to know better.

When I first heard about a Cathedral being built in Los Angeles, I admit to having visions of a Cathedral more baroque in regards to design and architectural style. So when I first saw pictures of the new cathedral, I thought it quite plain and uninteresting.

However, after taking a docent tour last year, I completely did a 180. The Cathedral is actually quite beautiful. Modern. Minimalist. The ornateness you normally associate with Cathedrals is definitely not there; yet, it's not missed.

I really love the clean lines, the interesting architectural shapes, the natural lighting that is filtered through alabaster windows inside the Cathedral. There's just something so calming about its simplicity in the form and feel of this space. I actually took over 100 pictures during this tour, so take a look below and hopefully, you'll find the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels as breathtaking as I did.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594422244234/

Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
555 W Temple St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 680-5200

Honduran Deliciousness in Sherman Oaks

I've never had Honduran cuisine before so when I read a review awhile back about a Honduran restaurant, called El Katracho located in Sherman Oaks, I decided to check it out for myself. I'm just going to talk about the food itself, but if you'd like to read more about Honduran Cuisine in general, click here!

One thing to mention right away is that if you're bringing a large group who will be ordering a la carte off the menu, expect slower service. Although I made reservations for 14 ahead of time, having to wait on so many people did result in a service that while friendly and gracious, was also a little spotty. You may want to go with a smaller group or set up a pre-set menu with El Katracho to move things along a little quicker.

As my group was settling in and looking over the menu, we were served baskets of tortilla chips that weren't your standard chips and salsa combo. Instead, a light tomato/chile sauce was poured over the chips and than topped with cotija cheese. Those chips were quite tasty and a great starter.

Some people also went ahead ordered drinks while trying to decide what to order. A couple of mango margaritas, made with a fresh mango puree topped with little Honduran flags, soon came out and were enjoyed by the recipients who asked for them.

Orders were finally placed and eventually food started coming out in spurts. Now when I was reading that review earlier, one thing caught my attention and it was in reference to a street food that Hondurans are known for called baleadas. Basically, a baleada is a flour tortilla, that is folded and filled with refried mashed beans, quesillo or Parmesan cheese and sour cream. This is basically a no-frills baleada. There are baleadas that can have any number of fillings depending on your preference from eggs to sausage to hot sauce to avocado and probably much more.

I ordered a baleada as a side dish to my main entree which was a shrimp and conch soup. My baleada arrived first and I definitely enjoyed it. I enjoyed the thickness of the tortilla itself and I liked the earthiness of the beans mixed with the saltiness of the cheese and the slight sweetness of the sour cream. I could easily just have had a few of the baleadas, a margarita and called it night, but I still had a big bowl of soup coming my way.

My soup soon arrived and after my first spoonful, I was happy that I stuck around. The broth itself was made up of coconut milk and was chock full of shrimp, conch, chayote and green plantains. I have to admit to being a bit surprised at the addition of the plantains because I've never had them in soup before, but I liked how they added a meatiness to the soup without the addition of actual meat. The broth was addicting. I loved its sweetness, which went well with the sweetness of the shrimp. My only real issue with the soup was the conch. They were a little chewy, which meant that they were probably canned, but sometimes you can only work with what you have.

For me, dinner at El Katracho was a hit and I look forward to a return visit where I can check out even more of their dishes. I actually even foresee a Honduran breakfast in my near future.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157610556860458/

El Katracho
14838 Burbank Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91411
(818) 780-7044

Introducing Quaker True Delights...

One definite perk of being a Featured Publisher for Foodbuzz, is being able to participate in different programs. One such program that I volunteered for was to be part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers where members can sometimes get a preview of new food products.

Today, I'm going tell you about a new line of premium granola bars from Quaker Oats referred to as Quaker True Delights. According to the info I received, Quaker True Delights has zero grams trans fat, is cholesterol free and has 3g of fiber. It's sounding "pretty healthy" at this point, but does "healthy" translate to also tasting good? Well, with the use of ingredients like real fruit, whole nuts and dark chocolate, that's definitely a good start. At only 140 calories, that's also a plus in its favor. So let's talk about flavors now, of which they have three.

The first flavor is Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond. If you're a chocoholic, this granola bar is the one for you. Quaker Oats was not shy about spreading the chocolate love around. All you have to do is see the photo above to see that there are good-size chocolate chunks embedded into the bar. I also liked the use of dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate because the dark chocolate pairs well with the raspberry. The only thing that I felt this bar needed was more raspberry, because as mentioned, it does compliment the dark chocolate well, so why not have more of it?

Next is the Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry Granola Bar. I can tell you without a doubt that I love cashews and to see large pieces in that bar was a sight for sore eyes. Of the three Quaker True Delights, this bar was my favorite. What I really enjoyed were the how the flavors interplayed with each other. You get the sweet from the honey, the nuttiness from the cashews and the tartness of the berries. I actually wouldn't mind having this in a cookie or dessert bar form.

The final flavor is the Toasted Coconut Banana Macadamia Nut. What I really liked about this bar is that instead of using some kind of artificial banana flavoring, they used dried pieces of banana. For many of you who have tasted any food with artificial banana flavoring, you already know it's not worth the use of your taste buds unless actual bananas are part of the ingredients. I also liked how they used bigger pieces of macadamia nuts for the bar. The only small thing that I think they could have improved upon is their coconut ingredients. While the coconut pieces were generous in size, they needed to taste more coconutty.

Overall, I really enjoyed a preview sampling of the Quaker True Delights and am definitely looking foward to more of the Honey Roasted Cashew Mixed Berry Granola Bars. Yum!

For more info, check out their website below:
http://www.quakertruedelights.com/

I'm In the Mood For Soup!

I'm in the mood for soup! So let's share a virtual bowl together.

Does anything below catch your fancy?

Beef Pho Soup
from Pho Pagolac in Los Angeles, CA (Chinatown)


Ramen with Chaysu Pork and Won Tons
from Hakata Ramen in Gardena, CA.


Black Mushroom and Bamboo Noodle Soup
from Zilin Noodle House in Arcadia, CA


Classic Mami Soup with Chicken and Pork
from Asian Noodles in Los Angeles, CA (Now Closed)


Rice Noodles with BBQ Shrimp Soup
from Quan Vy Da in Westminister, CA

To check out my Flickr Photos (foodie and otherwise), please click here!

One Dish Quickie at David's Chili House

When I was off in college, which seemed like a lifetime ago, one of my favorite comfort foods was chili spaghetti. So simple to make and also a pretty good bargain for a student's budget. First, cook your spaghetti and while that pot is boiling away, cut up either white onions and/or green onions and put aside. As the spaghetti is draining, open up a can of chili (no beans for me) and heat. Pile a plate with spaghetti and top with the chili. Make sure you also have shredded cheese available that you can sprinkle on top of the spaghetti along with onions. Every once in awhile, I'd even add cut jalapenos or a dash of tabasco sauce, if I wanted a little spicy kick. Definitely not the healthiest of meals, but heck, I was in college. That's par for the course.

Since college, chili spaghetti hasn't really hit my radar that much until I was a reading a Chowhound posting about a place called David's Chili House in the neighboring city of Azusa. I actually didn't recall the poster even mentioning chili spaghetti as being on the menu, but just the word "Chili" in the restaurant name brought back some memories so I decided to check it out for lunch one day.

When I arrived and finally sat down to look at the menu before ordering at the counter, I noticed that it was quite a mish mash of food items that were listed, everything from fried fish and fried shrimp with fries to teriyaki bowls. With a name like "David's Chili House", I was expecting the majority of menu to be chili-based, but that wasn't the case. I finally took a closer look at the chili section and what did I see, but chili spaghetti. Yum! My taste buds perked up and I knew what I was going to order.

I sat down in anticipation. Finally, it arrived. Looking at the pile of chili, onions and cheese topping the noodles brought me back to those of days of eating bowls of chili spaghetti with college roommates, sitting on couches in the living room and talking about our teachers, our classes and whatever else came to mind.

It was nice to reminisce for a little bit, but soon my growling stomach needed some attention. So grabbing my fork and spoon, I started mixing all the ingredients and than I tried my first bite. Was I wowed? Not so much. First, the spaghetti itself was a little over cooked and it was also a tad gummy. For some people, that may be okay, but I prefer my noodles more al dente. Although the noodles weren't up to par, that's something that could be fixed for next time. Unfortunately, I thought the chili was just okay. It had some good flavor, but it felt really one-note. The chili needed to be bolder and have more ooomph to it. Without the addition of the cheese and the onions, this chili spaghetti would have been more disappointing that it was.

Would I go back to David's Chili House based on just this one dish? Well, I wouldn't go out of my way to make a return visit. If I was in the general neighborhood and was craving chili spaghetti, I might give it another go, if only to see if my first visit was a fluke and it's actually better than my initial impression. At the very least, that one time there brought back some great memories and sometimes that's all you can ask of a bowl of chili spaghetti.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157613380987447/

David's Chili House
319 S. Azusa Avenue
Azusa, CA 91702
626-969-7888

The Sweet Taste of Southern-Style Bundt Cakes at Kiss My Bundt

A few months ago, I heard the rumblings of a new cake shop in town and surprisingly, it wasn't another new cupcake shop. Instead, it was all about bundt cakes at the Kiss My Bundt bakery, owned and operated by Chrysta Wilson. Since this cutely named bakery was way on the other side of town from me, I didn't have any immediate plans to check it out until I went on a walking food tour run by Melting Pot Tours.

Lo and behold, it was along our route. On the way back to my car after the tour, I decided to stop by and see what the fuss was all about. As luck would have it, it was their grand opening and there were free samples to be had. I tried a couple of items and they were wonderful. After touching base with Chrysta and than following up, I set up a cake tasting for my dining group.

The evening started with Chrysta giving us some background about her shop and how she got started. You can read her entire story by visiting her website, but what isn't written there is how she came up with the name of her business. Her previous work background has been primarily in government and the non-profit sector and after having had a long work week and still having to be in the office during the weekend, she threw her hands up and said "This job can kiss my bundt!" Voila! The name of her new bakery.

Another thing Chrysta emphasized to us is that their bundt cakes are Southern-style and what she meant is that while traditional Southern bundt cakes are very sweet, she didn't want to use that same sensibility for her own cakes. In fact, getting ahead of myself a bit, what impressed me about the cakes we sampled that evening was that they had just the right amount of sweetness to satisfy one's sweet tooth craving without making you feel that you just ate a cup of sugar in cake form. Now that you've had some background, let's talk about cake tasting itself.

The first cake we sampled was a Vanilla Bundt Cake with a Vanilla Butter Cream. I tend to favor stronger flavors, even in dessert, so this wouldn't be the type of cake I'd order on my own. However, the cake itself was moist and if you're a vanilla lover, this bundt cake is for you.

Next up was a Carrot Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting that had an interesting story behind it. Traditional Southern carrot cake has pineapple as an ingredient and sometimes even raisins, neither of which Chrysta was a big fan of. So her first attempts at carrot cake didn't include either ingredient, but the cakes weren't turning out right, both in flavor and texture. It took her 5 years to finally come up a recipe that could mimic a classic Southern carrot cake, but without the pineapple or the raisins. I was a big fan as soon as soon as I took my first bite of a cake that was carrot-sweet and nutty. The pineapple and raisins were not missed at all.

The next cake we tried was and still is their top selling cake and it's their Red Velvet Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting. An interesting thing that Chrysta mentioned is that that there's a basic assumption that a Red Velvet Cake is a straight out chocolate cake that's been dyed red. Red dye is usually used, but the addition of cocoa powder to a Red Velvet Cake recipe is minimal to what you'd see added to a regular chocolate cake recipe. Side by side and maybe even blind-folded, one could probably taste the difference. Although I love the color, I never understood why people are so gaga over red velvet cakes. Flavor-wise, it's pretty mild and in fact, I don't even feel like there's anything distinct in how it tastes. I wouldn't turn down this cake, but it wouldn't be my first choice.

After the Red Velvet Cake came one of my favorite cakes of the evening. Simply, it was a Callebaut® Chocolate Bundt Cake with a Chocolate Glaze. My eyes are glazing over just thinking about it. I remember Chrysta mentioning that the cake itself was dark chocolate with the glaze being more milk chocolate. All I know was that each forkful was heavenly. Of the cakes we sampled so far, I found this one to be the most moist and I loved its chocolate richness. I think some people even asked for milk to go with this particular cake. I could go for a slice right now.


Following the chocolate bundt cake was the Pumpkin Bundt Cake served in two different ways. We had one sample with the cream cheese frosting and one with a cinnamon sugar glaze. I actually preferred the version with the cinnamon sugar glaze. It was almost like eating a pumpkin pie in the form of a cake.

Finally, our tasting ended with a slice of their Rum Pound Cake with a Butter Rum Glaze. I enjoyed this cake as much as I did the chocolate bundt cake. I think this cake was actually soaking in rum because the cake was pretty moist. The butter rum which tasted like one of my favorite hard candies, butterscotch, was the perfect match.

Overall, this was a wonderful tasting event. Chrysta was informative, funny and really knows her bundt cakes and we got to sample a nice cross-section of what her bakery offers. Other information you should know is that her bundt cakes come in 3 sizes: mini, baby and Big Ol' Bundt Cake. There is what is referred to as the "Daily 8", which are 8 bundt cakes that will always be available 7 days a week. However, with over 30 recipes that Chrysta has developed, other bundt cakes will come in and out of rotation on their daily menu and of course, pre-orders are also available.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157613253212298/

Kiss My Bundt
8104 West 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-0559
http://www.kissmybundt.net/

Upcoming Pleasure Palate Events

For those of you who are or are not regular readers of my blog, you may not realize that I run a very active dining group that also goes by the name, Pleasure Palate. If you're in the LA area or even visiting the LA area and would like to join me and other food lovers, please check out my group by clicking here! While there's a variety of events currently on the calendar, I'd like to highlight some below.

February 21 - Docent Tour of BCAM
Today's tour, which includes admission to LACMA, will start with some info about LACMA itself and from there, our docent will be giving us background and info about how BCAM came to be as well as about the two current exhibitions, which are on the 1st and 3rd floor of BCAM. By the time of this tour, a new exhibit will also be in place on the second floor. Click Here For More Info!

February 22 - Sunday BBQ at Bludso's BBQ
Join us for a delicious Sunday BBQ at Bludso's BBQ where your meal will include samplings of barbecued meats like pork ribs, beef brisket, pork shoulder as well as other dishes like potato salad, macaroni salad, cobbler and red velvet cake. Click Here For More Info!

February 24 - Grilled Cheese Sandwich and Beer Pairings
If you're someone who thinks that an ooegy-goooey grilled cheese sandwich is the perfect accompaniment to beer, than by golly, you're right, which is why you should join me for an evening of grilled cheese sandwich and beer pairings at Andrew's Cheese Shop, owned and operated by Andrew Steiner. Click Here For More Info!

March 15 - Cookie Tasting and Kitchen Tour of Platine Cookies
So when it comes to having a sweet tooth, do you actually have a whole set? Specifically a whole set of sweet teeth? If so, than this event may be just the one for you. It's a sweet tasting of 6 delectable gourmet goodies and maybe, even an extra surprise or two from Platine Cookies in Culver City owned and operated by Chef Jamie Cantor. Click Here For More Info!

March 29 - Vodka and Cheese Pairings
What I love about cheese...well, basically, I love everything about cheese in general, but what's great about cheese is how many different things that can pair with it. Whether it's other foods like honey, fruit, jams or beverages like wine, beer, vodka.... Whoa Vodka? Well, why not? To give you an idea of how well vodka pairs with cheese, I've set up a vodka and cheese pairing with Artisan Cheese Gallery in Studio City. Click Here For More Info!

I'm In the Mood For A Sandwich!

I'm in the mood for a sandwich! So let's share a virtual one together.
Does anything below catch your fancy?

Pastrami Sandwich
from Johnny's Pastrami in Culver City, CA

BBQ Pork Banh Mi
from Cho Chu Bakery in Westminister, CA

The Classic Doner Sandwich
from Spitz in Eagle Rock, CA

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich (BLAT)
from T-Burgers in Monrovia, CA

Steak Sandwich
from Johnny's Grill in Long Beach, CA (Now Closed)

Grilled Cheese Sandwich
from The 1st 6th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational in Los Angeles, CA

To check out my Flickr Photos (foodie and otherwise), please click here!

Go Eat Los Angeles (Aid for AIDS)

EVENT: Go Eat Los Angeles
Simply join family or friends for a meal at a participating restaurant on February 26th, and you automatically will be helping those in need through Aid For AIDS. The event lasts from your morning bagel to that late-night dessert...with more than 15 years of restaurant support!

DATE:
Thursday, February 26, 2009 – Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

WHAT:
Annual, ONE-DAY fundraising event, where 50+ Los Angeles area restaurants give 15% or more of their day’s proceeds to Aid For AIDS to help prevent homelessness and hunger for individuals and families impoverished by HIV/AIDS. Some are donating as much as 40%-60%!

WHERE:
At many restaurants and cafes across Los Angeles County from West Los Angeles and Santa Monica to West Hollywood and Burbank to Long Beach. The restaurant list is updated regularly; visit our website at www.GoEatLA.org

WEBSITE:
www.GoEatLA.org See the growing list of participating restaurants and sponsors.

BENEFITING:
Aid For AIDS, a non-profit organization founded in 1983, is one of the oldest, continuously running AIDS assistance organizations in California. The agency mission is to prevent homelessness and hunger and to encourage independent living for impoverished women, men and children with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County. Aid For AIDS helped more than 1,000 last year. Visit www.AidForAIDS.net for more information.

"The Four Schools of Chinese Cooking" - Dinner at China Islamic

A few months back, I came upon this online article on the Cooking Light website simply entitled "The Four Schools of Chinese Cooking" and as the title suggests, it talked about 4 different types of Chinese cooking based on schools or more likely "regions": East, West, South and North. Given the fact that I'm lucky enough to live in the San Gabriel Valley where the breadth of Chinese cooking is unparalleled, I thought I'd start a new dining series for Pleasure Palate where we would dine at restaurants representing each school. Our next visit focused on the Northern School.

Taken directly from the article, "The Northern School is the most eclectic, incorporating the refined cooking of palace kitchens and Shandong province (where classic Chinese cuisine originated), as well as Mongolian and Muslim dishes. acclaimed for its spicy dishes, includes Sichuan, Hunan, and Yunnan provinces." Look below for more info.

What the North is known for: Noodles, Steamed Breads, and Pancakes are served instead of rice.

Styles of Cooking: Stir-Frying, Pan-Frying, Braising, and Barbecuing

Common Seasonings: Garlic, Chives, Leeks, Star Anise, and Sweet Bean Sauces.

Representative Dishes: Moo Shu Pork With Mandarin Pancakes.

To represent the Northern school, I chose China Islamic in Rosemead and I tried to choose dishes, with the help of the staff, to best showcase what the Northern School was all about. For our meal there, we shared 12 dishes.

Starting our meal was the Dabing, which is a thick sesame and green onion pancake. I've only had the thinner versions of this pancake before, so I was interested in tasting the difference. The Dabing is definitely quite filling on its own. When you cut into and see the cross-section, it looks like a pancake within a pancake.

After taking a few bites, it didn't do much for me. I found it too dough-y and preferred the thinner pancakes that we ordered later in the meal. Of the remaining items, I have to say that everything was pretty good, but some were more memorable than others.

The first dishes to arrive were the Lamb with Green Onions and the Beef with Pickled Cabbage. I enjoyed how the grassiness of the green onions complimented the stronger flavors imparted by the lamb, which by the way, was tender to the bite.

When it came to the Beef with Pickled Cabbage, I was one of the few at my table or maybe, I was the only one at my table who loved this dish. Compared to some of the other items which were bolder in taste, this dish was pretty mild. What drew me to this dish was my Filipino palate which favors foods that have a sour/vinegary tang to them. I liked the combo of the cabbage, which was almost like sauerkraut and the meatiness of the beef. I would definitely order this dish again.


Although some kind of green bean dish is seen on most Chinese restaurant menus, regardless of the region that the restaurant represents, I have to say that their Dried Shrimp and Green Bean dish is better than most. The addition of the dried shrimp gave a nice hit of saltiness and overall, the little bit of heat coming from the sauce that the beans and shrimp were sauteed in was very appealing to my taste buds.

Like the green beans, noodle dishes are also standard Chinese dishes, but the Three Flavor Chow Mein that we ordered was exceptional in that the noodles were hand cut and had a nice slightly chewy texture that really did it for me.

The two dishes that wowed me the most arrived last. One was the oxtail in brown sauce. All I have to say is "Mama Mia!" and I'm not even Italian and I'm not even dining at an Italian restaurant, but that brown sauce was so good, I could have dived into it. It was thick and had a smoky, slightly sweet heat taste to it. I can't say enough good things about it. The added bonus was that they didn't skimp on the oxtail, which I found to be meaty and also quite tender.

Finally, there was the Lamb in a Warm Pot dish. The broth was just so goooood. Notice the extra "o"s in the word gooood. There was so much flavor in that soup plus it was rich and hearty. I loved the addition of fresh cilantro. It's a dish that's perfect cold weather comfort food. The lamb was also tender and in general, the running theme is that this restaurant really knows how to prepare their meat dishes. There wasn't anything I had where the meat wasn't cooked just right.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at China Islamic and I can see why it's gotten consistent raves from bloggers, food critics and regular dining folk alike since it's opened. My second visit there happened a month or so later and this time we ordered different dishes and the meal was still just as good as the first time. China Islamic is definitely a must visit for anyone who enjoys Chinese dining and even more so, if you're interested in checking the Northern Style of Chinese Cooking that China Islamic represents so well.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157613063801490/

China Islamic
7727 Garvey Ave
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 288-4246
http://www.chinaislamic.com/