Pleasure Palate

The Jokbal Was No Joke at Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal

2012-01-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

When it comes to planning where I'm going to take my dining group, Pleasure Palate, my bookmarks are chock full of links to dining possibilities. Once or twice a week, I take a look and ask myself, "Which restaurant is worth a visit in the next few weeks?" When I make my decision, the meal pops up on the dining calendar. After re-reading an LA Times article about a Koreantown restaurant called Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal, I knew this is where I wanted to go.

So what exactly is Jokbal? Basically, it's a braised pork foot and shank and apparently, one restaurant serves the best version. Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal is a satellite of a renowned braised pork foot specialty restaurant in Seoul. Several years ago, the owner of the Seoul restaurant came to Los Angeles, bringing with her a sample of the braising liquid she uses. She proceeded to train her nephew-in-law on how to make jokbal properly. With that knowledge, Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal came to be.

Now that you have a little background, let's talk about the food. As is standard in many Korean restaurants, the meal starts with an array of panchan. The panchan was just okay, nothing to write home about. Along with the panchan also came dipping sauces, lettuce, jalapeno and raw garlic for the jokbal itself.

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After noshing on the panchan for awhile, the jokbal arrived in all its glory. Its presentation almost reminded me of flower petals because of the way the meat was sliced and fanned out.

The jokbal could be dipped in the sauces and eaten on their own. Another alternative is for the jokbal to be wrapped in lettuce along with the raw garlic, a jalapeno with a dollop of the sauce. I did it both ways and both ways were delicious. The pork was tender and I loved how the ribbons of fat around the pork slices had a soft, gelatinous texture. There was a definite soy sauce flavor that I tasted as well as a bit of sweetness that may have come from some type of sugar. Other than that, I don't know what other braising ingredients were used, but it simply didn't matter because this jokbal was amazing.

Not so amazing and unfortunately, not very good were the other dishes we ordered along with the Jokbal, which included Pan Fried Squid and Pan Fried Spicy Pork Hock. The squid was way too chewy and the pork fried pork hock was overcooked. Also, not only did both dishes look alike, the sauces they were cooked in tasted the same. Unfortunately, the Pan Fried Spicy Pork Hock wasn't spicy at all, which made it even more difficult to differentiate it from the Pan Fried Squid.

Another disappointment was their Seafood Pancake. It looked promising when it came out, thick and hearty. I liked that the pancake's surface was nicely browned, but I think the seafood must have been invisible, because there was little to none to be seen or eaten. There was a little bit of shrimp, but not enough to really merit calling this dish a Seafood Pancake.

The only dish other than the jokbal that tasted really good was their Buckwheat Yam Noodles with vegetables and topped with a chili sauce. The noodles had a nice chewy texture and the chili sauce brought the heat that the Pan Fried Spicy Pork Hock was missing.

Suffice to say, the jokbal is truly the star of this restaurant. While you certainly can order other things from the menu, if all you had was the jokbal, that would be enough to make this meal one of the best you've ever had.

Jangchung-Dong Wong Jokbal

425 S. Western Avenue

Suite E

Los Angeles, CA 90020

(213) 386-3535

Seoul Soiree at the Seoul Sausage Company Fan Appreciation Party

2012-01-22T14:50:00.000-08:00

Ever since I saw a tweet by @EmpressEricka who commented about having a Soul Soiree while eating homemade coffee ice cream, the words "Soul Soiree" stuck in my head and I knew I wanted to use it somewhere, but with a twist. So behold my post about the Seoul Soiree at the Seoul Sausage Company Fan Appreciation Party that I attended a few months back.
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If you haven't heard of Seoul Sausage Company before and you are a lover of Korean food and sausage, than this is one young company you should get to know really fast. They take their sausage seriously. Check out the shirt that one of the owners is wearing below to see what I mean.

What's unique about their sausages is that they are inspired by Korean flavors. Currently, they have two sausages to choose from. One is their Spicy Pork Sausage and the other is their Kalbi Sausage and both were on the menu for this party. We were also asked to vote for which was our favorite. Team Beef vs. Team Pork. Read on to see which team I batted for, although if you're a regular reader of my blog, you may already know the answer.

As the sausages were being grilled, the smell was so delicious, it made me giddy with meat joy and anticipation.

Pork lover that I am, I went for the Spicy Pork Sausage first. Their pork sausage is flavored with traditional Korean spices served on a bun with apple cabbage slaw and I have to tell you this sausage was substantial in size. My first bite was heaven. This may sound a bit corny, but I actually thought I heard angels sing. The sausage was juicy, packed with flavor and definitely had a big kick of heat and spice. Just a take a look at my picture to see what I mean by this sausage being blessed with a lot of meaty juices. I don't necessarily eat sausages very often, but this was one of the best I've ever had.

Second to the plate was their Kalbi Sausage made with 100% beef kalbi and it was served with kimchi sauerkraut and garlic jalapeno aioli. While more subtle in flavor than its fiery counterpart, the Kalbi Sausage was also filled with meaty juices and was also quite delicious.

Before that day, I've never had Seoul Sausages before, but now that I have, I'm a big fan. I know I did a play on words when I talked about my "Seoul Soiree", but eating those sausages was really like having a "Soul Soiree".There are those foods that you eat to survive, but there are foods that you eat to feed your soul. When it comes to the sausages from the Seoul Sausage Company, they are definitely soul-satisfying.

Do you want to check out the Seoul Sausage Company for yourself? Right now, you can catch them at various events and festivals around town. They are also available for catering.Check out all their contact information below.

Seoul Sausage Company

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Gourmet Cotton Candy from Tasty Clouds

2012-01-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

When it comes to cotton candy, I'm a fan. So whether at an amusement park, a fair, a sporting event, you're bound to see me manhandling my way through a big pink or blue ball of fluffy and puffy goodness. Whenever I thought about what cotton candy tasted like, all I could say was that it tasted like cotton candy. I didn't think there was much else to it until I found out about a company called Tasty Clouds.

Tasty Clouds is a gourmet cotton candy company founded by Nina Rodecker, who was born in the Philippines. Her company was inspired by "LIHI" (lee-Hee), a Filipino term for "pregnancy craving". When Nina was pregnant, her main craving was cotton candy, but not just cotton candy that you can pick up from the store, but fresh cotton candy. So she actually picked up a cotton candy machine and started creating her own recipes. From there, Tasty Clouds was born and along with that came some unique cotton candy flavors.

Wanting to experience this gourmet cotton candy for myself, I set up a cotton candy tasting for my dining group, Pleasure Palate.When we arrived, we were greeted by Nina and she gave us a quick run down on how cotton candy is made.
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Basically, cotton candy is made from sugar and in this case, Nina has developed flavored sugar crystals. The sugar is poured into an electric heating element at the base of a funnel-shaped dish and melted.

Then the machine rapidly rotates and in the process, that sugar syrup is flung through the tiny holes in the funnel using centrifugal force. The outer bowl caught the threads as they cooled.

The final product was fine and fluffy and ready to eat. Originally, it was referred to as "fairy floss". The name "cotton candy" didn't actually become popular until the 1920s. A rose by any other name is still pretty darn good cotton candy and Tasty Clouds is a wonderful description of what Nina's cotton candy was like.

We tried a variety of flavors and as you can see below, everyone was enjoying their fluffy, puffy treat. Traditional flavors we sampled included their True Blue and Pretty in Pink. However, we also got to try Apple Verde, Wild Watermelon, Lima Lime and their Banana Cadabra. The Apple Verde actually reminded me of a Jolly Rancher.

Nina will also create custom flavors. Some of which she talks about in the video below.

The sky's almost the limit when it comes the variety of flavors that can be created. In fact, I asked Nina if she could come up a Filipino-inspired flavor and she countered with a calamansi cotton candy which she sent to me at a later date to try. I definitely tasted the sweet-sour-tart flavors of the calamansi and even my Mom gave the calamansi cotton candy a thumbs up. Nina even included a bonus tub of strawberry-jalapeno cotton candy which I loved. The sweet and spicy duet of flavors was a wonderful kick to my palate.

Just this year, Nina even developed a new Filipino flavor in the form of Philippine mango which was a big hit at the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture which is where it debuted.

Want to know some fun cotton candy facts?

A normal serving of cotton candy (about 1 oz.) has approximately 26 grams of carbs, about 100 calories, not salt and no fat.
One serving contains less sugar than a can of soda.
National Cotton Candy Day is celebrated on December 7.

Do you want to try Tasty Clouds Cotton Candy for yourself? You can visit the Tasty Clouds Showroom location or order their products online. Just click the website links below to get more information.

Tasty Clouds

12325 Santa Monica Boulevard.

Los Angeles, CA 90025

310-990-2435

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A Non-Coffee Drinker's New Coffee Addiction Can Be Found at Dripp

2012-01-11T11:00:00.000-08:00

In truth, I'm not much of a coffee person. Tea, yes. Hot chocolate, yes. Coffee, not so much. So when I got an invitation to attend a Media Event a Dripp, a new coffeehouse in Chino Hills, I wasn't sure at first that I wanted to go. However, my +1, who was my coffee loving niece finally sealed the deal, so off we went. At our arrival, I noticed there was a nice outdoor patio.
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Inside, there was a showcase wall featuring old-fashioned coffee grinders from the 1800's that owner, Rabih Sater, has collected over the years.

There was also a second floor that allowed you to peek down at the action below.

Back downstairs is the Cream Bar, where you can find both a cookie and ice cream display. Eat separately or create your own Ice Cream Sandwich with your choice of 2 cookies and ice cream.

Need to catch up with what's happening in the world? Then take a seat in front of one of the iPads positioned around Dripp where you will have access to various news websites as well as well as the Dripp menu, if you still haven't decided what to order.

In the end, what Dripp is really all about is their coffee and the majority of their coffee comes from Intelligentsia and Espresso Republic. At the Dripp Bar, coffee is prepared two different ways, iced or hot. Their cold coffee is prepared using Japanese Oji Coffee Drippers, which had to be exported from Japan.

What's unique about this machine is that the coffee it makes is so concentrated that it takes 8 to 10 hours to brew, approximately 42 drips per minute. This process literally removes all the acidity and bitterness in the coffee and what you're left with is a drink that is smooth, sweet and dark with an almost maple syrup consistency.

What I found amazing about this iced coffee drink was that I was able to drink it without adding sugar or cream, which on the off times I want coffee, I absolutely have to have both. In fact, I have found myself a big fan of this Japanese Oji Iced Coffee. I don't really make my out to Chino Hills, but anytime my niece goes out that way for school, she always knows to bring me one of those iced coffees back (or she'll never hear the end of it).

When it comes to their hot coffee, each one is ground and dripped to order. First, you choose from 4 to 5 coffee beans that are available that day, then the beans are ground just for your specific coffee. Afterwards, the coffee is placed in a Hario V60 pourover cone. Hot water is added and slowly drips from the cone into the coffee cup below. From start to finish, the process takes 3 to 5 minutes. Take a look a the photos below to see how it works.

Just like the iced coffee, what you get is a coffee that is also really smooth. While not as sweet as the Japanese Oji Iced Coffee, this particular coffee, which is their Celebration blend, still didn't need the addition of any sugar. As I said, I'm rarely a coffee drinker and taking my coffee black would normally be out of the question, but not in this scenario.

At the Steam Bar, there's also a large Strada machine to take care of the espresso drinkers. One espresso drink that you might want to check out is their Dolci Fini, which is a drink layered with espresso, heavy cream and topped with vanilla syrup in a sugar rimmed flute shot glass. Drink it as is to savor each layer or mix it all up.

What's also unique to Dripp is their Turkish Coffee, which was developed by owner, Rabih Sater. It took 6 months and a lot of caffeine, but finally, he found a blend that satisfied him. The Turkish coffee is made from a special blend of Espresso Republic beans, specifically from Ethiopia. He felt that the chocolate and tart-fruity flavors of those beans would be a perfect complement to the cardamom, a spice that is also included in the blend.

I'm a big cardamom fan, so I definitely wanted to try their Bozo, which was a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream topped with a shot of their hot Turkish Coffee. This was a total home run. I just love that the Turkish Coffee has such a fine grind that some of the grounds are even on the ice cream. If it was possible, I'd ask my niece to bring me both a Japanese Oji Ice Coffee and a Bozo every time she happened to stop by at Dripp.

If coffee is not your thing, you can also get a Hot Chocolate with a Toasted Marshmallow Skewer like the one below or choose rom an assortment of teas and other drinks and with pastries coming from Bread Bar, I'd definitely say that there's something for everyone.

So if you happen to be in Chino Hills, stop by Dripp for some awesome coffee and if you are at all inclined to pick up a Japanese Oji Ice Coffee and drop it off my house on your way home, I wouldn't mind that all.

P.S. Hey Dripp, I know that the Chino Hills is your flagship store, but I'd love it if you could open a store closer to me, that way, my niece can stop going broke bringing me back coffee. How about a Pasadena location? :)

Dripp
13855 City Center Dr
Ste 3015
Chino Hills, CA 91709
(909) 628-6384
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Six Taste Bizarre Food Challenge

2012-01-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

When I think of what constitutes as a "bizarre food", it's not so much that I think particular foods are inherently bizarre by definition. It's more like there are foods out there that I can't fathom myself wanting to eat. Wanting to expand my culinary horizon, I decided to take on the Six Taste Bizarre Food Challenge. Six Taste is a Los Angeles food tour company and you can read about a couple of other tours I've been on with them here and here. As for their Bizarre Food Challenge, it's a tour that you have to set up with them as a private tour. It takes place in the city of San Gabriel and the focus is on "bizarre" Chinese delicacies.

Our first bizarre bite of the day was from a Century Egg. The sheer blackness of the egg looked a bit daunting in the bright morning light, but it was a pretty background surrounding the striations of the yolk, which looked like agate. Century Eggs are duck, chicken or quail eggs that are preserved in a mixture of clay, ash, quicklime, salt and rice hulls for several weeks to several months. They can be eaten on their own, but are usually eaten with something else like chilled tofu or mixed in a rice congee.

I think this is one food I would have liked to eat with something else. By itself, the strong ammonia smell was off putting. When I finished eating the egg, there was a lingering sulpher taste that lingered on my palate that even a few swigs of water couldn't seem to drive away. Suffice to say, this is one egg I'm happy to avoid in the future.

Afterwards, we walked over to Aji Ichiban, which our guide referred to as a Taiwanese-Japanese Branded-Chinese Snack Shop. Got that? I actually had to write that down so I could remember. Inside, you'll find a variety of dried goods like dried fruit and vegetables. You'll also find dried seafood, jerky and other types of snacks as well as candy. In fact, they even sell durian candy and of course, I got some to take home.
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This is where we dug into fried mini crabs. What was bizarre was that I had no problem munching on them; yet, when I've had fried whole smelts (which are small fish), I always cut the head off before eating the rest of the body. But then there are others who will only have fish fillets because eating from a whole fish would be too foreign. People definitely do have interesting food do's and don'ts. Me included.

Right next door was our next stop at 101 Hot Pot Cafe. This restaurant shares its name with another 101 Hot Pot Cafe that is located in the Taipei 101 Mall, which is the second tallest building in South East Asia. Here we sampled three dishes.

First up was a Steamed Stinky Tofu. Stinky tofu is basically tofu that is preserved for a several months in a brine made up of fermented milk, vegetables, meat and possibly other ingredients. I was a little worried about eating this because I had fried stinky tofu a couple of weeks ago at another restaurant and found the taste to be too pungent and a little too "rotten tasting" for my palate. However, it was total night and day with this plate of steamed tofu. It definitely had a distinct taste, but one that I liked. Apparently, not all stinky tofu is created equal.

Our next dish was a plate of Steamed Pork Intestines. I had to think about it for awhile before reaching with my chopsticks to snag one, especially since many of us knows what goes through the intestines. It was actually pretty tasty with a chewy texture and I liked it even more when eaten with chili. Our guide did pass on an important bit of information though when it comes to eating intestines. When you pick up an intestine, make sure the center is completely hollowed out. If you see anything hanging around or blocking any part of the middle of that intestine, it may not have been cleaned enough; therefore, it's possibly unsafe to eat.

Last was a bowl of soup that our guide referred to as a good hangover soup. Ingredients included more pork intestines as well as pork blood cubes. I've never been a blood fan when it comes to my food. I just find the taste to be really minerally plus I have to admit to a slight repulsion to eating "blood" foods in general. I did have a little of that blood cube with a spoonful of soup and that was enough for me.

Our next stop was upstairs at Tasty Village. By the way, I may have forgotten to mention that the majority of our tour took place at Focus Plaza, which is home to 99 Ranch Market, restaurants and other businesses. Here we shared a plate of jellyfish. I've actually had jellyfish before and just like then, I enjoyed its cool and crunchy texture.

After we enjoyed the jellyfish, we walked next door to Ay Chung Noodle House, which is a US outpost of the same restaurant that exists in Taiwan. However, in Taiwan, Ay Chung Noodle House is literally a hole in the wall night market stand with no seating and no trashcan. Customers eat standing up out of bowls which they then return to the restaurant when they're done. There they only serve a couple of items. Chung is also the last name of the family that runs these restaurants.

While the San Gabriel location has a bigger menu then their Taiwan counterpart, what they are known for are their rice noodle soups and stinky tofu. The first thing we had was their Small Intestine Rice Noodle Soup made with soy sauce, garlic, a Taiwanese-style vermicelli noodle and thickened with cornstarch. I enjoyed the flavor of the soup, was fine with the intestines, but the soup just had too much of a thick and gloopy texture that I didn't care for.

As for the Fried Stinky Tofu, I also really enjoyed it. Like the steamed version I had earlier, it also had a distinct flavor to it that wasn't unappealing.

From Ay Chung Noodle House, we took a walk away from Focus Plaza to Nature Pagoda. The owner of this restaurant also owns a Chinese Medicine Shop at Focus Plaza so some of the foods at Nature's Pagoda are made from various Chinese herbs. Our stop here started innocently with a plate of vegetable dumplings.

Then that plate was joined by two different soups. The first soup was Turtle Soup with a Chinese herb broth that included ginseng and goji berries. This was the first time I've ever had turtle soup. The turtle pieces looked like little beef spareribs and also tasted beef-y to me, but others in the tour thought that the turtle tasted more like duck.

I almost wish that we stopped with the turtle soup because the next soup was definitely a hard mountain to climb for me and for the majority of my group. Before our guide told us what was actually in the soup, he talked about traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine. One of the premises is the belief that whatever organ you eat can replenish a similar or same organ in your body. For example, if you're having liver problems, you'd eat liver. He also mentioned how eating black sesame seeds is thought to keep away gray hair.

The role of the main ingredient in our mystery soup is suppose to help with male virility; hence, what we had before us was an Ox Penis Soup. If I was hesitant about eating the pork intestines, I was even more so about eating this ox penis. After all, I don't need help with my male virility. It didn't help that it looked exactly what it was supposed to be, but this was a Bizarre Food Challenge, so I eventually did the deed. However, I couldn't fathom chewing it, so I just swallowed it whole and yes, I've heard all the jokes already. :-P

From Nature Pagoda, we went to Tasty, a Chinese dessert place. I've only been here once before and it was on the Six Taste New Chinatown Tour. On that tour, our dessert was a mango-coconut dessert. For this second visit, we had a similar dessert, but with a twist.

This particular dessert included black rice, coconut milk ice, fresh mangoes and frog fallopian tubes. Yes, frog fallopian tubes. Like the ox penis, there is a purpose for eating frog fallopian tubes and it has to do with helping with a woman's fertility. As for the frog fallopian tubes, they looked like jelly or a soft jello which you'd find in a lot of Chinese desserts and/or drinks. There wasn't much flavor to them and since I had no issue with the texture, I didn't have a problem eating them, but it's not something I'd go out of my way to order again.

I got two things out of taking this tour. I can definitely say that my culinary horizons have been expanded a bit further. First, I'm more open to the thought of eating pork intestines than I was in the past. Second, stinky tofu really can taste good as long as you go to restaurants that know the best way to prepare them. Third, I wouldn't turn down a bowl of turtle soup if someone offered it to me.

I also reaffirmed to myself that just because certain foods are enjoyed by others, it doesn't mean that I have to like or even eat them (again), regardless of why. I'm glad that I tried the Century Egg, had a bite of that blood cube and even swallowed that ox penis, but there doesn't have to be repeat performances for any of those foods for me. But if I decide never to eat a blood sausage, haagis, a scorpion or a guinea pig, that's okay, too. It's my prerogative.

In the end, while I have my limits, I do have a pretty adventurous palate compared to many. That was very evident when I started regaling my co-workers about all the interesting food that I ate on that tour. My audience wasn't to keen on the century egg and the stinky tofu but once I got to the pork intestines, I completely lost them. Can you imagine how they would have reacted to the ox penis and frog fallopian tubes? Now that would have been interesting.

Aji Ichiban
140 W Valley Blvd
Suite 109
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 280-6383

101 Hot Pot Cafe
140 W Valley Blvd
Suite 108
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 288-7088

Tasty Village
140 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 571-1178

Ay-Chung Noodle
140 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 280-0186

Nature Pagoda
312 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 570-8333

Tasty
250 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 282-8263

Six Taste Contact Info
Six Taste Website
Six Taste on Facebook
Six Taste on Twitter

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Fluff Ice is Not Your Typical Shaved Ice

2011-12-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

Last September, I paid a first visit to Fluff Ice, a shop in Monterey Park that specializes in something that isn't ice cream, isn't yogurt and is not your typical shaved ice. Instead, it's a dessert that's more on the creamy side and will remind you of fresh, newly fallen, fluffy snow; hence, Fluff Ice. You don't believe me? That's what I got from the sign below.

Before I even saw the sign, I walked into a space that was dominated by the company's signature colors of blue, green and white.
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On the counter, you can check out the various cup sizes for your fluff ice. At the register, you can take a look at the Fluff Ice Menu. Basically, how it works is that you choose 1 of 8 flavors to start with. However, between you and me, sometimes there's a secret flavor or two that is off menu. Just ask the guy or gal behind the counter to see if you can score whatever Owner, Matthew Hui, has been experimenting with in the kitchen.

Once you choose your flavor and size, you can choose two toppings that are included in the original price; however, you'll have to pay extra for the premium toppers. Don't feel that you miss much by opting out of the premium toppers because some of the regular toppings include things like red bean, egg pudding, lychee jelly ~ all of which are just as good. After that, your choice of either condensed milk or chocolate syrup is poured on your Fluff Ice, also included in the price, and you're ready to go.

If you can't make up your mind, check out the Favorite Combos board to get some ideas. Perhaps, the Peach Me! Combo with peach fluff ice, lychee jelly and condensed milk is your thing. If not, how about the Mango Madness Combo with mango fluff ice, mangoes, mango pudding, mango jelly and condensed milk. There are four other combos to choose from so I'm sure you'll be able to find something to your liking.

Unlike typical shaved ice that is usually made by putting ice into a machine, fluff ice is done a little bit differently. I don't really know the details, but the ingredients for all the various fluff ice flavors are frozen into cylinders and then there's a machine where that ice cylinder is pushed down and in the process "fluff ice" comes out the other end into the waiting cup. You can get an idea of what I mean by taking a look at the photos below.

At the time of my visit, Matthew was able to give me small samples of all the flavors he had on hand which included Thai Iced Tea, Taro, Strawberry, Chocolate, Peach, Kiwi and Original. Unfortunately, he didn't have any Green Tea, which apparently is a favorite among his customers. I pretty much liked everything I tasted, except I didn't really taste that much kiwi in the kiwi flavor.

My favorite was the Thai Iced Tea and with the addition of the condensed milk, it tasted even more like I was eating a Thai Iced Tea instead of actually drinking it.

I was also able to try a couple of their Premium Toppers, which you can actually just order by themselves if you were so inclined. First, there was the Pink Honey Boba, which is actually just boba soaking in honey. Then there was their Popping Strawberry and Passionfruit Boba, which I just tried for the first time a few weeks before at a yogurt shop. If you've never had them, once you take a bite, you'll know why they are called Popping Boba.

After all that sampling, I was ready for my own full size Fluff Ice. I was feeling a bit lazy, so I decided to pick a combo. I went for the Pretty in Pink Combo that had Strawberry Fluff topped with Strawberry Pink Boba and Condensed Milk. Matthew personally put mine together. Thanks, Matthew!

Overall, Fluff Ice has made me a fan. In fact, I've been back a few times and even brought friends specifically to try Fluff Ice. What I like is the creamy texture that isn't ice cream or yogurt. I don't know how that creamy texture has come about, but all I know is that it works for me. I also love the variety of Fluff Ice flavors that are available and know that there are still more to come ~ something to look forward to. While I'm normally an ice cream fan(atic), Fluff Ice has definitely given my favorite dessert a run for its money.

Fluff Ice
500 N Atlantic Blvd
Ste 153
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 872-2123
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Filipino-Hawaiian Chef Blaine Villasin Takes Over as Chef Partner at Roy's Restaurant Downtown LA Location

2011-12-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

As a Filipina food blogger, I'm always excited about supporting Filipino chefs. So when I got a media dinner invitation to the downtown LA location of Roy's Restaurant, where Chef Blaine Villasin, who is of Filipino-Hawaiian descent has taken over as Chef Partner, I was happy to attend. The evening started with cocktails and appetizers including the vegetable wrapped beef carpaccio.
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Then Chef Villasin came out briefly to introduce himself and he also mentioned that the food we were going to enjoy that evening weren't necessarily on the menu yet. Instead, the dishes were more like of a preview of what's to come.

Our first course was a Striped Bass Sashimi with Tamari Chimichurri and Black Sea Salt. The fish was light and delicate and could have been overwhelmed by the strong flavors of the salt and chimichurri, but for me, the flavors were nicely balanced.

5 Spice Seared Scallop Salad with Tangerines, Baby Mache and an Orange-Vanilla Vinaigrette was our second course. The scallop had a perfect sear and I liked the tart notes coming from the tangerine.

Next was the Buta Kakuni which is a Star Anise Braised Pork Belly with Shimeji Mushrooms and a Soy Mustard Foam. I enjoyed the soft texture of the pork skin and the tender pork meat. The mushrooms added some nice nutty notes while the mustard added a nice "bite" to the dish.

The final savory dish of the meal was Herb Roasted Rack of Lamb with Pomegranate Demi Glace, Pea Tendrils and Summer Vegetables. I liked that the lamb tender and how the pomegranate added a fruit tartness to the meat.

For dessert, it was all about the Caramelized Pineapple Lychee Semi-Freddo with Shortbread Cookie, Pine Nut Dust and Lime Gel. The dessert was a perfect way to end the meal. It wasn't too sweet and in fact, acted almost like a palate cleanser to the meal. The pine nut dust was a nice touch and the lime gel added a little bit of tartness that I enjoyed.

Overall, it was a nice introduction to Chef Villasin's food which bodes well for Roy's Downtown. Considering that Chef-Partners at all the various Roy's Restaurants have a say in the menu, I'm hoping that Chef Villasin will incorporate some Filipino touches. Only time will tell.

Roy's
800 S Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90017
(213) 488-4994
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Cactus, Moles and Tequila at Juan's Restaurante

2011-12-05T19:08:00.001-08:00

When it comes to Mole, the first time I ever had a Mole dish was in 2006. Don't applaud my good memory. I only knew that because it was an experience that was included in my very first Pleasure Palate blog post. If you don't know what Mole is, you can get more information here,but basically, it's a type of sauce that is part of Mexican cuisine andcould have anywhere from 20 to 40 ingredients. As a food lover, if you've never had mole, you're truly missing out on something special. When done right, a mole sauce can show complexity and have layers of flavor that would simply amaze you.

So when a little birdie or actually a friend mentioned a new mole restaurant called Juan's Restaurante, my ears perked up. When I found out that it was a 15 minute drive my house, I knew I had to check this place out and luckily, I was able to do that through a 15 course tasting menu that was set up with the restaurant.

Walking into Juan's, the first thing I saw was a woman making handmade tortillas, but the one thing that really stood out about them was they were bright green. I'll tell you why later in this post.
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In the dining room, there was also interesting wall art, but one painting had a recognizable face. It was a painting of Chef Rocio Camacho. Chef Camacho is known for her moles and worked her mole magic at a couple of restaurants before finally opening her own restaurant just recently. She worked as a consultant at Juan's Restaurante for a period of time and served as inspiration to Chef-Owner Juan Mondragon as he perfected his mole recipes.

So now let's talk about our meal which actually started with a beverage tasting. First up was their Sangria Afrodisiaca which is made up of 30 different kinds of fruit, tequila and agave wine. It was just the right amount of sweet with a little hint of tartness.

The second drink was one of three kinds of agua frescas that they serve. If you're a beet lover, then their beet agua fresca that also includes lettuce and apples might be just for you. I actually like beet juice but it can be strong in flavor, so it might not be for everyone. In fact, a couple of people in the group said that this beet agua fresca was like drinking a salad, which may or may not appeal to you.

An agua fresca with cactus and pineapple was the second one we tried. It was actually my favorite. I really liked the slight grassy-sweet-tart flavors of the drink. It was really refreshing and also a nice palate cleanser throughout the meal.

The third agua fresca was the hit of the table and it was their Pumpkin Orchata. Instead of rice milk, it's made with almond milk which gave the drink a sweet nutty taste.

Before I talk about the food, I should mention that there's more to this restaurant than just the moles themselves. There are actually two underlying themes. One has to do with how Chef Modragon's goal is to feature the cuisine of Pre-Hispanic Mexico, which is represented by his moles as well as other dishes on his menu.

Second, nopal is something that has been consumed in Mexico for thousands of years for its health benefits. It's even considered cancer-fighting. When a Chef's family member got cancer, she started to include more nopal in her diet. To help with the monotony of eating the same kind of food over and over, Chef Mondragon actually developed nopal recipes to offer variety, some of which are also on the menu. By the way, I have to offer a disclaimer and say that I don't know if nopal is indeed cancer fighting, but I can say that his family member is now cancer-free.

All this brings me to the first dish of our meal, which was a Nopal Empanada Stuffed with Squash Blossoms. I had to do a double take for a second because the empanada was as green as the green tortillas I saw earlier. It turns out that both the empanada and tortillas are made with just cactus and lime juice. As for the nopal empanada, I loved how light and flaky the empanada was. Apparently, it's that way due to the fibrous nature of the nopal itself. The squash blossom filling also had a nice flavor.

Next was the Nopal Empanada Stuffed with Huitlacoche. I enjoyed the smokiness and earthiness of the corn fungus and actually marvelled at how the empanada wasn't oily at all. When I asked the Chef about that, he said that the empanadas aren't cooked with oil. Instead they are grilled and covered to allow the circulating heat to do all the actual cooking.

After enjoying our first two appetizers, my little birdie friend,who also brought tequila to the party, gave us both a taste and a tequila tasting lesson with a little shot of Siete Leguas Tequila Blanco. Regarding this tequila, it was made in the highlands of Jalisco, which apparently has less of a "bite" than lowland tequilas. Also, Leguas is the name of Pancho Villa's horse. Now for the lesson. To be able to identify the flavor notes of a tequila, you breathe in, take a sip, swallow and then breathe out. As you breathe out, your palate can sometimes taste the nuances. I think I tasted lemon or lime, but I'm not quite sure.

Queso Fundido with Cactus, Bell Peppers, Onions and Mushrooms with Nopal Tortillas soon came along. Unfortunately, I didn't care for it too much. I love my cheese and the cheese was too overpowered by the size of the other ingredients. The melty cheese should be the star and would have been if all the other ingredients were scaled down in size and were more supporting players. I do have to mention that we were served tasting portions so perhaps the actual dish has a lot more cheese than what we received, so that's something to consider.

The next cheese dish which was the Queso Fresco, however, was a hit. This particular cheese is house made from low fat milk. It was wonderfully light and ate well rolled up in the nopal tortilla with the spicy salsa they had brought out earlier.

After the Queso Fresco, came the Cactus Salad with a house made vinaigrette. The cactus was nice and crunchy and most important of all, not slimy. I've had cactus salads at other restaurants where the cactus had a slimy texture which is a total taste turn off.

One of my favorite dishes was the Cochinita Pibil Taco. The pork was marinated in mandarin orange juice which gave the meat its citrus flavors, but I also loved the fact that it was spicy. It certainly woke up my taste buds and made them stand at attention.

What followed next were 3 different soups starting with the Sopa Mixteca which is a tomato-based soup with nopal and charales, a tiny fish that is either dried or salted and fried. The broth was spicy which I enjoyed and I liked the hint of saltiness that came from the fish.

After the Sopa Mixteca came the Caldo de Piedra, a seafood soup that came with an interesting story. Apparently, this Pre-Hispanic Mexican dish was historically a dish made by a husband for his wife every Sunday as a Thank Your for all her hard work. The preparation goes like this. Put all the seafood and other ingredients in a pot. Heat up rocks in the fire until the rocks are red. Place the hot rocks in the soup and that's how the soup is cooked. That same preparation is done at Juan's. Unfortunately, I found the story more memorable than this soup. I can't remember any distinct flavors. I do remember that the octopus was amazingly tender, but that the shrimp was a tad over cooked.

Our last soup was the Tlapeno which was a soup with carrots, garbanzo beans and chipotle. I had an issue with the fact that there were hardly any garbanzo beans at all. I think I had three and the person beside me had only one. The most anyone had in their soup was probably 4 or 5. On our tasting menu, carrots weren't even listed as an ingredient; yet, it seemed more like a carrot soup than a garbanzo bean soup. Hopefully, a full sized soup will be more garbanzo friendly than our tasting portion was. Garbanzo beans or not, the broth was too smoky from the chipotle for my particular taste.

Done with the soups, the next item to arrive was the Nopal Tres Milpas, which was also referred to as a Nopal Quesadilla. It's basically two nopal halves filled with cheese, Serrano chilies, squash and corn. Again, the preparation of the nopal was great in that it wasn't slimy and instead had a nice little meaty texture to it. I did think that the filling needed just a tad more seasoning of some kind, but overall, this dish is a great vegetarian option.

More nopal came in the form of the Carne Asada dish which was cooked with corn, onions, bell peppers and were on a bed of nopal. I'm not sure if by this point my palate was just getting fatigued, but this dish seemed similar in flavor to the Nopal Tres Milpas.

It was tequila time again and our next taste came from Chamucos Tequila, which is a Raspado. This company that makes this tequila is family-owned. Their raspado tequila is aged from 2 months to a year in virgin white oak barrels which gives it a lighter yellow color that is not very common for raspado tequilas. Chamucos, by the way, translates to "devil" and that image is definitely reflected on their bottle label. The flavor notes from this tequila was all about cinnamon.

The grand finale for this meal was all about the moles. First, a platter of different meats were brought out that included tilapia, salmon, shrimp, pork and a filet mignon.

Then out came ramekins with 10 different moles for us to try with the various proteins.

The moles we tried were the following:

Mole Poblano (Chocolate Mole - a tad more smoky than Mole Negro)
Mole de los Dioses (Huitlacoche)
Pipian Verde (Green Pumpkin Seeds)
Pipian Rojo (Pumpkin Seeds with Red Chili)
Mole de Pistachio
Mole de Nopal (Cactus)
Aromas de Mexico (Guava and Passionfruit)
Mancha Manteles (Special Oaxcan Chile)
Mole Negro (Chocolate Mole)
Velo de Novia (Pinenuts and Almonds)

When it came to the moles I liked, I definitely gravitated to both the Mole Poblano and Mole Negro, both of which have chocolate as one of the ingredients. The subtle difference between the two was that the Mole Poblano was a little smokier than the Mole Negro, but both had rich, dark complex flavors. The Pepian Rojo was also one that did it for me. It reminded me of a Kare Kare, a Filipino stew made with peanuts. However, my absolute favorite was the Mole de Nopal. I just liked its green herbiness. Apparently, I'm in good company because when Oprah Winfrey is in town, Chef Mondragon will cook for her and the Mole Nopal is her favorite mole, too.

After our mole madness, we relaxed with our third tequila from Volcan de mi Tierra. This particular tequila is an Anejo Tequila which is aged for about 14 months. This was my favorite of the three because of the lovely caramel notes that came through.

Finally, it's dessert time and the first one that came out were two different types of flan. One was a corn flan and the other was a nopal flan that was topped with a tuna syrup, which comes from the cactus flower. An interesting thing about the flans were that they were made without eggs. I wouldn't have known that if the Chef hadn't mentioned it. Each had a dense, creamy texture that I really enjoyed.

However, my absolute dessert was the Rose Petal and Cinnamon Ice Cream and the almond, chia seed and sesame seed brittle bowl it sat in. I loved that the ice cream was floral with a "bite" but I have to say that the edible bowl was killer. It was caramel-y, nutty and just downright delicious. Give me a whole bag of that and I'd still want more.

Our final dessert was a Corn Cake. I liked it because it wasn't overally sweet and had an almost creamy texture similar to a Tres Leche Cake, but not as soggy.

Overall, my meal at Juan's Restaurante was wonderful. I really appreciated Chef Mondragon's take on cactus. I've never had cactus in so many different ways before and of course, you can't visit his restaurant without trying any one of the mole dishes or that amazing cochinita pibil taco and ending with the fantastic rose petal and cinnamon ice cream. All I know is that I'm glad that Juan's is only a mere 15 minutes from me because I look forward to many visits to come.

Juan's Restaurante
4291 Maine Ave
Baldwin Park, CA 91706
(626) 337-8686
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Handmade Candy Cane Making at Logan's Candy

2011-11-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

Logan's Candy is a small candy shop that has been in Ontario for over 70 years. It's currently owned by Jerry Rowley, who with a little help, skillfully pulls, twists, cuts and hooks more than 75,000 candy canes by hand every holiday season. In fact, between November and December, there are even candy cane making demonstrations to the public or by group appointment.

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I was actually able to attend one of these demonstrations, so take a look below to see Jerry and his staff hard at work. First, a sugar and corn syrup mixture is heated to a temperature of 340 degrees in a copper kettle. One batch will make about 400 standard-sized canes that are 10-12 inches long.

Once properly heated, the contents from the kettle is poured onto a marble board. Initially, Jerry uses a spatula to "knead" the sugar mixture together.

After a period of time, the sugar mixture was halved into two sections and individually kneaded further by hand.

A few drops of blue food coloring was added to one of the sections since for our demonstration, blue and white candy canes were being made for a special order

More kneading occurred until the blue sugar mixture was set aside next to a gas heating element to keep it warm and soft.

To the remaining sugar mixture, peppermint oil is added. Still more kneading until the sugar mixture is stretched and hung on a hook.

Once on the hook, a lot of pulling, tugging, twisting happened similar to the pulling of taffy. It's the manipulation that helps the color turn to the recognizable white.

The ensuing all white, peppermint flavored candy block is covered with a wide strip of blue candy on one side and a blue and white stripe patterned candy section on the other.

Then it's all twisted and pulled out to make all sorts of goodies via an assembly line.

Traditionally shaped candy canes,

candy cane hearts,

and even broken into pieces via candy machine breaker

Earlier, Jerry and his crew were also making red and white candy canes.

Don't think that candy canes are the only thing you'll find at Logan's. You can also find vintage candies, gummy candies, licorice and more.

Also keep a lookout for taffy, gumballs, hand-dipped chocolates and other hand-dipped items like chocolate covered oreos and potato chips as well as caramel-dipped apples.

They also make their own of ribbon candy in assorted flavors like Sweet Abby Pie (a personal favorite), Pink Lemonade, Root Beer, Sugar Plum, Green Apple with 13 other assorted flavors.

In an age where everything is manufactured by machines, I think it's cool that Logan's Candy still takes the time to make their candy canes by hand. Given how intensive the whole process is, it truly must be a labor of love and for that, I hope Logan's Candy will be around for another 70+ years and beyond.

Logan's Candy
125 W. "B" Street
Ontario CA 91762
(909) 984-5410

Click here to see all the photos of Logan's Candy!

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#LA2BAY: Food Crawl at the Ferry Building

2011-11-27T11:55:00.001-08:00

As part of my #LA2BAY trip, a stay in San Francisco would not be a stay without visiting the Ferry Building and even the pouring rain didn't stop us from experiencing all of its delicious offerings. Eating our way through was definitely on the agenda.

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Before satisfying our palate though at the first stop of our crawl, we definitely took in some of the sights.

Once outside, we headed straight to 4505 Meats where we heard that their Pork Croquette Breakfast Sandwich was out of this world. While we were waiting for that to be prepared, we had a sample of their Chicarrones. OMG! I'm not really an OMG kind of girl, but OMG, those chicarrones were amazing. They were both crispy yet still literally melted in your mouth plus there was this awesome combo of sweet-salty flavors with a little bit of heat that put it over the top. I brought home 3 bags. 2 survived the trip, but were quickly eaten within a few hours. If only I could order them online.

It wasn't long until our Pork Sandwich arrived and this is one sandwich I would have waited hours for and deemed it worth it. Simply, it's one of the best sandwiches I've ever had. Along with the pork patty, other ingredients included a fried egg, peppercress and coriander aioli. The pork was tender and had lots of flavor while the peppercress added both peppery and sweet notes and the yolky egg made this sandwich even more perfect. As for the bread, it was a wonderful vehicle for all this porky goodness.

Also on the to-eat list was the Bacon Studded Hot Dog made Zilla Style with 4505 Chicarrones, Namu Kimchi and Scallions. We actually ended up picking at the Chicarraones first before sharing the hot dog between the four of us.

From 4505 Meats, we strolled over to Roli Roti, but not before someone in our group picked up a Fried Chicken Ramen from Hapa Ramen. That soup looked pretty tasty, too, but I didn't want to get filled up on that when a Porcetta sandwich was soon coming our way.

Roli Roti is basically Rolling Rotisserie truck where the menu primarily revolves around their Rotisserie chicken. However, what they're also known for is their Porcetta sandwich, which is basically a pork loin wrapped around pork belly, stuffed with herbs and also cooked rotisserie-style.

Once you order the Porcetta sandwich, there's quite an efficient assembly line that gets your sandwich to you, from the one who slices the meat to the one who gets the meat on the bread to the one who finishes your sandwich off with the addition of the toppings and condiments.

They were even kind enough to cut the sandwich in fourths for us. Along with the pork itself, there were also pork skin bits, onion jam and arugula and all on a ciabatta bread. Do you remember how I mentioned earlier that the Pork Croquette Sandwich I had at 4504 Meats was one of the best sandwiches I ever had? Well, this Porcetta Sandwich is up there, too. I don't even know what to say about it, except that it's just so, so good.

From someone who isn't that much into sandwiches, this was definitely a sandwich day because our next stop was at Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoke stand. Known for their smoked salmon, tuna and sturgeon lox, they also have an adjoining stand that serves sandwiches made from their smoked fish.

We opted for the Cold Smoked Sturgeon Sandwich with a housemade cream cheese, pickled red onions, capers, thinly sliced lemons, sprinkled with Eat Well Farms Lavender Salt and all on Acme sourdough bread. By that time, it was pouring pretty hard and my hands were chilled. A cold sandwich may not have been an optimal choice, but it was worth it. A little salty, a little vinegary, a little tart and surprisingly, even a little bit floral with the smoked fish worked when it came to this sandwich.

Needing to take a break from the cold, we went back into the Ferry Building and took a breather at the Imperial Tea Court where we warmed up with flowering teas.

Amazingly enough, we still had room for a Tea Snack Sampler which included homemade cookies, green tea pumpkin seeds, ginger roasted almonds and spicy raisins as well as a Dim Sum Sampler with sui mai, hargow, steamed pork buns and baked vegetable rolls. The Tea Snack Sampler was okay, but I wouldn't go out of my way for their Dim Sum Sampler, especially when Chinatown isn't that far away.

After this respite, off we went to Boccalone, where it's all about the "Tasty Salted Pig Parts." Boccalone is a maker of sausages and all types of salumi, that you can purchase online as well as at their Ferry Building storefront.

Also at their storefront, customers can choose from a variety of sandwiches or simply get a Meat Cone, which is just what it sounds like. It's a cone filled with slices of various types of salumi. We went for the cone and if I wasn't already getting full, I would have gotten a cone just for myself. After all, who can resist "Tasty Salted Pig Parts"?

While there, we even ran into San Francisco Celebrity Chef Chris Constantino and he was kind enough to pose for photos.

The last stop of our Ferry Building Food Crawl was the Cowgirl Creamery's food stand called Sidekick. There we first shared a Cheese Puff filled with Herb Fromage Blanc.

However, the real star was the Cowgirl Cottage Cheese Dumplings in Grana Padana Cheese Broth with Green Beans and Toasted Acme Bread. The dumplings were light and fluffy and the broth was rich and flavorful. The bread started off as crouton-like, but then I loved how it softened as it absorbed the soup. This is definitely a soup I'd have as often as I could if I lived in the Bay Area.

On our way out, we stopped at the Miette Patisserie where the cakes and cupcakes looked really tempting, but I decided to pick up some chocolate and lavender shortbreads to go instead.

Just before we walked out the door, I took a picture of this sign in front of a Gelato Shop, but for me, the sign should have said "The Weather Might Be Dreary, But Eating at the Ferry Building Makes You Cheery". Even with the rain and cold weather, visiting and eating our way through the Ferry Building definitely warmed me from the inside out and I would definitely go back.

Ferry Building
Website

4505 Meats
Website

Roli Roti
Website

Cap'n Mike's Holy Smoke
Website

Imperial Tea Court
Website

Boccalone
Website

Cowgirl Creamery Sidekick
Website ^

Whole Hog Family Dinner at Scuola Di Pizza

2011-11-12T21:48:00.001-08:00

As a Filipina, pork is a definite food love since it does play a good part in Filipino cuisine. So when a friend asked if I wanted to check out the Whole Hog Family Dinner at Scuola Di Pizza, I jumped at the chance and when I saw the menu, I was even more interested.
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For those of you unfamiliar with Scuola Di Pizza, it's part of Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza and is a private dining room with an open kitchen and seated family-style dining. It can be rented for private events, but it's also used for cooking classes and themed dinners open to the public. Currently, Chef Chad Colby is the one who teaches the classes as well as cooks the Whole Hog Family Dinners every Saturday night. Considering that he won Cochon 55, the heritage pig competition in Los Angeles last May, I knew we were in good hands.

The Whole Hog Dinner is basically a six course menu featuring Heritage Foods USA Hogs and ours started with a complimentary glass of Prosecco and two types of Focaccia Bread. One was with Hot Peppers and Sage and the other, which is the one you see below, is with Green Olives and Cheese. No pork yet, but that will soon be remedied.

While we were enjoying our appetizers, we could admire the plated items that would consist of our first course.

We could also watch the chefs as they were prepping and cooking some of the ingredients that would go into our second course. Being able to see the chefs at work is definitely a perk of dining right in front of an open kitchen.

Finally, we were asked to be seated and then 2-3 sets of our first course dishes were put at opposite ends of the table so that guests could take their share and pass the plate(s) to the person beside them. One of the items consisted of Crispy Bread Sticks Wrapped in Pancetta. Then there was Pickled Fennel, Carrots and Sweet and Sour Shallots.

The star or should I say stars were actually the 3 types of Pate that we got to enjoy. The first pate was head cheese pate with pork butter with the second one being a “butcher’s pâté" that was made of ground heart, liver and kidneys. Finally, there was a bacon wrapped tenderloin terrine. With the pates came grilled crostini and a spicy grain mustard. The pate was quite rich and buttery, but the pickled vegetables really helped to cut into that richness. I also enjoyed how the spicy mustard also gave the pates a kick of heat.

Our second course was Pork Belly Sausage and Rib Confit served with Trotter-Stewed Butter Beans. We actually saw the Pork Belly Sausage being grilled earlier. I wasn't sure how I would feel about the pork belly being ground up, but I have to admit that its fattiness added some really good flavor to the sausage. The rib meat was tender and I really loved the porky flavor of the butter beans. Chef Colby, who introduced each course, jokingly said that this dish was his version of "pork and beans". Chef, you can cook at my campfire anytime.

Next up was the Souffle of Parmigiano Reggiano over Pork Leg Ragu. The souffle was perfect. It was soft, and pillowy and I loved the sharp and nutty flavor coming from the cheese. However, I didn't really understand the role of the Pork Leg Ragu with the Souffle.

I know it was meant to be eaten with the souffle and I did do that, but it felt like two separate entities that were forced to be partnered with each other by virtue of being on the same plate. I felt like I was just eating meat sauce. Now, if that was tossed with pasta, I could have gone for that.

With all the rich courses we've been having so far, I was really craving green vegetables and luckily, our next course was Roasted Pork Shoulder with Chicory Salad and Salsa Verde. You can see that beautiful piece of meat below.

The open kitchen again afforded the chance for us to see Chef Colby cutting into the Roast Pork Shoulder so that it can be served to our table.

The chicory salad which had a tart viniagrette was a perfect foil for the fattiness of the pork, which also included pieces of crunchy skin. I also liked how the salsa verde or what seemed to more like a chimuchurri added herbacious flavors to the entire dish.

Our last savory dish of the night was the Milk Roasted Pork Loin with Caramelized Ricotta and Sage. The pork was moist and tender and I liked how the ricotta and sage added balanced notes of both sweet and peppery to the meat.

Now's it's time for dessert and believe it or not, this Whole Hog theme even applied to dessert where butter was replaced with pig fat in their Graham Cracker Pigs. Clever, don't you think? Accompanying these delicious cookies were a Rice and Hazelnut Gelati and a Melon Sorbet. Scooping the ice cream with pieces of the cookie and taking a bite was a fun and tasty activity.

Overall, it was a delicious meal. The pork was prepared well and with finesse and I can definitely see or actually taste why Chef Colby emerged triumphant at Cochon 55. There's only small thing I would change is that I would have liked the addition of more vegetables in the initial courses to help cut down the richness of the meal. That chicory salad was a welcome relief because by that time, my palate was feeling just a bit fatigued.

Other than that, the meals at Scuola di Pizza is definitely worth checking out and if you're interested in the Whole Hog Dinner, it runs $75 per person, not including tax and tip. Click here to see Scuoloa Di Pizza's calendar of events, including their Saturday Night Whole Hog Dinners.

Scuola Di Pizza
6610 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA90036
(323) 297-1133^

New British Kitchen TV Show Features Filipino Food

2011-11-11T08:49:00.001-08:00

The New British Kitchen is a UKTV show which takes you on a culinary exploration of the UK, discovering how settling migrants have brought their homeland's cuisine with them to the area. In this episode (Parts 1 and 2), they featured Filipino flavours and cooking (Lumpia and Sinigang) along with Mae Williams from Philippine Generations, showing the master chefs how its done!

Chinatown Thanksgiving Dinner at Plum Tree Inn

2011-11-09T20:42:00.000-08:00

When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, visions of roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce and maybe, even green bean casserole probably dance in your head. For a change of pace, why not try something different? That's exactly what the Chinatown Business Improvement District wanted myself and other food bloggers and writers to do by inviting us to their 2nd Annual Chinatown Thanksgiving Dinner at the Plum Tree Inn.
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Our evening started with some appetizers that included Vegetable Dumplings, Beef Skewers and my favorite of the three, Sesame Chicken.

From then, it was on to a 9 course meal with wine pairings by San Antonio Winery. Before I start talking about about the food, let me give you bullet points about the 3 factors that go into naming a Chinese dish.

The appearance of the dish (e.g. Lion's Head Meatballs, Ants Climbing a Tree)
The person who supposedly invented the dish or caused the dish to be invented (e.g. Kung Pao Chicken, Pockmarked Tofu, Beggar's Chicken)
How the dish is made (e.g. Crossing the Bridge Noodles)

Interesting bit of information, don't you think? Ok, now on to our first course, which was a Minced Chicken Lettuce Cup. Apparently, this dish is based on a famous Cantonese recipe for squab. Not being a squab fan; however, I was happy to see and eat the chicken. Don't be afraid to just pick it up and eat it taco-style. No chopsticks needed.

Our second course was all about the Beijing Duck (or also known as the Peking Duck) and is something you'd have in place of the turkey. Roast duck has been around since the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368) and was originally just a dish meant for the Imperial Court. It took about 200 years or so for a roast duck restaurant to open and even then, it was still only a dish favored by the upper class. By mid-20th century, roast duck had become a national symbol of China and was enjoyed by everyone.

The Beijing Duck at Plum Tree Inn is served on a plate with crispy skin surrounding some of the duck meat in the middle. It also comes with shallots, thin pancake wrappers and plum sauce, which along with the skin and the meat, a server will prepare tableside a duck burrito for you to enjoy.

Doesn't the inside of this duck burrito look delicious?

From duck, our next course was Lion's Head and I'm going to insert the word "Meatballs" after Lion's Head because basically, this was a big meatball dish. The cabbage covering the meatballs represented the lion's mane. Originally, this dish really had nothing to do with lions. Instead, it had to do with an Emperor who loved the landscapes of Yangzhou in Southeast China and asked his cooks to interpret them through food.

Hence, the look of this dish did look like a landscape but it wasn't actually called Lion's Head until the Tang Dynasty because others felt this dish also resembled a male lion's head. A rose by any other name, etc. etc. Regardless of the name, they were moist, had nice texture and were tasty.

Our next course was Two Flavored Shrimp with one being Sauteed Shrimp and the other being Sweet and Pungent Shrimp. I found the Sauteed Shrimp to be a bit bland and doctored it with chili and while the Sweet and Pungent Shrimp didn't lack in flavor, it was a little too sweet for my liking.

Following the shrimp dish came the Crispy Beef. I really loved the texture of the meat. The sauce it was cooked in tasted similar to the Sweet and Pungent Shrimp, but it had a bit of heat which I really enjoyed.

Beijing Duck is usually accompanied by a Beijing Duck Soup with a broth made from the duck bones, so that nothing goes to waste. I have to say that I had Beijing Duck and Soup before in a couple of other restaurants, but this was by far the best Beijing Duck Soup I've had so far. When a soup is good on its own without the addition of any seasoning apart from what's already in there, that's pretty darn good soup.

Our second to the last savory dish was the Kung Pao Three Delicacies with Shrimp, Scallop and Fish. The history behind Kung Pao dishes is really interesting. It is common knowledge that this dish is named after an official; however, from there it all gets rather murky. In some versions Kung Pao is a general who lived during the Ching dynasty. In others, he is a crowned prince who discovered this dish while travelling and brought it back to the Imperial Court. There's even some confusion about whether the dish originated in Shanghai or Szechuan.

Cookbook author Helen Chen provides an interesting twist on the story. In Chinese Home Cooking, she states that Kung Pao was the title given to the person charged with protecting the heir apparent, as Kung meant castle and Pao meant to protect. During a certain period, the Kung Pao was a man whose favorite dish happened to be spiced chicken with peanuts, and thus over time it was named after him. Whatever the case, the stories demonstrate the Chinese belief that naming a dish after an important figure gives it more prestige. As for Plum Tree's Kung Pao dish, I would have liked to be just a bit hotter, but I still enjoyed it.

Our last dish before dessert was the Asparagus with Chinese Mushrooms. Apparently, asparagus appears late in the history of Chinese cuisine, but today, Taiwan has made a major industry of exporting asparagus. It was actually nice to have an all vegetable dish. I wish it had come just a bit earlier. The asparagus was a little too crunchy for me, but I love the juicy, meaty Chinese mushrooms.

Finally, our meal ended with a simple Sesame Rice Ball Soup with Rice Wine. I don't like desserts that are too sweet and this was the perfect way to end our meal.

While we had our Chinatown Thanksgiving Dinner at Plum Tree Inn, there are other Chinatown restaurants that will have Bejing Duck and/or Chinese-Style Turkeys available for eat in or take out. And yes, I did say turkey because if having duck instead of a roasted turkey is still an issue for some of you, don't despair.

You can still have turkey, but what about a Chinese-style roasted turkey instead? Carefully steeped in a soy sauce marinade spiked with star anise, two different kinds of vinegar and sweet syrup, this turkey is then roasted, giving way to a crispy outside with a moist inside. So you really can have your turkey and eat it, too. Click here for a list of those Chinatown restaurants and a Happy Early Thanksgiving to you and your family!

A special thanks to Linh Ho of the Ideation Agency who provided all the Chinese Food History written in this post!

Plum Tree Inn
913 N. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-613-1819
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Six Taste Filipino Food and Cocktail Event at Nola's

2011-11-07T18:20:00.000-08:00

On November 20th at 6pm, Six Taste will hold their annual Filipino food pairing event at Nola's, in the Arts District in Downtown LA. Last year, they had a blast pairing 5 traditional Filipino dishes with five great wines. This year, the focus is on a selection of contemporary takes on Filipino dishes and unique Filipino-inspired cocktails. The pairings were designed in partnership between Six Taste, Nola's, and Filipino blogger Abby of Pleasure Palate. (Hey, that's me!) Tickets are available now at for $50.

We have an exciting menu created by Nola's Filipino American Executive Chef Edric Ocampo.

MENU

Breakfast Egg Roll
garlic rice, tocino, egg

Adobo Chicken Wings

Shrimp Fritter (Okoy)
shrimp, sweet potato, onions, garlic vinegar dressing

Lechon Carving Station
whole roasted pig, Manila style & Cebuano style lechons

Desserts Provided By:
"Turon" Ice Cream by Ramar Foods Magnolia Ice Cream
Ube Cupcakes by Let Me Eat Blog

Guests will receive 3 drink tickets to use towards selecting one of the four cocktails especially created for this event.

Lychee Cucmber
ketel one, calamansi nectar, fresh lychee, fresh cucumber

Spicy Calamansi Margarita
corzo silver tequila, calamansi nectar, jalapeno, fresh lime juice, orange juice

Manila Mule
buffalo trace bourbon, calamansi nectar, ginger beer

Ube Passion
bacardi rum, fresh mint, calamansi nectar, halayang ube, passion fruit juice

STAY TUNED FOR MORE EXCITING NEWS! RAFFLE ITEMS, GIFT BAGS & MORE!

This event is not recommended for vegetarians or vegans. RESERVE YOUR TICKETS BY CLICKING HEREbefore they sell out!
To Learn More About Six Taste, visit the links below:Six Taste WebsiteSix Taste on FacebookSix Taste on Twitter

Ludo Bites 7.0 with Chef Ludo Lefebvre Made Me a Believer Again

2011-10-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

For those of you who may have read my post entitled "My Food Journey from Ludo Bites 3.0 to 5.0", you know that Ludo Bites 5.0 was a bit disappointing for me. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to dine at Ludo Bites 6.0 so I missed out on a chance to see whether or not a new menu would take me back to a high note. Thankfully, I made my way to Ludo Bites 7.0 and with this menu from Chef Ludo Lefebvre, it made me a believer all over again.
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Our meal started with the Bouillabaise Milkshake. Just recently, I had a conversation at another dinner with a fellow diner and he had mentioned that this particular milkshake played with his head. Even though he knew what it was, he took one look at the milkshake when it arrived and automatically thought of a sweet vanilla milkshake. However, with one sip, his (as well as my) taste buds experienced something that was cold, lush, rich, creamy, but with definite seafood flavors.

There was a disconnect between what your mind was seeing and what your mouth was tasting, but I thought it was playful and interesting. If nothing else, it was one of the most talked about dishes at our table where whether you liked it or not, people thought it was a really creative dish.

From the cold oceans of the sea, we went island way via the Jamaican Fried Chicken Wings. While the chicken skin could have been crispier, I enjoyed the tangy sweetness of the marinade and thought the chicken meat was tender and juicy.

Next was the Onion Tart with Battarga. It was more of a flatbread than a tart, but I enjoyed the light crispiness of the crust. The bottarga's saltiness was a perfect foil for the sweetness of the caramelized onions, but I wish that there had been more of it.

Following the tart came the Dorade Ceviche with Cucumber Water and Parslane. This was a dish that was refreshingly tart, bright and herby plus the dorade itself was tender and succulent.

While waiting for our next dish, I ordered the Lavender Ginger Lemonade. It was interesting in that the drink was tart, floral and spicy and somehow it all worked together.

Our next dish was the Salt Cod Panna Cotta, Whipped Fingerling Potato, Smoked Tapioca and Toasted Olive Bread Croutons. When I took a spoonful of the panna cotta just by itself, while creamy, I thought it was too salty. It was more enjoyable when eaten with a crunchy olive bread crouton and the smoked tapioca.

Soon, the Raw Beef "Flambe" with Japanese Whiskey, Rainbow Carrots, Veal Jus Gel, Parsley Panko Crumbs, Mustard and Shallots arrived. This dish was definitely one of the highlights of the meal. I loved how the mustard added a strong, spicy pungency to the meat. The parsley panko also added a nice touch of grassiness which went well with the richness of the meat.

My absolute favorite dish of Ludo Bites 7.0 was the Egg, Sea Urchin, Caviar and Champagne Beurre Blanc. Now this my kind of surf and turf. The egg and sea urchin were so creamy and tasted of land and sea and the caviar was the cherry that topped the sundae. If I wasn't sharing this with two other people, I could have easily eaten this all by myself.

The dish that had some Indian influence was the Plancha Tandoori Octopus with Yogurt, Cauliflower and Grapefruit. The octopus was very tender and the grapefruit added a nice acidity. Overall, it tasted good; however, if I wasn't told that this was a tandoori dish, I wouldn't have identified it as such. There was something missing, but I'm not exactly sure what.

One ingredient that always makes it way to a Ludo Bites dish is foie gras and that night, foie gras was the star in the Foie Gras "French Dim Sum" with Crispy Kimchi and Sake-Black Truffle Cream. The kimchi and the sake-black truffle did a good job cutting into the sweetness of the foie gras, which made this a very nicely balanced dish.

When it comes to duck, I always look for crispy skin, which wasn't to be for the Duck, Cherry, Spicy Saucisse, Beets and Radish dish. Having said that, the tartness of the beet-cherry sauce partnered well with the duck, but what really drew me was the spicy duck sausage. I would have loved to have one or two more on the plate. What I also enjoyed was the fact that the beets weren't completely cooked through, so they had a crunch to them and their sweetness was a nice counterpoint to the radish which can have more of a "bite" to it.

Our last savory dish of the night was the Poached Ribeye, Horseradish Cream and Green Beans. I'm never one to turn down a Rib Eye, but one thing I definitely learned is that I prefer it grilled, bone-in and not poached. I found the poached ribeye to be both tender and chewy at the same time, which was odd. While normally, a fan of horseradish, I found the cream to be a little salty. In general, this dish felt too "soft" to me. It needed some kind of crunch component, which the green beans didn't really supply.

Finally, it was time for dessert and we went for the Lavendar Tropezienne Tart with Lychee. Unfortunately, this wasn't a hit at our table. The tart itself was a little too dry and the lavender so overpowered the lychee that you couldn't even taste the lychee. All the lychee did was add texture, but no real flavor.

Overall, except for really just a couple of dishes, I really enjoyed my dining experience with Ludo Bites 7.0 and after this meal, I'm again very much excited for Ludo Bites 8.0 whenever that comes back.

Visit Chef Ludo Lefebvre's Website Here!^

The Flavors of Belize Restaurant Made for a Happy Palate

2011-10-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

I first found out about Flavors of Belize after reading it on the Food Marathon blog. The food looked pretty tasty and although it took about 9 months to pay it a visit after finding out about it, it was definitely worth the wait.

We started with trying out a couple of their fresh squeezed juices: soursop and craboo. Interesting names, don't you think? It's hard for me to describe what they taste like exactly except both had a slight sweet/tart taste to them but definitely didn't taste the same. However, I found them both very refreshing.
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When it came to the food, the first thing we tried was the Conch Fritter which was ground conch mixed in a batter, seasoned and fried. I couldn't actually taste the conch, but I liked that the fritter wasn't oily and had an almost cornbread quality to the texture.

Following the fritter came the Spiced Ground Beef Meat Pies. I wish that there would could have been a bit more beef in the pie but what was there was delicious plus I really loved the flaky pie crust.

My favorite dish of our meal was the Chicken Tamal. Wrapped in a banana leaf, once opened, both the masa and chicken were tender and moist.

What was also addicting was this tropical habanero sauce that is a staple in Belizean households. Sweet with a kick, it went well with all the dishes, except dessert.

Another dish we tried was the Salbutes, fried corn tortilla topped with a mix of chicken, shredded cabbage, cilantro and tomatoes. On its own, it was delicious with the crunchy cabbage, the peppery cilantro and the acidity from the tomatoes, but that habanero sauce kicked it up a notch even more.

We also ordered a side of sweet plantains, not realizing that it came with one of the entrees we had chosen from the menu. I liked that it wasn't overly soft, but other than that, there was really nothing else to it.

The one dish that was unexpected in regards to flavor was the Ducunu, which is young corn that is ground, seasoned and steamed. I was expecting it to taste sweet, but that wasn't the case. It tasted slightly bitter with an after taste. Apparently, the ducunu can be sweet or not sweet, depending on the type of corn used and/or the preference of the cook. This was definitely the one dish out of everything I had that just didn't do it for me.

Known as "Black Dinner" in Belize, the Chimole is a dish that might surprise you if you hadn't been prepared for its inky soup color. Chimole gets its color and flavor from a paste made from charred chilies, annatto and other spices and the restaurant's version includes chicken, 1 potato and 1 hard-boiled egg and is served with tortillas. The soup flavor was smoky with a dark pungency to it. There's a complexity to that broth where I tasted a lot of different nuances, but what those nuances were, I had no idea. Be sure to dip your tortillas so that you can mop up all that black goodness.

Our last savory item was the White Rice and Beans with Oxtail that included white rice cooked with coconut milk, stewed kidney red beans, plantains and a potato salad. The oxtail was tender and while a little too overcooked, I enjoyed the coconut rice. I also loved the kidney beans. There was a creaminesss to the beans themselves that was unusual, but delicious.

We weren't planning on having dessert, but once I found out that there was lemon pie available, I had to go there and I'm so glad I did. The mini pie crust was very flaky and buttery with a creamy lemon custard filling and a fluffy meringue. I could have eaten dozens, well maybe, just one more. They were just that good.

Overall, I very much enjoyed my meal at Flavors of Belize. I definitely was exposed to some new things I've never experienced before and if this restaurant were closer to me, I'd be a regular customer. Having said that, it was worth the drive and I would certainly make it again.

Flavors of Belize
1271 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 931-4840
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Creative Cooking at Top Chef Winner Michael Voltaggio's Restaurant, ink.

2011-10-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

The first time I ever experienced Chef Michael Voltaggio's food was at a Media Dinner at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena where he was the Chef de Cuisine of the now gone, Dining Room. This was around the time that he was part of the final four contestants still competing on Top Chef. Of course, he emerged triumphant and everyone waited with bated breath to see what this creative chef was going to do next.

While he did stay with the Langham for a few months after his win, flash forward a little over two years later, he is now the Chef/Owner of two eating establishments. One is a more casual sandwich eatery called ink.sack while his sit down restaurant simply goes by the name ink. with a period. I haven't made it to ink.sack yet, but I definitely enjoyed my meal at ink.

By the way, before I start talking about the food, there was a little element in the place setting that I really liked. When we sat down and were given our silverware, it came with a small rectangular magnetic block for our silverware to rest on. It was just a nice touch that I thought I'd mention.
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My meal started with a homemade soda that comes in a variety of flavors. I went for Cucumber-Mint. When it arrived, I loved the use of fresh ingredients, but for some reason, it was extremely tart. After adding some water, that tartness was tamed, but man, my lips were puckering and I'm not even sure why? I don't recall reading that there was lemon or lime in this soda.

Soon after, a trio of dishes hit our table. The first one I tried was the Charred Avocado with hen of the woods, whipped fish sauce and mushroom chicarron. It was a bowl filled with interesting textures from the softness of the avocado to the slight firmness of the hen of the woods to the crunch of the mushroom chicharron. The whipped fish sauce seemed an odd ingredient, but its slight saltiness balanced well with the mild sweetness of the avocado.

Next was the Octopus and Hiramasa with romaine hearts and fried caesar dressing. The octopus was prepared in a beautiful mosaic beneath the other ingredients and while tender and delicious, what I couldn't get enough of was the fried caesar dressing. If I hadn't been sharing with 2 other people, I would have gobbled them all.

One of my favorite dishes of the night was the Brussels Sprouts with fried pig ears, house-cured lardo and apple. The brussels sprouts were roasted to a caramelized perfection and the crunchy fried pig ears were a delight.

Our next two dishes were seafood items, with one of them being a Spaghetti, but not the spaghetti you'd usually expect. The noodles were made from a giant squid and also included squash, hazelnut-ink pesto and piment d’espelette. This was another favorite dish of mine. I loved the chewy texture of the squid noodles and the nutty-sweet-slightly smoky flavors of the dish as a whole.

The other seafood dish was the Sea Bass with cream of dehydrated potato, black olive oil, lemon and caper. I liked crispy fish skin along with the very creamy potato. The black olive, lemon and capers added nice punches of tart, citrusy and sharp flavors to the mild fish, giving it a vavoom!

Following the Squid Spagetti and the Sea Bass, we headed from sea to land starting with the Quail that came with beet juice, beets, sorrel salad and a banana polenta on the side. When it arrived, we were all struck by beautiful redness of the ingredients. At first, we weren't even sure where the quail was since it was surrounded by a mini beet barricade.

Eventually, we found our way and I have to say that beet juice goes perfectly with quail. Whole beets tend to be on the sweet side, but fresh beet juice is actually quite strong in flavor. With quail being more assertive in taste than let's say chicken, the beet juice was a perfect foil. By the way, the banana polenta was amazing. It was sweet, but not too sweet and wonderfully creamy.

Our other land creature was the Berkshire Pork Tenderloin with a charcoal crust, macaroni and cheese and leeks. The charcoal added a nice smokiness to the tender pork and the macaroni and cheese was both fun and delicious. It was fun because the cheese was inside a long pastry shell. I only wish that a side of that mac and cheese was on the menu just so I could have had more.

We were getting quite full, but managed two more savory dishes like the Seaweed Mashed Potatoes with Sea Beans. I'm a big seaweed fan and in the past year,I have come to really appreciate the salty sea beans. While I found the mashed potatoes to be a bit gummy, I still appreciated the seaweed flavors.

Our final savory dish of the night was my least favorite of the our entire meal and it was the Bay Scallops with lamb neck, chickpea poutine and yogurt curds. Individually, the ingredients were fine, but together, it didn't work for me. The scallops didn't have much flavor to them. Either that or the lamb was too overpowering. It's as if the scallops were there just for texture and nothing else. I also didn't find much flavor to the yogurt curds although I did like the chickpea poutine. A couple of bites was enough for me.

For dessert, our end of the table went for the Grapefruit Curd with avocado, cilantro sorbet and charred maple-lime. What a perfect ending to the meal. At first, I wasn't quite sure about the cilantro sorbet, but I really enjoyed it. It's pepperiness went well with the tart sweetness of the grapefruit and the maple-lime bits while the avocado rounded all the flavors.

Everyone else went for the Apple with crème caramel, burnt wood sabayon and walnut. I only had a small spoonful of the burnt wood sabayon. I didn't mind its smokiness, but I was very happy that we went the Grapefruit Curd route.

When all is said and done, I absolutely enjoyed my meal at ink. The food was not only creative, but delicious and while there were 1 or 2 dishes that didn't quite do it for me, they still created as much interest and discussion as the dishes that I did like. If you're going to go for it, go for broke and that's certainly what Chef Michael Voltaggio did. I'm definitely looking forward to many more meals at ink. and hopefully, I'll be paying a visit to ink.sack soon as well.

ink.
8360 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(323) 651-5866
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¡Baja Delicioso! From Spain to Argentina to My First Taste of Baja Med Cuisine

2011-10-23T15:19:00.000-07:00

When it comes to my ¡Baja Delicioso! series, it has certainly been a work progress, but I'm just determined to finish it no matter how long it takes. Just a reminder of what this series is all about. From July 16-July 18, 2009, Bill Esparza of Street Gourmet LA fame arranged a food and wine media trip with and graciously sponsored by the Tijuana Visitors and Convention Bureau along with the support of the Crossborder Business Associates, Cotuco (Tijuana Tourism Board) and the Tijuana Canirac (Tijuana Restaurant Association). My first two write-ups were about our first night in Tijuana. This one takes up where I left off from my TJ City Tour, Cuban Cigars, Chili Shrimp Tacos and Churros post.

After enjoying the best churros I've ever had, we headed off on a marathon of back to back eating before heading to the Tijuana Beer Festival later on that evening, starting with Lorca, a Spanish restaurant.

More ...While our tasting there started with bread and a really delicious dip made from Moroccan chilies, that was just a prelude to the real star of the meal.

If you're a pork lover, then the photos below of the suckling pig we had will fill you with piggy envy. You can't go wrong with crispy skin and tender, juicy meat.

Their Paella Valencia was also a sight for sore eyes with the beautiful clams, mussels and shrimp. It didn't hurt that it was a better paella than I have yet to experience back home in Los Angeles.

Our meal at Lorca ended with Papa a lo Pobre, which are potatoes with olive oil, fresh herbs and red bell peppers.

From Spain we headed to Argentina via Cheripan, an Argentinian restaurant where our stop there started with a Tamarind Margarita.

Food soon followed in the form of nicely spiced and peppery Chorizo Sausages and Grilled Sweetbreads.

We also got a taste of a Hearts of Palm salad, which was quite refreshing followed by flaky empanadas.

My favorite savory dish though was their Grilled Skirt Steak with Pickled Onions, which was both slightly chewy and tender at the time and quite juicy.

Dulce de leche was the theme for their desserts. One was a Dulce de Leche Neapolitan and the other was a Flan Topped with Dulce de Leche. Both hit it out of the park. The pastry for the Neapolitan was light and flaky and I think flan should always be topped with a thick swirl of dulce de leche.

By the time we walked across the street to La Querencia, I wasn't sure how much more food my body could take, but I knew that I wasn't going to miss out on my first taste of Baja Med Cuisine. Simply, Baja Med is a mix of Asian, Mediterranean, and Mexican cuisine with Baja ingredients. You can get more info by clicking here.

Baja Med is the creation of Chef Miguel Angel Guerrero and it all started at his restaurant, La Querencia. Another thing to note about Chef Guerrero is that he's quite a hunter and fisherman and usually, the Specials of the Day are made from meat he has hunted and seafood he has caught.

Our meal at La Querencia started with bread and a trio of sauces which were Tomatillo, Chile Arbol and Habanero Sauce. Take a taste of that Habanero Sauce with extreme caution.

To cool my palate, I had to take a few swallows of the Tepache, a Fermened Pineapple Drink we were served. By the way, this was my first time trying Tepache. I don't know how to describe the taste, but it was very refreshing.

After the bread, the Beet Carpaccio with Blue Cheese and Olive Oil arrived. This was my first experience with raw beet and I loved it. It had a slight crispy and tartness to it and I liked how it went with the pungency of the blue cheese.

Along with the Beet Carpaccio came Thinly Sliced Tongue with a Sea Urchin Cream and other ingredients. The tongue was tender and I liked how the sea urchin added a hit of oceany notes to the dish.

The carpaccio goodness continued with a Zucchini Carpaccio with capers, fried nori, tomatoes, onions and topped with a 9 Chili Infused Olive Oil. I really enjoyed the slight saltiness coming from the fried nori and that chili infused olive oil added a lot of great flavor.

Our last two dishes included Scallops with Black Sturgeon Caviar, Fried Onions and topped with a Chipotle Sauce in a Cucumber Cup as well as a Corncake with Roasted Shrimp, Tomato and Sage Sauce. I enjoyed the freshness of the scallops and that Tomato and Sage Sauce was killer.

After La Querencia, we hit 3 more restaurants and attended the Tijuana Beer Festival, but I'll leave that for my next post.

Lorca
Calle Brasil 8630
Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
664-634-0366

Cheripan
Escuadron 201, # 3151 Colonia Aviacion
Tijuana, B.C., Mexico
664-622-9730

La Querencia
Escuadrón 201 #3110Col. Aviación
Tijuana, B.C. Mexico
664-972-9935

Click Here to See the Photos of the Entire Trip!

¡Baja Delicioso!
- Introduction and the Ultimate Carne Asada Taco at Tacos El Poblano
- The History of Mariachi and Late Night Mariachi at La Vuelta
- TJ City Tour, Cuban Cigars, Chili Shrimp Tacos and Churros
- From Spain to Argentina to My First Taste of Baja Med Cuisine

Disclaimer:Sponsored by the Tijuana Visitors and Convention Bureau along with the support of the Crossborder Business Associates, Cotuco (Tijuana Tourism Board) and the Tijuana Canirac (Tijuana Restaurant Association). This sponsorship took the form of these organizations paying for our travel arrangements, our hotel accomodations and all our meals.^

The Food at True Food Kitchen (based on Dr. Andrew Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Food Pyramid) is Truly Delicious!

2011-10-20T22:54:00.000-07:00

Photo from Flavor Trail Blog

A few months ago, I was invited to a media lunch at True Food Kitchen. What interested me about this restaurant when I first got the email was that the menu was based on Dr. Andrew Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Diet & Food Pyramid. Since I handle the social media for iHerb.com,an online vitamin and natural products retailer, I do a fair amount of reading on topics like holistic health and the importance of following a diet that consists of whole foods that are local, sustainable and seasonal. Dr. Andrew Weil is definitely a name that comes up a lot, so I was definitely interested in "tasting" what True Food Kitchen was all about.
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Upon the arrival of me and my friend and fellow blogger, Flavor Trail at the restaurant, the first thing we noticed were the planters of fresh herbs and vegetables at the front entrance. You can't get any more local than that, at least, for a limited number of ingredients.

The interior of the restaurant was large and airy with an open kitchen that was visible to all. I also appreciated the large pile of fruits and vegetables behind the counter right next to the juicer. That told me that my juice, if I chose to order any, was definitely going to be fresh.

Our meal started by ordering two non-alcoholic drinks, which were both refreshing. One was the Cucumber Refresher (Cucumber and Honey Lemonade) and the other was The Medicine Man (Olivello Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Cranberry Juice, Black Tea, Soda Water and Blueberries). One thing unique about The Medicine Man was the olivello juice. I didn't even know what that was until I asked our server.

It turns out that it's an extract from sea buckthorn berries and is actually quite high in antioxidants. My prior experience with sea buckthorn through my company is that it's an ingredient used primarily in skin care products or an oil that you can take internally in drop or capsule form. From the FAQs on the True Food Kitchen website, they're the only restaurant in the nation that uses the olivello juice in recipes.

As we were enjoying our drinks, the Monterey Bay Sardines with Salsa Verde and Grilled Lemons arrived. I've only had sardines previously out of a can in either a tomato sauce or olive oil. Usually, the sardines are fillets, so this was the first time I ever had whole sardines. For some reason, I thought they were smaller than what actually came on our plate. I did enjoy eating them, especially with the Salsa Verde, but I didn't enjoy picking the bones out.

Next came the Edamame Dumplings with Daikon Radish and White Truffle Oil, which I really enjoyed. The dumplings were light and delicate and the white truffle oil added just the right amount of woodsy notes without being overwhelming.

The one dish I wouldn't order again was the Chicken Sausage Pizza with Tomatoes, Fennel and Fontina Cheese. It was just downright tasteless and the crust was way too chewy. It's best to get your pizza fix elsewhere.

After the pizza, the Panang Curry with Shrimp, Potato, Broccoli, Ginger, Carrots and Mushroom in a Coconut Broth came our way. It was pretty tasty, if not that complex.

In between dishes, we also sampled a Banana Date Muffin. It was light, fluffy and moist, which was surprising. I've had date muffins before and they usually erred on the dry side, but this one was perfect.

What came next was my absolute favorite thing on the menu and it was the Local Vegetable Crudites with Tzatziki and Black Olive Dipping Sauces. When the dish landed on our table, it was almost too pretty to eat. I loved the rainbow colors of greens, oranges, reds, purples and more of the all the vegetables.

According to our server, everything came from the Santa Monica Farmer's Market and the plan is to change the vegetables according to what's in season. All the vegetables were so crunchy, juicy and flavorful that it was amazing to eat them, even more so with the sauces, especially the black olive one.

We also enjoyed a ceviche dish that was one of the specials of the day. I don't remember what kind of fish it was, but I liked how the slight tartness of the sauce paired with the grassy micro greens and spicy radishes.

I also had a bite of the Grassfed Bison Burger with Mushroom, Onions, Mayo and Parmesan on Flaxseed Bun and it was an unforgettable bite. The bison was juicy and meaty and this is one burger I'd definitely order on my own in the future.

Although I didn't try it, the King Salmon with Snap Peas, Purple Potatoes and Asparagus looked delicious.

When it came to the desserts, they were some of the best I've had in awhile. First, there was the Orange Olivello Sorbet with Fresh Berries. The olivello, as a reminder, is an extract from sea buckthorn. I could definitely taste the orange, but it was hard to identify the sea buckthorn, although I could taste some tangy notes.; Overall, this was an ice cream that just tasted "different", but I enjoyed every spoonful.

Our second dessert was the Almond Olive Oil Cake with Blackberries and Greek Yogurt. I've had my share of olive oil cakes, but this is by far, my favorite one. I think the addition of the almond added some nuttiness that I enjoyed and the Farmer's Market blackberries were tart and juicy.

The last dessert we tried was the Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream which was another home run. I'm not normally into "crisp" desserts, but this one was exceptional.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at True Food Kitchen. If following Dr. Weil's Anti-Flammatory Diet means eating this way, then sign me up. Of course, it would help if True Food Kitchen was in the Eastside and closer to me as opposed to being in Santa Monica. May I suggest a location in Pasadena? :)

To end, since one of the main themes of this restaurant is geared towards having menus based on seasonal ingredients, some of the dishes I wrote about may or may not be available right now. In fact, True Food Kitchen just announced a new fall menu which includes entree dishes like Red Chili Shrimp with Sesame Noodles, Choy Sum,and Roasted Chicken with Farro and desserts like Apple Crisp with Pecan Maple Ice Cream and Squash Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream.
So if you're looking for food that's good for you AND delicious, a visit to True Food Kitchen is certainly in order, sooner rather than later.

True Food Kitchen
395 Santa Monica Pl, Ste 172
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 593-8300
www.truefoodkitchen.com/

Look for free (!) valet parking at the Third St. entrance, right in front of the venue. ^

#LA2BAY: Food Truck and Food Cart Eats at Off The Grid

2011-10-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

If you are a food truck and food cart lover in the Bay Area, then more than likely, you've been to Off The Grid. Off The Grid consists of 50 food truck and food stands/carts vendors. What's their calling? Why, to feed the hungry masses in Northern California of course. From Monday through Saturday, from Berkley to San Mateo to San Francisco, 15 to 20 food trucks and stands at a time will come together. So instead of chasing them, you can experience their delicious eats all in one location.

More ...I got to check out Off the Grid at Fort Mason, a few hours after our road trip from LA to SF, which you can read about by clicking here. As my friends and I were talking towards the trucks, what I found interesting was the formation. I've been to my share of food truck festivals/gatherings, but this is the first time I've ever seen both trucks and carts positioned in a circle where attendees were basically coralled in the middle.

I actually liked how that was done. It allows you to make a circuit of all the trucks so that you can first see what's available or you can just go ahead and make your rounds and not have to worry about missing or skipping over one. The one concern I did have was that it might be too crowded in the middle, but there were enough places to sit and eat outside of that corral that the crowd control was quite manageable.

Once inside, the first truck we saw happened to be Senor Sisig and that became our first stop. Our first bite at Off the Grid was the "Senor" Sisig Burrito with with pork, adobo rice, pinto beans, lettuce, salsa and cilantro cream sauce. It was definitely a hefty burrito and thankfully, 3 of us shared it. It was pretty tasty, but I did feel that there was just too much rice and would have liked more meat to balance it out more.

From Senor Sisig, we made our way to the Namu Food Cart. Namu is actually a brick and mortar restaurant, but they do have a food stand presence both at Off the Grid and also at the Ferry Building during the weekend.

At Namu, we tried three different things with the first being the Gamju French Fries, which are hand cut potatoes with kimchee relish, gochujang, kewpie mayo, teriyaki, chopped short ribs and green onions. The French fries had a nice crispiness to them considering that they were thicker cut and I really enjoyed the Korean flavors of both this dish and the tacos mentioned below.

Their Korean Tacos consisted of seasoned rice, daikon and kimchee salsa, kimchee remoulade, housemade teriyaki folded into japanese and korean toasted seaweeds with your choice of meat. Our meats of choice were chicken and short ribs. I loved the use of the seaweed as an alternative to tortillas; however, these tacos need to be eaten right away or else the nori will get too chewy.

Our little food journey went from Korea to Vietnam in the form of the Vietnamese food truck, Little Green Cyclo.

At the Little Green Cyclo, while the Lemon Grass Grilled Pork over Spicy Garlic Noodles really wasn't spicy, their was enough garlicky goodness to satisfy and the pork had a nice caramelization to it.

The second dish we tried was the Shaking Beef with Garlic Rice Cooked in Organic Chicken Broth, Tomatoes, Lettuce and Onions. The Shaking Beef was solid, if not very memorable.

I also got to try an arepa for the first time via the Pica Pica Kitchen food stand. For this arepa, we actually added the pulled pork to their Caribe arepa which usually is a vegetarian option with just black beans and cheese. Unfortunately, I wasn't that impressed. The bread tasted a little undercooked and fell apart and the pulled pork didn't really have much flavor to it.

After some savory dishes, it was time for dessert, so we checked out the Banana Fritters with Coconut Jam and Powdered Sugar from a Malaysian food stand called Azalina's. I was really looking forward to this dish because at first glance, it looked yummy; however, the banana fritters were too doughy. Also, the coconut jam along with the powdered sugar made this dessert way too sweet.

Luckily, we also made a stop at the Creme Brulee Cart and their Strawberry Nutella Creme Brulee was phenomenal. The caramelized crunch on the surface and a lovely creaminess below it made it a pleasure to eat.

By this time, we were full and ready to hit the road, but on the way out, we shared a Watermelon, Basil and Ginger Mint Lemonade from the 3-Sums Eats Food Truck. What a nice refreshing way to end our food truck crawl.

Overall, our first night in San Francisco was definitely a hit and the next morning, we hit the Ferry Building for another food crawl. Isn't life good?

Off The Grid SF
Website
Facebook ^

#LA2BAY: The Night Before Dinner and Road Trip to San Francisco

2011-10-01T15:46:00.000-07:00

Last March, I got to meet fellow Filipino bloggers from Northern California when they came to Los Angeles to enjoy the culinary dining scene down here. They nicknamed their trip #BAY2LA with a hashtag for Tweeting purposes. During their visit, they met up with me along with other Filipino LA Food Bloggers and Food Lovers over a delicious BBQ meal with The Park's Finest BBQ and brunch at Fraiche. Flash forward 3 months later, a few of us decided to make the trek up to San Francisco for some great eats and to reconnect with our new-found friends. Of course, as an homage to them, we called this our #LA2BAY trip.

Most of us flew up to San Francisco, but my friend and fellow blogger, Cecilia and I decided to eat our way up to San Francisco via a road trip. Of course, any good road trip starts with a "nice" meal the night before and on that Thursday night, chicken was on our mind, specifically Dinah's Chicken.

This was my first visit to Dinah's Chicken and upon entering it reminded me of a diner. So what's good diner food? A milkshake, of course. Unfortunately, although the strawberry milkshake I ordered was made with fresh strawberries, it didn't taste like it. Maybe, I should have gone for chocolate.
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Thursday nights at Dinah's Chicken is All You Can Eat Chicken Night and there are three different types of chicken that you can mix and match. I decided to get one of each. First, there was the Honey Cinnamon Chicken, which is something I wouldn't order again. The honey and the cinnamon just didn't work together well plus the glaze was just too sweet. Second was the Chipotle Chicken, which was also a little too sweet and had an aftertaste that wasn't appealing. Sometimes, the original is best and that was the case here. Although a tad greasy, the crispy skin of the Original Chicken saved that meal for me.

While my dinner at Dinah's was just so-so, at least, the company was wonderful. Thankfully, our first official road trip stop at D'Angelo Pastry and Bread Shop in Santa Barbara definitely made up for the night before.

This is actually my second visit with Cecilia to D'Angelo and just like before, we went there for a specific dish. Awhile back, Cecilia saw a dish called "Eggs" Rose on a Food Network Show, The Best Thing I Ever Ate. An "Eggs" Rose is made up of two poached eggs on Kalamata olive toast with Mediterranean artichoke spread. With my first bite, I knew that the "Eggs" Rose was definitely one of the best things I ever ate and the same was true for the second time around. The richness of the yolk cuts into the slight saltiness from the olive bread while the warm artichoke spread was like a warm hug on bread.

For good measure, we also shared a Cafe Mocha and an Almond Croissant sprinkled with Powdered Sugar. The croissant, by the way, was nice and flaky and I loved how they didn't skimp on the almonds.

An hour and half later, we went from breakfast to dessert as we made our second stop at Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab in Arroyo Grande. It's an ice cream shop where all the ice cream is made in-house for both humans and canines.

They refer to themselves as the only nostalgic ice cream parlor in the Central Coast and I like that they present their ice cream in old-fashioned glassware plus an extra bonus is that they make all their own waffle cones.

Around the perimeter of the two rooms in the ice cream parlor, there's also a model train that makes it way through tunnels and bridges.

While we were there we also got a mini tour to check out their ice cream making machine and refrigerator.

Finally, we sat down to enjoy a Mud Pie on a Stick and a Merlot Raspberry Trufflce Ice Cream Sundae with Caramel. Note to self, wine ice cream and caramel aren't a good match, but separately, they put a smile on my face.

So what should come after ice cream? Well, our vote was for clam chowder and not just any clam chowder, but the best I've ever had. Off we went to Pismo Beach to the Splash Cafe.

This was actually my second time experiencing Splash Cafe's clam chowder. Since that first time which was a few years ago, I hadn't found a clam chowder even close to being as good. That day, it was even better since it was topped with fresh crab. I just loved the creaminess and richness of this soup. It was also chock full of clams and potatoes and the crusty bread bowl was the cherry on the sundae.

By the way, during our stop at Pismo Beach, there was actually a strange round light emanating from the sky. It felt very "War of the Worlds". You can see what I mean by the photos below.

From clam chowder to strange lights, we walked next door to Hot Lix for a type of food that many may consider a "Bizarre Foods" show topic. At Hot Lix, it's all about the bugs.

How about a snack of scorpions, grubs and grasshoppers?

Maybe, you're more into chocolate covered bugs?

What about bug lollipops?

I personally went for the chocolate covered grasshoppers and while not my normal choice for a sweet treat, it wasn't too bad.

Believe it or not, we actually made one more stop before arriving in San Francisco and it was in King City at Tacos La Potranca de Jalisco.

There my friend and I shared an Al Pastor Sope. I found it a tad greasy, but the meat had a good flavor and it was a nice way to end our road trip.

Overall, this was a great way to start our #LA2BAY trip and there's definitely more foodie adventures I'll be sharing with you, so stay tuned

Dinah's Family Restaurant
6521 S Sepulveda Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90045
(310) 645-0456

D'Angelo's Bakery
5 W Gutierrez St
Santa Barbara, CA 93190
(805) 962-5466

Doc Burnstein's Ice Cream Lab
114 W Branch St
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
(805) 474-4068

Splash Cafe
197 Pomeroy Ave
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
(805) 773-4653

Hot Lix
179 Pomeroy St
Pismo Beach, CA 93449
(805) 773-1942

Tacos La Potranca de Jalisco
201 Broadway St
King City, CA 93930
(831) 385-7500 ^

Filipino Eats at the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture

2011-09-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

Every year, the Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture aka FPAC is put together by FilAm Arts, a non-profit organization. In fact, 2011 is FPAC's 20th Anniversary. For those of you unfamiliar with FilAm Arts, it's a multi-disciplinary community arts organization whose mission is to advance the understanding of the arts and diverse cultural heritage of Filipinos in the United States.

Every year, FPAC is a festival where Filipinos and non-Filipinos gather to experience Filipino culture through music, song, dance, other forms of art and expression and of course, through food. Speaking of food, for those of you who have yet to try Filipino cuisine, FPAC would have been a great opportunity for you taste some of our food from different food vendors and all in one place. That doesn't happen very often, so it's something to think about for next year.

As a Filipina food blogger, Filipino food is definitely going to be the main topic of this post, so get ready to feel hungry. It all started with a visit to Neri's Curbside Cravings Food Truck.
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Owner, Rhea Espino, gave us some delicious recommendations that started with her two Filipino-inspired gourmet burgers. First up was the Tocino Burger, which was a grilled sweetened pork patty, topped with cilantro, tomato and egg on a bed of a special mango-bell pepper slaw with a garlic aioli spread.

Following the Tocino Burger came the Tapa Burger, a grilled marinated beef patty that's topped with cilantro, tomato and egg and on a bed of a special mango-bell pepper slaw with garlic aioli spread.

Other dishes from Curbside Cravings were the Crispy Dinuguan, a blood stew with fried pork and the BBQ Chicken, which was grilled boneless chicken that had been marinated in a sweetened soy sauce. Josh of the Food GPS blog was quite enamoured with the Crispy Dinguan, which you can read about by clicking here.

After Neri's Curbside Cravings, an order of Crispy Chicken Adobo which is chicken adobo grilled into crunchy flakes and served over rice with more tender chunks of chicken came from the Tapa Boy Food Truck.

Okoy may be an unfamiliar dish for those of you who are non-Filipinos, but I think it would be hard resisting taking a bite out of what is a fried shrimp and veggie fritter. The one below came from Neri's Restaurant.

Filipino barbecue is generally on a stick and is either pork or chicken marinated in a soy-based sauce that also includes lemon-lime soda, brown sugar, garlic, lemons as well as other ingredients. When grilled right, there is a lovely caramelization on the meat's surface just like the Pork Barbecue Stick I had from the Ramar Foods International booth.

When it was time to take care of one's sweet tooth, there was something for everyone. For example, my grand-niece enjoyed a Grape Slush from Island Shaved Ice.

There was also a "Sweet Naman" booth that were manned by Filipino-owned dessert businesses. For example, you could get a scoop of goat milk ice cream from Delicieuse Artisanale French Ice Cream owned by Filipina, Patricia Sampson. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to try it out. However, I made sure not to miss Tasty Clouds, owned by Nina Rodecker. After all, I wanted to make sure that I got a taste of their new cotton candy flavor that they decided to debut at FPAC, which was Philippine Mango. This flavor was so successful that Nina has added it to her Limited Edition Flavor List.

Also at the Sweet Naman booth was Creme Caramel, owned and operated by Kristine de la Cruz. Like Tasty Clouds, Kristine introduced two new Creme Caramel flavors, Ube and Ube/Macapuno. I was all over that Ube/Macapuno and loved how I had to dig through the creamy flan to get to that sweet coconut. I'm crossing my fingers that those are two flavors that Kristine will carry on a more regular basis.

My final food of the day was a dish of Mais-Queso ice cream from Magnolia, a Filipino ice cream company. Mais-Queso translates to corn and cheese and while that may seem like an odd pairing for ice cream, I love it. It's just something you'll have to try for yourself. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture so that you could see how good it looked, but trust me. It was delicious.

On our way out, we also passed a table with these humongous Filipino vegetables. Take a look and you'll know what I mean. In fact, one of them looks like a snake rearing its head.

Although most of the photos I took were geared towards the food, I did manage to capture a couple of stage shots, one of a band and the other which was a photo of Lea Salonga (wearing the black baseball hat) taking a photograph with the FilAm Arts Board of Directors.

All in all, it was a delicious way to spend a Saturday morning and hopefully, I'll bump into one or more of you at next year's Festival of Philippine Arts and Culture.

FilAm Arts
Visit the FilAm Arts Website
Like FilAm Arts on Facebook
Follow FilAm Arts on Twitter
^

"Take a Bite" Out of The LA County Fair

2011-09-13T20:59:00.000-07:00

Sure, there's lots of rides, exhibits and shopping down at the LA County Fair, but in the end, it really is all about the food. A few days before the official opening of the Fair, I was invited to a Fair Food Media Mixer where I "literally" got a taste of what fair goers will be able to treat their palate to until October 2. For example, how about a plate of Chicken Sate, a Vegetarian Egg Roll and Noodles to start?

More ...For those of you with a big appetite, you can always sink your teeth into a giant grilled turkey leg or even two.

If you've never had Indian Fry Bread, then be sure to visit the Indian Fry Bread booth where they have both savory or sweet options to choose from. I went savory by sampling the Thai Chicken.

Of course, a fair isn't a fair without barbecue like the BBQ Pork and Tri Tip Sandwiches from Big Bubba's BBQ. We got the slider versions.

We also got to try Mini Burgers from Bubba's Burgers. Bubba sure gets around, doesn't he?

From burgers, we tried soft tacos with all the trimmings from the South of the Border food booth.

On hand will also be a few food trucks like Calbi where you can get your pork fix by ordering a Spicy Pork Taco.

The Piaggio food truck also made an appearnace and from there, Caprese Empanada and Chicken Empanada made their way into our tummies.

For sheer variety, you can't go wrong with Chicken Charlie's. Wouldn't you love a bite out of either their BBQ Ribs or Chicken Kebobs below and then finish the meal up with Deep Fried Kool-Aid for dessert.

If crepes are your thing, be sure to stop by the Crepes Bonaparte food truck and for something sweet, check out their Nutella Crepe.

For a different dessert option, stop by the Old Tyme Ice Cream Bars booth for both ice cream, but also Chocolate Dipped Cheesecake Rolled in Nuts.

So if you want to "Take a Bite" out of the LA Country Fair, be sure to get your tickets soon. The last day to visit is on October 2 and after that, you'll have to wait until next year.

LA County Fair
Check out Their Website
Like Them on Facebook
Follow Them on Twitter ^

Mother Moo Creamery Opens in Sierra Madre

2011-09-13T17:26:00.000-07:00

I love ice cream. So for awhile now, I've been waiting with bated breath for Mother Moo Creamery to open in the city of Sierra Madre where I work. For weeks and days, every time I'd drive by, I'd be disappointed to see the front windows covered with butcher paper. Finally, last Friday, I heard a mention of Mother Moo opening this weekend and knew that Monday, I was finally going to get my ice cream buzz going.

Walking in, the ice cream shop itself is still quite sparse, but there was water for thirsty customers and a bowl of waffle cone samples to try. By the way, all the waffle cones are made in-house and there's even a chocolate waffle cone available.
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Also on the counter, there were jars of Mothercluck's Organic Strawberry Jam for sale. The jam is made using 100% organic strawberries freshly picked from McGrath Family Farms

For those of you who didn't know, Mothercluck and Mother Moo Creamery are both owned by Karen Klemens, who is an award-winning Master Food Preserver. Basically, that means that along with ice cream, you'll be able to purchase other Mothercluck jams, jellies and preserves. Karen will also be offering monthly food preservation courses from the ice cream shop.

Now, let's talk ice cream. What's great about Mother Moo Creamery is that it's going to feature organic milk and dairy products from Strauss Creamery. The emphasis will also be on using as much locally sourced ingredients as possible. For me, that means that not only will I be getting ice cream that's "good" for me (at least in regards to the ice cream being made with quality ingredients), but it will probably taste unbelievable as well. I already got a great feeling when I took a look at the ice cream flavors that were available today.

I had a hard time choosing, but finally, I went for Farmer's Market Orange Ice Cream with Szechuan Peppers and the Cardmom Ice Cream. The orange ice cream actually had orange zest as well as crushed Szechuan Peppers. That ice cream tasted really fresh and I liked how the citrus flavors paired with the little bit of heat that came from the peppers. As for the cardamom ice cream, all I could taste was the cardamom and that's as it should be. What I also liked was that neither ice cream was too sweet and the rich, creamy texture of the ice cream itself was amazing.

As I was leaving with my two scoops of ice cream, Karen mentioned making cucumber sorbet and that stopped me in my tracks. When asked when it would be ready, she said later on in the day and you do know what happened, right? I stopped by after work to pick up the Cucumber Sorbet to take home. I even managed to wait a couple of hours after dinner to have some.All I have to say is Wow.

Karen had mentioned that she had picked up the cucumbers from a farmer's market and it was obvious.You could really smell the fragrance of cucumbers from the ice cream and when I took a bite, it was like eating a fresh, juicy cucumber, but in sorbet form. It was just so refreshing and again, not too sweet.

All I have to say that given that I'm just down the street from Mother Moo Creamery, there's definitely going to be a lot of ice cream eating coming my way. If you're an ice cream lover too,, Mother Moo Creamery should without a doubt make it on your to-go list and I know that you won't be disappointed.

Mother Moo Creamery
17 Kersting Court
Sierra Madre, CA
626-355-9650
Website
Facebook
Twitter

^

The Formerly Overlooked, But Never Again Ignored Happy Kitchen

2011-09-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

When it comes to the Chinese restaurants in San Gabriel Valley, there's a good thing and a bad thing about them. The good thing is that there are a lot of Chinese restaurants in San Gabriel Valley. The bad thing is that there are a lot of Chinese restaurants in San Gabriel Valley. Bad in the sense, that with so many to choose from, it's very easy to overlook a really wonderful restaurant amidst some that are just so-so. That was the case for me when it came to Happy Kitchen.

Funnily enough, in the strip mall where Happy Kitchen is located, I had previously eaten at restaurants on either side of Happy Kitchen, but didn't even know of its existence until I took the Six Taste New Chinatown Tour. On that tour, the three items we had were delicious enough that I knew I wanted to return for a full meal, which is exactly what I did.

So off I went with my dining group for an early lunch at Happy Kitchen where we got to enjoy 12 different dishes, starting with their Lamb Rice Noodle Soup which is cooked in a sea snail broth. Sea snails were also in the soup and this is one bowl that I could have easily just eaten on my own as an entree soup. It was delicious. The broth had a wonderful combination of ocean flavors from the sea snails and a little bit of richness from the lamb. I also liked that there was some heat to this soup, but not so much that it was overwhelming.
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Having enjoyed the Beef Roll from the tour, I ordered it again and it was still as good as before. The wrapper had a light crunch to it and the cilantro added a nice peppery kick to the tender beef.

I'm a bit ambivalent about the a couple of the dumplings we ordered. Although I thought the fillings of both the Beef Steamed Dumplings and the Shrimp and Pork Dumplings were nicely seasoned, the dumpling wrapper was too thick for my taste.

When it came to the Steamed Pork Bao, I had no ambivalence at all. They were supposed to be like Xiao Long Bao aka Soup Dumplings, but there wasn't any soup to be found inside this bao at all. So that was disappointing.

Another dish to hit the table was the Ginger Arctic Clams. The cool crunch of the celery went well with the tender chew of the clam. This is one plate of food that would be perfect on a very hot day.

For this particular meal, we had Cumin Lamb in two different dishes. The first was Cumin Lamb Pan Fried Noodles and the other was Pan-Fried Cumin Lamb. Both tasted good and I liked how the chili flakes added a zing of spice to both dishes.

Also on the agenda for the meal was the Tea Smoked Chicken Leg. The smoking of this chicken leg is a 6 hour process. Thankfully, we didn't have to wait 6 hours, but it would have been worth it. I love the fact that the chicken is tender and moist and of course, had a wonderful smoky flavor.

Of everything we had up to that point, the absolute best was saved for last and that was the Double Cooked Pork. O M G! I rarely say OMG, but wow, this dish was that and more. I have no idea how it was prepared. I'm thinking it was battered and double-fried, but it didn't really matter. It was just so good. We were all feeling pretty full, but we all made room to eat some of this pork. In fact, a couple of my fellow diners even ordered it to go.

For dessert, we had Fried Sesame Balls, which were served to us warm. What a perfect ending to the meal. They weren't too sweet and they had a glutinous texture to them. When you took a bite, it had a soft-chewy mouth feel to it.

Overall, this was a wonderful meal. I got to re-try a couple of items plus I was introduced to some delicious new dishes. All I can say is that Happy Kitchen is now in my radar and it's certainly a restaurant that I would be happy to dine at again and recommend.

Happy Kitchen
301 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 284-2619
^

Swill to Twenty: FilAm Arts Food and Wine Fundraiser

2011-09-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Join FILAM ARTS as we raise our glasses in honor of the 20th Anniversary Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC 20) – a significant milestone and tradition that for 20 years has amazingly brought together Filipinos from across the region to celebrate community, heritage and cultural pride.

"SWILL TO TWENTY", which benefits and kicks-off FPAC, takes place at SWILL AUTOMATIC, one of Los Angeles Arts District’s hottest new destinations, offering a continually updated array of interesting, reasonably priced self-dispensing wines from all over the world, complemented by a dynamic menu of eclectic, Modern American bar cuisine. (must be 21 or over)

WHEN:
Thursday, September 8 at 7 pm

WHERE:

Swill Automatic
1820 Industrial Street,
Los Angeles, CA

TICKETS/INFO:

http://fpac20kickoff-foodwinefundraiser.eventbrite.com

INCLUDES:

Delicious tapas, dessert, and drinks:

“Longatacos” - Longsilog Tacos
Hottentots - tater tots even better than your friend’s mom used to make, with Gruyere cheese and spice
BanhMi Sliders - delectable little Filipino-Vietnamese-style pork sandwiches with tangy trimmings
Moroccan Meatballs -house-made meatballs infused with North African spices in a tangy tomato sauce
Roasted Stuffed Peppadews - tangy South African peppers, wrapped w/prosciutto & stuffed with cheese
Dessert - Gourmet cotton candy from Tasty Clouds Cotton Candy Company
Two Drink Coupons - for wines, beer, or wine cards (pour your own drinks)

FEATURING:

Meet and Greet with FPAC 20 Artist -- Latin Soul Legend JOE BATAAN Known for such hits as "Ordinary Guy (Afrofilipino)," "Gypsy Woman," and "Mi Nube (My Cloud)" Joe Bataan's music has a multigenerational and multicultural reach. He returns to FPAC to bless us again with his music and boundless energy.

A portion of the proceeds benefit The Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture, also known as FilAm ARTS, a multi-disciplinary community arts organization whose mission is to advance the understanding of the arts and diverse cultural heritage of Filipinos in the United States. FilAm ARTS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization; donations are tax-deductible. FilAm ARTS presents the 20th Anniversary Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture (FPAC), the largest showcase of its kind in Southern California, taking place on Sat and Sun, September 10-11, 2011 at Pt. Fermin Park in San Pedro - Los Angeles, California. For more information, visit www.filamarts.org

CONTACT:
Nerissa Silao - nerissas@ca.rr.com and/or Twitter: @nerissas

FilAm ARTS
www.filamarts.org
(213)380-FPAC
info@filamarts.org

Korean BBQ Duck at Sun Ha Jang

2011-09-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

When it comes to Korean BBQ, the usual suspects include beef, pork and occasionally seafood, but after I read about Sun Ha Jang's duck offerings on the Food GPS blog, I knew I had to pay this restaurant a visit. For those of you who wish to dine at Sun Ha Jang after reading my post, keep in my mind that the restaurant signage is strictly in Korean, which you can see at the picture above.

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After we sat down and placed our order, individual dipping sauces and chili paste were placed before us. We also took a look at the pan where our duck was going to be cooking in during the latter part of the meal. Notice how the pan isn't flat. There's a reason for that. Simply, what makes this restaurant unique is not just about the duck, but that the duck cooks in its own fat. I bet you duck lovers out there really want to book it to Sun Ha Jang about now.

However, I'm getting ahead of myself. The duck is the main headliner, but first, we ate our way through the opening acts, starting with the Black Pork Belly which were grilled with garlic. The duck pan which I mentioned earlier was temporarily on hiatus.

While the Black Pork Belly was cooking up, a variety of panchan hit our table.

As the Black Pork dwindled down, it was eventually joined by the Short Rib and a couple of other dishes.

So that the meal wasn't going to be a complete meat fest, an order was placed for the Fish Egg Stew. It came before us bubbling and brewing. I really enjoyed the spice level which was just spicy enough without being overwhelming and yet, it was able to cut into the ocean-y and briny flavors coming from the fish eggs.

The yin to the yang of the Fish Egg Stew was the Spicy Cold Noodle dish. I liked the slight chew and pull of the buckwheat noodles and how the cucumbers added a nice juicy bite of freshness to this dish. The Cold Noodles were a refreshing counterpoint to the hot fish egg stew.

Finally, it was duck time, which means that the duck pan made its way back to our table. At Sun Ha Jang, there are 3 different types of duck on the menu: roasted duck, fresh duck and spicy seasoned duck. We went for the roasted duck and spicy seasoned duck, but I will also show you a picture of the fresh duck that was cooking at a neighboring table.

The Roasted Duck was interesting in the sense that they were formed into flat, cylindrical shapes. Our server had mentioned that there was a special process for the formation of the roasted duck pieces, but I can't remember what it was. When it came to the cooking, our server frowned on us doing it on our own, so first she started with browning it with garlic in that special pan.

Then she tilted the pan so that the duck oil would collect on one side of the pan and then the duck and garlic were moved to where the oil was cooking; hence, a duck confit-style of preparation. The little drainage hole in the pan was also blocked with kimchi to limit the loss of the duck oil.

Other than just eating the duck pieces on their own, another way is to enjoy your duck on some lettuce with the addition of pickled onions, chili paste or whatever else suits your fancy.

The Fresh Duck was basically just duck cut up into pieces, but was cooked in the same way as the Roasted Duck as you can see below.

After we had devoured the Roast Duck, it was time to take a taste of the Spicy Seasoned Duck. That spicy seasoned duck definitely had some chili lovin' because the meat was a scorching red.

It barely sat a second before it was placed into the pan where there was still left over oil from the previous duck dish we just had.

This is one dish that takes a lot of patience because the tendency was to move the duck around, but again, we were scolded by our server. Apparently, it's difficult to determine the doneness of the duck due to the chili coating. Only the servers really have the experience, so it was hands-off.

Finally, the duck was ready to eat. Looking at it, I felt my arteries hardening and yet, that wasn't going to stop me. By the way, our server knew what she was doing. The duck was cooked just right and I really liked the spiciness coming from the chili it was marinated in.

We ended the meal with fried rice that came with kimchi, scallions, radish and sesame seeds and yes, the fried rice was cooked in the duck oil.

However, with all that duck oil, I was worried that the fried rice was going to be too greasy. To help with that, I asked for another helping of rice to be added and they were kind enough to accommodate my request. With the extra rice and the fact they drained the rest of the oil out of the pan, that fried rice was pretty darn tasty.

To end, I enjoyed my meal at Sun Ha Jang. I was concerned that the duck would be too oily or greasy, but that wasn't the case. The caramelization of the Roasted Duck added a subtle sweetness and the combination of duck oil and chili marinade added a slight smoky crust to the surface of Spicy Seasoned Duck as it was cooking, which made it even better. So if duck is your thing, be sure to give Sun Ha Jang a try, but also know that some of their non-duck dishes are pretty good, too.

Sun Ha Jang
4032 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 634-9292
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Brunch at King's Row Gastropub

2011-09-05T20:44:00.000-07:00

I hadn't dined in Pasadena in awhile so when I received a media invitation to check out brunch at King's Row, Pasadena's newest Gastropub, I jumped at the chance. At the time I went, it was only the second week that King's Row had brunch available so there were still some adjustments happening to the menu items.

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One of the first things I learned when I arrived was that the kitchen was headed by Chef Thomas Jesse, who is Filipino-Mexican. As a Filipina myself, I was looking forward to see what delicious dishes I was going to enjoy under Chef Jesse's helm.

Before my friend and I placed our food order, we both enjoyed sangrias, white for me and red for her.

Then the food started coming out with the first one being the Queso Fundido, a traditional cheese baked with chorizo,potatoes, poblano peppers and topped with a fried egg served with corn tortillas. I've had my share of queso fundido, but this was a first with a fried egg. What do I say about that? Pure genius! I loved the how yolk worked well with the richness of the cheese.

Next came the Country Fried Steak with Eggs, Sausage and Potatoes. The sausages were nicely seasoned and while I enjoyed the battered crispness of the Country Fried Steak, there was one problem with it. Basically, half of the steak was too salty; yet, the other half was fine. What was strange is that a fellow blogger at a neighboring table said that her Country Fried Steak was the same way. Without that seasoning issue, the Country Fried Steak with the gravy would have been a more enthusiastic thumbs up.

The next dish we tried was the Duck Confit Hash with eggs, applewood bacon, onions, polenta, duck fat hash browns and maple-bourbon sauce. I definitely appreciated that the hash browns were cooked in the duck fat and generally, I was fine with this dish, but I could have easily gone without the maple-bourbon sauce. That sauce would have been better on pancakes or waffles. It added a sweet element to this savory dish that I didn't care for, but then my friend enjoyed it. So there you go.

With a burger on the menu, it was a must-order and it was mostly a positive vibes when it came to the Dry Aged Burger with a bacon-onion confit, tillamook white cheddar, St Agur bleu, garlic aioli and homemade roll. One big hit was the bun which is a housemade focaccia bread. That bun was amazing. It was light, fluffy and delicately seasoned with herbs.

I enjoyed the pungency of the blue cheese and how it paired well with the soft sharpness of the white cheddar and how the burger was cooked to a perfect medium. The one miss had to do with the bacon-onion confit which was a little too salty. Perhaps if it was toned down, the burger would be better with it as opposed to without it.

We also had a taste of the Fish and Chips, which were beer battered fish with house cut chips, mushy peas and house tartar sauce. It was a solid dish and I fell in love with the mushy peas.

Our final dish was the Bananas Foster Griddle Cakes. I'm not really much of a pancake or waffle kind of gal when it comes to breakfast and these griddle cakes did nothing to change that for me. The bananas just topped one of the griddle cakes, which left the other two on the dry side and crying for syrup. That maple-bourbon syrup would have definitely done the job.

As I mentioned earlier, at the time of my visit which was in May, King's Row had only been serving brunch for a couple of weeks. At the time I felt that tweaks needed to be made and perhaps, they have been already taken care of or maybe, menu items have been added or removed since then. Regardless, I thought the food was pretty good thanks to Chef Jesse and I'd definitely make a return visit for brunch or even dinner at a later time.

King's Row Gastropub
20 E Colorado Blvd Ste 102
Pasadena, CA
(626) 793-3010
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The Pleasure of Pig Parts and Beer: $35 for Filipino Pork and Beer Pairing Event

2011-09-05T18:30:00.000-07:00

When it comes to pork, I'd say that Philippines certainly know their way around cooking it. My ears still echo with Anthony Bourdain announcing on his show that our lechon aka roast pig is the BEST Pig Ever. Who am I to argue with a culinary giant? But when you pair pulutan and beer, life can only get better. So what's pulutan? Well, it's Filipino for the food that's best eaten with beer and what's one of the best things eaten with beer? Why, pork of course!

For this Pork and Beer Pairing Event, I'm partnering with Pig Parts and Beer Founder, Karena Higgins, former owner of Butter Tart and co-blogger, Haydee Vicedo. The goal for Pig Parts and Beer is to become a Filipino-American lifestyle blog that revolves around supporting and promoting Filipino food and drink. That support is going to come in the form of Filipino Food events starting with this one. See all the info below.

********** EVENT PAYMENT INFO **********
Please send $35 to Karena's email address, which is Higgins.Karena@gmail.com, via Pay Pal (www.paypal.com)
**NO REFUNDS after September 9!

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Date and Time:
Sunday, September 18, from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm

The Food will be provided by:
Curbside Craving, a Filipino Food Truck

For the Beer:
2 will be Craft Beers Chosen by Michael Milan of Verdugo Bar
2 will be Craft Beers Chosen by Eagle Rock Brewery

Location:

The location of this event will actually be at Karena's home in Glassell Park with a beautiful view of Los Angeles. You can use available street parking; however, you should know that Karena's home is on a hill, so the further down you park, the further up you'll have to walk.

Shuttle parking will be available at no cost and the first pick up will be at 5:15 pm. Address and shuttle parking will be emailed when payment is received. Please just mention in your message that you need that info.

Raffle:

Attendees who arrive and check in between 5:30 pm and 6:00 pm will be eligible to enter a raffle to win a gift pack of beer worth $50.

For $35, this event will include:

Pork Lumpia Shanghai paired with a Beer Margarita featuring San Miguel Beer, a Filipino beer
Crispy Sisig with Rice paired with Craft Beer (Michael's Choice)
Mini Tocino Burger paired with Craft Beer (Eagle Rock Brewery's Choice)
Pork Adobo paired with Craft Beer (Michael's Choice)
Coconut Ice Cream Beer Float with Craft Beer from Eagle Rock Brewery

This is definitely going to be a fun event and I hope you can join both me and Karena in a wonderful and delicious exploration of Pork and Beer! :)

Korean Tapas at Cham Korean Bistro

2011-08-24T10:30:00.000-07:00

When it comes to Cham Korean Bistro, even though I had been there a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed my meals, I just hadn't been able to actually blog about it. In each instance, I had been with friends who I haven't seen in awhile so the focus was on the company and not taking pictures, as is my usual practice. However, when Cham Korean Bistro offered to host me and a guest, this was my chance to finally write about it.

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For those of you unfamiliar with Cham Korean Bistro, the focus is on a modern take on Korean Cuisine with some fusion mixed in. I wouldn't say that a Korean fusion influence was really seen in the first dish we tried which was the Cham Salad. It was, however, a delicious blend of spring mix, carrots, jicama, sesame brittle and soy-balsamic vinaigrette. One small thing though? I loved that sesame brittle and there just wasn't enough of it for my liking.

One of the things that I really like about Cham is their Korean Tapas menu, which features share-able small plates. Between this visit and my other two visits, I've tried all but two of items on that tapas menu. My favorite is the Crispy Pork Belly with Fingerling Potatoes and not just any fingerling potatoes, but Peruvian potatoes. You really can't go wrong with crispy pork belly and I really enjoyed the soft earthiness of the potatoes.

Fusion definitely shows up in the form of the Calamari Mini Tacos with Sautéed Kimchi Topping. The taco itself was a little difficult to eat since the proportion of filling to tortilla was higher, but hey, it's hard not to appreciate that there was no skimping. While I enjoyed the battered outside and the slight chew of the calamari itself, I would have preferred just a little more heat from the kimchi for a complete thumbs up.

My guest had raved about the Cham Onion Rings, which she had really enjoyed at previous visits. That night, however, while the onions rings had a nice crunch to it, they were a little too oily. Perhaps, an off night for the onion rings?

That night, we also had the Korean Rice Cake aka Toppoki. While the name "Rice Cake" may bring up visions of round shapes, the rice cakes in this dish are more like rounded cylinders made from glutinous rice and/or rice flour. Sauteed in some kind of chili sauce that definitely brought on the heat, these rice cakes made my taste buds happy.

The last item from the Korean Tapas menu were the Crispy Spicy Tuna Balls. I think the coating was fried rice, but I'm not sure. Regardless, I really enjoyed the texture of the tuna balls. Crispy on the outside and soft in the inside and with a spice level that was just right. Also from this menu, though not pictured, you should try the Ahi Tuna with a Chimichuri Sauce, but the Sweet Potato Fries aren't anything that exciting.

Not on the Korean Tapas menu, but just as delicious were the last two items we tried. One was the Blue Crab Tofu Pocket: seasoned rice and marinated blue crab topping. I liked the freshness of the crab but overall, this particular tofu pocket was a little forgettable for me. I actually prefer the Spicy Tuna Tofu Pocket and the Pickled Seaweed Tofu Pockets that I had at previous visits.

The second item was the Spicy Yuzu Pork Bulgogi + Cilantro Bun Steamed Bun with sautéed spicy yuzu pork bulgogi and fresh cilantro. This was my second favorite dish of the night. Is it obvious that I love pork? There was a really nice caramelization on the pork and I liked the peppery flavors that the cilantro added to this sandwich. You can also a Beef Bulgogi or Spicy Chicken Steamed Bun, but I can't seem to not order this particular steamed bun.

Other dishes that that I've also tried and enjoyed in the past include their Kimchi Rice (no longer on the menu) and their BBQ + Garden Platter with Beef Short Rib. One dish that I wouldn't order again is their Sauteed Sweet Potato Noodles, which tasted was too bland for me.

Overall, Cham Korean Bistro is a good eatery. For the most part, I've enjoyed almost everything I tried so far and now I'm just happy to finally blog about it and hopefully encourage some of you to check it for yourself.

Cham Korean Bistro
851 Cordova Street
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 792-2474

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Korean Clay Roasted Duck at Dha Rae Oak

2011-08-21T18:21:00.000-07:00

When I read about a Korean Clay Roasted Duck dish on the The Glutster blog written by blogger, Javier Cabral, I knew I had to check it out. Along for the ride came some of the members of my dining group. One thing to note about this restaurant is their front entrance below is generally locked. To enter Dha Rae Oak, park and/or enter through the back parking lot where you'll see the sign that is the first picture on this post.

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When it comes to ordering the duck, you need to call the restaurant a minimum of 4 hours before your arrival. That's about how long it will take for its preparation. Also, one whole duck feeds 3 to 4 people. As for the preparation of the duck itself, it's first "stuffed with things like chewy Ogokbap (Five-Grain/beans/ “purple” Rice), whole meaty walnuts, chopped chestnuts, nutty pumpkin seeds, cooked sweet potatoes, Chinese herbs, dried fruit and probably crack", as quoted by Javier.

Then the duck is wrapped in a cheesecloth and roasted for 4 hours inside a vertical clay pot inside a 450 degree specialized Korean ceramic oven that the owner of Dha Rae Oak imported to the US. To see the clay pot and oven, please visit Javier's blog post here.

Now on to our meal that started with a crunchy fresh salad and an array of panchan. The salad was nice and I liked the dressing; however, the panchan wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

Everyone was also given a little plate with a sauce and salt/pepper mixture for duck dipping and with the arrival of the duck came a soup. I honestly can't tell you what's in the soup. It definitely had some greens, but a couple of spoonfuls was enough to tell me that it wasn't for me.

Soon the duck arrived and it came already unwrapped from its cheese cloth. When the duck hit the table, it didn't even seem like it had any skin intact. Apparently, in the cooking process a lot of the duck fat renders to the bottom of the pot.

When I turned the plate for a side view, you can actually take a first glimpse of that sticky purple rice that is one of the ingredients the duck is stuffed with.

Finally, our server splits open the duck and you could see all the glory inside. Amazing!

Then we all started eating into it. The duck was tender and I enjoyed its lean flavors. Part of the appeal of duck meat is its fattiness, but I didn't really miss it in this particular duck preparation. I think it had to do with the filling that included quite a lot of nuts and seeds like the walnuts, pumpkin seeds and chestnuts. They added some fat back. The addition of the sweet potatoes and dried fruit brought in some sweetness, but the Chinese herbs rounded all the flavors.

Overall, it was a pretty tasty dish and not much went to waste. However, even though I liked this dish, I did miss having crispy duck skin. Other than that, if you're a duck lover, the Korean Clay Roasted Duck at Dha Rae Oak is definitely a new experience worth trying.

Dha Rae Oak
1106 Western Ave.
Los Angeles CA. 90006
(323) 733-2474

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Six Taste New Chinatown Tour

2011-08-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

After I took both the Thai Town Tour and Delicious Dumpling Tour through Six Taste, a food tour company in Los Angeles, I enjoyed them so much that I decided to take all the tours they offered. Next in line was the New Chinatown Tour which focused on Cantonese cuisine in the city of San Gabriel.

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Many people know of the "Old" Chinatown which is adjacent to downtown Los Angeles, but locals know that the best regional Chinese cuisine can be found in San Gabriel Valley, from Rosemead to San Gabriel and all the way to Monterey Park. Suffice to say, the whole of San Gabriel Valley can actually be referred to as "New" Chinatown. But for the purpose of this tour, the city of San Gabriel is where our walking meal took place, starting with dim sum at New Capital Seafood in Focus Plaza.

New Capital Seafood is dim sum via carts and is one of the larger dim sum restaurants in the area. They don't take reservations so it's first come, first serve. Luckily, our guide, Judy already had a table ready for us and as soon as we sat down, the first of our seven dim dishes arrived, which was a deep fried pork dumpling.

After enjoying that first dumpling, a plump and tasty shrimp dumpling, a rice noodle dish and chicken feet hit the table. I left for the chicken feet for the rest of the group, but enjoyed the other items.

My favorite of our dim sum tasting was the Lotus Leaf Wrapped Sticky Rice with Pork.

Our dim sum tasting ended with the Pork Shau Mai and the BBQ Pork Bun. The Pork Shau Mai had lots of great flavor while the BBQ Pork Bun was a bit dry when it came to the bread, but was chock full of the bbq pork.

Our next stop was at Sam Woo BBQ, which is also in Focus Plaza. As the name of the restaurant indicates, Sam Woo's specialty is all about barbecued meats.

As soon as you walk in Sam Woo BBQ, hanging behind the windows you'll see roasted ducks, chickens and more. Pick your protein, they'll chop it up for you take home or you can just eat in.

For our food sampling, we tried the BBQ Duck and the Beef Chow Fun. I've had Sam Woo's barbecued meats before and always found them a tad greasy, but somehow that's part of the reason why I like them. The Beef Chow Fun was actually quite addicting. I could have eaten the whole plate on my own.

After our visit to Sam Woo BBQ, we walked over to Aji Ichiban, a store that features Dried Fruits, Veggies and Seafood as well has having a great selection of candies, including Durian. If you didn't know already, I'm a durian nut, so I definitely brought a few bags home of that durian candy home.

Finally, we walked completely away from Focus Plaza to Kee Wah Bakery, which was next door.

Inside was a wonderland of pretty looking cakes and pastries, both cold and hot.

There was also a really pretty mosaic cake that caught my eye that I ended up buying to take home.

After taking a peek and making purchases, we stepped outside and enjoyed a Pineapple Bun. By the way, the pineapple bun doesn't have any pineapple ingredients. It's only called one because the bread texture is similar to that of a pineapple.

A half a block away, we walked over to our next destination. By the way, I really loved how two of the pictures I took while we were walking turned out. It was definitely a beautiful day as you can tell below.

That next destination was Happy Kitchen. It's funny because I've been to restaurants on either side of Happy Kitchen before and never even noticed it until now. However, it turned out to be my favorite stop of the whole tour.

The Shrimp and Pork Dumplings were pretty tasty, if not spectacular. It was the other dishes we tried that were the real stars.

First, there was the Beef Roll with the crispy wrapper with the tender beef and cilantro filling. It's definitely one of their signature dishes.

Second, the Tea-Smoked Chicken Leg was superb. It's a cooking process that takes 6 hours and thank goodness for the patience of the chef. The meat had a lovely smokiness plus it was tender and juicy. I liked Happy Kitchen so much that I've been back already once and plan to return to try even more dishes.

Our last stop was at Tasty, an Asian dessert shop where you can get slushes, shaved ice and more.

It's where our group did some winding down while enjoying Mango, Coconut, Rice, Ice and Red Beans.

Overall, it was a fun hours well spent, eating and exploring San Gabriel and I think you can tell by our smiling faces at the picture below.

New Capital Seafood
140 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 288-1899

Sam Wood BBQ Restaurant
140 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 572-8418

Aji Ichiban
140 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 280-6383

Kee Wah Bakery
150 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 280-2515

Happy Kitchen
301 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 284-2619

Tasty
250 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 282-8263

Six Taste Contact Info
Six Taste Website
Six Taste on Facebook
Six Taste on Twitter

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