Hungry For More at Hungry Al's BBQ

I always seem to tell this same story, but when it's true I just have to go with it. It starts with me saying "I've been driving by this place for years and finally decided to check it." Sometimes that statement changes to "I've known about this place for a while and finally decided to eat there." For this posting, the place in question is Hungry Al's BBQ in West Covina.

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It's a small place and not much in the way of ambiance, and yes, I've driven by it many a time, but always always wondered about the food. The clincher for me was when I was at a local concert and heard the people seated in front of me talking about how Hungry Al's has a smoker in the back of the restaurant. A BBQ restaurant that has its own smoker is definitely worth checking out plus I heard nothing but praise from all my eavesdropping.

After finishing up with errands one evening, I decided that it was finally time to stop driving by, pull into the parking lot and find out what Hungry Al's BBQ is all about. I walked in and ordered the Beef Rib Dinner and you get a choice of either a regular or spicy bbq sauce. Spicy was definitely my choice. With the dinner, you also get to choose 2 from 3 side dish options. I went for the bbq beans and potato salad.

Taking that first bite out of that beef rib had me almost kicking myself. What in the heck took me so long? The meat was tender with a smoky-sweet-heat. It was just really delicious.

When it came to the bbq beans and the potato salad, I thought that both were tasty, if not spectacular. I also ordered a side of collard greens that was cooked well, but needed just a bit more seasoning.

Overall, Hungry Al's BBQ may be small, but so far, their BBQ Beef Ribs are mighty in flavor. I'm definitely looking forward to tasting more of their meaty menu.

Hungry Al's BBQ
116 N Vincent Ave
West Covina, CA 91790-2205
(626) 967-6998




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Delicious Veggie Dishes at One World Vegetarian

As much as I enjoy eating meat, there are those days when I just want veggies. Luckily, a friend suggested that we check out what she considered to be one of the best vegetarian restaurants in town. Considering that she's Vegetarian, I figured she would know her stuff so I had no qualms about making the trek with her to West Covina to dine at One World Vegetarian Cuisine.

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Before I start talking about the specific items we ordered, there's just a couple of things I want to mention about this restaurant. First, unless otherwise specified, everything on their menu is vegan. All their dishes are prepared without meat, poultry, seafood, eggs or MSG and they cook all their food with filtered water. Second, the menu is globally influenced featuring everything from American to Hispanic to Asian to European cuisine.

Our meal that afternoon revolved around their Asian-style offerings, starting with the Summer Rolls, which had veggie ham, tofu, jicama and carrots rolled in thin rice paper and served with peanut sauce. One thing to note is that the veggie ham didn't pass for real ham as far as I was concerned; however, it had just the right amount of salty-smokiness that played well with the tofu and the jicama, which don't have strong flavor profiles on their own anyway. The juicy crunch of the jicama and the sweet crunch of the carrots also added nice textures and flavor to this spring roll.

Next to arrive was the Golden Crescent, which were crispy veggie shrimp served with sweet chili sauce. Although they were a tad over fried and the batter was a little heavy, the veggie shrimp itself actually did a good job mimicking the sweetness of real shrimp.

Time for noodles and we shared the Everlasting Unity Chow Mein, which were deep-fried chow mein topped with veggie ham, tofu, mixed vegetables in house sauce. I enjoyed the crispy chew of the noodles and compared to the Summer Rolls, I actually thought the veggie ham in this dish tasted more like the real thing. I think the difference lies in the fact that the ham in this chow mein was sauteed and perhaps, picked up a bit of carmelization from the sauce it was cooked in.

Green beans is one of my favorite vegetables so it's not surprising that we also ordered the Emerald Threaded Pearls which are green beans wok-fried with carrots and button mushrooms. By the way, aren't you loving the names of some of these dishes? Just based on the names alone, I almost felt like I was eating at a Hara Krishna temple at times. This green bean dish was straightforward in that it wasn't cooked in any fancy sauces, but I enjoyed the crispness and the freshness of everything on that plate.

The last dish, before we ordered dessert, was the Spicy Lemongrass Tofu and it was also my favorite of the entire meal. I liked that the tofu was deep-fried and the sauce was amazing. It definitely had a kick to it and so flavorful. Even after the tofu was gone, I was spooning it over rice and enjoying it that way.

Even after 5 shared dishes, there was still room for dessert and we ordered two of them. The cheesecake was wonderful. I just loved how creamy it was.

I also enjoyed trying what was referred to on the menu as the Divine Chocolate Cake. Divine is a pretty strong adjective and while I wouldn't classify this cake as divine, it was still pretty good and something I wouldn't mind ordering again.

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal from start to finish and considering that One World Vegetarian Cuisine is fairly close to my part of town, I would definitely return to try other dishes from their extensive menu.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157618274755696/

One World Vegetarian Cuisine
178 S Glendora Ave
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 917-2727
www.oneworldveggie.com




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Korean Soon Tofu Soup Explorations in Koreatown and SGV

The chill is in the air (literally), which means it's perfect soup weather and if you're someone like me who loves strong, bold flavors than sometimes the only kind of soup that will do is Korean Soon Tofu or Dubu (depending on who you ask). But before I talk about 6 restaurants that serve these sizzling bowls of tofu soup, let's learn a little more about tofu and Korean tofu soups.

What is Tofu?

Before we can even delve into Korean Soon Tofu Soup, first, a quick introduction for tofu itself. Tofu (the Japanese "Romaji" spelling), also called doufu (the Chinese "Pinyin" spelling often used in Chinese recipes) or bean curd (the literal translation), is a food of Chinese origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. The making of tofu from soy milk is similar to the technique of making cheese from milk. Wheat gluten, or seitan, in its steamed and fried forms, is often mistakenly called "tofu" in Asian or vegetarian dishes.

There are basically three types of tofu: soft/silken tofu, Asian firm tofu and Western firm/dried tofu. For Korean Soon Tofu Soups, the tofu of choice is the soft/silken tofu.

What is Soft/Silken Tofu?

This undrained tofu contains the highest moisture content of all fresh tofus. Its texture can be described as similar to that of very fine custard. In Korea and Japan, traditional soft tofu is made with seawater which has an even higher moisture content and is often eaten as a dessert, but sometimes with salty pickles or hot sauce added instead. Because it is nearly impossible to pick up this type of tofu with chopsticks, it is generally eaten with a spoon.

What is Korean Soon Tofu Soup?

In Korea, tofu is often served not as a substitute for meat, but alongside it, with a small amount of meat flavoring enriching the silken tofu, which adds its incomparable body and mouth feel.

The Korean specialty soon dubu (tofu) chigae (soup or stew) combines soft tofu, spicy broth and bits of meat or seafood or kimchi. Like all Korean soups and stews, it is served hot enough to boil an egg, which is exactly what you do; at "soon houses" all over the world.

Now that you've learned more about Korean Soon Tofu Soup, let's talk about some Korean Soon Tofu Houses in the LA area that you may or may not wish to check out for yourself.

BCD Tofu House

I've heard people refer to BCD Tofu House as the McDonald's of Tofu Houses in general. Now this could be a bad thing or a good thing depending on how you feel about McDonald's. I decided to go with an open mind, although I mentally prepared myself for food that might probably be just ok. Lo and behold, it was just ok, if not disappointing. The panchan was pretty uninspired with the fried fish, more chewy than crispy and with kimchi that was downright bland. Both the pork bulgogi and beef kalbi had at least some flavorand a little bit of caramelization from being grilled, but both meat dishes were too oily.

As for the Original Premium Tofu with Seafood that I ordered with a medium spice, I might as well have ordered the "white" version of this soup, which comes without any spices at all. I was expecting some heat, but got embers instead and maybe, just one ember at that, plus the soup itself seemed a bit watery. The tofu, which was soft, maybe even a little mushy was by no means close to being silky. Definitely no repeat visit for me.

BCD Tofu House
869 S Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 380-3807

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600361545026/

Beverly Soon Tofu

At Beverly Soon Tofu, our meal started with a tofu appetizer topped with seaweed in a bowl of sesame oil. The tofu was so airy and cloud-like that it definitely bode well for things to come. The panchan was also a step above BCD and of a much better quality. The bean sprouts and cucumber were cool and crunchy and the kimchi had a nice kick to it. Before our soon tofu soups arrived, we shared a bowl of bibimbap, which had white rice topped with lettuce, carrots, beef short ribs bean sprouts, mushrooms, tofu, a fried egg as well as other items. With the addition of the chili paste tossed with the bibimbap, it could have easily been a meal onto itself and a delicious one at that.

Finally, our soups arrived. I ordered the beef and kimchee soon tofu, which was steaming away when it hit the table and of course, hot enough to cook the raw egg I broke into the bowl. It looked and smelled good and my firste was sheer heaven. The soup itself was flavorful, full-bodied and rich. Care was definitely put into the making of it. Just like the tofu appetizer we had earlier, the tofu in the soup was soft, silky and gave you the feeling that it was going to melt away in your mouth. If only this tofu house was closer to where I lived, I'd probably be a dedicated repeat customer.

Beverly Soon Tofu
2717 W Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-1113

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157601033439904/

Sokongdong Soon Tofu

With Sokongdong right across the street from Beverly Soon Tofu, they make for natural competitors and in my research to find out which tofu houses had the most buzz, both Sokongdong and Beverly Soon Tofu always came up with the most raves. After a stellar dining experience at BST, I was definitely looking forward to making the comparison.

First, a quickie note about the panchan. I like the panchan a little better at BST for more variety and plus I felt that the chili used for the kimchi cabbage and cucumbers seemed just a tad vinegary. Sokongdong is also known for their raw chili crab which was part of the panchan, but there was so little meat that all you were left with was licking the chili sauce off the shell, if you were so inclined. We also ordered dumplings (mandu) and were pretty much underwhelmed. The dumpling skin seemed really thick and the meat filling didn't seem seasoned enough.

Finally, the soon tofu soups arrived. I ordered the soon tofu soup with beef. I have to say that it was that tofu soup that saved the day. Just like BST, the soup was rich, chock full of flavor with a nice heat to it and the tofu had a nice silkiness to it as well. I can see why people go back and forth between BST and Sokongdong; however, my vote goes to Beverly Soon Tofu. There are just too many more things I like, food-wise and even atmosphere-wise, more at BST than Sokongdong.

Sokongdong Soon Tofu
2716 W Olympic Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-3737
To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157603587024078/

Young Dong Tofu

In my other explorations, I also came upon Young Dong Tofu in San Gabriel. I think it's part of a small chain since there's also one in Arcadia. When I initially tried to find some reviews about Young Dong, I couldn't find much information about it. Of course, now there's a whole slew of Yelp reviews about it. However, with it being a closer drive than Koreatown, I decided to take a chance and check it out and I have to say that I'm glad I did.

At Young Dong, along with 5 panchan dishes, you also got a miniature dressed lettuce salad, a green onion pancake and rice in a stone bowl. The last three items mentioned did not come as side dishes in the 3 tofu houses mentioned above, although BCD did have one large piece of lettuce as part of their tofu set. The panchan at Young Dong Tofu was definitely on the mark for me, definitely better than BCD ad Sonkongdong and almost good as BST. The panchan tasted fresh and crisp and speaking of crispy, I also enjoyed the onion pancake. When it arrived, I could already tell I was going to enjoy it when I spotted its browned crispy edges.

As for the soon tofu soup, while not as complex as either BST or Sokongdong, the soup was satisfying and the tofu soft to the palate. I also enjoyed how green onions were a more prominent ingredient in Young Dong's soon tofu soup compared to BCD and Sokongdong where there was just a limited quantity and BST where there were none at all. The green onions added a nice subtle hit of grassiness that I appreciated. Young Dong for me, was a nice find.

Young Dong Tofu
927 E. Las Tunas Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 286-6031

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157603587132800/

Young Dong Garden

Young Dong Garden, unlike the 4 restaurants mentioned above, isn't a tofu house and while it serves soon tofu soup, it doesn't specialize in it. I was definitely curious as to how it would compare and let me tell you, eating the soon tofu soup there was like eating a xia long bao at a Hunan restaurant as opposed to a Shanghai restaurant.

Before I even get to the soup, I have to give some mentions about the panchan and the other food I ordered. One word. Terrible. The panchan wasn't fresh, with browning bean sprouts and veggies that lacked any kind of crunch or crispness. As for the bulgogi, the meat looked really pale as if it wasn't grilled enough plus I think the seasoning was still hiding in the spice jars. The dumplings/mandu looked better than they tasted - unseasoned, oily and with a funny, strange after taste.

When the tofu soup arrived, I was hoping it would save my meal, but it didn't. The soup had some good flavor, but was so thick that a fork would have stood upright in the middle of the bowl with no worry about it falling down. Inside the soup, the tofu was a little mushy and it didn't help that the soup in general cooled down really quickly. Lukewarm soon tofu soup is just not right. Needless to say, I'm never going back.

Young Dong Garden
19 Huntington Drive
Arcadia, CA 91006
(626) 698-6198

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157611315888474/

Myung Dong Tofu Restaurant

My first ever experience with soon tofu soup was at Myung Dong Tofu Restaurant, namely because compared to Koreatown, this restaurant is a closer Eastside choice for me. I have to say that it's actually a remarkable that I've become a repeat customer. At my first visit, I really enjoyed the panchan, the savory pancake and the tasty, albeit greasy, kalbi; however, my mushroom soon tofu soup seemed watered down. For my second visit, I again enjoyed everything but the soup itself, which this time had a strange, metallic, tangy after taste that I didn't like at all.

It seemed pointless to return for a third time, so for awhile, I traveled elsewhere for soon tofu soup, even if that meant hitting the freeways to Koreatown and of course, a whole new world of soon tofu goodness opened up to me. However, I didn't want to drive to Koreatown every time I had a soon tofu soup craving, so I decided to give Myung Dong Tofu, one final chance.

I'm glad I did. Finally, I got a bowl of soon tofu soup that I actually liked. The broth is still a little too watery for my taste and the tofu is far from being clouds of tofu bliss, but it has a nice amount of spice and since then, it has hit the spot every time I've visited. Not as good as Beverly Soon or Sokongdong, but definitely way above BCD and certainly Yong Dong Garden.

Myung Dong Tofu Restaurant
1025 S. Glendora Avenue
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 338-0414

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600143784574/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157610177155209/

Anyway, although my thoughts aren't comprehensive, I hope that you found my experiences helpful and if you've never tried Korean Soon Tofu Soup before, than you should give it a try and perhaps, you've seen some viable options in this write-up worth checking out for yourself.

Not As Good as Mom's Cooking at Pondahan

When it comes to dining at restaurants that feature cuisine you grew up with, it's safe to say that one will definitely be much more critical of the food itself. Such was the case when I dined at Pondahan, a Filipino restaurant in West Covina. While I'm going to sound biased, there's not much that can beat my Mom's cooking. So if I'm going to have a meal at a Filipino restaurant, it better be as good, if not better than what my Mom has been cooking for her family for years, for me to want to come back. On that note, let's start.

For our meal, we shared 12 dishes. That's the nice thing about having a dining group with people who actually have the desire to try new foods, even if they have to be rolled out of the restaurant afterwards. Basically, what that means is that we'll usually try to order a good sampling from the menu and if there's leftovers to take home, that's even better.

We started off with the Appetizer Sampler which had egg rolls, chicken wings, fried calamari, sweet potato fries and tortilla chips. Since I only tried the calamari, I can't say much about the rest of the items on that plate; however, the calamari batter had a nice little peppery flavor to it. I can say that I thought the sweet potato fries and tortilla chips were an odd choice to add to this dish. I don't recall my Mom ever whipping up either of them for dinner, so I actually thought it was kind of silly to even offer them up on the menu, but maybe, that's just me.

As for the two noodles dishes we ordered, one was the Pansit Malabon and the other was the Pansit Canton Guisado. The recipe for Pansit Malabon generally consists of cooked rice noodles topped with a hodgpodge of crushed fried pork skin, scallions, sliced hard-boiled eggs, shrimp, fried garlic and depending on the cook, other ingredients may come to play like flaked fish, tofu or squid, etc. The sauce is usually made up of shrimp juice, cornstarch (for thickening), fish sauce and/or soy sauce, achuete seeds for food coloring and again is subject to customization depending on the cook and/or the region they're from. Usually the only green I see on my Pansit Malabon are green onions, so I was surprised to see the dish arrive with pechay (also known as bok choy).

With or without the veggies, I was disappointed in the Pondahan version of the Pansit Malabon. It wasn't very flavorful. I didn't get much shrimp or salty/fishy taste from the sauce, which is key to this dish. As for the Pansit Canton Guisado, which is just thicker noodles sauteed with veggies and shrimp and/or pork, I didn't find it that memorable, but I should also mention that even when my Mom cooks this same dish, I generally pass it by. I prefer the Filipino noodle dishes when the thinner rice noodles are used in the recipe like Pansit Bihon.

The next dish that came out was a definite hit with the group and it was the Eggplant Omelet, but the way it was presented was different than I've seen it before. Usually, the whole eggplant is wrapped in the omelet, but in this case, the eggplant was already chopped. Personally, I think the presentation of the whole eggplant is more interesting; but an eggplant omelet by any other name or configuration can still be quite tasty and this one was. I enjoyed the well doneness of the egg and how the eggplant filling had a little bit of juiciness to it.

Also on the menu was Pinakbet, which is a vegetable dish cooked in shrimp paste sauce. Sometimes you'll see it with our without shrimp, but this was the first time I've had it topped with deep fried pork and that was a good thing. How can you go wrong with deep fried pork, people? I loved all the veggies from the okra to the squash, the bitter melon to the beans and the only thing I think it lacked was more shrimp paste. Pinakbet is known for having pungent flavors to it, stemming from the shrimp paste and in this case, more would have been better.

We also had garlic fried rice, which delivered in garlicky goodness. Our last six dishes were as follows: Boneless Grilled Milkfish, Crispy Pata (deep fried pork leg), Kare Kare, Bicol Express, Chicken Adobo and Beef Steak. Of the six, the Bicol Express and the Beef Steak weren't that impressive. The Bicol Express is seafood cooked in spicy coconut milk, but there was no spice to be had plus there wasn't any creamy richness to the sauce, which was watered down. The Beef Steak was plain boring with the meat not tender enough.

I enjoyed the Boneless Grilled Milkfish, which I can tell had been marinated in vinegar. That bit of sour and tang was just what my Filipino palate needed. By the way, milkfish is indigenous to Southeast Asia and while the fish meat can be mild and tender, it's so bony that eating it is sometimes more pain than it's worth. To to be able to order it and have it prepared without the bones is a truly wonderful thing. There's not much to really say about the Crispy Pata. It's a pork leg that's been deep fried with the skin on and unless it's been over fried, it's a dish that generally everyone will want seconds or even thirds of. While not great for the arteries, everyone enjoyed each and every single bite. Actually, the one I should mention is the Crispy Pata was served to us already cut. While much easier for eating purposes, there's something to be said for the whole leg presented on a plate with a knife sticking out of it. It makes such a dramatic entrance when it's put on the table that I've seen people oooh and ahh over it.

Last but not least were the Kare Kare and Chicken Adobo. Kare Kare is oxtails cooked with vegetables in a peanut sauce. Hands down, this is my favorite dish and whenever I have a craving, I'll do whatever it takes to bribe my Mom to make it. Of everything I had heard about Pondahan, it was the Kare Kare that everyone raved about so I was definitely looking forward to checking it out.

At my first look, I could already tell it was a little different from my Mom's recipe. The sauce looked thicker than I grew up with. It's a preference thing, but I like my kare kare sauce to be a little thinner. After my first taste, I still thought the sauce was too thick, but there was a strong, rich peanut taste that actually did it for me. When I poured it over my rice, I was able to enjoy as is and that's the sign of a kare kare sauce done well. The only other nitpick I had was while the dish was generously filled with vegetables, you got more oxtail tendon than oxtail meat, which was a let down.

Finally, there's the Chicken Adobo, which is chicken stewed primarily in soy sauce and vinegar with bay leaf thrown in for additional flavoring. I think of Chicken Adobo as a great Filipino starter dish because it represents a lot of the flavors that are a part of Filipino Cuisine. Our palate loves the tangy, the tart, the pungent, the sour, the salty of the foods we eat, which you can see from our liberal use of shrimp paste, vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce in a lot our recipes.

Chicken Adobo isn't a complicated dish to make, but sometimes the seemingly easy dishes are also the easiest to mess up because you could take it for granted when you're making it. For me, if a Filipino restaurant can't prepare this classic dish well, than it's a red light for me. Thankfully, I liked the Chicken Adobo at Pondahan. Like the Kare Kare, the soup part or what we refer to as sabow was also a little thicker than I would have liked. Perhaps a heavier use with the cornstarch in the kitchen? Even with the thicker sabow, the flavor was there. I could taste the vinegar and the soy sauce and again, it went perfectly on my rice as is.

Overall, it was hit and miss at Pondahan. When it was a miss, it's probably something I wouldn't order again, but even the hits could have used a little more tweaking, at least to satisfy my particular palate. Is Pondahan good enough for me to not miss my Mom's cooking? Nope. So far, only two restaurants have even come close: Alejandro's in Eagle Rock, which unfortunately closed and Magic Wok in Artesia, which would probably cost me more to drive there, then the actual meal itself.

However, Pondahan would definitely do in a pinch, especially for the opportunity to have a meal at a nice sit down restaurant instead of turo turo take out (e.g. steam table). When you take into consideration, fast service, good size portions and variety on their menu, I'd say that Pondahan is good enough for a return visit. In fact, after I told my Mom about the pechay on the Pansit Malabon, which is something she's ever seen or had before either, she wants to check Pondahan herself. Dutiful daughter that I am, of course, I'll take her and maybe, discover dishes that will wow more the second time around.

Pondahan
535 S. California Avenue
West Covina, CA 91790
626-856-0416

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157605617150953/

Off Citrus

For those of us who live in the Eastside, there aren't many alternatives when it comes to "nicer" restaurants where one can take business colleagues or clients to, other than the ubiquitous chain restaurants or fast food joints that dot the landscape around my part of town. Last year, I discovered Off Citrus and a what a great find it was.

Walking into a dining area with colors reflecting browns and creams as well as having exposed wooden beams up in the ceiling, you already can tell that this restaurant is certainly no neighborhood Apple Bee's or like the kitschy Elephant Bar. The menu reflects California cuisine and as such, is seasonal. Dishes are swapped out periodically to take advantage of ingredients at its peak.

I've visited Off Citrus a total of three times and for the most part, I enjoyed my meals. The first time I had lunch there, I had their House Roasted Turkey Sandwich with Mango Chutney Sauce. Yummy! Other ingredients included spring mix greens and tomato. The slight bitterness of the greens really complemented the sweetness of the mango chutney.

For my second visit there, I had a stuffed pasta dish which was a special that day. Unfortunately, I don't remember the ingredients, but at the time, I enjoyed every bite. The last time I ate there, I did enjoy my meal, but there were definitely some things I'd change about some of my dishes.

First, I started off with their Yuca Frita. When the dish was placed in front of me, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. There was a lot going on. The yuca was on a bed of dressed spring mix greens and topped with pickled cabbage and carrots as well as Parmesan cheese. It also came with a spicy chipotle sour cream.

The yuca itself was pretty good. The outer part had a nice crispness to it while the inside retained a bit of moisture so that it wasn't too dry. I've had fried yuca in the past that tasted like chalk, so I was quite happy with the Off Citrus version.

I also liked the kick of that sour cream. I do think that less is more though and for that particular appetizer, the spring mix wasn't really necessary. I didn't even eat it. I was happy enough just dipping pieces of my yuca in the chipotle sour cream and eating a bit of the pickled veggies on the side. I didn't even think that the Parmesan cheese added much value and would have been fine without it.

My second course was a Warm Goat Cheese Salad. The salad, by the way, was dressed perfectly. There wasn't so much dressing that the leaves were drowning nor so little that the salad was dry. As for the breaded goat cheese, while I enjoyed its pungent flavor, I felt that it could have been fried to a more golden crispiness to give it more visual appeal. As it was, the breading on the cheese looked really pale.

Soon, my main entree came out which was a Persian Style Chicken Salad Sandwich. Since sandwiches are a la carte, I also ordered a side of sweet potato fries, which came with my sandwich. Considering that this chicken salad contained ingredients like lemon juice, paprika, oregano, garlic, olive oil, etc., I really expected bolder flavors. I tasted hints of the lemon and the garlic, but overall, this sandwich was much blander than I expected. The chicken itself was also a little dryer than I would have liked. The sweet potato fries; however, were stellar.

The highlight of my meal was dessert, specifically, Aunt Rose's Old Fashioned Spice Cake. Oh...My....You Know What! This cake was absolutely divine. You cut into it with your fork and steam actually was coming out. The cake itself was moist and flavorful and I fell in love with the walnut crackle that topped it. Apparently, there really is an Aunt Rose and thankfully, she was willing to share her recipe with Off Citrus.

Overall, it was a pretty good lunch. While my last meal there wasn't as good as my first two visits (except for that dessert), Off Citrus is still tops in my book and I would definitely go back and just make different choices.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157601907661900/

Off Citrus
114 E Italia St
Covina, CA 91723
(626) 732-2834
http://offcitrus.net/

Mami King

Given that Mami King is a Filipino restaurant and I'm a Filipina, I really wanted to be more supportive of my own homefood. Unfortunately, there was too much that I didn't like about my meal there.

First up was the Siomai Mami Soup that started me off. Siomai is basically a ground pork and veggie dumpling and this particular version of the Mami Soup comes with two large ones. The Siomai itself was just okay. I actually found the meat bland. I also didn't like the noodles. They could have been firmer and in fact, I think they were over-cooked.

As for the soup itself, it was just very milky looking. From the Mami Soups I've had in the past, the soup which is chicken broth should be more clear. Maybe, if the Mami King soup tasted out of this world, I might have gotten over the its milky appearance, but honestly, I didn't even taste any chicken in that soup.

With the soup, I had a Bola-Bola Siopao which is filled with steamed ground pork, salted egg, Chinese sausage and Chinese mushroom. This was quite disappointing. While the filling was fairly substantial, it was dry, which meant that you just got more of a not so good thing.

We also ordered a side of deep fried chicken wings, which I didn't think were crispy enough. Granted, there was no breading on this chicken, but the chicken wings I've fried at home. also without breading, were certainly much better than what we got there.

Dessert was Halo-Halo, a mixture of tropical fruits and beans cooked in syrup served with crushed ice, milk and ube ice cream. The Halo-Halo may have at least ended the meal on a sweet note, but alas, it was not meant to be. Usually, the ice served in the Halo-Halo is more shaved, as opposed to crushed. Crunching on small ice particles was not to my liking at all and that definitely downgraded this Halo-Halo for me.

Overall, it was quite a disappointing meal. Perhaps, other Mami King locations, of which there are a few, will yield tastier versions of the dishes I had, but I don't plan on finding out anytime soon.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157600000245110/

Mami King
1512 E Amar Rd
West Covina, CA 91792
(626) 912-8668

Dinner at Penang Malaysian Cuisine

With the imminent closing of Kuala Lumpur, I started looking for other Malaysian restaurant options and came upon Penang, which is in the Hong Kong Plaza in West Covina. Since it was only my Mom and I for dinner, we only ordered 6 dishes to share: an appetizer, 4 main dishes and a dessert.

It was a very interesting meal such that I either really liked a particular dish a lot or I didn't.

Likes: 1) Iced Barley Tea - I liked this drink a lot. It was very refreshing and I liked having the barley to chew on. Usually the only time I find barley in soup, so this drink was really interesting.

2) BBQ Roasted Pork Lo Mee Soup (Special egg noodles with BBQ roasted pork and vegetables in a chicken broth)

**This was a great soup. The noodles were firm. The pork meat was delicious and the chicken broth was just perfect. Definitely a great soup for winter weather.

3) Lady Finger Belacan (Sauteed okra with spicy Malaysian shrimp paste sauce)

**Normally, I'm not much of an okra fan because I find the insides too gooey, but that gooey factor was missing in this dish. The okra was fried well, firm and still had a"bite" to it and I loved the pungency of the shrimp paste that the okra was cooked in.

4) Mango Pudding and Ice Cream - I enjoyed both the pudding and the ice cream and especially since both had significant chunks of mango.

Dislikes:

1) Roti Canai (Malaysian crispy Indian-style pancake served with curry chicken as a dipping sauce) - While the menu description says crispy, this roti was actually bready and chewy and all in all, not that great.

2) Mango Chicken - Sauce was just too overwhelmingly sweet for my taste.

3) Volcano Spareribs (Spareribs that were cooked with some kind of sweet honey bbq glaze??)

** The meat was tender, but the sauce was just too sweet, similar to the Mango Chicken, so a couple was morethan enough for me to consume. It was just an instance where the dish looked much tastier than it was.

I'd say that I had an almost 50% success rate when it came to choosing the right things. :) If those 4 items I had ended up liking a lot were just okay, I probably wouldn't make a return trip, but I enjoyed them so much that I'm interested in sampling other Penang dishes. With the menu being quite extensive, the odds are hopefully in my favor that I'd choose wiser the second time around and would just make sure to steer clear from "sweeter" dishes.

To see pics, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict/sets/72157594427362966/

Penang Malaysian Cuisine (in Hong Kong Plaza)
987 S Glendora Ave
West Covina, CA 91790
(626) 338-6138