23 July 2011
01 July 2011
Pili's Tacos
Since I'm moving east, I've been trying to eat up as much Mexican food before leaving LA. I was always curious about Pili's Tacos but never bucked up the courage to go until now. Man, I regret waiting so long. I've been going to the wrong taco place all along, sorry Taco Plus. Well, Taco Plus, your tortas are still good...at least until I try Pili's.
Although on the small side, the tacos here are fabulous. I don't know what authentic tacos are supposed to taste like, but the asada taco is the best. Instead of the dry rubbery pieces of meat I've tried in the past, the asada here is juicy and bursting with salty flavor. The tiny cubes of meat are tender and lubricated with delicious jus. I have been waiting to try the al pastor tacos at the taco trucks but this one is pretty good. This is the crispiest version I've had. You might wonder if the crispiness detracted from the juiciness, but the fatty bits helped to lubricate the glistening meat. While I enjoyed the spiciness of the al pastor at Tacos Por Favor, the meat was dripping in unpleasant oiliness. The cabeza was pretty damn good, too, with the soft and tender shreds of meat, but the asada was by far the best. You can tell they pay attention to the entire preparation by the tiny chopped pieces of onion that top the tacos.
After I polished off the three tacos, I ordered another asada taco and ate that too. I'm seriously considering going back tomorrow.
Although on the small side, the tacos here are fabulous. I don't know what authentic tacos are supposed to taste like, but the asada taco is the best. Instead of the dry rubbery pieces of meat I've tried in the past, the asada here is juicy and bursting with salty flavor. The tiny cubes of meat are tender and lubricated with delicious jus. I have been waiting to try the al pastor tacos at the taco trucks but this one is pretty good. This is the crispiest version I've had. You might wonder if the crispiness detracted from the juiciness, but the fatty bits helped to lubricate the glistening meat. While I enjoyed the spiciness of the al pastor at Tacos Por Favor, the meat was dripping in unpleasant oiliness. The cabeza was pretty damn good, too, with the soft and tender shreds of meat, but the asada was by far the best. You can tell they pay attention to the entire preparation by the tiny chopped pieces of onion that top the tacos.
After I polished off the three tacos, I ordered another asada taco and ate that too. I'm seriously considering going back tomorrow.
27 June 2011
Stinky Foods and a Natto Fried Rice Recipe
My mom pointed out recently that I have developed an affinity to funky-smelling foods--stinky tofu, kimchi, and natto especially. I used to think these foods were unbearably smelly but now they smell delicious.
However, I think the true test to my apparent affinity would be limburger cheese. I distinctly remember discovering a love for cheese in high school and wanting to try all sorts of cheeses. I didn't get very far at the time since I turned my nose up at bleu cheese, which I now find acceptable. Nevertheless, at the time I ventured forward and purchased some limburger cheese. I could not handle it the moment I opened the package whilst the family dog sniffed even closer. Much to Benz's disappointment I disposed of the package immediately.
I was first introduced to natto by the Japanese TV show Iron Chef, during the good old days of campy dubbing. I was fascinated by the stickiness. What did it smell like? What did it taste like? Thinking on it now, I want to rewatch the episode for possible recipes.
Living in West LA, I have ready access to the nearby Japanese markets and, finally, two years ago I bought my first three unit packet of natto. Or was my first introduction to natto when my SO ordered it as part of a Santouka ramen combo? He didn't like it so I devoured it myself even after eating a full bowl of noodles. In any case, I haven't looked back since. You may have noticed an earlier post on my quick snack/meal of natto, kimchi, and quinoa.
Natto fried rice is the rendition I have been favoring lately. I found the recipe on a video uploaded to Youtube by ngswcook. Heat a pan on medium high heat. Open a package of natto and stir at least 15 times to create strands. Don't overstir or the strands will turn to foam. Set aside. Crack an egg into a bowl and beat to break the yolk. Add the natto to the bowl and mix. When the pan is heated, add oil and swirl around to heat. When the oil is sufficiently heated, pour in the egg mixture. Stir to create soft curds. When the eggs are still not set, add cooked white rice. Stir and toss until the eggs coat the rice grains. Remove from heat when the eggs are just set. Open the soy sauce packet that comes with each unit of natto and stir into the rice. Top with chopped green onions if you wish. Devour!
However, I think the true test to my apparent affinity would be limburger cheese. I distinctly remember discovering a love for cheese in high school and wanting to try all sorts of cheeses. I didn't get very far at the time since I turned my nose up at bleu cheese, which I now find acceptable. Nevertheless, at the time I ventured forward and purchased some limburger cheese. I could not handle it the moment I opened the package whilst the family dog sniffed even closer. Much to Benz's disappointment I disposed of the package immediately.
I was first introduced to natto by the Japanese TV show Iron Chef, during the good old days of campy dubbing. I was fascinated by the stickiness. What did it smell like? What did it taste like? Thinking on it now, I want to rewatch the episode for possible recipes.
Living in West LA, I have ready access to the nearby Japanese markets and, finally, two years ago I bought my first three unit packet of natto. Or was my first introduction to natto when my SO ordered it as part of a Santouka ramen combo? He didn't like it so I devoured it myself even after eating a full bowl of noodles. In any case, I haven't looked back since. You may have noticed an earlier post on my quick snack/meal of natto, kimchi, and quinoa.
Natto fried rice is the rendition I have been favoring lately. I found the recipe on a video uploaded to Youtube by ngswcook. Heat a pan on medium high heat. Open a package of natto and stir at least 15 times to create strands. Don't overstir or the strands will turn to foam. Set aside. Crack an egg into a bowl and beat to break the yolk. Add the natto to the bowl and mix. When the pan is heated, add oil and swirl around to heat. When the oil is sufficiently heated, pour in the egg mixture. Stir to create soft curds. When the eggs are still not set, add cooked white rice. Stir and toss until the eggs coat the rice grains. Remove from heat when the eggs are just set. Open the soy sauce packet that comes with each unit of natto and stir into the rice. Top with chopped green onions if you wish. Devour!
16 June 2011
Goldilocks: A Scoops Review
I'm like Goldilocks. I don't like my ice cream too creamy (Sweet Rose Creamery), too sticky (some gelato places that have now been forgotten), too gummy (Baskin Robbins), too soft (Carvel and Cold Stone), or too icy (Scoops). It almost sounds like I don't like ice cream when in fact I love ice cream.
Don't get me wrong. When presented with a scoop of ice-cold goodness, especially in a cone, I'm going to eat it. My favorite is the green tea soft serve at the LA Mitsuwa food court. It is probably the only ice cream I can't finish--not because it's terrible but because the serving is so generous and delicious that halfway through I've already died and gone to heaven. And even though I named specific offenders, I do have favorites at each of the places. Sweet Rose Creamery makes a damn good sea salt caramel, the best around according to my taste buds. I am a total fiend for the world class chocolate at Baskin Robbins and every so often I crave soft serve at Carvel. Then there is Scoops.
Scoops is really more about fun flavors that it is about high quality ice cream. I've found that the flavors are hit or miss for me... so far mostly miss. Come to think of it, I have to partially retract my earlier statement about eating any cone presented to me. I have had numerous opportunities to sample a variety of Scoops flavors and have mostly been unimpressed enough to opt not to purchase a cup. The flavors either didn't work for me (not strong or tasty enough usually). I even once told my brother that I thought Scoops was terrible (he chided me for being way too severe).
Then one day, in a desperate craving for ice cream, I happened to be near Scoops Westside and tasted the green tea roasted rice ice cream. Wow. It was amazing. I loved the savory bitter and sweetness which managed to make the icy texture work. I paired it with the red velvet cake, which tastes nothing like red velvet except for the soft crumbs of cake mixed in...but yet I loved it. Must be the cake crumbs that make me forget the ice. These two flavors changed my mind about Scoops. I subscribe to the Twitter feed so I know when these two flavors appear and to see if any new flavors might appeal to me. Been mostly miss so far. Guess I'll be sticking to the green tea roasted rice and red velvet cake.
Oh, and a gripe. Scoops Westside frequently sells out before closing time. And when closing time arrives, whether because the hour has arrived or all the ice cream is gone, the owner will turn off the lights and chase everyone out. This happened to me for the second time last night and he basically unceremoniously announced that the store was now closed (at 9:30pm; official closing time is 10pm). Even as a frequent patron of Chinese restaurants notorious for lack of service, I was miffed. Is it my Goldilocks tendency rearing its head again? Surely there must be a more serviceable way of letting customers know he's closing shop? It's enough to make me contemplate never going again despite my love of two flavors. I have to say the first time was worse. He had a bunch of friends at the counter drinking at closing time one weekday evening. At 10pm, he shut off the lights and started blaring loud music. It felt like a passive-aggressive way of telling us to leave. Since I'm moving to the East Coast, I guess it won't matter soon anyway. A customer lost either way.
Don't get me wrong. When presented with a scoop of ice-cold goodness, especially in a cone, I'm going to eat it. My favorite is the green tea soft serve at the LA Mitsuwa food court. It is probably the only ice cream I can't finish--not because it's terrible but because the serving is so generous and delicious that halfway through I've already died and gone to heaven. And even though I named specific offenders, I do have favorites at each of the places. Sweet Rose Creamery makes a damn good sea salt caramel, the best around according to my taste buds. I am a total fiend for the world class chocolate at Baskin Robbins and every so often I crave soft serve at Carvel. Then there is Scoops.
Scoops is really more about fun flavors that it is about high quality ice cream. I've found that the flavors are hit or miss for me... so far mostly miss. Come to think of it, I have to partially retract my earlier statement about eating any cone presented to me. I have had numerous opportunities to sample a variety of Scoops flavors and have mostly been unimpressed enough to opt not to purchase a cup. The flavors either didn't work for me (not strong or tasty enough usually). I even once told my brother that I thought Scoops was terrible (he chided me for being way too severe).
Then one day, in a desperate craving for ice cream, I happened to be near Scoops Westside and tasted the green tea roasted rice ice cream. Wow. It was amazing. I loved the savory bitter and sweetness which managed to make the icy texture work. I paired it with the red velvet cake, which tastes nothing like red velvet except for the soft crumbs of cake mixed in...but yet I loved it. Must be the cake crumbs that make me forget the ice. These two flavors changed my mind about Scoops. I subscribe to the Twitter feed so I know when these two flavors appear and to see if any new flavors might appeal to me. Been mostly miss so far. Guess I'll be sticking to the green tea roasted rice and red velvet cake.
Oh, and a gripe. Scoops Westside frequently sells out before closing time. And when closing time arrives, whether because the hour has arrived or all the ice cream is gone, the owner will turn off the lights and chase everyone out. This happened to me for the second time last night and he basically unceremoniously announced that the store was now closed (at 9:30pm; official closing time is 10pm). Even as a frequent patron of Chinese restaurants notorious for lack of service, I was miffed. Is it my Goldilocks tendency rearing its head again? Surely there must be a more serviceable way of letting customers know he's closing shop? It's enough to make me contemplate never going again despite my love of two flavors. I have to say the first time was worse. He had a bunch of friends at the counter drinking at closing time one weekday evening. At 10pm, he shut off the lights and started blaring loud music. It felt like a passive-aggressive way of telling us to leave. Since I'm moving to the East Coast, I guess it won't matter soon anyway. A customer lost either way.
02 May 2011
Han Bat Sul Lung Tang
Ever since I watched kdrama Shining Inheritance a few years ago, I've been curious about seolleongtang, that whitish broth of beef and beef bones. For whatever reason I could not imagine its taste. Rather silly on my part... but then maybe not. My brother had tasted it before and he reported that it did not taste like much.
Fast forward to the present and I finally decided to give it a try (hey, there's a lot of food to try in LA and I don't eat out that often). I managed to convince two friends to come with me to Han Bat Sul Lung Tang. We were all a bit surprised that there wasn't much to the menu; we should have guessed from the restaurant's name.
I know I really really wanted to like it because upon my first sip I was somewhat disappointed that it was so light tasting. I imagined that it would rich and full tasting because of the beef and bone combo. I'm pretty sure my friends thought the same. We sat there silently sipping our broth and adding the radish kimchi and the radish kimchi juice. And then the beefy taste gradually grew stronger on our tongues. The more we drank, the better it tasted. I stopped relying on the kimchi juice. Towards the bottom of the bowl, I was getting full, but I wanted to keep going. You can get a beefy tasting broth just by boiling ground beef, but it is one dimensional and lacks delicacy, whereas seolleongtang has a hidden depth patiently waiting to be discovered.
Fast forward to the present and I finally decided to give it a try (hey, there's a lot of food to try in LA and I don't eat out that often). I managed to convince two friends to come with me to Han Bat Sul Lung Tang. We were all a bit surprised that there wasn't much to the menu; we should have guessed from the restaurant's name.
I know I really really wanted to like it because upon my first sip I was somewhat disappointed that it was so light tasting. I imagined that it would rich and full tasting because of the beef and bone combo. I'm pretty sure my friends thought the same. We sat there silently sipping our broth and adding the radish kimchi and the radish kimchi juice. And then the beefy taste gradually grew stronger on our tongues. The more we drank, the better it tasted. I stopped relying on the kimchi juice. Towards the bottom of the bowl, I was getting full, but I wanted to keep going. You can get a beefy tasting broth just by boiling ground beef, but it is one dimensional and lacks delicacy, whereas seolleongtang has a hidden depth patiently waiting to be discovered.
Gardena Ramen
I heard about this place years ago when I first became interested in ramen, but I didn't get a chance to try it until today. The ramen is perhaps the most soothing bowl I've had in a while. It's not as fancy as something like Santouka or Daikokuya, two places which definitely turned up the notch in ramen dining in SoCal and laid the foundations for newer establishments with richer broth like Yamadaya, Mottainai, and so on. The broth is lighter, barely touched by the fragrant oil on the surface. The noodles are on the thicker and chewier side and the pile in the bowl is generous. There is almost a homemade quality to this bowl with the cold half of a boiled egg and thick strips of bamboo (canned?), but better. It makes those other places seem incredibly trendy and commercial (yes, even though Santouka appears in the Mitsuwa food court). It's like a fight for whoever has the most kotteri broth. That's not the only kind of ramen out there. Gardena Ramen? It's all old-school SoCal.
25 March 2011
unfinished and imperfect but still fine
I wrote this entry a while ago, but never finished it. I'm going leave it as is without finishing it even though it goes completely against the point I'm trying to make!
Back in October 2010...
I've been following a certain blog because of my obsession with a certain drama. I can usually watch the newest episode of a Korean drama on Chinese websites so I don't really need to read recaps, but I love reading them just the same. Especially with this particular drama, it helps extend the giddiness and at the same time relieve the obsessiveness I feel about it. The best part is I get to relive the action because the best recaps are those that can translate into words those emotions and reactions you feel as you're watching. Javabeans and her trusty team at Dramabeans are the best example of how to write a recap. This is hard work, people! I know because I've tried it out myself. It takes a lot of time. As another blogger noted (okay so I've been obsessively following a number of blogs to feed my addiction in between episodes), it can take hours to complete a roughly one-hour episode. And think about it. While you're sitting, enjoying, even relaxing watching a TV show, you're not thinking about writing anything down, right? Aside from taking down the happenings within an episode, one might even consider editing the writing. Also not a short, small task. Moreover, for a good recap, these two steps are insufficient if you don't have an interesting writing style. The day Javabeans decides managing and writing for her blog is taking too much of her time will be a very sad day for me. Now I'm not saying that the non-Dramabeans recaps I read are not good. Far from it. It's just that Dramabeans makes it seem so easy while at the same time being so well-done.
So I was pretty surprised to read a recent entry where the blog author felt compelled to post an explanation about her writing. I haven't read all the comments so I'm not entirely sure what spurred her to write this entry, but I can see it was necessary given the craziness and obsessiveness surrounding the drama (er...fighting over which of the Jalgeum 4 is the hottest is apparently very serious business and has been known to veer towards violence!), the drama licensing (viikii had to stop subbing while licensing was being worked out; not sure if this has been resolved yet), and fans clamoring to find out what's happening (I am case in point even though I can access the episodes pretty quickly in Chinese!).
Anyway, I just wanted to take some time to highlight a point she made that I thought was interesting--and that is the imperfection of her writing. Having worked (briefly) in publishing in the past, I know that finding errors even after rounds and rounds of editing is incredibly frustrating. Bloggers don't have the luxury of dozens of rounds of editing unless they're also professional writers, but I think that's part of the charm of blogging. It's of the moment, often a quick snapshot of a particle of time, much in the way that Impressionists tried to make their paintings. Impressionist paintings can hardly be described as perfect but that makes them no less complete. The immediacy with which the images are captured is what gives the paintings character.
Back in October 2010...
I've been following a certain blog because of my obsession with a certain drama. I can usually watch the newest episode of a Korean drama on Chinese websites so I don't really need to read recaps, but I love reading them just the same. Especially with this particular drama, it helps extend the giddiness and at the same time relieve the obsessiveness I feel about it. The best part is I get to relive the action because the best recaps are those that can translate into words those emotions and reactions you feel as you're watching. Javabeans and her trusty team at Dramabeans are the best example of how to write a recap. This is hard work, people! I know because I've tried it out myself. It takes a lot of time. As another blogger noted (okay so I've been obsessively following a number of blogs to feed my addiction in between episodes), it can take hours to complete a roughly one-hour episode. And think about it. While you're sitting, enjoying, even relaxing watching a TV show, you're not thinking about writing anything down, right? Aside from taking down the happenings within an episode, one might even consider editing the writing. Also not a short, small task. Moreover, for a good recap, these two steps are insufficient if you don't have an interesting writing style. The day Javabeans decides managing and writing for her blog is taking too much of her time will be a very sad day for me. Now I'm not saying that the non-Dramabeans recaps I read are not good. Far from it. It's just that Dramabeans makes it seem so easy while at the same time being so well-done.
So I was pretty surprised to read a recent entry where the blog author felt compelled to post an explanation about her writing. I haven't read all the comments so I'm not entirely sure what spurred her to write this entry, but I can see it was necessary given the craziness and obsessiveness surrounding the drama (er...fighting over which of the Jalgeum 4 is the hottest is apparently very serious business and has been known to veer towards violence!), the drama licensing (viikii had to stop subbing while licensing was being worked out; not sure if this has been resolved yet), and fans clamoring to find out what's happening (I am case in point even though I can access the episodes pretty quickly in Chinese!).
Anyway, I just wanted to take some time to highlight a point she made that I thought was interesting--and that is the imperfection of her writing. Having worked (briefly) in publishing in the past, I know that finding errors even after rounds and rounds of editing is incredibly frustrating. Bloggers don't have the luxury of dozens of rounds of editing unless they're also professional writers, but I think that's part of the charm of blogging. It's of the moment, often a quick snapshot of a particle of time, much in the way that Impressionists tried to make their paintings. Impressionist paintings can hardly be described as perfect but that makes them no less complete. The immediacy with which the images are captured is what gives the paintings character.
24 January 2011
At the Wynn Buffet
To celebrate a special occasion, we ended up at the Wynn Buffet just by chance and timing. We were hesitating in the line and allowed the couple behind us to go ahead while we made a decision. Upon hearing our uncertainty, they immediately said that Wynn had one of the best buffets in Vegas, along with Bellagio. They recommended it highly! Our hesitance resolved, we went ahead and were not disappointed. The quality of the food was great and there were quite a few standout dishes that I'm probably going to try to replicate at some point:
Mini-mozzarella ball relish--I didn't quite taste the relish part, but the mozzarella was incredibly fresh, and that alone was enough to make it stand out.
Curry-flavored lamb chop--my partner is not so much a lamb person but he is a good sport about trying it at every opportunity anyway. I was surprised to hear him say that it was good. The curry flavor helped mask some of the gamey lamb taste he dislikes. The lamb was suffering a bit laying under the heat lamps, but I imagine it would be awesome freshly made.
Buttermilk mashed potatoes--I love butter but I love potatoes more, so I'm not so much of a potato-flavored butter person. I liked this version because it was creamy, thick, and potatoey with a soft tang.
Roasted cauliflower salad--what did they put in this? Red cabbage, fennel, roasted cabbage, dried cranberries. The vinegar dressing wasn't too sharp but tasted very refreshing.
String beans in chili oil--they kept this crisp by not cooking the beans thoroughly, then bathed the whole thing in a good slathering of spicy oil.
Manhattan clam chowder--it's surprising I haven't tried this until now. Since dairy is a bit hard for me lately, I'm going to switch from the New England chowder to this just-as-delicious clam chowder.
Belle Helene--this was a light, luscious dessert with chunks of cooked pear, sponge cake, a cocoa flavored mousse and topped with whipped cream. So delicate and delicious and seems relatively easy (albeit time-consuming) to make.
Mini-mozzarella ball relish--I didn't quite taste the relish part, but the mozzarella was incredibly fresh, and that alone was enough to make it stand out.
Curry-flavored lamb chop--my partner is not so much a lamb person but he is a good sport about trying it at every opportunity anyway. I was surprised to hear him say that it was good. The curry flavor helped mask some of the gamey lamb taste he dislikes. The lamb was suffering a bit laying under the heat lamps, but I imagine it would be awesome freshly made.
Buttermilk mashed potatoes--I love butter but I love potatoes more, so I'm not so much of a potato-flavored butter person. I liked this version because it was creamy, thick, and potatoey with a soft tang.
Roasted cauliflower salad--what did they put in this? Red cabbage, fennel, roasted cabbage, dried cranberries. The vinegar dressing wasn't too sharp but tasted very refreshing.
String beans in chili oil--they kept this crisp by not cooking the beans thoroughly, then bathed the whole thing in a good slathering of spicy oil.
Manhattan clam chowder--it's surprising I haven't tried this until now. Since dairy is a bit hard for me lately, I'm going to switch from the New England chowder to this just-as-delicious clam chowder.
Belle Helene--this was a light, luscious dessert with chunks of cooked pear, sponge cake, a cocoa flavored mousse and topped with whipped cream. So delicate and delicious and seems relatively easy (albeit time-consuming) to make.
03 January 2011
Bowl of Deliciousness
Cook or heat up a serving of quinoa. Chop up some kimchi. Then open a small container of natto and mix it with soy sauce and mustard packets that come with it. Throw both the kimchi and natto onto the hot quinoa, mix, and enjoy.
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