good eats

so right now, i'm watching good eats on the food network and thinking about the good eats that i have had over the past 2 weeks.

GOOD EATS #1

Friday, 6/20--Boba and Corner Bakery

So I took a bus, train adventure to the OC and hung out w/ X and SK. mmhmm it was fun and tasty! It was extremely hot that day and all we really wanted to do was drink boba at Tastea, read magazines at Borders, stay in air-conditioned environments and eat Corner Bakery. Everytime we hang out, we go to the block. and everytime we go to the block, we have to eat at Corner Bakery. And what did we get?...the usual! Santa Fe Ranch Salad and a Chicken Pomodoro Panini. But it was late, SK had to go, so we took it to go...

The Santa Fe Ranch Salad (which I like to eat without the ranch part) is a large lettuce salad tossed with chicken, corn, tomato, onions and of course tortilla chips. MMMM :D

The Chicken Pomodoro Panini was melted cheesy heaven. The bread was nice and toasty with grilled chicken, mayonnaise, cheese, spinach and tomato.

Then I went over to X's, we chatted the night away until it was the am and watched memoirs of a geisha. i was extremely content that day :)

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GOOD EATS #2

Thursday, 6/26--Tina's Bday and welcome mommy dinner

So I had been craving sushi and Japanese food for FOREVER! and so that night, Jill took us to Hide Sushi on Sawtelle. It was pretty good. Usually there are lines out the door, but that night, we decided on an early dinner so when we got there, there were plenty of tables available. The five of us had loads of sushi and a grilled yellowtail collar which was meaty and delicious. But here is the break down:

I got an unagi, cucumber roll. The special unagi sauce was slightly sweet and the eel was roasty and creamy. I really like eel and cucumber and sushi rice so this was my cup of tea...speaking of tea though, I didn't like how the restaurant didn't offer any kind of tea! but that was ok, b/c

My mom got a chirashi, like her usual. It came with octopus, salmon,
tuna, yellowtail, egg, and shrimp. it didn't have roe like it usually does, and it gave a lot of rice. but the little sushi that was offered was really fresh.

Mei got a tuna and salmon sashimi dish, Tina got a salmon-skin handroll, and Do got a tempora dinner. The portions were not large, which I appreciated, and the prices were reasonable but there weren't the typical Japanese appetizers and the menu was a bit limited. The restaurant was also cash only but all in all, it wasn't bad Japanese food. Especially because i wanted it for a while!

The rest of the weekend was also delicious. Mommy, Do and I went to the LA Farmer's Market where we shared a bibimbap and each ate delicious home-made ice cream cones. mmm and then we had a typical Taiwanese breakfast of long thingie, fried thingie and wrapped thinige (in Do's lingo), we ate at Red Ant, had shabu shabu with Jessica and Calvin and this weekend felt long in a good way, and it was yummy :D So mommy and Do went back today and I miss them already :(

until next time! this weekend has been...

GOOD EATS! dun dun dun!

...read on!...

viva la havana!!!

mmm Cuban food. I have never had Cuban food before, but I did do a bit of research on Wikipedia before heading out to Versailles with Jill and Omid. While the restaurant shares its name with the grand French palace, it doesn't fall short of the name on taste. The little restaurant had a rustic/traditional feel to it...it was decorate with a red motif(...communism??) and had a strong ethnic flavor.

SPEAKING of flavor!! i thought it was delicious!

Versailles offers many traditional Cuban dishes including the "Moors and Christians" black beans and rice, beef stews, and uses authentic spices. After perusing the menu several times, I debated between the roasted shredded pork dish and the house-specialty chicken dish. I eventually settles on the shredded pork which I was completely satisfied with. But, I will definitely return to sample the other offerings on the menu. Not only were the flavors rich, but the portions were HUGE! And it all came with some fried plantains and black beans



This is the dish that I ordered is called Lechon Asado which is a Classic Cuban-style Roasted shredded pork that was marinated in Versailles' garlic mojo criollo sauce. It had a tangy, yet sweet and smoky flavor that went well with the sweetness of the white onions and rice.

Jill ordered an oxtail stew(Rabo Encendido), which was really tender and seasoned really well. The combination of spices included some sorts of pepper but it wasn't hot spicy. It definitely had strong Hispanic flavors to it, but my palate is for sure not broad enough to differentiate what those ingredients were. It really made for a hearty meal that's for sure! I personally really like oxtail stew, especially my mom's which is braised in red wine, sweet soy sauce, olive oil, and star anise. Mmm look at those huge bones. don't you just want to suck on them?!?!?

Omid stuck with his usual, Lomo Salteado which is kind of like beef stew. It was chunks of bite-size rib-eye steak simmered in a tomato-based sauce with onions and bell peppers with fried potatoes on the bottom. I think it's very similar to the Puerto Rican beef dish that I had with Jessica but this dish was a bit more hearty. I liked the texture of the beef: it was really tender and slightly chewy. The tomato-base sauce also had the undertones as the oxtail stew (which are probably base spices used in Cuban cuisine). I only had a bite, but it was really rich and delicious :D

MMMMM and the fried plantains were yummy :D they were like soft, firm, banana chips. And then afterwards, Jill and I saw a production of High School Musical done by several of her students. It was a great fete considering that all of the performers have Autism or Aspergers!

...read on!...

food for thought

This weekend, I fed my stomach and eyes with cousin Jessica!

We shall begin with the literal foods first:

Friday: PERUVIAN FOOD! at a hidden little restaurant in Eagle Rock. We ordered a ceviche mixto, half of a Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, and a Lomo Saltado.

The ceviche was extremely light and refreshing and consisted of fish, clams, shrimp, and octopus all marinated in lime juice. The marinade also had a hint of cilantro and spices so it was sour but slightly sweet with a little kick.

The chicken was really moist and yummy and the lomo saltado was beef sauteed with onions, tomatoes and french fries. It was good. and all of it came with a green mayonnaise and a spicy brown sauce. yummy :D

Saturday: .HUNTINGTON LIBRARY~! (the other kind of food)

Jessica, Calvin and I visited the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens and it was really fun! The estate is extremely large and each garden/exhfbit felt like a portal to a whole different world. We looked at the mansion, the Japanese Gardens (according to ni, parts of Memoirs of a Geisha were filmed there), the Chinese Gardens (which are yet to be completed), the Rose Gardens, the Statue Gardens, and the Library. Huntington bought the Gutenberg Bible for $50,000 in 1911! Can you believe that?! I hardly could! He was extremely wealthy b/c he owned the railroad system and he married his aunt. those two facts are a bit unrelated but oh well.

My favorite part would have to be the Japanese garden. I was suprised at just how large and extensive it was! It included a bonsai garden, a dry landscape one, a huge koi pond, bridges, and a tea house. It was aethestically pleasing, breezy, and seemed to cover a lot of cultural aspects of the small island country.

Then we ended the day with Pho and Pinkberry. Pinkberry good :D

SUNDAY: DIM SUM w/ ting ting and zhou.

the classic stuff. it was good to eat and nice to see them. ting ting had a very nice dress on. but i didn't have my camera, so no pics :(

...read on!...

dinner date with the cousins in LA!

Enough of my recipes...tonight we ate at Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ restaurant that provided a unique dining experience...basically you cook your own food! It was yummy and it was fun to chill with aja and mei :D It's located near Pico and Westwood along with a lot of other restaurants and a frozen yogurt shop that rivals the deliciousness of Pinkberry, called Red Mango.

We ordered a spicy tuna salad, basil chicken, miso beef, bacon-wrapped asparagus, and garlic fried noodles. And of course, it came with an appetizer dish of bean sprouts, daikon radishes, eggplant and spinach--all seasoned with an Asian taste. The dipping sauces provided also nicely complemented the meats--there was a sweet soy sauce, a spicy-vinegar, and a citrus-y soy sauce. I liked the spicy one the best.

I liked that we were able to cook our own food. Also, the grill provided excellent warmth, but I wish we had better direction from the servers. Although it was fun, we did burn some of our meats :( however, it didn't take away too much from the dinner because the company was great! We sat at the counter and we could see the cooks busily preparing dishes from behind the bamboo counter. The restaurant also had a really relaxing ambience, especially because the light was dimmed. All in all, it was an excellent first outing in LA!

...read on!...

strawberry scones

A continuation from last time...the dessert portion that became breakfast :D

Strawberry Scones

Ingredients:
-2 cups of flour
-1 tablespoon of baking powder
-½ teaspoon of salt
-2 tablespoons of sugar
-5 tablespoons of unsalted butter (COLD and cut into chunks)
-1 cup of heavy cream
-1 cup of fresh strawberries diced up

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar)
3. Using 2 forks, chop up the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like coarse crumbs
4. Make a well in the center and pour in the heavy cream
5. Fold to incorporate and do not overwork the dough! Then fold in the strawberries.
6. Press the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle and cut the dough into triangles or squares
7. Place the scones on an ungreased sheet and brush the tops with some heavy cream
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. AND THEN EAT AND ENJOY. Yummmm :D

...read on!...