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Archive for August 2018

Eating Beijing – Country Kitchen

Aug31

Restaurant: Country Kitchen (at the Rosewood Beijing)

Location: China, Beijing, Fengtai, Chaoyangmen Outer St, 1号京广中心邮政编码: 100020. +86 10 6597 8888

Date: July 31, 2018

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Kitschy kitchen but really good

My research into best restaurants in general (in Beijing) and best Peking Duck in particular brought me (via the web) to Country Kitchen.

Located inside the Rosewood hotel (which looked very nice).

It’s sort of a modern fashionable Chinese take on their own “rustic” kitchen. Sort of like a large “rustic” Italian place here. It’s not really a country kitchen in any way, just the Kitsch of it. As they say on their webpage:

For an exquisite taste of Beijing, Country Kitchen presents an array of Northern Chinese specialties. With an open show kitchen and a wood-roasting oven, chefs demonstrate their culinary art with dishes such as hand-pulled Chinese noodles, Beijing duck and a variety of dumplings. A fine selection of local Beijing and Chinese drinks are also available to perfect the dining experience.

Country Kitchen is a modern tribute to traditional Chinese dining in a sophisticated, yet casual environment that includes an outdoor terrace. The integrated décor features granite, wood, soft red tones, terracotta and oil paintings to embody the charm and simplicity of a village restaurant.

lol. But the food is great. At the helm is Chef Leo Chai.

They have the wood fire oven (BBQ) for duck.

A noodle making station.

And a lovely dining room.

This is actually a “small” menu by Chinese standards so I photographed it. Many are so big that I can’t handle the task.

Attractive sauces on the table.

We preordered our Peking Duck, and so they brought it first. You can see the “raw” ducks aging in the larder.

Then the duck chef moves it to the hook and dresses it.

Notice the drippings bowl. After that they go in the oven where he moves them around perfectly to achieve that golden brown doneness.

At the table our chef gets to work with the carving.

See the crispy skin. Drool.

A bit of skin comes out first for dipping in sugar and eating straight.

Then plates of the meat and skin, sliced in an interesting scallop pattern here.

Some with heads or legs.

The condiment tray is more classic and a bit simpler than at Dadong.

They have just pancakes.

My duck pancake, before rolling. This was seriously good. Maybe the best I’ve had? Hard to say, but really really good.

Young Dylan manned up and sucked the brain from the duck!

Clay Pot Roasted Pork Belly, Sour Cabbage, Glass Noodle. From the “lost recipes” section of the menu. This was like Chinese/German pork and cabbage soup! It was a touch sour and very rich. Quite delicious actually, but did keep reminding me of a German dish.

Because lunch didn’t have enough dumplings. Some pork dumplings.

And a few more veggie dumplings. Not as popular, of course. They had cabbage, glass noodle, fungus, and mushroom.

Zha Jiang Mian. Hand cut noodle, pork belly, fried soy bean paste.

Here is the soy bean pate.

Then you mix it all up. These look better than they taste. The bean tends to be flat in taste and yet dominate. I’m thinking after many tries at many places that Zha Jiang Mian is just not my favorite Chinese noodle (and I love a LOT of them).

Wok fried market vegetables. Pretty good actually — for vegetables.

Clay pot with braised tofu and crab roe. Ordered this dish. Loved it! Really nice savory umami crab roe broth with silken tofu.

Cabbage with pork.

They have a bunch of skewers on the menu, robotoyaki style. In this case mushroom and eggplant.

Pulled thin noodles with egg and tomato. Very Beijing comfort food. We had a lot of kids with us, which is why we end up with so many noodle dishes.

Pulled thin noodles with eggplant and string-beans.

Plain “cat ear shape” noodles.

Country Kitchen was good. Very good in fact. We didn’t have the most balanced order due to our group composition (vegetarian, a bunch of kids, etc), but everything we had was quite good for what it was — and the duck was amazing. We also liked the high production quality kitsch and the service was top notch. Sure it was more than most Chinese restaurants, but it still wasn’t bad (maybe $35 a head).

For my catalog of Chinese restaurant reviews in China, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese Food, Country Kitchen, Eating Beijing, Eating China, Rosewood Hotels

Ma’am Sir

Aug29

Restaurant: Ma’am Sir

Location: 4330 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029. (323) 741-8371

Date: July 12, 2018

Cuisine: Modern Filipino

Rating: Awesome

Chef Charles Olalia has been a guy to follow for quiet sometime and cooked us an amazing upscale Filipino dinner a couple of years ago at his apartment.

He’s had a really good Filipino rice bowl joint downtown called Rice Bar for a while, but finally he’s opened a new fine dining modern Filipino place in Silverlake.

Perfect location too as it’s a hip space in a hip neighborhood.

Notice the faux South Asia vibe.

The menu is short but excellent.

Tables are small, so we put our ice bucket on the floor.

From my cellar: 2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut. VM 95. Taittinger’s 2006 Comtes de Champagne Rosé has come along nicely over the last six months. Intensely perfumed, Pinot-inflected aromatics carry through the mid-palate and finish as the 2006 shows off its depth and pure energy. Veins of chalky minerality give the red berry and cranberry flavors an extra kick of energy. The 2006 is both powerful and delicate at the same, with crystalline precision and fabulous depth. Hints of orange peel, mint, cinnamon and cranberry add further shades of nuance on the complete, beautifully articulated finish.

SHRIMP DEVILED EGGS – Palabok-Egg Salad, Celery Hearts. Nice textural component too.

Liz brought: 2010 Garofoli Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi Classico Superiore Podium. VM 91. Green-tinged medium yellow. Knockout musky nose combines honeyed pear, orange peel, quinine and iodine. Chewy, tactile and open-knit, displaying compellingly ripe but fresh flavors of yellow apple, almond paste and anise. Finishes very rich and long.

agavin: really food flexible wine, delicious.

ALBACORE TUNA SINUGLAW – Tomato, Onion, Avocado, Charred Pepper Vinaigrette.

And a close up. Really nice bright cerviche-like lettuce cups.

2017 Kruger-Rumpf Spätburgunder Rosé trocken. Nice dry rose.

“LUMPIA” – Savory Shat. Shrimp Mousse, Sea Urchin, Lardo, Garlic Vinegar. Probably the best lumpia I’ve had. Nice and light fry, uni notes, and then really taken up by the garlic vinegar.

WILD RIVER CRAB FRITTO MISTO. Green Lip Mussels, Garlic Aioli, Lime. Lots of lightly tempura-fried goodies.

Including these cute little Japanese river crabs you can eat in one bite! Both the vinegar and the aioli rocked too.

2015 Von Schubert Maximin Grünhäuser Abtsberg Riesling. 90 points. Like its Herrenberg counterpart, weighing in at 11.5 percent alcohol and analytically dry though not labeled trocken, this lacks the cut or refreshment of that sibling. But its aromas and flavors of seed-tinged apple and pear, accompanied by a coolingly minty side of Grünhaus herbacity, combine for persistent enjoyment.

BUTTER ROASTED GARLIC PRAWNS. Black Pepper Noodles, Calamansi, Scallions. Awesome garlicky shrimp and the pancit (noodles) below were great too.

LONGGANISA SANDWICH. Atchara, Hawaiian Bun, Kewpie Mayo. I could have eaten 2 whole “burgers.” Just awesome. Sweet, tangy, savory, rich.

Kirk brought: 1999 Dante Rivetti Barbera d’Alba Vigneto Gallina. 95 points. Very flexible red, totally worked.

CRISPY PORK LECHON. Lemongrass Sarsa, Pickled Papaya. The classic in miniature.

PORK SISIG. Sweetbreads, Maui Onions, Serrano Chili, Green Onion, Calamansi. and CRISPY OYSTERS.

Garlic rice.

Pancit Bihon. Yummy noodles.

Green Papaya Atchara.

1989 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg. 93 points. Great stuff!

MILKFISH INIHAW. Soy Glaze, Garlic Rice, Daikon and Tomato Relish, Fleur de Sel. Okay, but not my favorite dish. Lots of caramelized notes.

BEEF PEANUT CURRY ‘KARE KARE’. Oxtail and Tripe Ragu, Achiote, Shrimp Paste, Toasted Rice Powder.

Cabbage leaves.

Shrimp paste. You add the paste and the beef in the vegetables. I was really looking forward to this dish but it turned out to be odd with an incredibly strong smokey flavor (like that Hawaiian pig smoked underground). I didn’t really like that most smoke.

MANILA MANGO VERRINE. Coconut-Jackfruit Tapioca, Verjus Sorbet. Very mild and pleasant flavors and interesting textures. Super Filipino.

BANANA BIBINGKA. Pandan Whipped Cream. I don’t even like banana but I loved this chewy cake.

Chef Charles Olalia on the left and Liz Lee, owner of Sage Society and organizer of tonight’s dinner on the right.

Charles has always been an excellent chef and Ma’am sir is not only delicious, but really seems the right venue for his fairly ambitious take on Filipino cooking. The location is perfect in hipster central and the space very cute with a cocktail/bar emphasis. The menu is just about the right size with a lot of variety. Flavors are strong and well executed. Dishes are based fairly solidly on Filipino traditional dishes but they have been brightened, modernized, and restructured into modern hip small plates. About 2/3 the dishes were fabulous to my taste, but a few, like the kare kare, retained too strong a “weird” traditional flavor tone for even my taste — so it remains to be seen how some will react to those.

Fundamentally, this is a more Filipino datapoint in LA’s vast array of modern Asian interpretations, and a really bright one at that.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Charles Olalia, Filipino Cuisine, Ma'am Sir, pork, Sage Society, Wine

Eating Beijing – Xian Lao Man

Aug27

Restaurant: Xianlaoman

Location: 252 Andingmen Inner St, Dongcheng Qu, Beijing Shi, China, 100007

Date: July 31, 2018

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: You can never go wrong with dumplings!

Xianlaoman apparently translates as “our fillings are big” or something like that, referring to the apple stuffing of their dumplings.

Located not far from the Forbidden City, it’s a small chain of very Beijing style food.

The frontage is just across the street from an old Hutong area.

They pickle garlic!

The interior is typical of contemporary mid-level Chinese places, with a bit of actual decor, but not over the top.

Nice wood chairs.

Our guide in Beijing, Dana, was vegetarian (unusual for a Chinese) and kept — to my annoyance — taking over the orders and trying to make them all vegetarian. Boring! Although we did have 1-2 in our party who needed it, but the rest of us wanted the meat.

In any case, this spicy cauliflower was actually very good. Nice crispy texture to the plant and a salty heat.

Vegetarian egg noodles with celery. The noodles didn’t have egg, but instead there is egg in the dish.

Fish flavored pork. I managed to get this one in, although she tried to cross it out. It isn’t actually “flavored with fish” but instead “fish flavored” means something (like pork or eggplant) cooked in a prep traditionally used for fish. In this case a sort of tangy/spicy/oily sauce I love. This was a great fish flavored pork with good textures and lots of subtlety.

Steamed broccoli. Why, Dana, why?

Boiled Fish dumplings, I think. These were okay.

Pork and shrimp dumplings. Excellent, and the only one I was “allowed.” It was finished in 2 seconds and half the table was complaining that there were no other meat dumplings.

Vegetable dumplings. 2 X double order. Notice there are twice as many — and she ordered 2 plates. Stuffed with spinach and garlic. They were ok for vegetable dumplings but they are still kind of like spinach balls and we had lots uneaten at the end.

Vegetable pies. I ordered the classic Beijing pork pie but Dana switched it to vegetarian in Mandarin. More spinach. Just not as good as a nice steamed pork ball!

Xianlaoman was good, particularly the meat dishes (wish we had more). This is well done Beijing comfort food and pretty similar (but better executed) to the fare in Northern Cafe here in west LA.

For my catalog of Chinese restaurant reviews in China, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beijing, Chinese Food, dumplings, Eating Beijing, Eating China, Xianlaoman

Squid Guts are Yummy

Aug25

Restaurant: Takuma

Location: 2627 Wilshire Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (310) 586-7469

Date: July 16, 2018 & July 21, 2021

Cuisine: Japanese Izakaya

Rating: Very Izakaya

I first went here when an old co-worker of mine from Ramen Roll invited me out to drink (and eat) at a local Izakaya (Japanese Tavern) little did I realize that it was the old Akbar Santa Monica space. Since then I’ve been back again.

As Akbar, it was always a favorite of mine and…

I probably ate here 100 times, several times a week for lunch while working at nearby Naughty Dog. The space is barely changed too. The new owner kept the walls, even the furniture, just adding some Japanese banners and sake bottles.

But the menu is very different 🙂 This is a parade of traditional and mildly reinterpreted Izakaya foods (that being Japanese tavern or bar food).

My friend brought this lovely sake to start off the sousing process.

They have the traditional spill over boxes.

Kinpira Gobo. Julien cut burdock roots and carrots stir fried with sesame oil, flavored with soy sauce, sweet mirin, and spangle of sesame seed. This traditional dish is made here and has a nice crunch — basically Japanese cole slaw.

Zenmai-ni. Stir fried flowering fern, carrots, am noodle and bean curd simmered in bonito, soy sauce and mirin. Another lightly fermented dish with good texture. I particularly liked the bean curd.

Marinated Eggplant.

Marinated Tofu. Lightly potato starched and fried tofu, marinated in the sauce of sesame oil, soy sauce and vinegar. Topped with chopped tomato, cucumber and zasai radish pickles. A variant on agadashi tofu. I was skeptical at first, but this was a delicious dish. The tofu type was a coarser tofu than I usually like but the textures were fabulous and I loved the tangy sauce.

Sunomono. Vinegar marinated cucumber salad with daikon radish, wakame seaweed and shrimp. A very nice homemade version of this classic dish.

Albacore Salad.

Albacore and Avocado. Like a Japanese tuna/avocado tower.

Assorted sashimi. A small section of tuna, yellotail, and salmon sashimi.

Shiokara. Strongly salted squid and its guts. Yep, fermented squid guts. This is a classic Japanese drinking food and not for the uninitiated.

Takowasa. Chopped wasabi marinated chopped raw octopus. If you don’t mind slimy textures (I like them actually) this was quite lovely. Easier to handle than the squid guts for the casual.

Uh oh. Sochu!

Albacore chunks. They sure love albacore here.

Miso Glazed Salmon.

Blow torched mackerel. Vinegar marinated sashimi mackerel.

Blow torched at your table!

Really rocks with the Japanese mustard.

Tempura Shrimp with Spicy Mayo. Such a guilty pleasure.

Tuna Croquette.

Chicken Karage. Always fabulous.

From my cellar: 2001 Domaine de Marcoux Châteauneuf-du-Pape Vieilles Vignes. VM 95. Dark red. Extravagant, superripe nose combines strawberry, raspberry, roasted game, gingerbread and molasses. Huge and dense, with powerful extract and compellingly sweet strawberry, raspberry and spice flavors. Full-blown Chateauneuf that almost magically maintains its freshness and balance. Like a solid on the slow-mounting, compellingly sweet aftertaste. This has blossomed spectacularly since I tasted it in barrel last November.

Sliced ribeye beef with Brussels sprouts.

Kankuni. 6 hour simmered pork belly flavored with soy sauce, sweet mirin and sake, accompanied by hard-boiled egg and steamed potato. I love this home-style Japanese dish. The soft over-cooked meat is so pleasant.

Plain Yaki-Soba for the boy.

Cold Soba with Dipping Sauce.

Cold Soba with Chicken.

Blue Crab California Hand Roll.
Green Tea Ice Cream with Red Bean and Mochi Balls.

For the July 21, 2021 dinner I brought another of these giant Sake bottles left over from Ramen Roll.

This was some well prepared and serious Izakaya food. Everything was quite on point and delicious. The space was a bit odd, looking as it did like Akbar.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Izakaya, Japanese cuisine, sake, sochu, Squid Guts, Takuma

Eating Beijing – 3.3 Noodles

Aug24

Restaurant: Noodles at 3.3

Location: No.33 Sanlitun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China +86 10 6417 3333

Date: July 30, 2018

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Noodle fast casual

I’m not sure what this place is actually called, but it’s the noodle joint at the top of this building (nearly 90% sure).

If any of you read Chinese you can tell me the actual name. We stopped in here for a quick late night bite.

It’s popular. A little like a fast casual noodle bar that might be found on Sawtelle or something, just more Chinese. And actually the waiters take your orders — China has no labor problem — but it’s still sort of fast casual.

The menu is simple. Basically stuff on the same noodles.

Plum juice. I love these Chinese plum juices, but this one wasn’t very good. Not very sweet.

Spicy pork and egg noodles. Red and green chilies, shredded pork, omelet, and a bunch of thick noodles underneath. Not bad. Not complex or anything, but greasy and excellent post drinking food.

Pork and mushroom noodles. Same, but less spice, more shroom.

Spicy chicken noodles. Cleaver-ed chicken (with bones, and feet, and beak) with the peppers and the noodles. I’m sure you are sensing a theme.

Shrimp noodles. Shrimp and well… noodles. There seamed to only be one type.

Pea tendrils. In case noodles don’t leave you regular.

This place was quick and had a sort of greasy yummy factor. Not bad for a quick stop but fairly one note — definitely for the youngish crowd.

For my catalog of Chinese restaurant reviews in China, click here.

Doing it Gavin Style!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese Food, Eating Beijing, Eating China, noodles

Sauvages Amarone but Not

Aug22

Restaurant: Amarone Kitchen & Wine

Location: 8868 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069. (310) 652-2233

Date: FRIDAY July 13, 2018

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Great cute little place

Sauvages is a really fun group but the Friday Lunch time slot makes it sometimes a challenge to attend. Still, when Sauvages buddy John Gordon told me he was organizing this one and it was going to feature Grand Cru Red Burgundy — I had to go.

John chose Amarone on Sunset as his location. I’ve been a couple times before years ago and always enjoyed this small intimate Italian.

We had the whole upstairs to ourselves — in fact the whole restaurant because he usually isn’t open for lunch.

Amuse Course:

From my cellar: NV Drappier Champagne Rosé Brut Nature Dosage Zero. VM 90. Pale orange. Mineral-accented red berries and citrus fruits on the nose, complemented by hints of candied rose and white pepper. Stony and precise, offering lively strawberry and orange zest flavors that expand slowly with air. Closes spicy, stony and tight, with very good clarity and floral persistence.

agavin: I love this light dry rose champ.

2004 Domaine Ramonet Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru La Boudriotte. BH 89. A deft touch of wood frames citrus and earth infused ripe chardonnay fruit aromas that lead to rich, full and fleshy flavors that are robust if not especially structured, all wrapped in a delicious and easy to like finish. There is good freshness here if not great underlying tension with fine overall balance and fine length. In sum, this is a generous and easy to like effort that should repay a few years in the cellar.

Swordfish carpaccio on toast with EVOO, orange zest, and red peppercorns. Very bright and lovely.

On the left (standing) is John G or group organizer and on the right (in blue) is Amarone’s owner Sandro Oliverio who it turns out I was friendly with when he ran Palmeri, a Brentwood Italian my wife and I used to frequent.

Flight 0 (white et rose):

This flight was cobbled together out of the contents of our bags (extras) in order to make a white flight when we realized that there was a salad course — which would not work particularly well with grand cru reds.

2014 La Chablisienne Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot. BH 89-92. A wonderfully elegant nose that is cool, pure and airy with its array of essence of white flowers, citrus peel and iodine nuances, all of which is trimmed in just enough wood to notice. Once again there is good volume and concentration to the round and textured medium weight flavors that brim with minerality on the dry and citrusy finish that has a surprisingly clipped finale. This may round out but it is decidedly edgy at present and my projected range offers the benefit of the doubt.

2010 Vincent Dancer Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Tete du Clos. BH 91-93. The fresh, cool and beautifully well-layered nose exhibits white flower and lemon zest scents that give way to restrained, refined and energetic flavors that possess plenty of underlying tension on the balanced and ever-so-mildly austere finish. Like the La Romanée there is a distinct salinity to the finish and this should age well.

From my cellar: 2013 Chêne Bleu Rosé. VM 91. Bright orange-pink. Powerful, mineral-laced aromas of ripe citrus fruits, redcurrant and cherry, with a suave lavender overtone. Fleshy, seamless and broad on entry, then tighter in the middle, offering bitter cherry and berry skin flavors that gain sweetness and energy with air. Blood orange and raspberry notes cling tenaciously on the lucid, mineral-driven finish. This concentrated wine really outperforms its appellation.

Radicchio salad with Parmesan and asparagus with a balsamic must dressing. Bitter and refreshing. A great salad, but not a red wine pairing.

Flight 1:

From my cellar: 1996 Jean Raphet et Fils Charmes-Chambertin. 93 points. deeply colored; red cherry and cloves; balanced and mellow with good acidity adding freshness (and giving away the vintage). A really nice bottle!

1996 Dominique Laurent Bonnes Mares. VM 94-97. Press wine from Morey-Saint-Denis: Sappy, iron-scented nose of great verve. Supersweet and smoky in the mouth; offers great tensile strength and terrific length. A blend of Morey and Chambolle: Highly complex aromas of raspberry, game, coffee, clove and exotic spices. Fat and sweet, but with a firm mineral underpinning. Very young and powerful. Fine tannins expand with aeration. The Chambolle character dominates today. Approximation of the final blend: Very deep red-ruby. Nuanced but reticent aromas of raspberry, smoke and coffee. Dense, large-scaled and sweet, with flavors of iron, earth and brown spices. Superbly textured fruit and sophisticated, rich tannins. Very firm but harmonious acidity. Extremely long, shapely finish.

1998 Domaine Robert Arnoux / Arnoux-Lachaux Clos Vougeot. VM 90. Good red-ruby. Lively, nuanced nose combines black raspberry, black cherry, violet, licorice and herbs. Fat, sweet and pliant; surprisingly easygoing and plump for the cru and the vintage. Finishes with dusty, fine tannins and very good persistence.

1996 Domaine Rene Leclerc Griotte-Chambertin. VM 91-94. Good deep red. Extravagant aromas of redcurrant, raspberry, tobacco and spice. Downright unctuous in the mouth, like liquid silk. Confectionary but not heavy. Distinctly sensual texture. Finishes very, very long, with suave tannins buried in fruit. If Leclerc can get 90% of this wine quality into the bottle, it will be a head-turner.

Mushroom risotto with truffles. A very simple but delicious dish. The EVOO on top really brought out the truffle too.

Flight 2:

1971 Camille Giroud Charmes-Chambertin. BH 92. Warm, rich, complex and fully mature aromas lead to big, dense, still firmly tannic flavors that display incredible vibrancy and vigor for a 30+ year old Burgundy and the finish is long a satisfying. This is a very impressive effort and while it is no model of finesse, the density and freshness this exhibits is nothing short of remarkable. First rate and this has another 20 years of life, even though I would not expect it to improve from here.

agavin: in great shape

1973 Philippe Remy Clos de la Roche. 87 points. Getting a bit on, but still decent.

1992 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Echezeaux. 91 points. The DRC Echezeaux was a nice trip back to Burgundy. A lighter DRC with some strawberries and steminess to give away its identity, this bottle seemed as good as it was going to get, a good dinner wine with enough complexity to keep it interesting.

Italian Seabass, simply grilled with spinach. Well done bass, but nothing radical.

An intermezzo by moi (in my alter ego as Sweet Milk Gelato). Blackberry Meyer Lemon Gelato — milk infused with meyer lemon peels, pure French blackberries, and a touch of lemon juice.

Flight 3:

2002 Domaine Arlaud Bonnes Mares. BH 94. Nice.

1999 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares. BH 93. Massive notes of blueberry and blackberry jam yet there is a certain austerity to the nose followed by flavors that are huge, firm, reserved and extremely dense and while there is a solid underpinning of tannin, they are wrapped in sappy velvet. The length is just flat out stunning and very powerful. This remains quite closed and while it presently does not possess the refinement of either the ’02 or the ’01, with time it may catch them as the underlying material is every bit as good. Consistent notes save for this most recent bottle which exhibited just a touch of finishing dryness.

2002 Domaine de la Vougeraie Clos Vougeot. BH 92. While not invisible, much more discreet notes of toasty and spicy oak highlight pungent, high-pitched blackberry and cassis notes. The flavors though are somber, youthfully vibrant and austere with superb density. This is classic in style with a very firm finish that will require time to harmonize and soften. Still, this is an elegant, relatively refined young Clos de Vougeot with plenty of character.

Veal Scaloppine with burgundy reduction sauce. Also fairly simple, and not my favorite dish. I don’t love this kind of old school Italian main.

Flight 4:

2002 Domaine Robert Groffier Bonnes Mares. VM 94. Mellow, expressive aromas of musky strawberry and spices are a bit less sauvage than those of the Clos de Bèze. Smoother in the mouth as well, offering lovely finesse and restrained sweetness to the fine-grained raspberry and strawberry fruit flavors. The slowly building whiplash of a finish really stains the palate, with firm but ripe tannins contributing to the overall impression of freshness. Lingering saline minerality adds another dimension. (Incidentally, Nicolas Groffier seemed determined to show his two grand crus; he tried and failed to remove the corks of a first bottle of each wine but the second time was the charm.).

2002 Dominique Laurent Charmes-Chambertin. 90 points. Lovely cherry , bricking at edge but long life still ahead as it has a very long finish.

2002 Domaine Bertheau (Pierre et François) Bonnes Mares. BH 93. Interestingly, the nose is not all that dissimilar from the ’03 with very ripe black fruit and violet notes that lead to intense, huge and powerful, moderately structured full-bodied flavors that deliver stunningly good length plus a finish that is wrapped in sap that coats and stains the palate. This is forward for a young grand cru but it’s so stylish and pure that you really don’t care.

Cheese plate.

My cryptic notes.

Sandro brought up this lovely 2007 Vin Santo from Tuscany.

Toasted Almond Gelato made by me (Sweet Milk Gelato) with a gorgeous Almond Coffee Cake that Sandro added — a match made in heaven. This was a stunning gelato (if I do say so myself), to a large extent because of the amazing toasted Sicilian almond paste I got from Italy.

Sauvages lunches are always great and this was no exception. John’s planning, along with excellent flighting by him and Kirk and awesome hospitality by Sandro really helped bring the lovely food (particularly the first couple courses) and the awesome Burgundies into focus.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Burgundy, BYOG, Gelato, Italian Cusine, Red Burgundy, Risotto, Sandro Oliverio, Sauvages, Truffle

Eating Beijing – Xiao Long Pu

Aug20

Restaurant: 晓龙瀑

Location: Near the Mutianyu Great Wall, Huairou District (近郊怀柔区慕田峪长城环岛南). Tel: 010-61621322, 61621922

Date: July 30, 2018

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Just ok — near the Great Wall

Our guide, Dana, took us here on the way to the Mutianyu Great Wall.

She described it as “fancy.”

Not the words I would use, particularly with regard to the 2 star bathroom and the in-corner AC.

Dana, unusually, is actually a vegetarian Chinese. Now this was convenient because my wife, who is also a vegetarian and determined to avoid the “sneaky meat” (which you will hear about many times in these reports) but for me, Dana’s passive aggressive tendency to order up too many vegetables and ignore the meats was a mild bummer. As a Mandarin speaker, she had the upper hand too (in ordering).

Anyway, string beans. Better with pork, but we had to live with the essentially soy prep. Not too bad actually.

Mixed peppers. I’m not used to seeing these type of peppers in China.

Eggplant. A bit mushy, but nice sauce.

Kung Pao Chicken. A bit of a white boy Beijing version. No bones, minor heat, and only a touch of the sour quality it should have. Not bad though.

Grilled trout with sweet and sour sauce.Nicely cooked and pretty tasty.

Sadly, my son is very picky. He went for mein. Yeah, plane noodles. These are actually kinda hard to order. The Chinese don’t want to bring something so plane.

They had to include some tomato and egg sauce (on the side).

Scallion pancake. Heavy, but fine.

Mean pie. Very salty and (temperature hot). Could have used more savory pork flavor.

Xiao Long Pu was fine for lunch but it’s nothing special. I’ve had much better Chinese food in the SGV. Flavors were a bit monotone.

For my catalog of more Chinese food in China, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beijing, Chinese Food, Eating Beijing, Eating China, Xiao Long Pu

Quick Eats – Valley Pho

Aug18

Restaurant: Pho So 1

Location: 22902 Vanowen St, West Hills, CA 91307. (818) 884-8356

Date: July 2, 2018

Cuisine: Vietnamese Pho

Rating: Solid Pho

A trip to the valley necessitated a quick lunch, which ended up being this randomly (google) selected Pho place.

Just in a Woodland Hills strip mall.

Probably was something else before it was a Vietnamese restaurant form the look of it. There was a nearby Olive Garden and Red Lobster!

The menu is mostly pho and variants.

Soft typical Vietnamese spring rolls.

The pile of “condiments” that you can throw in your Pho.

Brisket and well done flank Pho.

Brisket, flank, and meat ball Pho. The broth is the main thing at Pho and this one was pretty solid. Light in body, but with a lot of flavor and some tanginess.

Overall, not bad for a $10-12 quick noodle soup lunch spot — and the deep valley. Only come if you want Pho though as the menu is basically just variants.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Pho, Vietnamese cuisine, woodland hills

Eating Beijing – Dadong

Aug17

Restaurant: Dadong Roast Duck (Nanxincang)

Location: 1-2 Nanxincang Guoji Dasha, 22A Dongsishitiao, Dongcheng district, Beijing 100007, China. +86 10 5169 0329

Date: July 29, 2018

Cuisine: Beijing Chinese, specializing in roast duck

Rating: Superior (and lean) duck

Our 15 day trip to China begins auspiciously (in Beijing) with a trip to a branch of the granddaddy of serious Beijing Roast Duck places, Dadong.

This is the Nanxicang branch. I was at Dadong in 2008, but it was definitely a different (less modern) branch. Or they redid considerably.

The decor is very contemporary and everything is “fancy.”

Down to the duck chopstick holders!

Salad. Not sure I’ve ever had a salad in China before, and this one was some kind of dandelion leaf and radishes. No dressing really too. Sort of bracing.

Asparagus. Pretty much what it looks like.

Then comes the duck, along with the professional duck carver. He even had an assistant in tow.

Close up on the lovely bird which was puffed with air, lovingly basted, and fire roasted.

The guy knows how to carve.

Beijing duck. We got 2 platter of meat and skin.

And heads and legs (not pictured).

At Dadong, everyone gets their own condiment tray.

Plus there are pancakes.

And sesame buns. They showed us how to dip the skin in sugar and which condiments to put in which carbohydrate. Although the bun is good, I prefer the pancake, as it distracts less from the duck/hoison awesomeness. Dadong’s duck is crispy and ultra lean. Really perfectly cooked and delicious, but not fatty.

Duck soup. Not the biggest thrill. It never is. Just a bone broth.

Bean sprouts. Looks boring, but these were actually excellent. Must have been the perfect amount of oil.

This trip included A LOT of dumplings, so we had to get started right away with some steamed vegetable dumplings.

And cabbage and egg fried rice.

Plus a fresh whole fish in brown sauce with garlic and mushrooms. I’ve never had this exact sauce before and it was a little like a tangy gravy. Quite good actually but unexpected.

Mysterious bland sweet Chinese dessert soup. No thanks.

Dry ice fruit plate looked cool.

Beijing embraces the 21st century

Now-a-days in Beijing and Shanghai there are a lot of restaurants that have modernized their look and feel while staying fundamentally Chinese. This is certainly the case with Dadong and its lavish plating and epic sized picture menu. But the execution was also very good — particularly on the standout item, the Beijing Duck. This and Country Kitchen set my new standard for Peking/Beijing duck. If these are now a 10, the best places in the SGV are mere 7s. I wish I’d had a few more days in Beijing just so I could try 1949, Duck de Chine and a few other top duck places. We managed 2 in 3 days.

For my catalog of more Chinese in China, click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beiing, Beiing Duck, Chinese Food, Eating Beijing, Eating China, Peking Duck

Family Spago

Aug15

Restaurant: Spago [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Location: 176 N Canon Dr, Beverly Hills, CA 90210. (310) 385-0880

Date: June 29, 2018

Cuisine: New American

Rating: Still great

When looking for a “nice” place to go with my parents at the last minute guess what turned out to have space on a Saturday night:

This mainstay of the LA restaurant scene has managed to stay pretty current, which is impressive given it’s 3+ decades in business.
The current menu.

My mom and wife love champagne, so why not some: From my cellar: Jacques Selosse V.O. Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut. VM 94. The NV Extra Brut V.O. (Version Originale), taken from hillside parcels in Avize, Cramant and Oger, possesses striking aromatic presence allied to a rich, creamy expression of pure Chardonnay fruit. Beautifully textured and nuanced, the V.O. is superb on this night.

Bread.

Awesome crispy seed breads

Yogurt pesto like dip which was great.

Summer Endive Salad. Date Purée, Pine Nuts, Snap Peas, Baby Asparagus, Feta, Lemon-Herb Vinaigrette.

Heirloom Tomato Salad, burrata “Mozzarella”, basil-pinenut Aioli, Balsamic, Shaved Onions.

Big Eye Tuna and Kampachi “Chirashi Box”. Salmon Pearls, Ora King Salmon, Jalapeño-Yuzu Gel. Very good, nearly as good as at a top Japanese place, just very small.

Steamed Striped Bass “Hong Kong” Style. Bok Choy, Lotus Root, Sweet Soy, Jasmine Rice.

From my cellar: 1996 Domaine Jean Grivot Echezeaux. VM 92. Deep red-ruby. Very subtle, classy aromas of cassis, raspberry, coffee, mace and cardamom. Velvety, sweet dark berry and floral fruit offers enticing sweetness with perfectly integrated balancing acidity. Really silky and mouthfilling. Explodes and persists on the very firm aftertaste. Like the Beaumonts, this is quintessential ’96. Delicious.

agavin: 96 Tight. But pened up after a few min and was delicious.

Handmade Agnolotti with Sweet White Corn, Mascarpone, Parmigiano Reggiano. These are to die for.

And even better with truffles!

Ricotta Gnocchi. Braised Veal Ragout, Pecorino Romano, Parsley.

Pan-Roasted Half Jidori Chicken. Wild mushrooms, Yukon Gold Poato Puree, Natural Jus. (modded to reduce carbs so green beans instead of potatoes).

Devil’s Gulch Ranch Rabbit. Bacon Brioche Stuffing, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Shoulder Ragout.

And a little side of rabbit gnocchi.

The dessert menu.

A Sweet Take Away (6 piece). Plus some chocolate meringues.

Overall, a great dinner. Service was good, although not like it was when I came with Vahan 6 months before. Then we had all these bonus amuses etc. This was just a normal 5-top dinner. But it was very good.

I brought some good wines too 🙂

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beverly Hills, Family, Spago, Wine

Barrique

Aug13

Restaurant: Barrique

Location: 796 Main St, Venice, CA 90291. (310) 399-9010

Date: June 27, 2018

Cuisine: Italian

Rating: Excellent slightly upscale Italian

Barrique is the latest incarnation of a series of similar Italian restaurants by chef Antonio Mure. I’ve eaten at many of his restaurants, from Piccolo back in the old days to my location must missed il Carpaccio, La Botte, to Ado etc.

Barrique is housed in the former Van Gough’s Ear location, exactly where Ado was. And it has the same chef. And it’s still Italian. I guess there were some partner issues and it rebooted. Many of the dishes are signature Antonio Mure dishes I’ve had at most of his other places.

The menu.

The place is so quint and cute that the waiter had to server half the table through the window!

Insalata di Crescione, Pecorino, Cuori di Palma e Mandorle Tostate. Watercress Salad with Pecorino Cheese, Hearts of Palm and Roasted Almonds in a Balsamic Dressing.

Caprese di Bufala Napolentana. Sliced Bufalo Mozzarella served with sliced Heirloom Tomatoes with a Basil infused olive oil.

Prosciutto e Burrata. 18-Months Black Label Prosciutto di Parma and Burrata Cheese.

Polipo alla Griglia con Patate affumicate e Fagiolini con Aioli. Grilled Octopus served with Smoked potato and green beans and Aioli.

Simple pasta for the boy.

Parm comes through the window too.

Tagliolini Rossi con Ragù di Quaglia in Fonduta di Taleggio. Home-Made Red Beet Tagliolini Pasta, Marsala Quail Ragù on a Bed of Taleggio Cheese Fondue. This used to be one of my standards at Il Carpaccio and my mother LOVED it tonight.

Pappardelle con Ragu’ di Coniglio Prugne e Porcini. Homemade Pappardelle noodle served with Rabbit Ragu, Prunes, and a Porcini sauce. Great pasta texture.

Tagliatelle al Cioccolato con Ragu’ di Cinghiale all’ Amarone. Home-made cacao tagliatelle with an Amarone Wild Boar Ragu. Not sweet.

Branzino alla Griglia Servito con Cucuzza e Menta. Grilled Mediterranean Sea Bass served on a bed Braised Sicilian Cucuzza.

Filetto di Bue al Barolo Tartufato. Pan Seared Beef Filet Mignon served with a Barolo Truffle Butter Sauce.

Barrique has a cute unpretentious interior, nice service, and a classic Antonio Mure menu including his inventive and very tasty homemade pastas. Given how good a cook he is, I wonder why he’s had SO MANY restaurants — all of which have had very good food.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Antonio Mure, Barrique, Champagne, Italian Cusine, pasta, Venice

I Luv2Eat

Aug11

Restaurant: Luv2Eat

Location: 6660 Sunset Boulevard P, Los Angeles, CA 90028. (323) 498-5835

Date: June 26, 2018

Cuisine: Thai

Rating: Awesome LA Thai

Luv2Eat has been on my “to eat” list for years — largely because people said they had to die for crab curry — but given that it’s at the other end of the city it took me a long time to fit it in.

But now I have. It’s located on Sunset in a mini-mall not far from Jitlada.

Clearly the Chef’s are Fern and Pla. Apparently, like me they Luv2Eat!

The inside is recently done, but fairly “minimal.” Definitely has a lunch feel.

The menu is big, but not nearly as big as the tome at Jitlada. I think this is more Northern focused too.

Tasty spring rolls.

Papaya salad with shrimp. Always a great sweet/tangy flavor.

The much lauded Phuket Crab Curry. You eat it in a bowl with the accouterments in the rear.

So as you can see in this curry close-up, it’s a rich yellow coconut milk based curry. The crab shell was impossible to break into, but that didn’t matter as the meat had pretty much all cooked out.

You put this stuff (noodles and some herbs and veggies) in your bowl and then add the curry on top. Makes a nice curry noodle soup. Delicious light coconut flavors. A good bit of heat (at medium) but not overwhelming.

Pineapple Duck Curry. Another favorite curry of mine, the red curry based slightly sweet duck curry. A solid version but maybe not as good as at Jitlada.

Jade noodle with pork belly, roast pork, and more. Quite pleasant in flavor. A bit reminiscent of the Vietnamese noodles commonly found in central Vietnam.

Crying Tiger Beef. The classic Thai marinated beef. Very tasty.

Unfortunately, they were out of khao soi which is one of my favorite Thai dishes and a northern speciality. But this was some very good Thai at great prices. Bright and on the lighter side as it goes. And they can get very spicy on request (as I like it). I probably prefer Jitlada’s more “intense”, richer style, but Luv2Eat is a really solid lunch option and I want to go back and try more.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: curry, lunch, Luv2Eat, Thai, Thai cuisine, Thai Town

Orange Afternoon — Garlic & Chives

Aug08

Restaurant: Garlic & Chives

Location: 9892 Westminster Blvd #311, Garden Grove, CA 92844. (714) 591-5196

Date: June 23 & September 13, 2018 and October 3, 2021

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Rating: Old School Vietnamese

In June of 2018, Fred C and Andrew T convinced me to head down on a Saturday afternoon to Garden Grove for some serious Vietnamese. Now, despite the horrific traffic, they didn’t have to twist my arm too hard because I love Vietnamese food, as evidenced by my eating around that lovely country. Since then Garlic and Chives has become a favorite and this post includes multiple lunches and one wine dinner.

In June of 2018, after a “snack” (aka full lunch) at Tai Buu we secured our late afternoon reservation at the insanely popular Garlic & Chives — apparently by Kristin!

Inside is cute and more modern.

Interest ice tea with an exotic flavor.

Wines we just popped and jammed on.

1998 Moët & Chandon Champagne Cuvée Dom Pérignon. BH 94. An elegant but austere wine that is almost as reticent as the ’96 with pure citrus and floral aromas that continue onto the crisp and still very tight medium-bodied flavors that are beautifully precise and impressively delineated on the gorgeously long finish. This is a long way from being ready and I wouldn’t touch a bottle for another 5 to 7 years.

From my cellar: 2006 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé Brut. VM 95. Taittinger’s 2006 Comtes de Champagne Rosé has come along nicely over the last six months. Intensely perfumed, Pinot-inflected aromatics carry through the mid-palate and finish as the 2006 shows off its depth and pure energy. Veins of chalky minerality give the red berry and cranberry flavors an extra kick of energy. The 2006 is both powerful and delicate at the same, with crystalline precision and fabulous depth. Hints of orange peel, mint, cinnamon and cranberry add further shades of nuance on the complete, beautifully articulated finish.

2014 Vincent Dauvissat (René & Vincent) Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons. VM 93. Very pale yellow. Lemon oil, flowers and a lightly lactic yeasty nuance on the nose. Tight, upright and penetrating, with brisk lemony acidity intensifying the dense flavors of white peach and almond flower. Shows terrific grain and palate presence and finishes with explosive mounting length. A very serious Vaillons. Dauvissat noted that as these vines have aged, they are yielding consistently more mineral wines.

Omg, more babykill! 2013 Pierre-Yves Colin-Morey Corton-Charlemagne. BH 92-94. A shy, indeed almost mute nose only grudgingly liberates its cool aromas of green apple, white fruit, spiced pear and wet stone. The intensely saline and stony big-bodied flavors are supported by a firm spine of citrus-inflected acidity that shapes the powerful finish that delivers outstanding complexity and persistence. I very much like the balance and this will need plenty of time to realize its full, and considerable, potential.

And if we thought 2013 white was young! 2015 Domaine Arlaud Charmes-Chambertin. BH 92-94. Reduction. The supple, round and strikingly refined, indeed even silky flavors possess focused power and punch while offering outstanding length on the dusty, palate coating and mildly austere finale. This is an exercise in harmony and refinement.

A REAL Vietnamese menu (gigantic).

Lime Beef Tenderloin Salad (9/13/18). Beef tenderloin marinated in lime juice, mint, onion, chili and peanuts.

Papaya salad with beef jerky (10/3/21). super savory and delicious.

Beef Salad (June 2018 and 10/3/21). Slices of beef, papaya, and all sorts of tangy, sweet, spicy Vietnamese salad goodness. Notable on 10/3/21 that it wasn’t quite as good as the beef jerky salad.

Raw Ahi Tuna Spring Rolls (9/13/18). Raw ahi tuna, fresh lettuce, avocado, pickled daikon and carrots, crispy wonton wrapper rolled up in rice paper. Served with house special soy sauce and wasabi. These were a bit different, sort of Vietnamese / Japanese. Good though.

Grilled pork sausage roll / goi con em nuong (10/3/21). Great.

Shrimp and pork mustard green roll (10/3/21). A bit boring.

Holy Crunchy Chicken Wings (9/13/18). Heavenly crispy fried chicken wings with sweet and spicy sauce topped with fried garlic chips.

holy crunchy chicken wings / canh ga chien (10/3/21). Sweet and spicy and amazing. They were much saucier (and better) this time.

Salt and pepper shrimp (10/3/21).

Stir Friend Ong Choy with Sea Snails. Yes, this is a garickly green with SNAILS. It was delicious too.

Coconut Sea Snails (many times including June 2018 and 10/3/21). Special Vietnamese Sea Snails cooked in coconut curry sauce. I LOVED this dish. I’ve had a pink version before at Phong Dinh and this green version was slightly different, spicier, and just as good. The snails are in little conical shells inside the curry. You suck out the creatures. So good. I could eat two bowls myself!

Rice for the snails.

Baked Clams with Garlic & Chives. Or maybe Chili Garlic. Nice actually. Lots of flavor.

Razor Clams (June 2018). Baked Razor Clams topped with peanuts, chili, garlic, and bell peppers. These were dry and overcooked and our least favorite dish.

Razor clams (10/3/21). Delicious this time.

House Special Lobster (every time I have been including 10/3/21). Sautéed in house special sauce with garlic, onion, jalapeños, on a bed of noodles. This was AWESOME. Tons and tons of flavor, particularly over the noodles. Way better than the Crustacean and probably 1/4 of the price.

Zoom on the lobster (from 9/13/18). So much garlic!

Spicy Crab in Tamarind Sauce (June 2018 and 10/3/21). Sort of close to Singapore Chili Crab, and certainly tangy and spicy, but a bit different. Great too. Really great with a ton of flavor. The sauce was absolutely amazing. Hard to get into the shells but a lot of the meat was out. I would still love to find some exact Singapore Chili Crab, but this variant was fabulous.

Singapore Chili Crab (10/3/21). Amazing. We added noodles into the sauce too. Better than the Tamarind crab we had the same day.

Vietnamese breads (June 2018 and 10/3/21), including the fried donut-like thing which was heavy and delicious. These come with the crabs.

Grilled Turmeric Fish with Dill served on the skillet w/ vermicelli.

Vermicelli noodles and herbs served with turmeric fish. You wrap these up with the fish. Delicious and very much like we had a couple of times in Vietnam.

Grilled Chili Lemongrass Pork Ribs (9/13/18). Crispy rice with pork ribs marinated in chili and lemongrass.

Spicy Garlic Toothpick Lamb (June 2018). Small pieces of lamb marinated in garlic and house seasonings deep fried. Basically the Szechuan dish, but with a few more aromatics.
Pork belly (10/3/21). Sweet.

Mustard greens (10/3/21).

More rice (10/3/21)

Lamb chops (10/3/21). Good.

sautéed beef vermicelli / bun bo xao (filet mignon, lemongrass etc) (10/3/21).

Grilled pork and egg roll noodle / bun thit nuong cha gio (10/3/21).

Goat curry (10/3/21).

Bread for the curry.

Oxtail hotpot (10/3/21). I was reaching painful levels of full here and not really able to try this.

The hotpot comes with lots of herbs.

Added in.

Made by me (June 2018), of course: Almond Boba Tea Gelato — Oolong tea steeped milk, Romano Almonds from Noto Sicily, and topped with Boba! Suffered slightly from the long transit and wait, but still good.

Almond Amaretto Truffle Gelato (10/3/21) — Amaretto Zabaglione (egg yolk, amaretto, and sugar custard) Sicilian Almond gelato base with stacked layers of house-made Valrhona Almond Amaretti Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #almond #amaretto #amaretti #cookie #ganache #ChocolateTruffle

Cherry Cough Syrup Sorbetto (10/3/21) – Amareno Cherry, Morello Cherry, and Creme de Cassis Sorbet! — so intense, and so awesome for a red fruit lover — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #amareno #morello #cherry #CremediCassis #cassis

Fred brought the whole family! (except his wife, who was out of town)

Andrew and Madison who hosted us down south that first time and treated us to this amazing fare.

This was an awesome afternoon and crazy crazy good food here at Garlic & Chives. I like this bright flavor forward style of Vietnamese (with a bit of Chinese, Singapore, and Thai influences). Just tons of… well garlic, chili, and chives. Closest in some ways to some of the really good places I went in Vietnam too. More fusion yes, but really good. Apparently they always have a huge line. Sigh. And a huge drive. But I’ll be back for sure for more good stuff and more Champagne. This is really Champagne food.

I’ve been back a whole mess of times for lunch and it’s always been good. Then we were back for a wine dinner on 10/3/21. They set up a large table outside on the sidewalk, which wasn’t bad at all as it was a nice night. They allowed the wine with no problem and had allowed us a reservation and preorders. This is unusual for Garden Grove Vietnamese restaurants which often don’t take reservation — a must for large party wine dinners involving people driving for over an hour! Food was awesome that night as well. A few people complained about my overzealous ordering (if I’m going to trek to Orange County for dinner I want to try EVERYTHING!) and the price creeping up because of the lobsters and crab. It wasn’t actually expensive, it just wasn’t “dirt cheap” the way people have come to expect from a small ethnic place like this. That’s unfair, as we had a TON of food and lots of signature ingredients.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Sea Salt Latte from next door.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Babykillers, BYOG, Champagne, Garden Grove, Garlic & Chives, Garlic and Chives, Gelato, Orange Afternoon, Orange County, Vietnamese cuisine

Orange Afternoon — Tai Buu

Aug04

Restaurant: Tai Buu Paris Restaurant

Location: 9684 Westminster Blvd, Garden Grove, CA 92844

Date: June 23, 2018

Cuisine: French Vietnamese

Rating: Old School Vietnamese

Fred and Andrew T convinced me to head down on a Saturday afternoon to Garden Grove for some serious Vietnamese. Now, despite the horrific traffic, they didn’t have to twist my arm too hard because I love Vietnamese food, as evidenced by my eating around that lovely country.

While we waited for our table to come up at Garlic and Chives (more on that later) we went to one of Andrew’s favorites, old school Tai Buu.

Like a weird Parisian/Vietnamese cafe.
As usual for Babykillers events all the wine was just popped so I’ll list it here.

From my cellar: A great bottle of 1985 Nicolas Potel Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. BH 91. A very fresh yet mature nose of citrus, white flower and lightly toasted nut aromas combines with round and vibrant middle weight flavors that possess a seductive and rich mouth feel, all wrapped in a sappy and mouth coating finish. This is really a lovely effort with complexity and ample finishing punch and is a wine that will continue to hold well if not improve.

Young reds.

This is why we call them the Babykillers!

But on to the food. You always get this stuff here. Salad, spicy salt, and soup. French dressing. lol!

Here is the soup. Like simple duck consume or something.

Beef tongue in gravy. Looks ugly, but pretty tasty. Particularly with carbs (below).

Goat curry. Yum. I love curry and this was a nice classic brown curry with excellent goat.

There was French Bread.

Fried Eggs. Yep. Apparently you eat them with the tongue, or maybe it was the curry.

And tomato rice.

Fried coconut sticky rice. I really enjoyed the texture and the mild coconut flavor.

Garlic frog legs. Really tender and full of garlicky flavor. Not so different than frog legs Aleppo style!

Roast quail. Like at a Chinese place but with greens.

French style beef. This was an old school rendition. Filet Mignon and a thinner, more garlicky sauce than I usually see.

Flan. Absolutely first rate flan. Caramel, light hint of orange maybe.

Overall, a fun place and some tasty (and really cheap) food. Friendly service too. Some of our party are native Vietnamese speakers so that helped too. After this, on to the main event at Garlic and Chives…

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Babykillers, Burgundy, French Vietnamese, Orange Afternoon, Orange County, Tai Buu Paris, vietnamese

Burgundy at Maude

Aug02

Restaurant: Maude [1, 2]

Location: 212 South Beverly Drive. Beverly Hills, CA. (310) 859-3418

Date: June 20, 2018

Cuisine: French Californian

Rating: Great Theme

When it opened several years ago, Maude was a big deal on the LA restaurant scene. For quite some time they had a unique “one ingredient, one month” theme. I had gone 4 years ago in late 2014. But that was back several chefs ago, and now-a-days they have a “season” (of 3 months I think) with a wine theme and food to match. Reversing their early hesitation about corkage, if you bring on theme — you now get free corkage. yay! And when we went it was Burgundy!

It’s still located on Beverly in Beverly Hills.

It’s still cute inside.

Quite small with an open kitchen.

Here is the Burgundy menu.

Some Bruno Paillard Champagne Rosé Brut Première Cuvée off their list.
And a plate of canapes.

An asparagus tart, some kind of foie crisp. A delicious savory macaron, and gougers. All very lovely.

2004 Henri Boillot Chevalier-Montrachet. BH 96. This is gorgeously pure and incredibly focused aromatically with an incredible breadth of aromas, from white flower to ripe orchard fruits nuanced by a panoply of spice notes. The unbelievably intense flavors are deep and strikingly transparent yet the level of dry extract this enjoys is nothing short of remarkable. The crystalline finish doesn’t just end but rather its ends with one complex wave after another and the sense of energy and drive here is palpable. Flat out terrific.

Vegetables warmed with goat’s butter. Not the kind of dish I would ordinarily order, but these were lovely vegetables, blanched probably, crunchy, and made better by the light butter sauce.

From my cellar: 1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 94 points. A good bottle, with lots of creme brûlée.

Escargot in herb butter. I love snails, and particularly the classic presentation with lots of garlic (and butter). These were excellent.

Brioche to complement.

Fred brought (blind): 1979 Domaine Roulot Bourgogne-Aligoté. 96 points. Fred served this blind and we thought it was old chard — amazingly it was Aligote! And Roulot. Totally gorgeous even at almost 40 years! None of us had ever had an aligote this old.

1987 Louis Jadot Montrachet. Past it’s prime (by a lot).

Prawn Bisque. Gorgeous bisque. Rich and delightful.

1955 Jacques Arnoul Freres Clos Vougeot. 93 points. Still in really good shape. Tertiary, but delicious.

Turbot, ham, parsley. Interesting prep with the ham broth and parsley pesto.

1990 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny. 93 points. Bright disc with medium red/orange robe and orange rim. Absolutely beautiful nose of ripe plum, cherry, Asian spices and light cedar. Soft tannins, good acidity, medium-bodied on palate. Similar flavors as nose, essentially exploding at the mid-palate. Long, slightly acidic finish. This wine has evolved beautifully.

Charcuterie of Rabbit. And they REALLy mean rabbit — all of the rabbit!

Fred brought: 1992 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares. 90 points. In a really nice spot right now. Nice spice and earth and bright cherry aromas. A little savory. Nicely resolved and no danger of decline.

From my cellar: 1998 Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé Bonnes Mares. BH 93. This may be one of the finest Bonnes-Mares I have ever tasted from de Vogüé and it’s as dense as the 1991. Packed with kirsch-laced fruit and possessing an intense sappiness with an almost painfully intense flavor precision and a forceful, not to be denied, persistence on the finish. I literally asked to pause a few minutes before proceeding to the Musigny, as the finish would not stop. Positively serene in its power and quiet understatement. In short, for all its greatness, it doesn’t shout at you, it just quietly and confidently delivers a remarkable performance. While the fruit and tannins have evolved somewhat, this still remains a baby and it’s quite possible that another 5 or so years will not be enough to really see this close to its peak.

Roasted Foie Gras with Peas and Morels. Excellent dish.

1996 Domaine Dujac Charmes-Chambertin. BH 91. An almost fully mature nose of earth and now mostly secondary red berry fruit aromas is followed by refined, succulent and balanced medium-bodied flavors of superior length. This is a successful ’96 that has aged well and has entered its prime drinking period which should last for the next decade, perhaps a bit longer. Consistent notes. One nit: the last 3 bottles that I have had were slightly cloudy and while it did not affect the nose or the texture, it could be a source of concern going forward.

Roast Lamb. Buttered Potatoes, spinach.

The lineup for the first part of the evening…

Then we moved upstairs. This is a new thing for Maude post format change and is really great. For cheese and dessert you move upstairs to the lounge.

Cheese board.

2011 Domaine Dujac Bonnes Mares. BH 94. This is highly expressive, indeed unusually so for very young Bonnes Mares, and offers up nothing short of a kaleidoscopic array of scents that include a wide range of floral, earth, stone and mostly red berry fruit aromas. There is fine if not special density and focused power to the big-bodied flavors that are overtly powerful and quite muscular yet there is no trace of rusticity or absence of refinement to the hugely long finish. This is a succulent yet formidable Bonnes Mares that should amply reward those who have the (considerable) patience to wait for its full maturity.

agavin: babykill, but we opened it anyway

Here was my cheese plate (part 1), we all got seconds!

We bought this unusual german pinot off the list — well right out of the cellar: 2007 Weingut Keller Spätburgunder Trocken ‘S’. 90 points. Could be 93 in a few years. Light red colour, cherry and rose petal nose, surprisingly strong and bold on the palate, again cherry notes and a little bit blueberry. Long finish of almost 50 seconds. Next one next year.

And we bought this too! 2002 Domaine Dujac Clos St. Denis. BH 93. A very floral and high-toned nose combines with aromas of earth, underbrush and a certain animale quality followed by rich, full-bodied, refined and notably elegant flavors that possess a subtle and understated complexity plus considerable grace. I very much like the balance here and this too is remarkably seductive yet sufficiently well structured to suggest up to a decade of potential improvement.

Now on to dessert. They have this gorgeous pastry buffet that you can help yourself too, repeatedly. Not that you paw over it. You point at stuff and the nice lady makes you a plate (or 2 or 3)!

Chocolate and hazelnut cakes.

Apple thingies.

Chocolate Tart — awesome.

A Vienna style torte.

A berry pastry thing.

Chocolate dipped Madeline’s.

Lemon Meringue Pie!

Mini macarons.

This was my first plate. I’ll be ashamed to admit it wasn’t my last!

Oh, and they have little “presents” for the morning.

I found this new format for Maude much more pleasant. The food was good. Some dishes were excellent, really good, and some just solid. The service was fabulous. We had incredible wine, a few from the list, most we brought. The whole no corkage thing is a welcome relief. I loved the 2 locations thing and the loungey location upstairs. All in all a super fun evening!

This was the first time in a while we had a near full complement of the Foodie Club, including regular members myself, Erick, Larry, and Fred but also with longtime core members like Walker and Amanda who always take it up a notch.

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