Location: 975 N Michillinda Ave, Pasadena, CA 91107. (626) 510-6286
Date: July 30, October 29, 2023 and March 03, 2024
Cuisine: Contemporary Chinese
Rating: Pretty great for dinner if you order correctly
There is a lot of buzz about Colette, which is part of the “next generation” of LA Chinese restaurants. They opened in a cafe-like space and are serving both Cantonese-esqe and dim sum. From their website:
Colette is a Cantonese-based creative Asian restaurant that welcomes people from all walks of life for all occasions. Our goal is to provide you with an inviting experience whether you’re joining us for a fine new Asian cuisine, after hiking, a friend or family gathering, a business meeting, a date, or other special occasions.
Whatever the occasion, our ambiance, and setting at Colette will serve your needs. Whether you are on the go or want to bring your pets to relax and hang out with friends, our indoor seating area and the outdoor patio are designed to offer you a cozy and comfortable space for you to enjoy your meal. In addition, our food is cooked to order and is prepared with quality in mind. Whenever it is possible, our food is prepared using ingredients from local farmers’ markets.
At Colette, we believe dining is an experience involving all senses, not just taste. Therefore, we try to ensure that our guests will enjoy the service provided by our staff and our decor, in addition to the excellent quality and taste of our menu items. We want to offer a memorable experience to each guest so that you will return with your friends and family.
This is the regular menu.
Deep fried baby abalone. Very tasty, as they were fried with bits of mild Jalepeno. The abalone itself wasn’t that strong.
Winter Melon Soup. Full of pork, chicken, and the soft melon chunks. Good, but could have used a touch of white pepper.
Off menu Geoduck sashimi. This was cut from the body of the giant clam. Great version of this dish. Very fresh, not too chewy, but with a nice bite, and with that pleasant “taste of the sea.”
Soy Sauce for the geoduck.
The neck of the clam was fried. This was a fabulous “salt and pepper” fry with a very crispy delicious batter.
Golden Yolk Shrimp. Hot and rich.
Szechuan style Chicken Salad / 川味口水鸡. Chicken drizzled with chef-special chili oil. Not super hot but the “bang bang” style sauce was delicious and addictive.
Faux Gras Shimeji Mushroom /鹅肝酱抓菇.
white beech mushroom with faux gras sauce. Super crispy yummy fried mushrooms with this “hint” of fois in the batter. It wasn’t a sauce per se, but more a livery quality to the pasty coating of the fry. Well seasoned (salty) and delicious.
Golden Yolk Fried Pumpkin /金沙南瓜绦.
Pumpkin fried with salted egg yolk. Surprisingly delicious. Nice fry.
Seafood Scrambled Milk/ 海皇炒鲜奶.
Scrambled milk and egg white with assorted seafood. Light and creamy and very enjoyable with some vinegar.
Off menu live Turbo, steamed with garlic and ginger. A perfect rendition of this fish with the fabulous soft juicy texture of both the meat and collagen — plus the “sauce” was very subtle and addictive.
Off menu “faux shark fine.” A similar egg white dish with bean sprouts and I’m not sure what, but a really nice crunchy and soft texture.
Off menu Singapore Chili Crab. Two whole Dungeness crabs drowned in sweet and slightly spicy eggy chili sauce. Delicious. Not exactly exactly like the one I had in Singapore, sweeter perhaps, but still super delicious.
Butter-fried bread for sopping up the garlic sauce.
Fried Cabbage with Bacon / 培根炒高丽菜.
Sauteed cabbage stir-fried with house bacon. I always love this dish when it has the pork — and tonight was no exception.
Char Siu. Super sweet and tender. Great BBQ pork!
Braised Tofu with Mushroom / 杂菌烧豆腐.
Braised tofu with assorted mushrooms. Very nice mushroom/tofu. Great texture and flavor.
Crispy stuffed Chicken / 脆皮百花鸡.
Deboned air-dried chicken, shrimp paste. Crispy skin on shrimp paste — was isn’t to love? Could have used perhaps a touch more “flavor.” Some people added salt.
Cheese Lobster Noodle. Weird but hyper addictive.
Laksa Seafood Spaghetti / 喇吵海鲜意粉.
Homemade Laksa sauce (a spicy soup from South-East Asia) with spaghetti, mushroom, and Seafood (Scallops, crab, shrimp). I was very full but I loved this. Strong laksa flavor, not as strong as Cassia or anything, but still strong. Noodles were almost like thin ramen noodles and there was lots of lump crab. Delicious.
Yangchow fried rice.
Funny but delicious Chinese dessert. Sort of a gooey sesame ball.
Summertime calls for — Yuzu Meyer Lemon Sorbetto — Japanese Yuzu Juice, Fresh Meyer Lemon Juice — 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 #yuzu #meyer #lemon
Lemon Cookie and St Agur Fig Walnut.
Overall, a very fun night and I was quite impressed with Colette’s food this time around. I think their dinner menu and execution are better than with the dim sum, which was also pretty decent. Skipping the nasty Pork Trotters also helped. Service and wine policy were great. The only problem is the location. Pasadena is actually a good 15-20 min FURTHER than the SGV. It’s noticable. And it doesn’t have handy foot massage (or at least I haven’t looked for it there).
Best ever!
Overall, this is a weird place. It feels like an American breakfast cafe, but it’s Chinese. The food is mildly fusion. It’s partially dim sum, partially other Chinese. Dishes were hit or miss but nothing really stood out as amazing and it’s not actually “better” in any way than most SGV restaurants. But that’s just the dim sum. A follow-up dinner here turned out an absolutely first class meal. So while I think Colette is nice enough at lunch, it really rocks for less dim sum oriented Cantonese — more on that in another post.
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