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Charcoal – First Foray

Sep16

Location: 425 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292. (310) 751-6794

Date: July 21, 2018

Cuisine: New American Grill

Rating: Interesting so far

We were out on a family bike ride and decided to stop at Josiah Citrin’s (owner/chef of Melisse) newish more casual eatery for brunch.

It’s located on Washington Blvd about 2 blocks in from the ocean.

The space is contemporary and attractive.

Maybe about 3000 square feet.

Grilled Cucumber Gazpacho. Persian Cucumber, Calabrian Chili. I’m not sure what else was in this, other than certainly a lot of olive oil — but it was delicious. Roasted vegetable flavors, very roasted, lots of vinegar tang.

Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits. Pepper Honey. Being moved by a 9 year-old, hence the motion blur. Nice and cheesy. Excellent biscuits.

Hanger Steak Salad. Chopped Salad, Tomato, Havarti, Bacon, Grilled Onion, Kalamata Olives, and Jo-Jo’s Vinaigrette.

Fries. My 9 year-old didn’t like the spicy ketchup, I did.

Charcoal Benedict. Grilled Ham, Tomato Compote, Poached Egg, Charcoal-Infused Jet Black Hollandaise. Never had black hollandaise sauce before. The color made my mind think it should taste like squid ink. I can’t actually say that I tasted the charcoal at all, although clearly you can see it. Tasty classic Benedict either way.

Three Egg Omelette. Wilted Spinach, Avocado, Aged Cheddar, Grilled Spring Onion and Tomato.

Kitchen and interesting menu seemed promising, and several friends like it for dinner, so I’ll have to give that a try one of these days.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Charcoal, Charcoal Venice, Chef Josiah Citrin, Grill, Josiah Citrin, steakhouse, Washington Blvd

Eating Chengdu – Chen Mapo Tofu

Sep14

Restaurant: Chen Mapo Tofu

Location: 197 W Yulong St, LuoMaShi, Qingyang Qu, Chengdu Shi, Sichuan Sheng, China, 610000. +86 28 8675 4512

Date: August 3, 2018

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Most balanced Szechuan I’ve had

Being an obsessive lover of Szechuan food I’ve been wanting to go to Chengdu for years.

It’s really quite a neat city with both modern…

And “antique” buildings — something you don’t see as much of in many Chinese towns. It also has A LOT of crowds having grown in the last 20 years from about 3 million to over 16 million people!

For our first night we arrived late from the train and rushed around the corner from our hotel to this recommended classic Szechuan place named Chen Mapo Tofu. The downstairs part looked hipped and was MOBBED. The guy at the front barely talked to us but basically told us that there were more people waiting than were going to eat tonight so he sent us upstairs to their less crowded area — we think.

The upstairs was through this portal.

And here is the menu.

I took a picture of the first page of the huge menu. Wish I had the patience to photo 20 pages, but alas I did not.

Signature mapo tofu. I’ve had a lot of “pocked marked old lady face tofu” and even make it myself. This might have been the best I’ve had, certain was great. Look at all that Szechuan peppercorn on top for the extra numb effect — love it!

We had to get some rice, of course, for the quintessential combo.

Mapo over rice.

Had to try some Kung Pao Chicken at the source. Really nice. Not too spicy, but with a complex savory/sour kind of flavor that was really good and much more lively than the bland American versions.

Tofu and mushrooms. Very nice mild yellow broth type of tofu. The chewier more fried kind.

Clams and chicken with chiles. The chicken had all the bones, beak, feet etc. Very tasty sauce though with all the pepper. I really enjoyed this dish.

Fresh whole fish boiled with chilies. Really nice version of this Szechuan classic soaked in chili oil and oozing with peppercorns and chilies. The only problem was all the bones.

Greens.

Overall, this was a great meal, best we had in Chengdu. I’ll have to go back because I know the city has so much good stuff to offer. I really enjoyed the complex spicy, numb, tangy, sour flavors.

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

The face of a (bamboo eating) angel

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chen Mapo Tofu, Chengdu, Chinese Food, Eating Chengdu, Eating China, mapo tofu, Sichuan, Szechuan cuisine

Hamji Park

Sep12

Restaurant: Hamji Park

Location: 4135 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 733-8333

Date: July 10, 2018 & December 23, 2021

Cuisine: Korean Pork BBQ

Rating: Great ribs and pork

K-Town adventure time, with LA’s awesome Korean food scene.

Hamji Park has a couple outputs, but we go to the Pico one. The small chain specializes in Pork BBQ Ribs (Korean style, of course) and various other pork products.

The interior is pretty much all K-Town — down to the ceiling hoods.

This is a surprisingly short menu for a Korean place.

Ron brought some of the insanely good: 2006 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. VM 97. The 2006 Comtes de Champagne is striking, especially in the way it brings together elements of ripeness and freshness in a hypothetical blend of the 2002 and 2004. Smooth and creamy on the palate, the 2006 is all about texture. There is a real feeling of density and weight in the 2006, qualities I expect to see grow with time in the bottle. All the elements fall into place effortlessly. The 2006 has been nothing short of magnificent both times I have tasted it. Comtes de Champagne remains the single best value (in relative terms) in tête de cuvée Champagne. I suggest buying a case and following it over the next 20-30 years, which is exactly what I intend to do. There is little doubt the 2006 Comtes de Champagne is a magical Champagne in the making.

Hamji Park is fairly old school so they have a minimalist array of banchan.

Cabbage with miso dressing.

Broccoli.

Marinated cabbage.

Marinated spicy something? A bit chewy, this was one of my favorites.

Bean sprouts.

Sweet potato.

Chewy fish cakes, always great.

Pickled veggies.

Spicy squid.

Bean sprouts.

Cabbage and chili paste.

Albert brought: 2015 Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé. VM 93. Pale orange. Lively, expansive citrus pith and red currant aromas are complemented by suggestions of chalky minerals and white flowers. Sappy, concentrated and precise, offering palate-staining red berry and blood orange flavors and a hint of spicy white pepper. Shows excellent thrust and persistence on the mineral-driven finish, which emphatically echoes the floral and citrus fruit qualities. I’m impressed by the way this wine balances the opulence of the vintage with vivacity and I suspect it will reward at least another eight or so years of patience — standard behavior for this bottling, which ages more like a red wine than a pink one.

Stir Fried Octopus with Noodles. This is some great octopus. Nice and tender with a great Korean spicy sauce and sleek rice noodles.

From my cellar: 1990 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste. RP95-96. The 1990 Grand-Puy-Lacoste is a wine that I had not tasted for a number of years. For a long time it was stubborn and tannic, uncommon attributes in what was such a comely vintage. Now at 26 years of age, this bottle served by Xavier Borie suggests that finally the 1990 has come round. Deep in color, it has a gorgeous bouquet of black fruit, potpourri, graphite and melted tar. There is warmth here, but it does not impede upon the articulation of its origins in Pauillac. The palate has clearly melted in recent years, and maintains superb balance and weight. Sure, as Robert Parker himself remarked, it is evolving at a glacial pace—slower than the 1998 tasted alongside. That means its pleasure is going to be prolonged over many, many years.

Ron brought: 1973 Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon Monte Bello. JG 94. The 1973 Monte Bello was another wine that I had two bottles of from an auction purchase, and so when the first bottle did not show brilliantly well, I was able to let the second bottle rest and additional nine months, which seemed to settle the wine back down nicely. The second bottle was a glorious example of Monte Bello that very much showed the more “Graves-like” personality of this wine in many vintages, as it offers up a superb, “cool” fruit-toned bouquet of cassis, leather, cigar ash, a hint of eucalyptus and petroleum jelly, and a complex base of gravelly soil tones. On the palate the wine is fullish, deep and very complex, with beautiful focus, fine mid-palate depth and a very refined, poised and meltingly tannic finish of great length and dimension. The ’73 Monte Bello has retained excellent acidity (perhaps due to it only weighing in at 12.8% alcohol), which has kept the wine fresh, vibrant and showing great grip on the backend. A very finesseful and elegant vintage of Monte Bello, which is not short on either depth or power.

Pork Spare Ribs. A bit sweet and sour, tons and tons of porky meat. Really great ribs.

Beef ribs (bulgolgi).

From my cellar: 1995 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. 94 points. Opulent but balanced, dignified without slathered oak or exagerrated maloloactic fermentation. Good show.

Salad. Nice acidic dressing, and really good.

Ron brought (but we didn’t open): 1990 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. JG92+. The 1990 Château Beaucastel is a lovely wine and is just about ready for primetime drinking, but will continue to improve over the coming five or six years and then cruise along for decades from that point forward. The bouquet offers up a fine blend of dried raspberries and red currants, roasted game, incipient autumnal tones (fallen leaves) and a potpourri of spice tones in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and a touch leathery in personality, with a good core, melting tannins and fine length and grip on the complex finish. Having had the good fortune to drink several older vintages of Beaucastel at peak maturity, my gut instinct with the 1990 would be to let it rest in the cellar for just a few more years and allow the last layer of aromatic complexity to emerge here, though it must be said that the wine is really lovely on the palate right now.

Albert brought: 1995 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape. 93 points. Lovely, complex farmyard, truffles, undergrowth, ripe damson fruit mellow leather and spices. Beautiful wine drunk with five spice duck fried rice and was perfect.

Pork Neck Stew with Potato. This was the surprise of the evening for me. Super delicious Korean stew. Rich savory broth, succulent pork meat, hefty potato. Just all good if not much of a looker. 3 or so times they “added broth” to it too which rejuvenated the whole dish. This could feed a family of 4!

Erick brought: 2004 Bond Vecina. VM 95. A very pretty and expressive Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2004 Vecina is also the first wine in this tasting that shows some degree of aromatic development. Even so, the 2004 is huge on the palate, with a bold, exotic expression of very ripe fruit. Scorched earth, smoke, tobacco and leather give the wine its distinctive, brooding personality. This is impressive stuff.

Yarom brought: 1998 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Upper Block Gaudeamus Vineyard. 94 points. Have always loved this wine…and have purchased and drunk my fair share of it. Lot of people panned it, so that’s why I was able to buy a bunch at crazy good prices over the last 10yrs! Well, last bottle I had was 6 yrs ago, which was another great bottle, but starting to show some age and sourness. In my best Mark Twain voice….”The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” THIS bottle tonight is spectacular! Starts off with a little funky barnyard brett, the good kind! Dark silky berry fruits…perfectly ripe and liqueured…with the slightest green streak of tobacco, sage and herbs, which I find fascinating in this wine…like you would Heitz Martha’s. Full bodied and rich with mocha oak barrel, cedar spice, cocoa powder…but NOT over the top sweet like you see in most Cabs now. Youthful, plush full mouth feel, complexities all over the map….and plenty left in the tank. I’ve only had a couple Schrader Cabs other than this one…but I can say that this 98 is still my fav!

Seb brought: 2014 Schrader Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon LPV Beckstoffer Las Piedras Vineyard. RP 99. The 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon LPV is from clone 337 from the Las Piedras Vineyard in St. Helena. This shows Mission Haut-Brion-like characteristics as it has in the past, with crushed rock, wet gravel, scorched earth, blackberry and blueberry fruit. It is clearly one of my favorites of this entire tasting. It has 14.5% natural alcohol and was aged in 90% new Darnajou and 10% new Taransaud barrels. This is a killer effort.

The pork cooker — actually used (by us) for beef.

Marinated Beef Sirloin.

Very tough, not too much flavor. Actually the only disappointing dish of the night.

Pork belly.

Pork belly cooking.

Bacon. Yes, it’s actually slightly different than the pork belly.

Spicy Soup.

This was great fun. Good food, particularly the ribs, neck soup, and octopus. The wines were awesome too and we brought both too many and way overkill stuff for KBBQ — but that’s how we roll!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Tagged as: bbq, Hamji Park, hedonists, Korean cuisine, Ktown, Pork Ribs, Wine

Eating Xi’an – De Fa Cheng

Sep10

Restaurant: De Fa Cheng

Location: 28 Pingan Market, Bell Tower Square, Xi’an, China. +86 29 8767 6615

Date: August 2, 2018

Cuisine: Chinese Dumpling House

Rating: Really interesting if a bit “big”

When I came to China in 2008 I ate at De Fa Cheng and enjoyed it tremendously. That trip, it was one of my favorite meals and I always regretted only taking a photo or two (it wasn’t until 2010 that I started photoing every meal I ate). It claims to offer “authentic” Tang Dynasty dumpling feasts. I have my doubts as to the historicity of the food, but it’s sure good.

The place is located right across from the central Ming Dynasty Bell Tower and is at least 3 stories!

I remember this golden dumpling from last time and used it to locate the restaurant again this trip (by some creative googling).

Last time we had a big group and therefore some private rooms upstairs but this time we were in the “grand hall” on the first floor.

They have plastic models of dumplings.

There is a sauce bar you can make up your dumpling sauces at — unfortunately I only noticed after the meal!

We got tea, plum juice (which I love), and some weird herbal/fruit dark brown juice with a highly intriguing and not entirely pleasant flavor.

Cold dishes to start, including the world’s largest dates.

Wood ear mushroom with onions. Loved it.

Spinach, egg, and garlic.

Pickled veggies and meats.

Shrimp and cucumbers.

And super spicy crawfish.

There are many levels of dumpling banquet, varying from about $10 a person to several hundred! We got level 2 or 3, it was about $15, and was a staggering amount of food. There was even a custom veggie version for my wife.

The normal course we ordered came with what seemed to be “all you can eat” boiled pork dumplings, a comfort food I always enjoy. Each time our plate got low they just brought another.

The veggie course likewise had a plate of boiled veggie dumplings. She level got it low but I’m sure they would have replaced it too.

Each person then got one of each type of specialty dumpling. I’m going to have to guess for most what was in them because I couldn’t read Chinese. The brown ones were walnut dumplings. I dunno about the other.

There were duck dumplings and something else here.

A whole selection of veggie dumplings here.

And a second round of different veggie dumplings here.

Then some veggie and some other type here for us.

The orange ones were a touch sweet and really good. Maybe pumpkin.

These dumplings were in a soup with Szechuan peppercorns and hence had a nice numbing bite.

Fried pork dumplings.

Baked dumplings.

More rounds. I can’t remember what they were but the ones with the green edge were really good. Like meatball dumplings.

The middle ones were a strong tomato dumpling and I can’t remember about the outside.

Finally there was a wonton soup.

We got this whole story about the Empress Cixi and how this was made for her. It contained little wontons and the random number in your bowl denotes your fortune somehow.

Watermelon.

This was a fun meal and a great deal at $15 a head for an epic gut bursting feast. Light eaters could split a course. In fact we ordered 4 for 3 adults and the kids. The dumplings were interesting and flavorful. My only complaint was that sometimes the skins were a bit chewy/thick. I wonder what the hell is in the expensive banquets? I think they go up to 100 dumpling types!

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

De Fa Cheng is right across the street from the iconic Bell Tower

By: agavin
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Tagged as: China, Chinese Food, De Fa Cheng, dumplings, Eating China, Eating Xi'an, plum juice, soup, Xi'an

Going Native

Sep08

Restaurant: Native

Location: 620 Santa Monica Blvd Suite A, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 458-4427

Date: July 7, 2018

Cuisine: California Small Plates

Rating: Have to try more

When we last checked in with Nyesha Arrington, she was helming Leona. Now that’s closed and she’s opened a new place in the Santa Monica Yacht Club space. I never even made it to SMYC, always meant to, as friends were owners. Although I have mixed feelings about Tar & Roses (their other place).

Anyway, I mostly remember Native’s space as La Botte, Antonio Mure’s Italian some years ago.

The surface details are a bit different, and I don’t remember the bar before, but the bones are basically the same.

The brunch and dinner menus.

We sat at the bar for a quick meal and the bartender was very nice — and talented with the cubes.

Heirloom tomato peach salad. basil, banyuls vinaigrette. There was burrata too, even though the menu doesn’t mention it. Every place has one of these salads these days.

Yagyu beef tartare. Maui onion, aisoon sauce, korean mustard. This was a nice beef tartar, to a large extent because of the insanely mustardy mustard — loved it.

Special. Pan fried tandoori seasoned chicken with mini-naan. The naan was weird and soggy, but the chicken was solid and tasty.

We just stopped in for a quick bite, so this isn’t a fair test of the kitchen (not that the menu is that big). I’ll have to come back with a bigger group, and wine. We could order pretty much everything with 6-8 (of my) people.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Antonio Mure, Date Night, Native, Nyesha Arrington, Santa Monica

Eating Xi’an – Warrior Lunch

Sep07

Restaurant: ? near Terracotta Warriors

Location: ? near Terracotta Warriors

Date: August 2, 2018

Cuisine: Shaanxi Chinese

Rating: hearty and tasty

After a nice hot (100 deg) morning visiting the vast terracotta army of Qin Shi Huang it was time for lunch.

The human version of this army most have eaten a lot of noodles!

We stopped at a local place just outside the grounds. The name wasn’t in English but anyone who reads Chinese can feel free to zoom in and translate for me. Please message me and I’ll update the post.

The inside is simple.

They had pomegranate juice which is a speciality of the region. It’s pretty sweet.

Scallion pancake.

These are some plain knife cut, hand pulled, noodles. Thick and almost like lasagna sheets they are a staple of Shaanxi cooking.

Preserved beef noodles. This classic local dish is hearty peasant fare and delicious. Thick noodles are covered in sauce, potatoes, celery, etc and then topped with “preserved beef” which turns out to basically be pastrami. Quite lovely.

Noodle pull!

Sprinkle chicken. I don’t know what to call this interesting and presumably non traditional dish. It was deep fried boneless chicken strips in a sweet and sour sauce and covered in rice sprinkles! While the taste was a bit like a more homestyle Panda Express dish it was actually quite addictive. The soft/sweet chicken was nicely offset in a textural since by the mild crunch of the sprinkles.

Chicken noodle plate. We finished the noodles and pastrami in our first big plate and so ordered another, this time with chicken. We didn’t realize it would be fried (just like the sprinkle chicken). It was still tasty though.

Greens. So all those noodles don’t cause a blockage.

This place was simple and hearty but a solid example of homestyle Shaanxi cooking. Actually something I wanted because on this trip I’ve been trying to eat regionally and experience the character of each area.

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

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chinese Food, Eating China, Eating Xi'an, noodles, pasta, pomegrante juice, Shaanxi, Terracotta Warriors

Ride the Banana Boat

Sep05

Restaurant: Banana Leaf

Location: 5835 Temple City Blvd, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 309-0209

Date: July 8, 2018

Cuisine: Indonesian

Rating: The real deal, but we could have ordered a bit more varied stuff

Sunday is SGV Chinese night, but tonight, while we did venture east to the SGV, we mixed it up a little with Indonesian! Of course we still got in the requisite 90 minute foot massage and a quick visit to the crack house.

Banana leaf is in Temple City very close to Bistro Na and Grand Harbor.

The interior is a touch updated.

The green menu!

Egg and Tofu Salad. Fried tofu and egg served with bean sprout and peanut dressing. Good peanut sauce but it’s very strong and pretty much swamped out the egg and tofu part.

Siomay Bandung. Bandung style chicken and fish cakes served with a peanut dressing — again, so much peanut it was hard to tell what was under there. Some lettuce and cucumber too.

Crunchy fried chicken. Fried chicken smothered in some kind of crispies, Jakarta style.

Traditional Smashed Combination Platter. Marinated beef, fried chicken, fried egg, fried tofu, soy bean and fresh salad served with fresh shrimp paste chili. Very fried. But tasty. I liked the tofu and egg particularly.

Pork Satay with more peanut sauce. This was the best of the satays, very tender and full of flavor.

Lamb satay. A touch tough.

Chicken satay.

Yellow chicken curry with egg and rice. Not a bad curry, but mild and kinda thin.

Garlic rice. Like the kind that goes with Hainan chicken.

Beef Rendang. Good stuff, but we had (at first) only one of these for 13 people!

Indonesian Fried Rice. Fried egg on top. Great fried rice.

Chicken Noodle. Steamed egg noodle with ground chicken, fried wonton. Really nice lo mein.

Traditional Smashed Fish. Java style whole fried tilapia fish served with fresh shrimp paste chili.

Indonesian stir fried meat with soy sauce. Sort of like 3 cup chicken.

Stir fried chili shrimp with sator and fresh shrimp paste chili (we keep seeing this sauce!)

Greens with garlic in “gravy.”

Indonesian Marinated Beef. Lots of flavor.

The Pastry Patriot (me) delivers on the 4th of Julato!

Red = Summer Strawcherry Gelato

White = Vanilla Custard Stracciatella

Blue = Old Black & Blue Sorbetto (blackberry, blueberry, and elderflower) with homemade white chocolate stars
Nice place, and solid homestyle Indonesian food. Quite tasty and a fun evening. We could have ordered a bit better as we did that thing where we had a round of stuff, it wasn’t quite enough to get around, and then we reordered. That rarely works out as the second round overwhelms. Particularly we reordered BOTH peanut sauce salads and it was just way too much peanut sauce. We needed more curries and maybe some banana leaf dishes. But we can just come back and try again. They were super friendly and really treated us right.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

The wines at these dinners aren’t worth writing up, but I’ll show them below:

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Banana Leaf, BYOG, Gelato, hedonists, Indonesian Cuisine, SGV

Eating Xi’an – Jia San Soup Pau

Sep03

Restaurant: Jia San Soup Pau

Location: 93 Bei Yuan Men, Xi’an, China. +86 29 8725 7507

Date: August 1, 2018

Cuisine: Halal Chinese

Rating: Tasty!

After Beijing we move on to Xi’an, the oldest of China’s great capitals and the eastern terminus of the silk road. Xi’an, now a city of roughly 15 million, has been an important city for perhaps 5000 years! It’s the capital of Shaanxi province and of course home to Shaanxi cuisine.

In it’s western position in China it’s home to many Chinese muslims and a vibrant “muslim street” filled with restaurants and snacks.

Like random kabobs!

Or what the Chinese call “naan breads” (puffier muslim breads).

Somewhat afraid of the street meats we decided to have dinner here at this recommended, popular, and very colorful spot.

As far as I can tell, it’s name is Jia San Soup Pau.

It was so popular we had to go up to the 3rd floor to get a table.

Lazy susan etc.

They specialize in these western XLB, which are somewhat more akin to Afghan Muntoo. These were vegetable filled muntoo.

And mutton muntoo — no pork at this place, it’s halal. The lamb ones were delicious with a very delicate pasta, a nice pronounced lamb-quality, and tons of juice.

Sesame noodles. Had a bit of mustardy punch too.

Spicy Tripe. I’m not sure which animal’s stomach we ate here. Lamb? Maybe ox? It had that tripe texture and was a bit firm and not crazy chewy. The sauce was STRONG. An intense smack in the face of chili and sesame. Really good sauce. I could only eat so much tripe but I would love this sauce on noodles.

Ox tail soup muntoo. Amazingly good juice meat dumplings.

Steamed greens with a bit of soy and ginger flavor. Quite nice.

Fried chicken. With a bit of spicy powder.

Lamb, garlic, celery, poatoes, and pepper hand pulled noodles. Underneath this very homestyle dish was a pile of excellent hand pulled noodles. This is a very Shaanxi style dish.

Jia San Soup Pau was an excellent place. Good rustic food and hearty flavors.

Back out on the street time for snacks and dessert like this “spicy lamb burger” which in Chinese might be 肉夹馍, a name that sounds like “Rodger Moore” (maybe Rho jaa mo or something like that). This one was lamby, very salty, and liberally greased with chili oil.

My eye was drawn to this very interesting looking dry ice dessert steaming in the cauldron. I called them dragon balls.

It’s handed to you steaming too. Turns out they are just puffed rice balls, with no flavor, frozen in liquid nitrogen. You crunch on the ball, trying vainly not to freezer burn your mouth and exhale like this:

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

By: agavin
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Tagged as: dumplings, Eating China, Eating Xi'an, Halal, Jia San Soup Pau, lamb, Shaanxi, spicy, tripe, Xi'an

Quick Eats – Courtyard Kitchen

Sep01

Restaurant: The Courtyard Kitchen

Location: 1211 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90403. (310) 587-2333

Date: July 19, 2018

Cuisine: American

Rating: Cute brunch place

Working back through new places in old haunts brings us again to Montana Ave and…

The Courtyard Kitchen, another American brunchy place that replaced Cafe Dana, which was a staple Saturday brunch place for my wife and I in the early 00s.

Like Cafe Dana before it, there is a cute brick courtyard here that makes up most of the seating.

It actually works its way back and is unusually attractive and intimate.

The brunch and lunch menus — I pretty much never eat dinner at this kind of casual American place. They keep serving breakfast all day too (thanks!).

Ice tea in the omnipresent mason jar.

Garden omelet. zucchini, squash, mushrooms, roasted bell pepper, caramelized onions, goat cheese.

Spanish Chorizo Hash. Roasted potatoes, smoked paprika, chile peppers, two poached eggs, diced avocado, arugula, homemade salsa. This was tasty (particularly with a bunch of hot sauce dumped on top), and felt very “light.”

In this light sampling, the food at TCK seemed promising (for brunch) and the atmosphere is certainly adorable. So we’ll have to come back and see how it holds up.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Brunch, Courtyard Kitchen, Montana, Santa Monica

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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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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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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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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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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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.