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Archive for Joh. Jos. Prüm

Spice Up Your Life Szechuan Style

Sep23

Restaurant: Cui Hua Lou [1, 2, 3]

Location: 920 E Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91755. 626-288-2218

Date: September 20, 2013

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Awesome!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Chinese food is incredible regional, and we are blessed in SoCal with a lot of very specific restaurants (mostly in the San Gabriel Valley). Yarom (the leader of my Hedonist group) invited me out to try some spicy Szechuan and a totally undiscovered place he found while wandering around. We love Szechuan for its spicy/smoky flavors. This is a cuisine that packs a real punch and is one of my favorites in China.


The storefront, as usual, isn’t much to look at.


A menu with fairly literal translations.


And the usual minimalist decor.


1999 Joseph Phelps Sauvignon Blanc. IWC 87. Expressive, floral aroma combines melon, grapefruit, mint, licorice and fresh herbs. Supple yet tangy and firm, with nicely focused flavors of lemon, grapefruit, licorice and fresh herbs. Slightly elevated alcohol leavened by brisk acidity. Nice combination of texture and brightness.


Seaweed with chilies. Very pleasant, with a firmness and just a bit of heat.


Jellyfish heads and cucumber. More a texture dish, but it had a bit of a vinegary tang.


2011 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett. IWC88. Aromas of passion fruit and nut oil. The creamy tropical fruits flavors are light, well-balanced and elegant. Certainly fun to drink.


Cured beef shank. Like Chinese pastrami, with a bit of a smokey flavor.


Shredded stomach with scallion. Pork stomach really. I’m not an offal fan, but this was as good as stomach gets.


2007 Lamborghini (La Fiorita) Era Umbria IGT. 88 points. Good dark fruit and cherries on the nose. Significant fruit in the taste along with some herbal notes and good acidity. Medium length with some good tannins at the later part. May need more time to develop.


Stewed lamb in casserole (house special #1).


Inside the hot pot. This stuff was awesome. Probably the best dish (of many). Tasty tender lamb and this amazing hot chili sauce that really had a nice flavor.


Skewers of lamb on the left and Chinese hot dog on the right. Both were rubbed with cumin, making the lamb classic cumin lamb. The sausages were amazing, like sweetish hotdogs rubbed in cumin.


Some more skewers, lamb and chicken wing.


2009 Kongsgaard Syrah. Parker 97. The 2009 Syrah Hudson Vineyard is simply breathtaking. White flowers, spices, savory herbs, licorice, graphite and new leather are some of the many nuances that add complexity to a core of deeply expressive dark fruit. The 2009 impresses for its stunning textural elegance and sheer brilliance.


Cured beef shank in sesame bun. Basically Chinese pastrami sandwich!


Sweet and sour fish. Nice tender Tilapia with a flavorful sweet sauce.


1996 Lanessan. Parker 88. A sleeper of the vintage, Lanessan’s 1996 boasts an impressively saturated dark ruby/purple color, and knock-out aromatics of melted chocolate, asphalt, and cassis. Deep, rich, and medium-bodied, with excellent concentration and purity, this impressively-endowed, flavorful, well-structured wine should be at its finest between 2004-2016.


Beef tendon Xing Ziang Style. Unusual but pleasant texture in a tasty spicy sauce.


Potato with chili. Basically shredded potato with a slight vinegar and oil tang.


2011 Joh Jos Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. Parker 94. A yeasty, smoky prickle as well as the effect of dissolved CO2 causes the nose to wrinkle from a glass of Prum’s 2011 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese A.P. #18, but behind that are heliotrope and lily-of-the-valley along with ripe apple, pear and melons that in turn inform a delicate, subtly creamy palate of striking transparency to stony, crystalline, alkaline and smoky black tea and liquid floral nuances. This shimmers and excites even as it soothes in a lingering, uplifting, glowing finish. It will certainly merit attention for the better part of a half century.


Kung Pao Chicken. One of the best versions of this classic dish I’ve ever had. Lots of very flavorful Szechuan peppers.


1999 Guiraud. Parker 90. Tasted as part of a vertical held at the chateau. There is a sense of conservatism to the Guiraud 1999, but it still retains attractive scents of dried honey, marmalade and a touch of chlorine. The palate is actually better than the nose, with a lovely seam of acidity and effervescent marmalade and quince-tinged fruit that is very precise toward the long finish. The ’99 should be looked back on as a success in an oft-forgotten vintage.


Pork XO sauce fried noodle.


You mix it up like this and there is lots of pleasant heat to go with the al dente noodles.


Check out that chili oil left in the bowl!


Twice cooked pork. Another fabulous dish. The pork had some heat and sweetness, with a whole lot of flavor.


Ma Po Tofu. One of my favorite dishes. This classic Szechuan dish was the spiciest of the night. The pleasant soft tofu is just on fire. The name literally translated as “Pocked Marked Old Lady Face Tofu” which is quite amusing.


Fried corn. Slightly sweet and passed for a dessert. But afterward,  we went down the street to a shaved ice place, which I’ll blog about seperately.

In conclusion, Cui Hua Lou, while apparently totally undiscovered, offers up some fabulous traditional Szechuan fare. If you like spicy, this place was really very good. Cheap too as this feast, including tax and tip, set us back $21 a person!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists Hunan Style
  2. Birthday Party, Hedonist Style
  3. Sicilian Style – Drago
  4. Food as Art: Chanukah in Style
  5. Life of Pi – part deux
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Cui Hua Lou, hedonists, Hot Sauce, Joh. Jos. Prüm, lamb, Ma Po Tofu, Monterey Park, san Gabriel valley, Sichuan, Szechuan, Szechuan Chinese, Szechuan Pepper

Hedonists Noodle over Hoy-Ka

Apr11

Restaurant: Hoy-Ka Thai Noodle

Location: 5401 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90027

Date: April 8, 2013

Cuisine: Thai

Rating: Really tasty!

_

This Hollywood Thai is in a sketchy neighborhood, but the reasonable price and excellent food more than make up for it. Plus, they have no liquor license and let us bring our own wine with no corkage. Always a plus!

Hedonist regular Penny, who is Thai, did the ordering, which didn’t hurt either.


2009 Jacques Bavard Bourgogne-Aligoté. Chardonnay gets the bulk of the white Burgundy attention. Aligote is a pleasant diversion, a simple wine that nevertheless has multiple layers to savor. The nose is flinty and faintly fruity, with a slight citrus note accented with a bit of peppery spiciness. Noticeably acidic up front, but that sharpness is quickly balanced out with a bit of honeysuckle and just a little bit of creaminess in the finish. Pleasant enough to drink on its own, but this really is at its best as a table wine to complement food. There is a good amount of sapidity (salty flavors).


The Western Sausage served with fresh vegetables: garlic, peanuts, ginger, and cabbage. Very tasty sausage and the garlic was intensely strong.


2011 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett. Aromas of passion fruit and nut oil. The creamy tropical fruits flavors are light, well-balanced and elegant. Certainly fun to drink. IWC 88.


Fried fish balls served with spicy sweet sauce. Interesting chewy texture too.


2011 Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. Elegant aromas of Bing cherry, apple blossom and roasted pine nuts. Sweet and delicate but nonetheless creamy on the palate, with sweet herbs and a touch of vanilla. Lemon curd and slate animate a compelling finish. IWC 90.

Very very nice.


Pork jerky. Deep fried sun dried, marinated pork, served with spicy house sauce.


Chicken larb. Ground chicken with lime juice, onion, ground chili & rice powder.


2002 Williams Selyem Pinot Noir Central Coast. Sweet herb and forest floor scents jump from the glass of the dark plum/ruby-tinged 2002 Pinot Noir Coastline Vineyard. Broodingly backward, rich, dense, and promising, its masculine, tannic, stacked and packed personality suggests 2-3 years of bottle age will be beneficial. Parker 91.

Not bad for a new world pinot. Still some oak — too much.


Yum Woosen. Silver noodle with ground pork, shrimp and vegetables seasoned with spicy lemon dressing.

A bit sweet and very very tasty.


Papaya salad. Shredded green papaya, green beans, tomatoes, and dried shrimps, crispy pork, seasoned with lime juice and chili.

A great papaya salad.


2008 Terredora di Paolo Aglianico Campania IGT. The estate’s 2008 Aglianico is a gem of a wine. Wild cherries, dark raspberries, spices, leather and licorice come together beautifully in this medium-bodied red. Floral notes waft out from the glass on the finish. There is nothing fussy here, just a flat out delicious bottle of unoaked Aglianico readers are sure to enjoy. Even better, this is a terrific value. Parker 90.

While not a bad Aglianico, the flavor profile was really off for Thai.


Hoy Ka Noodle. A noodle with ground pork, BBQ pork, pork meatballs, pork loaf and liver.

This soup was superb, one of the best I’ve ever had. Just really good and addictive, with a good bit of heat.


Hoy Ka Noodle. A noodle with ground chicken, sliced chicken, and fish balls.


Noodles with pork in a liver and pigs blood broth! Also super tasty, and much heartier, than the above soups. I liked the first a bit more, but you’d never know this was pig’s blood!


Red curry in coconut milk, sweet basil, bamboo shoots and fresh chili. A great version of the classic.


This Pozzan Merlot was a decent wine, but the big bold flavor profile was stunningly wrong for the food.


Pad See Eiw. Stir fried noodle with Chinese broccoli, egg, black soy sauce, and beef. Yum!


2005 Saxum Booker Vineyard. A blend of 92% Syrah and 8% Grenache, the 2005 Booker Vineyard is the debut vintage of this 400-case cuvee produced from a hillside vineyard situated on the west side of Highway 101. It exhibits plenty of crushed rock, sweet black fruit, and underbrush/forest floor characteristics along with sweet tannin and a structured, muscular personality similar to a northern Rhone. Big and powerful yet precise and well-delineated, it should drink nicely for 10-15 years. The bottled 2005s are all performing well. Parker 94.

This wine was SO BIG that it smashed right through the spice and actually worked!


Crispy Pork Ka Prao. Stir friend crispy pork with chili, basil, green beans, and house special sauce. Like bacon Ka Prao!


Ka Prao pork. Stir fried ground pork with basil, chili, and green beans. Also very tasty with some real heat.


Fried rice with pineapple, shrimp, chicken, and curry. The dominant flavor is yellow curry. Nice finishing dish.

Overall, this place has a great kitchen, and almost every dish was really well executed. The first pork soup in particular was amazing and it’s too bad they’re so far (about 45 minutes) from my house, or it would make an awesome lunch by itself.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists at Jitlada
  2. Hawaiian Noodle Bar
  3. Hedonists Cook the Goose
  4. Hedonists at Dahab
  5. Hedonists at La Paella
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Fritz Haag, hedonists, Hoy-Ka, Joh. Jos. Prüm, noodles, Pinot noir, pork, Riesling, Thai, Thai cuisine, Thia food, Williams Selyem Winery, Wine
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