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LQ Seafood Tower

Jun02

Restaurant: Laurent Quenioux [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

Location: Near Pasadena

Date: April 25, 2018

Cuisine: Modern French

Rating: Truffles!

Six and a half years ago Foodie Club co-organizer Erick and I put together one of our more legendary dinners, the Bistro LQ Trufflumpagus. Ever since then we periodically trek out to visit our friend Chef Laurent for some kind of extravaganza — and tonight it’s his legendary seafood tower — plus tons of other goodies.

Chef Laurent Quenioux grew up in Sologne, France, where he developed a passion for food. As a young boy, Quenioux and his father would hunt duck, partridge, and rabbit. Then, he and his mother would prepare her favorite recipes in the kitchen. Eventually, Quenioux left home to embark on an apprenticeship where he trained in some of Europe’s finest kitchens. Quenioux spent time at Maxim’s, Bistro De Paris and La Ciboulette in Paris, before moving on to Negresco in Nice and LaBonne Auberge in Antibe.

In the early 1980s, Quenioux made a move to the United States with a team from L‘Oasis at La Napoule to open The Regency Club in Los Angeles. In 1985, he introduced the celebrated and award-winning 7th Street Bistro in downtown Los Angeles. In the early 2000s, Quenioux debuted the cozy Bistro K in Pasadena and in 2009, Bistro LQ in Beverly Hills. At Bistro LQ, Quenioux set new standards for cuisine in Southern California with his Farmer’s Market-driven kitchen and an emphasis on value and fun.

These days Laurent mostly hosts popups in his own backyard! We took the whole evening for some epic craziness. Some of my friends visiting from the Netherlands are pictured above.

A serene environment.

From my cellar: 2015 Jacques Perritaz Cidrerie du Vulcain Apple Transparente.

Erick designed our special menu.

Erick brought: 1996 de Venoge Champagne Brut Louis XV. 91 points. A bit over the hill.

Bread with flavored Normandy butters.

From my cellar (to pair with Foie): 1990 Royal Tokaji Wine Co. Tokaji Aszú 5 Puttonyos Betsek. RJ 93. From 500 ml – light medium orange brown color with dark orange lights; very aromatic, mature, orange marmalade, baked apricot, light mushroom, light tobacco, smoky orange syrup nose; mature, tasty, orange marmalade, baked apricot, light mushroom, light tobacco, smoky orange syrup, blood orange, orange honey palate with medium-plus acidity; very long finish 93+ points

Sautéed Foie Gras. Mangoes, ginger, Green bar distillery Vodka jus. An incredible (and huge) chunk of the decadent liver.

From my cellar: NV Drappier Champagne Rosé Brut Nature Dosage Zero. BH 90. The color is paler than that of the regular brut rosé. A pretty and slightly more elegant nose features a similar aromatic profile but with more evident yeast character. There is fine intensity to the delicious and vibrant flavors that are supported by a firm and definitely finer mousse, all wrapped in a bone dry and youthfully austere finish where a hint of bitter cherry pit appears. This won’t be for everyone as the dryness is pronounced; I happen to like it but it would be fair to say that this is not a charmer. With that said, a few years of bottle age should serve to round off the austerity and add a bit of depth as well.

From my cellar: 2012 Prager Grüner Veltliner Smaragd Achleiten. AG 90. The restrained nose slowly reveals apple, orange zest, white pepper and wet slate. A taut spine gives lift to the rich texture, but the melon fruit and dried spice flavors are still tightly sealed. Well-balanced and showing noteworthy depth and structure, this veltliner is only just beginning to show its refreshing drinkability.

Toast with Dungeness Crab Rouille and avocado. Super crab salad avocado toast!

Haddock Branade. I love smoked haddock.

Main Lobster brioche. Like a lobster roll in a (big) bite.

From my cellar: 2012 Prager Riesling Federspiel Steinriegl. 95 points.

Scallops Ceviche Tostada.

Spot prawns. Would you believe that everything you just say was all part of the FIRST (of 9!) courses? These were sort of like the sweet shrimp sushi with fried head — but all on one plate. Delicious.

From my cellar: 2014 Királyudvar Furmint Tokaji Sec. 90 points. Dried apple, and then some fruit, and kinda delicious.

Someone else brought this funny cloudy California white.

Puff pastry with wild mushroom, dill, and seafood mixto. Awesome! Like a mini lobster pot pie.

Clam nage with sorrel. Amazing clammy broth.

Soft shell crab (fried of course).

Grilled Monterey Bay Squid with green garlic. This dish I didn’t love as it with very briny.

Manilla Clams with Chorizo and Epazote. Amazing clam and sausage. Laurent’s clams are great.

1990 Domaine Fabien Coche Meursault 1er Cru Charmes. 93 points. Coche from another mother.

From my cellar: 1985 Nicolas Potel Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 88 points. Not the best of my bottles from this batch. This one not dead yet but it had lost most of that zippiness. All fatness, honeycomb and butterscotch. For those who like really mature white burg this may still be ok but if you are sensitive to oxidation then it really is time to drink up unless you lucked out with some very pristine bottles.

Now comes the main event, the incomparable seafood tower

But first the sauces: mustard, aioli, horseradish, spicy mayo, mignonette.

The top level with crabs, lobster, clams, prawns, crayfish and more.

And we continue down to the bottle level with abalone, clams, oysters, winkles, and more.

And we had one for two people!

There was fresh uni too. And at this point, my flash batteries went out (eek) and I stupidly had no backups in my bag, so the photos are much higher ISO.This is how I left MY tower.

This is how everyone else left theirs. Wimps!

From my cellar: 2009 Chapelle St. Theodoric Châteauneuf-du-Pape Les Sablons. AG 91. Deep ruby. Redcurrant and cherry scents are complemented by dried rose and garrigue A juicy, red-fruited midweight, accented by a slightly tart edge to its tangy cherry and floral pastille flavors. The brisk finish offers good clarity and cut, with silky tannins arriving late.

Apricot Lane Farms Spring Lamb 3 Ways. Braised lamb neck spring roll, lamb “noisette”, roasted lamb shoulder, preserved lemon emulsion, ras el hanout scented cordycep, dates puree with cumin. The spring roll was the best part.

Someone brought this Spanish.

Braised Wagyu Miyazake Short Rib. Bourguignon Style. Pasta Handkerchief, confit cipollini onions & green garlic, black chanterelles.

I think Larry brought the Penfolds Pinot Noir Bin 23.

Mini Cassoulet. Tarbais Beans slow cooked for 7 hours, Toulouse Sausage, garlic sausage, duck leg confit, smoked pork belly bacon style, confit duck gizzard. This dish is also a stunner. One of Laurent’s specialties and well worth it for the sausage alone!

Les Fromages.

Trio of Sweet Milk Gelato (made by me) plated by Laurent. Flavors are: Pineapple Rosemary Sorbetto, Lavender Blueberry Gelato, and Brillat-Savarin Gelato with Sicilian Candied Orange

Chocolate Cremeux. White chocolate coconut cheese cake, coconut ice cream, matcha meringue, chocolat chips. Laurent is amazing with these kind of desserts — basically a chocolate coconut cheesecake, but deconstructed into many textures.
On the right is Chef Laurent and behind him his busy crew.

This was another seriously epic night. We didn’t go too crazy with the wines since there were a lot of non wine people — there were plenty bottles, but more “normal” wines for us — but the food was absolutely over the top both in quantity and quality. Bravo Laurent.

For more LA Foodie Club dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Avocado Toast, bistro lq, BYOG, crab, Foodie Club, Gelato, Laurent Quenioux, Lobster, Pasadena, Seafood, Seafood Tower, shrimp, Sweet Milk, Uni, Wine

In the Magic Garden

Sep29

Hedonists know how to do house parties right.

Tonight’s affair is creol food at Lana’s house, which has been host to a number of events in the past. She has a magical garden full on Beverly Hills style that makes for a peerless setting. The chef was Guy DuPlantier III of Crazy Creole Catering.

And, the human pigs are supervised by the Cinghiale.

NOTE: I’m just going to break the wines down into white (with appetizers), red (with mains) and dessert. The format was free-for-all.

1999 Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne Brut Cuvée Palmes d’Or. IWC 90. Vivid gold. Peach, orange zest and gingerbread on the pungent, smoky nose and in the mouth. Lush and expansive, offering very good depth and power and picking up exotic toffeed apple and marzipan nuances with aeration. Closes sappy and long, with resonating spice and orange notes and a touch of candied fig.

NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Blanc de Blancs.

From my cellar: 1994 Robert Ampeau & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Combettes. 90 points. Nicely aged white Burgundy with notes of butterscotch and citrus. It started promisingly but faltered pretty quickly in the mouth, dissolving into a dry, pithy finish.

2006 François Raveneau Chablis 1er Cru Vaillons. Burghound 91. The nose reflects only modest aromatic development on the notably ripe, spicy and intensely floral nose that introduces strikingly intense and sappy flavors that are supple and textured yet the finish tightens up very quickly and possess a lovely sense of underlying tension on the palate staining finish. This is impressively long and possesses good if not truly class Chablis character. To my taste this is nearing the front edge of its peak drinkability though it will be capable of holding here for years to come.

1997 Domaine de la Fontainerie Vouvray Sec. 92 points. Dark golden yellow. Honey, apricot and cognac on the nose. Distinct acidity and a well defined wine. Dried stonefruits on the aftertaste.

2007 Sine Qua Non Body & Soul. IWC 94. Vivid gold color. More energetic than the previous wine, with zesty aromas of Meyer lemon, pear skin and grapefruit pith complemented by deeper notes of peach pit and yellow rose. Juicy and finely etched, with the palate displaying sweet orchard and pit fruit flavors and a strong note of grapefruit pith. Strikingly pure, lively and incisive on the finish, which clings with excellent juicy persistence.

Shrimp cocktail. With a bit of spicy aioli.

Baby back rib. Totally awesome. This was about as tender and flavorful as ribs get — which is pretty darn tender and flavorful.

Catfish Po’ boy. Not bad, but a little dry.

1997 Fernand Lécheneaut et Fils (Philippe et Vincent) Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Les Cailles. 89 points. Drinking nicely but mature.

From my cellar: 1998 Dominique Laurent Bonnes Mares. IWC 93-96. Full red-ruby. Ineffable nose features briary black cherry, iodine, licorice, caramel and smoke. A wine of incredible sweetness and thrust; profoundly deep, sharply delineated and finishing with superb grip. The aftertaste mounts and lingers for nearly a minute. I’m sure there’s great underlying tannic structure, but I was too entranced by this wine’s fruit to notice.

2000 Marcassin Chardonnay Three Sisters Vineyard. IWC 94. Reticent but complex nose combines smoke, apricot and menthol. Sappy and rather powerful in the mouth without coming across as phenolic. Strong flavor of baking spices. Rather dominated today by its structure, but this also possesses lovely sweetness of fruit. A less exotic style of chardonnay than the Upper Barn.

2002 The 50 by 50.

Casa Vinicola Botter Gran Passione Rosso Veneto IGT.

2008 Tenuta Guado al Tasso (Antinori) Bolgheri Superiore. AG 95. The 2008 Guado al Tasso is once again fabulous. In fact, it may be Tuscany’s most improved wine over the last few years. Firm, vibrant tannins support expressive layers of dark fruit, plums, cherries, sage, espresso and mocha. The wine shows fabulous detail and nuance in a translucent, totally seductive style, with tons of focus, drive and verve. It is a striking wine that will be a joy to follow over the coming years. Guado al Tasso is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Franc.

2000 Gaja Langhe Nebbiolo Conteisa. AG 95. The 2000 Conteisa is one of the most positive surprises in this tasting. The wine is positively explosive, with marvelous balance and richness in its generous, radiant fruit. The 2000 is a terrific Conteisa.

1990 Gaja Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn. AG 97. The 1990 Barbaresco Sorì Tildìn opens with a wonderfully expressive, floral bouquet that leads to a finely-knot core of ripe red fruits, sweet tobacco and spices. Here the warmth and generosity of the vintage offer superb balance and fleshiness to the wine’s sculpted, well-articulated aromas and flavors. The wine’s overall sense of harmony is spectacular.

agavin: Most of us (including me) thought this was the wine of the night.

1988 Bertani Amarone della Valpolicella Classico. 91 points. This shows wonderful development in contrast to the younger Amarone. Full of funghi with leafy, compsty nuances that build on the agelica root spiciness. Hints of cigarette tobacco and powdered sugar add depth. This is still big and rich in the mouth with excellent balance, full of red fruits and a hint of apply sweetness across the midpalate and leading to a clean, long finish.

1970 Faustino Rioja I Gran Reserva. 91 points. Brick colored. Barnyard, but delicious.

2006 Tenuta dell’Ornellaia Masseto. Parker 99. I can still remember nearly falling out of my chair the first time I tasted the 2006 Masseto (100% Merlot) from barrel. The wine is now in bottle, and it is every bit as monumental as I had hoped. The wine possesses staggering richness in a style that perfectly captures the essence of this great Tuscan vintage. Black cherries, flowers, licorice and sweet toasted oak are just some of the nuances that emerge from the 2006 Masseto. A wine of breathtaking depth, it also reveals superb clarity, freshness and vibrancy in a sumptuous, beautifully-balanced style. Simply put, the 2006 Masseto is a masterpiece from Tenuta dell’ Ornellaia. According to Agronomist/General Manager Leonardo Raspini the dryness of the vintage slowed down the maturation of the sugars, leaving the wine with an unusually high level of acidity, and therefore freshness, considering its overall ripeness.

2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte. Parker 100. The finest wine ever made by proprietors Daniel and Florence Cathiard, the 2009 Smith-Haut-Lafitte exhibits an opaque blue/purple color in addition to a glorious nose of acacia flowers, licorice, charcoal, blueberries, black raspberries, lead pencil shavings and incense. This massive, extraordinarily rich, unctuously textured wine may be the most concentrated effort produced to date, although the 2000, 2005 and 2010 are nearly as prodigious. A gorgeous expression of Pessac-Leognan with sweet tannin, emerging charm and delicacy, and considerable power, depth, richness and authority, it should age effortlessly for 30-40+ years. Bravo!

2003 Gruaud Larose. Parker 88. The 2003 Gruaud Larose’s dark plum/garnet color is followed by sweet aromas of damp earth, forest floor, herbs, espresso roast, cassis, licorice, and plums. Medium-bodied as well as surprisingly up-front and precocious, it possesses sweet tannin, very nice concentration, and loads of earthy/herbal characteristics intermixed with black fruits, and an attractive, but supple, evolved finish. Drink it over the next 12-15 years. It does not rank alongside the top St.-Juliens.

1997 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 87. Readers looking for soft, immediately appealing Cabernet Sauvignons with some of the Montelena personality should check out the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon Calistoga Cuvee. Dark ruby/purple-colored, with sweet tannin, and black currant/cassis fruit, this lush, expansive, tasty, elegant Cabernet Sauvignon should drink well for another decade. This wine has an uncanny aging potential, and is powerful, but its lack of barrel and malolactic fermentation gives it a refreshing, zesty, Chablis-like personality.

2011 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 85. The 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits a lighter ruby color as well as more diluted aromatics, and a pleasant, short, round mouthfeel that tails off. There is no herbaceous or vegetal character, but the wine reveals the vintage’s lack of intensity. Drink it over the next 5-7 years.

2012 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon 40th Anniversary. 91 points. Dark berry nose, rich, deep, cherry/fruit bomb, satin, easy to drink. 14.6% alc. Nice effort.

2005 K Vintners Charles Smith The Skull Syrah. Parker 98. The 2005 Syrah The Skull comes from a different section of the Royal Slope. If it is possible, the wine is a bit more structured and powerful. It needs 8-10 years of cellaring and will be at its best from 2017 to 2035.

2003 Araujo Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Eisele Vineyard. Parker 96. Absolutely superb, this 2003 is drinking beautifully. This blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot from the famous hillside Eisele Vineyard in northeast Napa Valley tips the scales at 14.5% natural alcohol. Gorgeously fresh black currant and black raspberry notes intermixed with spring flowers and forest floor jump from the glass from one of the most aromatically complex wines of the vintage. Medium to full-bodied with sweet fruit, velvety, melted, integrated tannin, a round, generous mouthfeel and no evidence of oak, this is a classy, elegant as well as substantial beauty that continues to age well. It may even be superior to Araujo’s 2002, which, on paper, is a better vintage. The seductive, alluring 2003 should remain at this level for another 5-8 years, but there is no reason to defer your gratification. Bravo!

Fortunate Son Cabernet Sauvignon. All those pictures I still can’t find a vintage. So I won’t look it up — but people really enjoyed it.

2009 Colgin IX Syrah Estate. Parker 95. I could have sworn the 2009 IX Estate Syrah had some Viognier in it, but all of these wines are 100% Syrah. Flowery, peppery, blackberry and bacon aromas reminiscent of a Cote Rotie jump from the glass. However, once in the mouth, the masculinity, power, awesome richness and incredible texture come forward. This killer Syrah should drink well for 20 or more years.

1998 Kongsgaard Syrah Hudson Vineyard. Parker 92. There are about 200 cases of the opaque black/purple-colored 1998 Syrah Hudson Vineyard. As John Kongsgaard said, it was made from “stupidly low yields.” The wine is tight in the mouth, but reveals tremendous stuffing along with scents of blackberries, licorice, earth, truffles, pepper, and graphite. Massively tannic, but sweet and rich, this wine should enjoy two decades of life. However, one word of caution — either decant it for 60 or so minutes prior to drinking, or wait 2-3 years.

2009 Turley Wine Cellars Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard. Parker 94-96. It was difficult to chose a favorite although the 2009 Petite Syrah Rattlesnake Ridge, Hayne Vineyard and Library Vineyard are the three greatest in terms of concentration, depth and potential complexity. As I have said so many times, Petite Sirah is by far the most underrated varietal in California, so it is reassuring to see how many producers continue to make remarkable wines with around 13-14% alcohol as well as 20-40+ years of aging potential.

Chicken salad. Tasted like it looks.

Beans and sausage. Tasty, but dangerous.

White rice. Necessary for the the beans and other dishes.

Crawfish etouffee. This was okay (and I normally love this dish) but there really wasn’t much crawfish in here, about 98% sauce, and the sauce itself was buttery without also having that brandy-type flavor. This roux was probably a lighter version and could have used more intensity.

Green beans. Not bad.

Mac & Cheese. Cheesy, probably cheddar, and good.

Jambalaya. Creol paella, but good as well.

2005 Rieussec. Parker 96. Nice, sweet.

From my cellar: 1994 Dow Vintage Port. Parker 97. Deep garnet colour. The nose is just beginning to evolve into musky, dried plum and raisin aromas with whiffs of tree bark, nutmeg, cumin and cloves. The palate is seriously big and voluptuous with medium to high acidity and a medium to firm level of fine tannins. Very long finish.

Pecan pie. Runny, but very tasty.

Bread pudding. With a nice cinnamon note.

Our hostess on the right

The garden of foodie dreams

El Capitan

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Aioli, Cajun, Creole, garden, Garlic, hedonists, Lana's House, New Orleans, shrimp, Wine

Better than Tangiers

Apr08

Restaurant: Tagine

Location: 132 N Robertson Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. (310) 360-7535

Date: June 20, 2014

Cuisine: Modern Moroccan

Rating: Tasty and on point

After a couple of weeks eating up Vietnam, Tagine makes my return to the LA dining scene for a “last minute” informal Hedonist gathering.

The restaurant takes traditional Moroccan cuisine, and instead of serving it up in a theatrical family style manner converts it to more modern plated dishes.

From my cellar: 2012 Comte Abbatucci Ajaccio Vieilles Vignes Faustine Blanc. agavin 90 points. Very pale straw color, faint hint of green. Sweet citrus nose. Maybe some white flowers. Lots and lots of crisp acid with a slight stoney bitterness of the medium long finish. Drank with homemade pesto Genovese. At its best with the food.

A series of delicious amuses. Goat cheese and date on a spoon, a pastry with some meat filling and a lovely soup.

Bastilla. A light layer of phyllo with Cornish hen and scrambled eggs sprinkled with saffron and powdered sugar. This is one of the Moroccan classics, and the flavors in this modernist mille-feuille take on it were awesome. I still kinda like the crispy pastry texture of the original, but this was good.

Marie-Pierre Manciat Mâcon Les Morizottes. Bright bright acid. Not a bad wine, but also not really the level of Chard I usually drink.

Black tiger shrimp. Herb-crusted tiger shrimp, served with sautéed vegetables and shitake mushroom. Not the biggest shrimp in the world, but delicious!

Farmer’s market beet salad. Diced red beets and shallots, marinated in house vinaigrette. Is what it is. Good beets.

Tomato and cucumber tartar. Diced Israeli cucumbers, tomatoes, and shallots in house vinaigrette. Topped with a scoop of lemon sorbet and fresh raspberries. This was nice, a fancy version of the classic Middle Eastern salad. Still, it’s basically marinated cucumbers and tomatoes.

The bread. Lol. Shot glass bread.

2003 Martinelli Pinot Noir Russian River Valley. 89 points. Not bad at all for a new world pinot. Still pretty oaked.

Sea bass tagine. Roasted pan sea bass with fingerling potatoes and sauteed mixed peppers, topped with a lemon sauce.

Vegetarian cous cous. By all reports delicious.

Farm raised lemon chicken couscous. Marinated chicken with preserved lemon, served with couscous.

From my cellar: 1999 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici Riserva. 91 points. Fascinating, feral nose of wet fur and smokey dark Aglianico fruit. On the palate, brambly raspberry and earthy fruit with substantial tannins that soften after an hour or so. Virtually no sediment, and no sign that this is at all over the hill – still deep purple with a tiny trace of amber at the edge. Continually interesting, more rustic than refined, but not in a bad way. Delicious and well-matched with hearty food.

Lamb honey sauce tagine. Marinated lamb fore shank, finished with dates and prunes, served with couscous. Delicious, sweet and savory. Since I love sweet meat, this was great.

1992 Elderton Shiraz Single Vineyard Command. 92 points. Very nice. Still alot of fruit and oak, but turning earthy. Not a ton of spice, but drinking a bit more like a bordeaux, although alot more fruit and tasting younger than a similar age bordeaux. Best of the night (not that we had too many wines).

Colonial couscous. Quefta, lamb and chicken, served with mixed veggies and couscous.

Chocolate soup. Served with vanilla ice cream and baklava. Here the “soup” is being poured over the ice cream.

And a close up of the light crispy baklava.

The soup was delicious. It tasted like a great chocolate milkshake.

And we finished with some mint tea.

All in all, a fun evening and a tasty restaurant. They are a little pricey and “foo foo” for Moroccan, but it’s nice to try these flavors from a kitchen that is more on point. I’d be curious to see how the chef did at the same dishes in the traditional form factor.

(oh yeah, and the title refers not to a restaurant per se, but the fact that my one day in Morocco taught be that the city of Tangiers sucks — or at least their hostile “guides” do)

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: couscous, Fish and Seafood, hedonists, Moroccan Cuisine, Salad, shrimp, Tagine, Tajine, Wine

Hedonists Boil Up Some Crab

Nov19

Restaurant: The Boiling Crab

Location: 3377 Wilshire Blvd. Ste 115, Los Angeles, CA 90010

Date: November 15, 2012

Cuisine: Cajun Seafood

Rating: Negative frills, but really tasty

Good food doesn’t always have to be fancy. My most recent Hedonist adventure was to The Boiling Crab, the Korea-Town outpost of a cajun seafood joint.

The place is located in a built up K-Town food oriented minimall.

And, boy, is it popular. This was a random Thursday and the wait was over an hour. I’ve heard that on weekends it can be 2-4!

Hedonists events require that everyone bring a bottle of wine. I brought three! Just in case. On this particular night, we had eleven people, but only a few wine drinkers. Boiling Crab doesn’t even serve wine, so I’ve learned to bring my own glasses (Riedel restaurant grade) in my rolling wine carrier. The wines are shoved in the back along with some icepacks (whites) and a bunch of cork screws and the like.

Le menu. Simple, and pretty much all market price. The market price was damn reasonable too, for example, just $17/lb for main lobster and $8/lb for blue crab!

And this is because TBC does not spend any money on extras. There are no plates. No glasses. No utensils. Food is served in plastic bags. Yes, that’s right, plastic bags. I’ve never even seen this before!

Given that this place serves seafood covered in spice, butter, and garlic, two of us brought good German Rieslings.

Parker 93, “The complex 2003 Riesling Auslese Erdener Treppchen boasts a nose of honeysuckle blossoms. Medium-bodied, supple, and silky-textured, it exhibits an expressive flavor profile composed of red fruits, pears, and spices. In addition, this luscious, pure wine possesses a long, fruit-filled finish.”

This one had a little age and a hint of classic Riesling petrol.

TBC is bib worthy. In fact, it’s the messiest restaurant I can remember eating at.

This is Dungeness Crab with Sha-Bang sauce (cajun, lemon pepper, and garlic butter). It comes just like that, crab in a bag with sauce. No utensils, you just reach in and crab the hot crab.

Then you pull it apart with your hands. They throw a couple lousy nut crackers on the table. Again, no forks. No plates! But it was delicious!

We also had a bag of king crab legs. Here’s one that escaped.

From my cellar: Parker 96, “After a performance like this for a Spatlese, the warning was hardly necessary! Donnhoff’s 2009 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese offers a riot of herbal aromas reminiscent of but far more intense and diverse than that of the corresponding Grosses Gewachs, and here, too, accompanied by grapefruit and passion fruit in a manner that calls to mind Sauvignon. Horehound, licorice, sage, mint, black tea, nut oils, candied grapefruit rind, and crushed stone inform a silken-textured palate. As with the corresponding Brucke, there is a remarkable interactivity on display, and a depth of mineral and animal savor that goes beyond crustacean shell reduction or veal demi-glace, leaving me salivating helplessly.”

This was my Riesling, and it was considerably sweeter than the first one. In my opinion, both paired fantastically with the spicy garlic seafood.

Some really yummy cajun sausage. It didn’t even come by itself but was “in the bag” (literally) with the shrimp.

Here are the shrimp (and some refuse). Again, bag of shrimp. You have to reach in and grab them. By the time you do, your entire hand is coated to the wrist with spicy garlic butter!

Parker 93, “David Powell consistently excels with The Steading, an 8,000 case blend of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Shiraz. Aged 22 months in 300 liter hogsheads (foudres), it represents Australia’s version of Chateauneuf du Pape. The 2002 The Steading’s big, spicy, earthy nose reveals notions of cherry liqueur, licorice, pepper, dried Provencal herbs, raspberries, and leather. Ripe, medium to full-bodied, chewy, and heady, it is best drunk during its first 7-8 years of life, although it will last a lot longer.”

This was a nice wine, but I thought it clashed pretty badly with the food. Really any red would.

Cajun fried catfish over cajun fries. Pretty delectable, hot as Bejesus, and had a nice earthy catfish taste. Eaten with your hands, of course.

Some of the shrimp on the table. The cost savings here is passed onto the consumer: you have to de-head and de-leg and de-vein your own shrimp. They were, however, awesome, and probably even better than the crab. The sauce was literally finger licking good.

And we also had a bag of corn. It was a little mushy, but very sweet and I loved it with the salty garlic sauce.

Sweet potato fries.

Parker 94, “The 2009 Chateauneuf du Pape is dominated by Grenache with major amounts of Mourvedre, Syrah and other authorized varietals. Its dense ruby/plum color is followed by aromas of smoked meats, roasted Provencal herbs, a gamy character and lots of kirsch, black currant and blue fruits. Rich and full-bodied, it is softer than most young vintages of Vieux Donjon tend to be.”

Very nice, smooth wine, but too strong for the food.

We ordered up a lobster. $42 for a 2.5 pounder!

Quite the fellow, and delicious.

Here is his tail, sitting in a bloody pool of cajun juice.

And a bit of repulsive leftovers. We had to periodically venture forth, grab some plastic bags from the counter, and then return and sweet this crap away. It’s very self serve.

But I doubt they’ve ever had a party that brings 4-5 of their own wine glasses each!

Despite the mess, this place was pretty fantastic. And what a deal, $39 all in for each person (including tax and tip). The above was food for five too! You’re paying entirely for the seafood, and nothing extra. I don’t mind the atmosphere or mess (it is what it is), but I wish there wasn’t such a long line :-). I guess nothing is too good to be true.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Or for more crazy Foodie Club meals.

At The Boiling Crab, even girls get their hands dirty (this is some random adjacent table).

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Boiling Crab, Cajun, Chateauneuf du Pape, corn, crab, Donnhoff, Foodie Club, hedonists, Lobster, Los Angeles, Riesling, Sausage, Seafood, shrimp, Spätlese, Wine, Wine tasting descriptors

Singapore – Long Beach Dempsey

May01

Restaurant: Long Beach Dempsey

Location: 25 Dempsey road Left turn to Dempsey via Holland Rd (before Peirce Rd) Singapore 249670 Tel: 6323 2222

Date: March 23, 2012

Cuisine: Singaporean

Rating: Amazing Crab

On my way back from the Maldives (see here for that food) we stopped for a day in Singapore. I’d been told this pretty and modern city has some of the best eating in Asia. The Raffles hotel (where we were staying) sent us to this local chain for some chili crab. It wasn’t fancy by western standards, but the crab was phenomenal.

Got to love these Asian picture menus.

This is “sweet and sour shrimp.” Heavily fried but oh so good.

And a different kind of fried shrimp, the “House Specialty Prawn.” These were good too, a bit like shrimp tempura with a slightly more Chinese taste.

And for the trio of main event items this is “classic white pepper crab.” There were a choice of crabs between $68 and $220 dollars. We went for these “popular” Sri Lankan crags. They were huge and delicious, and not nearly as expensive as the Alaskan King Crabs and the like. The white pepper crab had an awesome and delicate white pepper flavor. Not cloying in the least.

Here is the “Famous Black Pepper Crab.” It was also great, perhaps a little more powerful in taste than the white. Spicier. I think I might have liked the white slightly better.

Then comes the “world famous chili crab.” This guy is drenched in a curry-like chili sauce. The sauce was incredible.

It was so good we got these bread balls to scoop it up with. But that wasn’t enough. We spooned it and more (see later).

Next were some “Dong Po ribs with honey sauce.” These were some of the best Chinese-style pork ribs I’ve had. They melted from the bone.

“Renowned Crispy Duck.” Also good, but a little dry in comparison to everything else.

When we ordered this clam and noodle dish the waiter sold us we wouldn’t like it, “too local.” It was odd. Like steamed clams in gravy covered in strips of fried clams. By gravy I mean Turkey gravy or the like. As I said, odd.

My poor wife had to watch the other seven of us devour all that before she got anything she could eat. This fried grouper in sweat and sour schezhuan sauce. It was good too.

After finishing the crab itself and dipping up a storm with the sauce we just couldn’t let it go.

At the suggestion of the staff we ordered some egg fried rice and just spooned the sauce on over it. Yum!

Then we got a pair of peculiar Asian desserts. These are like panacotta with in one case caramel and the other chocolate.

You can see it closer here. It was steaming like dry ice. The flavor was mild and sweet, making it a pleasant was to end a very pleasant evening.

This meal might not look like one of my crazy Michelin places but it sure was fantastic!

For more dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Asia, bbq, Black pepper, Chili Crab, Chilli crab, crab, Long Beach Dempsey, Raffles Hotel, ribs, shrimp, Singapore, Sri Lanka

More Modern Dim Sum

Apr04

Restaurant: Xino [1, 2]

Location: 395 Santa Monica Pl, Ste 308, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 755-6220

Date: April 1, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Dim sum

Rating: Ordered lighter this time for a delicious and reasonable meal.

Another gorgeous 78 degree LA day, with that perfect mix of warm and ocean moisture in the air. So we headed back to Xino, one of the new promenade restaurants with a huge roof deck and somewhat modernized Dim Sum. For my first review, click here. Our first time we had a few issues all of which we managed to avoid here. We had ordered too much food, as the individual dishes, despite being dirt cheap, are fairly large. There’s also a lot of fried stuff on the menu, so if you want a bit lighter, order carefully. Still, it’s all tasty.

Xino has a really nice deck. You can see the couch-style booths in the background too.

Again we ordered straight from the extremely reasonable Dim Sum menu. This is all Hong Kong style small plates. There are no carts, but it’s made to order. This time we made sure to specify in NO UNCERTAIN TERMS that they needed to bring out the dishes slowly (last time they hit us with 11-12 simultaneously!). They brought them one at a time today and it was no problem.

Notice also that the fried section is much larger than the steamed section, and that the specialties are also mostly fried. They’re good, but you have to know what you’re getting. We tried to order only a couple fried things.

Condiments. Chinese mustard, hot sauce, and soy sauce behind.

“Shrimp Dumpling ‘Ha Gow‘ Shrimp, Bamboo sShoots, Rice Wrap.” Classic Cantonese dumplings. Good examples of the type.

“Shanghai Dumpling, Pork, Ginger, garlic, Vinegar & Ginger.” These are basically the classic soup dumplings, but very good examples of the type, and nicely served with the vinegar in the little cups so that they don’t break apart on the steamer. Wow!

“Crispy Chili Calamari, Jalapeno Vinaigrette.” These were seriously tasty. The fry was heavy, but deliciously and a bit sweet, as was the jalapeno sauce. In some ways almost like a desert, but yummy.

“Salt & Pepper Soft Shelled Crab, fresh chili, spring onion, toasted garlic.” This is Xino’s take on the classic (chinese) lightly friend shrimp. The traditional version has a bit less fry, but requires you to peel the shell to eat them. These have been pre-shelled which is nice. Certainly tasty, and good with both the mustard and the jalapeno sauce above.

“Shrimp & Chives potstickers, shrimp bamboo shoots, chives.” These were nice, a bit lighter than the classic pork potsticker (which they also make).

“Pork Siu Mai, Pork, Shrimp, Shitake, carrots, Egg Wrap.” Another typical dim sum dish, executed very well.

“Seafood Spinach Dumpling, shrimp, spinach, bamboo shoots, rice wrap.” These slightly green fellows are a little different. There was a lot of shrimp in there, but it did taste slightly fishy. Not bad, but the pairing with the spinach also was just slightly funny. Personally, I think these would be awesome with basil instead, or even a bit of pesto — but that’s modern me.

“Baked Pork Buns, sweet pork in glazed flaky baked bun.” These were a slightly new take on the classic that really worked. The sweet red BBQ pork inside was very typical, but what was different was the crispy light AND SWEET outer shell. It reminded me of a Beard Papa cookie shell!

This is a photo of the pastry cookie shell from Beard Papa, it wasn’t at Xino, but it was awfully similar to the pork bun! Still, the pork bun really worked. Sweet on sweet, with a nice interplay of crunch/flaky with the gooey meat.

“Lotus Leaf Wrapped Sticky Rice, ‘Lo Mai Gai’ egg, chinese sausage, dried shrimp.”

Examine the goodies inside. Good, although the more traditional Palace (review here) has a very slightly tastier version.

Not only is the food good, but look at the price! $47 (with tax) for all that food! I think Xino might be even cheaper than the traditional Dim Sum in the area!

For another Xino meal CLICK HERE.

For a review of traditional west side Dim Sum, CLICK HERE.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beard Papa, Brunch, Cantonese cuisine, Dim sum, dumpling, Har Gow, Hong Kong, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Santa Monica California, Santa Monica Place, shrimp, side dishes, vegetarian, xino

Quick Eats – Gladstones by the Sea

Feb21

Restaurant: Gladstones [1, 2]

Location: 17300 Pacific Coast HwyPacific Palisades, CA 90272. (310) 454-3474

Date: Jan 18, 2011

Cuisine: American Seafood

Summary: Updated classic coastal seafood

Just 48 hours after our Sunday trip down the coast to Paradise Cove (REVIEW HERE), the incredible January weather was holding in fine form. 80 degrees, sunny, nice breezes. I had heard that SBE, the food/club group which operates the awesome Bazaar (REVIEW HERE) had bought Gladstones down at the end of Sunset. Now I’d never been too partial to Gladstones, even though it’s nicely located. Despite the great view, it never made the best of it and the menu was a bit old school, over priced, and leaned toward the fried and over-sized.

They didn’t change the look too much, but it’s not much to complain about.

The menu, click as usual for larger.

And page 2.

We decided to try both chowders. First the manhattan. Not bad, broth like a Cioppino.

The New England. Not as good as Paradise Cove actually. Too much like canned stuff, i.e. thin.

The impaled sour dough was cool though.

When I’d come here in the 90s I used to get the “coconut shrimp,” which were fried. In their update of the menu they have replaced them with this. Those are shrimp with rice and dried coconut, in a kind of thai peanut red curry. Oh wow. They tasted great! I mean I always like red curry (HERE, FOR A THAI PLACE REVIEW), but this was pretty damn succulent. Not exactly what I expected, and very rich, but damn good.

Since my Paradise Cove meal had just whet my seafood tower appetite, and I now had a partner in shellfish slaying crime, we went for the 2 person cold seafood extravaganza. This WAS better than it’s equivalent at Paradise Cove. Not the best tower I’ve had, but good. Scallops, shrimp, oysters, clams, lobster with avocado cerviche, Alaskan Crab legs, and the sauces: Cocktail, tartar, and vinaigrette. Everything was great except for the crab legs which tasted too frozen.

But again the biggest winner was the view, and the weather. January! East Coasters look and weep.

Another shot of the porch.

The menu certainly hasn’t been radically redefined. It’s gotten a bit of an update, and the quality has risen. Still, it would be neat to see what someone really creative — like Jose Andres! — could so with the beach side restaurant concept.

For a second review of Gladstones click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Alaskan Crab, Cioppino, Clam chowder, Clams, Dessert, Fish and Seafood, Food, Gladstones, Lobster, New England, Oysters, Red Curry, Restaurant, Seafood Tower, shrimp, side dishes, vegetarian

Finally, Modern Dim sum in Santa Monica

Feb09

Restaurant: Xino [1, 2]

Location: 395 Santa Monica PlSte 308Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 755-6220

Date: February 7, 2011

Cuisine: Modern Dim sum

Rating: A little heavy, but I’m glad to have some more good dim sum on the westside.

Xino is another of the new Santa Monica Place restaurants. I detail the whole deal with the new mall and it’s transformation in my Zengo review.

This one is more or less Chinese, but a sort of modern Chinese, and at lunch they serve real dim sum!

View from the patio. Lunch, on a monday, February. 79 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

My brother presents the dim sum menu. This place is a lot like Ping Pong (REVIEW HERE), the modernized dim sum I went to in Washington DC. It doesn’t have the traditional cart format, like The Palace (REVIEW HERE). This has advantages and disadvantages. The carts allow more control over the pace of the meal, but made to order is fresher.

Chinese mustard, chili, there was also soy and various sauces served with different dishes.

“Chili Spare Riblets, Sweet Chili Sauce, Asian Slaw.” These were pretty meaty, but fried up like orange beef. Gratuitous, but pretty darn tasty.

“Shrimp and Mango Dumpling, Ground shrimp, mango, firecracker sauce.” Crunchy wanton fried, tasty shrimp and mango inside, and a zesty soil garlic scallion sauce. What’s not to like.

“Shrimp Dumpling ‘Ha Gow‘ Shrimp, Bamboo sShoots, Rice Wrap.” Classic Cantonese dumplings. Good examples of the type.

“Stuffed Eggplant with Shrimp, black bean sauce.”

“Crab Rangoon, Cream Cheese, Sweet Vinegar Reduction.” Not the totally typical rangoon, at least the sauce. Good though, and more filling than most examples. The sweetness of the sauce went nicely with the fry and the cheese.

“Kung Pao Chicken Lollipop, Sweet and Tangy, Crushed Cashews.” This was my least favorite dish, not that it was bad, but it was a little heavy, like hot wings crossed with that nut crusted chicken you sometimes get on the airplane. Very fried.

“Salt and Pepper Soft Shelled Crab, Fresh Chili, Spring Onion, Toasted Garlic.” This was some good crab. The only problem was that it cooled so fast. Basically, fried soft-shell. Nothing wrong with that.

“Candied Walnuts & Honeyed Prawns, Orange Zest & Frisee.” This is a variant of the classic prawn, walnuts in the sweet mayo sauce. This one is lighter, zestier, very yummy.

“Lobster Potstickers, shrimp, pan fried crisp.” These were some pretty awesome potstickers, typical on the outside, nice yummy lobster on the inside.

“Pork Siu Mai, Pork, Shrimp, Shitake, carrots, Egg Wrap.” Another typical dim sum dish, executed very well.

“Lotus Leaf Wrapped Sticky Rice, ‘Lo Mai Gai’ egg, chinese sausage, dried shrimp.”

Open the little packet of joy.

Examine the goodies inside. Also an excellent example of type, one of the best I’ve had.

Cool couches and booths on the patio. Pretty slick spot. And the food was pretty tasty, and reasonable. The above feast was only $66 including tax! What makes the real difference here is that they have a real Hong Kong dim sum chef — so despite the corporate trappings and location, and the slightly jazzed up variants, this is some solid dim sum.

For a second Xino review, click here.

By: agavin
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Quick Eats: Brentwood

Jan17

Restaurant: Brentwood

Location: 148 S Barrington Ave Los Angeles CA 90049. 310-476-3511

Date: Jan 9, 2011

Cuisine: American

Brentwood is a local bar/restaurant perfect for the Sunday night with-the-kid dinner. It’s pretty straight up American, very tasty, but a bit overpriced. The menu can be found here.

Their bread is good. I (and my two year-old) particularly liked the flat cracker-like bread.

“Tomato & Farmer’s Market Vegetable Salad.”

“Swan Depot Seafood Salad, jumbo shrimp, baby Maine shrimp, Dungeness crab,iceberg lettuce, 1000 island dressing, fresh dill.” This is essentially a crab and shrimp Louis salad. The seafood is very fresh, the dressing good, so if you are partial to Louis (and I am), then that’s all a good thing.

“Fish & Chips, beer battered Alaskan halibut, fries, tartar sauce.” While overpriced, this is a very good fish and chips. The fish is very most and well cooked, the batter perfect, the fries crisp, and the tartar sauce very tangy.

“Short Rib Tacos, vegetable rice, black beans.” Interesting hybrid dish. Fresh corn tortillas, and soft rich short rib.

Paired with beans, creme fraiche, and pico de gallo. I had them cook the pico down because of my raw tomato hate. It tasted like oniony tomato soup.

Combined in the taco it was pretty delectable, mostly because of the rich tasty short rib. Perhaps a little avocado or cilantro might have made this perfect.

The small little bar. Not pictured here is that I had a nice “2006 Sancerre, Rolland Tissier et Fils.” A very crisp white, perfect with the salad. Not absolutely ideal for the short ribs, but it worked well enough.

This is a good little place, and the service is very accommodating. Despite the high price tag the kitchen has a “knack,” so I approve.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Bread, Cooking, Fish and Chips, Fish and Seafood, Food, Home, Los Angeles, Maine, Restaurant, Salad, Short Ribs, shrimp, side dishes, Tacos, United States, vegetarian

Christmas is for Dim Sum

Dec26

Restaurant: The Palace

Location: 11701 Wilshire Blvd, Second Floor, Los Angeles, CA. 310-979-3377.

Date: Dec 25, 2010

Cuisine: Chinese Dimsum

As we don’t celebrate Christmas, and very few restaurants are open, Chinese is a long standing tradition. These days we go to Dim Sum. For those of you who have lived in a culinary hole for the last couple decades, Dim Sum is a Cantonese brunch tradition in which tasty little delectables are served on carts. Dim Sum is hard to find on the westside, and this particular place recently changed owners and names. It’s actually slightly better in its current incarnation, although they may offer less items at current. This is a pretty traditional or classic implementation of the cuisine. Last month I reviewed Ping Pong in Washington DC which offered a more expensive but updated variant.

This, for example, is the “fried stuff” cart.

And this young lady is organizing some of the “steamed stuff” carts.

There are condiments too. Vinegar, Chinese mustard, hot sauce, soy sauce, and tea — which isn’t really a condiment but is certainly present at every Chinese meal I’ve ever had.

We don’t go in so much for the fried, but these are shrimp and scallop rolls with sesame seeds.

Shrimp and scallop dumplings (pounded rice batter) with cilantro.

Vegetarian dumplings shaped like Hamantash.

One of my favorites — and readily available. Pork shumai.

Another classic, Har Gow. These are shrimp pockets. They are very light. Dim Sum is also often VERY hot in a physical sense. Seared oral tissue is a significant hazard.

Shrimp, scallop, and some other green.

Shrimp and scallop. You may notice a trend.

Curried shrimp balls. This is shrimp chopped up, reconstituted, and covered in curry sauce.

Tofo stuffed with vegetables. Surprisingly tasty.

Another classic, sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf.

Inside is a blob of rice filled with various bits of meat, vegetable, and egg.

These are pork “crepes” (ripe noodles). As I’ve been eating Dim Sum for over 30 years, as kids we used to call this “slime” (we meant it as a compliment). It has a jiggly consistency. I still love it. They come in various “flavors,” this one being “pork slime.” “Shrimp slime” is also ver popular. The sauce is a somewhat sweet soy.

Steamed pork buns. These fluffy rice flower buns are stuffed with a red tinted BBQ pork. Essentially they are BBQ pork sandwiches.

For desert pineapple bun. These buttery pastries are stuffed with a very yolky egg custard.

Same place, new sign. This is solid Dim Sum. I’ve certainly had better, but in LA you have to travel pretty far east for amazing Dim Sum. The current chef also makes some really really good “soup dumplings,” but they ran out on Christmas eve and none were available. We were crushed. Four of us also pigged out (or maybe shrimped out) for $67.

By: agavin
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Tagged as: Chinese, Chinese cuisine, Christmas, Dessert, Dim sum, dumplings, Food, Hamantash, Har Gow, Restaurant, scallop, shrimp, side dishes, Tofo, vegetarian

Food as Art: Ping Pong

Dec04

Restaurant: Ping Pong

Location: 900 7th Street NW. District of Columbia 20001. 202-506-3740

Date: Dec 01, 2010

Cuisine: Chinese Dim Sum

I’ve been going to Dim Sum for thirty-odd years, and it’s long been one of my favorite cuisines. Basically, this follows from the “law of appetizers,” which reads: “appetizers are always better than the main course.” Dim Sum is all “appetizers.” Ping Pong represents a modernization of the traditional Dim Sum concept. There are no carts, everything is made fresh to order, and there are modern variants on traditional favorites. Most of this is good, and they did a great job. The only downside is that it’s about twice as expensive as a hole-in-the-wall traditional place. However, particularly if you have a vegetarian in the party (traditional Dim Sim is nigh on impossible to appreciate as a vegetarian), it can be worth it.

The menu and our order. I like this “check your order” type menu, like an old school sushi menu.

Jasmine tea, the way they do it in China. The ball expands.

Into a pretty flower. Ping Pong has a very extensive drink menu, alchoholic and non.

Sauces are essential at Dim Sum. These are two kind of chilies. They had good soy, vinegar, etc. The odd missing one, which we asked for, but they didn’t have, was Chinese mustard. I love Chinese mustard.

Baked pork puff. This is a standard, and they did a great job of it. The pastry was buttery, and the pork sweet.

Here is an example of a welcome “modernization.” A vegetable puff. Same dough, but inside was honey-roasted vegetables. These did a pretty good approximation.

Vegetarian spring rolls, with a very nice sweet and sour sauce.

Spare ribs. Ultra soft (and fatty), with a very nice sweet flavor.

Asian leaf and three mushroom salad.

Crispy hoisin duck rolls. Tasty. Who could tell what was inside, but it had a nice meatiness to it. Like a duck taquito.

The tower of steamers begin to arrive. I personally love the steamed dumplings best of all. In China I had a 64 course Tang Dynasty style Dim Sum meal that was one of the best meals of my life.

Classic lotus leaf wrapped sticky rice. An excellent example of the species. The rice is mixed with pork, chicken etc.

Crabmeat and prawn, what’s not to like. Also very hot! They are steamed after all.

Classic Pork Shu Mai. I made the mistake of getting greedy on these and could barely taste them as I seared off my tongue. What I did taste seemed good.

This is a bunch of seafood and vegetable cooked on a griddle. A sort of Chinese seafood sausage. They call it a seafood cake. My father and I ordered these at random from an entirely non-English speaking greasy griddle at a rooftop restaurant in Shaimen China. These were better.

“Crab, shrimp, and scallop, carrot pastry.” These were great too, with the shell almost like a fresh ravioli.

Jumbo shrimp and coriander dumplings. Light and succulent. The coriander mixed it up a little.

Spicy pork dumplings. I loved these, and they have a significant kick. Basically ground pork spiced with Schezuan peppers. In Western China we would get these at hotel breakfasts.

Classic “Har Gau,” or shrimp in a light translucent pastry. Yum, but I missed the mustard.

Vegetable and beans in black bean sauce over coconut rice. Kinda light a high end weight watchers dinner.

Another example of a modernized lightened classic. Vegetable steamed bun, with sauteed vegetables and fresh baby corn. Really good. Almost as good as the pork version.

Spinach and mushroom pan fried dumpling, in crispy wheat flour pastry. Almost like meat.

Spicy Basil, rice noodles and chili. Interesting flavors.

My favorite of the meal, “black prawn, garlic and shrimp, black squid ink pastry.” There was a succulent sweetness that complimented the shrimp brilliantly.

The decor too is modernized as compared to your traditional place.

I was impressed with Ping Pong. On average the dishes were fresher than you get in the typical cart driven place, and the introduction of new flavors was very subtly but nicely done. I particularly appreciated having really well done vegetarian versions of classics. Bravo!