Image
  • Writing
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • About my Novels & Writing
    • All Writing Posts
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Scrivener – Writer’s Word Processor
    • iPad for Writers
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Books
    • Book Review Index
    • Favorite Fantasy Novels
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Short Story: Harvard Divinity
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • About the Book
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Games
    • My Video Game Career
    • Post Archive by Series
    • All Games Posts Inline
    • Making Crash Bandicoot
    • Crash 15th Anniversary Memories
    • World of Warcraft Endgames
    • Getting a Job Designing Video Games
    • Getting a Job Programming Video Games
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Movies
    • Movie Review Index
  • Television
    • TV Review Index
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    • A Game of Thrones
  • Food
    • Food Review Index
    • Foodie Club
    • Hedonists
    • LA Sushi Index
    • Chinese Food Index
    • LA Peking Duck Guide
    • Eating Italy
    • Eating France
    • Eating Spain
    • Eating Türkiye
    • Eating Dutch
    • Eating Croatia
    • Eating Vietnam
    • Eating Australia
    • Eating Israel
    • Ultimate Pizza
    • ThanksGavin
    • Margarita Mix
    • Foodie Photography
    • Burgundy Vintage Chart
  • Other
    • All Posts, Magazine Style
    • Archive of all Posts
    • Fiction
    • Technology
    • History
    • Anything Else
  • Gallery
  • Bio
  • About
    • About me
    • About my Writing
    • About my Video Games
    • Ask Me Anything
  • Contact

Archive for spicy

Everything at Wagyu House

Dec01

Restaurant: Wagyu House by The X Pot [1, 2]

Location: 18558 Gale Ave Suite 122-128, Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (866) 610-0609

Date: May 26, 2024

Cuisine: Chinese Hot Pot

Rating: Maybe the best “upscale” hot pot?

_

We first came here for lunch but this is our return for a big blow out wine dinner…

1A4A6942-Pano
Build out is pretty extensive. Sure, the build quality is “sloppy” and it won’t hold up, but it looks pretty cool right now.

If you pay for the “vip room” or have the NFT like Bovon does, then you can make a reservation.
1A4A6945-Pano
1A4A6947-Pano
1A4A6951-Pano
Private rooms.
1A4A6954
1A4A6965
Sauce Bar. The sauce bar is excellent. Not quite as good as Shancheng Lameizi but very good. There weren’t very many snacks though (like cucumbers etc).
1A4A6955
1A4A6956
1A4A6957
1A4A6958
1A4A6959
1A4A6960
1A4A6961
1A4A6964
1A4A6962
1A4A6963
1A4A6969
My usual pair of sauces. I tried not to make them very spicy today.
1A4A6966
1A4A6967
The menu.
1A4A6968
And the special “expensive” package menu.


Spicy bear broth and Golden Chicken Soup broth.

Slightly less spicy and Herbal Chicken broth (with the pig but left out)

Braised Lotus Root snack.

Crispy Pork snack — awesome.

Bone marrow. Solid.

My sauces from the excellent sauce bar.

Baby octopus.

Mixed greens.

Lobster tails.

Spongy shrimp and roe rolls. Awesome.

Bean curd skin.

Super tasty fish and roe balls.

Squid.

Shrimp balls which were great and very fresh.

Squid legs.

Quail eggs.

Fish maw?

Lotus root.

Winter melon or similar.

Mushroom medley.

A5 cubes. Frozen, so were a bit hard to cook properly.

A5 of some sort — great.

Smoking!

Another cut.

Zombie food, aka Pig Brains.

Another bean curd.

And another A5, ribeye or similar.


Goose intestine.

Noodles.

Duck webs.

A non A5 beef.

Spam!

Beef stomach.


Another meat.

Beef tongue.

The man with the lamb.

Trio of sorbetto: chocolate, coco almond, and raspberry ginger.


Awesome night and probably the best hot pot I’ve had n the SGV / HH. Great service, great food, very fresh, nice private room, great sauce bar. Totaled up to $220/pp all in, so not the cheapest, but really good.

They had face dancers too!

IMG_6071
Robo waiters.
1A4A7033
This is so SGV.

Overall, if you get a private room and order it up, Wagyu X is one of the best hot pots in the greater SGV. Ingredient quality is high, they have a lot of items, the space is good, service is strong, the sauce bar is big. All great!

This place apparently has the same owners as Niku X .

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Wagyu House by The X Pot
  2. Yuan’s Hot Pot
  3. A Different Duck House
  4. Ray’s Duck House
  5. Duck House without Yarom!
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Chinese cuisine, gealto, hot pot, SGV, spicy, Wagyu House by The X Pot, Wine

Thai Tour – Palms Thai

Oct03

Restaurant: Palms Thai Restaurant

Location: 5900 Hollywood Blvd b, Los Angeles, CA 90028 | (323)462-5073

Date: February 22, 2023

Cuisine: Thai

Rating: Delicious and super spicy

_

In Feb and March we had a renewed Thai Tour (which we do every few months). This round brought us first to Ruen Pair and then to Palms Thai.

1A4A5017-Pano
Large oddly modern interior.
1A4A5007
1A4A5008
1A4A5009
1A4A5010
1A4A5011
1A4A5012
1A4A5013
1A4A5014
1A4A5015
1A4A5016
Usual giant Thai menu.

1A4A5055
The gang.

1A4A5058
And Thai Elvis.
1A4A5024
Champ for spicy.
1A4A5027
Roasted Duck Salad. Sliced roasted duck mixed with tomato, red onion, cilantro, and chili paste. Yarom asked for it “Thai hot” and sure enough this was ferociously hot — seriously hot — but with delicious flavor. Couldn’t tell there was much duck but it was sweet, spicy, and tangy with nice onion crunch. Really red pepper hot.
1A4A5033
Fish Cakes. Deep fried fish cakes, served with cucumber and ground peanut on sweet and sour sauce. Nice spongy texture. Very interesting. The sauce was mostly sweet. My mouth was on fire from the duck though.
1A4A5037
Pork Jerky. Deep fried marinated pork served with spicy house sauce. Chewy, very friend, with a bit of a funky flavor, but kinda enjoyable.
1A4A5038
Thai Sausage. Deep fried Thai sour pork sausage served with cabbage, chili, fresh ginger and peanut on the side. Flavorful and juicy.
1A4A5042
Spicy Coconuck Seafood Soup. Spicy coconut soup with straw mushroom, galanga, lemongrass, chili paste, fresh chili, and mixed seafood. This was one of the two best Thai soups I’ve ever had. The other is the Jitlada Coco Lotus soup, which is great, but milder. This was very spicy, with an amazing curry, coconut, and chili flavor and all sorts of seafood goodness. I had about 4 bowls. Insanely delicious.
1A4A5044
More spicy food wine.
1A4A5047
Pork Larb. Ground pork seasoned with chili powder, red onion, rice powder and lime juice. Wow was this spicy. Nice texture and not “bland” at all. My head was sweating. My ears were sweating. A good 15 minutes of delicious pain.
1A4A5048
Crispy Fish Maw Salad. Deep fried fish maw and cashew nut mixed with red onion, lime juice, and chili pasete. The maw could have been anything fried. Tasted just like fry. Quite spicy too although full of flavor. Spicy sweet.
1A4A5051
Clam with Chili Paste. Clam stir fried with fresh garlic, bell pepper, basil leaves and sweet chili paste. These had a delicious sweet chili flavor. Not quite as hot as some of the previous dishes.
1A4A5054
Frog with Chili and Holy Basil. Deep fried frog sauteed with chili, garlic, bell pepper and holy basil. The crispy basil was amazing. The frog was boney and quite fried but again with this incredible sweet, spicy, garlicky flavor.
1A4A5059
Panang Curry with Chicken. Red coconut cream curry and bell pepper. By this point people cried uncle and we tamed down the spice. This was very sweet panang, but pretty tasty.
1A4A5062
Thai Omelet with Pork. Thai omelet with seasoned ground pork. Really nice crunchy egg texture. Very fried.
1A4A5065
Quail with Green Peppercorn in Curry Sauce. Deep fried quails sauteed with red curry sauce, bell pepper, coconut milk, basil leaves and green peppercorn. These crispy, fried, boney bits of tasty quail were drowned in a peanuty panang curry. Better than the actual panang this was a great red nutty curry bursting with coconut flavor.
1A4A5068
Thai BBQ Chicken. Half a grilled chicken served with sweet and sour sauce on the side. Sweet, tender, and juicy BBQ chicken.
1A4A5070
Pad See Ew with Shrimp. Flat rice noodle pan fried with sweet soy sauce, Chinese broccoli, egg and pepper. First rate Pad See Ew with a really nice balance between the salty soy and sweetness. Great texture too with the noodles, juicy shrimp, and the crunchy broccoli.

Overall, Palms was very flavorful. And boy can they pour on the spicy if you ask them too! I actually think this was a tastier kitchen then Ruen Pair. Both were spicy, but this was insane. And that soup was so good.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Thai Tour – Spicy BBQ
  2. Thai Tour – Pailin Thai
  3. Thai Tour – Sri Siam
  4. Thai Tour – Night+Market Song
  5. Thai Tour – Jitlada
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: hedonists, Palms Thai, spicy, Thai Cusine, Thai Town

Lunch Quest – Spicy Impression

Jul22

Restaurant: Spicy Impression

Location: 17110 Colima Rd B, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745. (626) 363-4948

Date: December 20, 2022

Cuisine: Sichuan Chinese

Rating: Mostly for takeout

_

For today’s Lunch Quest Yarom, Chevy, and I hiked out to one of our favorite “corners” in the Far SGV, close to Shanghailander, Spicy Home, and others — all to try out this casual new Sichuan place.

1A4A0425
Typical box store.
1A4A0467-Pano
Casual interior. There was only one other table, although lots of takeout in progress.
1A4A0426
The menu.
1A4A0444
“Stir-fried” cucumber. I don’t think that word means what they think it means, as this was smashed cucumbers (with garlic and peanuts). It was actually an absolutely first rate version with a nice crunch and GREAT garlic flavor. The peanuts were a nice addition as well.
1A4A0434
Stir-fried clams with Chinese pepper. Now this is actually stir fried. The flavor on this dish was awesome. The crispy green pepper corns were delicious and the flavor from the chopped chilis intense. Eating them was eye watering and they were the only genuinely spicy element at this lunch.
1A4A0430
Spicy Soup with Sneakhead Fish Filet and Pork Intestine. Very nice flavors in this dish. The fish was oily and almost eel-like and very tasty. There was also “douchi” (fermented salted black beans) and a very flavorful broth, although it had a strong undertaste of “pig poo.” Yeah, and that was a deliberate (pig) intestinal funk. Oh yeah baby!
1A4A0442
Stir-fried lamb belly with Chinese spices. Not sure how the belly was different from the lamb in the next dish, but the stir fry mix was a bit different. It had celery and the hot peppers again (as opposed to dried) and no cumin.
1A4A0447
Cumin Lamb. Classic cumin lamb. Fairly “intense” lamb flavor with quite a bit of cumin. I would have liked slightly more “Wok Hei” as I’m not sure they charred the lamb on the hyper hot wok first.
1A4A0464
Spicy Pork Feet. Pig’s feet that were braised in an interesting star anise and black cardamom broth, then stir fried with chili oil, onions, garlic etc. I don’t like flabby pig skin but the gelatinous and fatty meat below the skin was good.
1A4A0453
Mapo Eggplant. I’ve never had this dish, basically Mapo Tofu with eggplant instead. It was delicious with a very strong flavor of Sichuan Peppercorn. It wasn’t actually that numbing as perhaps that was cooked out, but it was strongly flavored with the complex herbal-citrus notes of the peppercorn.
1A4A0457
Chinese Spicy & Sour Cabbage. The cabbage had a nice crunch and was very enjoyable. It didn’t have that totally addictive “pork fat” flavor but I still ate at least half of this dish.
1A4A0470
Overall, this place was tasty, but is really just a Sichuan takeout shack. Clearly people aren’t eating in here as there were stacks and stacks of takeout containers at the ready. As such, they don’t have much variety of prep. Nearly everything on the menu is wokked and most dishes are just different proteins stir-fried in a set number of preps. There are no different cooking styles like “Tea Smoked Duck” or even many cold dishes.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Lunch Quest — Xiang La Hui
  2. Lunch Quest – Da Long Yi
  3. Lunch Quest – Simpang Asia
  4. Lunch Quest – Lotus
  5. Lunch Quest – Dai Ho
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, lunch, Lunch Quest, SGV, Sichuan Cuisine, spicy, Spicy Impression, Szechuan cuisine

Wagyu House by The X Pot

Jun04

Restaurant: Wagyu House by The X Pot

Location: 18558 Gale Ave Suite 122-128, Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (866) 610-0609

Date: October 20, 2022

Cuisine: Chinese Hot Pot

Rating: A bit of style over substance, but solid

_

This was actually just a “Lunch Quest” where we set out to the far SGV to check out this “fancy hot pot” I’d seen online. Turned out it was mobbed! Chinese food in the SGV is never crowded for weekday lunch!

IMG_6068
We had to wait about 50 minutes. The wait was weird because the place is huge and was only about 25% full, although tons of people were waiting.
1A4A6942-Pano
Build out is pretty extensive. Sure, the build quality is “sloppy” and it won’t hold up, but it looks pretty cool right now.
1A4A6945-Pano
1A4A6947-Pano
1A4A6951-Pano
Private rooms.
1A4A6954
1A4A6965
Sauce Bar. The sauce bar is excellent. Not quite as good as Shancheng Lameizi but very good. There weren’t very many snacks though (like cucumbers etc).
1A4A6955
1A4A6956
1A4A6957
1A4A6958
1A4A6959
1A4A6960
1A4A6961
1A4A6964
1A4A6962
1A4A6963
1A4A6969
My usual pair of sauces. I tried not to make them very spicy today.
1A4A6966
1A4A6967
The menu.
1A4A6968
And the special “expensive” package menu.
1A4A6972
House Special Wagyu Pot (right) and Coconut Chicken Pot (left). Neither of these imparted to obvious a flavor onto the stuff — or at least not enough to survive dipping int he sauces.

Instead of the coconut chicken I really wanted the golden one, which is a specialty of theirs — but alas it was “out.”
1A4A6986
House Crispy Pork. Quite yummy, like pork clam strips.
1A4A7014
Wagyu Tartare. You mix it up and eat. Pretty good, but the sauce flavor was a little odd.
1A4A7023
Braised Lotus Root. I really enjoyed these as I like the texture of lotus roots.
1A4A7031
Grilled Wagyu Bone Marrow. Most of the group thought this was the best dish. Just seemed like greasy beef nibblets to me.
1A4A6976
Fish Tofu. The usual slight fishiness which I kind of like.
1A4A6980
Assorted “meat” balls (beef, pork, and shrimp). The meatballs were good here.
1A4A6991
House Special Pork Balls.
1A4A6989
House Signature Ham (spam). I love “luncheon meat” at hot pots. This one tasted good, but it became a bit soft in the pot.
1A4A7018
Kurabuta Pork Jowl. These were quite good.
1A4A6998
Mini Pork Sausage. Not the usual “brand” of sausage and not quite as flavorful.

1A4A7006
Each A5 has it’s own presentation. The rib cap (we didn’t order it because Yarom was fighting the A5) comes in a bull!
1A4A7002
Japanese Miyazaki A5 Wagyu Silver Side. This was very good but it’s hard to know that one can tell it’s A5 after it’s been boiled and soaked in sauce. I’m a little skeptical if it’s really A5. It might be some more domestic wagyu. Hard to know for sure.

1A4A7019
Wagyu Short Rib. Meat was good.
1A4A7024
Wagyu Top Blade.
1A4A6970
Squid Rolls. Interesting texture.
1A4A6993
Imitation Crab Sticks. These almost disolved in the broth, which gave them a slightly offputting mushy texture.
1A4A6995
Assorted Vegetables. The cabbage rocked.
1A4A7000
Bamboo Shoot. Fiber!
IMG_6071
Robo waiters.
1A4A7033
This is so SGV.

Overall, Wagyu X was interesting. It was pretty good hot pot, and the decor is great, but we had the annoying wait and a problem with the broth choices/availability. If we got that sorted and were there at dinner and ordered crazy stuff I think it might be a lot of fun.

Fundamentally, if like me, you make your sauce pretty zesty/spicy, then there isn’t that much taste difference between this and any of the other higher end “regular” hot pot chains. Wagyu X is prettier, however, and they do have more wagyu. They also have a lot of expensive live seafood, which I do think would be good with milder broths like the mysteriously unavailable golden broth. After this meal, but before the long delayed write up, I’ve had a couple of delicate seafood hot pots with fabulous non-spicy broths and they were really good. As much as I love a good Chengdu style spicy ox fat broth, it pretty much nukes out seafood subtlety.

This place apparently has the same owners as Niku X — which we shall come to in time on All Things.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

1A4A7034
After we went over to a friend’s restaurant to say high.

1A4A7040
Got some free Chinese buttered buns which had carbs I didn’t want. They tasted good however.

Related posts:

  1. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
  2. Earl Grey – Nanjing Duck House
  3. Lunch Quest – Da Long Yi
  4. Beijing Pie House
  5. Far East – Beijing Tasty House
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beef, Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, hot pot, Lunch Quest, Niku X, Rowland Heights, SGV, spicy, Wagyū, Wagyu House by The X Pot

This Location Again?

May16

Restaurant: Lady Yan’s

Location: 203 W Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 872-6677

Date: October 2, 2022

Cuisine: (Mostly) Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Medium level Szechuan

_

I’ve eaten at this location as at least 5 restaurants.

1A4A5947-Pano
It’s the familiar spot that once housed Sham Tsem (Alahambra), New Bay, and Happy Table, and GV Yummy. That’s a lot of restaurant churn — probably the most different restaurants I’ve eaten at in a single location in the SGV. The current name seems to be Lady Yan’s, but the old signs are still up there. New Qing Dao seemed to have been the same as GV Yummy. Not totally sure. It was very confusing.
1A4A5950
1A4A5951
The menu. This time around I think it’s Szechuan, more or less.
1A4A5961
Cucumber Salad. The typical smashed cucumber dish, but an excellent version being smashed, very garlic forward, and well sauced.
1A4A5970

Jelly in spicy savory sauce. The Chengdu street mung bean jelly. Not a bad version at all. I would have preferred a slight extra bit of tanginess in the sauce, but it was good.

1A4A5979

Sliced beef and ox tongue in chili sauce. Nice version of this dish with the appropriate cilatro and peanut vibe. Regular meat and what is probably tripe or lung. Not as good as at GuYi, but very good.

1A4A6014

Spicy wonton “soup.” Nice, although as usual for this dish the wonton’s seemed a bit under-seasoned (maybe just overwhelmed by the chili) and the “soup” is slightly watery.

1A4A5953

Our one claw 4lb live lobster.

1A4A5990

Lobster with ginger scallion. This was by accident as it was supposed to by Tyhoon style. I think the chef just didn’t want to. The lobster meat itself was fine but the prep was meh. Heavy. One of the worst Chinese lobsters I’ve had in a while.

1A4A5999

Live fish kung fu style. Very nice fish with plenty of meat, chilis, veggies, tofu, potato etc. Overall lovely.

1A4A6009

Tea Smoked Duck. Excellent pastrami duck. Very juice and delicious.

1A4A6020

Sichuan spicy chicken nuggets. Very nice salty/numbing version of this iconic dish. Quite enjoyable.

1A4A6030

Double cooked pork belly. Twice cooked pork. Awesome version with a really nice smoke and black bean flavor.

1A4A6048

Sichuan signature mixed meats in chili sauce. Pretty much the same chili “broth” as the fish etc. Included all sorts of weird parts. The spam and liver/blood type stuff was good. There was also the chewy tripe.

1A4A6086

BBQ Lamb Ribs. Served piping hot. Very fatty and full of sizzling flavor. Nice. The sauces didn’t totally work.

1A4A6041

Eggplant with spicy garlic sauce. A 7/10 version of this dish. Pretty nice.

1A4A5964

Green beans with garlic. Fine but nothing special.

1A4A6056
Shredded cabbage. This had the obligatory pork belly and was generally fairly delicious.
1A4A6075

Dan dan mein. Pretty typical Chengdu version. No peanut or sesame but a fairly addictive flavor all the same.

1A4A6080

Seasoned peanuts. Nice, although not like the crack peanuts at Haige Star.

1A4A6062

MaPo Tofu. Surprisingly delicious. Solid 8/10 version of this dish.

1A4A6072

Chengdu style fried rice. Not exactly sure what was in here (other than the obvious peas) but it was very tasty.

1A4A6104

Free totally weird Chinese dessert. Pretty terrible.

1A4A6093

Citron au Courant Sorbetto – Fresh squeezed Lemons blended with French Currants (Cassis) — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato  #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #lemon #cassis #currents #lemonade #citron

1A4A6096-Pano
Overall, this place was solid, but slightly “uninspired” SGV Chinese. Now for outside the SGV it would be excellent, as it’s way better than somewhere like Szechuan Place. Lady Yan’s has a wide range of dishes and they do “pretty well” with most of them, very good with a few. The service was nice and MUCH better than at Happy Table or GV Yummy. The build out was identical. It’s fairly low rent and not super crowded. The space must be cursed. There are better Szechuan places, several, but I’d go back to Lady Yans happily enough. And they do have some lingering dishes from other regions (like the BBQ lamb ribs).

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.
1A4A5954
1A4A5955
1A4A5956
1A4A5977
1A4A6100
1A4A5976
1A4A5975
1A4A6046

Related posts:

  1. Hop Woo is Hop New
  2. Hunan Mao
  3. NC Peking Duck – Double Duck part 2
  4. Cui Hua Lou – Szechuan Shed
  5. Chengdu Impression
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Chinese cuisine, fish, Gelato, offal, SGV, spicy, Szechuan, Szechuan Chinese

Fallen (Haige) Star

Apr29

Restaurant: Haige Star / Tianfu Cuisine [ CLOSED ]

Location: 18438 Colima Rd Unit 105, Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (626) 820-9638

Date: September 18, 2022

Cuisine: Sichuan Chinese

Rating: Awesome

_

This amazing (and now sadly closed) Sichuan joint in Rowland Heights has an amusing tale.

IMG_0052

So, sometime in the spring of 2022, Jeffrey and Yarom went here went I was out of town. Of course this annoyed me to no end because so many times I’m dragged to repeat Cantonese or Hong Kong places and certain parties complain about the difficulty of recruiting for spicy Chinese (my favorite obviously) — and then they go on one of the rare weekends when I have a conflict. Anyway, it was “clearly” labeled “Haige Star Boulevard” at this time, and while the hardcore crew loved it, many of the newbies that Yarom unwisely dragged here wouldn’t touch anything. With this description in mind I was eager to go again, and so was Jeffrey.

1A4A5007-Pano
Now this time, 9/18/22 when I returned it had a different name. On Yelp it seemed like it had a skewer hot pot phase at some point, which wasn’t the case tonight. Jeffrey’s memory is so bad he couldn’t remember if it was exactly the same either. It was certainly Sichuan and certainly great. Unfortunately when we tried to return on 1/22/23 for a third visit they were totally boarded up and closed. We heard through the rumor mill that the owner had passed away, which is very sad for his family and a great loss for us lovers of Sichuan cuisine.

1A4A4999-Pano
The interior is basic.
1A4A5002
We had the place mostly to ourselves and this great table in the back.
1A4A5003
1A4A5005
Oh boy. I hope you read Chinese because none of us did. The staff didn’t speak any English either. None. Basically zero. Fortunately between google translate and my knowledge of Sichuan dishes I was able to order successfully.
1A4A5010
Smashed Cucumbers. Very good version. Nicely smashed, lots of garlic, and a tasty “flavor” sauce.
1A4A5016
Been Jelly Noodles. Nice version too. Not super spicy, but some good mala and an interesting smokey quality. Very good “noodle” texture.
1A4A5023
Century Egg with Chilies. I haven’t had this exact century egg variation (aka without tofu) but these were really good with a great savory flavor without being mega-salty.
1A4A5042
Cured Sausage. Very fatty, dry, and with a great slightly funky flavor.
1A4A5046
Cold Dry Spicy Beef. Beef jerky like texture with a fabulous deep layered spicy sauce. The sauce was incredible with the sausage as well.
1A4A5054
Couples sliced Beef/Offal. Dry pastrami like poached beef with chili sauce, Chinese celery, and peanuts. Lovely, although not quite as good as Gu Yi’s.
1A4A5037
Tea Smoked Duck. Moist and juicy with a ton of smokey flavor. Fabulous duck.
1A4A5059
Boiled “Meats” in Chili Oil. Includes liver (very mild and succulent), spam (delicious), tripe, and pig intenstine (funky). Good spicy/mala sauce.
1A4A5072
Spicy Bamboo Shoots with Peanuts and Cilantro. Spectactular texture and flavor.
1A4A5077
Twice Cooked Pork. Nice version of this dish. Not obscenely salty.
1A4A5081
Dan Dan Mein.
1A4A5090
Mixed up. This was enjoyable, but wasn’t very hot or nutty. It was more a broth with a bit of chili and some meat. It was helped by adding a bit of the crack peanuts.
1A4A5095
Crack Peanuts. A bit sweet and salty with some kind of “spice” flavorant. Totally addictive.
1A4A5097
Double Mint Oreo — Base made with Fresh Spring Mint infused milk and then laced with Crushed Mint Oreo Thins and Chopped Valrhona 70% Chocolate! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — lovely strong mint flavor and color is all natural — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #dessertgasm #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #mint #valrhona #chocolate #oreo
1A4A5098-Edit
Chocolate Butterfinger Crunch Gelato – The base is made with Valrhona 62% Satilla Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Peanutbutter Cream Cheese Ganache and chopped Butterfingers! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #creamcheese #ganache #icing #peanut #butterfinger
1A4A5103-Pano
Overall, the experience here was super fun. Our ordering was helped about 2/3 through by a nice couple where the guy spoke both English and the Chengdu dialect of Chinese. He recommended a few dishes — but I’m proud that I picked 75% of these out with my “skillz.”

It was incredibly delicious, some of the best Sichuan I’ve had in America and actually on par with places I visited in Chengdu. This place is/was fairly rustic, but the balance of the dishes was spectacular. Just the right combinations of textures and different flavors (aka spice, sour, salty etc). This type of food is actually all about balance. Jeffrey and I went into mourning when we found out they closed because we had been plotting a return here for months. Sigh.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

1A4A5029
1A4A5028
1A4A5030
1A4A5031
1A4A5032

Related posts:

  1. Chengdu Impression
  2. Szechuan Impression Tustin
  3. 888 Seafood – Banquet
  4. Happy Table 2X
  5. Silk Worm Road – Guan Dong Da Yuan
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Gelato, Haige Star, Rowland Heights, SGV, Sichuan Cuisine, spicy, Tianfu Cuisine, Wine

Lunch Quest – Simpang Asia

Apr11

Restaurant: Simpang Asia

Location: 10433 National Blvd #2, Los Angeles, CA 90034. (310) 815-9075

Date: September 2, 2022

Cuisine: Indonesian

Rating: Super tasty!

_

A quick lunch with Oliver at a flavorful favorite of his.
1A4A4128
I’ve actually driven past this a million times. Plus the original Yamakase was across the street.
1A4A4131-Pano
The interior is cute, minimal, and contemporary.
1A4A4129
1A4A4130
A good sized list of Indonesian staples.
1A4A4143
Risoles. Indonesian crepes fried pocket with chicken, carrots in cream sauce with peanut sauce on the side. Delicious, like an Indonesian Mozz stick, but better.
1A4A4158
Grilled Fish (Ikan Bakar). Flash fried prior grilling whole tilapia with special soy garlic sauce. Very sweet, tangy and crispy.
1A4A4149
Turmeric Chicken (Ayam Goreng Kuning). Turmeric fried chicken, tasty w/ hint of garlic. Light and delicious.
1A4A4154
Laksa. Seafood curry noodle soup; Yellow noodles, shrimp, squid, fish ball, tofu, green mussel, bean sprout, cucumber, & cilantro. The weakest dish, but we ordered it mild. In general I love Laksa, and this certainly wasn’t bad, but it also didn’t have the depth of curry punch I was looking for.
1A4A4167
Cah Kangkung. Stir fry water spinach with garlic belacan. Available in spicy level (not spicy, lite heat, medium, spicy.) Very tasty and savory (salty).
1A4A4161
The #8 Nasi Bungkus. Experience tradition in one wrap. Chicken curry, coconut beef steak (rendang), sambal egg, vegetable curry (contains shrimp paste) and rice wrapped in banana leaves. Spicy level: regular, medium, spicy. This was really awesome, like a rice already drenched in yellow curry.
1A4A4151
Very spicy sambal and curry sauce.

Overall, I really enjoyed Simpang. I fact, I’ve ordered Postmates from here (usually the Venice Blvd branch) several times since. Indonesian isn’t as common in LA as Thai or other more “mainstreamed” Asian cuisines, and it is carb forward, but it’s also totally delicious.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Lunch Quest — Xiang La Hui
  2. Lunch Quest – Da Long Yi
  3. Lunch Quest – Dai Ho
  4. Lunch Quest – Happy Valley Village
  5. Cocoa Island – Languorous Lunch
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Indonesian Cuisine, Lunch Quest, Simpang Asia, spicy

Robo Eats – Szechuan Place

Mar25

Restaurant: Szechuan Place

Location: 9250 Reseda Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324. (818) 280-5355

Date: August 17, 2022

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Just okay

_

I was excited to find a “real” Szechuan restaurant not too far from my son’s robotics.
IMG_5707
Typical mini-mall location.
IMG_5708
They made some effort to decorate.
IMG_5713
Chongqing Cold Flat Noodle. Unfortunately fairly bland.
IMG_5715
Spicy Wonton Soup. Dumplings were good but the broth needed more flavor.
IMG_5709
Special Chinese Lettuce in casserole. This can be a great dish but this version was a little soggy.
IMG_5712
Twice Cooked Potato Slice. I really wanted twice cooked pork. This actually tasted great — it was the best dish — but potato is so carby.
IMG_5717
Pickled Chinese Cabbage & Riby Beef in Special Szechuan Chili. This was a bit sour and the meat is certainly “fatty.”

Overall, Szechuan Place had a menu with all the regular goodies but the flavors were a bit bland and flat. I was hoping for more GuYi type quality. One of these days I’ll have to go back and try it again.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Robo Eats – Anarbagh
  2. GuYi — Szechuan in Brentwood?
  3. Cui Hua Lou – Szechuan Shed
  4. Szechuan Impression Tustin
  5. Szechuan Impression West
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Robo Eats, SGV, Sichuan Cuisine, spicy, Szechuan Place

Lunch Quest – Da Long Yi

Dec01

Restaurant: DaLongYi Hot Pot 大龙燚火锅

Location: 250 W Valley Blvd L, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 872-6690

Date: May 20, 2022

Cuisine: Chinese Szechuan Hot Pot

Rating: Very solid spicy hot pot place

_

Da Long Yi Hot Pot is a relatively new spicy hot pot branch of some Chinese chain, in the Chongking style, but from Chengdu specifically.
1A4A6908
1A4A6955
It’s located located on the second floor of this classic mall right next door to Shanghai #1 Seafood Village.
1A4A6919-Pano
The interior has a decent but modern industrial build out.
1A4A6910
1A4A6909
The “snacks” are extremely minimal.
1A4A6914
The sauce bar section is decent, totally workable, but not as good as a few other chains.

1A4A6923
I made my usual pair of sesame and vinegar based sauces.
1A4A6952
Fried Pork. Super nice fry with juicy pork. Great!

1A4A6950
Half spicy, half bone broth. The bone is boring, of course.
1A4A6932
Smooth beef. Thick slices coated in egg. Very tender and nice.
1A4A6934
Pork meat balls. Great, not those dense packaged ones.
1A4A6937
Luncheon Meat. Always one of my favorites.
1A4A6940
Fish Balls stuffed with Roe. Great.
1A4A6943
Angus Beef.
1A4A6949
Beef Tongue.
1A4A6946
Lamb Shoulder.
1A4A6944
Assorted Tofu.
1A4A6945
Assorted Mushrooms.
1A4A6947
Lotus root. Love that crunchy texture.
1A4A6948
Napa cabbage. Because this is always the favorite veggie, we decided to just order it.

1A4A6918
This turned out to be a surprisingly nice spicy hot pot. It’s “almost” as good as Shancheng Lameizi or Chun La Hao, but not quite. Build out isn’t as attractive as either of those. Sauce/snack bar is a bit worse. Actual hot pot food quality was quite good, basically equal. Weirdly, they were completely empty. One employee I think and we were the only customers. Food was great though.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Lunch Quest — Xiang La Hui
  2. Ultimate New Bay Lunch
  3. Long Lunch at Longo
  4. Hamasaku Lunch
  5. Malubianbian Spicy Stick Pot
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Da Long Yi, hot pot, Lunch Quest, SGV, spicy, Szechuan cuisine

Chengdu Impression

Jul21

Restaurant: Chengdu Impression

Location: 21 E Huntington Dr, Arcadia, CA 91006. (626) 462-9999

Date: November 7, 2021 and May 1, 2022

Cuisine: Sichuan Chinese

Rating: Great kitchen, terrible service

_

I wanted to go here for years but a combination of distance, the pandemic, and the challenge of getting Sichuan groups together made it a bit hard. Finally I got here in late 2021 and the kitchen was so good we swore to go again.
1A4A6117-Pano
It’s located in the North SGV, more Arcadia, on a busy street.
1A4A7581-Pano
The interior is modern and deserted. Both times almost no other customers. They have 2 privates rooms as well.
1A4A7508
This is the upstairs. The first time we ate up here.
1A4A6237-Pano
The second time we had the large private room.
1A4A7474
1A4A7474
1A4A7471
This is the menu — however, both times, despite my attempts in advance to pre-order stuff, they were “out” of a mysterious range of items. I think it’s staff shortages in the kitchen honestly.

1A4A7500
Cold Tossed Cucumber. The second time we tried to order this (on the second visit) they were “out” supposedly because the chef declared that the sauce was “too complicated.” This has to be some kind of staff shortage.

1A4A7477
Hot and Sour Jelly Noodle. Good, but could have used a bit more sour to my taste. Texture was on point. Notice the take out container. They really wanted to service us everything in these crap containers with plastic forks and spoons. I went and had a talk with the manager and only by playing up the blog card managed to get them to use real plates. I think they have returned their rental dishwasher or something.
1A4A7487
Sliced Pork Belly with Spicy Garlic Sauce. The sauce in particular was incredible. Really awesome and on the second visit when we tried to reorder, again the chef declared the sauce “too complicated” and wouldn’t serve it. Weird!
1A4A7493
Boiled Pork Dumplings. Because they were out of the wontons on the first visit. These were basic.

1A4A6124
But on the second visit we managed to get wontons! Numbing Spicy Wonton. Nice soft wrapper, very intense numbing sauce (almost a soup).

1A4A6140

Couples Sliced Beef and Tripe. Good sauce, beef was a bit tough.1A4A6148
Chinese bread for the beef.
1A4A6152
Pungent and Spicy Chicken. Sauce was full of chilis and quite excellent. I particularly liked the bamboo shoots in here.

1A4A6132
Chicken in Chili Sauce. Different, less “oily” variant than I usually find.

1A4A6137
Cold Chicken Noodles. Really excellent noodle dish with that sweet and tangy quality.
1A4A7498
Pickled garlic!
1A4A7516
Sliced Sole Filet and Tofu in Sichuan Peppercorn Sauce. Delicious and perfect rendition of the dish. Super moist and soft fish with lots of numbing. Not as spicy as Sichuan Impression.
1A4A7524
Kung Pao Shrimp. Delicate and almost floral. Incredible version. There might be some lychee in here for sweetness.

1A4A6129
Spicy Lobster (preorder). Nice tender meat and good flavor. They did charge a LOT for this, however. Pre-ordered and brought too early because they can’t resist bringing the pre-order stuff.

1A4A7531
Bullfrog Dry Pot with Sichuan Vegetables. Awesome version of this dish, particularly the crunchy lotus root and soft potato.
1A4A7535
Braised Sea Cucumber with Minced Pork. The pork was awesome. The cucumber was a bit chewy (and not so strong on flavor).

1A4A6184
Bullfrog Stewed with Spicy Ginger Broth. One of the classic Sichuan Bullfrog variants. Quite nice meat.

1A4A6215
Beef Tendon. Very jiggly, but nice.
1A4A6226
Shredded Beef with Sour Sauce. Interesting.
1A4A7544
Chengdu Style Beef Jerky. Very dry but a lot of flavor.

1A4A6161
Honey Roasted Duck (Pre-order). Really excellent, super jucy sweet duck. Polarizing as Yarom and David didn’t like the sweet. The rest of us loved it.

1A4A6188
Country Style Sliced Pork with Shisito Peppers. Excellent meat with great salty flavor.

1A4A6197
Angus Beef Ribs. Interesting. Very fatty, but quite a lot of flavor.
1A4A6199
Crispy Spciy Diced Chicken. Fabulous version of this dish with plenty of aromatic chili vibe and a very darkly 2-3 time fried chicken.
1A4A7555
Wok Fried Cabbage with Garlic and Minced Pork. Super delicious with a nice crunch and good pork flavor.
1A4A7562
Twice Cooked Pork. Perfect. Leeks were great.

1A4A6208
Dan Dan Mein.
1A4A6210
1A4A7564
Mixed up. The flavor was quite good, if a touch sweet.

1A4A7576
Mapo Tofu. Very good version of the dish. Not that hot, but lots of numbing and deep flavor.

1A4A7578
Raspberry Sorbetto — French Raspberries, a touch of lime juice, and a splash of Amaro — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — I had to add a bit of Amaro for my “art” otherwise it would have been too simple — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #raspberry #amaro
1A4A7579
Hazelnut at the Ritz Gelato — Nocciola (hazelnut) custard base made with Pure PGI Piedmont hazelnut paste then mixed with house-made caramel and crushed Ritz Crackers (for that salty offset) — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #hazelnut #nocciola #caramel #caramello #ritz #crackers
1A4A6235
My son’s favorite — Triple Chocolate Cloud Gelato – The base is made with Valrhona 62% Satilla Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Ganache and chopped Oreos! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #oreos #ganache #icing #NestléCrunch

So in summary:

I think the actual Sichuan kitchen here is great, maybe the best I’ve had in the greater LA area. But there are serious problems with the operation.

They are clearly “barely in business.” The restaurant is empty and given how crowded most SGV restaurants are this is hardly a good sign. They tried both times to serve on plastic wares. The front of house staff, while friendly, lounged around a good deal of the time. They didn’t replace plates, clear stuff very often, or bring napkins etc. We had to constantly go out to find them to get things and to order — only to discover them chatting with each other in the hall. The kitchen was out of items both times. Oddly out of stuff. We also had a third “failed” dinner between these two where they canceled it on us because they were “doing renovations.” I suspect they were just short staffed or had some permitting issue. The unavailability of basic dishes like cold cucumbers because the sauce was “too complicated” was laughable. Even in the private room where they will give you real plates they gave us mostly plastic silverware.

Additionally, the second visit was oddly expensive. It seems they priced the pre-order dishes (like the lobster and duck) really high. Maybe $200-300+ for just the lobster!

Anyway, it’s really a shame that they have these logistical issues because the subtlety of the cooking is for the most part very good and they do have a lot of interesting items on the menu (when they are in “stock”).

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Szechuan Impression Tustin
  2. Szechuan Impression West
  3. Silk Worm Road – Guan Dong Da Yuan
  4. Rice Yummy
  5. NC Peking Duck – Double Duck part 2
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Chengdu Impression, Chinese cuisine, Chinese Food, Gelato, hedonists, SGV, Sichuan, Sichuan Cuisine, spicy, Wine

Far SGV – Hunan Restaurant

Apr20

Restaurant: Hunan Restaurant [1, 2]

Location: 1015 S Nogales St, Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (626) 964-8458

Date: August 3, 2019 & March 1, 2020

Cuisine: Hunan Chinese

Rating: check: Solid

_

We visited this Hunan place both during or Mandarin Plaza Crawl and as part of a 2 part dinner (after Spicy Moment V2.0).
7U1A5027
Located in between the Mandarin Bay and Spicy Moment.
7U1A5107-Pano
Hunan has a vast menu with pictures and funny translations:
7U1A5089
7U1A5090
7U1A5091
7U1A5092
7U1A5093
7U1A5094
7U1A5095
7U1A5096
7U1A5097
7U1A5099
7U1A5100
7U1A5101
7U1A5102
7U1A5103
7U1A5104
7U1A5105
Vast menu.

7U1A5130
Peanuts.
7U1A5115
Shredded minced pork with corn and pickled vegetable (8/3/19). Super tasty — pork really helps a veggie. Sure to make things really move along later.

7U1A5121
Sautéed lamb (8/3/19). Tasty.
7U1A5125
Crispy pork ribs with garlic and chilies (8/3/19). Lots of flavor, not so much meat.
7U1A5135
Fish filet with fire cracker salt (8/3/19). Very delicious boiled fish with garlic and chilies.
7U1A5147
Spicy pickled cucumbers (8/3/19). Also delicious. Generally a fan fave.

 

7U1A9359-Pano
The gang on our 3/1/20 dinner visit.
7U1A9292
Bacon with garlic (3/1/20). Basically smoked Hunan pork with leeks and garlic. Nice smokey flavor.
7U1A9294
Doughy buns (3/1/20) with white chili-garlic sauce. Dipped in the sauce these were pretty awesome (if carby).
7U1A9301
White garlic chili oil.
7U1A9304
Ginger chicken (3/1/20). Lots of little bone bits in the cleavered chicken. Nice ginger and garlic flavor.
7U1A9313
Spicy steamed fish (3/1/20). Whole fish with Hunan chilis. Nice and light. Hunan classic.
7U1A9318
Mountain mushrooms and bacon. Great fibrous texture and nice flavor.
7U1A9323
Jeremiah was a Spicy bullfrog hot pot (3/1/20). Very tender frog and nice Hunan frog.
7U1A9327
Pork with preserved green beans (3/1/20). Nice crunchy “pickled” beans with chopped pork.
7U1A9332
Spicy lamb (3/1/20). Soft and fairly tasty.
7U1A9339
Grandmother’s pork (3/1/20). With its own buns. Very soft, salty, Hunan pork belly. Melts in your mouth.
7U1A9348
Gizzard with celery (3/1/20). Gizzard is a bit chewy and surprisingly delicious.
7U1A9355
Sliced beef boiled with chilies (3/1/20). Very mild and very soft beef. Not everyone’s favorite dish.

 

Overall, Hunan was also very good. Sort of a blend of (more old school) Szechuan AND Hunan, but who cares when it’s tasty. This place isn’t nearly as spicy as Hunan Chili King (or as good) — and there is a bit of a uniformity to the dishes. But it’s certainly pretty good and distinctly Hunan.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

7U1A5048
More sweet wine.
7U1A5106
And a rhone blend.
7U1A9358
7U1A9287

Related posts:

  1. Hunan Mao
  2. Hunan Chili Madness
  3. Hedonists Hunan Style
  4. The Legendary Restaurant
  5. Mandarin Plaza Crawl
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, crawl, Hunan, Hunan Cuisine, Mandarin Plaza, SGV, spicy, Wine

Spicy Moment V2.0

Apr17

Restaurant: Spicy Moment V2.0

Location: 1015 S Nogales St, Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (626) 581-4966

Date: March 1, 2020

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: check: Terrible menu, surprisingly good home-style food

_

Back in August we did a 6 restaurant crawl in and around the Mandarin Plaza. One of the places we visited was Spicy Moment and we agreed to come back for a full dinner, or maybe a 2-fer combined with Hunan next door.
7U1A9286
In the meantime Spicy Moment “rebooted” with a new owner, new menu, new concept — but they kept the name, build out and sign. However, despite what the sign says, it’s no longer “modern Chinese cuisine” and is a much much smaller menu Chongqing place.
7U1A5088
The decor is pretty much unchanged. They still have the ugly drop ceiling, but they have made a tiny effort at decorating.
7U1A9246
My wine.
7U1A9245
This menu set me up with low expectations. It’s basically cold apps and noodle soups. Noodle soups don’t share well and I’m not that into them anyway. There is nothing here. But Yarom never likes to give up on a plan so we went anyway — and were in for a super pleasant surprise.
7U1A9231
They have Chongqing crispy duck — we’ll come back to that later.
7U1A9232
7U1A9233
And an array of “attractive” cold apps. But we love cold apps. Serious, they maybe a touch scary but we love them.
7U1A9243
Smashed garlic cucumbers. Nice and crunchy, but could have used a stronger garlic flavor.
7U1A9237
Cold marinated pig ear and sliced pork or beef parts.
7U1A9238
Savory sweet peanuts with little fish (delicious), pulled spicy pork, and crunchy celery with tofu.
7U1A9250
Chongqing special tofu pudding. Soft homestyle tofu.
7U1A9248
Spicy sauce for the tofu.
7U1A9273
You take a scoop of tofu and add sauce — we also added peanuts. The tofu had a fascinating smokey wood-fire flavor. The chili sauce was salty and had a ton of flavor. Really interesting and great combination.
7U1A9264
Chongqing crispy smoked duck. Very crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Tons of flavor.

I have a feeling this duck is made more or less in this manner. Check out this video — and the cook’s adorable dog!

7U1A9268
Noodles with beans and pork and egg and veggies.
7U1A9275
You mix it all up with the sauce and it was quite delicious.
7U1A9279
Chicken cold dry noodles.
7U1A9284
These had a thinner noodle. You mix it all up and it had a great texture and a wonderful slightly tangy texture.

Overall, we were blown away considering the expectations from the limited menu. Just a terrible menu that looks like all of one thing. But this was some delicious stuff and really different. Hadn’t had this exact sort of duck before and everything we tried was pretty delicious. Plus that tofu pudding was totally unique and I could just imagine eating it in some dirt floor ancient Chinese farm hut! That dish has to be like 1,000 years old!

This place was like teleporting to China. Super interesting and a whole lot of fun. Very nice people too with great hospitality.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Malubianbian Spicy Stick Pot
  2. Spicy City!
  3. Thai Tour – Spicy BBQ
  4. Mandarin Plaza Crawl
  5. Chong Qing Special Noodles
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chongqing, duck, Mandarin Plaza, Rowland Heights, SGV, Sichuan, spicy, Spicy Moment, Szechuan cuisine, Tofu, Wine

Malubianbian Spicy Stick Pot

Apr08

Restaurant: MaLu Bian Bian Hot Pot

Location: 18194 Colima Rd Ste A, Rowland Heights, CA 91748. (626) 820-9206

Date: February 23, 2020

Cuisine: Chengdu Szechuan Chinese Hot Pot

Rating: 12/10 for experience

_

I’ve been on a bit of a Szechuan style hot pot kick for the last year. For those of you know don’t know, “hot pot” is the classic Chinese homestyle food which is super popular as a restaurant type in recent years. The most “classic” form is “Mongolian” like Hot Pot Hot Pot or Little Sheep. Then there are hybrid more modern joints like Hai Di Lao. And even the cheap student pre-prepped version like Boiling Point or Flaming Pot. But my favorite is the ultra spicy Chengdu or Chongqing style. I’ve had this in Chengdu and last year several opened in the SGV including Chun La Hao and Shancheng Lameizi.7U1A8678

So bringing us to tonight, Malubianbian represents a new style of skewer oriented Chengdu street hot pot. This is one crazy experience so I’ll detail it.
7U1A8668-Pano
This is in the “Yes Plaza” in Rowland Heights. It’s like teleporting to China because everyone here is Chinese and at the restaurant everyone is about 23.
7U1A8667
If you can see, there are about 20-30 people waiting outside.

7U1A8681-Pano
Inside it’s sort of industrial new Chinese style. Small tables. Uncomfortable chairs. Ineffective hoods. As part of the “experience” a few minutes after we entered I started to cough uncontrollably. Something was just making my throat and eyes itch. I thought something was wrong with me until I noticed everyone else doing it. The server came by to apologize as the chef had just fried up a new batch of chili oil. Lol. I should have known. The place already smelled like chilis, so you couldn’t really smell it, but when you make Szechuan style chili oil (which I do myself) you have to dump 350deg oil over chilies and it releases a ton of pepper compounds into the air which are very “irritating.”
7U1A8765-Pano
In any case, we didn’t have to wait too long (only 20 minutes) as we had a “reservation” for the “private room” which was this super cute painted closet with a two burner little table. Supposedly it sat up to 12 — but really 8 max. I mean max.
7U1A8692-Pano
Very cute though.

7U1A8764
Wine was a whole saga too. Only Jefferey brought some, but no one, including the restaurant had a corkscrew. He wandered the mall but no restaurant was willing to help him open his bottle (and walk out with it). Eventually we managed.
7U1A8683
7U1A8684-Pano
Like many new hot pot places Malu has a “sauce bar.” This isn’t as extensive as at  Chun La Hao or Shancheng Lameizi but was sufficient. It was, however, pretty messy.
7U1A8731
This was one of the main sauces I made. They didn’t have the sesame paste or all the fermented stuff I really love at Shancheng Lameizi.
7U1A8686
They do have these traditional dry “powdered” sauces. You grab one and then add some broth from your pot to make up a sauce. It congealed very easily and didn’t really work for me, but the sauce bar version was decent.
7U1A8688
We got all the broths. On top here is the lame tomato broth and below is the series traditional super-spicy ox fat (those big rectangles that haven’t melted yet) and blend of peppers and 18 spices.
7U1A8699
Below is the other lame broth, the “mild” mushroom broth. Above that is the “classic” spicy Szechuan broth that doesn’t use the heavy ox fat.

I exclusively used the fully leaded traditional gut cleansing medicinal purgative spicy ox fat broth — as should anyone who isn’t a wuss.

o
But what, you say, does one do with these punishing broths? You cook stuff in them. But the format at Malu is interesting. Out in the dining room are about 10 refrigerators filled with skewers and boxes of food. You just wander over and grab the stuff (which seems a touch “unsanitary” but never mind). The staff count your skewers and containers at the end to calculate your bill.

Malu’s particularly unique bit is the whole skewer thing. These cost about $0.35 each and you just shove them in your pot and easily withdraw them. But for some reason I found this a bit awkward and preferred the plates of stuff.

7U1A8701-Pano
7U1A8703
7U1A8704
7U1A8705-Pano
7U1A8709-Pano
7U1A8711-Pano
7U1A8713
7U1A8714
7U1A8715
7U1A8717
7U1A8718
7U1A8719
There are a lot of skewer types including nearly all the vegetables, tons of marinated meats, the usual meat/fish etc balls and whatnot. Each bit on a skewer is pretty tiny. Often even half a meatball or the like.

7U1A8716
7U1A8720
They also have a bunch of plates with more meats and various other “exotic” stuff like duck blood or duck intestine (anyone want a whole bowl of raw duck intestine?  we did!). I mostly ate off these because I found it easier.
7U1A8747
Fried pork. This is a menu order item. It was just okay.
7U1A8721
Spicy beef stomach. This was quite delicious — and chewy.
7U1A8728
Special house spicy beef. This was amazing. Tons of flavor (and heat).
7U1A8733
Spicy glass noodle. Really mung bean jelly. It was actually warm, which is unusual for this type of typical Szechuan street food.
7U1A8736
Crab sticks. Imitation crab. Tasty, but they come apart in the pot.
7U1A8739
Luncheon meat. This is always one of my hotpot favorites. Pure pork and fatty goodness. We went through at least 3 orders of this!
7U1A8740
Beef. A Staple.
7U1A8741
Lamb.
7U1A8742
Weird spongy shrimp rolls. I don’t know what to call these, but they actually cooked up as delicious things.
7U1A8745
Shrimp balls with actual shrimp and row. These also cooked up great.
7U1A8751
Skinned frog. This was just too sad.
7U1A8753
Noodles, lotus root, and strange veggie cake.
7U1A8756
Pig ear on a stick.

Plus tons of things I forgot to photo.
7U1A8762
Odd rice jelly. This was like water jelly. It had a jello texture and was totally clear and absolutely zero flavor. The brown stuff was some kind of syrup and very mildly sweet. You could barely taste it. I suppose it was meant to cool the palette after the inferno.
o (1)
Fried rice cakes. Another typical Szechuan dessert.

Overall, this was a great experience and TONS OF FUN. The broth is awesome. The format is weird, but fun and flexible because you can get your own stuff. The problem is that the ingredient quality isn’t quite as good as at Hai Di Lao,  Chun La Hao and Shancheng Lameizi. Also the sauce bar is only adequate.

Service was fabulous though. Usually hot pot service isn’t the greatest, but it was here. They kept checking on us and the owner came over and was super nice, the manager was super nice. Really friendly and helpful.

It’s very inexpensive too. A skewer is only $0.35!

So I highly recommend if you are adventurous and into new things. Mind your bottom.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Spicy City!
  2. Stick It – Feng Mao
  3. Thai Tour – Spicy BBQ
  4. KTown Spicy Challenge
  5. Spicy Noodle is Not
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chengdu, Chinese cuisine, hedonists, hot pot, Rowland Heights, SGV, Sichuan, spicy, Szechuan cuisine

NC Peking Duck – Double Duck part 2

Apr01

Restaurant: NC Peking Duck 老北方烤鸭店

Location: 17515 Colima Rd A, City of Industry, CA 91748. (626) 839-0000

Date: February 16, 2020 & May 2, 2021 and April 24 & October 27, 2022 & January 14, 2024

Cuisine: Northern / Beijing Chinese

Rating: Awesome duck and great flavors

_

Tonight is “Double Duck” night and while we had a “Peking Duck Appetizer” at Happy Duck, afterward the main event was at:
7U1A8200
NC Peking Duck — which is a Northern and Beijing style place that is quite new and seemed a bit closer in style to real Beijing offerings.
7U1A8202
In case you wondered if they have duck.
1A4A5807
1A4A5809
The Menu 4/24/22 (reduced from how it was before the pandemic).
7U1A8205
Cold plater with Pig Ears, Cloud Ear Mushroom, Peanuts, and Seaweed. Mostly nice and spicy with good crunch, mala, and heat.
7U1A8216
Smashed Garlic Cucumber (older & 10/27/22). Nice version of the garlic cucumber. Extra good with the spicy sauce from the other dishes.
7U1A8208
Tofu with Century Egg. Awesome dish. Nice firm silky tofu with the incredible umami and jelly-like texture of the Century Egg. All doused in spicy sauce. Totally to die for.

1A4A5822
Century Egg with Chilis (4/24/22 & 10/27/22). Fabulous savory egg with very strong pickled Hunan style chilis.
7U1A8221

1A4A7461

Szechuan Glass Noodles (2020 and 4/24/22 and 10/27/22). Actually a kind of mung bean noodle, here with a spicy sauce, peanuts, and a super umami mushroom paste or sauce. Nice, but I prefer them in the tangy/spicy sauce.

7U1A8236
Cold Spicy Chicken. Awesome tender chicken in this fabulous hot, spicy, and a touch sweet sauce. Tons of flavor.
1A4A5811
Child Chili Chicken (4/24/22). Great bang bang sauce with a bit of peanut butter in it.


Garlic Pork. Fatty delicious.

1A4A5712
Fried fish with seaweed (5/2/21). Pretty much a Shanghai dish, but still good here.

7U1A8243
Chili Fish with Glass Noodles. Now these were actual glass noodles. Nice tender fish too and lots of flavor.


Turbot, simple prep. Solid. Lots of meat (and bones).


Spicy Garlic Shrimp. A bit mushy.
7U1A8264
Peking Duck with pancakes (everytime). This is just one duck (we ordered 2 for 8 people). This meat had the skin more integrated and was very juicy and full of flavor. It was some of the best Peking Duck I’ve had in LA.
7U1A8251
Close up on the duck meat.

1A4A5718
Duck presentation on 5/2/21.
1A4A5843
Duck presentation (4/24/22).
1A4A7471
Duck presentation (10/27/22).
7U1A8250
The typical duck toppings, scallions, cucumber, and really really good thick hoisin.
7U1A8269
Ultimate Condiment Box. Tons of interesting things to put in the duck pancake, including sweet and spicy sauces, sugar, candied fruits, melon, etc. They haven’t had this since the first time I went in 2020.
7U1A8267
Pancake all done up.

The full DuQuest duck analysis (based on 10/27/22) is:

NC skin was ultra-thin and crispy, and gets an extra point for some of the pieces having some meat/fat on them = 9 for fatty pieces and 7 for regular ones.
Meat was juicy and flavorful with skin on = 8
Pancake was thin and resilient = 9
Hoisin was tasty but “goopy”, extra thick, and with a bit too much medicinal tone = 5
Accoutrements were scallion and cucumbers as usual = 7
The “burrito” together was a 6/10, dinged mostly by the hoisin.

7U1A8275
Duck Bones. Pretty juicy.

1A4A5737
Stir fried duck bones (5/2/21 and looked similar 4/24/22 and 10/27/22). Very nice version of “duck #2.”


Cumin fried duck bones. Good, although not nearly as good as the Duck House variant.
1A4A5855
Duck Soup (4/24/22). Very mild.

1A4A5724
Crispy chicken (5/2/21). Great version.
7U1A8281
Fragrant Spiced Lamb. Not their best dish. Sauce/soup was very watery and tasted mostly of mala. Not bad or anything, just the weakest dish out of a lot of great dishes.

1A4A5739
Delicious “bacon” (aka preserved pork) with garlic and leeks (5/2/21 and 4/24/22).

1A4A5743
Beijing Style Pork (5/2/21). With the fermented bean sauce, slightly sweet.

7U1A8229
Big Pot Cauliflower (2020 and 4/24/22). With a bit of pork. Nice and crunchy.


Garlic Shoots and Smoked Pork — awesome!

1A4A5731
Smashed garlic eggplant (5/2/21 and 4/24/21).
1A4A5734
Bok choy (5/2/21). Simple but delicious.
1A4A5846
Jiggly Pork Elbow (4/24/22). Certainly not a lean cut!
1A4A5878
Seasoned Rack of Lamb (4/24/22). Nice lamby flavor and good “hot fat” factor. Serious fat later. Seasoned western style with cumin.
1A4A5880
Sauces for the lamb.


Scallion Pancake. Nice and flakey.

1A4A5716
XLB (5/2/21). Always a favorite.
7U1A8286
Pork and Chive Dumplings. Tons of chive, delicious with vinegar.
7U1A8296
House Tianjin Pork Baos. Awesome. Really nice thick skins with a huge lump of very flavorful pork.


Lo-mein. I didn’t order this, one of the people who weren’t expecting interesting food did. Annoying as it filled people up with empty carbs.
7U1A8298
Chinese Sweet Bean Roll with peanut dust.


Chinese pounded Rice dessert.
7U1A8303
My wife’s Valentine’s Day pick: Dulcey Chocolate Cloud – The base is made with Valrhona 62% Satilla Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Ganache and the rotating ingredient is house-made Vanilla Dulce de Leche — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #chocolate #creamcheese #ganache #icing #DulceDeLeche #caramel


Last gelato of the year! — Eggnog Gelato — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — pure traditional eggnog made as a gelato with a real rum/sugar/egg zabaglione core — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #IceCream #eggnog #rum #nutmeg #cinnamon #egg #zabaglione

Overall, I really liked NC Peking Duck. First of all, the duck was some of the best I’ve had in the states, and even beyond that, they had a really interesting menu with lots of standout dishes. Almost everything we had tonight was great, particularly the tofu with century egg, cold chicken, fish, and the pork baos.

Returning here on 5/2/21 the food was still very good but the restaurant was suffering from immediate post pandemic operational changes. They had clearly been doing takeout for the previous year (good for them and I even had it once and it was very good), but hadn’t yet switched back over to normal service. I think we were the only dine in party and the menu had been pared back substantially. Hopefully soon they’ll be back to 100%.

Returning again on 4/24/22 the food was pretty much back up to the level of 2020 although the menu was still a bit reduced and they were missing some “fancier” items like the 9 condiment container.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

7U1A8247
7U1A8224
7U1A8226
7U1A8227
7U1A8285
7U1A8186
1A4A5709

Related posts:

  1. Happy Duck – Double Duck part 1
  2. Peking Duck at A-1 Chinese BBQ
  3. Dragged out for Duck
  4. Double Eagle is Pretty Standard
  5. Forget the Duck Soup, More Meat!
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: beijing Cuisine, BYOG, Chinese cuisine, dumplings, Duquest, Gelato, hedonists, Peking Duck, SGV, spicy, Wine

Mister Bossam & Cheese Pork Ribs

Mar11

Restaurant: Mister Bossam

Location: 338 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90020. (213) 388-5379

Date: January 26, 2020

Cuisine: Korean Ribs

Rating: Awesome, but heart burn central

_

On a chilly, quiet Sunday night — where in the best of worlds we should have had a Chinese dinner going — Yarom and I met up for a small Korean dinner.
7U1A6456
7U1A6458
Yarom saw this sign and we couldn’t resist trying it out.
7U1A6500
The interior is very small and casual.
7U1A6460
7U1A6459
The menu is pretty specific with just a couple variants on two main themes (bossam and cheesy ribs).
7U1A6470
Banchan.
7U1A6461
pickled spicy raddish or turnip.
7U1A6464
kimchee.
7U1A6465
macaroni salad — our least favorite.
7U1A6466
pickled cabbage.
7U1A6467
fish cakes — I ate 3 bowls of this one, love the chewy texture.
7U1A6468
marinated daikon.
7U1A6471
Sauces. A spicy one left and a sweet one right.
7U1A6472
Lettuce wraps.
7U1A6473
The burner.
7U1A6475

green onion + garlic bossam and sliced pigs feet — the luke warm pork (bossam) was much better than the feet.

Bossam is a pork dish in Korean cuisine. It usually consists of belly pork that is boiled in spices and thinly sliced. The meat is served with side dishes such as spicy radish salad, sliced raw garlic, ssamjang, saeu-jeot, kimchi, and ssam vegetables such as lettuce, kkaennip, and inner leaves of a napa cabbage.

7U1A6494
Cheesy spicy pork ribs with cheesy eggs, corn, and hot dogs.
7U1A6498
The cheese melts and they cut up and stir up the ribs. This part is scrumptious and very rich. At first it’s a little weird eating a Korean flavored spicy pork rib covered in cheese, but it tastes amazing. We ordered medium spice and it was actually very spicy with a long chili oil type heat. Gave me some heartburn. Cheesy eggs and hot dogs were good too.
7U1A6501
Overall, this is a small place with a small menu. The bossam was I suspect good for bossam, but it’s not my favorite dish ever. The cheesy ribs were pretty awesome. Not a place you’d come all the time, but really interesting and tasty to try.

Click here to see more Eating Israel posts.

Related posts:

  1. Thanksgiving – Pork Insanity
  2. Cheesy Pork Cutlet
  3. Ethiopian BBQ Ribs?
  4. Forma – Cheese Bowl!
  5. A Night of Cheese
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: bbq, Korean cuisine, Ktown, Mister Bossam, pork, ribs, spicy

Amphai – Northern Thai Food Club

Mar06

Restaurant: Northern Thai Food Club

Location: 5301 Sunset Blvd #11, Los Angeles, CA 90027. (323) 474-7212

Date: January 17, 2020

Cuisine: Northern Thai

Rating: Small Space, Big Taste

_

Asian Food Friday is always a good opportunity to try out some of the oddball and amazing corners of Los Angeles eating.
7U1A5788-Pano
Which brings us to Amphai, or Northern Thai Food Club, which has been on my “to try” list for some time. Supposedly this is some of the best and most authentic Northern Thai in the country. It’s on a grungy Sunset corner in Thai Town.
7U1A5804-Pano
And the interior is tiny. The staff appear to be family and are extremely friendly. Service is casual and all on disposable plates with the flimsiest of plasticware. On entering the thick pungent smell of fish sauce blankets the air and informs you that this is the “real deal.”
7U1A5801
7U1A5799
7U1A5802
Much of the food is on display in a big deli/steam table — including the amazing Norther Thai Sausage (that looks like something a large dog might leave in the yard).
7U1A5803
They also sell some random Thai snacks.
7U1A5792
7U1A5794
The menu is surprisingly long.
7U1A5843
Som Tum Thai. Papaya Salad. Salted Crab Flavor. Green Papaya with Thai chilies, tomatoes, dried shrimp, green beans, fish sauce, lime jices and salted crab. Bright flavor with a hint of fishiness.
7U1A5833
Spicy green laxative — I mean chili sauce — awesome complex flavor and hearty burn.
7U1A5818
Sai Qua. Northern Spices Pork Sausage. Ground pork marinated with herbs and spices. Tons of flavor, very soft texture.
7U1A5835
Cabbage and sticky rice.
7U1A5822
Moo Sam Chan Tod. Fried Pork Belly. Deep fried pork belly. Tasty, particularly with the green sauce.
7U1A5816
Larb Moo Kija. Minced pork northern spices salad. Pan-fried minced pork, liver pork, skin pork with fresh mint leaves, in Northern spices. Tons and tons of flavor. Interesting fishy and livery notes.
7U1A5826
Gaeng Hang Lae. Northern pork curry. Stewed pork in Thai-Burmese curry powder and tamarind paste with ginger root. Very tender meat and lots and lots of flavor.
7U1A5828
Gaeng Khanoon. Jackfruit soup. Spicy soup of young jackfruit chunks, Chaom leaves (Acacia) and pork ribs seasoned with tomato and garlic.
7U1A5838
Yum Nor Nam Poo. Bamboo shoots with crab paste. Bamboo shoots with Thai chili, limes, fish sauce and crab paste juices. Lots of fiber and a very different funky flavor. Probably my least favorite dish, but still tasty and interesting. Plus it has “poo” in the name.
7U1A5848
Kao Soi Gai. Curry egg noodle with chicken. Seasoned chicken drumstick curried with flat egg noodles, topped with crispy noodle and served with sour mustard green, shallot, lime, and thick red chili sauce.
7U1A5850
Condiments for the Kao Soi.
7U1A5864
Kao Soi Nua. Curry egg noodle with beef. Seasoned chicken curried with flat egg noodles, topped with crispy noodle and served with sour mustard green, shallot, lime, and thick red chili sauce.
7U1A5871
More condiments for the Kao Soi.
7U1A5875
With the toppings.

7U1A5861
Special of vermicelli and jackfruit and I don’t know what. Mushy texture but tasty.
7U1A5856
Sample of something with jackfruit. Sour, but tasty too.
7U1A5859
A kind of strong pork curry. Very strong “bay leaf”? flavor sauce. Tasty.
7U1A5873
Sour pork rib soup. I think Jor Pak Pung. Ceylon spinach in tamarind soup with cut pork ribs.
7U1A5881
The kitchen is tiny.
7U1A5878
The shelves on the way to the rest room are loaded with Thai products.
7U1A5877
See!
7U1A5879
And the bathroom includes its own glamorous strapped water heater — clearly not going anywhere!

Overall, this place is legit. Not your suburban strip-mall Thai by any means. Eating here on the tiny plastic stools makes you think of a little hangout in Chiang Mai. Nearly every dish is $7. Very unusual flavors, and quite spicy, but if you can handle all that well worth the trip.

7U1A5884
After, we felt we needed some authentic Thai desserts to quench the burn.
7U1A5892
Inside this crowded shop.
7U1A5894
Pandan pudding being made fresh.
7U1A5893
Pandan custard pudding. Super thick, creamy, mild in flavor but hit the spot.
7U1A5885
Ultra light crispy crepes with coconut cream (crispy) and either yellow mango (sweet) or curry (orange)
7U1A5886
Taro cakes.
7U1A5887
Mystery in a banana leaf.
7U1A5888
Cookies.
7U1A5889
Delicious hot fried rice and coconut balls.
7U1A5891
All sorts of yummy stuff.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Thai Tour – Pailin Thai
  2. Thai Tour – Spicy BBQ
  3. Thai Tour – Sri Siam
  4. Thai Tour – Night+Market Song
  5. I Luv2Eat
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: AFF, Amphai, Asian Food Friday, curry, Fish sauce, lunch, spicy, Thai cuisine, Thai Food Club, Thai Town

Lunch Quest — Xiang La Hui

Feb05

Restaurant: 香辣汇Xiang La Hui

Location: 621 W Main St, Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 703-4165

Date: December 21, 2019 & May 28, 2021 & January 23, 2022 & February 5, 2023

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Some great dishes. Very solid modern Chengdu style joint

_

Continuing the Lunch Quest series in which Yarom and I explore more casual Asian lunch spots.
7U1A3970-Pano
Some friend reviews and an eater article brought us to this new Szechuan entry on Main St.
7U1A3973
Food photos as decor — something I can get behind.
7U1A3974-Pano
1A4A7074-Pano
But the inside is of that newer style appealing to the under 30 set with a touch of decor and smaller rectangular tables (as opposed to the older “palace” style places).
7U1A3976
7U1A3977
The menu has most of the Szechuan classics.
1A4A7002
1A4A7003
1A4A7004
1A4A7005
1A4A7008
1A4A7009
1A4A7010
1A4A7011
1A4A7012
1A4A7013
1A4A7014
1A4A7015
1A4A7016
1A4A7017
And by 5/28/21 they made one of those super fancy modern Chinese picture menus.

7U1A3985
Cucumber in garlic. Excellent. nice crunch. lots of garlic. only missing the spice.
7U1A3990
Chicken w/ chili sauce and pepper. Whole cleaver-ed chicken. Lots of bone but tons of flavor. Green and numbing and gorgeous.

1A4A3675
Cold Sliced Pork with Garlic. Delicious garlic chili oil sauce drowning fatty slices of pork. Yum!

7U1A4030
Cold Noodle (with chicken) — delicious with a nice vinegary flavor and great texture. Much better than the dan dan.
1A4A1809
Jelly Noodle with Spicy Sauce. I like these, but the cold noodle with chicken was the best here.

1A4A1865
Kung Pao Shrimp.

1A4A1825

Happy Chicken. Garlicky “hanging” chicken. Pretty good.

7U1A4011
Dan Dan Mein. Fairly typical Chengdu Style. Not that nutty or spicy though. Ok.
7U1A4014
Stirred up.
7U1A4018
Stir Fried Rabbit with Green Pepper. Super hot, lots of mala, and very very tasty. Little bones though.
1A4A1819
Diced Rabbit in Chili Sauce. A slightly different rabbit variant.

1A4A3698
Rabbit with Pickled Chilis and Serrano. Very spicy and slightly sour pickled flavor rabbit. Bones weren’t too bad. Spicy and delicious.

1A4A3705
Sizzling Chicken Gizzards. Chewy, but not so chewy as to be a problem. Great flavor to the sauce but a bit advanced for some.

1A4A1830
Frog with Chili and Serrano. Hot and boney.

7U1A4000
Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce. Classic, not bad. A bit sweet for Yarom.
1A4A1835
Twice Cooked Pork. A classic.
1A4A1839
House Special Pork Belly. Nice and fatty with a bit of preserved vegetable underneath.

1A4A1854
Grilled Lamb Chops.

7U1A3994
Toothpick lamb. One of the most flavorful and most tender versions of this dish I’ve had.
1A4A1860
Dry Beef in Chili Powder. This was a bit different — and good.
7U1A4024
Cumin Lamb. Super tender and full of flavor.
7U1A4032
Pork Belly with Rice Flour. Old school traditional.
1A4A7045

1A4A3687

Live spicy roasted fish with Rattan Pepper. You get to pick your “add-ons” individually. We added all sorts of stuff here including crab sticks, spam, lotus root, etc.

1A4A7031
Mapo tofu. Excellent version. First rate really.
1A4A7026
Wok-Fried strong beans. Very nice version with crunchy beans.

1A4A3701
Stir-Fried Cabbage. Awesome vegetable dish with crispy cabbage and that all important smoked pork fat flavor.
1A4A7072
Grapefruit Aperol Tarragon Sorbetto — Cold pressed Fresh Grapefruit juice from my garden, Aperol and fresh Tarragon! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Unique and bracing — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #grapefruit #aperol #tarragon
1A4A1868
I love this flavor — Peppermint Bark Gelato — Base is pure peppermint milk (subbed the sugar with crushed peppermint candies) and it’s laced with house-made double-sided peppermint bark, Valrhona Dark Chocolate and Ivoire White! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — The Peppermint Bark recipe was developed by a famous pastry chef and author, the mum of a Naughty Dog Alum @nancy_baggett — this year I added the two layer thing which is awesome — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #dessertgasm #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #peppermint #bark #Valrhona #chocolate

1A4A3729
Chocolate Peanut Gelato.

On the first visit, I would have liked to try more dishes, but of the ones that I had, at least half of these were great and the other half were pretty good. It’s not as consistent as Sichuan Impression, but the chicken with chili sauce, toothpick lamb, rabbit, and cold noodles were fabulous.

On my second visit I found everything we ordered to be excellent, particularly the toothpick lamb, mapo, and cold noodles. I’m upping my “rating” to consider this one of the best Sichuan kitchens currently operating in the SGV. The style is quite representative of Chengdu.

On our third and fourth visit we had even more. I continue to think this is one of the better straight up modern Chengdu Sichuan places. And they allow corkage no problem. Service is a little scattered though.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

1A4A1873

IMG_7310-Pano

1A4A3711
1A4A3712
1A4A3713
1A4A3714
1A4A3715
1A4A3716

Related posts:

  1. Noodle Harmony
  2. Szechuan Impression Tustin
  3. Long Lunch at Longo
  4. Chong Qing Special Noodles
  5. Jiang Nan Spring
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Dan Dan Mein, Lunch Quest, SGV, Sichuan, spicy, Szechuan Chinese, Xiang La Hui

Chef Yu Bo & LQ Foodings

Jan02

Restaurant: Laurent Quenioux / Yu Bo [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]

Location: Korea Town

Date: November 15, 2019

Cuisine: Modern French & Modern Szechuan Chinese!

Rating: Maybe the best LQ yet!

_

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 he’s hosting a special two chef dinner in Korea Town with Chengdu Chef Yu Bo — one of China’s most famous and avant-garde chefs.

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.
7U1A1685-Pano
For this particular dinner, LQ and Bo have set up shop in the Hotel Normandie in Korea Town, which is one of those cool, old school LA buildings.
7U1A1689-Pano
Check out the old pre-war style.
7U1A1703
Our actual dinner was in the middle of this big (banquet?) room.
7U1A1724
7U1A1732
The menu tree.
7U1A1742
The intro to the food.
7U1A1700

The chef’s offered a decent looking wine pairing option — but we never like wine pairings — so we brought our own as usual.

From my cellar: 2010 David Leclapart Champagne Premier Cru L’Artiste Blanc de Blancs Pas Dosé Trépail. 92 points. Just a stunning nose with soft white flowers, citrus, a bit of toasty oak. The bubbles were soft and gently lifted the flavors: more floral notes on the palate, with lemon and lime and fantastic acidity. Seemed like it might have been less pressurized than some of the other champagnes.7U1A1721
The amuses are so elaborate they have their own menu page! There are, in fact, 13 of them!
7U1A1706
Chef Bo’s amuses were all laid out in advance, a bit like a Chinese version of banchan. Mostly (but not entirely) the dishes were served in pairs with both chefs riffing on a particular ingredient.
7U1A1715
Bitter Melon with Litsea Oil (Bo). This really showed off the “bitter” aspect of bitter melon.
7U1A1735
Bitter Melon Grecque Style (LQ). The bitterness was a bit more offset by the sweetness of the tomatoes in this preparation.
7U1A1717
Silk Ribbon Snake Bean in Ginger Sauce (BO). Tastier. Interesting twisted shape too. Beans were a bit spicy.
7U1A1747
Blue Crab Gingered Achard (LQ).
7U1A1712
Snow White Coral Roll (Bo). Lots of vinegar flavor and very tasty. Like a pickle essentially.

7U1A1763
Pate Croute Grouse (LQ). This one didn’t match and was a prep of grouse liver.
7U1A1753
From my cellar: 2012 Veyder-Malberg Grüner Veltliner Hochrain. 90 points. Poured a light golden yellow to the stem. Fresh nose of honeydew, smoke, cantaloupe, and lemon oil. Medium and refreshing on the palate with hints of grapefruit, green melon, hazelnut, and diffuse citrus nuance. A slight spritz on the back end characteristic of some Gruners. Very adept and precise winemaking here with a convincing vein of acidity. Paired with fresh line caught Snapper with basmati rice and cornbread.

7U1A1713

Sparrow’s Wing Broccoli (Bo). Never had this vegetable before — that I know of  —  but Bo was showing off his knife skillz because it’s cut to look like a Sparrow’s Wing!

7U1A1755
Petit Gris Snail Anticucho (LQ). Escargot skewers!

7U1A1708
Pickled Endive Sprout (Bo).

7U1A1783

Braised Endive Chipotle Cotija (LQ). Fried!
7U1A1709
Tomatoes with Aged Mandarin Peel Powder (Bo). Pretty good for tomatoes.
7U1A1773
Mandarine Truffle Honey (LQ). Sweet.

7U1A1768
Smoked Haddock Potatoes, Black garlic congee (LQ). Sort of a marriage of both Chinese and Western. Vaguely like a croquetta in form factor.
7U1A1777
Dried mandarin peels. This was largely aromatic.
7U1A1726
7U1A1728
The menu.
7U1A1779
One of the wine pairing wines.
7U1A1786
Mapo tofu, avocado, abalone (Bo).
7U1A1798
With truffles too! I love Ma Po, and this was certainly the fanciest version I’ve had, and maybe one of the best. It was quite spicy, which I loved. Not so great for the wines, but tasty dish.
7U1A1799
NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Rosé. VM 92. Pale orange. High-pitched red berry, orange zest and jasmine aromas, with suave mineral and smoky lees notes adding complexity. Spicy and precise on the palate, showing very good punch to its strawberry and bitter cherry flavors. Opens up smoothly with air and picks up a bitter rhubarb quality that lingers onto the long, tightly focused finish. This bottling showed more brawny character than many past renditions of this <em>cuvée</em>, but with no lack of vivacity.
7U1A1802
Abalone, Arborino Rice, Uni (LQ).
7U1A1809
Truffles here too. Nice risotto.
7U1A1815
Fish Fragrant Lobster (Bo). Spicy also, and look at the interesting vegetable carving.
7U1A1821
2016 Pierre Boisson Bourgogne Blanc. 92 points. Lovely Bougogne Blanc. Fleshy but still has some ‘zing’ to it. Wonderfully pure and clean.

7U1A1824
Pacific Lobster, Mango, Ginger, Avocado, Yuzu Vinaigrette (LQ). Very nice lobster/avocado prep.
7U1A1829
Black Cod, Pickled Mustard Greens (Bo). Lovely little soup. Very delicate cod. If I remember correctly, it was super spicy.
7U1A1835
From my cellar: 2012 Prager Riesling Smaragd Wachstum Bodenstein. 91 points. More rounded and more fragrant on the nose than the Klaus, with white peaches and a bit of pear nectar. Slightly muted at first on the palate, but opens up to coat the roof of the mouth. Seemed initially to tail a bit on the finish, but leaves a longlasting impression in the lower register. A wine that creeps up on you!
7U1A1837
North Sea Yellow Cod, chicken broth, fennel two ways, crosnes (LQ).
7U1A1841
Chicken Tofu (Bo). With truffle. Tofu texture, chicken taste. Interesting. Perhaps weird for those who don’t like unusual textures.
7U1A1853
DGR Quail, Persimmons Chutney, celery root slaw (LQ). LQ excels at game birds.
7U1A1854
Portraits of both chefs (Bo on the left, LQ on the right).
7U1A1855
2002 Jean-Pierre Mugneret Echezeaux. 93 points. Initially baking spice and cherries, pretty but somehow reticent, youthful and inexpressive. After 4 hours slow ox a real powerhouse of weightless complexity. Rose, violets, complex perfume scents on the nose. Quite a saline, savoury palate, beef stock, soy, hoisin, seaweed, iodine, Yuzu, very intense and long. But the nose is truely amazing.
7U1A1859
Wild Wood Pigeon with Sweet Paste (Bo).

7U1A1864
The meat was inside the orange. Very unusual presentation and highly aromatic. Sort of vaguely sweet too.
7U1A1869
Scottish Wood Pigeon, huckleberry, chanterelles, fig tatin (LQ). Lovely, and very gamey (in a good way).
7U1A1878
Steamed Pork Belly, Jasmin Rice (Bo). A truffled modern version of the classic pork with rice.

7U1A1887
DGR Braised Pork Shank, sweet potato, pomegranate, Tokyo turnips (LQ). This was a great dish. Super meaty and tasty. Sort of springroll like.
7U1A1894
From my cellar: 2003 Gros Frère et Sœur Grands-Echezeaux. BH 89-92. This too is very toasty but the spicy black fruit nose manages to transcend the wood and complements powerful, dense, borderline massive flavors of superb depth, all wrapped in dusty, firm and ripe tannins. This is a big wine and while it’s no model of elegance, one has to admire the muscle and sheer concentration. This will take its time coming around. (Drink starting 2011)
7U1A1901
Sautéed A5 Wagyu Beef (Bo). Outside was crunchy with a beefy soft interior — like a Chinese taquito?
7U1A1914
Flannery Wagyu Rib Cap, Torchon, Leeks (LQ). Pretty classic.
7U1A1916
Cabbage Heart in Clear Broth (Bo).
7U1A1917
Actually kinda lovely.
7U1A1920
2 Vacherins, truffle brioche (LQ). Vacherin is always a great cheese.

7U1A1925
Truffle Cremeux, Sichuan Peppercorn Ice cream (left).

Chestnut Fontaine Bleau (center).

Rose Mountain Apple, Apple Mousseline (right).
7U1A1934

The two chefs, LQ (far right) and Chef Bo (to his left in the blue chef’s jacket).

This was another seriously epic night, probably my favorite LQ meal yet — maybe because I love Chinese food the mix added a lot. I loved many dishes from both chefs, but I probably leaned a little toward Chef Bo’s on this particular night because of the increased novelty factor. I’d wanted to go to Chef Bo’s place last year when I was in Chengdu but didn’t want to drag the whole family to a huge modernist Szechuan dinner, so I was very grateful to try it here in LA. His knifework is pretty crazy as you can see.

This was a big meal with a lot of courses. The pacing was good though and I wasn’t completely stuffed — merely quite full. Not on the scale with our LQ Seafood Tower over order! Just about right. Great stuff and extremely creative work from both chefs.

For more LA Foodie Club dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Providence Chef’s Table
  2. Bastide – Chef Number Six
  3. St Patrick’s with Laurent Quenioux
  4. LQ Seafood Tower
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: French Cuisine, Laurent Quenioux, Sichuan, spicy, Szechuan cuisine, Wine, Yu Bo

Chun La Hao – Infernal Pot

Sep20

Restaurant: Chun La Hao Chong Qing Hot Pot

Location: 5701 Rosemead Blvd, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 766-1230

Date: August 5, 2019 & May 16, 2021

Cuisine: Chong Qing Hot Pot

Rating: Tied for best hot pot I’ve ever had

_

After Yarom and I met up in March at the awesome Shancheng Lameizi for some fiery hot pot (which blows the boring mild hot pot out of… something) we decided to drag some more people to a different new, higher end Szechuan Hot Pot place.

7U1A5242

Chun La Hao is located in the same Temple City mall as Grand Harbor and right across the street from Bistro Na. It hails from Chong Qing, the largest city in Szechuan and well known for its brazen, no holds barred take on spice.
7U1A5243
They have bar style munchies and tea in the waiting area.
7U1A5259
And a modern Chinese decor much like the aforementioned Bistro Na or Shancheng. It’s more spacious than either of Shancheng’s branches.
7U1A5260
Our table for size was still a bit tight — for us big westerners.
IMG_2245
The menu is the usual check sheet and with an extensive list of favorites and freakish culinary bits one can boil up. Aka duck intestine, black tripe, pork aorta and the like.
7U1A5251
The have the best “snack bar” I’ve yet seen at a hot pot. Extensive munchies.
7U1A5252
The usual kind of peanuts and crisps.
7U1A5253-Pano
A big assortment of pickled things like spicy cucumbers, kimchee like stuff, etc.
7U1A5258
And more weird crispy stuff.

7U1A5267
Here are some I got. The cucumbers were great. The kimchee was very hot, even by my standards.

1A4A6331
And some different “snacks” on 5/16/21.

 

7U1A5261
From my cellar: NV Pierre Péters Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve. JG 91+. As is customary with this bottling from Rodolphe Péters, the wine is a blend of fifty percent of its base year of 2014 and fifty percent from last year’s blend, which had gone into the family solera of reserve wines that dates back to 1988. The vins clairs here do not entirely go through malo as fifteen percent are non-malo wines, with the range raised in a variety of vessels, including barrels, stainless steel tanks and cement vats and the wine spend two years aging sur latte. The new release is very good indeed, offering up a youthful blend of apple, pear, hazelnut, chalky minerality, incipient pastry cream and spring flowers. On the palate the wine is crisp, focused and full-bodied, with a good core, still pretty brisk acidity, frothy mousse and very good backend mineral drive on the long and nascently complex finish. This is very good today and will be even better with a couple of years in the cellar.

7U1A5276
We ordered the maximum spicy classic Chongqing ox fat broth and a light mushroom broth for the losers.
7U1A5317
Here it is all fired up, at the end too when the spice has taken over some of the wuss side.
7U1A5245
Chun La Hao also has a big sauce bar. Bigger perhaps than HDL but a bit smaller than SL.
7U1A5246-Pano
A slightly better view. There are all the classics here and more, plenty to make a great sauce. They lack a few of the weird (and delicious) fermented options at SL, but otherwise it’s pretty complete. All the base components are here. Spices, sesame oil and paste, soy sauces, vinegars, etc.
7U1A5300
This is my “mild” (not really) vegetable sauce with a soy vinegar garlic base.
7U1A5297

And my fiery sesame flame garlic “meat” sauce.
7U1A5269
The presentation is cute. A red army truck brings the Veggie Combo Platter of various greens.
7U1A5303
Oddly, no cabbage in the combo, so we ordered some.
7U1A5305
Lotus root provides a nice crunch.
7U1A5271
Lately I’ve taken to Square Bamboo Shoot as a source of great texture and fiber.
7U1A5286
Mushroom Combo Platter serves up even more fiber.

1A4A6338
Wood Ear Mushrooms.

7U1A5272
The tofu combo platter brings handmade tofu, black tofu (which was kinda gross), fried beancurd and others.
7U1A5283
Fish Filet was marinated. It looked pretty, but was filled with bones.
7U1A5278
Cuttlefish dumplings look like sticks of wax, but cook up to be delectable chewy sticks with a hint of seafood.

1A4A6358
Crab sticks.
1A4A6349
Dumplings with roe — actually pretty darn good.

1A4A6352
Raw beef with egg (you coat it in the egg and cook it).
1A4A6355
Pig butt. Yup.
7U1A5292
Luncheon Pork is one of my favorites and I got two orders. Basically spam, this stuff is soft and delicious.
7U1A5280
Mini Sausage are fun.
7U1A5289
Pork Meatballs were clearly house-made and the best I’ve had. Really tasty.
7U1A5282
Fatty Beef. Delicious.
7U1A5315
Beef Brisket. Moderately leaner.
7U1A5308
Beef belly is also fatty and delicious.
7U1A5293
Lamb shoulder was delicious. Too bad under all that spice one can barely tell the meats apart :-).

1A4A6357
Probably also lamb shoulder or some other lamb cut.
7U1A5301
Beef Tendon isn’t a white boy favorite, and is very gelatinous when cooked up, but tastes amazing (if you can handle the texture).
7U1A5311
Pork is good too and needs to be cooked a bit longer.

1A4A6356
A leaner beef cut.

7U1A5320
It’s a bit crowded at the table and the uncooked food is on shelves at the edge of our alcove, a bit hard to get at.
IMG_2246
Sure makes a big mess.
IMG_2248
Check out the congealing spicy ox fat after it’s had a chance to cool down!
IMG_2247
They have a funny timing game you can play once per table to “earn” a discount too.

1A4A6359

Thai Red Curry Sorbetto — I made a version of this in 2017 and it was a dismal failure, but haunted me since and so this one is redemptive. Made a (no salt) red curry paste from scratch (chilies, lemongrass, galangal, cilantro roots, kaffir lime leaves, garlic, Asian shallots etc) and then cooked it into a pure Thai Coconut Milk base. Sweet and Spicy! — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto#Thai #red #curry #spicy

1A4A6360

Buko Pandan Gelato — Infused the milk with fresh Pandan Leaves and then crafted it into a dairy coconut base as my take on the Filipino favorite. Unusual and soothing. — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #buko #pandan #coconut

Overall, service was great. Decor is good. Snack bar is best in class. Sauce bar is an A-, but still great. Plating is the best I’ve seen at hot pot and the flavor was spectacular. If you can handle spicy hot pot, this is one of THE places to go. Seriously it’s as good as a similar place in Chengdu or Chongqing!

It should be noted that only 2 of the six of us (Yarom and I) were brave enough to eat from the spicy side. I ate entirely spicy, consequences be damned! It’s well worth it, but part of the experience is the catharsis and adrenaline rush. Expect coughing in reaction to the toxic fumes and insanely great heat. Some intestinal distress is nearly guaranteed.

IMG_2249
Afterward, to cool down, we went across the street to Meet Fresh.
IMG_2250
Counter order Asian Shave Ice place.
IMG_2251
Very nice decor.
IMG_2252
Shave ice with various beans and taro pudding and the like.
IMG_2253
Super mango shave ice with sweetened milk and ice cream. Yum Yum! Plus some milk teas and the like.

IMG_2254
Flan shave ice with ice cream, two kinds of flan, various jellies and jiggly bits, and all sorts of other cool stuff.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Szechuan Impression Tustin
  2. Diablo 3 – The Infernal Barbarian
  3. Molten Lava Goodness
  4. Happy Table 2X
  5. Chong Qing Special Noodles
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Chongqing Hot Pot, Chun La Hao, hot pot, SGV, Sichuan, spicy, Szechuan Chinese, Szechuan Hot Pot

Thai Tour – Pailin Thai

Jun12

Restaurant: Pailin Thai

Location: 5621 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028. (323) 467-7715

Date: May 13, 2019 & June 29, 2021

Cuisine: Northern Thai cuisine

Rating: Great Northern Thai — highly recommended

_

So the Hedonist Thai Tour continues with this fourth stop (3rd for me) at well known:
7U1A0739
Pailin Thai — in Thai Town of course, a slightly better part of it too.
7U1A0853-Pano
The interior is still very mom and pop — and small — but there is actually a bit of decor.
7U1A0876
The husband runs the front and the wife the back — and they were mobbed, leading to slow initial food production rates. But they more than made up for it in quality.
7U1A0744
7U1A0750
The menu.
7U1A0753
Pork Satay. Grilled marinated pork marinated in thai herb and coconut milk. Served with peanut sauce and cucumber salad.

7U1A0763
1A4A8922
Fried Chicken. Winston LOVES this fried chicken — and it was very good — and very fried.
7U1A0769
Northern Style Sausage. Full of flavor.
7U1A0773
A different Style Sausage. Even moister, almost like the crocodile sausage I had last year.
7U1A0780
Spicy shrimp ball. In sweet and sour sauce. I loved these little fellows.
1A4A8948
Pork Larb (6/29/21) — delicious with great balance and lots of limey acidity.
7U1A0782
Larb tod. I had assumed this was like normal larb, but no it’s deep fried larb! Pretty awesome actually.
1A4A8952
Cucumber Salad (6/29/21) — sweet and tangy.
7U1A0791
Roast Duck Salad. With lemon grass, mint leaves, onion, and curry paste.
1A4A8960
Pork Jerky (6/29/21) — incredible flavor and soft texture.
1A4A8961
Beef Jerky (6/29/21) — chewier than the pork.
1A4A8929
Chicken Feet Salad  (6/29/21) – a bit warm, nice texture and flavor.

7U1A0795
Raw marinated shrimp. Really juicy slow marinated shrimp with a spicy green chili sauce.
7U1A0806
Raw marinated Thai blue crab. Same prep as the shrimp above, but with crab. A bit similar to Korean raw crab, and just as delicious. You have to crunch through the shells and suck out the meat.
7U1A0798
Beef tendon soup. A delicious savory and sour beef soup.

7U1A0810
Papaya salad.
7U1A0816
Khao Soi. The traditional Northern style egg noodle chicken curry “soup.” I love this dish and order it whenever I see it. Love it. Love it.
7U1A0819
Manilla Clam Curry Paste. Pretty much clams in Thai basil. Delicious sauce. Lots of flavor.

7U1A0828
Spicy frog leg curry. Yummy yummy, kermit in my tummy.
7U1A0832
Tom yum goon. Shrimp with mushroom in hot, spicy, and sour soup. We couldn’t resist.

1A4A8933
Seafood Soup (6/29/21) — Tom Yum with all sorts of seafood.
7U1A0834
Pad see ew. Pan fried rice noodles with egg, black soy sauce.
7U1A0842
Napa cabbage pork. Just like in Europe, pork and cabbage seems common in the east — like in China too. It’s delicious either way. Nice crispy texture on the pork.
7U1A0846
Green curry with beef. Delicious too. Not as killer hot as Jitlada.
1A4A8974
Roast Duck Curry (6/29/21).

7U1A0851
Prog pow squid with Thai curry, onion and chili.
1A4A8981
Glass Noodles with Beef (6/29/21).
1A4A8987
Crispy Pork Belly with Stir Fried Veggies (6/29/21).
1A4A8990
Preserved Egg Stir Fry (6/29/21).
1A4A8996
Egg Plant with Pork Stir Fry (6/29/21).

7U1A0852
They have bags of house-made crispy chicken and pork skins you can take out or use to top your food.

7U1A0823
Crispy chicken skins. Salty and delicious little snacks.
7U1A0874

Some gelato by me:

It doesn’t even look like a gelato, but trust me it is — Almond Amaretto Truffle Gelato — Amaretto Zabaglione (egg yolk, amaretto, and sugar custard) Sicilian Almond gelato base with stacked layers of house-made Valrhona Almond Amaretti Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #Valrhona #almond #amaretto #amaretti #cookie #ganache #ChocolateTruffle

Pineapple Ginger Sorbetto — Fresh Pineapple infused with Fresh Ginger — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — nice little ginger ale like kick — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #pineapple #ginger #GingerBeer #sorbetto

1A4A8999
Burnt Basque Cheesecake Gelato — Milk steeped with Tahitian Vanilla Beans and Valencia Orange Peels and then blended with Cream-cheese and Egg Yolks, layered with house made “burnt” Caramel and topped with house-made Caramel Brittle, finished with the torch! — created by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #basque #cheesecake #caramel #brittle #orange

Overall, Pailin Thai was one of the best places on our Thai Tour. Writing about it after all 6 (5 for me) I thought it was maybe tied with Jitlada, and the best of all the new Northern Thai places we tried in this set. It was super tasty with a wide variety of dish styles, consistent winning execution, friendly (if somewhat slow) service, mom & pop atmosphere with a touch of style, and loads of interesting unique dishes like the raw crab and shrimp.

Our second visit (6/29/21) confirmed that Pailin is a great place. Nearly every dish was fantastic. Tons of variety and flavor. This is a but cut above above average and one of the best Thai places I’ve been.

Highly recommended.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!
7U1A0746
7U1A0745
7U1A0751
7U1A0752
7U1A0776
7U1A0829
7U1A0775

Related posts:

  1. Thai Tour – Spicy BBQ
  2. Thai Tour – Sri Siam
  3. Szechuan Impression Tustin
  4. SGV Nights – Seafood Palace
  5. Elephant Jumps
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, curry, Gelato, hedonists, Pailin Thai, spicy, Thai cuisine, Thai Tour
Older Posts »
Watch the Trailer or

Buy it Online!

Buy it Online!

96 of 100 tickets!

Find Andy at:

Follow Me on Pinterest

Subscribe by email:

More posts on:



Complete Archives

Categories

  • Contests (7)
  • Fiction (404)
    • Books (113)
    • Movies (77)
    • Television (123)
    • Writing (115)
      • Darkening Dream (62)
      • Untimed (37)
  • Food (1,765)
  • Games (101)
  • History (13)
  • Technology (21)
  • Uncategorized (16)

Recent Posts

  • Happy Hibi
  • Eating Naples – Palazzo Petrucci
  • Eating San Foca – Aura
  • Eating Otranto – ArborVitae
  • Eating Lecce – Gimmi
  • Eating Lecce – Varius
  • Eating Lecce – Duo
  • Eating Lecce – Doppiozero
  • Eating Torre Canne – Autentico
  • Eating Torre Canne – Beach

Favorite Posts

  • I, Author
  • My Novels
  • The Darkening Dream
  • Sample Chapters
  • Untimed
  • Making Crash Bandicoot
  • My Gaming Career
  • Getting a job designing video games
  • Getting a job programming video games
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • A Game of Thrones
  • 27 Courses of Truffles
  • Ultimate Pizza
  • Eating Italy
  • LA Sushi
  • Foodie Club

Archives

  • May 2025 (4)
  • April 2025 (4)
  • February 2025 (5)
  • January 2025 (3)
  • December 2024 (13)
  • November 2024 (14)
  • October 2024 (14)
  • September 2024 (15)
  • August 2024 (13)
  • July 2024 (15)
  • June 2024 (14)
  • May 2024 (15)
  • April 2024 (13)
  • March 2024 (9)
  • February 2024 (7)
  • January 2024 (9)
  • December 2023 (8)
  • November 2023 (14)
  • October 2023 (13)
  • September 2023 (9)
  • August 2023 (15)
  • July 2023 (13)
  • June 2023 (14)
  • May 2023 (15)
  • April 2023 (14)
  • March 2023 (12)
  • February 2023 (11)
  • January 2023 (14)
  • December 2022 (11)
  • November 2022 (13)
  • October 2022 (14)
  • September 2022 (14)
  • August 2022 (12)
  • July 2022 (9)
  • June 2022 (6)
  • May 2022 (8)
  • April 2022 (5)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (2)
  • January 2022 (8)
  • December 2021 (6)
  • November 2021 (6)
  • October 2021 (8)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (2)
  • June 2021 (3)
  • January 2021 (1)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (11)
  • March 2020 (15)
  • February 2020 (13)
  • January 2020 (14)
  • December 2019 (13)
  • November 2019 (12)
  • October 2019 (14)
  • September 2019 (14)
  • August 2019 (13)
  • July 2019 (13)
  • June 2019 (14)
  • May 2019 (13)
  • April 2019 (10)
  • March 2019 (10)
  • February 2019 (11)
  • January 2019 (13)
  • December 2018 (14)
  • November 2018 (11)
  • October 2018 (15)
  • September 2018 (15)
  • August 2018 (15)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • June 2018 (14)
  • May 2018 (13)
  • April 2018 (13)
  • March 2018 (17)
  • February 2018 (12)
  • January 2018 (15)
  • December 2017 (15)
  • November 2017 (13)
  • October 2017 (16)
  • September 2017 (16)
  • August 2017 (16)
  • July 2017 (11)
  • June 2017 (13)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (4)
  • January 2017 (7)
  • December 2016 (14)
  • November 2016 (11)
  • October 2016 (11)
  • September 2016 (12)
  • August 2016 (15)
  • July 2016 (13)
  • June 2016 (13)
  • May 2016 (13)
  • April 2016 (12)
  • March 2016 (13)
  • February 2016 (12)
  • January 2016 (13)
  • December 2015 (14)
  • November 2015 (14)
  • October 2015 (13)
  • September 2015 (13)
  • August 2015 (18)
  • July 2015 (16)
  • June 2015 (13)
  • May 2015 (13)
  • April 2015 (14)
  • March 2015 (15)
  • February 2015 (13)
  • January 2015 (13)
  • December 2014 (14)
  • November 2014 (13)
  • October 2014 (13)
  • September 2014 (12)
  • August 2014 (15)
  • July 2014 (13)
  • June 2014 (13)
  • May 2014 (14)
  • April 2014 (14)
  • March 2014 (10)
  • February 2014 (11)
  • January 2014 (13)
  • December 2013 (14)
  • November 2013 (13)
  • October 2013 (14)
  • September 2013 (12)
  • August 2013 (14)
  • July 2013 (10)
  • June 2013 (14)
  • May 2013 (14)
  • April 2013 (14)
  • March 2013 (15)
  • February 2013 (14)
  • January 2013 (13)
  • December 2012 (14)
  • November 2012 (16)
  • October 2012 (13)
  • September 2012 (14)
  • August 2012 (16)
  • July 2012 (12)
  • June 2012 (16)
  • May 2012 (21)
  • April 2012 (18)
  • March 2012 (20)
  • February 2012 (23)
  • January 2012 (31)
  • December 2011 (35)
  • November 2011 (33)
  • October 2011 (32)
  • September 2011 (29)
  • August 2011 (35)
  • July 2011 (33)
  • June 2011 (25)
  • May 2011 (31)
  • April 2011 (30)
  • March 2011 (34)
  • February 2011 (31)
  • January 2011 (33)
  • December 2010 (33)
  • November 2010 (39)
  • October 2010 (26)
All Things Andy Gavin
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved
Programmed by Andy Gavin