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Spicy Moment V2.0

Apr17

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.

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.

The decor is pretty much unchanged. They still have the ugly drop ceiling, but they have made a tiny effort at decorating.

My wine.

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.

They have Chongqing crispy duck — we’ll come back to that later.

And an array of “attractive” cold apps. But we love cold apps. Serious, they maybe a touch scary but we love them.

Smashed garlic cucumbers. Nice and crunchy, but could have used a stronger garlic flavor.

Cold marinated pig ear and sliced pork or beef parts.

Savory sweet peanuts with little fish (delicious), pulled spicy pork, and crunchy celery with tofu.

Chongqing special tofu pudding. Soft homestyle tofu.

Spicy sauce for the tofu.

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.

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!

Noodles with beans and pork and egg and veggies.

You mix it all up with the sauce and it was quite delicious.

Chicken cold dry noodles.

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.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chongqing, duck, Mandarin Plaza, Rowland Heights, SGV, Sichuan, spicy, Spicy Moment, Szechuan cuisine, Tofu, Wine

I-Driva to I-Naba

Mar11

Restaurant: I-Naba

Location: 20920 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503. (310) 371-6675

Date: January 18, 2018

Cuisine: Japanese Tempura

Rating: Solid but not amazing Tempura

Various people in my foodie circles had been floating the idea of a wine dinner to old school Torrance tempura joint, I-naba.

I ended up going with the Baby Killers (what I call one of my food groups). The reservation was for a blisteringly early — thanks Charlie! — 6:30pm which resulted in hideous traffic to it’s undistinguished mini-mall location.

The inside is seriously old school Japanese restaurant.

The even have a tempura bar — which is cool.

Cured duck with mustard. Nice, like a pastrami.

Amuse of marinated onions and some fish.

Sashimi plate with salmon, yellowtail, and another fish.

Fermented squid guts. A winter special — very briny and not to everyone’s taste — I actually like it.

Simmered chicken with taro. Chunks of taro and chicken soup. Pretty good.

Fried tofu in dashi soup. Very mild flavor but I love the texture of the fried tofu and the mild dashi flavor.

Pressed mackerel sushi. Very old fashioned — like 19th century!

Chawanmushi – Simmered egg custard dish. Always love these.

Stew of egg and some other stuff.

Deep fried pork cutlets.

Various tempura.

Even more tempura.

And more.

And my favorite tempura, the mixed everything (Kakiage).

Cold buckwheat soba noodles.

Soy sauce like dipping sauce and the traditional condiments of wasabi, green onion, and daikon radish. You dump them in the sauce and dip. Very nice soba.

So-so Japanese ice cream. (Overly grainy and frozen).

Red bean flavor.

Green tea.

Real genuine Sweet Milk Gelato that I made (and brought)! Meyer Lemon French Vanilla Gelato — looks simple, but the milk was steeped with Tahitian Vanilla beans and Meyer Lemon peel. I pair it in the bowl with Amareno cherry syrup too!

Here it is with the cherries!

And me serving.

Instagram fodder!

The dump included ice cream!

Tonight’s wines were great, but a total free-for-all as Charlie likes to do it. Because I’m lazy, I’ll just post the pictures.

As you can see, mostly Champ and Burgundy of both flavors.

More instagram posing.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable evening (except for the traffic), and the wines and company were fabulous, but I was a bit underwhelmed by the food. It was good traditional Japanese, and some dishes were very good like the tofu and soba, but the tempura in particular sat too long (possibly due to our large party) and was only good, not great. In fact, I like the tempura better at super casual Hannosuke. I had hoped for mind blowing tempura. That being said, the whole meal was tasty and a great deal.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Babykillers, BYOG, Gelato, i naba, Japanese cuisine, Sashimi, tempura, Tofu, Wine

Century City Heat

Sep26

Restaurant: Meizhou Dongpo

Location: Century City Mall Dining Deck. (310) 788-0120

Date: September 9 & 18, 2014 and October 27, 2017 and March 8, 2020 and August 15, 2022

Cuisine: Beijing/Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Good to have on the westside, and now as good as some in the SGV

My faithful readers know I frequently venture out to the SGV for great Chinese, but I’m always looking for a fix closer to him. So when I heard (back in 2014) there was an actual Szechuan place in the Century City mall I went right on over. I’ve been a couple of times and more recently for a 6 person dinner in March of 2020 (on the eve of the pandemic) and a big gang dinner in August of 2022.

Yeah, it’s a big premium American mall!

Meizhou Donpo (sure doesn’t roll off the Western tongue). I’ve been told this is a high end (like Houstons) chain in China that has opened a branch here. This must reflect the influx of Chinese tourists into LA. All good in my view.

The interior is sort of new Chinese mall-swank.

They also have a huge patio (where we ate in 2020 and 2022).

Smashed cucumber with garlic (3/8/20 & 8/15/22). This was an excellent multi-dimensional cucumber salad. A bit of tangy, lots of garlic, and a little spice.

Sausage plate (3/8/20 & 8/15/22). Four different types of pork sausage. Some spicy. All very tasty.

Chicken potstickers (3/8/20). Pretty much as you imagine.

Cold chicken with ratan pepper (3/8/20). Very delicious boiled chicken with that numbing and bright green flavor.

Cold mung bean noodles with chili (3/8/20). This was a spectacular version of this Chengdu street dish. Tons of flavor and a hot of heat.

Cold noodles with spicy chicken (8/15/22). You mix it up and douse in the sauce. Quite nice cold noodle dish with good texture and flavor.

Beef tendon soup (3/8/20). I didn’t try it.

The lunch special comes with hot and sour soup (2014). I’m always a fan and this was a straight up classic version, with more heat than most American ones normally have.

Then I had to try all the Schezuan classics: Dan dan noodles (2014). Not your totally typical take on it, as it’s fairly wet. Most authentic ones I’ve had you mix up and are a tad drier. Still, this had a nice chili + schezuan peppercorn taste. It was hot, but not really hot. Just a mild burn. Not so much of the nutty flavor.

Cold Szechuan Noodles (2014). These are closer to what I usually think of for Dan Dan noodles. They had a nice chili oil spice, but maybe no meat.

Sweet potato glass noodles in hot and sour sauce. (10/27/17). In general, I love this dish because of its spicy/tangy balance. For example at Beijing Tasty. This version, unfortunately, looks ok, but has no balance. It wasn’t that hot. Wasn’t that tangy. Mostly it was just salty. This seems to be a problem at MZDP.

Numb taste wontons (2014 and 10/27/17 and 3/8/20). They just called these Szechuan Wontons, but they’re supposed to be numb taste. Great flavor. Sauce was a little sweet but boy was it tasty.

Not too hot, and a really savory pork filling.

Ma Po Tofu (lunch special) (2014). Also on the plate: rice, string beans, squash, spring roll. The beans were great, but the tofu was a bit salty (MSG I think) and not too hot or numbing. Okay flavor, but the most disappointing of the dishes, particularly given how when done right this is one of my favorite dishes ever.

Peking Duck (2014). Because peking duck is so important, I’m going to SEPARATELY write up my thoughts in 2014 and 2020. This duck is expensive compared to the SGV, although they do sell a half duck (which is what we got).

The usual condiments.

And pancakes.

The meat in 2014. This duck looked great, but the hoisin was a little salty and lacking in that plummy punch and somehow the meat felt a little flat or flabby.

Duck soup (2014). Comes with the duck (optionally). Very straight up and dull.

Peking Duck (3/8/20). We ordered two whole ducks for 6 people! They carve it tableside.

This is half a duck (2020). We had four of these plates. This was some of the best peking duck I’ve had in a while. About the same quality as the excellent NC Peking Duck. It’s cut in the modern style with much of the meat combined with the skin. It was super succulent and juicy. The skin could have been just a touch more crispy. But the pancakes were great and the overall combo delicious.

Peking Duck (8/15/22). Skin was very good and the meat was a tiny bit dry but tasty. Pancakes are perfect. Biggest problem is that the hoisin isn’t quite sweet/strong enough. But still in the top five ducks. Tonight they cut it for us the “meat and skin” way (because Yarom requested it), but he can also cut it together which I think I prefer. The duck itself is from long island and isn’t as fatty as a Chinese duck (not available). A detailed discussion of Peking Duck can be found in my Ultimate Peking Duck Guide.

Condiments for the peking duck.

The duck here comes with ultra-thin pancakes — as always much better than the buns.

Bones (3/8/20) from the duck meat.

Duck bones fried with garlic and cumin (3/8/20 & 8/15/22). This was a stunning dish. There was a lot of bone, but the crispy fry was amazingly tasty.

Stir fried shrimp (3/8/20). This may look simple, but the shrimp was super succulent and well cooked. Delicious.

Sole Filet with green onions (3/8/20). Very lovely as well with nice thick filets. Lots of “flavor” (MSG).

Sole filet with pickled cabbage (8/15/22). Dish of the night. The spicy/numbing/tangy “soup” with pickled chilis was first rate. Lemony flavor.

Scallops with vermicelli (3/8/20 & 8/15/22). A nice dish, but not my absolute favorite of the night. Interesting. Scallops maybe a touch overcooked but the sauce was very good.

Live lobster with secret house sauce (8/15/22). It included garlic, ginger, butter and a touch of cheese. Very silky and light with extremely well cooked lobster you could actually taste.

Aromatic fried chicken with chilies (10/27/17). Another typical Szechuan dish. This version wasn’t that spicy (despite all the peppers) and was notably sweet. It was still pretty good though, but the balance was off.

Szechuan green beans (2014). Tasty rendition of this dish.

Bacon brocollini (8/15/22). Not very good at all, mostly because of the American brocoli.

Garlic Eggplant (10/27/17 & 8/15/22). A 7/10 version of the dish. Not as much super garlicky flavor as there should be, but good nonetheless. In 2022, nice but a little sweet. Texture was very good though.

Kung Pao Shrimp (2014 or 2017). Very nice. A bit of heat and lots of peanuts.

Boiled beef in chilis (2014 and 3/8/20 & 8/15/22). A classic Szechuan type dish. While this wasn’t inferno hot like the best ones in the SGV it did have a bit of Szechuan peppercorn and a nice flavor.

Sautéed Chinese Tomahawk (8/15/22). A bit weird and overcooked, but tasty enough with the sauce.

Braised pork hock with special sauce (8/15/22). Super delicious umami/msg/savory sauce. Rocked. “Special” obviously means MSG.

Fried rice with chicken (3/8/20).

Fried rice with shrimp (3/8/20). Slightly more moist than the chicken dish.

Mango Passionfruit Sorbetto – 56% mango, 44% passionfruit, plus a bit of Amaro to offset the mango — 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 #mango #passionfruit #amaro

Overall writing in 2014 and 2017, I’m psyched to have Meizhou Dongpo, despite it being a bit blander, saltier, (and more expensive) than the SGV Szechuan places. It’s tasty enough and close. Too bad it’s inside the mall, because parking and getting into that beast is a nightmare. I hate that parking lot. It’s the biggest most confusing mall parking I’ve ever been too. Every direction looks the same. Ditto with the mall. I’m always getting turned around in there. Too bad the balance is off on the dishes. Service was a little slow/sloppy too on 10/27/17. The very first time I was here it was very nice, so maybe it’s just hit or miss.

Coming back for a 6-7 person dinner on 3/8/20 I had a vastly improved experience. Almost every dish was very good, some great. The peking duck was first rate. Really really good. Many of the appetizers were awesome too like the green chili chicken and cold mung bean noodles. Flavors were far less salty and much more balanced. Service was fairly good too and we had a nice large table outside on the terrace. They were super nice to us too, particularly about the corkage. I’ll have to try again to see if this is consistent, but I am raising my overall opinion substantially. On this particular night at least, this was as good as many SGV places (but certainly not as good as the best). Really a great option. The menu is nice, but not super large either.

Continuing in 2022, standards were pretty close to that of 2020. Our duck wasn’t quite as good because Yarom “made them” cut it with the skin all separate, which usually makes the meat dry. And they keep altering the menu slightly and some favorite dishes have gone away. But overall quality was very high, certainly great for the Westside. Dish consistency is just a bit random as they are a big place and probably have several chefs.

For more LA Chinese reviews click here.

The mall is also home to a mini Grom, which is a solid chain gelato place. I reviewed one in New York here.

Hazelnut on the left, cafe expresso on the right. Texture was perfect. Flavors were about 8/10. Very good gelato for America. I wish they had more flavor variety in the store though.

Wines from the 3/8/20 dinner:

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Gelato, Grom, Meizhou Dongpo, Peking Duck, Szechuan Chinese, Tofu, Wonton

Tofu with a Seoul

Nov04

Restaurant: Seoul Tofu

Location: 2101 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025. 310.444.9988

Date: October 21, 2013

Cuisine: Korean

Rating: Solid

Seoul Tofu seems a relatively new offering on my favorite Westside Asian lunch street, Sawtelle. It features a newer, more attractive build out that some of the old mainstays.

It seems a formula that Korean restaurants offering the spicy tofu soup also serve up a variety of Korean BBQ dishes as well. Not the kind one cooks oneself, as Seoul Tofu doesn’t offer the table-side burners, but the sort served up on hot metal skillets.

Koreans always start off with a variety of little side dishes. My favorite here is the fried tofu or fish cake in the bottom left. It has a nice chewy texture and a pleasant smokey flavor.

The menu.

Soon Tofu with beef dumplings. This is why I come to these places, for the lovely silken tofu in an intensely hot (temperature wise) bubbling spicy broth. The tofu and the soup were both delicious, but the dumplings lacked a bit in flavor.

A nice presentation of white rice (hot!).

Bulgogi. Grilled thin slices of tender beef marinated in special sauce. This was tasty enough, but the onions were too raw and the meat perhaps a little fatty.

Seoul Tofu follows the exact same formula as the nearby (1 block) Tofu-Ya, and the decor is nicer and more up to date, but the older restaurant is a dollar or two cheaper — and more importantly, tastes a little bit better. Ain’t competition a good thing?

For more LA dining reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Korean BBQ, Korean cuisine, Restaurants and Bars, Seoul, Seoul Tofu, Soon Tofu, South Korea, Soy sauce, Tofu

More Mori Sushi

Jul15

Restaurant: Mori Sushi [1, 2]

Location: 11500 west pico blvd. los angeles, california, 90064. 310-479-3939

Date: June 25, 2013

Cuisine: Japanese Sushi

Rating: One of LA’s best traditional sushi restaurants

There is always considerable date as to which of LA’s many great sushi bars are the best — and it’s a fairly subjective question — but there is no doubt that Mori Sushi is often on the short list.

The owner in the foreground, Chef Masanori “Maru” Nagano who bought the restaurant from his former boss, Morihiro Onodera back in 2011.

Our main chef of the evening.

The bright interior.

NV Agrapart & Fils Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Terroirs. Parker 92. Agrapart’s NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Terroirs is another fabulous wine. Here it is the combination of tension and weightlessness that is especially appealing. Sweet floral notes and a suggestion of mint meld into white orchard fruit in this effortless, totally gracious wine. All the elements meld together on the seamless, crystalline finish. The Terroirs is a blend of fruit sourced from Avize, Oger, Cramant and Oiry, equal parts 2007 and 2008 vintages. This release was aged partly in 600-liter barrels. Dosage was 5 grams per liter.

Homemade Tofu with wasabi and special homemade soy sauce. This is my favorite kind of tofu, the silky soft kind. It has a very soft texture and seductive subtle flavor.

1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Meursault 1er Cru Les Perrières. Burghound 93. A truly wonderful nose of simply knockout complexity features notes of yeast and baked bread along with now fully mature aromas of a variety of floral notes and spice hints that gives way to mineral-suffused round intense and detailed medium full flavors that also offer outstanding depth on the sappy and mouth coating finish. This is drinking perfectly now. A beautiful effort of real style and grace.

Our first round appetizer plate.

A sweet marinated fish. Really tasty. The bones are so soft you just crunch them up.

Skewers of abalone with yuzu. The green behind is a special farmer’s market spinach that is chewy.

On the left eggplant with bonito flakes. On the right, Conger eel roy in a gelatinous cube (be afraid!) made from conger eel bones!

Left to right: some kind of row balls from a fish. Farmer’s market tomato, okra, and kumquat.

Conch boiled in dashi and shell with shitake mushroom quail egg.

Here you can better see the meat itself. One drinks the tasty broth afterward.

Santa barbara spot prawn, santa barbara uni. Charred flavors contrast beautifully with sweetness.

And who is this?

Die lobster, die!

2007 Henri Boillot Corton-Charlemagne. Burghound 96. Seemingly like all of Boillot’s wines in this vintage, a strikingly pure nose of green apple, white flower and spice aromas complements perfectly the delicious, intense and stony flavors that are among the ripest in the range yet remain wonderfully vibrant and gorgeously detailed on the taut, transparent and bone dry finish that bathes the palate in dry extract. This is beautifully balanced and among the best wines of the vintage from Corton. In a word, brilliant.

The sashimi plate. In the back is the spiny lobster tail drizzled with lobster gut sauce. In the middle special Hokkaido scallop. In the front, tuna, and baby barracuda sashimi. The last had a bit of a sweet charred flavor.

Yummy, lobster guts!

1996 Joseph Drouhin Romanée St. Vivant. Burghound 90. Airy, pure, elegant and extremely expressive as the aromas just float from the glass with rose petal and assorted floral notes. The mineral-infused, racy and finely delineated flavors are nuanced and textured though the backend has a somewhat dry and edgy quality to it that is highlighted by the racy finishing acidity.

Traditional grilled river fish and in the front a shiso sandwich filled with fish meat. To the right is sauced daikon radish and pickles.

This I’ve never had. The fish is a deep deep sea fish, with the lantern and big eyes! To the left is shiso pepper and on the right abalone tempura.

Guess who comes back for round 2? Mr. Lobster head, this time boiled up in some lobster miso soup (which was fantastic).

1996 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux. Burghound 91. Still quite deeply colored. A perfumed nose that is now in a transition phase from primary to secondary aromas is given added nuance by the presence of earth¡ subtle spice notes and a smoky quality that is also picked up by the fresh¡ bright and energetic medium-bodied flavors that possess excellent detail and obvious minerality on the ever-so-slightly dry finish where the dryness does not seem to compromise the length as this is seriously persistent. The structural elements of acidity and tannins are still quite firm though not aggressive and this should continue to successfully age over the next 25 to 30 years as the balance is almost perfect. Tasted several times over the last few years with consistent notes save for one disjointed bottle that seemed unduly dried out.

This may have been Tai (Red Snapper).

Cuttlefish. Creamy with a bit of chewiness. There was shiso underneath which I love.

Wild yellowtail (seki buri).

I think this was Aji (Spanish Mackerel).

Chu-toro. Delicious.

O-toro, even richer.

Japanese Mackerel (Saba). A little fishier than some of the other fish, but firm and delicious.

Geoduck clam (Mirugai). Not always my favorite, but in this case tender and delicious.

Ikura (salmon roe). Incredibly sweet.

2005 Jacques-Frédéric Mugnier Nuits St. Georges 1er Cru Clos de la Maréchale. Burghound 91. In contrast to the expressiveness of the first two ’05s, here there is a completely different aromatic profile and one that is brooding with more deeply pitched and quite ripe blue and violet aromas combining with pungent earth and game hints that continue onto the sweet, rich and sappy flavors wrapped around a firm tannic spine. This is impressive as it is clearly Nuits in character yet with refined and sophisticated structural elements. Also recommended.

Lightly grilled albacore? I can’t remember.

Santa Barbara Uni. Super sweet.

Hokkaido Uni. More of a brine note.

Sea eel (Anago). Really soft and fabulous. The sauce is reduced from eel bones.

Hokkaido scallop sushi.

Sweep shrimp sushi.

Chef/Owner Sal Marino of Il Grano (a fabulous nearby Italian – one of the best Italians in the city) joined us about halfway through the meal and partook in our libations.

A number of different roles. Some have shiso leaf, some various pickles, some tamago. Really yummy and refreshing.

1995 Philippe Leclerc Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Combes aux Moines. Parker 90-94. A few wine writers have recently written that some producers in Burgundy are making Pinot Noir that resembles Syrah. My impression is that highly extracted, late-picked, and lavishly oaked Pinot Noir does in fact show traits of Syrah in its youth. Both varietals have a tendency to contain high acid levels (relative to Merlot and Cabernet) and often exhibit berry fruit characteristics. Philippe Leclerc’s dynamite Gevrey-Chambertin Combe Aux Moines certainly could be confused with a northern Rhone wine during its early stage of development. Readers who love Cote Rotie and Hermitage will adore it. Dark-colored, almost black, and revealing an awesomely dense, ripe, deep, nose of cassis, mocha, spices and oak, this monster of a wine explodes in the mouth with rich, layered, roasted black fruits. Full-bodied and thick, with a hard tannic backbone, it indeed reminds me more of a young Syrah (but without the typical raspberry and red currant notes) than what I generally taste in Burgundy.

All four red burgs lined up for tasting.

Two kinds of homemade ice cream. On the left, soy sauce ice cream, on the right tofu ice cream. Both were fabulous.

Hojicha (roasted green tea) to finish.

Overall, this was some really stellar traditional Sushi. Both the fish itself and all the starters were fantastic. Mori sushi sticks fairly closely to traditional Japanese techniques and flavors. It doesn’t jazz things up with too many vinegars and crazy sauces, but uses first rate ingredients that emphasize the purity of the flavors: very Japanese.

The produce mostly comes from the farmer’s markets. He makes his own tofu and soy sauce and I believe, even the rice, which is specially sourced from some special rice farm. All in all, really fabulous.

For more Foodie Club meals click here.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Foodie Club, Japanese cuisine, Lobster, Masanori "Maru" Nagano, Mori Sushi, Sushi, Tofu

Mori Sushi – A Top Contender

Sep17

Restaurant: Mori Sushi [1, 2]

Location: 11500 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. 310.479.3939

Date: September 14, 2011

Cuisine: Japanese / Sushi

Rating: Top sushi, but not cheap

In a town full of top grade sushi, Mori Sushi is consistently regarded as one of the best. It has it’s own particular style, somewhere between the Osaka school types like Sasabune and the classic Sushi Sushi.

The interior and sushi bar.

The following meal represents the “Omakase” the largest and most expensive ($170) of the chef’s options. Several truncated or more sushi centric variants are available. This is basically a series of hot dishes followed by flights of sushi.

Kohlrabi greens.

Housemade tofu, with homemade wasabi and soy. This is the soft silken tofu that I’ve had a number of times recently, like at Moko and Ozumo. This particular example was very nice and light.

Sashimi. Left to right: marinated sardines, abalone liver, baby abalone with yuzu/pepper sauce, shitake mushroom, pike eel jelly, marinated Japanese onion, and Japanese okra. The sardines were really good and sweet. The liver reach, like an ugly blob of chicken liver. The abalone tender. And the jelly like a cube of flavorless jello.

One of those subtle Japanese soups. Pike eel (the white stuff), yuzu (the green sliver), and Japanese eggplant.

Santa Barbara sweet shrimp (with the roe), red peppercorns, and in front: scallop, halibut, and octopus sashimi. All this is dressed “new style” with a bit of olive oil and pepper. The shrimp was very sweet and tasty.

Uni (sea urchin) tempura with salt. I forgot to photo it, but this photo is of the same dish at a different restaurant. It was nearly identical, and very good.

Halibut with kelp on the left. Seki buri (wild yellowtail) on the right. Both solid “normal” fishes of extremely high quality.

Big eye chu-toro on the left and blue-fun toro on the right. Yum!

Kohada (Shad gizzard) on the left, pickled in vinegar, and Spanish Mackerel on the right. Also very nice fish.

Grilled baby barracuda on the left with a really nice charred flavor and mirugai (geoduck jumbo clam) with miso sauce on the right.

An uni (sea urchin) duo. Santa Barbara on the left (sweeter), Hokkaido in the middle (very fine also) and very fresh Ikura (salmon roe) with yuzu zest on the right.

Tamago (sweet omelet) on the left and anago (sea eel) on the right, grilled, with a bit of BBQ sauce. The eel had strong grill flavors and less of the cloying (but yummy) sweet sauce than usual.

Toro cut roll. Soft and velvety.

A pair of homemade ice creams for dessert. This is sesame, which tasted it but was a bit gritty and not very creamy.

And ginger ice cream which was very soft and pleasant, like a french vanilla with a ginger kick.

Hojicha, roasted green tea to finish.

Overall, I found Mori Sushi to be top notch. But it’s not cheap (not in the least). The ingredients are top notch and you pay for it. It has a subtle restrained style. I slightly prefer Sushi Sushi with it’s larger pieces or Go Sushi with it’s more over the top flavors. It hands down beats out Sushi Zo in my opinion. Certainly Mori is in the top five or so places in town — and that’s saying a lot as LA is unquestionably the best place in America for sushi.

For more LA sushi reviews click here.

Morihiro Onodera (old owner) in the palm shirt. Masanori Nagano left (new owner).

By: agavin
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Moko

Aug04

Restaurant: Moko

Location: 9540 Culver Blvd. Culver City, Ca. (310) 838-3131

Date: July 9, 2011

Cuisine: Modernized Korean

Rating: Very tasty — Spicy!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Moko is a newly opened Korean bar/restaurant serving very modernized variants using a Korean palette of flavors. This is to Korean as Red Medicine is to Vietnamese.

The pleasant but industrial space in the heart of Culver City’s bustling downtown.

The have the BBQ in the table, and there is an extensive section of the menu for ordering meats and vegetables to cook here — we didn’t do that on this visit.

An amuse of three “salads.” Left to right: “Watermelon Namul with tasted almonds chile, shiso and ginger,” followed by “Kong Maul, mixed sporuts with spring onions sesame and soy,” and on the right “Market Radish Namul, sweet ginger and pineapple mint.”

“Spicy Smash, Tequila Silver, lime juice, agave & cucumber, Thai basil, serrano.” This is one of those spicy specialty cocktails that has popped up all over the place lately. It was good, with a long serrano burn.

“Tai Snapper, asian pear jus and pickled ginger.” Sweet and lovely.

“Big Eye Tuna, yuzu, soy, and blood orange.” Also a really good presentation of the fish with complex flavor profiles.

“Sesame Duck Confit, sweet lettuces and mango with ginger aioli and chipotle jang wrapped in jjin bahng.” This was amazingly tasty. The smokey duck, the sweet fruit, and the tang of some pickles paired perfectly — and there was all sorts of texture going on.

“Green Chili Pork Sausage, pineapple and butter lettuces with ssam jang wrapped in jjin bahang.” Also great. The sausage thing tasted amazing.

“Asian Pear and Kholrabi Salad, pea shoots and perilla with mustard vinaigrette.” Pretty spicy!

“Heirloom tomatos, green beans, soy ginger vinaigrette.”

“Silken Tofu, ginger dashi broth.” Wasabi in the sauce was incredibly hot. Hotter even than atomic horseradish. My nose hurt for an hour. Each bite made me sneeze. I finished it all.

“Kimchi eggplat dumplings, mushrooms and silken tofu with pine-nut mustard dipping sauce.” Very tasty too, and not too spicy.

“Wagyu Beef Roseu Pyeonchae, truffle scented seared beef carpaccio with asian pear and arugula salad.” This was one of the blander dishes. The meat was succulent, but I felt the dish could use a little more zing.

“Pan Friend Duck and Foie Gras dumplings with sour cherry dipping sauce.” Incredible potstickers. Some of the best I’ve even had — foie gras! The sauce was really good too.

“Soju Cured Salmon, crisp potato pancakes with pickled onions and ginger cream.” Sort of a giant potato latke with salmon and creme fraiche. Pretty tasty.

Moko certainly had strong flavors, and I for the most part loved them. A lot of dishes were quite spicy, more than I would have expected (and I have a pretty high tolerance). So several hours later I’m still feeling the burn.

Check out some other modernized Asians like Red Medicine or Xino.

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Cooking, Culver City, Culver City California, Duck Confit, Food, Fruits and Vegetables, Ginger, Korean cuisine, Los Angeles, Moko, Restaurant, Restaurant Review, Tofu, Wasabi

Quick Eats: Tofu Ya

Jan10

Restaurant: Tofu Ya

Location: 2021 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, Ca 90025. 310-473-2627.

Date: Jan 06, 2011

Cuisine: Korean BBQ & Tofu Soup

Some friends of mine wanted Korean for lunch so I found this Westside place on Zagat (it was the best rated west of the 405 at 23 for food). Boy, is this place a great value! And good to boot. I’m not nearly as experienced a Korean eater as I am at Japanese, but this was certainly very tasty.

The tiny little Sawtelle shop front. Random Thursday afternoon at 12:30 and there was a 20 minute wait. An excellent sign.

The simple menu. Besides the ubiquitous BBQ meats this place seems to specialize in “soft tofu.” I didn’t know it exactly by this name, but this is my favorite kind of tofu. I’ve often gotten this in Japan. Served differently, but the same tofu. We’ll see some of it in a bit.

Not a big joint. Smells like BBQ meat. Yum!

The usual spread of small Korean dishes. Kimchi, sprouts, noodles, spicy marinated cucumbers, marinated tofu, eggs, etc.

The spicy tofu soup. I should have gotten a picture after the bubbles settled down. The soup is filled with lots of “soft tofu,” beef, and various seafood. I ordered it medium spicy and it wasn’t very hot by my standards, pleasant though. The soft tofu is that kind of medium-firm off-white tofu that has a luscious smooth texture.

It comes out sizzling. Click on this picture above to see a video of it going nuts.

Steamed rice.

Bibimbap. I’ve always liked this dish. Various veggies and meats. You jump the above steamed rice in.

Then add korean red sauce and stir.

Looks like this. Tastes good.

Galbi. Beef ribs, marinated to perfection and BBQed.

Bulgogi. More or less the same thing, but with no bones, and onions. After awhile the onions caramelized. Beef and cooked onions always goes well together. Full as I was, I could have eaten two plates of this stuff.