catbert's Profile
Giant XLB's reviewed by J.Gold - Wang Xing Ji
damn. glad i checked ch. the latimes made it sound like there was a pork version of the giant xlb/dlb. well, guess i'm out til someone mentions another place.
Monterey Palace Set To Open Branch in San Gabriel--Will San Gabriel Retaliate?
i think i'm gonna have to retract my suggestion for this place.
recently went back, got 2 ducks, 1 chicken, and bbq pork. it was bad.
one of the ducks had the strong, distasteful duck taste (think like you don't want fish to taste fishy). the chicken was really mediocre. it wasn't as offensive as some supermarket delis, but not good enough as buying one from a restaurant or sam woo deli. the bbq pork was the worst offender. horrible! horrible!! horrible!!! i think the meat was old. it tasted like that leftover you find in the back of the fridge, you don't remember when you put it in there but it doesn't smell horrible so you try it...
perhaps it's best to say the place has gone downhill since opening? it kinda makes sense since i never see very many customers inside. there's no crowd or fighting for ducks like at sam woo. the few i've seen are usually buying the raw meat on the other end of the counter, not the hot food.
definitely going back to sam woo until someone mentions better.
Dragon Beard Candy Maker Sets Up Shop In Front of Hawaii Market in San Gabriel
odd. i was there saturday and i didn't see any
Newport Seafood in San Gabriel for lunch - any changes since 2009? And best dishes? (aside from the lobster)
i think "sloppy" is a good term for them. for the most part, they know they have business so they feel they can let things slip.
the more i think about it, i think newport falls into the safe category. clean place, nice decor, not severely bad service, large portions, the flavors there, and not overly expensive for those who do not eat at high end places. the foods not exactly comforting or filling, nor consistent, but i'd recommend newport for those reason and if i knew the folks weren't foodies on a quest.
quick question- vegetarian trays?
anyone know if a place exists that readily carries trays like dakao in garden grove but for vegetarians? it'd be for 100 vietnamese buddhist on sunday. nothing excessive, just simple for a light meal/treat. cost is an issue. the farthest would either be sg or little saigon/garden grove.
i have a hunch probably not considering the demand, but am wondering...
chocolate mousse cake where?
i kinda feel like a cake killer. everytime i go back to a bakery for chocolate mousse cake i'm informed they're no longer selling and discontinuing it. so that leaves me with, help! where can i buy some yummy chocolate mousse cakes?
thankies in advance
Newport Seafood in San Gabriel for lunch - any changes since 2009? And best dishes? (aside from the lobster)
honestly... i think newport in sg has gone down over the years. it seems like it falls further the more i go. even the rice taste worst. not that their rice was ever appealing to begin with. i haven't been to the rh branch since before they remodeled so i don't know how it is these days. never been to the sa branch, but they like to separate themselves from rh and sg.
there's not much i tend to care for on the lunch menu, salt and pepper pork chops, pea sprouts, occasional mussel or clam. other family members like the salt and pepper shrimp and broccoli beef. ...the free hot and sour soup has become uneatable. it's like a bowl of heartburn. my family used to love to go at lunchtime for the deep fried fish. sadly, like a bad habit, they commonly make it overcooked and burnt now
but i'm guessing by the dishes you've mentioned, you'll be ordering from the dinner menu. beef luc lac, chicken lettuce wrap, deep fried tofu, deep fried oysters, and crispy noodles are some of the things i like from the dinner menu. the west lake beef soup is good but it's really over priced (not as good as mission 261 though). my mom also likes the catfish soup and jellyfish salad, not sure that's your thing. i don't eat lobster or crab but it's commonly ordered. as well as the walnut shrimp. most large parties get the family meals which include crab and/or lobster. i know on a couple of occasions when i go to/from the restrooms, private parties have ordered the sashimi, which from afar looks appealing and is served on a large platter.
organic wonton wrappers
nasoya doesn't count right? cause they say they're "all natural," that's not necessarily the same as organic. not really sure i've seen organic ones yet.
personally, i really like the taste of the nasoya wrappers and get them at ralphs (they're in the produce section by the bagged salads, but not all ralphs have them)
Maltesers/MaltEaster Bunny?
anyone seen these around anywhere here?
http://gonechocco.com/?p=3759
thankies!
Furaibo...
i've only been to their rowland heights/city of industry branch. years ago. NEVER GOING BACK! NEVER GONE BACK! AND NEVER WILL BE BACK!!!
horrible, horrible, horrible treatment and service. if you eat rice *beware* they charged everyone in our party saying we shared. really? it matters when you don't ask for seconds? why can't a person do whatever they want with their own food??? following that, they further treated us like we were robbing the place when we got to-go boxes for our left overs. usually it's the customer who voices their disappointment and disgruntlement, but this time it was the female server/in-charge who was quite vocal and overbearing.
that being said, it's a fry place. the food easily comes out dried out and salty. the fried whole fish was extremely lacking in meat. although it's neat to see a fish fried in a curved stance. i remember i had the yaki onigari and it wasn't that good. the portions were on the small side overall.
japanese setsubun beans
has anyone seen them still in any stores? particularly the ones that come with tiny masks.
i'm trying to help a friend but setsubun was on the 3rd and it's the 11th...
thankies
ISO Battera Sushi for New Year's
daikichi in mitsuwa, both torrance and cm, have battera sushi. i've on more than one occasion have bought a pack. as for good, i think daikichi in general is decent. i eat it so it's not bad, it's mostly "fast and convenient." their sushi has never blown me away.
can't say about niijya because i usually frequent the one in puente hills and it's selection varies enough not to expect something
Vietnamese Pancakes (Banh Xeo) & Fried Bread for Pho
i wouldn't recommend tay ho in sg for banh xeo either. unless maybe if you had a time machine. years ago they used to make really good. now it's like crispy fried batter with bean sprouts. not very appetizing. i honestly don't think you're going to find a very good one here. i've tried many places and i can't recommend any of them.
as for banh cuon, it's more like a salad that needs to be mixed up, but most just scarf it down. not a lot of folks actually like bean sprouts, cucumbers, veg or herbs from what i've seen leftover on plates when people leave their tables.
golden deli and saigon flavor (same menu) have chinese donuts on their menu as a side dish. i used to order it because i didn't care for their food. a lot of folks like them, but i'm one who falls into the not category.
Vietnamese Pancakes (Banh Xeo) & Fried Bread for Pho
i have to disagree, maybe if it was a couple years ago, but they no longer make them that good. they've really skimped on what goes inside and anything that requires frying with oil, including the shrimp cake and yam tempura, comes out hard, burnt, and super crispy. the oil may be too high or they keep reusing the oil. years ago the banh xeo wasn't that oily, but nowadays they've come out with puddles of oil.
i've pretty much thrown out most of their food this year because it's not that edible.
Tapioca Starch vs Tapioca Flour
thanks for sharing your recipe. i'll have to give it a try.
i personally love that the simplyrecipes' is so easy and fast so i can make it on a whim. everything is pretty much done in a blender. fyi, i did try it in a mixer and it didn't work. also be sure to put the ingredients in the order listed, otherwise, it will not mix thoroughly.
feel free to share how things go. i'll be interested in reading.
grassy tops of lemongrass
i know you can use the stalks of lemongrass, but what about the leafy, grassy tops? are they good for anything? i tried growing some but it's more like they're growing "up" rather than spreading out and i would like to trim them.
Tapioca Starch vs Tapioca Flour
have you tried this recipe?
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_brazilian_cheese_bread/
it's one of my fav. (just add more salt and cheese)
anyways, according to the above recipe, they say that they're the same but i'll tell you my experience. it depends on the brand. i invested in a lot of different ones for the above recipe and for when i was trying to make a vietnamese sweet. most of them you will find are the soft, fine ground, powdery kind. however, i have been able to also find a courser kind which they advertise for courser coating like japanese cutlets. the courser kind is not very common and i do not know if it translates differently since i don't know chinese. i suspect it may be a kind of potato starch. i like the courser one, but in the recipe, i didn't really see it make a difference. so, that's my input. sorry if it doesn't help.
BCD for other than Soon Dofu - Rowland Heights
sharing is usually fine but rice depends on the person working and/or restaurant. i've had it both ways. general rule is each person order their own rice.
you can take the extra food for to-go but like rice, depends on the person and place. most frown when you ask for a ton of containers so you might have to combine if you're definite on taking. this is why like the places that let you get the containers yourself.
i haven't been to bcd in a long time. they don't make as good as they used to. most meat eaters i know go for bulgogi or kalbi when it comes to korean. chicken and pork follows if you like the more spicy side of things.
Vietnamese in Orange County (specific dishes)
i can't say positively for sure, but i believe the vegetarian broth relies on mushroom broth...
Vietnamese in Orange County (specific dishes)
if i may comment...
3. honestly, i don't know when it comes to OC, but if you ever travel out to SG, try phong dinh. theirs is not crispy fried
Mitsuwa to open in Irvine
**UPDATE**
grand opening is set for 12-17 at 9 AM (through 12-25)
taiko performance will be at 8:50 AM
first 500 on 12-17 and 18 will get free eco bag
daily sale limited to 300 and 2 per customer.
also, did anyone notice the application for change of ownership and holding sign at the cm branch?
LaBrea Bakery frozen take & Bake
they have them at vons too. although i'm not sure about your area. but my mom bought a ton of them when they were on manager markdown. there was a catalina for them at the time.
Asian Cajun Not A Fad After All; Oysters, On The Other Hand...
no, you're not alone, but that's cause i have allergies. although, i heard some have french fries...
fresh turkeys for thanksgiving?
i was at the cm sprouts on harbor by target, a former henry's, and they were giving out samples of their turkey dinner. you might wanna check with your desired store if you're interested this weekend. i can't vouch all of them are doing this, but if they do, it'll be quite helpful.
as for personal opinion, it was nothing special. i went around the time they had the entire display set up, which was before 2 pm. the turkey was overcooked and dry, there wasn't any particular flavor too it. the serving of stuffing i received was cooked along the edge of the pan so was dry too. i usually like the edge of anything because it tends to be crispy, but not this time. personally thought it was too bread-y. i love stuffing btw, but i don't think i'd buy it. the mashed potato was on the flavorless side. gravy ingeneral is not my fav, but for gravy it was nice that it wasn't super salty. the cranberry was my fav. whole berry kind. i like that the orange wasn't strong because i don't like orange (why does everything cranberry have to orange in it?!?!). yeah, if i was a pirate, i'd die of scurvy. it lacks some zing or something to make it taste special. oddly, my mom thought it was too sweet (same to be said about the pumpkin pie). i have no qualms with all of sprouts pie except i dislike their crusts. for market pie, not bad but also nothing to rave about. pro is that they're not overly sweet. their crust however, needs work imho. oh and green beans, i don't come from a household that eats green beans, so i'll just say mine were overcooked, limp, and lacking in color.
regardless, there were quite a handful of folks ordering so there you have it.
fresh yeast?
i remember reading that fresh yeast (not dry yeast) isn't as common as in the past so markets were throwing them out and now only carry them at holiday time, so has anyone seen any in stock?
garlic stems/flowers in sgv?
heheee... this is becoming interesting. we really need a produce buff and chinese linguist to step in.
yeah, it's hard to tell (for me) but it does kinda look like a taiwan leek-
http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/img/li_leektaiwan03e.jpg
http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/li_onion.html
either way, i'd eat it.
garlic stems/flowers in sgv?
thanks will47 for taking the time to look up this post and reply. i'm not too sure about what you got, but i think i may have to lean towards the market translation. i looked it up on google and the chinese characters came up for leek. it does kinda look like a leek type veg.
garlic stems look more like this-
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urtica/2632974272/
they are seasonal. they only grow when garlic decides to flower which is spring-summer time i think.
Chinese Turkey Meal/Package to go
try their duck. they're likely to make the turkey in the same manner so that's the best way to find out.
