Dim sum at King Hua: A Pictorial Essay

They have a version of the pan-fried luobuogao. It's served as lightly-fried cubes with (IIRC) XO sauce and thinly sliced green onions and bean sprouts(?), rather than the traditional cakes. It's a bit different, but I quite like it. Not sure I like it more than the traditional style, though, as I'm an old-school kind of hound.

I tried their steamed, pudding-like take on luobuogao a couple of weeks ago, and liked that as well, but very different from the traditional stuff.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Best Colorado-made products?

I quite liked Mark Schlerath's Stinkin' Good Green Chile when I lived in CO. For a frozen, supermarket green chile sauce, I thought it was quite good.

http://www.stinkingood.com/

yclops in Mountain States

Best Mexican in the SF Valley?

It's been a couple of years since I've been (moved out of state), but I recall they had a slightly standard taqueria menu, but with regular daily off-menu specials, so you never knew what was going to be available.

I highly recommend the chile rojo burrito...kind of a saucy pastor-like pork with nopales. Very, very good. I also quite liked the huevos rancheros and the tamales as well.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Need Grand Junction recs

I'll second this. I've eaten there dozens of times, and it's shockingly good pizza by the slice - easily as good as any slice I've had in LA over the years (granted, LA's not a great pizza slice town, but still...).

My wife loved the pesto; I really liked the sausage and olive. FWIW, I thought the slice pizza was better than the whole pizzas (different dough).

I was seriously depressed when they closed down for a while due to that silly spat with the landlord, but happy to hear they've reopened.

yclops in Mountain States

Help me w/ my Asian dining itinerary in Monterey Park/San Gabriel or Little Saigon

How about bun or com tam recs? I've tried most of the banh mi places over the years (thx Prof. Salt).

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Help me w/ my Asian dining itinerary in Monterey Park/San Gabriel or Little Saigon

Any recs of specific non dim sum dishes at Elite or Sea Harbor?

I did a quick search for Elite and saw a veg noodle dish and spicy crab recommended. Any others?

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Help me w/ my Asian dining itinerary in Monterey Park/San Gabriel or Little Saigon

Okay, been away from LA for almost 18 months, but will be back this coming week (finally!). I'll be stuck in Woodland Hills Tues-Thurs but I'm hoping to hit NoHo Thai for dinners...and Friday morning is either Elite or Sea Harbor - that's set in stone - but I need to fill in some blank spots for Monday dinner and Friday lunch in either Little Saigon or Monterey Park. So what's new and chow-worthy? Any recent must-tries?

I may try for a fish taco as well during the week (I haven't had a good fish taco since leaving LA). Looks like Ricky's is open only afternoons? Shame, I wanted to try that (maybe Friday lunch...hmmm). What about that Mariscos el tetos street gourmet la blogged about? Open in evenings? That could be doable from WH.

TIA

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Marisco's
718 S San Jacinto Ave, San Jacinto, CA 92583

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Sundance gastropub or foodie casual

Like Claire wrote, the resort restaurants are likely your best bet.

However, Provo has a few new options that may be close to what you're looking for. They try to source locally and provide a much better level of creative cuisine than Provo has ever seen. I haven't tried any of these yet, but they come highly recommended.

Communal - http://communalrestaurant.blogspot.com/
Spark - http://www.sparkrestaurantlounge.com/
Pizzeria 712 - http://www.pizzeria712.com/

Aside from that, there are a few decent places I've tried several times in years past, but are different from what you asked about:

Bombay House - solid Northern Indian - http://www.bombayhouse.com/
Four Seasons - Northern Chinese Dumplings & Hot Pot - http://www.fourseasonshotpot.com/ (bare bones place; don't care for the hot pot; the dumplings are pretty decent, but you have to order ahead).
Tucanos - decent Brazilian Grill if you want a meat fest - http://www.tucanos.com/

Other than those, it's mostly dry chains, with nothing of note other than the occasional very good but also very divey taqueria.

In the other direction from Provo, there's Midway and Heber which have a few places that may work for you:

Tarahumara - http://www.tarahumara.biz/ - very well regarded Mexican
Snake Creek Grill - http://www.snakecreekgrill.com/

yclops in Mountain States

Great places in Van Nuys area?

I travel into that area every few months (from a place with no tolerable Asian food), so I kind of understand where you're coming from. I'd hit the North Hollywood Thai places hard; that's your best-quality Asian bang for you buck in the area.

My personal faves are:
--Krua Thai: pad thai krua thai (extra funky pad thai) and pad see ew.
--Khun Dang: beef nam tok (spicy beef salad)
--Sri Siam: crispy rice salad
--Lum Ka Naad (Northridge): kao tang na tung, a creamy dip of pork, shrimp and coconut milk with puffed rice crackers.

Others have posted much more abundantly on these restaurants.

For banh mi, I'd also consider Sandwich Express in Reseda, especially early when the bread is fresh (open at 7am).

At India S&S I recommend the snacks...the samosas and aloo tikki ("patties") are fantastic when hot and fresh. The other stuff is pretty good and interesting but I don't know that it's a real destination place.

On the pricier side, I'd also recommend al-Cazar for the great Lebanese appetizers. Baba Ghanouj, hummous, grape leaves, fried kibbe, muhammara, manti, etc. The entrees are also good, but IMHO not as good as the apps. Not Mexican or Asian but it's a real gem.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Banh Mi at Sandwich Express in Reseda w/ Pics

SE's cha gio are also pretty decent (for the SFV), if you get them hot and fresh. They have a slight sour tang that I've grown to like. Every now and then, I'll stuff two cha gio in a pork roll banh mi from SE. Still trying to decide whether I like it more than eating them seperately.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Shanghai-Style Dim Sum in the Los Angeles area?

Along with thise mentioned above, you could try Mei-lin Tou Chiang in Alhambra and Yi-Mei in Monterey Park. They're also quite good and have youtiao, shaobing, danbing, congyoubing, and all that (go to Shanghainese places for XLB, though). Search the archive for these restaurants and foods and you'll find a number of posts.

Enjoy!

yclops in Los Angeles Area

LOKKING FOR THE BEST HANDMADE TAMALES IN L.A.

I quite like Bertha's Tamales. The masa is moist and the fillings flavorful, especially the jalapeno chicken.

I wonder whether the determining factor in tamale quality is freshness rather than vendor. I've had tamales at almost all of the places listed in this thread, but have been disappointed in most b/c they were dry and dull. However, I noticed that the quality of the tamales at Garcia Bakery in Simi Valley (which I formerly frequented) varied wildly during the day. First thing in the morning, the tamales were devinely wonderful - hot, creamy and pudding-like - whereas if they sat for a few hours, they quickly lost that magic and became truly below average tamales, which I wouldn't recommend to anyone.

So maybe timing is the key? Perhaps the reason I like Bertha's is that the serves freshly-made tamales at the farmer's market. I dunno. Need more research perhaps.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Recs needed for Provo, Utah

I'm gonna second this.

http://www.fourseasonshotpot.com/

Now, I lurve Chinese dumplings and have eaten thousands of 'em from NYC to LA, SF, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan and beyond. I was a leeeetle skeptical that a dumpling shop in Provo would:
a) exist
b) survive
c) be any good

Four Seasons does a pretty darn decent dumpling. They do Northern Chinese dumplings. These aren't like the thin, translucent Cantonese shrimp dumplings you get at dim sum, but are more rustic and hefty and hearty and porky; thick skins with solid pig flavor.

They have three dumpling options: boiled (shuijiao), steamed, and xiaolongbao. You choose your meat and fillings, then they make them to order.

The pork and chive and pork and cabbage were quite good. The cabbage was shredded and cooked prior to stuffing the dumplings, which gave it a nice flavor boost. I also liked the pork and chilepepper, but didn't care for the bland chicken or seafood. I liked both the boiled and steamed dumplings. However, after a few visits I've found that they can be somewhat inconsistent.

The xiaolongbao (I got the pure pork XLB) admittedly weren't as good as the best places in LA (much less Shanghai), but they're 90% there, which for an Asian restaurant in Utah is nothing to sniff at.

They also have baozi with various fillings (e.g., pork and cabbage, pork and chive and egg-and-chive bao. I tried the latter two, which were surprisingly good.

The Four Seasons shredded veggie and bean-thread noodle salad was excellent as well (and may be my favorite dish here). Refreshing, light, and crisp with a bit of a kick.

If you're stuck in Provo, this place will scratch your Asian itch for a while. And, FWIW, I've taken my small children here several times (they also love dumplings and baozi) and the owners have bent over backward to accomodate them.

yclops in Mountain States

Provo/Orem, Utah Mexican Las Tarascas

Unfortunately, it looks like Las Tarascas is now gone. I drove past it last week, and it's been replaced by some generic fresh-Mex type place. I don't know whether they've shut down or just moved elsewhere.

I wasn't a huge fan of LT - I found the food a bit too mild for my tastes - but I liked that it was a refreshing break from the horde of Cafe Rio/Chipotle clones that have decended on the area like a plague of blandified and homogenized locusts.

yclops in Mountain States

Lum Ka Naad - Great authentic Thai in Northridge

I've tried Lum Ka Naad a few times over the past couple of years.

The first time, I just had something basic - pad kee mao IIRC - and found it pretty dull, so I didn't go back for a while.

I went back a couple of of times and tried some of the more unusual regional dishes and quite liked them. The kao tang na tung, a creamy dip of pork, shrimp and coconut milk with puffed rice crackers, was excellent. I'd had that dish years ago in Thailand and hadn't seen it on any menus before spotting it at LKN. I also had the nam kao tod a couple of months ago, and while I quite liked it, I felt that Sri Siam's was a little bit better. I may have also tried the khao soi and/or larb last year, but don't recall much about it other than I wanted to go back to LKN on my following visit.

Last time there I saw the breakfast menu for Sats. & Suns. Don't recall much about it; I recall being interested in trying it, but I usually head to LAX on Saturdays and prefer to spend my limited appetite on Elite or Sea Harbor instead.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

CA. Tamales House:

Yep. I really like this place. Seems to be a bit under the radar, possibly because of the inconvenient parking or access or something, but they do tamales surprisingly well...good fillings and reasonably moist masa. Better than a lot of the more highly touted places, IMHO.

California Tamale House
15404 Nordhoff St. (Sepulveda)
North Hills, CA 91343
(818) 894-9231

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Where to get good Nai Wong Bao?

How are the har gow at BBQ Unlimited? I thought that their chashao bao and shaomai were pretty good, but didn't know they had har gow.

Are they good-good? Or good-for-that-part-of-town-when-you-can't-drive-to-SGV-good?

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Tacos Baja Ensenada... still good?

I've eaten at TBE dozens of times over the years and it has been quite consistent.

The only exceptions I've noticed is that on Wednesdays(?) when they have their fish taco special ($0.99 or something), they precook the fish and have a holding pile ready to meet the increased demand, whereas on other days, they cook to order. The other exception was one day when it looked like they were training a new cook. In those cases the batter lacked the wonderful crispness it usually has, and the fish could possibly be compared to a fish stick.

However, I ate there just last month while back in LA on business and it was just as good as ever...and dragging one of the chile-and-salt coated guero peppers thru the crema gave the taco just the right added kick.

I still prefer Taco Nazo ever so slightly, but TBE definitely still has it. So, my guess is #1, with a very slight possibility of #2.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

LA/OC source for Mozart Chocolates?

Valley Produce in Reseda has a selection of various-sized boxes of Mirabel brand Mozartkugeln (or at least they had them last October). Some of the boxes also came with some flat disk-shaped chocolates (which I actually preferred to the regular round marzipan balls).

Valley Produce
18345 Vanowen St
Reseda, CA 91335
(818) 609-1955‎

(also another branch in Simi Valley)

yclops in Los Angeles Area

ISO Best Markets for fresh Vietnamese Herbs

Thanks for all the recs. After an early b-fast at Elite, I zipped down to Little Saigon and managed to hit three markets.

-- T&K - got lucky and noticed a worker in the back packaging basil, so I got some very fresh packages. Also grabbed a nice kabocha.

-- A Dong - picked up most of my herbs here (along with a tub of the pickled carrot and daikon shreds). They were pretty good (especially the garlic chives), but the kinh gioi was a bit weak.

-- ABC - had excellent kinh gioi, and also had some potted plants for sale - tia to, rau ram, kinh gioi and one or two others. I wrapped and crammed a rau ram and kinh gioi plant in my luggage; the rau ram survived alright, but the kinh gioi looks a bit thrashed.

--then, daunted by the scrum in Banh Mi & Che Cali, I hit Top Baguette for a quick banh mi (excellent), pate chaud and cha gio lunch, then made it to LAX just in time.

--The extended family quite enjoyed the goi cuon buffet Sunday evening...a seldom-seen ray of Chow-light that shone briefly on this benighted corner of the culinary globe.

So, thanks for the recs. Greatly appreciated.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

ISO Best Markets for fresh Vietnamese Herbs

Need to pick up a bunch of Vietnamese herbs before heading back to the Chow-less wasteland I now call home, and would like info on the market(s) *most likely* to have fresh, good-quality Vietnamese herbs, like Basil, Mint (hung cay & hung lui), Rau ram, Tia to and Kinh gioi. Anywhere is fine - either SGV or Little Saigon.

It seems to me that a lot of the SGV markets like 168, San Gabriel Superstore or Vien Dong, are hit or miss; one time, the herbs will be fresh, the next time they're tired. Normally, I'd just go from market to market until I found fresh herbs, but unfortunately my time is limited (have to cram in a bunch of chowing before the flight as well...last drink before the desert, y'know), so would like to maximize my chances of getting good herbs on the first one or two tries (last time, I guessed very poorly and went home empty handed).

Better to try Little Saigon? Which stores (I'm more familiar with SGV than Little Saigon)?

What about Farmer's Markets? I've seen Thai basil at some before, but what about the other herbs; any vendors selling those?

Also, has anyone seen potted VN herb plants for sale at any local stores/nurseries?

TIA

yclops in Los Angeles Area

What's the spiciest (yet still edible) Dish you've had in LA?

Here's mine - whole jalapeno curry at India's Sweets & Spices in Canoga Park. Excellent tangy flavor, but delivered a full-body burn.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/320829

yclops in Los Angeles Area

What is a good Panaderia on the Westside

Just down from Coppelia's is a pretty decent Cuban bakery, if that'll do. Good bolillos, especially if you get there early in the morning. Their beef and chicken pastries, and stuffed potato balls are also very yummy and cheap.

Venice’s Bakery
10943 Venice Blvd. (Military & Greenfield), Palms

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Tamales in the SFV?

You may want to give this place a try. I've been there a few times and was impressed. The masa was moist and tender (which I prefer) and the fillings were quite flavorful. I don't recall exactly which ones I tried (it was a year or two ago), but give it a try since it's so close. Plus, my eight-year olds loved it, so it may work.

Very basic place. Caters primarily to non-gringos; these aren't gentrified tamales. Inconvenient parking lot. Open early for breakfast.

California Tamale House
15404 Nordhoff St. (Sepulveda)
North Hills, CA 91343
(818) 894-9231

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Current soup dumpling status

That's exactly it. IIRC, in the initial LA Times review years back, the owner mentioned the leanness of the American pork as the main reason they couldn't replicate the exact flavor of the mother ship's XLB in LA.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

The Great USA Taco Encyclopedia

After fleeing the "pop" that was the late LA housing bubble, I landed in Western Colorado, where I wandered into a newly-opened taqueria - the owners were busily writing the menu on the back of the "For Sale" sign they'd just taken down from the window. I waited 'til they'd finished writing, and noticed a few items I'd not seen in LA - the "alambre" (just as TangoRad described below) and "chuleta", which turned out to be sauteed cubes of pork loin chop(?). Very tasty.

I also frequented a couple of taqueria in Provo, Utah years ago, one which did a very nice pierna (chile-marinated fresh ham) taco, and the other which did an interesting panela cheese taco - basically, just a flat slab of hot griddled panela.

yclops in General Chowhounding Topics

ISO good desserts and/or bakeries in Grand Junction, CO

Looking in Grand Junction for a restaurant - casual or fancy, any cuisine - that has good desserts. Any kind of desserts is okay, but baked items like cakes or bread pudding would probably score extra points.

Also looking for bakeries that do good pastries, cakes, etc.

TIA

yclops in Southwest

Sandwich Express - & "new style" banh mi shop in Reseda

Sandwich Express is still there. Hit it for lunch today as I'm back in town to escape the frozen tundra of Colorado (and do a little work in between meals to justify my presence). Didn't quite seem up to snuff, but that could be due partly to getting the last baguette of the morning batch and party due to the new sandwich artist behind the counter.

You may want to give Van's Sandwiches a try as well. Usually not quite as good as La Baguette or SE IMHO, but the banh mi dac biet is worth chowing on. 18625 Sherman Way.

Sad to see that CaliMex is shuttered again. In its brief second turn as a Vietnamese market, their banh mi were superb. The girl who made them claimed that she tried to source the best ingredients - I was skeptical but quickly convinced after a few bites. Oh well. So it goes.

yclops in Los Angeles Area

Breakfast/cafes in San Fernando Valley

My favorite breakfast stop in the West SFV was Sandwich Express in Reseda; nothing quite like a pork loaf banh mi on freshly-baked baguette with a couple of hot cha gio on the side.

Open at 7am, and close to Northridge. Not too heavy or fattening - you can do half for breakfast and the other half for lunch - and they even have a veggie version. The main downside is that the pate can give you a bit of liver breath, which may not be the best thing right before a meeting.

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Sandwich Express
18575 Sherman Way, Reseda, CA 91335

yclops in Los Angeles Area