poggibonzzi's Profile
Manila Chinese Food
There is a type of Chinese cuisine in Manila that I haven't seen in North American Chinatowns. It is Amoy Chinese food. It shares many nomenclatures with Taiwanese food but the preparation is quite different. Man Han, with branches in Quezon City and Makati, is perhaps the best place to sample this cuisine. Ha Yuan is also good. Then there are individual restaurants in Chinatown that are good for particular dishes-- Ma Kong for chicken butt noodle soup (mami,) New Manosa for Lo Mi and stuffed prawn, Tang Qiao for Ma Ki, Panciteria Peace for stewed pork leg.
These are some dishes to try:
Lumpia (egg roll) is quite different from all other egg rolls, quite delicious and healthful. It is like a burrito stuffed with a melange of shredded veggies, tofu, meat, shrimp, ground peanuts etc.
Ma Chang. Steamed bamboo leaf wrapped glutinous rice with pork belly, sausage, mushrooms, dried shrimp. The oil from the chunks of pork belly infuses the dish with a fragrance and flavor that makes it different (better) than Cantonese or Shanghai versions of leaf wrapped glutinous rice.
Lo Mi. Udon like noodles in a thick soup made with shrimp, pork, mushrooms, cabbage, shallots etc.
Diok Pit He. Deep fried stuffed prawns wrapped in a pork stomach "webbing."
Ma Ki. The same characters as Taiwanese Rou Geng but tastes very different. Gingery chunks of beef or pork in a glistening thickened soup.
Pork Leg Cha Bihon. The chunks of pork leg makes this fried rice vermicelli dish fantastic.
O Chien. Oyster omelette. Unlike Taiwanese version, the use of chives gives it a great flavor.
Ngo Hiong Keng. Similar but better than Taiwanese Chicken rolls.
The restaurants I've mentioned above are every day lunch places and the dishes are priced accordingly. While Man Han and Ha Yuan are clean and comfortable eating places, the others are very much less so :-)
Trying to find the best ready-made Chinese 'zongzi' (粽子) to take home... Where to go buy?
The big Chinese grocery store on N. Atlantic in Monterey Park near Ocean Star has pretty good Shanghai style zongzi to go. The concessionaire for dry foods at the front of the store is where they can be purchased. They have mushroom zongzi and pork belly zongzi.
Most Original or Unusual Desserts in LA - Where?
What a great list... Thanks... There goes my waistline.
BayAreans Hit Canele 4 Times in 2 Weekends
Canele would be my first choice followed by Blair's when I'm in that part of town :-) Since you love Canele, you might also want to try Amarone on Sunset.
Citrus, wonderful, wonderful food
When a friend invited me to dinner at Citrus at Social Hollywood tonight, I was a bit hesitant as fellow chowhounders seldom mention the place. And as it is a Michel Richard satellite place, I thought it would be good/great but overpriced. I was wrong on both counts-- the food was terrific and the price was quite reasonable. We had the prix fixe dinner ($65 pp) between the two of us we got to taste 10 dishes, everyone of which was excellent in terms of presentation, temperature, taste and accompaniments. The only places in LA where I had food that was similarly top notch in everyway for all the dishes served was at Bastide, Melisse and Providence. (I have not tried Anisette yet :-)) The food was not gimmicky nor overprecious in presentation but just very well presented and each dish including the sauce/decor/sides were just incredibly tasty and spiced just right. Every plate was practically licked clean! I might have if our waiter wasn't so good in clearing the table. I had a glass of Barolo ($12) and she had a strong Martini (?). There were many other good wine choices in all price range and interesting sounding mixed drinks. The service was pleasant, attentive yet unobtrusive. The restaurant is huge (think La Cachette) and not well soundproofed so there is background noise but not as noisy as say, Angelini or Mozza. We asked for a booth and were given one. The booths seem more comfy than table seating. It is easy to find street parking after 7 PM along that stretch of Sunset. We were so pleased with our experience we're going back for their Harvest Wine dinner event on Aug. 14.
In short-- highly recommended for exceptional quality food and good value.
Elegance and Romance - Valentino [Review] w/ Pics!
I enjoyed reading your review. It gave me a good feel of the place and the food. If I had $400 to blow on a dinner for two and it will be my only meal in LA, would Valentino be your recommendation?
Odd, Unique and Weird
Boiling Crab for scrumptious, inexpensive Vietnamese Cajun seafood served in plastic bags plopped on your table by cheerful waitresses.
Foodie visit to New York
Gramercy was on our list but there was only so many meals during our stay in NYC. I'm penicilling it and Perry Street and checking this board for more suggestions for my next trip. So much great food, so little time.
Foodie visit to New York
I was in NYC last week and had prix fixe lunches at Bouley, Eleven Madison Park, Jean Georges and Tocqueville. Both Bouley and Eleven are mind blowingly good. JG was excellent as well but the place had a busy feel to it that was somewhat offputting. Tocqueville was good but clearly not in the same league as these others. I had a very enjoyable dinner at Babbo's, be sure to order their mint love letter. I also tried Momofuku Ssam Bar and found it fun but not a particularly good value even if its prices are on the low side. The steamed pork bun was perfect but not that different from steamed pork bun at top notch Chinese places. I'd say the same for the sliced beef tendon dish and the fried skate wings altho the remoulade sauce it came with does make it different. The only unusual dish I had there was their Santa Barbara Uni with caviar which was excellent. I'm glad I went but I was expecting more. In terms of sheer excellence, I'd say don't miss Bouley and Eleven. As we were leaving Bouley, the maitre handed us each a small lemon butter pound cake present. I ate it two days later and it was still moist, rich, incredibly lemony and the best pound cake I've ever had. Move over Sara Lee.
Gaby's Express
You can eat in at Gaby's Express. Gaby Med has better food and more choices. The only time I ate at GE, I had a hard time finding something I'd like. I ended up ordering chicken, which frankly, tasted awful.
Carlitos Gardel - Quality of Meat
Carlitos Gardel is pretty darn good, I thought its meat tastier than Palm's but a cut below Ruth Chris'. I haven't been to Mastro's. I don't remember the technical specs of its meat.
best soup dumplings in LA????
The first time I ate at Joe's Shanghai, I thought "gee, this is as good as J and J." In retrospect, I think JS is superior.
AYCE Korean BBQ Rating Scale 1 2 3
1) Soot bul Gui Rim
2) Si Gol
No third. I like SBGR better than many other nonAYCE joints because it uses charcoal fire. Also the selection includes quite a few organ meats... yummy.
Nick & Stef's or Zucca before an opera? HELP!!
I haven't eaten at Nick and Stef but Zucca would be a good choice for pre-Opera dinner. It is upscale without being stuffy. There is a patio but indoor seating may be nicer as the patio felt busy to me due to its configuration. Their pork shank with fagiole is excellent.
Napa Valley Grille Review
Thank you for reviewing Napa Grille. The only time I ate there, I thought their food was nicely done but not up to the level of the high price they charged. Dang I wish I can remember the details of that waaay overpriced meal. But I'm glad you had a better experience than I did.
Taiwanese Food in West LA
:::Chuckling::: Yes, always overorder. SGV food is sooo cheap if I were to prepare that food at home, it'll cost much much more and wouldn't taste half as good.
Good and Bad Pho in the San Gabriel Valley
My fav Pho place in San Gabriel is Saigon Flavor on Valley. What do you think of that place?
Comparing Persian Restaurants
I like Javan on Santa Monica best, followed by Sheharezad on Westwood. Shamshiri does not do it for me.
A Nice Mother's Day Brunch? L.A. to the Westside - Help
The Otani in J town has a wonderful buffet on Mother's day. Be sure to reserve ahead so as to have a nice table overlooking their lovely rooftop garden. I don't recall for how much but it was not for much. You might also make reserves at Roy's. They usually have a prix fixe for Mother's day.
Offal in LA?
All'Angelo on Melrose has a good tripe appetizer. Mozza (not the pizzeria)has a boneless pig's trotter appetizer which I found too salty when I had it.
Any Cheap Chinese-style Crab deals?
You got to try their crab? I went 3 separate times to pig out on their crab special but each time was told "all sold out." So I thought maybe they never have it. I end up having their fire pot instead which I like a lot.
I love taro..
I was just in that neighborhood lunching at Mario's. As I already overfilled my Scoops ice cream quota this week for the month, I forced my steering wheel to turn west. Had I known they have Ube Coconut, I wouldn't have struggled so much and simply gave in.
At what LA restaurant do you overlook horrible Food/Decor/Service for something great of theirs that you have to have?
Sanamluang for their shrimp cake appetizer and curry beef soup noodles. Saritgol for their black cod stew. Tito's Tacos. Soot Bul Jeep for BBQ.
I love taro..
Ooooh I love your list. I'm a huge taro fan as well. As NS1 noted Red Ribbon (Sunset and Gower) has a dense, creamy, taro-ey "Ube cake." I like it better than Chinese bakery versions as it appears to be made from fresh grated taro. I've also had a taro ice cream with coconut sport (ube macapuno) from Filipino markets that I like better than Japanese or Chinese versions because the taro taste is more pronounced. And little Sam Woo off San Gabriel has a salmon head with taro hot pot that is very good.
ISO Goose appetizer
A take out and noodle shop on Valley across from Sam Woo used to have braised goose. The restaurant is still there but that dish is no longer available. Recently I found braised goose at the Capital Take out place next to Wing Hop Fung on the corner of Atlantic and Garvey but it was no good. Does anyone know where I might find a good rendition of this appetizer?
Hatfields review - 4-16-08 – WOW!
They no longer have hanger steak on their menu, have braised short ribs to take its place. I hope croque madame will always be available. What an amazing appetizer.
I've gotten into the habit of judging restaurants in terms of how they compare with Hatfield's in terms of exceptional quality and price. Very few measure up. Hatfield's is a steal.
Best Speciality Food Shops in LA
Not high end but normal spices and food that Jewish and Persian enjoy are chockabloc at Elat (Pico a block E of Robertson.) Stuff like fresh Turkish Delight, nuts, dates, olives, thin breads, pomgranate...
R23 - Did not live up to Expectation
Sorry to hear you were let down. We ate there 2 weeks ago and we were delighted. We didn't have sushi (I go to dedicated sushi places for my sushi) but cooked entrees and their Dungeness crab salad. My recollection is we had their scallops with asparagus and shimeji mushrooms, stuffed duck, tofu miso soup and cold sake. The presentation was beautiful, the taste was a treat. I thought their cooked food compares well with Asanebo. The only thing I didn't like was the valet parking. I'm cheap that way :-)
Votre Sante "similar places" parents in town
There is a macrobiotic restaurant on Melrose near Poinsettia. I can't remember the name but it is in the same strip mall as a Pinkberry. If you like A Votre Sante, you'll likely love this place. Bon Appetit.
Romantic Lunch Mid-Wilshire
You might also consider Rita's Floral Shop on La Brea between Campanille and Ca' Brea. You can have very nice sandwiches and soups surrounded by lovely things in bloom. Have your waiter hand her a bouquet afterwards to delight her ;-)
