PandanExpress's Profile
Thought experiment - What is chow worthy classic "Chinese American" food?
> Your examples of "Chinese American" food is really just Hong Kong style fast food.
That was my point. It's a Chinese take on an American idea. It's not like the Chinese haven't had fast food for centuries (bao zi, anyone?), but this Chinese take on western dishes is what makes Chinese American food.
As for my examples of American Chinese food like kung pao chicken and sweet and sour pork -- yes I realize they do have roots in traditional Chinese food, but are you guys really saying that the gloopy, overly sweet version you get at places like Panda Express is traditional?
Thought experiment - What is chow worthy classic "Chinese American" food?
Chinese American Food (Chinese take on American food)
- The "french style fillet mignon" they serve at Tasty Garden
- Corn chowder at many HK-style cafes
- Pasta at many HK-style cafes
- Egg Waffle
American Chinese Food (Americanized Chinese Food)
- kung pao chicken
- sweet and sour pork
- gigantic burrito-style eggrolls
- egg foo young
Gold Standard 2012
I got in during VIP hour and it was still swamped, but definitely not as crowded as it was later. I do wish that this event were earlier in the year just so it wouldn't be so hot. Sweating while waiting in line isn't really conducive to a good appetite.
I thought the budino with the cookie looked wonderful and tasted every bit as good as it does from the restaurant. I liked that more booths were serving finger-foods, since even with the cocktail plate, it gets unwieldy trying to balance a glass, a plate, food, and a utensil.
There should definitely be a ban on all strollers for the event next year. Really, do we need that giant double-wide stroller right in the middle of where people are trying to walk?
I was more annoyed by the people standing around a booth not eating than the people taking pictures. Maybe because I was one of the people taking pictures (seen here: http://www.runawaysquirrels.com/2012/03/gold-standard-2012/). I found plenty of time to snap a picture while the people in front of me in line picked up their food and then just STOOD THERE while they ate instead of moving out of the way. It's like being at the free samples counter at Costco.
Vegan or vegetarian Chinese?
You will not find GOOD Chinese anywhere in WeHo, West LA, or even the Valley, unless you mean the San Gabriel Valley.
With that in mind, if you want average vegetarian Chinese food in the valley, you can try Vegetable Delight in Chatsworth. While it's not bad, I wouldn't be a fan of Chinese food either if I had to eat that as my only Chinese food option.
If you're willing to venture to the San Gabriel Valley, possibilities open up.
Poll: Would you eat a dog
I've had dog before. I'd probably eat it again if it were more delicious and legal/available. What I remember of it, it was like tough beef.
I don't really get what's the big deal. If you're willing to eat one animal, you should be willing to eat another. Same for different animal parts like offal.
http://www.nakedsushi.net/
TEA HOUNDS! Why are we not talking about Dr. Tea's Tea Garden & Herbal Emporium on Pico/La Brea??
1) WHF = Wing Hop Fung (both the Chinatown and Monterey Park branch)
2.) Ah I did not know that about Ten Ren. Most of the ones I've been at, the people were not that hospitable or patient with letting customers try the tea.
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Wing Hop Fung
727 N Broadway 102, Los Angeles, CA 90012
TEA HOUNDS! Why are we not talking about Dr. Tea's Tea Garden & Herbal Emporium on Pico/La Brea??
You're right that WHF (and Bird Pick) and Ten Ren all have teas, but when I said "a good tea shop in LA" I meant more of a place where you can sit down and taste the teas brewed the right way before (maybe) buying them.
I guess in a way, Funnel Mill in Santa Monica provides this service -- where they brew it for you in the pots or show you how to do it yourself.
But with WHF, every time I've gone, they either don't let you try any of the teas, or brew it terribly (too hot water, too long a steep) so you can't really get the right taste of the tea. I haven't been in Bird Pick yet, but it's pretty much the same quality of WHF, but maybe more expensive. I guess with how BP is set up, they do kind of brew the tea for you better.
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Funnel Mill
930 Broadway, Santa Monica, CA
TEA HOUNDS! Why are we not talking about Dr. Tea's Tea Garden & Herbal Emporium on Pico/La Brea??
They're not talking about it because the prices are steep, the tea quality is mediocre, and the place seems too much like a snake oil shop. It may be a great introductory place to tea, but definitely where what you'd call a "tea hound" would frequent.
Unfortunately, there really isn't a good tea shop in LA, so most of the tea hounds order online or, like my husband, host tea tastings with other tea-inclined friends.
http://www.nakedsushi.net/
Settebello Pizza in Pas?
I went Sunday night and thought it was great. I got the Margherita DOC. The crust was fine, with the right texture between the tomatoey top and the slightly crispy bottom. The tomatoes were great with just the right amount of salt and tang. I think I had the best mouthful of pizza since I could remember when I bit into one part of my pizza and it had the perfect amount of tomato, cheese, and bread.
I didn't have to order my pizza well done and it came out with the right amount of char.
I also liked their arugula salad. There's no false advertisement there, it really is just a plate of arugula, but dressed with a nicely balanced mixture of oil and lemon. The dressing brings out the spiciness of the arugula very well.
Wilshire DineLA Lunch -- Issue
Did the restaurant give a reason why they could not serve the crab cake for the DineLA menu?
Pita Bread Soaked in Soup and Shanxi Knife Cut Noodles at Shaanxi Gourmet In Rosemead
I went for dinner tonight and indeed, it has the new-place-opened crowd. Lots of Shanghainese customers when I got there.
I had the lamb "burger" which I think was one of the best dishes of the night among other good ones. It's a simple stewed lamb on two pieces of Shaanxi flat bread. Nothing fancy, but incredibly good in a simple way. The lamb was melt-in-your-mouth tender and rich with just enough fat to make the dense bread delicious. I predict David Chang ripping it off in a few months and charging $9 for it if he hasn't done so already.
I also had the pita bread in soup, which was also very good. My dad told me an interesting story about it, which I won't go into here, but I wrote up here (http://www.runawaysquirrels.com/2011/10/comfort-food-at-shaanxi-gourmet/). The pita bread is cubed neatly and soaks up enough broth to make it seem like cooked noodle dough. The broth was rich and fatty. Definitely get it if you're a fan of lamb.
The big plate of chicken is indeed a big plate. Enough for 2 hearty diners, or 3 regular diners. It's the right amount of spicy and the chicken has a subtle anise flavor. The standout of this dish though, are the sauce-soaked noodles underneath. Satisfyingly chewy, long, thick, noodles.
I also had the cat-ear noodles. Normally, it's stir fried and then topped with a meat broth, but this time we had them make it with veggie broth because my husband is vegetarian. The noodles were wonderful and the broth so good that we doubt its vegetarianess.
We saw a group of four order three bowls of the cold sesame noodle, so we knew we had to try it too. The noodles were pretty basic, just wheat noodles and sesame paste and some bean sprouts, but they were surprisingly good. This place has the texture of these noodles down flat. The wheat noodles had the smooth, springy texture of a rice noodle. Amazing.
Weird/Bad Food Related Dates
I once dated a guy who would offer to take me out to dinner when I flew in to visit him (long distance, 2 hour plane ride). He'd take me out to dinner at Subway. I was young, stupid and in college back then and I understood that he didn't have a lot of money, but the thing that sealed the deal was that the guy also worked at subway and got sandwiches for free there.
We would get there late at night (24-hour subway, he worked the graveyard shift at another job) and he would make me a sandwich. Then we would have to go through this charade of me paying him at the cashier, which he said was for the cameras. Now that I look back at it, we were stealing from subway, because he would hand me the money back after we left.
One time, I wanted a cookie along with my sandwich, but he was too lazy to bake/microwave it and he just gave me a tub of cookie dough to eat raw instead.
Needless to say, we broke up shortly afterward and now I can't walk past a subway without cringing at the smell.
Shao bing in SGV?
You'd have to BYO chili paste, but Si Hai (four seas) in San Gabriel has it and I believe so does Huge Tree in Monterey Park. They're just plain and empty inside.
Why is chicken so expensive?
$4.50 for half a chicken, deep fried in butter from Banh Mi My Tho. Comes with broken rice or bun, pickled carrots & radish, and a few slices of cucumber.
Maybe your'e going to the wrong places.
Honey Kettle has to pay downtown Culver City rent and their apathetic workers.
I didn't know people still went to KFC.
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Banh Mi My Tho
304 W Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91803
Who Makes The Best Bahn Mi Sandwiches?
Yes, I think he's the son. I love that guy. He speaks English, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Mandarin. How awesome is that? And he's always in a good mood. Just don't ask him how's X or how's Y because he'll make it sound so good, you'll find it impossible not to order it as well as what you came there for.
Not on the regular menu, but on a print-out next to the window, they also have half a butter fried chicken on broken rice or bun (rice noodles) for $4.50. VERY good but definitely a messier meal than a banh mi.
NakedSushi review of 'Ledbury' during the riots
I wrote that. It wasn't a review (that will come once I get my pictures off my card). Other than the incident, the food was very good, including the vegan tasting menu which my husband got. I'm sad I can't say much about the rest of the tasting menu since my meal was rudely interrupted. The staff really went beyond the call of duty there. They even called me today to make sure I got home okay.
I recommend going when they reopen and things quiet down. Jut leave your valuables at home.
Gourmet Taiwanese Burgers At Bun Bun in Arcadia
I went this weekend. I wouldn't really call it gourmet, but it's a decent fast-food burger, on the same level as In N Out. For those who are on the boat of saying the fixin's make the burger, this is the right burger to have. For those who are all about the meat, I'd look elsewhere.
I got the beef burger w/ an egg on it. As a whole, the burger was delicious and not too sweet. The patty itself does taste different than the more traditional western burgers, but had no identifiable beefy taste. The texture was springy, almost like a breakfast sausage patty. By itself, it had no strong taste, but man, did it taste good in the whole package.
The veggie patty, I'm pretty sure is not made in-house. It's one of those soy-pork patties that you can get from the Chinese market. I'm not saying that they *can't* make it in house, but it would be pretty labor intensive if they did so, and it tasted exactly like what you could buy at the store. Will got his in the rice bun and it held together surprisingly well.
They also gave us a free sample of something they called a veggie eggroll, but was more like one of those veggie tempura (taiwanese tien-pu-la) sticks that was deep fried. Pretty good! I think it'll be on the menu soon.
The fries were the worst part about the meal. They were crispy, but only lukewarm. I did like the dipping sauce they came with though.
Gourmet Taiwanese Burgers At Bun Bun in Arcadia
In addition to beef, pork, chicken and fish, I believe they also have a veggie burger as well as burger with rice buns ala mos burger.
Haven't gone yet, but does anyone know if their veggie patty is made in house or just bought?
Turkey Rolls At 101 Noodle Express In Fox Hills Mall
> Also, I'm glad I don't have a nut allergy, because I wouldn't have expected peanuts in my side of vegetables. Definitely going to give them another try.
Most people who have a nut allergy are fine eating peanuts since they're not nuts. They're legumes.
I stopped by yesterday for lunch and saw someone in the back area folding out a pancake, so they do make them at the little food stand. I got a spicy beef noodle soup and my lunch partner got the beef rolls. Even though I had sufficient warning, I was shocked with how little my money got.
The beef noodle soup was a little bland and had only a few pieces of beef. The beef that I did have was at least not tough and the right texture. The noodles were also nice and chewy and not soggy at all. Maybe it was the not-that-hot-broth.
The beef roll, I didn't try because I didn't want to deprive my lunch partner of his precious 2 pieces.
Overall, it was what I expected for mall food and it could be worse. I wouldn't call it a destination spot though. Fox Hill Mall recently got a major facelift, so that may account for the increased price. I also think it's weird to have french fries with your Chinese food, but maybe that's to coax those unfamiliar with the food in.
Trying to find the best ready-made Chinese 'zongzi' (粽子) to take home... Where to go buy?
If you get the viet version (which as the previous poster said is cylindrical) you can just cut thick 1/2 inch slices of it, wrapper and all, kind of like a sausage. Then, remove the wrapper off the slice you cut off, and pan fry on both sides on medium-low heat until crispy. Cover the cut-end of the remaining cylinder with plastic wrap. That's how my family always did it, and it is indeed the best way to enjoy it.
Best noodle soups in San Gabriel Valley?
I just had a bowl of the SY noodles for lunch the other day and I concur that the broth is not beefy, but that's not really a complaint because I too am a fan of soy + garlic + sour. It is definitely a giant bowl of noodles. I also like that it's actually burn-my-lips spicy whereas when I get ktown naeng myeon it's just "Oh, it's kinda red, okay" spicy.
Liu Xiang Yuan(g) -- Deadly hot fish balls
I went last night for dinner and burned the crap out of my mouth with their fish ball soup. I was starving and knew better, but I took a huge bite out of their fist-sized fish balls and the broth inside scalded the inside of my mouth. But oh, it was well worth it.
Pillowy soft outside with the delicate flavor of fish, wrapped around a dangerously hot ground meat core with a hint of ginger. The soup balls came in (different than the broth that was INSIDE the balls) was not half bad either.
For one order of fish ball soup (about $7), you get a bowl with enough balls to share with two people. The dish was actually quite good. I'm not sure why the restaurant was so empty during dinner last night.
Maybe everyone was at home icing their tongues.
write up and pics here: http://www.runawaysquirrels.com/2011/06/hot-scoops-liu-xiang-yuan/
Providence - Anniversary Roll-back Pricing for Tasting Menu (Again)?
You should call and ask, but last time I went with my husband (vegan), it was okay. It's always good to call in advance so the kitchen can prepare vegetarian-friendly dishes.
The Raymond, South Pasadena
I've never had the bar food, but have had drinks at 1886 bar and their drinks are pretty good for that side of town. When we don't want to drive all the way downtown for a nicely stirred drink, 1886 is perfect.
Inexpensive Wine
Last time I was at K&L (on Vine in Hollywood) they had few boxes of Mezzocorona CS, which I think is pretty good for a $8 bottle of wine.
http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1063826
It's great with strong foods.
Hawaiian Plate Lunch
Rutt's Hawaiian is a favorite of mine. Their royales are great, but never had their other plate options.
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Rutt's Hawaiian Cafe
12114 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90066
Pandan Ice Cream?
No. That's just bad.
There's pandan flavored soy milk and soft tofu (dessert) at Chinese markets. I guess you can try making your own out of the soy milk?
Is the Royce worth it? (Langham, Pasadena)
I haven't eaten at the restaurant, but I do know that since their re-opening, there is a full vegetarian tasting menu if you ask for it.
Ton Chan Ramen (SGV)
I've been there three times already. The first time was right after they opened, so the food was a little shaky. Broth and noodles (I believe I got the Shoyu that time) were both good, but the chashu was dry and tasteless. I made a comment about that to the server and it seems like they took that criticism to heart because the second time I went, the chashu was great!
I like that their egg is usually perfectly cooked -- the yolk is still a bit soft and liquidy.
Not sure if it's a promotion or not, but every time I've gone I've gotten a free plate of gyoza and a dessert pudding.
Yes, the depth and flavor of the both is great, but if you like spice, don't hesitate to get a bit of the spicy paste on the side. The paste they give you has a lot of heat and a great smoky flavor that really enhances the broth.
