That place with a cute logo Milk we passed by often finally opened!
They have tempting looking Icecream sandwich but since we were very full from lunch so we got the bonbons instead. The icecream inside are milky and creamy~ This place invokes an impression of All-American childhood to me. They seems to offer the usual LA organic menu of salad and sandwich as well. Definitely need to come back to try their actual menu.
Tags: Ice cream
Oops, old entry forgot to publish! It was after a drunken night and a hang over in the morning that I craved a juicy hamburger. Jon and I end up in Swingers, a retro hipster diner much like the 101 Coffee shop and Fred 62 that we blogged before. Since the “scene” is a big part of what hipster diner is about, I didn’t expect too much on the food. The burger turns out surprisingly delicious. The patty is juicy and thick, fresh and not too greasy. Love the corn side a lot too. And price is very reasonable. I think the food is better than 101 in general.
Last time we didn’t get there early enough to get the breakfast. So this time we made an effort to wake up earlier than usual.
2 poach eggs and Proscuitto. Really good fresh thin prosciutto.
Brie and Black Truffle Omelette and a potato gratin side that comes with it. There’s a generous amount of truffle. The brie is very rich, in fact almost too rich. I wish I got a glass of wine to go with it. The potato gratin side is yummy.
Tags: Breakfast, fashionable, French
Peking duck was nice. But Southern Chinese seafood gourmet is still my favorite kind of Chinese cuisine. The acclaimed Seafood Village (Bei Fung Tong in Chinese) in Monterey Park opened a branch in Temple City. We got there before 6, just early enough to beat the insane crowd. They specialized in Chiu Chow Cuisine (Chiu Chow is a coastal region in Canton province specialized in seafood cuisine that emphasized on fresh and natural taste of the ingredients, with a touch of unique and complex flavors).
We saw some $$$ delicacies on menu: Abalone ($12 per. lb, each are at least 5-6 lb), and Ancient Method Shark Fin Soup for whopping $98 a bowl! There’s also a Swallow nest dessert.
Bei Fung Tong Crab (Bei Fung Tong means “Wind Sheltering Port”). This is a signature Chiu Chow dish: crab stir fried with little roasted crispy garlic bits, very flavorful and crispy. It’s a heavenly treat taste and texture wise~ However this is not the best dish of the night.
A delicious House Soup with broiled Fish belly, Mushroom and more (Fish Belly has no flavor but has a unique chewy texture and amazing dose of protein.). We also got a surprisingly yummy Chicken with Red dates, Gogi berries and Jelly Ear Fungus. It feels light and healthy (like a nourishment soup), but oh-so-tasty! The Fungus are richly flavored with the sauce, with just a hint of sweetness from the red dates.
Simply called Chiu Chow Fish, this is the BEST dish. The fish is very fresh, moist and deeply flavored by the broth. The taste is light and subtle at first, but then you get lured by this irresistable smokey aroma and flavor. I tried to decipher what made the broth taste so special (smell/taste like a type of Chinese sour pickled cabbage with some type of smokey bacon or ham).
The Spicy steamed Clams is the richest and strongest flavor dish of all yet still retained the fresh clam taste. The glass noodle underneath absorbed the soup and clam flavor that they taste incredible~ Chiu Chow Stir fried (a lot of items are just lazily named as Chiu Chow something^^;), a homely dish but also very good.
Their desserts are delicate. Crystal Buns: very thin and light glassy skin with custard, green tea, black sesame and red bean paste. The free complimentary final dessert Snow Fungus with Water chestnut and Ginkgo, very good.
We were expecting one or two star dishes with some sub complimentary dishes, turns out EVERY one of them are truly amazing! It’s great fresh Chiu Chow cuisine that taste fresh and complex. I can’t wait to go back and hopefully one day I’ll get to try that $98 Shark Fin’s soup. 😀
Seafood Village (Bei Fung Tong)
1) 684 W. Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754
2) 9669 Las Tunas Dr. Temple City, CA 91780
Nine of us dined at this Chinese restaurant Lu Din Gee specialized in Peking Duck. We got carried away and ended up ordering too many food.
We got hungry while waiting for the rest of our party to arrive so we ordered the cold appetizer Sauteed Pork Slices. Thin, non-oily and tasty, very good!
The Roasted Peking Duck has to be ordered at least one hour in advance. There are 3 ways to eat the duck: A) the traditional way with the thin pancake + scallions + sauce, B) stir-Fried Bean Sprout with Duck Meat, or C) Duck Bone Soup. Since we got two ducks so we had one in A and the 2nd one in A and B. The duck skin is cripsy yet melt in your mouth (amazing!), meat is juicy. Our friend said that even though it’s good, especially compare with other places in So. Cal, it’s still a long way from the ones in China.
Note: one duck is pretty big enough for 8-9 people. We couldn’t finish most of the 2nd duck (which is half size).
The Stir-Fried Bean Sprout with Duck Meat from the 2nd half of the duck. Not much flavor and bland, should have get the Duck bone soup instead. A Japanese + chinese fusion dish B.B.Q. Eel on Steamed Sweet Rice, the eel is delicious, airy texture and fresh tasting, and love the sticky rice.
Stir Fried Pineapple & Shell-less Shrimp in Mayo. The very spicy and flavorful Cumin Lamb. Had to wash it down with beer ^^;;
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Northern Tofu, for some reason I didn’t taste this dish ^^;; Southern Style Sauteed Pork Rib, the sauteed pickled vegetables are very tasty.
My friend caught a glimpse of “snoopy”-like figure and thought it’s just her imagination, as the under plate seems to be a regular blue china plate. Then we removed the bowl on top and realized it WAS a Snoopy plate ^^;;;
The menu other than their specialty Peking Duck seems to mainly consist of Northern Chinese dishes, some are more “contemporary” and there’re even some cafe-ish items (ie: Ja-Jiang Noodle)…such an odd mix.
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