August 24, 2006 3

Yung Ho Dou Jiang (San Gabriel)

//// By in 01: San Gabriel

Yung Ho is a Taiwanese chain where you can get Mandarin breakfast in LA. We used to Sunday brunch here a lot back in those art school days ;D (Dou Jiang means Soymilk).
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We had salty soymilk! The one on the left is Northern style, in which the soymilk solidfied (like soft tofu) with seaweed, bamboo shoot and minced meat. The one on the right is generic kind that has pickled cabbage and dried pork. Both are very good~
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Fried Bread sticks, you eat them by dipping them in the soymilk. We ordered way too many of them, I forgot that they came in ‘pairs’. The Sticky Rice is not the kind (with fried bread stick and pickled cabbage) I like…:( It has dried pork and fried battered thin pork.
DSC00760.jpgCold Thousand Year Old Egg with Tofu, we expected a small appertizing scramble dish with sesame oil. Turns out they served it with blocks of tofu and slices of egg placed on top. Both are still tasty individually anyway. Way too many dried pork meat though…

There are 2 branches in LA, the one we went to is at:
1045 E Valley Blvd Ste 105, San Gabriel, CA 91776-3661

the other branch:
533 W Valley Blvd., San Gabriel, CA 91776-3700

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August 23, 2006 2

Ebisu (Little Tokyo)

//// By in 06: Downtown LA

DSC00713.jpgA new (yet another) Izakaya Ebisu opened at the corner of Little Tokyo where there were already two nearby. It’s from the corp who brought us Daikokuya and dozen other Japanese restaurants in LA. The interior is very designed (contrast to neighbor Haru Ulala) though the individual booth seatings were private and cozy~
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Takoyaki is NICE! Grated Yam with Tuna is pretty good, the tuna were fresh~
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Fresh Oyster and the way too intense Oyster Shooter
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Egg with Cheese (taste like children’s finger food), Grill Smelt Fish, filled with smelt eggs inside, yum!
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Ume, Mentaiko, Tuna Riceballs, and Grilled Pork.
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Corn Croquette and Icecream Mochi.

All these were shared by 3 of us, plus a pitcher of beer. There was no special, the menu was rather limited and predictable (snacks, rice bowl, etc.), maybe they’d introduce more later? Izayoi from across the street is a better choice for now.

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August 23, 2006 2

Mashti Malone’s Ice Cream (La Brea)

//// By in 08: Hollywood

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Finally tried Mashi Malone’s Ice Cream, a famous Iranian ice-cream shop in Hollywood. It’s been around for a long time, it’s next to a bar in a stripe mall so the parking could be nightmarish at night. The ice cream/sorbet are homemade, they use lots of unusual and interesting ingredients. There are lots of exotic flavor likes ginger rose water, Pistachio Saphron, Herbal Snow and Orange Blossom. I’ve had rose water dessert before and it felt a bit like eating perfume ^^;; So Jon and I tried the more “safe” Pomegranates sorbet and Turkish Coffee ice cream. Very very good! I can see myself going back here all the time, next time I’ll definitely be more adventurous.

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August 22, 2006 2

Solar de Cahuenga (Cahuenga)

//// By in 08: Hollywood

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DSC00693.jpgThe past 2 times I came here for lunch I kept leaving behind my camera charging at the office. 3rd time is the charm! It’s a crepe (not so common in the Hollywood area) + coffeeshop, the inside is surprisingly big and cozy. Susie’s own: tomato sauce minced meat, nutmeg and spinach (not much flavor). The side was Squash soup. Beef stroganoff crepe: the meat is rubbery and a bit hard to chew, the buttery sauce is good though. I prefer the savory Bell peppers crepe (forgot name) I got last time more. I’ve also tried their dessert crepes Suzette last time and it’s totally forgettable, it kill my further desire to try their other ones. Overall the food is good and not fantastic. Their crepe is a bit too thick for my liking. Though I don’t mind coming back here if I ever need a crepe-fix on a work day since it’s close by. The nice spacious interior is pretty good for spending hours typing away on laptop or reading. It’s also an alternative late night dining on the Franklin Ave area.

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August 21, 2006 2

Auntie Em’s Kitchen (Eagle Rock)

//// By in 03: Eagle Rock

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Back to my favorite breakfast place, but I was too late! So I tried their lunch menu that features salad and sandwich. I tried the special Grilled Pork Sandwich. When it came I was disappointed, it’s 2 white toast with too much meat (a bit dried) and nothing else to go with. The side potato salad was very delicious though (one of the best I’ve had for awhile!). Then I tried their Mocha Cupcake, another disappointment: it was dry, the cake fell apart in crumbs once I touch it. It felt old, especially dried on the edge. I should stick with the breakfast menu perhaps? But the place is too cute to give up yet…

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