April 12, 2011 1

Noodle Boy (San Gabriel)

//// By in 01: San Gabriel

I was very saddened when my favorite wonton noodle joint Wonton Times closed years ago. Years later, the people who owned it has opened a new jointed called Noodle Boy. It was very crowded on the opening day, and they were very slow in serving the customers. The experiences I heard were mixed: most people got very frustrated with the waiting time. So I’ve been avoiding this place for awhile, until my craving for quality, simple, authentic wonton noodles have given in.

Noodle Boy

Wow it’s still great! The wontons are huge but fresh, tasty and got great texture. The broth was very delicious, it has a very nice sweetness (cooked from shrimp?). The timing is perfect. Their fishballs are greats too. Their housemade chili sauce at the condiment tray was very good as well (you can buy it at the check out counter).

Noodle Boy

However the waiting time is still the same. Despite I went in a late, empty weekday afternoon, I had to wait for my order for a very long time. It seems that they waited for another customer’s order to make mine together (or they really simply forgot mine).

I think this place is for those appreciate and want the authentic Hong Kong flavors, otherwise the waiting might not be worth it for a simple bowl of noodle. But as they say, to make the simplest thing great is the hardest. Noodle Boy gets it.

Noodle Boy
8518 E. Valley Blvd. Suite#B108, Rosemead, CA 91776

Tags: ,

March 23, 2011 4

KTCHN 105 (downtown)

//// By in 06: Downtown LA

KTCHN 105KTCHN 105 is hidden inside a residential loft at the heart of the produce district in downtown LA. It’s a “private kitchen” that serves dinner once a week and brunch on Sundays. I first learned about KTCHN 105 from work as we rented the space for a project late last year. It’s a private dining experience at a the chef’s loft and you can take cooking classes there as well. The man behind this interesting operation is chef Felix G Barron. He did catering at my company’s Christmas party last year and the food was wonderful. KTCHN 105 was closed for the holiday and finally reopened late last month for brunch!

KTCHN 105KTCHN 105KTCHN 105

I love the interior space, miminal but cozy. It’s really a restaurant inside someone’s home (the bed is behind the paper tubes). There’s a nice outdoor patio next to the loft where brunch is usually serves. Unfortunately it was a rainy day.

KTCHN 105KTCHN 105

The menu changes every time. We shared a starter: Basil Cured Salmon Lox with Honey mustard, basil remoulade, red onion, dice egg, chives and toast baguette.  The salmon was fresh,

KTCHN 105IMG_1156
Strong coffee (refilled nonstop) and homemade brioche and jam.

KTCHN 105

Corn Meal Waffle Pear BLT
After reading the description I knew I had to try this. Instead of bread it’s corn waffles which was very good. In between there’s bacon, tomato, smoked gouda, fresh herb salad and roasted corn mayo served over a caramelized onion and pear maple syrup. Every bite is  mouthful of different flavors and textures. I love the onion and pear maple syrup a lot.

KTCHN 105KTCHN 105

Left: Homemade corned beef fennel potato hash with a habanero scramble and a scallion remoulade. Right: Sun dried tomato scramble with caramelized onions, scallions and smoked gouda, home fries. Both are hearty, fresh and flavorful.

KTCHN 105We were too full to have dessert, which is a pity because they sounded great. The bill came with these homemade cookies. Overall it was a great experience. Menu was interesting, the food was fresh and fantastic. I love that it’s “hidden” and the space felt homey.

Apparently the weekly dinner is going to start soon! You can make reservation online. They’ll confirmed it through email and once you get there, give them a call and they’ll open the gate to let you into the loft complex.

In case anyone is interested, the project we shot at KTCHN 105 is for the opening sequence of a certain food show on Travel Channel (hint:  it’s NOT my favorite show Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservation unfortunately…), and I can be seen in the sequence as the blurry girl in green :).

KTCHN 105
1250 Long Beach Ave #105, Los Angeles CA 90021
714-720-2260

Tags: , ,

March 23, 2011 Off

Waterloo & City (Culver City)

//// By in 11: West LA

Waterloo & City is the latest addition to the ever growing hip neighborhood near the border of Palms and Culver city. They called themselves a gastropub, though a look of their menu (and especially compared to their gastropub next door neighbor A Frame), they seem more like a restaurant. The menu is also seasonal and changes according to what’s fresh from the market.

"Waterloo City""Waterloo City"

We walked in on a Sunday night and luckily got a table after a bit of a wait. My photo on the right might be in poor lighting, but I have to post it because their house made bread is AMAZING!  Very fresh and got a great texture. Their bread alone made me want to come back here again and again.

"Waterloo City"

Butternut Squash Soup with Craisin. Sweet and smooth.

"Waterloo City"

Rabbit & Pistachio Terrine, Soused Peaches. The terrine got a unique bite, though I didn’t end up warming up to it. I wish they’d give us the very yummy bread from the basket instead of the generic ones here.

"Waterloo City"

Yellowtail Crudo, Shallot & Ginger Dressing, Shishito Peppers. Seems like a lot of the tapas/gastropub place in LA have their own spin of Yellowtail tartar/carpaccio. The Waterloo & City take on this is interesting: the flavors is more on the sweet side, with the pickled shishito peppers adding a wonderful kick.

"Waterloo City"

Pasta Nero: Squid ink pappardelle. They managed to make squid ink pasta looking pretty. It’s very tasty as well, great texture and flavors.

Compare to other popular gastropub in the area (Father’s Office, A-Frame), Waterloo & City offers a more sophisticated menu. The portion are not small tapas size either. I’d love to come back here more often (the bread!)

Waterloo & City
12517 West Washington Blvd, Culver City, CA 90066

 

Tags: ,

February 24, 2011 Off

Omar’s Xinjiang Halal Restaurant

//// By in 01: San Gabriel

Omar's Xinjiang Halal Restaurant

This Chinese new year we switched it up a bit, instead of the usual dim sum or seafood restaurants, we went to a Uyghurs restaurant! A group of us went to Omar’s Xinjiang Halal Restaurant, a hole in the wall recommended by Jon’s friend who lived in Beijing for awhile, and he swears by its authenticity. I haven’t had a lot of Uyghurs/Xinjiang food before (mostly just meat on sticks) so I’m excited to try it.

Xinjiang is located at the North western part of China. It’s an autonomous region with Uyghur being the a dominating ethnicity group. The lady (manager? owner?) is Uyghur and you can see her hand pulling noodle from time to time.

Omar's Xinjiang Halal RestaurantOmar's Xinjiang Halal Restaurant

Mutton Kebabs is definitely a must-get dish. The meat is tender and full of flavors. Seasoned with cumin, chili powder and black pepper, the kebabs would be really great with some beer. Unfortunately this place doesn’t have alcohol and they seems to prefer you to NOT byob (I think Jon’s friend called and asked). The Meat Pie was alright.

Omar's Xinjiang Halal Restaurant

Da pan ji is another well known dish of Xinjiang, it literally means “Big plate Chicken”, as that’s exactly what it is. Lots of cumin, Szechuan pepper and garlic, it’s mouthful of flavors in every bites. I love the fresh hand pull noodle in this a lot too.

Omar's Xinjiang Halal RestaurantOmar's Xinjiang Halal Restaurant

Yogurt and Garlic cucumber. I’m glad I got the yogurt as my “drink” as it’s a great counter-balance with the food. The yogurt was home-made and refreshing.

Omar's Xinjiang Halal Restaurant

Uyghur Pilaf – rice with lamb, cumin, carrots, raisin and lots of garlic and onion. Very good!

Omar's Xinjiang Halal RestaurantOmar's Xinjiang Halal Restaurant

Ding ding chow mein – ding ding noodle is basically noodle chopped into little pieces? Can’t say I’m a fan of the texture and the sizes. The flavor is quite generic too (very Han chinese).

Hand-pulled noodle – the noodle is not as good as the flat ones in the big plate chicken. Lots of garlic and taste somewhat similar to ding ding.

Overall a satisfying meal! I wish we got more kebabs and lamb dishes, and less of the noodle. The star items were definitely the kebab, Big plate chicken and pilaf. I strongly recommended the yogurt as it goes well with the flavorful food (a bit like how lassi works well with Indian food).

Omar’s Xinjiang Halal Restaurant
1718 N New Ave/, Alhambra, CA 91776
(626) 570-9778

Tags: , ,

February 10, 2011 3

Forage (Silver lake)

//// By in 05: Silver Lake + Echo Park

forage

It’s nice to be back at Forage (see our old review of Forage here). I’ve got to rave about the cheesecake , it is so amazing! Both the cream and the cake were incredibly light. Unlike the dense texture most cheesecakes have, I really appreciate fluffy cheesecake like this.  So airy and fresh. Flavors were very good too, not too sweet nor sour.

forageforage

As for the food, they’re excellent as usual. Jon got the $14 combo: Soy and Coca-Cola Marinated Flank Steak with two sides of Roasted Winter Vegetables and Beets with Oranges and Feta. Everything was good and fresh but I wish there were more pieces of the meat (especially for $14). Also it would be great if they would keep the protein warm.  I got the daily quiche which is ham with a side of Fattoush Salad. It’s got great light and smooth texture, very good.

One down side of Forage is that it doesn’t open on Sunday. Not sure if the cheesecake is a regular item, but if you see it definitely don’t miss it!

Forage
3823 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
(323) 663-6885

Tags:

Older Posts
Newer Posts