March 1, 2010 2

Forage (Silver lake)

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

Forageforage
A new place Forage has opened at the the happening Sunset junction area, replacing the mediocre Town and country. The concept of the place is rather interesting, they use fresh seasonal ingredients and you can even bring in your own homegrown produces to exchange for store credits.  As soon as we walked in I can tell the place is promising, seeing the delicious food displayed at the counter.

Forage
Flat bread with endive and bruschetta
It’s very tasty but I wish there were more bruschetta. The flat bread crust is good!

Forage
Open Faced Chicken Salad Sandwich
It’s good but the portion was a bit small. The sandwich was about the size of your palm and it cost $8.50. The flat bread was almost 3 times the size and it’s $7 or so.

Two sides: Farro and Lentil Salad with Fennel, Carrots and Spigarello and grilled Vegetables, $3.75 each
Had I known they cost $3.75 each I would have just get one only. Even though they’re good (especially the Farro, it was amazing!) but I found them to be kind of pricey for the portion you get. And I didn’t like the fact that the grilled vegetables were cold. They would taste even better if they’re warm.

Overall the food is undeniably good and it’s a great addition to the area which lacks good places to eat. Just watch out for the price as they add up quick.

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

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February 25, 2010 Off

Ichimiann Bamboo Garden (Torrance)

//// By in 17: South Bay, Favorite Food Entries

IchimiannIchimiann One time the topic of “best soba in LA” came up, other than Otafuku , someone recommended Ichimiann Bamboo Garden. Also hidden away in the Torrance/Gardena area, Ichimiann locates on a quiet small empty street that’s easy to miss. The interior is hole-in-the-wall and very small. The place was quite packed when we were there, we had to wait a little bit.

Like Otafuku, Ichimiann is known for their freshly handmade Soba and Udon noodles that’s truly authentic and high quality like the good ones in Japan. However Ichimiann’s noodle cost a lot less than Otakufu which is a bonus!

Ichimiann

Freda got the Totoro (grated yam)  and Shimeiji Mushroom soba. Very tasty, the broth was flavorful but light.

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I got the Nishi (Herring)  Soba with a small rice with salmon flakes and ikura. Very delicious. Love the broth very much.

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The soba noodle has great texture. It’s chewy and fresh tasting. I like it very much. This is how great soba should be, not the manufactutred mushy brown ones.

It’s good to know there’s another great place for soba and udon beside Otafuku, which doesn’t open on Sunday. And with the price and variety of options, I think I might like Ichimiann a little bit better.

One side note that’s rather unrelated, on our way to Ichimiann for the 2nd time we noticed the car in front of us was Hung from Top Chef! He had a convertible with the license plate that says “TOP CH3F”, so yeah duh… He didn’t go to Ichimiann though. Now it would be great if he would open a good “affordable” French place in LA!

Ichimiann Bamboo Garden
1618 Cravens Ave, Torrance, CA 90510
(310) 328-1323

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February 25, 2010 1

Sweet for the Soul (Atwater Village)

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

There’s a sweet shop down few stores by Viet Noodle bar but it’s never open, perhaps because I’m always there on a Sunday. Finally we went to Atwater Village on a Saturday and viola, it’s opened!

Sweet for the soul

Sweet For the Soul sell gourmet brownies and other local handmade desserts like cookies and ice cream. It’s very small inside with just 2 tables. It has a very local vibe where everyone seems to know each other.

sweet for the soul

We tried the gourmet Flourless Double Chocolate brownie. It’s made with Valrhona chocolate, a luxury French chocolate brand. It was very good. Fresh, moist and very rich! Bonus that it’s gluten-free.

sweet for the soul
sweet for the soulThey sell these local handmade ice-cream which came with lots of interesting flavors. I got the Mint cacao nib. I like that it tells you the very few and basic ingredients that were used to make the ice-cream as that’s how ice-cream should be. The ice-cream was incredibly delicious! It’s so creamy and silky, not too sweet and the cacao nibs were tasty. I love it very much.The portion was a little small though.

Since everything is local handmade and fine ingredients were used, the sweets weren’t cheap. The small ice-cream cost $3 and brownie was $3.75. I think they’re worth it though.

I read on yelp that they should be open on Sunday now too.

Sweet for the Soul
3169 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 668-9338

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February 22, 2010 7

Viet noodle bar (Atwater Village)

//// By in 05: Silver Lake + Echo Park, Favorite Food Entries

IMG_1267We’ve blogged Viet Noodle Bar long time ago and at that time, our impression was so-so. But ever since we  keep going back and back, and now it has become our favorite place! There’s just something about their fresh healthy Vietnamese noodle that even some would argue aren’t “authentic”, but they’re just so delicious and addictive. More importantly these dishes can’t be found anywhere else (or if there are they don’t taste the same).

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They have a lot more drinks now. Vietnamese coffee with Soymilk, Lohan fruit tea,  Soymilk with black sesame. I forgot what the green one was.

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Jicama roll – Good, it’s light and healthy tasting. Jicama is also known as Mexican turnip. The texture is crisp and taste mildly sweet (a little bit like Apple?). I’ve had it diced up with salt and lime juice before.

Fried shrimp roll – very crispy

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Jicama chicken meatball noodle bowl with a light tomato sauce. An interesting dish, it’s like a Vietnamese version of a spaghetti with meatballs. The mint leaves were a nice touch. The jicama gave the meatball a nice crispy texture.

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White fish and ginger noodle – very good! A very warming dish due to the ginger, good to get when you’re under the weather.

I still think their Bun with Tumeric White Fish and Dill is the star item. I’ve also tried the White fish banh mi and Tumeric White Fish Rice, both are good too.

Viet Noodle Bar
3133 1/2 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90039
(323) 906-1575

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February 21, 2010 5

Yong Su San (Koreatown)

//// By in 07: Mid-Wilshire

We’ve been to plenty of Korean restaurants in Korea town but we never been to one that’s more refine and upscale. There’re lots of really good homey comfort food in Korean cuisine but I’m not sure if fine dining exists (please correct me if I’m wrong).  Upon research, seems like Yong Su San‘s prix fixe set menu comes to the closest to the general definition of “fine dining”.

Upon entering, the waitress took us to an individual room with only two tables. It’s nice to have our private room but the room was very very spare and undecorated. It wasn’t spare in the spacious zen way either. I do however like the traditional Korean music played in the background.

We got the Yong Table D’ Hote set which is $29.99 per person.

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Kaesung style steamed tender pork belly and  Soft creamy pumpkin pottage.

Both are excellent! I had the pork belly dish before at Kobawoo. I think Yong’s was a little bit better. The pork belly was tender. The pumpkin pottage was very good, it’s got great balance of savory and sweetness. I’d like to know the recipe for it!

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Left: Black sesame tofu
Right: Clear mungbean jelly mixed with beef, mushroom and seaweeds and Mixed vegetable salad of bean sprouts, radish and apricot. I like mungbean noodle, light but flavorful.

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Marinated Jelly fish with Asian pears, cucumber and thousand year old eggs
The pear and cucumber were nice touch.

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Royal Kaesung style wrapped Kimchi – cabbage inside cabbage. There’re pieces of Asian pear and Squid inside too.

Fried Zucchini and potato pancake

yongsusan

Skewered Scallops and mushroom

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Braised Short Rib – AMAZING! The meat was so tender and just fall off from the bone. The sauce was incredible too. Easily the star of the night. I wish there’s more of it!

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King prawn a la Yongsusan – The weakest dish of the night, it’s very mushy and the flavor was so-so.

Banchan (side dishes): Lotus root (a bit too raw) and Turnip (good).

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You get the choice of Cold noodle, Scorched rice or my choice: Soybean paste soup. It came with white rice too.

The dessert was Korean rice cake with strawberry and tomato as well as Persimmon punch made of fresh ginger, cinnamon and honey (not in picture).

Overall the meal was good but I was not blown away. I wish there’re just one or two more dishes like the Braised short rib. I think in general some dishes taste more refine than the other restaurants, but I can’t say the meal is “fine dining” per se.

Yong Su San
950 S Vermont Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 388-3042

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