March 31, 2009 3

Kiriko Sushi (Sawtelle)

//// By Freda in 12: Sawtelle, Favorite Food Entries

I finally recover from a severe and never-ending flu, and it’s time to write up some old entries.

I’m treated to a friend’s favorite sushi joint, Kiriko on Sawtelle. It stills boggles my mind why I’ve never been here even though I often dine among the stripe.

We sat at the bar and were served by the main chef, who’s not chatty but friendly. First up: Chutoro, wow, melt in your mouth the instant it enters, so good!

Aji: smooth and fresh with a light ponzu sauce, very good.

Madai with Yuzu Salt. The use of salt is a nice change from ponzu sauce, as it’s more subtle and My stable: Uni is predictably good.

Halibut with Truffle , the truffle gave the fish a rich, wonderful buttery flavor.

Kampachi and Kinmedai (Golden Eye Snapper) and the very good, clean tasting Saba (Meckerel).

Barracuda: first time to try it raw and it definitely has an unusual bite and flavor (smoky and murky). Mirugai (Geoduck) is in its firm and crunchy glory.

Anago (Sea Water Eel), light tasting.

Knowing that I’m quite an egg addict, the bf has been hyping up about the Tamago sushi here. Oh my their Tamago is like souffle~ The texture is very light and puffy, with a very nice hint of crunchiness from mixing in grounded shrimp (with shell). It can almost be a dessert as well.

Truffle Ice cream: wow, the strong unique smell and flavors of truffle completely elevate this simple ice cream into something that you feel sad for every remaining bite.

The meal was a delight from beginning to finish, with a few surprises (Tamago!). Other then being top quality, their fish selection offers a bit more unusual items (in LA standard) and delicately dressed in various flavors (not just ponzu sauce). It definitely becomes one of my most favorite spots for sushi…in fact I would come here solely for the Tamago. I like the small space and intimate vibe as well.

Kiriko Sushi (310) 478-7769
1301 W Olympic Blvd # 102 Los Angeles, CA 90064

Tags: Japanese, Sushi, Uni

March 23, 2009 9

SHIN BBQ (Hollywood)

//// By Joan in 08: Hollywood

A new place has opened near where I work. I’m glad it’s not another overpriced burger/sandwich type of place. SHIN is a Korean BBQ restaurant with the inevitable “Hollywood ambiance” due to its locations. The Asian-inspired interior was a dramatic contrast from the minimal exterior. I like the brightness and openness of the space. The tables along the walls have BBQ stoves and there’re nice patio seatings outside. There’s also a DJ table in the room which I assume plays loud music at night for the “scene” crowd.

But for lunch it’s a quiet place. Everything cost under $10 on their small lunch menu. This entry shows two different visits.

Banchan. Strange that they didn’t give us these side dishes the first time I went. The kimchi and the tofu were good.

Marinated spencer steak (bulgolgi). Tasty! The thinly sliced meat was very flavorful and tender.

Rice Medley – assorted vegetables sauteed and seasoned topped with a fried egg. Not sure what’s the Korean name for this dish is, but I love this dish very much, it’s got everything: rice, vegetables, shitake mushrooms, bulgogi, masago and fried egg (which usually makes everything taste better).

Shin’s Famous ribs (galbi) – black angus ribs cross-cut marinated in SHIN’s secret sauce. The meat was very tender and I Iove the sauce. The portion was generous too.

I’m impressed with the food overall. The meat quality was great and the flavors were more delicate than a lot of places in K-town. I probably would have never check out this place if it weren’t within the walking radius from where I work since I’m skeptical about Asian restaurants that are located in “trendy” neighbourhoods. I’m glad I did and it’s definitely a nice addition to the area for lunch. However dinner is a different animal. I’m not sure how much more expensive dinner is compare to lunch, but I heard it’s not “cheap” for sure. If you’re going there for dinner please keep that in mind, it is aims for the “scene” type of crowd afterall.

SHIN BBQ
1600 Wilcox Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90008

Tags: fashionable, Korean

March 16, 2009 4

The Park (Echo Park)

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

We’ve been cutting back a lot of the dining out these days here at Potatomato. Though it’s still tempting to go out for brunch once in awhile. Went back to The Park as they started to serve brunch now. Compare how packed it was at night the last time we went, it was quite empty on a Sunday morning, perhaps the words aren’t out yet?

Arlene’s breakfast (1/2 french toast, 2 eggs and choice of bacon or sausage) $10
I love that this has all the basic goodies of brunch. No more agony on whether to get eggs/bacon or french toast! I also like that you can order french toast in half size. I love french toast very much but I usually cannot finish the whole thing.

I got the special of the day: Green scramble with ham, toast and potatos $9
The scramble was really tasty. The green comes from parsley and spinach. I hope they have this as a regular item in the future.

Everything taste fresh and flavorful. I’m glad to find another favorite brunch spot in LA! (My other favorites are: Square One, Bloom, and Auntie Am’s Kitchen)

The Park
1400 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 482-9209

Tags: Breakfast, hip

March 12, 2009 6

Mama ramen (Lomita)

//// By Joan in 17: South Bay

Boy was this place far and hard to find. I saw an ad of this ramen place in Japanese free paper and it says they are “female-by-herself-friendly.” I was by myself one day and thought I could check it out. It’s located in a giant strip mall all the way out at Lomita; you can’t see the sign of this place unless you drives into the strip mall. After making several wrong turns I finally managed to find it. It’s a tiny place with few tables, I’m not sure how they’re “female-by-herself-friendly”, but there were lots of families when I was there.

It was a little overwhelming to have so many choices on the menu. I was afraid to pick the wrong one and be stuck with a big bowl of bland ramen. One side of the menu features “regular ramen” (like shoyu, miso) and the other side features more “gourmet” ramen and seasonal specials. I ended up choosing the steak ramen. The menu said how they have special teriyaki sauce for the steak etc. The meat were tender and flavorful. The ramen broth with the steak and teriyaki sauce turns out to be more tasty than I expected too. I especially like their noodle, so springy and “fresh” tasting. As much as I like Santouka‘s ramen, their noodle is always kind of “mass produced” tasting to me. I also like the york of the egg was not completely cooked (who still remember 5-6 years ago Daikokuya‘s egg used to be perfectly half-boiled?)

I wasn’t sure if I made the right choice, but I know it definitely wasn’t the wrong one since I enjoyed my bowl of ramen till the end. I read that their miso ramen is good, but then I was never a fan of the miso ramen (neither is soy sauce) so it wouldn’t be my choice. I would say definitely try their seasonal specials ramen since they sound more interesting.

Mama ramen
24631 Crenshaw Bl., Torrance, CA 90505
(310) 517-9099

Tags: Japanese, Ramen

March 3, 2009 4

Tsukiji Restaurant (Gardena)

//// By Freda in 17: South Bay

Tsukiji Restaurant borrowed its name from the famous fish market in Tokyo. While this small hole-in-the-wall sushi joint at Gardena was known for their cheap and big portion sushi lunch set, we came here for their dinner Uni set.

The sushi chef is very talkative, eager to recommend and very friendly. Our neighbors at the bar were regulars and the everyone-talk vibe felt like a big family.

I got the cheapest Uni set ($25) that includes amuse bouche, sashimi, uni bowl and dessert.

The Amuse-bouche: a cold plate made of various fish parts. The sashimi was rather thick for my preference.

The Uni Bowl. Very delicious! The amount is generous though the uni’s quality wasn’t consistent (a few of them didn’t taste as good).

My partner got the more expensive set ($35) includes amuse bouche, sashimi, uni sashimi, cook fish, sushi and dessert.

The Uni sashimi is straight out of box with a bit of garnish on the side, a bit too much to eat as alone (too much of a good thing!). The fish steak was well seasoned and well cook.

Sadly the sushi wasn’t so fresh. We side ordered an Unagi sushi, it was cooked and good.

We also tried a bit of the exotic things. Fried Shirako is fish milt, aka fish sperm. The texture feels like…tofu? The chef also made us tried Plum flavored Cricket, gotta say it’s quite good – the texture and taste is no different from your regular dried shrimp.

The Tamgao (Sweet Egg) is fluffy and wonderful. Chawamushi (steamed egg custard) is flawless, it’s incredibly smooth and tasty.

The dessert is the chef’s proud Homemade Flan. He’s right, it’s VERY GOOD!

We had a lot of fun chatting with the chef and other patrons. The warm, down to earth homely vibe makes the perfect sushi joint environment for me.

Though I have mixed feeling about the dinner set, as some of the sushi quality was only so-so (skippable). I felt that the Uni bowl alone is good enough, which you can get for cheaper during lunch time. Their cooked dishes are all very good though (we also had a not-in-photograph beef tongue that’s excellent). Exotic items like bugs and fish sperm also made this place feel special.

Tsukiji Restaurant
1745 W Redondo Beach Blvd. Gardena, CA 90247

Tags: Exotic, Japanese, Sashimi, Sushi, Uni

Kiriko Sushi (Sawtelle)

SHIN BBQ (Hollywood)

The Park (Echo Park)

Mama ramen (Lomita)

Tsukiji Restaurant (Gardena)

About Us

Categories

Recent Posts

Comments

Link: Food

Link: Friends

Meta