July 16, 2008 6

Anisette Brasserie (Santa Monica)

//// By Freda in 16: Santa Monica

The much hyped Anisette Brasserie was opened near the Santa Monica promenade for awhile. The enclosed and dark entrance was a surprising contrast to the grand, high ceiling space inside. It was very crowded, but we skipped the line and got seated right away when we went for the bar.

A lot of work went into re-creating the fake classic vintage Paris cafe look. The endless wall of wine bottles are quite stunning.

The daytime menu outlines the essential French cafe offerings, for a price. We joked about “$15 Croque Madame?” before we came here…we were right.

Kumamoto oyster, sweet, plumb and wonderful. Since we sat in front of the seafood bar, it was prepared right in front of us but our server was busy on the other end, so these half shells were waiting to be served right front of us for some torturing minutes.

Warm Goat Cheese Beets with Hazelnut Dressing 12. The heavy warm goat cheese contrast the fresh and tasty beets, very delicious combination~ The dressing was so good too, but I wished there were more hazelnut bits.

Pate Maison, Madera Gelee, Cornichons, Toasts 10

The pate was unbelievably fine, flavorful and smooth Yum!

They also offer a Bread Basket sampler on the menu that includes a variety of freshly baked breads (you can buy them in the take out area too). Since we had a light meal and didn’t really try the cooked dishes, I have to come back. It seems like a good all around (brunch, bakery, lunch, dinner, alcohol) additions to the area.

One of the guys at the bar tried to get his Matcha Latte onto the menu, but the chef thought it was just a plain latte drink. He made one for us to try (it was a bit too light).

Anisette Brasserie (310) 395-3200
225 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica, CA 90407

Tags: fashionable, French

July 10, 2008 5

La Vie (Rosemead)

//// By Freda in 01: San Gabriel, Favorite Food Entries

My friend told me about a Vietnamese family run French bistro hidden in a strip mall in a working class neighborhood with predominately Asian eateries. Have to admit now I’m ashamed that I didn’t come here sooner! Joan and I took our parents here. The menu is classic French, each entree costs around $15-19 (soup, salad and coffee included), what a deal! The wine I had was $4 a glass.

Lentil Soup and Salad, pretty good!

Escargot is amazing! Sizzling, buttery and delicious!

Lobster Tail, fresh and perfectly cooked, so good!

My Roasted Lamb Chop is so good! Tasty, juicy, tender~ The sauce is a little garlicky for my taste but it’s minor. The sides (mashed sweet potato, potato gratin) are good too.

Roasted Duck and Scallop and Shrimp.

Thankfully we spotted the Grand Marnier Souffle from neighboring tables early on so we place an order at the beginning. It’s simply one of the BEST souffle I’ve ever had. Incredibly fluffy, heavenly! I can eat 5 of these by myself.

The quality of the cooking is definitely a pleasant surprise from a hole-in-a-wall place and price like this. It reminded me of Eagle Rock’s Cafe Beaujolais, but I like La Vie more. It’s good solid classic French bistro cooking. The interior was a bit of 70s Asian kitsch (Feng shui fish tank at entrance?) and definitely not romantic, but it’s clean, casual and the staffs are very friendly. I’m actually moved by the ‘big family’ feeling from the other customers (lots of white hair patrons), they all seemed to be long time regulars who knew the owners well. Reservation is a MUST. There were so many “no reservation” people who got turn away and the disappointment on their faces were heartbreaking…

La Vie (626) 571-1180
2547 San Gabriel Blvd #A Rosemead, CA 91770

Tags: Bistro, Duck, French, Lamb, Souffle

July 9, 2008 7

Otafuku (Torrance)

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

A certain Japanese chef told us about his favorite udon place in Los Angeles (‘better than Japan,’ he claimed) called Otafuku, a hole-in-the-wall Japanese noodle house with homely interior. Otafuku is famous for handmade Soba which comes in 2 types: Seiro (white) and zaru (brown), and handmade udon, served in either cold, hot, soup or dipping sauce form. The menu indicated that their noodle are specially handmade with bottled spring water.

Seiro Soba with cold plum soup. A perfect dish for summer. The seiro soba was nice in texture, smooth and slightly springy, which is different from the usual soba at other places which were more mushy and soft. The plum flavor broth was tasty.

My friend’s Udon with Chicken.

Udon with Eel Tempura. The udon noodle is soft and incredibly light! The yuzu in the broth added a fresh flavor. Very good. Though the unflavored eel was quite bland.

The menu boost about their popular item: Oyakodon (Chicken & Egg Bowl). My goodness this is the best I’ve ever had! The egg was cooked to the perfect timing so it was runny-enough. The sauce was delicious and the chicken very tender. Every bite melts in your mouth. My mouth watered just by thinking about it.

There are lots of non noodle dishes on the menu as well, such as tempura, Uni rice bowl, etc.

Otafuku
16525 S Western Ave. Gardena, CA 90247

Tags: Japanese, Noodle

July 8, 2008 6

Nanbankan (West LA)

//// By Freda in 11: West LA

This long time westside Japanese Yakitori (Chicken Skewer) place resides in a building that’s under construction now so it’s a bit hard to find the entrance. The big menu plus the chalkboard specials offer more obscure meat parts than other Yakitori places I’ve been to.

I can’t keep track what I ordered (caption and photos not 100% guarantee match). Other than chicken, they have a pretty good list for beef, lamb, fish and vegetables as well.

Bacon wrapped Okra, YUM!

Left: Oyster Mushrooms Right: Chicken Heart.

Bonjiri (Chicken Butt), fatty…good!

Sunagimo (Gizzard), a bit hard to chomp and swallow. Stuffed Mushroom.

Tebasaki (Chicken Wing). Tender Chicken Meatballs, very good.

The Grilled Corn was so delicious, very sweet and crispy. You can order the corn shaved for you as well.

Chicken Breast with Shiso leaf. Kind of bland.

Nankotsu (Cartilage), crunchy and tender.

A special: Clam in Broth. Very fresh and sweet~

Quail, very good!

Grilled Rice balls to fill up our stomach.

We ordered a beef tongue but it never arrived. I need to go back to try more stuffs. Personally I think Nanbankan wins at varieties compared to the nearby’s Sakura House and Downtown’s Kokekokko (which has a 5 per person minimum order rule). The ventilation was good as well.

Nanbankan (310) 478-1591
11330 Santa Monica Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90189

Tags: Japanese, Yakitori

July 7, 2008 2

Jitlada Thai Restaurant (Sunset Blvd)

//// By Joan in 08: Hollywood

Back to Jitlada, with my family this time. We got many of the same dishes as last time (i.e: oxtail soup, mussels) since I want my parents to try them. The two “new” dishes we tried this time are:

Raw blue crab salad with lemongrass, mint and chile. We already order mild but it’s still more spicy than I expected. It’s delicious nonetheless, though I wish there were more crabs.

Lamb with egg noodles in lime sauce. The sauce is very strong tasting, salty and sour. I’m not sure I like it that much. The lamb meat was hard and chewy, so it’s a rather disappointing dish.

There’re still a lot more other interesting dishes to try on their lengthy menu. Until next time.

Tags: Thai

Anisette Brasserie (Santa Monica)

La Vie (Rosemead)

Otafuku (Torrance)

Nanbankan (West LA)

Jitlada Thai Restaurant (Sunset Blvd)

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