January 25, 2008 5

Wilson (Culver City)

//// By in 13: Culver City

Giving up on squeezing into a certain new crowded hip restaurant in town, we turned to the not-so-new anymore Wilson for our last minute dinner plan.

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It’s located near the new gallery area, with the very Culver City hip urban-chichi vibe. It’s casual and lively. I found the lighting to be a bit too dim lit, I could hardly see the food.

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Sea Bass Carpaccio $15 with caper dressing. Fresh and delicious~

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My friend’s Braised Oxtail $32 with Shiitake mushrooms, Quinoa & Brussel Sprouts. The oxtail was well cooked but the flavor overall didn’t leave much impression.

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Joan got the Tagliatelle Salsiccia $28: housemade pork & sage sausage with marina garlic, truffle butter and parmesan. The garlic were too overwhelming that it gave the dish an odd bitter aftertaste.

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Puerco a la faustino $27 slowww roasted pork, oaxacan style rice and BBQ sauce with sautee pea tendrils. The flavor wasn’t as ‘sink in’ and the meat was not as moist as tender I expected. I did enjoy the dish overall.

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Baramundi seared with Fennel Marmalade, Orange Beurre. It looked very burnt. Despite the promising ingredients, my friend said it’s a bit bland and really, not much taste. We did enjoy the dessert Baba Rum, the sweetness was light and had a nice kick to it.

The ingredients listed on menu sounds unusual and exciting, but somehow the actual food just didn’t manage to live up to our expectation. They were rather bland and tasteless in general. Perhaps we were being a bit extra critical considering the price, but I would say the overal experience was rather disppointing.

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January 24, 2008 5

Bloom Cafe (Wilshire Vista)

//// By in 07: Mid-Wilshire, Favorite Food Entries

So I might be blogging about the same places too often, but I can’t help going back to them again and again, such as Bloom Cafe. It is still my favorite casual hangout at the moment. See my past entries: 1, 2.

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Lemon Ricotta Pancake, very good (really has lemon flavor)! The lemon zest on top are such a nice touch.

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A formerly daily special-only item has been added on the regular menu. WooHoo! Golden Fritatta: sweet red peppers, caramelized onions, oven dried tomatoes, black olives, feta cheese, jiicama salad. It’s fresh, multi-flavors and so delicious!

Their menu is unexpected and delicious, the food are always cooked with fresh ingredients and very tasty. Even the drink list isn’t your run-of-the-mill lineup (sadly Kombucha’s gone, the “Cleanser” is still there). I still haven’t try their dinner, so more blogging about this place to come. 🙂

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January 24, 2008 3

Blue Hen (Eagle Rock)

//// By in 03: Eagle Rock

DSCN2816.jpgBeen hanging out more often at the Eagle rock area due to the wonderful neighbourhood market Fresh and Easy. It’s a great alternative to Trader Joe’s and everything I’ve tried so far tasted good! Anyways, I’ve been sick ever since the new year began, so eating light and healthy has been the priority these days. We went to the orangic Vietnamese restaurant Blue Hen for some comfort food. They use mostly local farm and organic products. Other than the pretty ceiling lamps which I love, the decor is simple and bare. Andrew Bird was the soundtrack of the night.

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The Grandpa’s Porridge is the ultimate comfort dish. Brown rice, organic chicken, napa cabbage and Vietnamese hot mint. It’s very tasty, fish sauce flavor. It’s only served on the weekends.

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Jon got a small bowl of Chicken Pho and Blue Hen Sandwich. The small bowl pho is the same size as the regular portion of Viet Noodle Bar’s but with half the price and double the flavor! The chicken meat is a lot better too. For a chicken pho it’s tasty (I still prefer beef ones however). The sandwich is good also.

DSCN2827.jpgBanana bread pudding, light and taste homemade.

Overall I like the food and would go back. I have to admit that at first I was a bit worried about it being another “overpriced-in-the-name-of-organic-and-hipness Vietnamese restaurant located at a predominantly non Asian neighbourhood serving water-down food for hipsters” type of place. Indeed I was pleasantly surprised at it not being so. Even though the food generally cost more than they would in a Vietnamese place at Alhambra but it’s still fairly reasonable. The food tasted healthy, and you can tasted how organic chicken do make a difference in flavor.

Blue Hen
1743 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 982-9900

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January 16, 2008 6

Katsuya (Hollywood)

//// By in 08: Hollywood

DSCN2802.jpgMy co-workers and I had lunch at the newly open Hollywood Katsuya that’s walking distance from our office. It’s been awhile since I went to “scene” trendy type of restaurants that emphasis on decor, celebrity sightings and beautiful, beautiful waitresses whom my male co-workers could not stop raving about. 🙂

To be honest I’m not that impressed by the interior designed by Philippe Starck. I found it rather uninspiring and the blow-up “oh-so-exotic-it-is-soooo-Japanese” geisha-sque eyes and lips on the wall to be quite cheesy.

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We went all out and got the Kobe Filet w/ Foie Gras with Plum Wine Soy Sauce $29. The pieces were a lot smaller than we expected. The taste was average-good, I expected better with the price. The foie gras was a bit over cook and the Kobe beef was not that exceptional (taste like normal beef). The plum wine soy sauce is tasty though.

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The Kanpachi, Salmon and Uni sushi were very good. Fresh! I especially love the uni.

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Crispy Rice w/ Spicy Tuna is just so-so. I’m never a fan of spicy tuna to begin with though. The guys were still hungry so they ordered O- toro (ultra premium toro) and Tuna sushi.

They have a $12 lunch special which I heard is pretty good. In fact their lunch menu is surprisingly affordable. Maybe lesser people will go to Kabuki now that Katsuya is only 1-2 blocks away.

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January 9, 2008 5

Viet Noodle Bar (Atwater Village)

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

The much hyped (from Silver Lake people) Vietnamese Soy Cafe on Hyperion have such odd opening hours that it seems eternally closed for almost every day of the week. Then I heard about the newly opened sister cafe called Viet Noodle Bar nearby.

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Like Viet Soy, the name of the cafe is barely noticeable from outside. Interior is extremely minimal with only a bar and a communal table. The bar seats face a library of very carefully chosen read books. Mandarin songs from 30s-40s Shanghai were the soundtrack of that afternoon.

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Appertizer: Banh Nam $5 Fine ground shrimp and rice flour wrap in banana leafs. Clean tasting, need to season with fish sauce. It’d be more aromatic and flavorful if they use stronger dried shrimps and more herbs.

Despite being called Noodle Bar, there’re basically only 4 items. Pho (chicken or vegetarian) and Bun (fish or vegetarian). My eyes nearly pop out at the $9 a bowl price.
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Bun with Tumeric White Fish and Dill $9. Fresh and homemade tasting, it’s light but tasty. The fish seems to be lightly fried with egg coatings (?). The tumeric flavor is not dominating but stood out well. The noodle seemed homemade as they’re are very thick and imperfect, but I love the texture. The portion is a bit small though.

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Chicken Broth Pho $9 Rather bland tasting.

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Good Homemade Soymilk $3 each. One with Mate and Sesame. Then the waitress recommended us their Soy Curd with Ginger $3, hmm sounds yum…turns out it’s your usual Tofu Fa, albeit a well made one (smooth and silky).

I try to appreciate them for what they are: simple, clean, fresh, organic and healthy homemade Vietnamese food with a hip ‘in the know’ vibe. But I can’t help shaking my head over the idea of $9 a bowl of small bland pho.

Edited:
June 2009: Now this place has became one of my favorites. I keep coming back for their Bun with Tumeric White Fish and Dill.

I also tried their Lemongrass Beef Noodle:
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Not as good as the fish but not a bad alternate.

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

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