September 21, 2007 1

Bloom Cafe (Pico)

//// By in 09: Weho

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Fed up with not able to find parking around the West 3rd street neighbourhood due to the fact that all the street parking require permits, we headed south onto Pico Blvd to the Wilshire Vista neighbourhood as we vaguely remember seeing some interesting looking eateries there. And viola! There’s the cozy Bloom Cafe. I like the brightly sun-lit interior (esp. the retro chairs) which gives a “healthy” vibe to the place. I also love the beautiful framed large scale photographs they displayed on the walls a lot.

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They have an extensive breakfast menu, I got the special of the day frittatas that was highly recommended by the server. And he was right, it was extremely delicious. The firttatas is so multi-flavored and light at the same time. The texture is fluffy and the fresh tasting shows that it’s made of good fresh ingredients. The corn salad side is really good too.

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Jon got the Morrocan Lamb Pita: diced lamb with sautee cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, served with minted yogurt ($11). Flavorful, fresh and light tasting and flavorful, good!

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Jon also got the Cleanser: apple, lemon, ginger, spinach ($5) crushed mint lemonade. ($3.5), minty refreshing.

They have a dinner menu too which I want to try. They also have a deli section on the other side of the restaurant that seem worth to check out.

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September 20, 2007 4

Los Balcones del Peru (Sunset Blvd.)

//// By in 08: Hollywood

There’re many other good restaurants at that chaotic section around Arclight, so instead of succumbing to mediocracy, there’s this Peruvian restaurant hideaway, which was also on Jonathan Gold’s 99 Essential LA Restaurant.

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It might looked a bit shabby outside, but inside was a nice hideaway.

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Chicha Morada: a traditional Peruvian drink made of purple corn, lime, cinammon, apple, cloves, etc. Reminded me a bit of Jamaica Juice. Being not a fan of fried food, the Fried Calamari blew me away. So crispy yet not greasy. I couldn’t stop devouring the sharing plate. The lime marinated onions were so delicately sliced. They added great textures accompaning each bite.

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De Pescado Ceviches: fish marinated in lime juice, served with potato, sweet potato and Peruvian corn. So delicious! The lime juice sauce are so fresh tasting with a wonderful acidic and spicy kick. My co-worker got the mixed ceviches with addition of calamari and shrimp, both were quite hard. Stick with fish only.

DSC04452.jpgMy other co-workers ordered various grilled steaks, this is one of them. They all look colofully plated.

Los Balcones del Peru
1360 Vine St, Los Angeles 90028

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September 14, 2007 4

Off Vine (Hollywood)

//// By in 08: Hollywood

This entry includes two visits.
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The restaurant Off Vine does live up to their name. It’s a true tranquil haven hidden behind the ever chaotic, noisy and developing sections of Sunset Blvd. near the CNN building and ex-Transformer high rise area. It’s a craftmanship house with flowery garden patio seatings. We sat upstairs (like a bedroom space) the first time and at the garden the next. I feel like I was dining at Abbot Kinney.

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Good Sesame Bread. My co-worker got the Tuna Nicoise $13.95: fresh Ahi Tuna, huge portion and very delicious. I even enjoyed the boiled red potato (hard texture) very much.

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Joan’s Farfalle Pasta tossed with Sauteed Eggplant, Red peppers, Olives, Roasted beans & goat cheese. Light tasting, slightly oily and flavorful, love it. I got the Smoked Mozzarella and Chicken Ravioli with a Tangy Apple Mango Chutney. The sauce is almost sour-plum like, very sweet with a ting of fruity sourness, but it’s also too dominating (albeit very tasty). The ravioli are chewy and smooth, very good.

DSC04363.jpgThe server highly recommended their soufflé, so we put an order for Grand Marnier Souffle , it’s heavenly! Airy, puffy and moist and rich with custard flavors~

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September 14, 2007 6

Sea Urchin Pasta

//// By in Food: Kitchen

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Last weekend a Japanese market stocked big shipment of Sea urchin so I bought some home, hoping to cook my favorite Sea Urchine Cream Spaghetti. I used Squid Ink Spaghetti because that’s all I had. I don’t think they taste much different from regular Spaghetti though, but they’re a lot more expensive. Ideally oyster mushroom goes better with Uni but we don’t have it so we used shitake mushroom instead. The receipe is simple and easy to cook (easy enough for cooking-newbie like us!) Just saut

September 13, 2007 5

Hui Lau Shan Healthy Desserts (Alhambra)

//// By in 01: San Gabriel

DSC04404.jpgHong Kong dessert chain Hui Lau Shan Healthy Desserts (?) on Valley Blvd. is a modern take of the traditional Chinese “Leung Cha Po” (Herbal Tea Room). This updated version is more commercialized with pop graphics, less herbal drinks with more focus on friendly sweet desserts. Their house specialty seems to be mango pudding. They also offer many traditional herbal desserts made of Ling Zhi Mushroom, swallow’s nest, etc.

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We tried the Herbal Turtle Jelly (Guilinggao). Its main ingredients are shell of three-lined box turtles + a type of root called smilax glabra + liquorice. The taste is bitter with a sweet Liquorice aftertaste. Therefore you eat with the sugar syrup. It’s supposedly good for skin complexion. Since my friend never try that before, on the safe side we also got the popular Mango Dessert. It’s good, the slush ice are rich with mango flavors.

Edited: this is not the real Hui Lau Shan from HK. It’s an imposter~

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