salt & straw

SUMMER + ICE CREAM.

i’ve been going to the salt & straw location in larchmont (yes standing in line) obsessively, since i found out that their july/summer flavors are exactly. what. i like.

my top two flavors:

birthday cake + blackberries

meyer lemon custard + blueberries

all my FAVE things rolled into custardy/creamy balls of ice cream. i’ve already purchased 4 scoops, and then 2 pints. i wish they’d put these on their permanent menu!

this pic above is THE cake+blackberries, and roasted strawberry+white choc custard. (jgood, but not a fave.)

xx

duck house.

duck house in monterey park.

i love roast peking duck, and this restaurant is a local favorite. if i had the option, i’d ONLY eat the crispy duck skin with the thin wraps. i don’t need anything else. we usually order “duck two ways” with duck skin wraps and duck soup.

their other dishes are quite good as well. here are some that we have ordered.. (not all on the same visit.)

taiwanese style bbq eel on sticky rice.

angel hair shrimp, one of their signature dishes. i rarely eat shrimp, but i had it here once. someone always ends up ordering  this when we dine here.

filet mignon with black pepper sauce. surprisingly good, the beef was tender. goes really well with rice.

be sure to pre order a roast duck when you make reservations.

xx

http://www.duckshouse.com

mandarin oriental eats, las vegas.

we stayed at the mandarin last month on a mini getaway to vegas, and really liked it. the hotel is quiet, compared to the rest of vegas, and overall a more relaxing and refined experience. here are some of the eats we enjoyed.

afternoon tea for two at the salon.

a three tier display was set up next to our loungers. service was excellent.

here are the plain scones. with two fruit jams, butter and cream. their scones were flaky + dense.

savories. great presentation, i enjoyed everything except for the rectangular salty tart.. i don’t like when my sweet + savories are mixed.. the egg was good, and devoured in a spoonful.

sweets. the tart and cake pops were good but basic, my favorite was the chocolate hazelnut in the center, and the coffee cream puff.

bento box breakfast, in room dining.

loved this! a scaled down version of japanese hotel breakfasts.

xx

chi SPACCA

i am a carnivore.

lately, salads disgust me. all i want is red meat, served rare.. but executed with a bit of delicacy. after dining at a number of renowned steakhouses lately, this is what i’ve been searching for. chi SPACCA is probably the best dining experience i’ve had all summer. a part of the mozza empire on melrose and highland, this meat heavy little restaurant serves up a mean steak.

dining with 2 fellow carnivores was a delight- sO easy to order. we started with affettati misti for 2-4. yes, that is a breadstick wrapped in “white proscuitto”.. akd lard, and it was de-li-cious.

we also had a half order of the culatello, which is a cut of lambrusco proscuitto, aged 15 months. our waiter highly recommended, and we were curious to try. beautiful cut, great texture and light salted flavor.

for our main, we ordered the 42oz costata alla fiorentina, a prime dry-aged bone-in new york. at $175 I felt it was a bit on the pricey side, but that was all forgotten once i took my first bite. prepared very well, a tender rare to medium rare, with a great sear, cut up and trimmed. i was impressed. after giving up on finding a more fine tuned steak preparation in socal, i am happy to say that chi spacca can represent. they don’t just sear a steak and put it on a plate.. this is prepared very carefully and lovingly- as you can taste.

ta-daa!

ok, so we ordered ONE vegetable. their “creamed corn” which is actually made without cream. lots of butter. love it.

we also ordered a milk roasted pork loin, which was covered in deep fried sage… it was juicy and quite delicious.. and i forgot to snap a photo before we devoured it. next time!

dessert. a panna cotta with bluberry compote. light, easy way to finish off a great meal.

carnivores, rejoice.

http://www.chispacca.com/

kagaya.

shabu shabu at its best in little tokyo.

so i finally dined at kagaya. i don’t know what took me sO long to get here, i’ve been missing out. a shabu dinner at kagaya consists of 3 courses of appetizers/small plates/soup, shabu veggie plate, meat of choice, congee or noodles, then dessert. i feel that their pricing is fair for the excellent quality served.

the appetizers/starters are pics complied from 2 separate visits.

some sort of whitefish sashimi with ponzu.

duck meat soup.

lightly fried fish with ponzu.

baked oyster with miso.

i just realized that i don’t have a picture of the veggie plate.. my attention was ALL on the gorgee wagyu. perfection. but i can’t finish an order by myself, its a bit too much for me. for me i think a wagyu shared with 3 diners is the perfect amount. others can finish an entire plate but i like to have some prime beef as well.

the prime beef.

seafood shabu.

for dessert, i was impressed that we had a selection to choose from, and were served “proper” desserts.. not just a scoop of ice cream or mochi ice cream.

this is the green tea mousse cake, overall all their dishes are very well plated.

the banana pie with vanilla ice cream. flaky pastry, delicious.

the apple pie with ice cream. the caramel sauce is sO good, this may be a favorite.

b also ordered the creme brûlée, on a different visit, which was very good as well.

overall the quality of kagaya was excellent. a new fave, better late than never!

 

xx

pine & crane.

taiwanese eats in silverlake.

a dear friend of mine has recently been consulting at this new restaurant nearby, and we couldn’t be happier! for b and i, this is comfort food. we were invited to a tasting before the soft opening, and here are some of the photos.

you order at the counter, get a #, and grab a seat. theres a long communal table, and a row of doubles that can be pushed together. it already gets crowded.. i was there early once, before doors opened for lunch, and i was shocked to see that  line had formed in front of me while i took a call in my car.

there are a variety of cold small dishes in the front display case. i always order the seaweed, pigs ear, and my favorite- the peanuts! before i continue, to address pricing; for ex, three cold appetizers for $7.50, which for taiwanese food seems a little expensive, but remember you’re in silverlake. take a look around. this isn’t your normal hole in the wall sgv chinese restaurant setting. you’re also getting quality ingredients, sourced from their own farm in bakersfield, and dining in a well designed, comfortable setting- with great service. try getting that at sgv. i know  we’d gladly pay a few extra dollars and eat closer to home.

continuing on..  heres a shot of the seaweed and shredded potato salad appetizers from the tasting.

taiwanese sausage with garlic.

one of my fave items: the beef roll. i’ve loved this since i was a child. pine & crane’s version is not greasy, and full of beef and scallions. lOve it.

three cup jidori chicken. basil, garlic, yum.

zha jiang noodles. chewy noodles, slightly sweet sauce.

minced pork rice. YUM. this picture is of the tasting sized portion, if you order it it comes in a bigger bowl. with the classic seven spices, and delicious pork fat, which makes the dish what it is. another one of my childhood faves.

pea sprout veggies. fresh, light.. because we shouldn’t eat carbs all day- which is what usually happens when i eat taiwanese food.

b’s fave. beef noodle soup. their version is lighter, not spicy, and does NOT have a layer of fat/oil floating on top. i approve.

loose leaf tea service. this was the high mountain dayuling.

and for my sweet tooth, i usually get a jasmine green milk tea (not pictured), and my gf told us that they may be adding some sweets onto the menu soon.

sO glad there’s some asian food that i actually like nearby now. you guys know i usually avoid chinese/taiwanese food.. especially greasy, or seafood banquets.. ugh. but, pine and crane is everything that i actually like to eat.

cheers! congrats on the soft opening!

xx

 

http://www.pineandcrane.com/

 

honolulu eats.

some faves from a recent visit.

my favorite shave ice, is from waiola. fluffy and melts right away. i go as many times as possible each trip!

i always get lilikoi and guava syrups, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream underneath.

another favorite eat, is local food, no frills, hearty and delicious. this time we went to Haili’s Hawaiian Foods.

short rib plate, with a side of poke.

 

the lau lau pork. the wrap taro leaves are tender.

(:

xx

 

xx

republique.

early  dinner at republique.

this rustic space, used to be charlie chaplin’s production studio.

started with the “chips and dip.” was pleasantly surprised by this appetizer, it was a smoked salmon + yoghurt “dip”, served with deep fried pork rind “chips.” sO delicious. and fun.

another pic of the “dip”

b ordered a soup, which was poured at the table. i forget what it was, but it was from the seasonal/specials menu.

roasted cauliflower. simple, but done up with curried lentils and dates. great mix of flavors, sweet to tart to smoky. one of my favorite dishes of the night.

braised beef short rib with polenta. red wine sauce.

meyer lemon tart. my favorite, i love sour desserts.

overall, we ordered classics, but republique’s take on these dishes were refreshing and quite unexpected. we definitely enjoyed our dinner. the pastry counter had some delicious looking scones and croissants.. will def be back for brunch/coffee.

yuM.

xx

 

http://republiquela.com/

 

 

maruhide UNI CLUB

as you know.. i LOVE uni. i have a prOblem..

well.. this place in torrance feeds my addiction. maruhide produces santa barbara uni products, supplies uni, and are based out of long beach. their UNI CLUB restaurant, serves up an amazing sampling of their product. i would say that over 90% of the menu is uni.. so b can’t eat here with me. but i have nO problem coming alone to enjoy.

uni bowl with uni, salmon, tuna, ikura, sea cucumber, marinated uni, squid. the amount of rice is just right in proportion to the fish, and the wasabi is freshly grated.

uni bowl, with uni, salmon, ikura and uni tamago. lOve everything in this bowl!

uni cream croquette. i die.. everything is well proportioned, executed and presented. the sashimi is, of course, very fresh. pricing is fair. i would eat here all the time if it wasn’t for fear of high cholesterol.

 

 

lOve.

 

http://www.maruhide.us/?lang=en

 

xx

Manhattan Beach Post

dinner at manhattan beach post.

after all the recommendations to try this place we finally made it. the biscuits brought me in, and the desserts will keep me coming back.  the menu changes constantly, and there are always special savories and desserts to try.

decor + theme. simple + well thought out.

the cheddar bacOn biscuits with maple butter. perfection. sOo good. flaky, buttery, served hot. a must order.

pork belly + kimchi. it was well cooked, a little on the sweet in flavoring. as a general rule, i don’t love asian “fusion” flavors for savory dishes, so i’ll prob stay away from these kinds of dishes in the future. but when we see pork belly.. we usually will order.

green beans, also with an asian fusion twist. a bit on the salty side.

mac n’cheese. now THATS what i’m talkin’ bout. crumbs atop, creamy inside.

dessert. a chai sundae of sorts.. i forget exactly what, but it was the special of the day. it was a soft serve, and melted quite fast.

thai tea panna cotta. delicious.

i’ve since returned, and enjoyed their grilled squid, brussel sprouts and fish of the day.

http://eatmbpost.com/

xx