20 posts
Peanut Butter Mochi from J.J. Bakery. I was expecting peanut powder instead of peanut butter. If I am not mistaken the peanut powder is a more traditional filling and has better flavor. The peanut butter tasted a bit bland. . . . . .
Beef Noodle Soup at 一條龍 PP Pop. I had the Taiwanese spicy Beef Noodle Soup with pickle vegetables. Quite spicy and tasty. We also had the tan tan noodles, beef and tendon soup with vermicelli, and fried pork buns 生煎包. Interesting 一條龍 used to be the name of a restaurant on valley Blvd with the English name Dragon Mark, which was a favorite of mine a long time ago. It appears this place “borrowed” their name. . . . . .
Beijing Roast Duck 北京烤鴨 at the Duck House. Haven’t had duck in a long time. We had the half duck with the crispy skin. They provided the thin rice paper wrappers as opposed to the thick buns (which I prefer). The duck soup was savory and flavorful. The thinly sliced translucent pork belly was perfect with the garlic sauce. The glass noodles, sesame sauce lettuce, and jelly fish was good, also. The last dish the eel over sticky rice was also a stand out. Restaurant building looked like it was an old bank. I think the Duck House has been around a long time, just never had the chance to try. I’m glad I did. . . . . .
Oyaku Don, Udon, and Saba. Suehiro is Little Tokyo’s Japanese Denny’s. Love this place. Can always good Japanese comfort dishes. They good rice dishes, ramen, and other dishes. Open Late. But parking sucks - only paid lots and barely any street parking available. . . . . . .
Rotisserie chicken and Tri-tip shawarma plate from Zankou Chicken. Haven’t had the beef, since we usually have the chicken. Their famed garlic sauce/paste is something that you must ask for. Make sure you ask for it!!! The tahni sauce is also really good, as is the hummus and pita. If you haven’t gone to zankou. You gotta go. . . . .
Adobada Tacos at Tacos 1986 in DTLA. Also had the carne asada Vampiros. The pork adobadas reminded us of the flavors of Taiwanese braised pork 滷肉. I think adobadas would go great on a bowl of rice. Yummy. Also good to have some Topo Chico, Mexican Sparkling Water. First stop of the DTLA Taco Crawl! . . . .
Baked Chicken at Love Baked Wings on Melrose. Still with a nice crackle but without the greasy fried crust. I first had baked chicken in Seoul at Oppadak with a couple of local elementary school teachers. Loved the baked concept with the dry seasonings and especially liked the dipping sauces. Their spicy is crazy spicy! Unfortunately their lemon rub is a bit too sour. Read that the chef used to be personal chef. Would recommend and want to visit again soon. I hope they build one in Pasadena. . . . .
Chorizo and Steak Tacos from Sonoratown in DTLA. Excellent tortillas and the chorizo was awesome. Wish they had a pork option. The beef chimichanga was also yummy - just enough spice. I would visit again. 2nd Stop of the Taco Crawl DTLA. Omg I am so full!!! . . . .
Pork Terrine Taco and Baja Shrimp Taco from Guerrilla Tacos. Third and last stop of the Taco Crawl in DTLA. Yummy. Tasty and more messy. Good flavor and texture. Love my pork tacos. . . . .
Tianjin Jian Bing at the Sunday Alhambra Farmers Market. Woo’s Crepe makes a traditional Tianjin Jian Bing. It’s a bit different from the Jian Bing I’m used to from shanghai. They fry the egg on the outside of the crepe. They also used, what I assume, is tortilla chips instead of crisps they usually use. Sometimes they used a youtiao. They also added some sliced hotdogs, which I thought was peculiar. . . . . .
Galbi Jim at SBD BBQ. Seong Buk Dong from Koreantown has come to the SGV. Known as SBD Korean Bbq - they offer their traditional dishes, that made them well known, but also offering DIY kbbq. Their Galbi Jjim sauce is outstanding but it appears that the quality of beef rib could have been of high quality and more tender. We also had the spicy Galbi Jjim, cold noodles, kimchi Jeon, spicy pork, tofu soup. I really liked the kimchi jeon - the kimchi pancake. . . . .🍖
Taiwanese Breakfast Burrito. 飯糰 and egg pancake. This was my daily breakfast when I lived in Taipei. Must have the fried egg. Only with the curlers 油條 was more crispy. Other than that it was good. Also had the savory soy milk, also with curlers 油條. . . . .
Yet another . . . Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, this time from Old Country Cafe 老鄉親. The broth was ok, not overly flavorful or slightly spicy as one would expect. It appeared to be cloudy, which isn’t a good thing. The soup had an already acidic taste from the pickled mustard greens, in which I would have liked to add personally - depending on my taste. The beef chucks were tender with some nice chewy tendons. But they were smaller in size compared to the other bowls, I’ve had this week. The overall taste was there but not up to par compared to others. The Taiwanese sausage didn’t have the look or taste that Sinabala had - which has the best Taiwanese Sausage around. I would still Vivi at again, but I would probably order something else. Interesting, there used to be an Old Country Cafe, also 老鄉親, on Garfield in Alhambra - which is no longer there. They said they aren’t the same owners as the old one. But it appears they almost copied everything they had, including having a few comic books for people to read. . . . .
Queso-Tacos, hard shell beef tacos with cheese. And the Quesa-birria, the beef and cheese quesadilla. Also had the beef consume dipping sauce/soup. I was in the area and I thought I should try Birrieria San Marcos. Luckily I got there before the crowd. The tacos and quesadilla was tasty and savory, but not too savory. You really don’t need additional hot sauce or onions - it was fine the way it was. The unique dipping sauce is, what I think, makes Birrieria San Marcos stand out. I glad they choose to do something others don’t do. It is tough in the LA market to stand out. Anyways, I’m glad I got to go. I would certainly go again and would recommend. . . . . .
Pizza at CPK. Garlic Chicken Pizza on cauliflower crust and the “Works” Pizza. This place never disappoints. Consistency and interesting. You don’t find these topping combinations typically at other places . . . .
More Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup. Tonight we ventured to Sinbala for a pipping hot bowl. The noodles were slightly over cooked and too soft. The soup was nice and spicy, but not too spicy. They already added the pickled mustard greens, which I wished they didn’t. Anyways, I would order it again here but it wouldn’t be my first choice. Their Taiwanese sausage might be the best in the area. . . . .
Lunch at Golden Deli. Pho, spring rolls, and rolls. Yummy! . . .
Pizza! Sapori Di in Altadena. They have a nice pizza oven hearth and they serve up some pretty good pizza. The crust had a nice texture and chew. I really liked it! . . . .
Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup! Might still be the best in Southern California. Wifey had the pig knuckle and rice. Unfortunate the sides were not so good - sausage, tofu skin, and cucumber. The hot hearty soup had great savory spicy seasoned flavor. Great on a chilly day. . . . .
Another Ramen Shop popped up in Arcadia. DashiWa Ramen. The broth and noodles were good. I had the black garlic tonkotsu ramen and it was pretty good. Unfortunately the chasu tasted oily and didn’t have the texture I was expecting and was cut really too thin. But at least they did the broth and noodles right. The inari unusually had warm rice - which in my book is a big No-No. And the chicken karaage was too greasy. Unfortunately, I can recommend, not will I return. But it appears that DashiWa Ramen will be fine without me, since they cater to the local lunch crowd. But if you do go, just have the their ramen, no need for their sides. . . .