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Right after the calendar New Year, the Missus and I finally made it to Hunan Restaurant in Monterey Park. Since we'd already eaten at Hunan Chilli King (several times), Hunan Seafood, Xiang Wei Lou, and Hunan Style Restaurant, it only made sense that we should check out the simply named Hunan Restaurant. Hunan Restaurant is located on Atlantic Boulevard; we haven't been around this part of Monterey Park in a while, so it was interesting to see the changes since we last visited.
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For some reason, the interior of this place always has me humming:
"Those magnificent men in their flying machines,they go up diddly up up,they go down diddly down down....."
Now why the heck would this bright pepto-bismol pink, "luche libre"(Mexican professional wrestling) themed and decorated (I use that term loosely) restaurant have me humming that tune? Well, if you grew up in Hawaii in the late 60's and 70's you'd recognize names like as Ripper Collins(who once, when ...
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I've been told several times that many folks come here more to see what I ate, rather than to read about my meals! It really doesn't bother me one bit. After all, there are times when a photo speaks much louder, and all of that.
And since we've written about Okan quite a bit over the last two years. I thought you'd enjoy seeing what we ate, more than reading about it. You can of course read our old posts, the oldest ...
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On our third day in Chiang Mai, the Missus decided that She wanted to visit Doi Suthep, located about 15 kilometeres from Chiang Mai. So how to get there???? Well, you just flag down a "sawngthaew" one of the innumerable red trucks plying the streets. Bargain, and get on your way.....
We arrived at the 309 steps up to Wat Doi Suthep..... and it seemed like everyone else in Chiang Mai decided to visit as well.
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I really need to finish up my Guatemala, and for that matter my Thailand posts. After Copan Ruinas we returned to Antigua, to spend our last nights of our trip.
We really loved the colors of Antigua, from the cobblestone streets to the colorfully painted buildings, this is one photogenic town.
After some research I booked our room at the Hotel Casa Florencia. Our usual "M.O." is to book a room for the first night or two and take things from there....
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As I noted previously, we managed to drop by the new Chin's this past weekend for a quick bite. Lucky for me, FOY Candice managed to get word out to me, because just looking at the place, I really couldn't tell they were open.
We arrived at just about 11am, and the place was empty except for one table. I thought the interior was pretty nice, just hitting the edge of tasteful Chinese restaurant decor. The dining area is small, but the tables are spread out pretty well. There is a bar area, ...
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I always appreciate all the recommendations and notifications I receive from all the wonderful FOYs (Friends of Yoso) out there. It sometimes seems that the moment a new place opens, there'll be an email in my inbox awaiting me. Com Tam 75 is no exception. Back in November, I received an email from TammyC letting me know about this new shop. About the same time, I received an email from someone with the handle "ComTamMan" recommending Com Tam 75. Com Tam Man? Hmmm.... The strangest thing was, that even though this place was named Com Tam 75, it wasn't the ...
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The Missus has been requesting these for a while, so today I thought I'd take a shot at making them.
You may not recognize the name, but once you look at them you'll realize that these are the sweet-savory-sometimes spicy potatoes that are delivered to your table as panchan.
This wasn't much of a problem as I had all the ingredients at home..... except for the potatoes. I wanted it a bit spicier ...
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Just some small bites for this Saturday.
Chin's on Convoy opens (finally):
A few days back FOY Candice sent me a text (I'm good at receiving, but not very good at sending for some reason) letting me know that Chin's on Convoy had finally opened.
When we dropped by this morning, it was evident that this was a "soft opening". We could tell that Chin's was open by the little "open" sign blinking ...
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A couple of Saturdays ago, during the big rainstorm, a couple of good friends and I decided to do a taco crawl. The weather refused to cooperate, howling wind and pouring rain, but I gotta give it up for JohnL and TammyC, they handled the dripping canopies and pouring rain like troopers, and we managed six stops, and about a dozen tacos a piece (including a coupla gobernadors, etc). In need of a stop where we didn't have to suffer through water pouring onto our tacos, and us. I suggested La Fachada. It had been a whilem and I thought ...
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A while back I was in the Little Saigon area, and being quite hungry, I was in the mood for a C?m t?m (broken rice) dish. Almost right across Viendong Restaurant is Com Tam Thuan Kieu, which with over a hundred different combinations of item topping broken rice, you could say, ahem.... specializes in Com Tam.
The restaurant itself is fairly neat, and no frills, reminding me of a more run down Banh ...
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For this past Valentines Day, we picked up a nice 1 pound piece of Maguro in LA. A nice splurge for us. I was going to come home and do the usual thing......
The Missus however, had other ideas, and wanted something new. I was told that there would be no more this:
And don't even think about making that:
I guess I'd been ...
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We are pre-empting Burger Week to let you know it's that time again.... Yes, the 2010 San Diego Tet Festival started today, running through Sunday 02/21. So I made sure to drop this evening.
If you've been to the Tet Festival before, much is the same. The location is still Balboa Park. This year things are much drier than last year, even though there's rain in the forecast.
There are of course, all the various rides and games....
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Burger Lounge seems to be quite a polarizing chain. Some folks I know, sing high praises of Burger Lounge. But the only thing that bothers me about the things they say about BL, is that most of it centers around BL's use of Tallgrass Beef, and most of them recite this in a mantra like fashion. Very few things are said to me regarding the taste. One good thing is.... that I love good grassfed beef, it is much more "beefy" in flavor. On the other hand, posts by other food bloggers seemed to align the burger at BL with fast food ...
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During every burger week, I try to get at least one of the species I call a "pub burger". A few of my acquaintances look down at pub burgers. But I enjoy the simple, straight forward, unpretentious burgers served at places like Rocky's and Mr Peabody's. When someone tells me these burgers are mediocre, and I admit there are a few that are, or that it tastes like something their Mom would make, I ask, "what's wrong with your Mom's burgers?" And automatically peg them as being unsentimental. My next question would be, if these burgers are so simple, why is it that copycat corporate ...
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Let's see..... it's mid-February, about the time most of us have said, "what the heck" and have let those New Years resolutions fall by the wayside. Or perhaps you're like FOY and fellow food blogger Masa Assassin, and have already reached your goals for the year! Hmmm, don't you hate people like that??? Just kidding.... I just figured it was time for another burger week. So hang on, loosen up the ol' belt a coupla notches, and let's get going.
I first read about The Counter when Kat of Our Adventures in Japan ate at the Kahala location during one of ...
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Xin Nian Kuai Le, Cung Chúc Tân Xuân (or is it Chúc Mung Nam Moi maybe someone can tell me?), Happy Valentines Day, and happy President's Day, all rolled into one! That's one heckofa holiday weekend that much is for sure. As is usual for us, we're kinda laying low, and will have our big meals a bit later on..... or perhaps the Missus actually believes me when I say, "but honey, every day can be Valentine's day!" Hmmm, probably not.....
Still, the Missus gets whatever She wants to eat today, and what She wanted was a BLT with thick cut ...
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As I mentioned earlier, I'd made a pretty large amount of dashi around the holidays and needed to find a way to use it up. I decided on making a pretty common mixed rice dish called Gomoku Gohan. In fact, I've seen various frozen instant version of Gomoku Gohan, but making it yourself is pretty easy..... after all, it's just rice, right?
The basis of the dish, at least the version I make is mushrooms, and I was quite impressed with the quality of the Gobo (burdock root) available this year, so I thought why not.......
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Over the last month or so, with all the rain and wind, Korean food just seemed so warm and comforting. So far this year it seems that we've been hitting up Hal Mu Ni (Grandma's) quite often. I thought I'd do another post to go with my first post, showing a few other dishes.
Of course there's panchan. Nothing fancy here, but most of it is fairly solid.
There are usually five to six items, ...
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On a recent trip to the SGV, while driving across San Gabriel Boulevard on Valley, I noticed a new restaurant had sprouted up. What was once a Spike's Teriyaki Bowl, is now something called Yunnan 168.
Even though it was pretty early, we decided to stop by and grab a "breakfast" of sorts. The interior looks brand new but kinda generic..... and of course the 'B' DOH Restaurant rating was hung with care.... as if it was a badge of courage....
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For once I wasn't a jinx:
You can tell who I was cheering for in the Super Bowl by the ingredients in the photo to the right. I made some Red Beans and Rice for a potluck the Missus had to attend on Saturday. And I guess this time I didn't jinx the team I was hoping would win.
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I'm pretty sure if you've driven South on the 15 freeway, you've seen the sign for Keith's.
The Missus, who loves diners just could not fend off the pull of this sign forever. So I just knew that we'd eventually be eating here.
On the day we visited Keith's we'd arrive right before what would be considered a normal dinner service. We grabbed a table, and soon enough our menus arrived....
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I gotta say, that the first time I had Chao Nian Gao(stir fried rice cake), I wasn't too impressed. It was kinda sticky-gooey, and sank to the bottom of my belly and seemed to "camp out" for a good long period of time. It was interesting, because I'd never had rice cakes prepared in that manner. I did however have Korean Ddukbokki many times. Over the years, it has grown on me, and now I try to order Nian Gao whenever I see it on the menu. I usually see it ...
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I recently took a day off from work, and we headed off to.... well, where else, LA. We hadn't been to Little Tokyo in quite a while. So we decided to start there...... And it had been a good long time, things seemed a bit different, and there's a new transit stop.... or maybe not so new since I don't think I've spent much time here since my (Rail) Road Trip at the end of 2006!
We decided that some sushi and sashimi would make a nice lunch... nothing fancy, just some decently done sushi like we'd get at Sushi Komasa, ...
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I usually try to contain myself and wait a bit before trying out a new restaurant. I'd just mentioned that Yakyudori's second branch would open today. A good example of waiting for a bit until the "kinks" are worked out would be San Diego's Santouka, whereas my first visit really wasn't quite that good, the problems where worked out by my subsequent visits. But today, the opportunity arose to grab a bite at Yakyudori, with two of my favorite FOYs(Friends of Yoso), Candice and Howie. So of course I jumped at it....
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With Royal Mandarin currently out of commission, I've kinda been keeping my eye out for various other places that make Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings. Someone mentioned that Imperial Palace in National City made some pretty good wings, and even recommended a noodle dish. I faintly recalled seeing this place while driving up 8th street.
Much like the similarly named Hotel and Casino in Vegas, this place has obviously seen better days. I think just the name itself was enough to keep out of the place in the past. The ...
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Playa Azul Closes:
Sometimes when I take my sweet 'ol time on posts, it backfires. After a visit to Playa Azul during the Autumn, I just kinda waited around...... A few weeks back, I decided to do one more visit, and finally a post, and this is what greeted me:
Even the mural had been removed:
Sad......
Anyway here are some photos from our visit....
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I swear that I posted this recipe before.... but I guess not. Anyway, this is one of those basic recipes that Mom made. Kinpira is the name of a famous Mythical Hero. According to Shizuo Tsuji's Japanese Cooking: a Simple Art, this dish is supposed to be strong and dashing, like Kinpira, thus the addition of some heat in this style of cooking. By the way, for all those who really want to know the "meat and bones" of traditional Japanese ...
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Anyone out there kinda obsessive about things? I'll be the first to admit that I love chicken wings..... I mean I've created a category for them. To add to the obsession, I've even created my own little "value scale" for chicken wings..... I automatically divide the price of the wings by the number of wings in an order. Of course taste is king.... but I gotta admit at Kyochon level price levels,$1 a wing, it better be pretty darn good. I guess that's why I've thought Royal Mandarin's Salt and Pepper wings at $7.95 for an order, which usually contained 14 wings (about ...
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You remember the scene in Back to the Future? You know which one, right? Where Marty McFly and the Starlighters cover Johnny B Goode? If you're one of perhaps three people out there who've never scene the flick, you can find a poor YouTube facsimile here (the fun starts at about 1:25). There's a point where McFly takes the guitar solo(actually played by Tim May) a bit too far and over-the-top(starting Chuck Berry and ending Eddie Van Halen....), leaving everyone stunned, not quite knowing what the heck just happened. I had such a moment recently. I was at work when one of my ...
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Back in August I did a short post, noting that Eddels inside of Vinh Hung Market had changed ownership and was now named Chibugan. I recently finally got around to visiting Chibugan.
I did notice that the place had been cleaned-up a bit. Doors had been installed in the interior entrance, and the place has been painted a bright orange.
This ...
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Maybe I should've made a few resolutions for the New Year. First on that list would be "completing things I started sooner....." I realize that I did part 1 of this post on December 30th. I could, of course make it sound even farther "upstream" by writing something like "last year".... Of course, I still haven't finished my posts on Guatemala, or even Thailand, I hope to get those done before we leave on our next big trip. So without further ado..... ...
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Geez, in putting together this post, I just realized how many meals we've had at Huynh Hoa Tuu over the last couple of months! You can add the dishes in part 1, to those in this post for a more comprehensive list.
After a couple of visits we started noticing a few things about the Pepto-Bismol pink restaurant.
1 - On many evenings, there usually was a group of men having beers and a good time. And, ...
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"They call it stormy Monday, yes but Tuesday's just as bad........."
They Call it Stormy Monday - T-Bone Walker.
Well the first part of that is true..... hope the second isn't! Sheesh, talk about a blustery Monday. Today was the Martin Luther King Jr Holiday, so I had the day off. The Missus, never good with dates, had lunch scheduled with Her friends, so I stayed home, took naps, and had a nice little lunch.
This is a bit of an interesting post....... mainly because I haven't posted on ...
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Believe it or not, even after having Shengjian Bao at Kang Kang Food Court, Xiao Long Bao at Giang Nan, and Jiaozi at Qing Dao Bread Food, we still weren't through! You see we dropped by Tianjin Bistro to pick up Suan Cai Yang Rou Guo which I had on Christmas Day. While waiting for our take-out, I noticed that the long awaited Hunan restaurant had opened across the street. Seeing the name on the sign got my interest.
You see this restaurant had the same name ...
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