August 6, 2009
that’s right. I’m back, beetchesss!!!
first post back will naturally be on what I’ve been eating almost every single week since on break…that’s right, stayed tuned for the post on my favorite restaurant in los angeles, ludo bites and my favorite chef in los angeles ludovic lefebvre .
watch out now… 
May 9, 2009
yes much has happened in the last couple of weeks but before I post about all that, this is an entry from my backlog buildup (eek).
yeah yeah, the la curry festival was over a month ago. it was a fun day so here it is. i still gots the writers block and so my lazy arse will post up the pics. my words will be few.
la curry festival sunday, april 5
only in la…a million vendors/booths of thai, thai-chinese, indonesian goodies packed on hollywood blvd and packed to the gills with ppl too
hot, hot heat (not the food, seriously its just f’n hot outside! feels like super summer and its barely april)
cute- fun for the whole fam
booths and booths of grilled galore- chicken skewers
juicy sausages. these babies were as plump and delicious as they look. sweet and savory, oh yum.
the winning curry- simpang asia
tasty curry bites- indonesian martabak (curry omelette- warm and fluffy) and kroket (indonesian curry croquette- tastes strikingly similar to an indonesian version of portos potato ball)
winner, winner chicken (curry) dinner- indonesian beef and chicken curry (oddly enough this was the only curry we came across in the entire festival but it was delicious. next day, we found out it was the winner)
addictingly delicious mango sticky rice- no condensed milk needed, the super sweet mango paired with the sticky rice were just heavenly
and yes even with all those goodies, something’s missing…
“I can’t…get..no…sat-is-fac-tion…”
…’til I get my favorite bowl of thai boat noodles. good thing it’s just down the street 
offal goodness- the heartiest and most satisfying bowl of thai boat noodles can be found at sapp coffee shop
that was a fun day so. cal sunday
la curry festival- hollywood blvd. btw western ave. and vermont ave. los angeles, ca
sapp coffee shop- 5183 hollywood blvd, los angeles, ca 90027. (323) 665-1035
April 29, 2009
every year when it’s appah(dad)’s birthday, I love to cook for the fam. this is how I show my daughterly lurve. this year was no different. my family knows I go all out (like the 10 course prime rib feast last christmas which I then ended up in the ER later that evening with pneumonia…uhh yeah…thatstoryanothertime)
so this time they all begged me to just make something ” SIMPLE” or else they threatened we’d all go out and eat (oh-hellz-no)
in my best korean accent I told them “ohrye, ohrye!” (translation: alright, alright!)
the game plan: simple, comfort food.
this has got to be my simplest family dinner yet. thankfully, my family is not too picky and not too hard to please.
because korean families love their sa-ra-da (aka salad)
something spring-y- mixed greens, strawberries, asian pear, diced egg, and toasted cinnamon and sugar walnuts (so simple to do and so delicious) tossed with a light balsamic vinegarette
and then the 5 hour beast…I mean, pot roast ( although I followed no conventional pot roast recipe) yeah I know this is more of an autumn dish but nothing says simple comfort like some slowly braised meat and potatoes (and basically everything else in our fridge ).
after seasoning and searing the sucker, I basically threw in nearly everything in my seasoning cabinet, some jesus juice (of the malbec variety), stuck on the lid, threw it in the oven and crossed my fingers.
3 hours later, I added rustic veggies galore and some more crap. yes, now I had put in everything but the kitchen sink. lid back on dutch oven, threw it in the oven again and crossed fingers one more time.
2 hours later…
voila! yes, somewhere in there is 10 pounds of pot roast à la choisauce.
the final plate
simple, comfort birthday plate- buttermilk biscuit, spring salad (from above), and pot roast à la choisauce over a bed of buttered egg noodles and mashed potatoes.
my cousin was sweet enough to make this delicious and adorable cheesecake for appah’s birthday
singing “happy birthday”
singing happy birthday in our family can be quite the comedic scene. starting the tune is usually awkward no matter who starts it. 90% of the fam is singing it in korean (no, its not just with a fobby accent “happy busssday.” the words are actually in korean lol) and the rest of the fam (or rather just me) is singing it in english. haha don’t worry at least its in the same tune (I know the words in korean but sorry! it just feels too fobby and awkward even when everyone else is singing it haha)
too cute. appah with my baby niece, erin. kids adore him and he always loves to hold them/have them sit on his lap. although this looks strikingly similar to a picture of us maybe 9493843 years ago he still sees me/treats me like this *sigh*
it’s okay, I love u and happy birthday, appah!
love,
jina (the korean name)
_
maison de choisauce, somewhere in lala land
April 22, 2009
my quest for a good bowl of nrm (neuro-mien aka taiwanese beef noodle soup) has gone on for years. bowl after bowl, I was never satisfied fully. some past FAIL nrm equations:
meh broth + AMAZING noodles + crappy beef = kam hong garden
meh watered down broth + aiiight noodles + crappy beef = both mandarin noodle house/deli
okay broth + boring noodles + good beef = kingburg kitchen
oily as hell broth + ok noodles + okay beef = dai ho
amazingly flavorful broth + crappy noodles + so so beef = cheng du (and now the broth is just meh. so sad, so sad)
amazing broth + okay noodles + meh beef = friends taiwanese mommy
needless to say, I gave up on the search…
then last sunday (yes, thats 2 sundays in a row for us) we had a hankering for some xlb’s (xio long bao aka soupy pork dumplings) from dean sin world and made our trek to the sgv to get some of these juicy pork wonders. little did, I know I’d find my favorite bowl of nrm.
the first time we came to dean sin world was with our sgv guru, kungfoodpanda, aka, our homie, stinky for some no frills XLB’s (which are fantastic) and shanghai panfried baos (u can skip these). the kind women working there also brought out a free test bowl of nrm which was not on the menu. it was…well…NOT good. it was horribly sweet and everything else in the bowl left one confused to barely make it out to be nrm.
so back to this past sunday and my hankering for some xlb’s. of course, as ALWAYS, I was also craving soupy. what else is new right? yes, its true, soup/broth consists of 50% of my meals. I crave it every morning, every every evening. when the weather is cold, when its hot, u get the idea. good soup/broth is important. we took another stab at the nrm after attempting to pronounce noo-roh-mien about 20 times ( since the women there dont speak a lick of english and finger pointing is useless bc the nrm is not listed on the menu. non-chinese speakers and koreans like us are pretty much SOL)
after the first taste of soup and then slurp of noodles and bite of tendon….WOW, this was extreme makeover to the MAX
I immediately exclaimed, this is my favorite bowl of NRM!!
oh what a beauty…
AMAZING broth + good noodles + tons of juicy, delicious beef/tendon = my new favorite bowl of NRM @ dean sin world
the broth is really an amazing thing. it’s rich in beef flavor with a slight sweetness and has almost a velvety smoothness, all WITHOUT being oily. super beefy and brothy does NOT mean it has to be oily (i.e. dai ho) the other extreme is flavorless broth like mandarin noodle house/deli and kam hong garden. this broth is the most refined and balanced nrm broth I’ve had. it’s not overloaded with spices but still so flavorful. the noodles are not kam hong caliber but they’re slippery with a slight bite that reign above most of the other nrm noodles I’ve had. and then the beef and tendon. WOW. the bowl is LOADED with the most delicious and juicy tendon. love it, love it!!
also, the most delicious bite I’ve had in recent memory are these morsels of pure comfort and yuminess that can also be found here
these sesame turnip cakes when fresh and pipin’ hot are quite the savory, sweet, doughy, flakey deliciousness in-yo-mouth. flakey outside with warm doughy inside and bursting with sweet and savory turnip. yuummmmyyyyyy the turnip filling reminds me of the korean banchan moo-namul. pure comfort.
my new happy, happy place, dean sin world
dean sin world, 306 n garfield ave #2, monterey park, ca 91754. (626) 571-0636.
April 17, 2009
sorry been mia for awhile. I’m back…kinda
still got the writer’s block so let’s do a photomontage and just a few words to describe the perfect saturday matthew and I had a couple of weeks back
*cue radiohead’s “nice dream”*
santa barbara farmer’s market
lilacs are my absolute favorite flowers (technically a shrub but whatever)
had fun munching on this delicious monster as I walked around the market.
discovered the most delicious fruit on earth- the cherimoya, the juices that come out of this is indeed nectar of the gods
feast at la super rica
grilled marinated pork, roasted chile pasillo, covered with oozy gooey cheese *tear*
special of the day: taco de calabacita- marinated pork, peppers, zucchini squash, its not conventional but I dont care it was damn delicious
this tri-tip and bell pepper wonder even had bacon. ’nuff said
the most amazing tamale ever- tamal norteno de puerco, fat corn tamale packed with tender pulled pork and covered in a creamy fresh tomato sauce.
the most gorgeous (and delicious) tasting room at saarloos & sons
as we walk in I immediately notice they’re playing my FAVORITE radiohead song “bulletproof” (they played radiohead the entire time we were there ommahhggaaaahttt)
they even have cupcakes on saturdays
the goods
keith is the man
as I’m sitting outside of saarloos, I wonder to myself, “can life get better than this?”
then radiohead’s “nice dream” plays
the perfect saturday
oh what a dream…
santa barbara certified farmers market- santa barbara st and cota st, santa barbara, ca 93120. (805) 962-5354. www.sbfarmersmarket.org
la super rica taqueria- 622 n milpas st. santa barbara, ca 93103. (805) 963-4940
saarloos & sons- 2971 grand ave. los olivos, ca 93441. (805) 688-1200. www.saarloosandsons.com
April 3, 2009
last night at susan feniger’s brand spankin’ new restaurant, street….
I swear our sever encouraged me to do so…
in a single picture, this was what I thought of more than half the dishes we had last night. the highlights being: saang paneer, kokum dal, and rice plate, cuban stuffed potato cake (don’t worry, worlds away from porto’s), vietnamese corn and omaahhggaahhhtt the kaya toast!!!
in a nutshell, there were many hits (above), some that were good (but just needs some fine tuning) and only one major miss (yes, I swear we wanted to like it was but it was the $16 pho. so bad, please, just take it off the menu, susan)
this menu is extremely ambitious covering so many countries and spices/ingredients all on ONE menu. I highly commend feniger for bringing this menu to their highland/melrose location in los angeles and introducing many new flavors to angelenos palates. definitely a great starting place to introduce these new flavors/dishes to the people of la.
it was such a pleasure speaking susan feniger with her about her concept and food. she even gave us a tour of their ridiculously small kitchen and crazy woodfire oven. u will have a whole another level of “wow”ness and awe when u see the closet of a kitchen all the food comes out of (its literally half the size of mine at home)
it was so nostalgic coming back to this space since I used to frequent it every thursday for open mic night when it was highland grounds. the space is revamped but I really love what they’ve done with it. the staff and especially our server, minda were outstanding. we will definitely return in the next coming weeks…
susan feniger’s street, 742 n. highland, hollywood, (323) 203-0500, Eatatstreet.com
April 1, 2009
this ain’t no april fools. I ain’t playin’. this shizz is FO REAL.
wish I could take credit for originally creating this masterpiece called the mcgangbang (it actually originated from daytona beach mcdonalds restaurants)
well, in case u aren’t in the know:
“The McGangBang ranks up there in the holy pantheon of WTF. It’s a sandwich made from a double cheeseburger and a McChicken sandwich — where you put an entire McChicken sandwich inside a double cheeseburger. It’s a creative manipulation of existing menu items, and an exercise in frugality: taking two items off of the Dollar Menu and creating an entirely new sandwich for a total of $2.16. Truly, it’s a sandwich that’s more than the sum of its parts.” read more about it here
to make a long story short, it has become an internet sensation.
it was a sunday, bloody (mary) sunday after the cha where they had $2.50 bloody mary specials (which btw, are in the runnings for the best in the city complete with pickled haricot verts. oh yum) I had a hankering for some fries and a burger, el ghetto, mickey d’s style (yeah this foodie still loves her mickey d’s, WHAT). we had some time to kill before hitting up our new favorite cocktail spot, rivera, so we decided to stop by the nearest golden arches.
I wanted fries and a mcdouble (bc double cheeseburgers are no longer $1 BOO) but then remembered this “holy pantheon of WTF.”
oh yes, its mcgangbang time!
I still wanted fries and then brilliance struck as I nostalgically remembered my california burritos days in san diego.
we’re supin’ this mcgangbang up with fries! killa kali style!
for a mere $3.45, this california mcgangbang can also be urs (original mcgangbang $2.37)
the original players plus the new kid in town
double cheeseburger, mcchicken, and small fries
the original gangster: the mcgangbang
I think I love u
now let’s supe this bad boy up
the essentials must be added (what I would’ve done for even one of these suckers at father’s office earlier that day )
yes, this bad boy just got even badder
I present to u, a choisauce original…
the california mcgangbang
yeah he’s a frontin’ badass. this bad boy is fierce.
but in the end we’re happy homies
don’t try this at home, kids
mcdonalds restaurant, locations everywhere
March 29, 2009
*cue boyz II men’s “it’s so hard to say goodbye” *
there was a pioneer chicken next to the church I grew up and attended from birth til the end of high school. default kids lunch every sunday was usually this crispy, crunchy, greasy goodness. so sad was the day, pioneer turned into a popeyes. popeyes chicken is still crispy, crunchy, greasy and good but its so not the same (wah wah wah!) pioneer’s skin is definitely saltier and crunchier (in a good way).
ever since, I’ve seen a few locations here and there in passing and I always tell myself “OH I gotta go back!!” but it wasn’t until we drove by the sunset location and heard they were kicking the bucket (har har har) in a week, we stopped by that instant. I needed to properly say my farewells.
it was bittersweet but u can imagine giddy and glee when FINALLY walking into this place. first thing u notice is the smell of that greasy fried goodness thick in the air. oh, just like how I remembered. I could remember the taste of the fried batter almost instantly.
however, looking around, some things had DEFINTELY changed. back in the day, the menu was simple. fried chicken and the usual sides.
NOW, it was sign sensory overload all over the place as the walls and menu boards were filled with signs of menu items like, pastrami sandwiches, shish kabobs, rotisserie chicken, baked potatoes, burritos, fish’n chips?! WTH?!?!?!?
I even saw on the menu buckets of deep fried liver and gizzards. OK, my favorite offals deep fried in that nostalgic greasy batter?? DONE. one bucket of offals, 2 pieces of fried chicken and biscuit coming right up!
omg, u guys smell just as good as I remember…
offaly deadly delicious- oh yes, the deadly deep fried batter I remembered from so long ago paired with lovely offals were delicious death. the batter was SO DAMN crunchy and greasy! this tastes SO WRONG! (but soooo right )
nostalgic fried chicken wonder- the fried chicken was just as good as I had remembered it from the days of chinese jump rope and slap bracelets. it was almost comedic to see how crunchy and greasy the skin was. the delicious dark meat inside was moist as can be. I would’ve easily been 200 pounds by senior year of high school if pioneer stayed open next to my church and I ate it every sunday.
*sniff sniff* goodbye my pretties…
update: ok turns out, its the original location in echo park that is closing. this location I visited on sunset is still open!! w00t!!!! viva la pioneer chicken! let us rejoice in that this deadly fried goodness lives on! ! (but our hearts won’t if we eat this more than once every 15 years..which is when I probably last had it)
pioneer chicken, 4376 w sunset blvd, los angeles, ca 90029, (323) 663-2441
March 26, 2009
learning to use a d50. I never thought I’d get sucked into the dslr world bc it looks so hard to take good pics but I must admit practicing and learning has been too much fun.
past few days I’ve been eating around town with just me and the cam. i present to u my uber newb first batch of pics…(hot off the sd card, next I need to learn how to edit pics with photoshop haha)
dutch oven bakery
blueberry honey muffin
bran and almond honey muffin
both muffins also tasted delicious. per josh’s tweet about these honey muffins being the single best baked dessert in the city, I had to rush over. loved the textures of the caramelized sticky dome outside and the moist inside.
I was sitting alone outside at a table and some man walks by saying “aww, look, the girl’s taking a picture of her cupcake.”
I wanted to give him an evil snarling glare saying “this is a f’n gorgeous and mouth watering blueberry honey muffin, buddy!” but instead I just coyly smiled back
happy hour at fig restaurant
this was a fun yelp event where 25 lucky yelpers were invited to taste and sample fig’s new fig at five happy hour menu (available 5-6pm, each selection is $5)
arugula and olive oil infused butter they’re not joking when they say their menu is market driven. the arugula and olive oil make u feel a leeetle less guilty when spread on top of this crusty goodness…
scrumptious baguette
gorgeous and divine charcuterie and cheese
omg cashew butter, jelly and blue cheese sammich trust me, the flavors are sheer decadence in ur mouth.
la quercia american proscuitto- heavenly pork shavings
braised beef tongue with tomatillo and radish after reading gourmet pig’s review of this place and this dish, I was so excited to try this. It was even better that I imagined it to be. the beef tongue is one of the most tender preparations I’ve had and the slightly tart tomatillo sauce was just stellar. after seeing how much I enjoyed this dish, the assistant director of food and beverage, matthew, was generous enough to bring out 2 more servings (!)
chef ray garcia was a joy to talk to as he came around to each table explaining his concept and food
my compliments to the chef
needless to say, I was one happy camper. what made the food even better? paired with glasses of their juve y camps cava, lois gruner veltliner, pierre spar gerwurtztraminer, and a delicious cab franc (forgot the name but its the most balanced cab franc ive ever tasted) their happy hour wine list is solid and priced at the oh-so-reasonable $5/glass!
matthew was kind enough to even bring out their feature draft which is a quadruple dutch ale (not a happy hour special though)
think chimay meets arrogant bastard
later in the evening, the bartender thought I might enjoy this (I apologize for the blurry pic..yes, I am a work in progress )
cucumber and lavender cocktail arromatic, light, sweet, refreshing
a wonderful evening and I can’t wait to go back for dinner to try the rest of their menu
HELP! not only am I hooked on good food and drink, now I’m hooked on dslrs too
dutch oven bakery, 2281 lake ave, altadena, ca 91001. (626) 794-3555
fig restaurant, 101 wilshire blvd, santa monica, ca 90401. (310) 319-3111. www.figsantamonica.com
March 24, 2009
fear not, I did not single handedly attempt to (and more importantly was not successful at) wiping out 50% of la’s food blogging community in one evening.
(the blowfish dinner was actually the least ”dangerous” part of the evening haha details later…)
It started in november when I first read jonathan gold’s absolutely amazing review on dae bok restaurant that got me intrigued about trying korean style “bok” (blowfish). dangerous? maybe. delicious? sounds most definitely.
fast foward to febuary’s gold standard event where matthew and I got a golden opportunity to chat it up with this grand gourmand
just as grand to speak with in person. so I had to inquire about this restaurant once again. sure enough, even in person he waxed poetically about this amazing and underrated restaurant in the seedier part of koreatown. my favorite and most comedic part of the conversation was how he described (as in his review),
”So after you persuade the waitress that what you really want is blowfish instead of monkfish, after you have pronounced the words bok jiri a half-dozen times to the best of your ability, puffed out your cheeks, and pointed to the line drawing of the blowfish printed on the chopstick wrapper, you may actually be rewarded with the blowfish stew”
haha poor jonathan but I must commend him on so many levels for being so adventurous to say the least in trying these ethnic restaurants off the beaten trail.
ok, no more wasting time, I wanted to set up a dinner here STAT. invites were emailed within days and come saturday, march 21st, 17 fearless eaters (9 of which were food bloggers, matthew of mattatouille, josh of food gps, fiona of gourmet pigs, eddie of deep end dining, mike of rightwaytoeat, javier of teenage glutster, rickmond of rameniac, danny of kungfoodpanda and yours truly) arrived at dae bok restaurant, ready for some blowfish lovin’. 3 tables with 3 bloggers at each (totally not planned when setting up seat placement), we had the bases (and cameras) covered.
lots of hungry people waiting for the fury. I must say I expected at most about 8 people to be interested in trying this korean blowfish restaurant (which I would have been more than happy with), but was more than pleasantly surprised and thrilled with the amazing turnout of people who were also excited to try this place.
now onto the menu… there’s 10 (yes, count ‘em TEN) ways this sucker is served. blowfish 10 ways:
mehwoontang (spicy fish stew) $14.99
jiri (non-spicy fish stew) $14.99
soo-yook (steamed fish w/ soybean sprouts) $17.99
jjim (spicy, stirfried with sprouts, etc) $21.99
bulgogi (bok bbq) $17.99
tempura w/ sweet potato $17.99
tangsooyuk (fried sweet and sour bok) $18.99
bok-katsu $14.99
fish skin w/ spicy sauce/vegetable (cold salad) $16.99
shabu shabu $34.99
WOW. ok but with each table being about 6 people, we consulted with the waitresses and 2 servings of the stew plus 1 or 2 dishes more would be plenty for each table. most popular being the stew and the jjim, each table got these plus one more somethin’ somethin’
first up, banchan
not too shabby. the standout was definitely the gummy blowfish skin moochim (kinda like salad) tossed with a vinegarette and a korean herb, minari (refreshing and love the bite of the minari). the rest, u’ve got ur run of the mill kimchi, mook (think korean jello), marinated cold seaweed, potato in mayo (not exactly potato salad but seriously whats up with koreans so obsessed with mayo banchan??), and pickled daikon.
next, the long awaited bok- jjim
sprouty and garlicky galore. blowfish stir-fried with tons of sprouts and chili paste. this was our first taste of the actual blowfish and it was surprisingly very mild in flavor. however, with the garlic and chili paste, there was plenty of punch in this dish (our pulses still going strong)
next, our table ordered the bok-tangsuyok (think chinese style sweet and sour fish)
it was aiiiite. nothing too crazy or mind blowing here but we figured it would be a nice textual contrast. well battered and fried with a good sweet and sour sauce, this tasted just as expected.
one of the tables ordered the bok bulgogi
think blowfish barbeque. they ordered it spicy with gochujang (spicy bean paste). although I didn’t get to actually taste this dish, the consensus from that table was that it was very good. with the firm texture and mild flavor of the blowfish I could definitely see how this fish could stand up to some bbq-in’ and slatherin’ in gochujang.
now onto THE BEST part(s) of the meal, the blowfish stew.
u can order this spicy (mehwoontang) or non spicy (jiri) but when deciding on which, in the “eloquent” words of josh, “whats the point??”
naturally, we opted for the spicy mehwoontang. this amazing dish has many glorious and delicious stages.
this is just the beginning…
topped with fresh minari and ready to come to a boil at the table
blowfish stew heaven. the broth is nothing short of amazing. its packed with tons of flavorful with the fish, garlic, chili paste, and freshness from the greens. WOW. the pieces of blowfish in this were eaten dipped in a soy sauce ponzu with a dab of fiery mustard. delicious.
the fun and deliciousness don’t stop here though. oh no, it just gets even better….next up, they put soojebi (shavings of dough) into the delicious broth
YUM!! perfectly al dente shavings of dough with a nice bite and slippery texture are delicious when cooked in the flavorful stew.
and everyone knows how much I love happy endings
rice, chopped vegetables and oil are added to the final ladles of soup and dregs left in the pot. when all mixed together and left to cook until there’s a little bit of crispiness at the bottom is the most delicious bokkum-bap (fried rice)
even when ur busting at the seams, there’s always room for bokkum-bap. just add a little bit more of the soup or some of the ponzu sauce, and this is a winning finish.
everything was washed down with a final serving of cold shikhae (korean rice drink).
sweet and refreshing. the waitresses were generous enough to constantly refill our little cups with pitchers of endless shikae. mmmm lovely.
it was an amazing meal from start to finish. thankfully, everyone still had a pulse and was happy with filled and satiated bellies
being the dutiful hostess, the fun, food, and drink did not stop here. oh no. in true korean fashion, this was just the first stop of many in this dangerously fun filled evening!
next up was scoops for more dessert (pistachio cardamon was my favorite of the night), then crazy hook for bongs (5000 cc’s to be exact) of cold beer, and then finally an epic evening of crazy singing and dance paired with carafes and carafes (and carafes) of yogurt soju at palm tree for norebang (karaoke) fun.
I am telling u now that u have not seen true karaoke until u’ve watched eddie and rickmond sing and dance (tina turner, eat ur heart out) with tambourine, disco ball, and yes, even the fog machine was working that night. hahaha
(and although there was a pact and agreement of no film/video at this part of the evening, there were many violators. *cough* eddie *cough* mike *cough* fiona. sd cards must be rightfully and accordingly confiscated and destroyed )
the night started off with 17 and still ended with a healthy group of 9. a big THANK YOU to all those who attended and participated in this dangerously fun and memorable evening from start to finish
love,
choisauce
(and all the gorgeous pics were taken and generously furnished by mattatouille )
dae bok restaurant. 2010 james m wood bvd, los angeles, ca 90006. (213) 386-6660.
