the anticipation had been killing me to finally return home, I mean, back at ludobites. on the drive there, i was so excited, i could hardly stay still in my seat. im talkin, imma-pee-in-my-pants-so-freakin-excited.

the drive wasn’t the usual 45 min to hour and a half either. in less than 20 min, ta-daaa, I was already home, sweet home

the new digs of ludobites 4.0

*open sesame*

*continuing sound of musics “favorite things“*

“cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels…”

now let’s get down to business!

tartine plate- "three fat textures"

lavendar lard, clarified butter, whipped brown butter, oh my. the lavender lard was reminiscent of ludo’s lavendar honey butter (the “omfg butter”) from LB 2.0 days @ breadbar but sans honey. (no worries, they put the honey back in by night 2, 4/9/10 …yes, it is even better than the “omfg butter” from LB 2.0).

the whipped brown butter was also tasty and the clarified butter was just ridiculously delicious. I broke a piece of my baguette and soaked that shizz in thurr. NOM. sadly, the clarified butter is no more (gone by 4/9/10)

egg, potato mousseline, lobster, borage flower

the first “OMFG” at first bite exclamation of the night.

and then it just kept getting better. *insert 398439 more exclamations here*

hidden treasure, oh-my

#&*$%*@!!!!!

hidden inside the warm, creamy, rich potato mousseline is soft, buttery poached lobster, and then *BAM* the 65 degree poached egg yolk joins the partay as it bursts all up in thurr. *YOWZAAAAA*

yeah, i liked it (keke) and then wash it down with this lovely number (thanks to vino millionaire matchmaker, domaineLA)

soulmate to dish above

*insert more obscene exclamations here*

yeah, ok I effin loved it. it literally almost brought tears to some. yep, it was that beautiful.

and then FINALLY….

*drum roll, please*

RETURN OF THE CROQUE: foie gras croque-monsieur, lemon turnip chutney

HALLELUJAH!

*inhale* *gone* sad face

…

*crickets* *sigh* *sad face*

yeah, it basically happened that quickly. from what I remember in the 2.5 seconds it was in my mouf, it was pretty damn tasty, although a lil different than LB 2.0 version w cherries (they’re not in season right now, BOO). I think I liked the ex croque a lil better but this ain’t bad. no, not at all.

another familiar face…

burgundy escargots with garlic flan, green jus and yellow flowers

this one also looked a lil familiar from LB 2.0 but now the escargot is over a garlic FLAN. richness to the maximus, this was pretty spectacular. the escargot is also much more tender than I remembered . I <3ed all of ludo’s escargot dishes from2.0 and this one did not disappoint AT ALL. I closed my eyes and savored each bite of this dish (usher style, nice and slow, nowbabytellmewhatyouwannaadowithme) mmmHmmmm

and then the biggest surprise of the night, making the obscene exclamations tear down what was remaining of the roof of gram & papas…

poached jidori chicken, crispy skin with hazelnuts, garden vegetables, bacon royale

&@*#&$#*&$#*&$#*$&#*!!!!!!!

let me preface this with, I am not usually a chicken lover unless its deep fried because its usually dry and tasteless.

oh noooo, not this. this was EASILY the moistest chicken I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE. like WOAH, LIKE WOW.

and did I mentioned the CRISPY SKIN with HAZELNUTS ON TOP??

because when u have roasted chicken, its oh so very difficult to get that crispy deep fried skin that everyone loves. fear not, its the BEST of both moist AND fried chicken. the bacon royale adds a pretty damn fancy gravy like sauce and side too. and the leek salad. ahhhhhh, it just took me over the edge. cuts the richness of the gravy and fried goodness with just the right amount of vinegarette. oh and the amazing texture of the leeks…LOVED-IT.

a million thank you’s for the evening go to:

fooddigger and domaineLA

jill of domaineLA and marshall of fooddigger

the beauty and the brains of ludobites:

the beautiful krissy lefebvre

and the crazy chef of the evening (pictured with my entire of the evening)

simple t-shirt, simple message, simply "appropriate"

yeah, will yapped I looked like I was straight out of an 80′s wham music video, whhhaat?? ok so I did. it was literally an x-large t-shirt that I slapped a belt around. but i thought it’d be pretty fitting given the evening ( btw my intentions were not to actually offend anyone. for shizz and giggles, yknow? )

what an AMAZING evening. and to think I couldn’t imagine how it’d get any better….

then my second fix on friday 4/9/10

“girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes...”

burgundy escargots with garlic flan, green jus and yellow flowers 2.0

ludo at his finest. changin’ it up ALREADY. not as rich as 2 days before and serious PERFECTION. ludo’s best escargot dish to date.

and then one mo time…

poached jidori chicken, crispy skin and hazelnuts, leek salad, BLACK TRUFFLE & bacon royale 2.0

yeah, he added BLACK TRUFFLE, giving it a lil more of the “heyyehhh” factor. SPECTACULAR.

it was almost equally joyous listening to and watching the rest of the panda fury clan tasting this for the first time. ahh, finally sharing this with the “family” *smillllllllles*

and then a new dish that blew all our minds.

ludo teased me wednesday night by throwing down a stalk of white asparagus asking, “guess what??”

the mean french chef teased me with nostalgic veloute but then apologized friday when he said he didn’t have enough time to make it by friday

well, turn that frown, upside down.

this steak au poivre with that delicious stalk of white asparagus made me fist pound the table a few times….and then some more.

ludo said he learned to cut beef from the japanese.

well, domo arigato, chef LUDO.

steak was juicy and that bone marrow polenta…

’nuff said.

discliamer: i’m also not a big fan of desserts (until I met ludo’s pana cotta and foie gras cupcake)

and then I met:

think cream puff to the nth power, making beard papa look like 80/20 ground beef compared to this japanese kobe filet. exquisite.

and we can’t forget the perfect attendees of this perfect evening.

PANDA FURY CLAN!!!!!

my boys doin’ what they do best

tag team snappin'

kungfoodpanda aka uncle stinky and one of the two hungry pandas, wes aka baby panda

food porn crotch money shootin'

the infamous djjewelz in action

FACE STUFFIN’

rasberry religieuse & pistachio parfait all up in thurr

limer35 aka remil getting his face stuffed by umma choisauce

and a ludobites dinner isn’t complete without a wacky photoshoot with chef ludo

didn’t think it was possible but second fix was even better than the first.  I am BEYOND ecstatic with the return of ludobites.

This leaves me just hungry for more of all the surprises and treats ludo has in store for us at 4.0. get ready ‘cuz…

LUDO’S BRINGIN’ IT

food p0rnage courtesy of djjewelz

oh the double down countdown…

yep, everyone’s countin’ down for this  one-of-a-kind sammich featuring DOS thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (o.g. recipe or grilled), DOS pieces of bacon, DOS melted slices of monterey jack and pepper jack cheese and colonel’s sauce

sounds pretty naughty right?

hmmm…..but the calories and fat seem a lil too skimpy, no? c’mon a bk whopper is WAAAAY naughtier, closing out at 670 calories and 40 total g of fat. kfc double down sammich aka DIET WHOPPER (doesn’t sound so bad now, right?)

anywho, so we be countin’ down for monday april 12. as we’re cruising down vine st. after a lazy afternoon of sapp’s thai boat noodle slurpin’, k & l shoppin’, we SLAM the breaks when we see the kfc on vine/de longpere (hollywood blvdish) flashing mugs of this in their windows with the word “NEW.”

j told me to wait in the car as he would “check real quick” if our diet whopper chicken sammich had truly arrived. after the 5 minute mark, I knew something was up but then a few minutes later, I saw a boy with a brown bag and smile walking towards the car…

ruh roh

kfc double down sammich

WOWee. it was torture having to just watch this hot new sammy get its close up photoshoot with djjewelz and WAIT to finally attack it

when it was finally time, I felt almost shy and embarrassed like a lil japanese schoolgirl  sinking my teef into this badboy.

*NOM*

…oh and then “the face.” 10 seconds after I had my first bite, I saw the same face on j. I think i paid too close attention to just the calories and fat content of this and neglected to read the SODIUM content, 1380 m g of it (and still tasting it in my mouth hours later). hypertension by april 12th, anyone?

even the king of fried chicken proclaimed, “c’mon i LOVE fried chicken but even this is too much.” after 2 bites each, we threw it back in the box and back of the car (hoping to forget about it forever).

time passes as we continue the shoppin’ at domaineLA (german gilabert cava FTW!), roamin’ down hollywood blvd like tourists, stuff our faces with dogs from skooby’s & even share a giant slice of sausage pizza at greco’s, oh my

on the drive back home….

c: “wanna make it light tonight and make a salad at home for dinner tonight?“

j: ” with our double down as the protein??”

done and DONE.

BEHOLD:

salad protein: a kfc double down sans 4 bites

add: chopped butter lettuce, tomatoes, hard boiled egg, black beans, avocado, bbq sauce, ranch dressing (“light” dressing if it makes any difference…lol yeah right)

kfc double down sammich chopped and in its finest

ohhhh WHHHAT?? here’s a close up….

lookin' good there

how did it taste? pretty effin delicious. WOW.

take 2: fancy gourmet kfc double down sammich

truly amazing. if u can’t seem to  finish ur kfc double down sammich, U KNOW what to do.

photos courtesy of my partner in kfc double down crimes, djjewelz and check out his double take on this shizz

so everyone pls, STFU already. here I am

the ORIGINAL duck FAT fried chicken

chorizo, onions, cornichon ice

liquid chorizo soup with icy? yummmmyyy

pannca cotta, caviar, caramel

my kind of ultimo milk dud

the family jewels

chocolate cupcake foie gras chantilly candied bacon almonds maple, oh my

my all time favorite dessert: cupcake and foie? done and DONE.

foie gras black croque monsieur w ham cherry amaretto

best sammich  EVER. I’ve had many restless nights dreaming and yearning for this croque after 2.0′s goodbye. I cried myself to sleep every-damn-night. well weep no mo, ITS BACK at 4.0 (!!!!!!!)

And then the evolution of the most  comforting dish of LB 2.0, I present to u, oxtail polenta:

initial stages of oxtail polenta: budding deliciousness

it just keeps getting better

my best friend, oxtail polenta at its gorgeous peak

white asparagus veloute

I was kinda addicted to this bad boy. white asparagus from holland is season limited and so needless to say, I rushed my fat arse over when krissy announced the last night of my white homie veloute *sniff* (thx for saving me the last one, krissy )

LB 2.0's last veloute on earth

yes, we're painfully shy (pictured at hatchi)

same night I first met this lovely lady for the very first time

she first saw me and walked straight towards my veloute and stuck her finger straight into it (seriously, no joke) oye (ok fine, we’re not thaaat shy). watch us “roleplay aunties” if u ever spot us together

veal, udon, kombu dashi, mushrooms & sesame seed miso

not jo oba-chan’s udon but pretty damn phenomenal

foie gras beignet

gotta get me some foie gras up in thurr

scallop, brown Butter, pineapple & black powder

u had me at brown butter

and the love/hate love affair with ludo…

we initially had a rocky start. an ominous call to ludobites inquiring about the evening’s menu, led to a little twitter rant, and thanks to eaterla, voila! D’OH.

after changing ress names and trying to laylow, it was visit #3 in less than a week, krissy finally called me out as “YOU’RE THE TWITTER BITCH!” :(

but don’t worry kiddies, this story has a happy ending, including 2 new twitter accounts, @chefludo and eventually @frenchchefwife, some cooking in ludo’s kitchen, and 20 something more orgasmic meals :)

post effects of when u teach a french man how to make kimchi

we don't always try to kill each other (last night of LB 2.0)

noogie & abuse after months of LB withdrawal (1st night @ 3.0 at royal/t)

back to peas'n carrots

ludo’s telling santa christine what he wants for christmas and I’m gauging he’s put on a few pounds since LB 2.0

NEXT POINT OF ATTACK

4.0 opening 4.8.10

going back for some more coq and the addiction continues…

getting my first 2 fixes this week, see y’all there

photos courtesy of destinationeats, kungfoodpanda, goramen, kevineats, epicuryan, and choisauce. thank u

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…

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

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

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.

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

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

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