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Ojiya

May 14, 2012 by Wander Foodie

15904 E Gale Ave
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745

(626) 855-3500

 
 
 
There are a few Ojiya locations.  The Hacienda Heights location specializes in yakitori.  Located inconspicuously in a strip mall, this place serves surprisingly good food.  Parking is a breeze.  There are quite a few tables, so it doesn’t take long to snag one.  Ojiya also takes reservations!  :)
 
 
 
The menu is quite extensive – ranging from the yakitori specialties, to typical izakaya dishes, to sushi rolls, to personal-size hot pots, etc.  Everything was good!  I like this place better than Shinsengumi because there’s more variety at Ojiya, and the prices are more reasonable.  There’s also a daily specials menu (yes, those of you who noticed the date, I know I’m behind on the restaurant posts  :p) :
 
 
 
 
Seared albacore sushi
 
 
Salmon nigiri
 
 
Rainbow roll
 
 
Beef tongue – unlike other places, it’s a thicker cut at Ojiya.  More beef flavor… mmm…
 
 
Crab salad – pretty refreshing  $5.95
 
 
Chicken skewers
 
 
Pork, shitake mushroom, eggplant and okra skewers
 
 
Fried calamari.  My bro, the calamari expert, said this was pretty good.
 
 
One of my favorites here – oyster hot pot!  The broth is full of seafood flavor and there’s a decent amount of oysters and vegetables in the pot.  I would be happy to just order this.  $12.95
 
 
   
Tempura udon.  The big plate of tempura comes on the side, light and crispy.  Yum!  $11.80
 
 
Caterpillar roll – I heard this was pretty good
 
 
Grilled squid – yes, it’s the whole squid.  Charred on the outside but still tender.  Makes good beer food!
 
 
The yaki onigiri is also pretty good.  Beware, they’re pretty sizable portions.  $2.50 each
 
 
We ordered a lot of sushi and yakitori.  Between the 7 of us, I think total bill came out to around $250 including tip, so pretty good for a yakitori place.

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[New Orleans] Cochon

April 15, 2012 by Wander Foodie

930 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70195
(504) 588-2123
 
 
 
I found Cochon on Yelp, due to its stellar reviews.  What really drew me in was the fried alligator.  I’ve never had alligator before, and thought this would be a good place as any to try it for the first time.  Cochon is just a few blocks down from Emerils but unlike Emerils, it’s not full of tourists.  But, do make a reservation, since the restaurant gets pretty packed.
 
 
The decor is all wood.  Very simple and clean.  I like!
 
The 1 page menu.  Lots of interesting dishes!
 
The restaurant has its own hot sauce
 
Started off with the wood fire oyster roast.  Somehow the oysters are just huge in New Orelans!  The sauce was tangy and spicy but was great with the oysters.  Delish!  $10
 
The crawfish étouffée.  Pretty mild flavor, definitely not what I was expecting, but good.  The ones I’ve had in LA are creamy versus this version from Cochon.  $12
 
The fried alligator with chili garlic aioli.  The presentation was really nice, but alligator tastes like tough pork and not much flavor.  Fail.  $10.
 
Braised pork cheeks with sauerkraut potato cakes, apple sauce and goat feta.  The pork cheeks were very tender and nicely flavored, and was balanced out by the potato cakes. Mmm…  $11.
 

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[New Orleans] Mothers Restaurant

April 15, 2012 by Wander Foodie

401 Poydras St
New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 523-9656

 
 
 
One of my coworkers highly recommended this place, when he found out I was going to New Orleans.  He said that it was a really good place for cajun food like po-boys and gumbo.  Upon my arrival, the shuttle driver also claimed that Mother’s is a New Orleans institution, so I knew I had to stop by.
 
Mothers is on the corner of Poydras and Tchoupitoulas, just a few blocks from the French Quarter.  You can’t miss it – it’s a stand-alone brick building. They also serve breakfast!  Prepare to wait – normally there is a line out the door.
 
The statistics are pretty amazing!  The menu is enormous, ranging from lots of different po-boys, to Étouffée, to fried chicken, seafood platters, etc.
 

Diners style – daily specials and menu is up on the board.  Get in line to pay first, then take a seat.  After you take a seat, remember to hand your receipt to a waitress, so that they will bring you your order!  Otherwise, you’ll be waiting and waiting… and waiting…

 

Cup of the seafood gumbo comes with bread.  The seafood gumbo had oysters, shrimp, etc and really rich of shrimp head stock.  Yum!  $6.25

 

Fried chicken was also excellent – fresh fried to order! Juicy, crispy and not dry.  Just beware of the 30 minute wait for the chicken though!  Yes, it really does take 30 minutes… maybe they’re slaughtering the chicken as you order?  This is the 1/4 chicken, which comes with 2 sides (cabbage, turnip greens, fries, potato salad, grits with butter, or red beans & rice).  This is with the fries and greens and as you can see, the portions are pretty generous.  $11

 

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[New Orleans] Restaurant August

March 25, 2012 by Wander Foodie

301 Tchoupitoulas St
New Orleans, LA 70130

(504) 299-9777

 
I would say that this is the best meal I had in New Orleans… and probably the best lunch I’ve had in a while.  :)
 
One rule of thumb for me, before I splurge on a fancy dinner, is to try out the restaurant’s lunch menu first.  Usually, a lot of high-end restaurants offer a prix fixe lunch specials, which you get to sample at a considerably lower price than the dinners.  When I started researching about New Orleans, Yelp highly recommended Restaurant August for its prix fixe lunch.  At only $20.12 (I think the price corresponds with the current year) which includes appetizer, entree and dessert, it really is a steal.  So that’s how I happened to stumble upon this gem.
 
Restaurant August has all of the components of a great restaurant – excellent service, great food, awesome food presentation and stately grandeur.  The waiter actually seats you (pulls your chair out and scoot it in), places the linen napkin on your lap and changes the silverware with each entree.  When you return to your seat from the restroom, they seat you again and place the napkin on your lap again. This is the first restaurant that I’ve been to, where the waiter is a different person from the food server.   And they’ll actually inquire about how you like the food.  So, without further ado, onto the food!
 
 
Compliments of the kitchen!  The restaurant started me off with a seafood custard, in eggshell, topped with caviar and truffle fry.  So delicious!
 
Fresh baked bread.  Soft and moist. Mmmm….
 
Iced tea, southern style – automatically comes with cream and sugar!  Nicely brewed with free refills  $2.95
 
I wasn’t sure about the portion on the prix fixe menu, so I ordered an additional appetizer, just in case.  Gnocchi with blue crab and black truffle.  The gnocchi is handmade, and pillowy-soft.  The flavors all blended well together. Great choice!  $18
 
Prix fixe appetizer:  strawberry salad tossed with aged balsamic and pistachio butter, with goat cheese croquette.  One of the more unusual salads I’ve had.  I must say, I never knew strawberries and pistachio butter could be such a wonderful combo.  Yum yum….
 
Prix fixe entrée:  crispy pork belly with pear and radish.  I was a bit worried when I saw this dish, since I thought it was going to taste very fatty.  Surprisingly, when I bit into the pork, I could only taste the crunchiness and the pork essence.  The middle layer was chewy and not squirting with fat.  I wonder how they cook it…
 
Prix fixe dessert:  ”Affogato” – milk gelato with brownie bites and coffee cream. Mmmm….
 
Just when I thought the meal was over, the server brought me another compliments of the kitchen:  fresh-made peanut brittle and passion-fruit puree truffle.  So much thought goes into making the dining experience a great one!  :)

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Cakes! Cakes!! And more cakes!!!

February 28, 2012 by Wander Foodie

My birthday was a few months ago already, but I’ve been meaning to post up all of the wonderful cakes that I had eaten in honor of my birthday.  So finally, here’s a post dedicated solely to the birthday cakes!

Special thanks to my family and friends, who went through great effort to make sure that no cake and bakery was duplicated.  The cakes were all my favorites!!!  :)

 

Cake #1:  Milk ‘n’ berries from Porto’s

3614 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91504
(818) 846-9100
 
 
 
 
Like the name suggests, it’s similar to a tres-leches cake, except that it is also filled with mixed berries and topped with whipped cream.  Mmmm….
 
 
Cake #2:  Mango mousse from JJ’s Bakery
 
2370 Crenshaw Blvd
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 328-6668
 
 
 
One of my all-time favorite cakes.  It’s several layers of rich and creamy mousse mixed with several layers of moist cake.  The mango flavor is not overpowering and not too tangy.
 
 
Cake #3: strawberry shortcake from Angel Maid Bakery
 
4542 S Centinela Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 915-2078
 
 
 
Fresh strawberries and cream are sandwiched between two layers of moist cake.  The result?  Yummy deliciousness.  You can choose the toppings on top of the cake.  This one is with mixed fruit.
 
 
Cake #4:  strawberry tiramisu from 85C Bakery Cafe
 
Diamond Jamboree Shopping Center
2700 Alton Pkwy, Ste 123
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 553-8585
 
 
 
 
If I remember correctly, this tasted more like a strawberry mousse rather than a strawberry tiramisu, but it was good nonetheless!  Every time I go to 85 Degrees, I usually just make a bee-line for the freshly-baked breads.  I’ve been missing out on the cakes!
 
 
Cake #5:  sesame cream puff ring from Patisserie Chantilly
 
2383 Lomita Blvd
Ste 104
Lomita, CA 90717
(310) 257-9454
 
 
 
 
This was basically one giant cream puff, filled with sesame cream.  It was the most unusual birthday cake I’ve ever received.  The crust was light and crunchy.  The sesame cream filling was wonderfully bursting with sesame flavor, and enhanced the taste of the puff.  Yum!  On Chantilly’s website, this is called the Paris-Brest Sesame.

Posted in Bakeries, SoCal Restaurants | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Yi Mei Deli Co

January 29, 2012 by Wander Foodie

18414 Colima Rd
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

(626) 854-9246

http://www.yelp.com/biz/yi-mei-deli-co-rowland-heights

*CASH ONLY*

 

This is my favorite place for Taiwanese-style breakfasts.  It’s really authentic and has a lot of variety.  Everything, from the buns to the soymilk,  is made fresh daily.  Located in the HK Shopping Plaza on Colima, parking is usually a breeze.  It gets very packed during the weekends, with a long line out the door.  Yi Mei does not have much seating, so make sure you hunt for a table before you order.

Yi Mei also sells frozen items that you can buy and just reheat at home.  I recommend getting the frozen steam bao (xiao-long-bao) or the dumplings.  At home, you can just steam it and it’ll be ready to eat in minutes.  Convenient and yum — much better than the supermarket versions!

 

The menu in Chinese and in English - one side is more of the lunch menu 

 

The breakfast menu

 

Egg omelet – One of my favorite breakfast items at Yi Mei.  This is kinda like a Taiwanese breakfast burrito.  It’s eggs with scallions wrapped in a flour tortilla.  Dip it in the garlic soy sauce!  $3

 

Radish cake is also really good here.  Slightly crispy on the outside yet soft on the inside. $3.05

 

Taiwanese rou-yuan.  Glutinuous rice wrapped with meat and vegetables.  Nice texture and the accompanying reddish sauce is good.  $2.50

 

Wa-gui – almost like a rice pudding, it’s steamed and then topped with minced meat & shitake mushrooms and covered in a sweeter soy sauce.  Tasty! $2.50

 

Beef sandwich – marinated beef slices and pickeled vegetableswrapped in flaky bread  $3.25

 

Sweet bean curd, or what I like to call sweet tofu pudding.  $2.20

 

Soy milk – available hot or cold, sweet or salty.  This is the hot sweet soy milk $1.70

Posted in SoCal Restaurants, Taiwanese | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Al Watan Halal Restaurant

January 28, 2012 by Wander Foodie

13619 Inglewood Ave
Hawthorne, CA 90250

(310) 644-6395

 
 
 
In my opinion, this is hands down, the best Indian food restaurant in LA! Even though this place is just down the street from me, up until a few years ago, I didn’t realize its existence until I saw an article in the LA Times about cops’ favorite dining places. Since it really is literally just down the street, I went and have been hooked ever since.
 
This place is a hole in the wall. That being said,  don’t be daunted by the simple decor and fluorescent lights.  The food will make you wish you knew about this place sooner!  Al Watan serves some of the best tandoori and mango lassi I’ve ever had. Prices are really reasonable and the portions are of a decent size, meant to be shared.  Also, the restaurant sometimes participate in the restaurant.com gift certificates, so be sure to check and get an even better deal!
 
This is what I ordered on a recent visit, for 2 and we still ended up with left-overs!
 
Start off with the complimentary salad after you order, with a very light cucumber dressing
 
Aloo palak – potatoes and spinach  $5.99
 
 
Neehari – spicy beef curry.  Chunks of slow cooked beef in a spicy curry sauce. This is one of their specialties.  It is very spicy but the beef is so tender!  $7.99
 
Dal makhani – lentils.  Mild and creamy, it is a perfect dish to cool off the spiciness of other dishes.  $5.99
 
Plain basmati rice – the dishes we ordered do not come with rice, so we ordered a la carte.  The rice is very light and fluffy.  $3.99
 
Garlic naan – their naan and garlic naan are both huge and freshly made!  Great with the veggie dishes.  $1.99
 
Cool off with a glass of mango lassi!  This is a mango flavored yogurt drink, yummy!  $2

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