In the Meantime...

Meantime IPA 7.50% ABV, an English India Pale Ale,  it comes in a beautiful bottle with a Champagne cork,  pours orangy amber, has a huge bubbly head about three to four fingers and decent retention and lacing.  The nose is citrusy and hoppy sweet that is a little toned down compared to American IPAs.  The taste is a slightly caramel sweet, grassy, orange zest, hops, with some mint and anise undertones, and medium bitterness.  The mouthfeel is medium creamy, smooth with some carbonation.  My favorite English IPA.  Absolutely drinkable.  What I like about this beer is the way the taste lingers in your tongue, and lets you discover the depth of the flavor in stages.  Made with over 2 lbs of hops per barrel.   According to the makers: "Jam packed with English Fuggles and Goldings, the beer is brewed with as many hops as we can physically get into the copper."

House on the River

More often than not I find myself hankering for hot noodles after a night out drinking in town.  Enter Ruen Pair, one of a string of Thai restaurants occupying a mini-mall in Thai Town.  It's the one on the right when you drive into the mini-mall with the bright green signage.

Ruen Pair in Thai means “House on the River” which is accordingly appropriate since we got some Thai Boat Noodles,  that is usually served by those boats in the floating markets and along the river in Thailand.  The noodle is very hearty with beef slices, beef balls, tripe, liver and a brown soup base thickened with beef blood.  Delicious and spicy just right for a quick pick-me-up  after a night out in the bars and clubs.

We also got some Shrimp Cakes,  light crispy with a sweet and sour sauce dip.  I've been to Ruen Pair several times and my favorite dish from their menu is the Black Egg with Chili and Thai Basil, that is the bomb!

Ruen Pair

5257 Hollywood Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Chicken Paella with Cardamom

I tried my hand at cooking a Chicken Paella with Cardamom,  this is my take on it though with a little Indian spice twist.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

10 small pcs  Boneless Skinless Chicken  Cutlets 

3/4 cup  Rice I used Shirakiku Calrose

1 3/4  cups  Water  (Rice to water ratio is key, it has to be 1 part  Rice to 2 parts Water plus a little bit more for an open pan)

1 large  Beefsteak  tomato diced and leave 3 round slices 

1 Medium Bell Pepper julienned (I used a yellow one)

1  tbsp Pemienton (Spanish sweet paprika)

4 Cloves of Garlic minced

5 pods Cardamom

3 tbsp Extravirgin Olive Oil

Salt and Fresh ground pepper (I use a pepper mill)

Season the raw Chicken with salt a pepper to taste, then brown in the pan on both sides under high heat.  Once the chicken are browned, remove from the pan and set aside.   Toast the crushed cardamom pods for a few seconds in the oilve oil,  throw in  the minced garlic don't let it burn so keep stirring, thow in the julienned bell peppers,  then the diced tomatoes stir thoroughly.   When the tomatoes have cooked down add the Rice.  Add a little salt and pepper to taste and the Pemienton, stir until all the rice is coated with the Pemienton.  Cook until the Rice becomes almost translucent, then add the water.  Stir to deglaze the pan and spead out the rice for even cooking.   Wait until it starts to boil then add the Chicken back, spread out evenly.  Just lay the chicken on top, just immersed in the fluids, don't mix it in.  Place the Beefsteak Tomato slices on top.  Let it simmer on high heat for 5 minutes then lower it down to low-medium and leave for 15 to 20 min.  Ressist the urge to touch, don't even try to taste.  Just leave the whole thing alone and don't cover.  You'll know when it's done when you can hear a little crackling noise from the bottom of the pan.   A proper Paella should have a crust in the bottom.  Serve and enjoy!

I might be biased,  but my Chicken Paella with Cardamom turned out delicious  ;-).  And there's that added surprise from the cardamom when you get a burst of what I would describe as a "bouquet of flowers in your mouth".  I had mine with a nice bottle of Mission St. Pale Ale  4.6% ABV, light crisp citrusy sweet, and lemony bitterness.

Hunan-Szechuan Dilemma

I was in Visalia over the weekend to visit my brother.  He mentioned an amazing story in Chowhound and the newspaper about an Executive Chef in China who opened his own restaurant in Fresno.  To make a long story short:  Chef Zhongyi Liu is a former Executive Chef of the Grand Hotel Beijing and trained in the Chinese aristocrat cuisine called Tianjian cooking.  He is the lone representative of China to the 1999 World Cuisine Contest Bocus D'Or in Lyon, France.  He was invited here to head a restaurant in Evansville, IN.  In 2003, he moved to Albany, CA to run China Village where he made waves and impressed a Chowhounder and SF resident Melanie Wong.  He later left Albany and bought a restaurant in Fresno with two partners, the Hunan Restaurant.  She was so impressed with the Chef's skills that she tried to track him down with the help of another Chowhounder form Fresno.  You can read the whole story here.  They later arranged a Chef's Tasting Menu last Oct. 18, pictures here.

After hearing the story, I was dead set to have a meal at this place.  The Hunan Restaurant is located in a nondescript strip mall next to Long's Drug,  there are no big signs, just a small name bunched with other tennants of the place.  I was hoping to try the Chef's tasting menu but it is only by special arrangement on Monday nights when they are closed and at least 10 people.  Bummer.  

It so happens that the local regulars to the old Hunan restaurant had a hard time adjusting to the Chef's Szechuan food , so mainly Hunan dishes are served.   I wish there was a grant for Chef's as artists so they can practice their art without compromising freedom.

Here are some of the dishes we tried:

Chicken Salad with Black Beans,  sweet and salty dressing with added crunch from the black beans.

Dry Cooked String Beans, crunchy and fresh at every bite, wonderful.

Combination Fried Rice,  most of the dishes were heavy so plain steamed rice would have been the better choice.

Slender Bamboo Shoots and Shredded Pork,  this was really good, nice and spicy.

Butter Cream Prawns,  this was my favorite dish,  so delicious,  the shrimp was light and crispy outside, moist and fresh inside, with a creamy sauce.

Mongolian Barbecue Lamb,  cooked with peppers, celery, onions and carrots .  Yum.

Sweet and Sour Fish,  the fish was moist and fresh, coated in a light and crunchy batter even with the sauce.

Szechuan Hot Pot Chicken,  another stellar dish, chicken with mushrooms and hot peppers.  Most of the dishes we got were specified mild,  I wished I had medium heat.   

I walked out of the place with dry mouth and thirsty from the heavy, spicy and salty dishes.  Overall,  the food was really good, but nothing compared to the Chef's Tasting Menu.  Service was excellent.  

The Hunan Restaurant

6716 N Cedar Avenue Suite 104

Fresno, CA 93710

(559) 297-0336

info@thehunanrestaurant.com

Pliny in the Corner

Finally, a more than worthy brewpub in the Los Angeles area. The Blue Palms Brewhouse, located in the Hollywood and Vine vicinity right next to the Music Box Theater. My hats off to these guys who have the balls to turn a deaf ear to those clamoring to have Budweiser or Miller on their tap. Respect, Respect. Great beer selection on tap and a Firkin tapped each week to boot. The bartender is very knowledgeable about beers and very engaging once you start talking about beers. You can feel there is passion for beer in this place, and I like that.

To start I had to try their Firkin beer, Stone Smoked Porter with American Oak  5.90% ABV, an American Porter.   Served at celler temperature a little warmer than usual with very little to no carbonation.  And pumped at the bar directly from the cask to your glass.

The rich robust beer goes well with my  Brew Burger, Kobe beef patty with  Gruyere and some onion rings.  Delicious but I had mine cooked medium and the burger turned out a little drier than what I wanted.  

Next I got their Oktoberfest special, Schönramer Gold Fest Beer 6.00% ABV, a German Märzen, served in a majestic looking bottle emblazoned with metallic gold tones and a coat of arms.  The beer pours golden color with a billowy head that easily subsides.  The nose is citrusy, hoppy, and a little grassy.  The taste is a strong hoppy floral taste in the beginning then with a lemony sweetness in the back and very little bitterness.  Mouthfeel is between light to medium,  and with good carbonation.  This beer could be drank all night on Oktoberfest.

To finish I had some Pliny the Elder 8.00% ABV, an American Double IPA, this is from the private growler of the owner.  The beer pours light orange with a decent white head that subsides easily but clings to the glass with very nice lacing. The nose is sweet citrusy hops and huge floral notes.  The taste is like an MMA match strong bitterness up front that give you a kick followed by a punch from the hops, just when you are back in you corner you are doused with bucket full of orange peel,  pine, and malts that is smooth and silky.   Ding-ding.  You go back in cause you want some more of that!   My favorite Double IPA.

Blue Palms Brewhouse

6124 Hollywood Blvd
Hollywood, CA, 90028
phone: (323) 464-2337

The Dumpling Empress

I was recently invited to a dimsum party at New Capital in the SGV.   There were several items that we got that I wished I had taken pictures of,  but more often when the "Lazy Susan" gets in front of me it's either empty or half full.   The food was good though.  So I decided to do my own dimsum escapade to Empress Pavillion in Chinatown DTLA.  Getting into the restaurant on the weekend can be tough, sometimes you have to be there by 10 am to get in by lunch.  I made it a point go there during the week to avoid this.  There's validated parking in the back, and with 4 levels of parking you will probably find a spot.  You are greeted by a Maître d' who then takes you into a huge ballroom and to your seat.  Once there, you are on your own with choices, choices, and more choices.  Straggling along the lanes of the restaurant are these moving carts filled with sumptious goodies waiting to be discovered.

(From L-R) Pork and Shrimp Siumai, Shrimp and Vegetable Dumpling,  Scallops and Vegetable Dumpling,  Steamed Pork Spareribs.

(From L-R) Steamed Tofu Skin with Enoki Mushrooms,  Steamed Chicken Feet,  Roasted Suckiling Pig,  Steamed Rice with Spareribs with Chinese Sausage.

The stand-outs were the Tofu skin with the Enoki mushrooms,  there is a delightful play in your mouth with the textures and flavors,  the enoki mushrooms have that loud crunchiness when you bite in, and the Tofu skin wrap is so smooth like silk on your tongue and has a wonderful almost meaty texture.  The only drawback with this is that the Enoki mushrooms keeps getting in between your teeth.  Both the Shrimp and vegetable dumplings and the Scallop and vegetable dumplings   were delicious, fresh, lots of flavor bursting out from the light and thin dumpling wrap into you mouth when you bite in.  

Empress Pavillion

988 N Hill St.,  Ste 201

Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 617-9898

** Dimsum served only until 2:30 pm

Monks and Mussels

The Bowery is located in the heart of Hollywood around Sunset and Vine, accross the street from the newly updated Palladium.  I went there with a "Belgian Beer" friend.  I love the white ceramic tile facade in front.   Inside, it is cramped and very cozy, where you would literally be rubbing elbows with the young trendy crowd,  the shiny tin roof is a stand-out.   

Moule Frites, Steamed mussels and French fries .  The mussels are cooked with leeks, garlic, white wine, tomatoes and saffron.   So I ordered some to pair with a Trappist Ale, Chimay Red.   What a disappointment,  the mussels were not fresh, there was a fishy sardine taste and smell to it.  Mussels are not supposed to smell like that.  And to make matters worse that the mussels were pathetically small, and the  meat inside was shriveled.  Well, at least I had a really good beer on hand and some really good Shoestring French fries.  

Chimay Red is a Dubbel Trappist Ale 7.00% ABV,  only a few Belgian beers can be called Trappist, meaning it is brewed within a Trappist monastery.   A Dubbel is when double the normal amount of sugars is added to the beer making process, more sugars for the yeast means more alcoholic by products.  The beer pours in the chalice a turbid coppery orange color with a creamy head that easily subsides.  The nose is sweet malty, fruity apricot, and spicy with hints of cloves.  The mouthfeel is light medium creamy, smooth on the tongue, with little carbonation.  The taste is complex subtle malty sweetness, doughy yeastiness, fruity astringence with some floral undertones in the back,  and light bitterness in the end.  A very drinkable beer.  

My friend got the Charcuterie Plate,  two kinds of cheeses, chicken liver mousse,  three types of cured meats,  crusty baguette slices, preserved olives, and some almond nuts.  Suffice to say, I was envious.  Despite the outstanding service we got,  I shant be back soon.  The next day, it was on the news that, someone got shot a block away at past 2 am.  Luckily, we were already home by then.

The Bowery

6268 Sunset Blvd. (@ Vine)

Los Angeles, CA 90028

(323) 465-3400

Food & Grog

Named after "Her Majesty's Ship" the Bounty, immortalized in Nordhoff and Hall's 1932 novel "Mutiny on the Bounty".  HMS Bounty is located in Koreatown right accross the now demolished Ambassador Hotel where Robert Kennedy was shot.  And right next to what used to be the Brown Derby converted into a strip mall.  Ramon  who started working as a teenager at the place as a dishwasher now owns and operates the place.  A real  "American Dream" success story, the previous owner Gordon Fields even paid for his English lessons.

The HMS Bounty is as rich in stories and history as the novel.  My favorite story is that Sir Winston Churchill regularly went here for a nightcap while staying at the Ambassador Hotel.  This place is a throwback to Old Hollywood, you can almost relive the era while sitting in one of their red booths.  The dimly lit interior, the nautical theme complete with portholes on the wall, and thick hardwood beams on the roof, adds to the process.  You can even choose the exact booth where Churchill used to sit. 

I sat in one of the booths sipping a Dirty "Gin" Martini  while waiting for my dinner, and listening to oldies music from the jukebox that still plays the old 45s.

Their Ribeye Steak is great and always consistent, I've been coming back here for years and I am never disappointed.  

HMS Bounty

3357 Wilshire Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90010

(213) 385-7275

Jitlada

My brother and his family were visiting from Visalia.   He mentioned that he was looking for good seafood.  So I took him, his wife, and a friend to Jitlada, a Southern Thai restaurant in Thai Town.  The story is that they use to have their menu in Thai until a Chowhound from Chicago, Erik M., spent several days with the owner to translate the menu into English and the rest is history.  You can read more of the whole story here.  

It is located near the Sunset and Western junction of Hollywood, in a nondescript strip mall they share with several other businesses and right next to an Armenian dance club.    It is my second time to Jitlada, the first time, I was there with a couple of friends and we were very well taken cared of by Jazz, the Owner and the Chef's sister.    This time she only said "Hello" and let us explore their menu.

The Steamed Green Mussels,  fresh and delicous mussels, the broth is simply amazing, well spiced with just the right amount of heat you can feel going down your throat.   There are times I simply crave for this.  Even as I write this entry my mouth is watering just thinking about this.

Spicy Salmon Roll,  light and crispy, the mildest tasting of everything we ate.

Flambe Prawns.   On my first visit there, Jazz showed us how to properly eat this by adding a scoop of plain steam rice and stuffing it into the head of the prawns.  She then continued to say  "Best tasting rice you've ever had".   A tall claim,  but you know what, she just might be right.  Everyone knows that all the flavor of the prawns is concentrated in the head.  This plus that wonderful sweet and spicy Chu Chee sauce and coconut milk . . .  OMG!

Grilled Pork, Southern style with papaya salad and sticky rice.   The way to eat this, per Jazz, is you take a small amount of sticky rice from the little basket,  add some papaya salad over it, then add some pork over the salad, and drizzle the whole thing with the spicy sauce.   This stuff is delicious,  amazing mouthfeel,  soft sticky rice, crunchy papaya and savory pork.

Deep Fried Sea Bass and Lobster Tails with the Spicy Sweet Chili and Mango Sauce.   The fish and lobster were fresh delicious by itself without the sauce.  When these came to the table the girls were like "Ooo  mango!"  thinking it would be sweet and a little spicy.  Only to find their Ooo's replaced by silence and an "about to cry" look on their faces.   If you are like me who would rather taste their food than have their taste buds incapacitated by the heat.  You must specify to the waiter to keep the degree of heat to mild, and that is "Thai mild" which is about medium.  And for you wussies out there :) . . .  yes, there is super-mild.   If the heat is too much,  you can always douse it off with some Singha or Chang Beer.  You can ask Jazz for her special stash of almost frozen beers.

To end the meal we shared some Sticky Rice and Mango, sweet sticky rice cooked in coconut milk and sweet mango go perfectly well together.   Excellent food and even better company makes this a great meal.  

Jitlada

5233 Sunset Blvd.,

Los Angeles, CA 90027 

(323) 667-9809

Cerelac Batter

We went to a restaurant called Blue Marlin, a Japanese-Italian fusion type of place.   It is one of several restaurants in a strip-mall in Sawtelle in  WLA.  I've been to three other places along this line but it's my first time here.  They have food pics displayed near the door, and one item caught my attention,  Uni Spaghetti.   Must come back for this.

There is an underwater theme to the decor with boats on the ceiling and fish on the walls.   We got some Miso soup and Salad with some sesame seed dressing (no pics).  We ordered some appetizers to share and taste.

The first one to arrive was the Fried Calamari, the squid was delicate and thinly sliced, the batter was light and deliciously salty.  I've never had calamari served this way.  Usually it is served thick and heavy on the batter.  This was really good, I'd come back for this alone.

Next was the Crab Croquette, the batter was light and crunchy,  inside was moist and delicious.  They used real fresh chunky crabmeat, which added great texture in my mouth.  Only two pieces :(   there were three of us.  We all still got to taste it though.

Last to come was the Tuna Tartare served with some dough chips.   The dish is light, mild tasting and fresh.  Nothing special, looks great though.

And for the piece de resistance,  Uni Spaghetti.  The spaghetti is served in a deep bowl like ramen.  But why?   I love Uni sushi,  but this is not for the light hearted.  There is a lot of Uni in the dish.  The aroma is intense, the best I could describe it is "sea urchin cheese".   The texture is creamy akin to carbonara sauce.  The taste is definitely Uni but subtle.  Okay, not my favorite dish, but well executed.  This goes into my list of "tried it".   To wash it down I had some Kirin draft beer.

We also got the Uni Rice, I only had a taste of this.   I thought it was okay.  

Pork Cutlet (Katsu) with the demi-glace sauce,  I also had a taste of this.  I found it really tasty, and the sauce was delicious.

Ah!  Creme Brule, if it's on the menu I will order it.  This was very good,  crispy sweet crust and creamy delicious under.  

Tempura Green Tea Ice Cream,  the Green Tea ice cream is coated in a batter and deep fried, Tempura style!   We were kind of giggling because the batter tasted like "Cerelac", the baby food.   It does!  

So, I may not be back for the Uni Spag but I am still interested in other things in their very interesting menu.

Blue Marlin

2121 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025

(310) 445-2522