Road Trip – Page 18

Brodard (Fountain Valley)-a Saturday morning road trip

July 7, 2019 Cathy Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is the name of this food blog. Cathy is writing. Kirk (and His Missus) are enjoying the holiday weekend.

The Mister said he would be responsible for breakfast on Saturday. At 7 a.m., I saw him on the computer, reading a menu.

We took a 'short' (83 miles one way) trip North. The craving for nem nuong (pork sausage) was overwhelming in the middle of this four day weekend. Both Kirk and His missus as well as The Mister and I have been to the 'original' Brodard; it moved South on the same main road (Brookhurst) in late 2017, from Garden Grove to Fountain Valley-so it is much closer to the 405. We arrived at the "new" Brodard location in about 75 minutes. The side parking lot was empty,

as was the beautiful, spacious interior. (Business picks up later in the day; you can get on a waiting list online and the wait was 75 minutes at 2 p.m. yesterday).
We asked for hot tea; jasmine and strong!
One order of nem nuong cuon (grilled pork rolls) ($6) Heritage Berkshire grilled pork (fresh grilled- warm) wrapped in rice paper with lettuce, cucumber, carrots, cilantro, chives, daikon, mint and a strip of crispy fried egg roll wrapper. Served with the 'house special sauce'-warm: savory, spicy and sweet. The pork- I could just eat a plate of that.
Roasted duck spring rolls (goi cuon vit) ($9.95) Warm, roasted duck wrapped in rice paper with asparagus, scallions, cucumber and cilantro. Served with a plum sauce. This was quite wonderful and special.

It was breakfast. We ordered sole porridge (Chao Ca) ($7.95) It came garnished with roasted shallots, fresh ginger, cilantro and scallions and a nice plate of add-ins (lime, jalapeño, bean sprouts and cilantro). Fancy, tasty, filled with a lot of firm, tasty sole.

Instead of a Vietnamese crepe (banh xeo), we ordered the plate of several small crepes-the Luna rice cakes with shrimp (Banh Khot Tom) ($8.95) Small, light, crispy rice-flour crepes made with coconut milk and turmeric. Filled with mung beans, scallions and a large, plump shrimp and served with mint, sesame leaf, lettuce and pickled daikon and carrots. Great little bites.

If you look back at the first photo, that's the doorway to the left of the main doorway. You can walk in there to pick up an order, stare at the bakery offerings or just go ahead and order something.

cc has visited the new Brodard

Brodard Fountain Valley 16105 Brookhurst Street Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (657) 247-4401 website

One pistachio and one raspberry macaron. The almond topped, crispy pastry is filled with hazelnut cream (not sweetened) ($7.88).

2020 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade float road test #1. Breakfast and snacks at Porto’s.

July 1, 2019 Cathy Bakery, Breakfast/Brunch, Festivals & Events, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!!, a blog about food. So many reasons to get to the food. Cathy is writing today because the reason to drive North is again happening.

Link to Road test #2

Link to Road Test #3

Link to Road Test #4

Link to Road Tests #5 and #6

A few weeks after the 2019 Tournament of Roses Rose Parade Showcase of Floats, on Sierra Madre Boulevard at the end of the Parade route, the President of the 2020 Parade (Laura Farber) was announced and the Theme of the 2020 Parade- "The Power of Hope" was introduced. “With hope – anything, in fact, everything is possible. Hope is more than simply the possibility of fulfillment. Hope is dignity and respect, joy and happiness, aspiration and achievement. Hope never, ever quits. Through hope, we can aspire to be our best and in turn inspire those around us to reach higher.”. The float designs for the 130th Rose Parade use this as their design inspiration.

Float designs were submitted to the Tournament and, once approved, construction began. The first of a series of "Road Tests" (of manipulation, maneuverability and safety of the floats) of some of the 22 floats to be constructed by Phoenix Decorating Company, occurred on Saturday in Irwindale. There will be about 44 floats total in the parade; Phoenix is one of three float building businesses, (six floats which are 'self constructed' also participate). This online newsletter will keep you up to date with Tournament happenings. Oddfellows Rebekahs float for 2020 is "First Responders Bring Hope". This float will be applauded throughout the 5.5 mile parade route.
The little detail which might be missed in the Lions Clubs International "Hope for 20/20" float is that each character on board is wearing glasses- a nod to one of the Lion signature projects: vision.
The 2020 Lutheran Hour Ministries float, "Anchored in Jesus"- a submerged anchor with three fish surrounding it, is the 70th entry for the only Christian themed Rose Parade float sponsored by the Lutheran Layman's League.
Kiwanis International hasn't released an Artist rendition or title of their 2020 float; I'll add it. So cute!

The above floats are marked with the colors to help with decoration (which begins the first Saturday in December). The following two floats aren't quite as far along in construction.
The 2020 Rose Parade float entered by Rotary International, "Hope Connects the World" is going to appear as if it is a balloon (like the San Diego Holiday Bowl parade) in the parade, with out walkers 'holding it down'. It is in the 'cocoon' stage of construction.
The City of Alhambra will enter this "Hope Keeps Us Going" float, still in the 'skeleton' phase of design.

It looks like the morning of January 1, 2020 will be a great start to the year!

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I know, you are here for the food portion of the blog. There was a small newspaper article in 2017 about a new location of Porto's, a Cuban Bakery Cafe, in the Los Angeles County area since 1976, opening a fifth location. Finally, the West Covina location opened two months ago. I was interested in Porto's because of postings by other blogs: cc has made multiple visits, as have Soo and Maggie, Faye, Kirbie and Mary. In fact, we've been to Azucar and Los Pollos specifically to try Cuban delicacies without having to drive a few hours to a Porto's location..
This store, six miles South of Phoenix Decorating, on the same road (which changes names, but is a straight drive) is so close!
There's an open baking area,
the ordering lines are organized.
There is a Coffee bar just to the right as you walk in. We didn't know the 'system' (you can order beverages when you are ordering Bakery and/or Cafe items in any line) and I sent The Mister off to order beverages here. A mojito ($3.39) and a Double Cortadito ($2.59).

The display cases are just that-displays. They are always full. You order and the Porto's guy (or gal) turns and goes to the kitchen to box your items…which (at least around 8 a.m.) are freshly warm.
A potato ball ($1.05), ham croquette (95¢) and, as I must always order, ham and cheese baked in a croissant ($2.35).
Cross sections- the mashed potato ball is filled with picadillo (I could taste the olives!) before being rolled in breadcrumbs and fried. I could see eating a few of these as a meal. The ham croquette is very rich- just ham chunks and a seasoned Bechamel (flour, butter and milk) sauce. It looks small but is just enough.
Cross section of the Ham and Cheese baked in a bread. A wonderful rendition.
Rellenitos-$1.05 each. Made to order. Listed in the 'Savory' section of the menu.
Mashed plantain filled with black beans, fried then rolled in sugar. This is wonderful.

Since it was breakfast and we were here…Torrejas was ordered ($5.98).
Cuban style French toast, made with croissant dough, served with a more or less tropical fruit salad (that is guava sauce and it's not sweetened) and whipped cream cheese. Decadent and kind of addictive.

We will return-many times- to try out the whole menu.

Porto's West Covina 584 S. Sunset, West Covina, CA 91790 (626)214-3490 Open Mon-Th 6:30-8:30, Fri-Sat 6:30-9, Sun 7-8 Website

Road Trip – Tasty Noodle House (San Gabriel) Revisited

June 10, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Before our trip, I had to head back to the SGV for an appointment. This was going to be a solo trip. The decent Baozi we'd had at Northern Cuisine had me wondering if my favorite Tianjin Baozi from the Tasty Noodle House in San Gabriel was still as good. Be aware, not all Tasty Noodle Houses are created equal. My appointment was done by 1030, which gave me more than enough time to head over to this tiny restaurant tucked into a corner of a strip mall on West Las Tunas Drive.

The configuration of the place has remained the same; though the color is now more neutral.

The woman working was very nice….I was here for only one thing, but felt that I needed to try something else as well. So, I ordered something called "Chinese Watercress" on the menu. I really did expect Xi Yang Cai….but got this.

Holy smokes, a plate of stir fried Culantro (Ngo Gai in Vietnamese). I can truly say that I'd never seen this much cilantro on a plate before. Sadly, this was greasy and not seasoned well, it was really salty, with not enough garlic.

And then, my Tianjin Baozi ("Pan Fried Pork Buns" on the menu) arrived.

These were quite good; the baozi were crisp on the bottom, the tops light, fluffy, and springy. The yeastiness of the baozi wafted up into the air.

The filling had a nice balance of porkiness, sesame oil, and a light ginger flavor. It's moist and smooth, though not overly light.

It's not quite Guo Bu Li Baozi ("stuffed buns that even dogs would not eat" – a specialty of Tianjin), but whatever….it's still a favorite of mine.

It's great to know that even though it's been five years since my last visit this place still delivered.

Tasty Noodle House
827 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776

And yes, Golden Deli in the same strip mall still has crazy lines…..

Though to be perfectly honest….I'll take this…..

Road Trip – Sea Harbour (Rosemead) Revisited

May 12, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

We had a nice night of sleep after dinner at Bistro Na's. Frankie was staying with one of his favorites Aunties, so I used some points and booked an overnight stay. And though we had enjoyed trying some new places on this visit; when it came to dim sum, the Missus wanted Sea Harbour, especially since it had been about three years since our last visit. Of course we got there a few minutes before opening; the lines don't seem quite as long these days. And were promptly seated when they opened….where we got a close-up view of the spot prawns.

The Missus was specifically interested in trying something She saw in various Instagram posts (and no; I don't do "Insta")

Yep, basically squid ink colored – gold leaf topped har gow. shades of gold leaf topped sashimi (in Kanazawa)! So, this was nearly ten bucks….. But, it was well put together. Sea Harbour really knows how to make their shrimp; these were plump, tender, and full of flavor. The mushroom in the dumplings had an earthy sweetness to them.

Next up was the mushroom tart.

These looked better than they actually were. The mushroom filling was really mild and didn't stand up to the pastry. Meanwhile, the pastry started to break down rather quickly and got quite gummy.

I was really happy to see that the Fish Roe and Scallop Dumpling was back on the menu.

It had been taken off the menu on our last visit a few years back. Perfectly textured wrappers; sweet-oceany scallops, balanced out with the crunchy masago.

Of course the Missus had to get Her Chicken Feet. A favorite of Hers.

And I had to get a favorite of mine, the Shrimp, Dried Scallops, and Chinese Celery Dumplings .

And these did not disappoint, wonderful combination of savory (dried scallops) – oceany and sweet (shrimp), all balanced out with the palate cleansing and textural contrast of the Chinese celery. The wrappers were faultless.

On one of our previous visits we tried the Black Fungus and Celery Dumpling and didn't think it was very good. So, we decided to try them out again.

This time around, it was much better. Great texture, the flavor of the celery coming through. Still a bit on the mild side in terms of flavor, but again the wrappers were perfect.

I was really disappointed in the Soy Sauce Noodles this time around.

Overcooked (even the bean sprouts!) and bland. Where the heck were the scallions?

Things finished off with another favorite of the Missus; the Radish Cake with XO Sauce.

While I don't think the searing of the radish cake was done quite as well; it lacked the light coat of crispness, this literally melted in our mouths. The XO Sauce adds another dimension in terms of flavor. It's still quite delicious.

Overall a nice meal. A big plus was that SH opens at 10am on weekends, so we were able to get back on the road before 11am, and head home.

We need to head up to the SGV more often.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Road Trip – Bistro Na’s (Temple City)

April 15, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

One of the main reasons I was really excited about our road trip to the SGV, was our reservations at Bistro Na's. I'd read about the opening of Bistro Na's; supposedly serving "Imperial Court Cuisine", in places like Food Talk Central and various blog posts over the last two years. I'd had a taste of this style of cuisine during a our final meal in Beijing. And since this restaurant was an extension of Beijing's Najia Xiaoguan (那家小馆), I was quite excited.

And overall, even though the menu wasn't exactly totally Chinese Imperial Cuisine; at least in the way I've read about it, there was an interesting balance of flavors and textures with mostly excellent cooking technique. Also, one of the key elements of Jing Cuisine was the ability to blend the techniques of the Han, Manchu, Hui, and other ethnic groups as well characteristics of all other various schools, including the "Four Major Cuisines", the "Eight Great Cuisines", and all things in between.

Service was the best I've had in a Chinese eating establishment in years. It was gracious and efficient, and our main Server was amazingly warm and friendly, while being a total professional. Man, Ed from Yuma would have loved this place.

The location; right off Rosemead Boulevard was an area I hadn't been to in maybe 20 years! Man, has it changed. The last time we were in the area, at Xiang Yuan Gourmet, we came up Temple City Boulevard instead.

The parking lot for this strip mall is terrible, we ended up parking on the street across the way.

The interior is quite a sight to see….with warrens of rooms and booths. The décor is quite what I'd call traditional in concept. The menu; with every dish photographed is thick as a college textbook.

And of course, dishes are "social media" ready….though I'd never seen anyone take 12 photos of a single black cod dish until this day…..

The first dish up was the signature "Crispy Shrimp".

Man, this really set the stage for the meal. The texture of the shells, delicately thin and crisp, in contrast to the perfectly cooked flesh, plump and tender, was amazing. The sauce had some sweetness, but there was just the lightest touch of spice to move things along. The Missus preferred eating Hers separate, meat from shells, while I preferred mine together. If you have these, please eat those shells. Don't be like the "Black Cod Girls" and leave those behind. Excellent dish.

My favorite dish of the night would seem to be the most humble; the Chili Tofu Skin; yep bean curd skin.

The cilantro in this was really amazing…I know, that sounds weird, but it had a nice slight anise, that went along with almost a minty-celery flavor. The bean curd skin was so very crisp, yet light, the dressing, which had both a touch of cumin and what seemed to be a bit of Sichuan peppercorn, along with just the lightest touch of sesame oil just brought things together so well. It was so refreshing.

The one clunker for the meal was the Jellied Pig's Feet.

The texture was excellent, but the flavors seemed a bit off. It just didn't have enough porkiness for us. This was rather mundane.

What wasn't mundane was the "Secret Tofu". This was basically an steamed egg-tofu, laid on a bok choy leaf that's sliced, dusted, and fried.

Crisp and light, with a nice, pleasant egg flavor. The bok choy layer added a nice contrast in texture and a mild bitterness to the dish. The sauce added a mild sweetness and savory tones to the dish.

The Dry Braised Sea Bass was cooked perfectly; it was buttery and moist in texture. Our really nice Server kept warning us about how spicy it was….but it wasn't very spicy at all.

The sauce was fairly mild and straight forward, the topping which included mushrooms, bamboo shoots, scallions, and pork was nice as it added some contrast. The Missus enjoyed it, but I guess I wanted something with a bit more oomph? Though I've got to say, this tasted better then next day.

For dessert; there's a combination snack platter that has all those treats the Missus loved when going to school in Beijing. And even though it was a ton of stuff and $36, I told Her to order it. However, She decided just to go with this…..

It's "Milky Cheese"; basically milk pudding with cheese in it in the shape of a fish. The Missus enjoyed it; I'm not a big fan of milk pudding and the cheese aftertaste wasn't my favorite thing in the world….this coming from a cheese lover.

The Missus really loved this meal. I expected it to be much more expensive than it was….we regularly spend more at El Jardin. Of course we didn't order any of the really meat heavy items on the menu.

We'll definitely be back. Muslim style dishes are quite common in Jing Cai; and we saw several on the menu we'd like to try.

If you do decide to check out Bistro Na's; at least on the weekend, make reservations. There was a huge line of waitlisted folks outside when we left.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 230pn, 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 930pm

Road Trip – Northern Cuisine Restaurant (City of Industry)

April 14, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

We had missed one of our yearly appointments back in our old "neck of the woods" last year. So, we needed to catch up and get that taken care of this year. We decided to use some of our "points" and make it an overnight stay. Our appointment ended right before noon, so we decided to grab lunch close by. I had Northern Cuisine, a restaurant that opened at the beginning of 2017, in the same mall that used to house Cost Plus when we lived in the area.

The restaurant is good sized with rather large tables. Looking at the menu, it was quite obvious that large parties would fit in well. And even though there is stuff like Song Shu Gui Yu (松鼠桂鱼), "Squirrel Fish", and Peking Duck on the menu; there was just one item I really wanted. more on that later.

We weren't super hungry so we just ordered three items and it was still too much for us to finish. Luckily our room had a mini-fridge and I'd brought an ice chest along.

First dish up was the "Big Plate Cauliflower"……the Missus loves Her cauliflower and I often make a cumin – "ma-la" version at home so we were interested in how this would be.

This was pretty good; there was a light dusting of Sichuan Peppercorn which highlighted the mild sweetness of the cauliflower. All items were cooked nicely. The pork belly was very tender and while not exactly "la rou" (Hunan smoked pork), it did have a mild smokiness to it. The chilies added a sneaky heat to things and the leek a mild pungency. Pretty good dish.

The Boiled Bamboo Pot was interesting for one main reason.

It was the presence of a certain canned meat product….though I'm thinking it wasn't the most popular brand. It actually did well in this as the earthy and crisp bamboo shoots needed some saltiness and more depth. The shredded pork was tender, but didn't really add any flavor. Overall, a bit on the bland side.

And then there was the item I'd been craving.

The Tianjin Baozi. According to the menu and our server, this is made fresh to order. I hadn't had a decent Baozi in ages and have recently been craving the Tianjin Baozi from the Tasty Noodle house location in San Gabriel. We wouldn't have time to visit there; so I thought getting my baozi fix in at Northern Cuisine might work out.

And while I wouldn't consider this to be traditional Tianjin Guo Bu Li Baozi ("stuffed buns that even dogs would not eat") it was quite good. The bun, while not overly yeasty in fragrance was light and tender. Both the filling and dough was a bit sweeter than what the Missus's "Shandong – Beijing" palate enjoys, but we quickly found that a drizzle of black vinegar really balanced things out and even added another dimension to the porky goodness of the filling. So, even though I wouldn't consider these to be close to traditional Tianjin style Baozi, I enjoyed them. It was prepared fresh, both the dough and fillings were light, and the black vinegar worked magic in balancing the flavors out. And we could only finish five…..

The service was decent; much more friendly than what we're used to at Chinese places in our old 'hood.

Northern Cuisine Restaurant
17515 Colima Rd.
City of Industry, CA 91748
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 9pm

And those who are wondering how Frankie was doing while we were gone….well, "Auntie Ale" took good care of him….heck, he even made it to an "after-party"!

Thanks Auntie!

Philippe the Original- a quick trip North for an apple (and some sandwiches)(again)

December 27, 2018 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!

Thank you for stopping by to read mmm-yoso!!! during this busy holiday season. Kirk is working some overtime and Cathy is writing.

The Mister and I had a spur of the moment flash this morning (for a reason you'll see at the end) and drove North for a quick bite. { Kirk posted back in 2007, and I wrote a post in 2014 and another post in 2016}.

Philippe the Original has been a Los Angeles staple for 110 years. It's been at this corner location since 1951.
The system is the same as it was in 1908; stand in line, order from the "carver" host ( who will prepare your meal while you stand there), pay (since 2015, they take credit cards!) and carry your tray filled with your order to whatever empty table space you can find. There's part of the menu as well as a peek into the kitchen and a jar of pickled eggs.
Action shot of our Host/Carver (Henrietta) slicing a French roll.
Some of our order is ready…
This is a pretty good photo of most of the desserts offered-I was interested in what is in that tray at the 10:00 position in this photo…the red things next to the cookies. Our order, counterclockwise. Lemonade (90¢). Single dip lamb sandwich ($9.85). Potato salad ($1.65). Double dip beef sandwich ($8.50). Pickled egg ($1.40). Baked apple ($3). Cup of chili ($3.25).
Here's a cross section of the double dipped beef and 1/4 of the quickly consumed chunky single dipped lamb. Each was wonderful in its own way. We did use drops of the famous house made very hot French mustard, available on each table. (I still contend that the recipe is partly hot Chinese mustard, since Chinatown is one block away)(the mustard has no horseradish). Either a pickle or a pickled egg is necessary with the meal. I love beets as well as pickled anything and the eggs here are ridiculously good. It's that bit of salt/bitter that goes with everything.
Around the third week of January each year, Philippe has a 'free chili day' for the first 500 customers. I've read about it but never tried the chili until today. It is a wonderful, slightly spicy/ hot Dolores brick chili (no beans; proper), served with three crackers. There's nothing else on the menu to go with chili and I can see this comfort cup (or bowl) being a meal choice if we lived closer (and therefore visited Philippe daily).

But really, the baked apple was the necessary purchase of the day. You see, from October until May the baked apples are available daily until they run out. During those other four months you can get a half grapefruit or a wonderful fruit cup. But this simply made, large and delicious treat was a craving.
Apples are cooked in deep pan in the the oven with a slightly sweet cinnamon syrup. Soft enough to be cut with a spoon (but you still have to hold the apple in place with a fork; it's not mushy), this baked fruit is just the perfect dessert to a hearty meal.

Philippe the Original 1001 N. Alameda Street Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 628-3781 open 6 a.m.-10 p.m. daily Website

Why did we decide to drive here today? So we could share a meal "live" with my brother and his family in Michigan. Philippe teamed up with Goldbelly in April and has has a six sandwich meal deal; a Christmas gift. The FaceTime meal worked out quite well.

Santa Barbara – Stearns Wharf and Lunch at Barbareño

March 16, 2018 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Gastropub, Road Trip, Sandwiches, Santa Barbara County

We had driven up to Santa Barbara to relax and enjoy ourselves. It was a bit on the warm side when we visited, but we had really enjoyed the previous afternoon and especially dinner at Yoichi's. On this day; well, I made dinner reservations, but not much else. We woke and decided to drive down to Stearns Wharf; tourist central. But during this time of the morning, it was so peaceful.

Looking around; it's obvious why visitors love the wharf; built in 1872, it was at that time the longest wharf south of San Francisco and North of San Pedro. And the views are lovely.

And on this bright and sunny day, sans the crowds, we got a chance to notice things…..

As we were leaving a vintage car club drove up to the wharf and parked. I loved the license plate on this one……

A lovely visit on a relaxed morning……

We decided to drive around a bit and visited the Santa Barbara Public Market, Gelsons, and Whole Foods. Not very inspiring, but it was a nice way to kill time.

When lunch came around, we parked at where we were staying and decided to walk down to a place on my list, Barbareño. Which was a rather hot and sweaty one mile walk down De La Vina Street. The place only served lunch in the outdoor area, with a limited menu.

Our Server, who was obviously a college student was very friendly, efficient, and really knew the menu. I'm not sure if it's because of the clientele, but the staff at restaurants in SB, really knew their stuff.

I ordered a Tri-Tip sandwich, Brussel sprouts, and "Animal Potatoes" for the Missus and I. I happened to mention that we'd be sharing the sandwich. And when it arrived, we were pleasantly surprised to see that they had split it for us!

This was a perfectly serviceable tri-tip, moist and decently tender, good smokiness, with a pico de gallo type relish and good amount of cilantro. A nice yeasty roll and this was quite good. Don't get me wrong, this ain't Firestone Grill, but it was enough.

It came with a arugula salad.

The Brussel sprouts looked good, but were on the mushy side and a bit too sweet for us. The Missus really enjoyed the Animal Potatoes, the cheddar cheese added a nice saltiness, the caramelized onions a decent sweetness, and the Thousand Island Dressing……not the Missus's favorite, but I enjoyed the creamy-richness it added. The potatoes were nicely crisp on the exterior; though a bit hard in texture.

I don't think Barbareño is serving lunch anymore….too bad, because this was rather nice.

Barbareño
205 W Canon Perdido St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

What wasn't nice was wanting a nap and having to walk that mile back to where we were staying…..though we did eventually get that nap.

Thanks for stopping by!

Roadtrip – Xiang Yuan Gourmet (Temple City)

March 11, 2018 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Xiang Yuan has closed

**** Xiang Yuan no longer serves Dim Sum

We had one stop to plan on our way back from Santa Barbara last year. The Missus really wanted dim sum. And naturally, Sea Harbour came to mind. But I wanted to try something different. And after showing the Missus a couple of blog posts, I talked Her into stopping at Xiang Yuan Gourmet. The Missus was somewhat skeptical since "Xiang" basically means Hunan.

Still we made the drive to Temple City, to a portion of Las Tunas Drive that I don't think I've ever been to.

The restaurant is clean and modern and was totally empty during our entire visit.

The service was quite good…..and very efficient, though I guess being the only customers might not be the best gauge of that. It seems that the menu serves dim sum during the day, with the Hunan menu coming into play for dinner.

The menu did indeed feature some interesting nouveau style dim sum items.

We ordered some of our favorites, along with some interesting items I'd seen on other blog posts.

Crystal Shrimp Har Gow.

The shrimp were very moist and plump, with a nice "shrimpiness". The wrapper was a bit too think for my liking. I think that the version at Sea Harbour is better than this.

We both enjoyed the nice "pull" of the wrappers on the Vegetarian Dumplings.

The filling had a nice combination of textures and was pretty tasty overall. Surprising for a vegetable based dumpling.

I usually enjoy Chiu Chow Dumplings and this was no exception.

The wrappers, while on the thick side, weren't too gummy, the ingredients, peanuts, chives, mushroom, shrimp, all worked together well. Very balanced.

We also ordered this….

To translate, least you think we're one "k" away from skunk. Bean Curd Skin Roll with Cordyceps Flower.

The broth was delicious, and not overly medicinal. The bean curd skin was nice and crunchy, though the roll was on the bland side.

Turnip Cake is a must order item for the Missus.

Nicely studded with Chinese Sausage, this was very soft. It doesn't hold a candle to the version with XO Sauce at Sea Harbour. The Missus said that She enjoys what I make at home more than this.

The last three items that came out were the one's we were really interested in trying.

The Mushroom Bun……really looks like a mushroom.

The dough was a perfect combination of soft-fluffy, while still having a slight chew and not overly sweet. The filling of mushroom and bamboo shoots had a perfect savory flavor, with just the right amount of crunch from the bamboo shoots and carrots, which added a touch of sweetness as well. My favorite item of the day.

The Crispy Bamboo Shoot Paste Balls really make an impression.

They arrive looking like carrots….I'm not sure why, there's no carrot in this. The exterior is said to be made from bamboo shoot paste, which reminded me of exterior of glutinous rice dumplings. It was overly sweet and chewy for our tastes and the amount of salted egg filling just didn't stand up to the sweetness.

Ever since first having Durian Pastry almost eleven years ago at Elite Restaurant, I always have to try it if it's on the menu. The version here is quite nice, if not as visually appealing as the previous two dishes.

The crust is fairly light, the filling thicker than other versions, but very tasty and not too sweet. As a bonus there's a slice of durian along one edge of the pastry. Very nice in a mildly savory-not overly sweet-custardy kind of way. I'd gladly have this again. Another winner.

The Missus really enjoy this meal. In fact, She told me that we should return as soon as we are able to.

In fact, She told me that "this might now be my favorite dim sum restaurant". I'm not sure. I think I still prefer Sea Harbour. I'm going to need several revisits to both. You know; for research purposes……

Xiang Yuan Gourmet
9556 Las Tunas Dr
Temple City, CA 91780

Road Trip – Irrawaddy Taste of Burma (Stanton)

February 15, 2018 mmm-yoso Burmese Food and Restaurants, Orange County, Road Trip

During my late November stay in Irvine, I had really wanted to return to Cafe Hiro. But not knowing what time I'd be cut loose, I didn't want to make reservations and not keep them. So, I did return to Café Hiro, but the place was packed. Luckily, I had a "plan B". I'd noticed a restaurant when I drove back to my hotel on Katella.

It had been a while since I'd had Burmese food. So this ended up being my back-up. The place was surprisingly empty on a Saturday night.

The Servers were very friendly and gracious.

I ordered a Myanmar Lager while I perused the menu. Slightly malty. fairly light overall.

I had one item already in mind and searched for another. Because of the hours of work and my leaving straight from the client the next morning, leftover didn't make sense.

But there was no denying the fact that I needed to order the Tea Leaf Salad ($11). I love the fermented bitterness of "laphet", tea leaves that have been fermented.

In terms of being nice and refreshing, this salad was very good. In terms of having the pleasantly bitter-tart-fermented flavor of laphet, this fell a bit short for me. The dressing had a good amount of lime in it and was on the sweeter side for my taste. Loved the seeds and peanuts. Nice salad overall, but not quite what I want in my laphet thoke.

For my main; I chose the Sour Leaf (chimbaung – Hibiscus Leaf/Roselle) Shrimp ($13), in spite of the rather humorous description on the menu.

A very pleasant, if not especially memorable dish. I expected a bit more spicy heat, sour, pungency, and saltiness. This was quite mild. There was an abundance of shrimp that tasted a bit muddy side, but were nicely cooked. My favorite item in the dish was the okra, slightly crunchy with a pleasant gooey-slimy finish. Think of this as a fairly mild, though oily curry, and you'd be right.

This was a pleasant meal and I'd think about visiting again one of these days. Nice service and I thought things were well priced. Not very busy on a Saturday night though.

Irrawaddy Taste of Burma
7076 Katella Ave
Stanton, CA 90680