Road Trip – Page 31

Road Trip: Lu Dumpling House – Monterey Park (Los Angeles)

December 6, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

We had passed Lu Dumpling House, the newest shop opened up by the folks who own Mama's Lu. The shop is just a couple of blocks from Mama's Lu, which we found to be a bit strange…… but reasoning would become clear in short form.

We noticed how tiny this shop was when we first entered……

But all was answered when the side door was opened, and we caught the fragrances and saw the small army of people making dumplings. this place was doing some pretty brisk take-out business, both in cooked and frozen items.

We aren't big fans of Mama's Lu Xiao Long Bao, so we went with other items this time around.

We started with the Shengjian Bao.

These looked good, and when cut in half the fragrance of the filling was nice…. but these never delivered. It was much too bready and the Missus thought the dough too sweet. The filling was tragically dry and in spite of the fragrance, very bland.

The Pork and Fennel (actually Dill) Jiaozi were much better.

Though I'm not a big fan of the wrappers….the dough seemed to be over-mixed and was on the tough side, I enjoyed the fillings for these Jiaozi. Dill fragrant, but not overpowered by the herb, the mixture had quite a bit of meat. The filling was very light, maybe not as light as the mousse like filling at Lucious Dumplings, but quite good. The Missus wished for more dill, but I thought the flavor well balanced.

The standard Pork and Napa Cabbage Jiaozi were also good.

Like the Pork and Fennel Dumplings, the ratio of meat to vegetable was quite high. The flavor was very mild, but very light.

I enjoyed the Shrimp, Pumpkin, and Pork Dumplings much more than the Missus did.

The flavor of the shrimp really came through in these, but the Missus thought the filling too sweet for Her tastes, and She prefers that the pumpkin not be mashed into a paste. Each dumpling had a whole small shrimp in them.

We both thought the way the dumplings were fried did not do them justice…… it almost seemed that not enough oil was used, giving the Jiaozi wrappers the texture like that of really cheap frozen gyoza, more gummy than crisp.

Having six Jiaozi per order was nice since you could order and try several different fillings. Don't let the $2.99 – $4.99 price fool you though. Getting a dozen could run you $7 or more.

In the end, we may be back since we both enjoyed the Pork and Fennel Dumplings. The fillings are nice and light, and the ratio of meat to vegetable is pretty high. Service is decent, and the women working on this day all mainly spoke English, making this a very unintimidating place to eat.

Lu Dumpling House
330 N Garfield Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754

Open: Mon-Sat 9 am – 6 pm
Closed on Sundays

Road Trip: Duck House – Monterey Park (Los Angeles)

November 25, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

I hope everyone had a delicious and fun Thanksgiving Day!

Like past years, the Missus had to work on Thanksgiving, again giving true meaning to what She always says about the day….. "Thanksgiving….. bah, I'm Chinese, I don't have anything to be thankful for!" All in fun of course…. I think. So the weekend before T-Day, we decided to have our own Thanksgiving. We'd always wanted to check out Lu Din Gee, which is now called simply, "Duck House".

Which makes ordering quite easy, right? According to such highly esteemed folks like Pulitzer Prize winning Food Critic Jonathan Gold, and heck even FOY (Friend of Yoso) Elmomonster of Monster Munching (his post on Duck House here), who has hit the big time now writing for OC Weekly, this is place the to go for Peking Duck. But isn't Duck House at it's core a Taiwanese Restaurant? According to another FOY, that's not much of an issue since, "Din Tai Fung is a Taiwanese Chain, and they make the best Xiao Long Bao…." (which I actually don't agree with, but I get the point)

And so we ended up at Duck House at just before noon on a Sunday, and snagged one of the very few parking spots in the tiny parking lot out front. The restaurant itself is tiny, and fills up fast. We had ordered our duck, three ways when the Missus made reservations the week before. According to what I've read, you're supposed to call at least an hour ahead if you're ordering Peking Duck, something which made me scratch my head a bit later on. The place fills up quickly; and every table ordered duck. We went whole hog, or perhaps I should say… full fowl, ordering the Duck Three Ways ($49.95).

The first thing to hit the table was a plate of shredded scallion and cucumber. And rather large bowl of sweet bean sauce. Now, having eaten this many times in the US, I've grown accustomed to the usual Hoisin thing. But in Beijing, each major Duck House makes their own sauce, and takes pride in it. It was no different here, as the sauce was much different than any I've had before….. but not necessarily in a good way. The sauce was very salty and beany, and tasted more like Aka Miso. It truly lacked a sweet and fruity component.

I also asked the Missus what the corn flake looking stuff was in the condiment jar alongside the chili oils and mustard was. She didn't have a clue, so maybe one of you can tell me?

When the first course of duck arrived, we made a couple of observations….. first, the skin was pretty light in color, second, that was probably the biggest pile of duck meat I've ever seen in the middle of that plate.

Due to the size of the restaurant, I really didn't expect to have the duck carved at my table….. though that would have been optimum. I can tell you that the meat in the center of the plate was pretty cold, leading me to believe that much of this is done ahead of time. I also must say that this was some of the blandest and dry duck I've had in a while. But honestly, one does not order Peking Duck for the meat, right? It's the skin that makes the dish…… And in this case, the skin was light, greasy (in a good way), and basically melted in your mouth. Still, it was a none starter since it had almost no flavor at all.

The pancakes provided were nice and warm.

But were a bit too thick for me. Filled with a combination of bean paste, skin, meat, and scallion, it did seem that the sum of the parts were better, but everything still lacked flavor. The Missus, having made these pancakes at home had a much better appreciation for them than I did.

Next up was the huge bowl of soup made from the duck bones. Usually one of our favorite things.

We both appreciated the color and velvety texture of the broth. It started developing a "skin" quickly as it cooled. It had been prepared with good technique except for one thing…. it lacked flavor. If there's one dish that captures the soul of the duck, it's the soup made from it's bones. This truly lacked soul, as it tasted mainly of white pepper. To be perfectly fair, as it "ripened" the broth tasted much better….three days down the line the leftover broth started tasting a bit more like what I expected.

Next up was an additional dish we ordered; the Taiwanese BBQ Eel on Sticky Rice ($19.95):

Like the previous dishes, this was a large quantity of food. The glutinous rice was prepared with a soy based sauce, topped with Eel and steamed on lotus leaf. The oils from the Eel had seeped onto the rice, making this a rich dish. The flavor was again a bit lacking as everything tasted like a weak "Unagi sauce" had been poured on it. Secondly, even though everything was placed upon a lotus leaf, we could not taste the the wonderful flavor that lotus leaves add to dishes. The funny thing is, this dish tastes really good with some third party unagi sauce poured on it……

Our third duck dish was duck meat stir fried with bean sprouts.

Now coming from a bean sprout lover….. I'd say this is good. But was it good as part of a fifty dollar dish? Well first, where's the duck meat? The Missus and I were thinking that perhaps using some of the huge quantity of duck meat served on our first plate would actually make a difference….. until we considered how bland that duck meat was. Second, when I first started learning how to use a fire ring I practiced on bean sprouts; and in all honesty, that was just as good. Third, it sure seemed that Duck House was trying to present itself as a more upscale eating establishment…. so why didn't they pick off the root and sprouts?

The Missus and I discussed this meal constantly over the week, as I really didn't want to be exceedingly harsh. I didn't want our disappointment of the overall meal to be unfair. The service we received was as good as can be expected from a understaffed restaurant whose first seating is filled to the max with everyone getting the same thing. Much of the clientele is older and demanding, or in the banquet mentality, but the folks seemed to be trying. And yet the food fell way short. A couple of weeks ago, I tried to arrange a meal here with friends, I wasn't able to get a reservation and we ended up somewhere else. Which I'm now thankful for. In the end, Duck House ain't even close to this:

Perhaps our visit was a fluke……… I'm sure you'll let me know.

Duck House
501 South Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754

Road trip: Sofia’s in Gila Bend

November 9, 2010 ed fromyuma Mexican Restaurants, Phoenix/Scottsdale/Chandler/Central AZ, Road Trip, What Ed Eats -You too can be like Ed!

Kirk and Cathy get a day off today because ed (from Yuma) has a report on some decent desert dining not far off I-8

Normally when my car gets on Interstate 8 in Yuma, it heads west to San Diego. That makes sense, for sure. However, some recent trips have taken me in the other direction, ultimately ending up in Surprise, Arizona. And of course I was looking to find some good food — if there was any – on my route.

I have gotten lucky. On my first adventure to the north and east of Yuma, Tina and I spotted an unassuming looking Mexican restaurant in Gila Bend with a lot of cars in the parking lot (and in July, there aren't a lot of cars anywhere in Gila Bend):
On our way back home, we'd decided to stop there. To be honest, Tina and I weren't expecting anything special, even though the purple and orange interior decorated with a mural of a famous natural wonder in Jalisco seem right to me:
The highlights of that visit were the main courses, Tina's carnitas and my green chile (beef chunks in spicy chile tomatillo sauce). Both were really good. We were also impressed by the flavorful tomato-based salsa (served in a mini carafe) and fresh crunchy corn chips, obviously fried on promises:

However, I had not brought my camera on that trip. So all of the pictures for this post come from a later visit.

The next time we stopped in Gila Bend, it was for a quick lunch, and again I had no camera. And again the food was good. Tina's California burrito was filled with decent carne Asada, potatoes, and the other fixings. My chicken enchiladas contained actual chicken rolled in good quality corn tortillas and topped with a dark red enchilada sauce.

Finally, at the beginning of November, I remembered to bring my camera, and Tina and I enjoyed another satisfying Mexican meal. Although no beer or wine is served, they do have homemade horchata and jamaica:
We started with one of the strangest things that Tina and I have ever ordered together in a Mexican restaurant, a couple of old-fashioned, gringo style, hamburger tacos with fried shells:

On a previous visit, we had seen an order of these go to the table behind us, and they had looked wonderful. I realized that over the last 20 years, I had eaten raw fish, cow stomach, pigs ears, fermented squid intestines, and all sorts of other things, but I could not remember a single hamburger taco experience. And I could not remember ever seeing better looking hamburger tacos.

So this time, we ordered them, and they were perfect, better than my memories. Totally crisp and greaseless, the crunchy shells stayed intact even when we poured salsa into them and then bit off the end. The hamburger was moist and perfectly seasoned. There was just enough lettuce and yellow cheese. Ummmm-crunchy beefy good:

As an entree, Tina had the carnitas again, for reasons that this picture should make clear:

Crunchy, chewy, and tender pork very lightly seasoned. Warm fresh white corn tortillas. Decent rice and creamy beans.

My chile relleno plate was pretty dang good as well. The three fresh chilies blanketed in tender egg batter and covered in fresh tomato sauce:
The preparation was excellent. Each chile was stuffed with a decent amount of melty white cheese and perfectly cooked. The big surprise were the chilies. Not only were there three of them, but these were full of chile flavor and exceptionally spicy, probably from this year's New Mexico harvest. This picture shows you a little of the goodness of the dish:
I can't imagine that there is better food to be had between Yuma and Surprise, Arizona.

Sofia's Mexican Food, 530 West Pima, Gila Bend, AZ 85337, 928-683-6382. Open Daily.

Eating with Friends all over the place: Ba Ren, Chautara (Madison), Sea Harbour (Rosemead – Los Angeles)

November 3, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Madison, Wisconsin, Road Trip

I received an email from a FOY (Friend of Yoso) today who mentioned that my posts have recently been a bit long-winded. Actually, the term used was "verbose". Under certain circumstances, I'm pretty sure that I'd be somewhat…. well pick the verb; maybe offended might fit the bill…. and perhaps I'd even respond with a somewhat colorful adjective of my own. The humorous and jovial tone of the email erased all possibility of that, and was a reminder that many of you are perhaps more interested in seeing what I ate, rather than reading about it.

And I just happened to have a bunch of photos….. revisits all, of recent meals with friends. The locations are miles apart, but here goes……

*** Ba Ren has closed

Ba Ren:

Yet again. I usually don't even take my camera out any more. During a recent visit, Akira requested a meal at Ba Ren. I believe the main reason being that I remember what his favorite dishes are here. So here's what Akira, Mr S, and I had.

After all these years Ba Ren still delivers……

You can find links to my zillions of posts on Ba Ren on our rotation page.

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

*** Chautara has closed

Chautara – Madison (Wisconsin):

I made sure to return, since I enjoyed my meal there on my previous visit. This time around, the food seemed to fall short, the Lamb Palungo way tough, the beef over-cooked, my dish, the Khasi Ko Masu was the best of the lot, but was a bit too salty. At least the photos came out a lot better than on my previous visit. Oh, and those thingys that look like Xiao Long Bao? They're "momos" a Nepali/Tibetian type of dumpling. My eating companions on this evening were from Shandong and Taiwan respectively, and were surprised when that hit the table.

In case you're wondering what, or where Chautara is, you can find out here.

Chautara Restaurant
334 State St
Madison, WI 53703

Sea Harbour – Rosemead (Los Angeles):

Believe it or not, after my breakfast at Gardena Bowl, on my recent visit to LA, I still had lunch in store. I was meeting Akira, and good FOYs PeterL and Angela, who drove all the way from San Diego, for Dim Sum at Sea Harbour. Packed as always, it was a fun and mostly delicious meal.

I love this first photo…. of the Durian Pastry…. it looked so good that PeterL could not help himself and snatched one away as soon as it arrived!

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

So there you go…… more photos, less verbiage… sheesh, I feel like a laundry detergent ad, you know, more cleaning power, cheaper price!

Man, it's hot around here, I hope everyone is keeping cool!

Road Trip: Breakfast at Gardena Bowl Coffee Shop – Gardena (Los Angeles)

October 21, 2010 mmm-yoso Diner, Loco Mocos, Los Angeles County, Plate Lunch, Road Trip

Aahhh yes, breakfast and bowling alleys…. what could be better? Actually, you may be scratching your head a bit on this one. Back in Hawaii, there used to be some pretty good food served in Bowling Alleys. In fact, for a time, Kapiolani Coffee Shop, which used to be on Atkinson close to what was then Aloha Motors, and is now the Hawaii Convention Center, had a shop in Kam Bowl (which has closed). They made the best Oxtail soup!(Don't worry, if I recall you can get the same Oxtail soup at Asahi Grill and Kapiolani Coffee Shop in Waimalu) And in fact, The Alley Restaurant, in the Aiea bowl was on my list (most due to Pomai's post) when I returned home a few months ago. Unfortunately, I was unable to talk the Missus into eating in a bowling alley.

Still, I knew not to expect quite that, since I'd been to Gardena Bowl and the old Holiday Bowl Restaurant's before.

At 7am on Sunday, the place is half full, all old-timers, I'm the youngest by at least 15 years. I had a seat at the counter, and soaked in the atmosphere. I really can't use the word ambiance, because it seems to infer some "high maka-maka" quality. No, this was something special….. I'd never heard so much pidgin since I moved to mainland. And it wasn't just any pidgin, but "time-warp pidgin"….. I heard words, like "holo-holo", "Pake", and "manini"…. Which seemed to indicate when these folks had left for "da' really beeg island……" The folks working really didn't talk that way, but they seemed to know most of the people coming in and eating.

The menu, part of it written on the greaseboard reflected the very old-school Japanese/Chinese influenced dishes I grew up eating.

On one of the greaseboards, it said "Poi – $3.50 extra".

I of course, ordered a Loco Moco ($7.50), which came with a dish of very old-school Tsukemono, just like Mom used to make…. literally, it tasted just like her quick Tsukemono… In fact, much of this had a home made quality, albeit that being the 60's and 70's home….

I like that they didn't ask me how I wanted my egg, it was done easy-over. The gravy was very dark, and there were shreds of what seemed like roast beef in it. It wasn't as salty as I expected, rather it was thick and dense, and I love a drizzle of Tabasco on my Loco Moco anyways. The rice was perfect….

The burger patty was lean, and seemed to have little filler…. which some folks might enjoy, but it was pretty chewy. Plus, I ran into what I call "the old toenail"…. you know, you bite on a piece of bone or other hard calcified item which almost cracks your teeth. Also, the patty tasted like it was about a day or so from going South, that gamey-metallic flavor, which means you no harm (yet), but trips switches in my head.

Still, I enjoyed this meal. Just listening brought back memories, perhaps different from those that Fukagawa elicited, but very strong none the less. A nice step back to the type of "diner" I grew up eating in.

For that, I'd gladly return……… Plus that gravy ain't too shabby….. This was much like what Mom made, and as much as you criticize Mom's food, you always return for more.

Gardena Bowl Restaurant
15707 S Vermont Ave
Gardena, CA 90247

Road Trip: Izakaya Bincho – Redondo Beach (Los Angeles)

October 20, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

**** Izakaya Bincho has closed

Before leaving for Gardena/Torrance I emailed Akira a list of places, about seven, that I wanted to try. On that list was Musha and Izakaya Bincho, a darling of many CH's and Food Bloggers. Apparently, Akira's been to Musha more than a few times, it's his favorite Izakaya in the area, so he wanted to try Bincho. Akira called and made reservations, and I arrived at the Redondo Beach Boardwalk a bit early just to walk around a bit. It's been at least twelve years since I've been here…..

The Redondo Beach Boardwalk you might ask. I think most people knows Quality Seafood.

But an Izakaya? On the boardwalk? Among the fish joints and bars(don't forget the churro stand)?

It would seem to be a bit of a odd location. But yes indeed, there smack in the middle of the boardwalk was Izakaya Bincho.

This little shop is run by a husband and wife team, just the type of shop I love. Strangely, we were approached with a bit of reserved caution. The shop is strangely quiet for an Izakaya…..people speak in hushed tones, closer to a library than an Izakaya.

I let Akira do most of the ordering, except for a couple of requests…… the Butakakuni and the Ginnan Yaki. I also wanted Nankotsu (deep dried chicken cartlidge) but they were out. All chased with a pitcher of Sapporo.

So without further ado…. the Ginnan Yaki (salt roasted ginko nuts):

Shelled Ginko Nuts roasted on a bed of salt, mild salt flavor, slightly bitter, quite a nice combination of flavors. When I last spoke to Akira this past weekend during one of his visits to San Diego, we both thought this was the most memorable. For Akira, it's comfort food, for me perfect in it's simplicity.

The Butakakuni (Briased Pork Belly)…..

Redolent of sweetened soy yet mellow in flavor, this was good. It fell short, being a bit more stringy and tough than I'd like. Still it was rich without seeming greasy or fatty.

The Tori Karaage fell substantially short.

I prefer my chicken karaage to have some crunch, and to have less ginger flavor than this version. There was also a few very tough pieces. I actually enjoyed the sesame dressing on the shredded cabbage more…..

Nasu Dengaku.

The nasubi wasn't broiled/grilled enough, and was also pretty bitter. The miso based concoction was much too salty for my tastes.

Though we both had eaten fairly substantial lunches (I also had the benefit of a pretty hefty breakfast). We decided to order one more dish. I suggested the Agedashi Tofu, which comes with some high recommendations. In the end we decided on the Agedashi Nasu.

I once had a version where the nasubi was positively creamy and volcanic, barely held in place by the katakuriko (potato starch). The eggplant was just slightly North of what I enjoy in doneness. The tentsuyu was excellent though, balancing the mild dashi base with sweet and salty.

After the meal, I asked Akira where he rated Izakaya Bincho. He had it about where I did, good, but not great. In fact, he thought that Izakaya Sakura was every bit as good.

Izakaya Bincho
112 N International Boardwalk (The Redondo Beach Boardwalk)
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Still, you can't get this view on Convoy, can you?

Road Trip: Torrance Farmer’s Market, I-naba Restaurant, and a quick shopping stop – Torrance (Los Angeles)

October 18, 2010 mmm-yoso Farmer's Markets/Night Market, Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Following breakfast at Fukagawa, I set my sights on the Torrance Farmer's Market. I've posted on the Torrance Saturday Farmer's Market a couple of times already. But, I'll just say it again…."boy do we miss the Torrance Farmer's Market".

There's one stand that we've been hitting for years.

This stand has a huge variety of Asian Vegetables and fruit.

There's a very diverse variety of leaves and greens……

Anybody got a recipe for Ampalaya or Okra leaves? I'm pretty sure I'm going to pick-up the yam leaves next time as well.

On this day, the Jujubes looked wonderful……

The Missus thought these were the best She's had in a while. I also bought three types of pluots, Chinese eggplant, Asian pears, baby bok choy, and these lovely Taiwanese white bittermelon. After all, I had to fill up that large ice chest I had in the back of the car, right?

Torrance Sat CFM
Wilson Park, 2200 Crenshaw
Sat, 8A-1P

My next stop, was a bit farther away….. but since I had some time to kill before lunch, I did a short detour at…..

I spent a good amount of time sniffing and shopping……..

I displayed amazing restraint, and spent less than $20……

I also asked the very friendly woman at the register if Penzey's would be opening a shop in San Diego anytime soon. I was told that there's been mention of Penzey's opening perhaps late next year….. I do hope so.

Penzey's Spices
21301 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90510

By this time, I'd pretty much digested breakfast, and was ready to move on to lunch. I'd pretty much whittled my choices down to Sanuki No Sato or I-naba. Since it was fairly warm, and I was already near Hawthorne, I chose I-naba.

Eating solo, I was shown to the Tempura Bar.

The environment is somewhat austere, though the people working here are very friendly. Five minutes after I was seated, the dining area of the restaurant was packed. There was only one other person at the tempura bar though.

I was once told that the tempura at I-naba was top notch, so I decided on the Zaru Soba (cold soba) with Ten Don (Tempura Rice) combo ($9.80).

This was a good amount of food.

First off, let me say that this was the best soba I've had in a while. Nothing in San Diego even comes close to this.

The noodles made this dish….. more stretchable and chewy than the norm, and with a more pronounced….. I can only say, almost nutty flavor, I could really get used to eating this quite often. When I mentioned how good the noodles were; the Server, a very nice young lady said it was their own hand made soba. The Tsuyu was good, not as salty as I'm used to, and quite refreshing….. needless to say, I was a very happy slurper on this day.

The tempura on the other hand, the reason I'd been recommended I-naba, did not quite live up to it's reputation. I found the batter a bit gummy for my tastes, and it was also on the oily side. The ten-tsuyu was delicious, as was the flavor of the shrimp. I'm not quite sure if the tempura chef was having an off day….

I'm definitely coming back for the soba.

I-naba
20920 Hawthorne Blvd
Torrance, CA 90510

Road Trip: Fukagawa Soba & Udon – Gardena (Los Angeles), A breakfast from memory lane….

October 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, yoso-silly

With a tip of the hat to Jimmy Buffet:

"I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year.
All of the faces and all of the places,
wonderin' where they all disappeared……."

Changes in Latitude, Changes in Atittude (1977).

The Missus told me that I needed a short respite, and if anyone would know, She would. This past weekend, the Missus had events planned with Her friends, so I thought I'd take a drive up to LA, and eat a bit, meet a good friend of mine, then meet even more friends of mine, and just basically wander around aimlessly….. I thought I'd start driving early and hit the Torrance Farmers Market, which I've written about several times before. But this time around, I left San Diego extra early, like 530 am early. I decided to grab breakfast…. a kind of special breakfast, at a restaurant called Fukagawa.

Fukagawa is located in the same plaza as Marukai Pacific Market, but is kind of hidden away in a corner. You'll first have to see the Fukagawa sign.

Then look down the hallway to find Fukagawa……

You may ask why a Soba & Udon (& Shabu Shabu) restaurant would be opening at 7am from Mondays to Saturdays?

I mean, the place doesn't look much different from a hundred, or even a thousand other Japanese restaurants…..

What makes Fukagawa rather unique in my mind is that they serve a "Japanese Breakfast". A simple, yet soulful combination of dishes and flavors that may seem a bit strange to many Westerners, but is very familiar to me, as something similar was my Mom's special breakfast that she made on occasion for us.

Something resembling "Combo B" was what we ate for those meals…. so of course it's what I ordered.

Just the smells brought back memories…….

The miso soup presented me with a bit of nostalgia as it had sliced onions in it. My grandparents and mother used to put onions in their miso soup….. but I don't recall having miso soup this way outside of home.

That's Natto (fermented soybeans) on the left, and Hiyakko Tofu (cold tofu) on the right.

Of course growing up, we didn't make things quite as fancy….no katsuobushi(shaved dried bonito) for our tofu, and no quail egg or even mustard (I don't think Mom would have enjoyed that) adorning the natto.

As for the natto….. my grandparents were from Fukushima-ken, and as long as I remember, whenever someone asked where my family was from in Japan and I answered "Fukushima", among the first things mentioned was, "oh, so you must eat a lot of natto, huh?" Actually, I really don't love natto, in fact, the Missus enjoys it much more than I do. But over time, I have eaten my share……

And is it just me, or does today's natto not smell quite as bad?

But for me, the most important item was this:

Lest you wonder why the heck I think a boiled egg is so important to me….. well, it's not a boiled egg.

And in spite of the recent Salmonella Egg recall and warnings, the dish would not be the same without this.

You add a little shoyu…..

Mix…..

Pour over hot rice (in all honesty, the rice should have been hotter) steal some green onions from my tofu, and mix…….

Creating a dish known as "tamago-meshi". One of the earliest (and few) memories I have of my grandparents, is my "Ji-chan" (grandfather) waking before dawn. Even though the plantation days were behind them; the plantation ways were still strong. Neither Grandparent spoke much English, and always had problems with my name. Ironically, they ended up calling me "Keiki" (which means "child" in Hawaiian). To this day I'm not sure if they actually knew what keiki meant, or of they just chose that word because it kinda sounded like my name, and was something they'd heard before. Anyway, my job was to climb the ricketty ladder up to papaya tree and pick two of the ripes papaya. My reward? My Grandmother would have a steaming bowl of rice, mix the raw egg with shoyu, pour the egg over the rice, top with green onions and mix……. tamago meshi. This in turn was topped with natto. I was also given half a papaya (to help me digest), and a cup of coffee (!!! I was maybe 7-8 years old) with tons of cream and sugar. A perfect breakfast for getting out there and working the fields…….

I really haven't had this in years, perhaps a decade (or two!), but it just seemed like the perfect thing to get this road trip started.

My friend, Akira, who I had dinner with later that evening, cracked up when I told him about my breakfast. Even though he lives in Torrance, he'd never heard of Fukagawa. And no, coming from Osaka, he's not much of a natto, or tamago-meshi fan. Still, he appreciated the fact that there was at least one place serving this in LA.

I do realize that this is something I can do at home. It may be a bit much for a weekday. But this just seemed like the right thing to start my short road trip.

I don't think younger people eat this much anymore. In fact, much like the next morning's breakfast (an upcoming post of course), everyone here was at least a decade older then me. And no one got the egg raw…….they all requested the egg over-easy……

The Japanese breakfast is available for lunch and dinner, though there's an upcharge of $1 for lunch, and $2 for dinner.

Fukagawa Soba & Udon
1630 W Redondo Beach Blvd.
Gardena, CA 90247

Road Trip: Dim Sum at Sea Harbour – Rosemead (Los Angeles)

September 28, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Today, stewing in my triple-digit-temperature sodden juices, I had the evil idea of doing a post on my latest bowl of Bun Bo Hue, or perhaps another Pho post. But just the thought of looking at a photo of a steaming bowl of Pho, was just a bit too much for me. So instead, let's just go directly to our current favorite Dim Sum Restaurant, Sea Harbour in Rosemead. When folks say they're going to LA, and want a recommendation for Dim Sum, I'll usually recommend Sea Harbour. Heck, when Ed from Yuma, wanted a couple of recommendations for Seafood Restaurants in LA, Sea Harbour was on that short list. And based on his post, Ed really enjoyed his meal at Sea Harbour. And if you needed another seal of approval, during our visit to Urasawa, Hiro-san himself told me that his favorite restaurant is Sea Harbour. Need I say more? You probably notice a dearth of posts on Dim Sum in San Diego…… that's mainly because the wild swings in quality and mixed experiences over the years have made us a bit "gun shy", after all, the usual layout of funds for a good dim sum meal, exceeds the risk associated with a good bowl of soup! Especially when the return on investment for dim sum in San Diego during the last few years have crashed faster than the stock market…..

On weekends there will usually always be a wait at Sea Harbour….. even if you arrive before the 1030 am opening, it's likely you'll be standing behind someone who got there even earlier than you. Still, if you get there before 11am, on a normal weekend, it's likely the wait won't be too long. Turnover is very quick here…..

Like Elite and Happy Harbour, Sea Harbour does Dim Sum the upscale "menu style". The check off list is quite large at about 130 items….

It's always quite an effort to decide on what to eat. As much as Siu Mai would seem a "no-brainer", a visit to Sea Harbour is something of a special meal for us, so I've yet to have that here. The standard Char Siu Bao, is usually persona non-grata during our Dim Sum meals, as the Missus hails from Shandong and Beijing, and the dough is much too sweet for Her tastes.

So we tend toward the dishes that are not quite the norm for a typical Dim Sum meal. On this day, things started off with the Baby Pak Choy with Ginko and Bean Curd Sheets:

This was almost an entree sized dish. The pak choy was prepared perfectly, still crunchy, not saturated. We both love bean curd sheets. The broth was a light, but tasty chicken stock. The only negative for us in this dish were the ginko nuts. They were very bitter. I have been using ginko nuts a lot recently, and immediately knew these were not prepared well, the texture was mushy, and the flavor unpleasant. Still, the pak choy was good, even as leftovers.

The Shrimp, Dry Scallop, and Chinese Celery Dumplings were excellent.

Over the years, I've resigned myself to either overly sticky, or brittle and ripped wrappers for steamed dumplings. These on the other hand were perfect; with just enough pull. The amount of Chinese Celery was just right, adding that wonderful palate cleansing effect. The size of the cut was good as well; you knew you were having Chinese Celery. The shrimp was flavorful; and even though we really couldn't make out a dried scallop umami, the proportion of the other ingredients was just right for our tastes. We really should be having more of the steamed dumplings at Sea Harbour.

Though it's really hard when you see stuff like Foie-Gras Minced Beef with Spinach on the menu.

I was surprised that you could really make out the flavor of goose liver in this. The spinach was good quality, and not bitter in the least. A rich, but good dish.

We were split on the Cheong Fun with Bittermelon and Chicken.

The Missus thought that while the bittermelon was perfectly cooked, it was much too bitter for Her. I on the other hand enjoyed this. We both thought that the sauce for the Cheong Fun had a good salty-sweet balance to it.

The biggest disappointment of the day were the French Style Goose Liver Won Ton.

Very bland won tons (where was the goose liver?), in an insipid broth. This dish was very disappointing, as both the won tons and the broth lacked flavor.

Second place for most disappointing dish was the Fish Cake with Corn and Peas.

Which also suffered from the blandness bugaboo. This one almost got me to request soy sauce and chili paste, which is not provided on each table like the typical Dim Sum Restaurant. I can understand the desire to have each customer taste the real flavor and quality of each item ordered. But man, this was fairly tasteless.

The Missus and I were split on the Pan Grilled Spinach Pork Bun.

The Missus thought these were too sweet (of course), and too light and fluffy (???). I thought the sweetness wasn't over-powering, and really enjoyed the shrimp in the Buns. I'd have these again, but don't think the Missus would allow me to order them.

As a whole, we really enjoyed this meal, and ended up with some leftovers. And even though we ordered several of the most expensive items on the Dim Sum menu, our bill came out to a tad over $40, much less then we had expected spending.

Leaving, we noticed the huge crowd waiting outside the restaurant, braving temperatures that were surely approaching a hundred degrees. It left me wondering if I'd be willing to wait in this heat. Perhaps not, but we still think of Sea Harbour as one of the better spots for Dim Sum.

I'm always attracted to the "Chicken in the parking lot" here, and am racking my brains to recall what this place was before Sea Harbour. Maybe you'll be able to tell me…..

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Road Trip: Luscious Dumplings and Michelle’s Pancake House – San Gabriel (Los Angeles)

September 12, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

The Missus and I hadn't been back to the SGV quite as much as we desired since returning from China. A couple of weeks back, we finally had a chance, and we decided to check out a few places we hadn't been to. We started however, with a place we hadn't been to in quite a while:

Luscious Dumplings:

**** Luscious Dumplings has moved to Monrovia

Since we'd be checking out a place in the same strip mall, we decided on having some Jiaozi at Luscious Dumplings. Actually, I thought I'd posted on this place before but couldn't find a previous post. Luckily, I snapped a photo before we left…… check out the line! When we arrived, the place was empty, but it sure fills up quickly.

Luscious Dumplings is a small, bare bones operation, whose menu is presented on a half sheet of paper. You check off the items you want, and you're on your way. Within seconds a styrofoam cup of tea, and a small plate of marinated/pickled vegetable arrives.

On this day, after the Missus scarfed this up, totally against character, another little plate arrived at our table! Wow, great service, right? Well, not quite…. it seems that another table had requested more of the free appetizer, and it had been erroneously brought to us. Maybe it was our lucky day.

We had ordered two different dumplings, the first to arrive were the Chive, Pork, Egg, and Shrimp Dumplings(10 – $6.50):

These were excellent; the wrappers were almost pillowy, with just the right amount of pull. The filling was well put together as well. You could still taste the shrimp, and the pungency of the chive didn't over-power the rest of the ingredients.

Our order of Pork and Celery Dumplings arrived soon after:

The one outstanding characteristic of these dumplings were the lightness of the filling, so smooth and light, almost mousse-like. The Missus's Fifth Aunt, will often stir her Jiaozi filling for over an hour with chopsticks to attain the right consistency. The texture of these were pretty close. The flavor seemed a bit off to us. Celery is a wonderful foil for rich or gamey fillings, but here the flavor of ginger overwhelmed everything else. We couldn't even make out the celery in the dumpling.

Still, the dumplings here are well worth a visit. One thing I noticed, it seems that the prices here go up like clockwork, but these are worth $6.50.

Luscious Dumplings Inc
704 W. Las Tunas Dr.
San Gabriel, CA 91776

You can check out Wandering Chopstick's post on Luscious Dumplings here.

Right around the corner from Luscious Dumplings is a shop that FOY (Friend of Yoso) Andy thought might be an interesting shop to visit:

Michelle's Pancake House:

*** Michelle's Pancake House has closed

No, it's not the Chinese equivalent of IHOP or The Original Pancake House. The "Michelle" portion of the name is a direct phonetic interpretation of what seems to be the Owner's name. And this place specializes in "Dan Bing", Xiar Bing, and other dough preparations.

The dining area in the shop is about a third larger than Luscious Dumplings, which is not very large. We also noticed that the customers here seemed to be a bit older.

Much like China, there are a couple of communal tables, that folks share.

A little bowl of boiled peanuts, very mushy, and perhaps past their due date, arrived while we looked over the checklist and the menu.

We decided to start with the Egg, Shrimp, and Leek (chive) Dumplings (12 – $5.95):

Thte wrappers had that home made texture to them, and were perhaps a bit on the gummy side. The filling wasn't binded, so there was tendency for it to fall apart. We really couldn't taste the shrimp in these as well.

We also ordered two different Xiar Bing (stuffed breads). The first was the Radish, Thin Bean, and Shrimp ($6.95):

The dough was a pleasant surprise for us. The tops and bottoms were thin and crisp. It was a lot less oily than we had expected as well. The Xiar Bing were pretty filling, and I could only finish one.

The filling was interesting…. if you like daikon, you'll love these. I'm thinking that the thin beans in these must be really, really, thin….. like invisible thin. At least you could make out the faint flavor of dried shrimp even if you couldn't see it.

The second set were the Zucchini and Pork (8 – $5.95):

These were a bit smaller than the radish version, but felt pretty rich. The Missus didn't care for the strong "pork" flavor, but I thought it was fairly good.

The filling was moist, but the pork kinda tough and chewy. I'm pretty sure by the smell and flavor that pork butt/shoulder was used for these.

I had my doubts as to how these would hold up after taking them home; but they heated up fairly well in the toaster oven.

The Missus learned that the owners are from Longkou (龍口) in Shandong Province, an area well known for the production of cellophane noodles. We were interested enough that I think we'll visit this place again.

Michelle's Pancake House
706 W. Las Tunas Dr.
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Thanks for the recommendation Andy!

One thing the Missus and I really appreciate about restaurant like these in the SGV; the menus are small, and are focused on the items they do best. And we're not done yet…. there was one more stop on this road trip so stay tuned……