Road Trip – Page 39

Road Trip: J & J Restaurant – San Gabriel(LA), and the San Gabriel Foot Fetish…….

January 24, 2007 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Xiao Long Bao

**** J & J Restaurant has closed

Right before the New Year, on one of our road trips to LA, we were in the mood for some Xiao Long Bao(soup dumplings), but instead of Mei Long Village we decided to check out J & J Restaurant. We've always found it somewhat interesting that both J & J and Meilong Village occupy the same strip mall, and co-exist just a few doors down from each other.

On this day the tiny, simply furnished restaurant was hopping……

The Missus and I always appreciate servers who work with no wasted motion, and the two women working today were working with efficient precision. Containers for leftovers were brought to the table with the check, and tea was dropped off on one table as the server walked to the table directly next to it to take an order.

We looked over the menu even though we knew what we were going to order.

We started with the Xue Cai Rou Si Chao Nian Gao($5.25):

We didn't care for this much, the Chao Nian Gao(stir fried rice cake) had been over cooked and was mushy, the Xue Cai(mustard greens) had no flavor, and the dish had a sort of "fishy" aftertaste.

Of course we were here for Xiao Long Bao, and in case you think I needed any help in selected which XLB's to get…something like this will usually seal the deal. Crab being prepared for the XLB.

So of course we started with the Pork and Crab XLB's($5.95):

The 8 good sized XLB arrived perfectly steamed. I found the wrapper to be a tad thicker than the wrapper at Mei Long Village, the very tender filling had a mild flavor, that leaned a bit toward the sweeter end. I thought these were good except for one thing; the soup to meat ratio was way off…we both thought that the XLB had too little soup in them.

Not satisfied with one order of XLB, we also got the Pork XLB($4.95):

These come 10 to an order, and were steamed and served in perfect condition. The Pork XLB had a bit of a stronger flavor, that went well with the soy-vinegar-ginger dipping sauce. But the meat-soup ratio on these seemed to be a bit off as well. In the end, I guess we enjoy a bit more soup in our Xiao Long Baos.

Still, because of the close proximity of the two restaurants, and the very reasonable prices, you can probably do a XLB "crawl" and make up your own mind as to which XLB you prefer.

HC of LA and OC Foodventures has a nice post on J & J Restaurant.

J & J Restaurant
301 W. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776

An interesting observation…..

I don't know if anyone has noticed this….in fact I'm surprised that the ever observant Andy hasn't mentioned this on his blog, The ABC. After our meal at J & J we walked over to the snack shop in the strip mall next door, so the Missus could get Her shaved ice. While walking we simultaneously looked at each other and went…"what is the deal, with all of the Foot Massage places?"

So what is the deal? I decided to take photos of the Reflexology/Foot Massage shops we found just from walking from one strip mall to the next….less than a block. And here's what we found:

There's even a little price war going on in this strip mall……on one side of the mall, it's $20/hr:

Directly on the other side, it's $15/hr:

I know that with all the restaurants, and other businesses, that workers in the SGV are probably on their feet alot….but man, that's alot of tired feet.

Or maybe San Gabriel has a foot fetish??? We call it the San Gabriel Foot Fetish.

There must be over 30 Reflexology/Foot Massage studios on Valley Boulevard….for some reason we found that to be rather odd…….

Road Trip – S Vietnamese Fine Dining – Westminster(OC)

January 16, 2007 mmm-yoso Orange County, Road Trip, Vietnamese Restaurants

*** S Vietnamese has closed

On our recent quick trip to Marukai in Gardena, we thought that perhaps a stop in Westminster would be in order…and maybe we'd try something different. So after hearing about S Vietnamese Fine Dining, and noticing it was right off the 405 freeway, we thought it would be an interesting alternative to the Brodard's, Quan Hy, etc……..

S Vietnamese is located right at the edge of Westminster Mall, in what looks like a highly retrofitted chain restaurant facade.

'S' bills itself as a higher end modern and stylish Vietnamese restaurant, and when you enter and notice all the wood paneling, the grand piano, and the art work lining the walls, it sure does look like the right place.

Strangely enough the restaurant was totally empty, at 1230 on a Saturday! The complete stark lack of customers made us feel a bit uncomfortable, and made the large, airy, spaciousness of the restaurant seem a bit "cold".

This was all remedied by our wonderful, warm, and friendly Server, Linda. As we were seated and handed our menus, we were asked, "have you ever eaten Vietnamese food before?" The Missus and I traded puzzled looks, and the thought "uh-oh, was this a mistake" entered our minds. We managed to choke out, "yes, we've had Vietnamese food before…..", and ended up having a nice conversation regarding the various dishes, and got some recommendations.

Based on the recommendations we started with the 'S' Skewers($12):

6 skewers arrived accompanied with 3 dipping sauces. The skewers were a mixed bag, the Garlic Shrimp Skewers barely had any garlic flavor, though the shrimp were of good quality and cooked perfectly. The Soy and Sesame Beef skewers had the most flavor, and mild sweet-soy flavor, but the meat was on the tough and chewy side. The Curry Infused Chicken was the best overall, with moist dark meat chicken. But again, the flavors were really muted; there was barely any curry flavor, in fact, the chicken tasted like a very mild lemongrass chicken. The sauces were so-so, the supposed "peanut sauce" tasted almost like 100% coconut milk, the sweet chili sauce tasted like bottled stuff, the best of the group was the soy-scallion sauce, which we ended up using on everything.

We wanted something with a little "punch" so we ordered the Bun Rieu($8) as our soup:

Supposedly the most "savory" soup on the menu, we thought of it as Bun Rieu Shadow soup…a mere shadow of the pungent Bun Rieu. It didn't help that the soup was served lukewarm, and that the vermicelli noodles were overcooked and mushy. On the positive side, the crab-shrimp "cake" was the absolute best I've ever tasted, sweet and so very soft. The fried tofu was fine, but the soup was very mild in flavor. The garnishes were on the skimpy side, but I must admit that the julienned banana blossom served was the freshest I've ever tasted, slightly tangy and refreshing. Requesting extra garnishes is a must.

The Missus ordered the Banh Mi Ca($8):

This was a breaded catfish Banh Mi. First off the baguette was excellent, perfectly crusty without being hard and dry. The panko breaded fish did not fare as well. The fish strips were dry and flavorless, and we thought that the use of Honey Panko was not the best choice, making the fish too sweet.

I ordered the Bun Cha($10), a dish of grilled pork and pork meatballs that are meant to be wrapped in lettuce leaves with various herbs and eaten:

This was by far the best dish of the day; the pork meatballs had great flavor and the grilled pork served in a sweet-garlic-soy sauce was very soft and tender. In keeping with the use of high quality ingredients butter lettuce was served for wrapping, along with a very large portion of vermicelli, which I ended up pouring sauce over to finish up….we also dipped the leftover baguette in the sauce, it was that good.

For us S Vietnamese Fine Dining was a real mixed bag; on one end many of the ingredients were of good quality, the restaurant decor is very stylish, and the service was excellent. On the other end, we thought that some of the dishes were not prepared well, the presentation of the dishes are not quite at that "fine dining" level, and that many of the flavors that we consider to be the heart and soul of Vietnamese cuisine were severely muted. We didn't think the prices were really too bad; our entire meal cost $45. It seems that S Vietnamese Fine Dining would be a great pick for someone who is perhaps a bit intimidated by Vietnamese food. The dinner menu is much larger with many interesting almost fusion style dishes like Lamb Nuong Xa, a lemongrass and peppercorn crusted lamb dish.

I think the Missus had a very interesting observation; as we were leaving She turned to me and said, "Why do I get the feeling that we just ate at Vietnamese PF Chang's?"

S Vietnamese Fine Dining
545 Westminster Mall Drive
Westminster, CA 92683

Open Sun-Thurs 11am-9pm
Fri-Sat 11am-10pm

(Rail) Road Trip – Two Landmarks; Philippe the Original & Cielito Lindo- Los Angeles

January 10, 2007 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Mexican Restaurants, Road Trip, Sandwiches

On the final day of my LA Railroad trip, we headed off to find some sustenance for the long and grueling train ride back to San Diego…..a two hour trip on an empty stomach can be pure hell! On this day, Captain Jack and I had decided to walk on over to the one and only Philippe The Original….say that quickly and dramatically "Philippe THE Orrr-iginal", and suddenly pictures of tumblers, clowns, and other circus performers dance in your head…..

Which sometimes ain’t too far from the truth…..it gets pretty crowded at Philippe’s, even at 830 am on a Sunday morning, the line is a good 6 deep. You may need a Ringmaster to maneuver around the 3 ring circus breakfast rush.

Some of Philippe’s fame is based on the claim that Philippe Mathieu(the original Philippe) created the French Dip sandwich by accident in 1918. You can read it all here. In the original "you got peanut butter on my chocolate" moment Philippe apparently came up with a bad case of fumble-itis when making a sandwich, dropping the roll into a roasting pan full of juice (let’s all say it together, ahhhh-jus!), and the rest so they say is history. But as with many of these type of claims, it is not without some controversy…..right up the street resides Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet, who claim to have invented the French Dip sandwich in 1908!

Philippe04_1 Most of the customers on this morning were having breakfast. But, I wasn’t standing in line on the sawdust lined floors at Philippe’s for breakfast. Though I must say, watching a petite Asian girl wolf down a huge ham steak, easy over eggs, biscuits, cole slaw, and potato salad, is quite a sight to behold.

Not knowing the next time I’d be in the area, I went for my favorite sandwich at Philippe’s…the Double Dipped Lamb Sandwich. ($5.95) Ahhh Lamb, it’s not just for breakfast anymore……. A leg of lamb was removed from one of the heating drawers, the meat cut off, the whole sandwich dipped, twice in jus. Oh, and of course a cup o’ Joe…believe it or not, coffee at Philippe’s is still 10 cents a cup.

And though the lamb was a bit tougher and not as rich as the version I had on my previous visit , the jus was oh so good. In fact I remember telling Captain Jack, that if Philippe’s sold rolls in jus, I’d be tempted to order that. I know I could have gotten the Classic French Dip, but I’d found it to be on the salty side……

Still Philippe’s is quite the landmark…in business since 1908, that says something about a place.

Philippe the Original
1001 N Alameda St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Open Daily 6am – 10pm

And of course breakfast is just not complete without something from that special food group, taquitos. We made it a point to stop by Cielito Lindo on DietChiliCheeseFries recommendation. According to DCCF, the taquitos at Cielito Lindo was a must eat item.

Much like Philippe’s, Cielito Lindo has a long and interesting history, and has been around and selling taquitos since 1934! That’s alot of taquitos…….

So of course we had to stop by and order some Burritos! Hah, just kidding, I ordered 3 taquitos($3.60). The taquitos arrived, and were very tasty, the "shell" had a nice corn flavor, though I thought the really tightly packed meat to be somewhat tough and flavorless. The avocado sauce, was like a runny guacamole, or maybe a thicker salsa verde? Kind of on the bland side.

Still these taquitos had that "something special", and were about a perfect a taquito as one could come across.

As we ate, we watched taquitos being cooked, and noticed that the taquitos weren’t deep fried in the conventional sense, but fried up in a pan that looked sort of like a wok, without a ton of oil.

As we watched the taquitos cook, I nudged Captain Jack….I had found the ingredient that made these taquitos so good….it was the special, thick, white liquid being poured into the pans from the "coffee pots" lining the stove area! Yes, that magical elixir…Lard! No wonder they tasted so good!

Cielito Lindo
23 Olvera St # E
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Open Sun – Thurs 9am – 11pm
Fri – Sat 9am – Midnight

A Lamb Dip Sandwich, with a taquito chaser…….now that’s a breakfast!

(Rail)Road Trip – Orochon(Los Angeles)

January 8, 2007 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

During the recent Urasawa eat-fest, Captain Jack and I stayed in the Little Tokyo area…and since it was winter, well, a SoCal winter, what is more appropriate than some good ramen. There was a problem though….our first choice for ramen:

Everytime we’d stop by Daikokuya…one of my favorite Ramen Houses in LA, the place was packed,with people waiting inside the restaurant as well as a line outside. Being that we just wanted some ramen, we decided on Orochon Ramen in Weller Court.

And though the restaurant was pretty full we managed to snag an outside table. What we found out is that all the outside tables are for Orochon, until 2pm, when one set of tables is reserved for the restaurant next door……

Anyway, the deal with ramen at Orochon is a pseudo-Ala carte deal. Orochon sells ramen at a various "heat" level from 1 to 7, with 1 being the "extreme" heat. For those that think eating is something dares are made of, there are "special" heat levels of 1 and 2, which I assume will hurt you today, as well as tomorrow…if you know what I mean.

First you choose the type of ramen you desire, either Miso, Shoyu, or Shio(salt). You then select a spiciness, and finally the "extras"(i.e. corn, garlic, butter???) Having tried a Miso Ramen train wreck on my previous visit, I thought I’d go with the Shoyu Ramen($6.45) at a spice level 3, with Char Siu(99 cents one slice), Bamboo Shoot($1.25), Green Onions ($1.25!!)and Bean Sprouts(50 cents)…suddenly, I had a bowl of ramen that was over 10 bucks!

The ramen arrived nice and hot, and the broth wasn’t overly salty. The heat at three was enough to create some sweat on my brow. It seemed that the heat was created through the use of chili powder and slices of jalapeno pepper I found in the broth. The slice of Char Siu was decent, nice and tender with a good pork flavor…but worth a buck for a skinny slice? I couldn’t help but think about every component of the ramen I paid for……green onions!!! Bean sprouts!!!!

Still, I would have been fine, if the noodles were okay like they were on my previous visit. This time they were hard and brittle……..I remember remarking to Captain Jack that these noodles weren’t very good, and they were not. Bummer……

At least the service was decent…there’s a funny red "panic button" on each table for service…I guess it’s here in case you order the "extreme" and go into cardiac arrest.

In keeping with the meal, I forgot to take a photo of the storefront. So I managed to get a unique shot a bit later….it’s the front of Orochon from our room at the New Otani:

Orochon Ramen
123 Astronaut E S Onizuka St
Los Angeles, CA 90012

(213) 617-1766

Open Daily – 1130am-1015pm

Rose Parade Preview…and food at Tops

December 31, 2006 Cathy American/New American Restaurants, Burgers, Los Angeles County, Road Trip, Sandwiches, What Cathy Eats!, yoso-silly

mmm-yoso is not on vacation. Cathy is blogging while Kirk rests. This one is interesting.

Hi. Its the end of the year and there are still some traditional things The Mister and I do. One of those things is going up to Pasadena, having breakfast and either helping or watching Tournament of Roses parade floats being decorated. Since I have this wrist injury and repetitive stress is out of the question, this is a year to watch.

So, we went to breakfast first at the Historic Green Street Hotel. The Hotel is now a Condominium Complex for the most part, but the building was built in 1898 and has been declared a Historical Site. …The food, its a brunch and not much selection.

Fruit, muffins, pastries, scrambled eggs, sausage and ham…as well as juice and coffee. We were not there for the food.

We ate quickly and waited to get onto the tour bus that took us about 1 mile south….this was the view, waiting to get to the top/overview area of one of the four float building company warehouses.

This is the Farmers Insurance entry for this year's parade. The little owl on Mother Nature's shoulder moves his head. They took the float out of the warehouse to make certain the mechanics were working and to do last minute touch ups before judging was to take place at about 1 p.m. today. Every square inch of the float that is visible has to be covered in something that is, or was alive.

Once you are inside you get a view of the nine floats that have been being assembled in this 'barn' for, really, the last year.

The City of Glendale float is the one with the bear, the Optimists have the one with the cat and dog being friends,

The City of Long Beach

made the one with the lighthouse and sailboats, the City of Pasadena did the birdhouse. McDonald's sponsored the one with the honeybees …

The Lutheran Hour has the one with the church, Lions Club International did the one with the cane for the blind.

Anyhow, these floats are essentially done, and beautiful. People talk about what they are made of…the living parts. But this isn't a good vantage point…HOWEVER…I have friends in High Places….oh, and I'm kinda sorta one of them….

Here is a photo from a few days before the parade last year, with a float still in the assembly stage. See the orange slices used so they look like goldfish scales?

(click on it and it will enlarge)

So, anyhow, here's some closeups..you can tell some of the materials without my help.

OK, so that was the majority of my day…but The Mister and I were tired and hungry and in Pasadena..and of course I *must* always have my camera with me.

Tops, 50 years in business, 'Voted Best Fast Food in Pasadena, Corner of Walnut and Allen'. Gotta try it.

Hmmm, similar to The Hat but with a larger menu….

So, we got what we know is good: the 1/2 pound burger ($3.89), pastrami dip($6.39) and small chili cheese fries($3.59)…

Simple, basic and pretty darn good…the burger is served with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and Thousand Island sauce; the pastrami was peppery, had a nice amount of fat and in a nice french roll…

OK, the burger looks, eh, smallish for 1/2 pound…here is what it looked like in my hand after I had eaten a LOT and was almost full….

Tops 1792 East Walnut Street Pasadena (626)584-0244 M-Th 7 am-11 pm; Fri/Sa am-midnight, Sun 9 am-11pm

I'll talk to you all next year, and thank you for making this one my most interesting in my lifetime! Watch football on January 1st… There's this game that is played in Pasadena….

(Rail)Road Trip – Urasawa Beverly Hills(LA) Part 3

December 14, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

During the Sushi portion of the meal at Urasawa, if Hiro-san notices that you particularly enjoy an item, he’ll make another for you. At the end you can also request additional nigiri if you desire….or are still hungry(still hungry???).

I asked if I could get another Shiro Ebi:

Like the flavor of several Ama-ebi(sweet shrimp) condensed into one piece of nigiri sushi.

For Captain Jack, it was much easier for Hiro-san to figure out what he enjoyed. There was a certain scene in the movie When Harry Met Sally, that I think many will remember. So we’ll just call this…When Jack-ee met Uni, get the picture?

I think Hiro-san understood, Jack got a beautiful "Double-decker Uni Nigiri".

To finish out the sushi portion; Hiro-san asked us if we’d care for anything else. All night long we’d been ogling and plotting, attempting to get more of he Kobe Beef, wanting to experience the wonderful flavor and texture of Kyushu-heaven.

So with a smile Hiro-san asked if we’d like Beef Nigiri…. And after receiving enthusiastic positive nods(I almost threw my neck out), we were asked us how we’d like the beef done, which was a unanimous "rare, almost raw". The slice of beef spent the briefest of time on the brazier, made into nigiri with a small amount of Nikiri-joyu, and placed on the Geta for consumption……delici-yoso!!! All during this time Hiro-san, Jack, and I were chatting about food, and well…..food, and maybe a few other things. So in case you’re wondering, Hiro-sans favorite Chinese restaurants? Din Tai Fung for dumplings, and Sea Harbour in Rosemead("They know me, and what I enjoy….").

At about this point of the meal, Jack quick-wittedly asked Hiro-san if we could get him a drink. He smiled and accepted, and modestly ordered a Sapporo. When the beer arrived He asked us about our drive back to the Hotel, to which we replied we’re "cabbing it". Upon that reply, Hiro-san called over one of His assistants and had her split the beer with Jack and I, and we had a very memorable toast of "Kampai"("Cheers"), with the Chef and Owner of what some consider to be the most expensive restaurant in Southern California. Hiro-san than set back to work, and the Tamago arrived. I asked Hiro-san if he is now showing us his skill as an Itamae(Tamago is considered by many to be one of the dishes that truly indicate the skill, diligence, and attention to detail, of any Itamae).

This Tamago, was vastly different from any version I’ve ever had. The tamago was light like spongecake, I could almost imagine catching clouds on my tongue. The flavor is mild, slightly sweet, with the faintest flavor of the ocean.

Soon after, the most pristine piece of Hachiya Persimmon arrived, this photo made the Missus terribly jealous. Hachiya being an "astringent" type of persimmon, will taste bitter and cause you to really "pucker" because of the tannin in the fruit if not ripe.

When ripened, and the tannins have broken down, the skin of the fruit becomes so very soft, sweet, and tender, that you need to handle them very carefully.

A dish of Sesame Ice cream arrived, topped with soy milk and gold leaf, the ice cream was almost like a soft and creamy mousse. Very nice and not overly sweet.

We had two cup of tea to close out the meal. A light, and almost frothy Ma’cha(green tea):

And a Genmai-cha(Green tea with roasted rice) to finsh things off.

As we were leaving Hiro-san called to Jack and Myself. All night long when we had something really, really amazing, we’d give each other a "Fist Pound", by now my knuckles were hurting! Hiro-san stuck his closed fist over the counter, and we gave Him a fist pound as a way to close out the evening……

I must say, that Urasawa was the most unique and memorable dining experience I’ve ever had. A combination of amazing food and great service in a unpretentious atmosphere; along with a humble, amiable, and very highly skilled Artist(there’s not other way to describe it), made Urasawa unforgettable. In fact, the Missus and I are planning our next visit sometime next year.

Oh…..yes, the damage?

Jack and I split the bill, so my portion came out to $452+$100 tip = Worth every penny! And yes, I do realize that it would be over 100 bowls of Pho’!!!!!

Postscript – I’ve gotten more than my share of Emails regarding Urasawa, so let me clarify a few things:

Price – Walking in the door, and the multi-course meals starts at $250. Any drinks, including water, which is Evian at $8 a crack, will cost you. We drank two bottles of Kubota Manju, which was a perfect compliment to the meal at $150 each. So if you break down my portion it’s $250+$8+150=$408. I’m assuming the rest was tax and "Extras".

Is it really worth it? – In my mind, yes. After all, I’ve waited a few years for this. Let me put it this way, if I was on my way to the Electric Chair, and had a last meal, it would be Urasawa’s Kaiseki-Omakase dinner. I’d walk happily to the chair, and tell them; "LET HER RIPPPPP!" LOL!

(Rail)Road Trip – Urasawa Beverly Hills(LA) Part 2

December 13, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

So there we were, in the midst of a memorable meal at Urasawa. I knew that the arrival of the Gari(Pickled Ginger) was a sure sign that the parade of Nigiri Sushi was about to begin. A small wooden Handai(Rice Tub) was brought out, and Hiro-san got to work.

Hiro-san was the picture of efficiency, and the nigiri sushi was dressed with a dab of Wasabi(the real stuff, of course), a few drop of Nikiri Joyu – Hiro-san’s custom concoction of Soy Sauce, dashi, mirin, and who knows what else. At times, a few drops of Yuzu juice, or some Yuzu was grated for zest and brushed on to the sushi, or perhaps a touch of salt was added for flavor. In retrospect, I should have taken a few more photos of Hiro-san in action, or of the construction of the nigiri, but that would have been a challenge. The nigiri is created with Sushi-meshi (sushi rice) at perfect temperature, and the nigiri is placed on the Geta(serving platform) and served at optimal condition. This means that it should be consumed ASAP! In fact, once when Captain Jack was in fine eye rolling orgasmic bliss (I think it was the uni)form, Hiro-san reminded Him to eat the nigiri now on his plate. So for photos I would get the camera set while the nigiri was being formed, and as soon as the sushi hit the Geta, snap a photo, and snap up my sushi! So there I was like a photographer on the runway of nigiri fashion show, anticipating where the sushi would hit so I could quickly get my shot. So here are the runway models…….

Toro, the ultimate fat tuna belly, with a light brushing of the Nikiri:

There are two types of Toro; Chu-toro, the medium fatty toro which is what we usually get in smaller neighborhood sushi joints, and O-toro, the fattiest strip of buttery, tender toro….delici-yoso!!! I jokingly mentioned how O-toro got it’s name. After eating this treasured-tender, rich and buttery morsel, you couldn’t help but moan; "ooohhh-toro, ooohhh-toro", it is that good.

Kanpachi(Amberjack):

Slightly firm, and mildly creamy in texture. Good stuff. By this time you start realizing something. Looking at the nigiri, you can almost count every grain of rice, and each little oblong ball of rice is packed perfectly, not too tight so that the rice is mashed, not too loose so that the nigiri will fall apart.

Madai(Japanese Sea Bream/Japanese Red Snapper), as noted before slightly firm at first bite, but soft after.:

The grated Yuzu zest took this piece of nigiri to the next level. Each tiny bit of yuzu was packed with a clean, condensed citrus flavor, giving the nigiri a very clean finish.

Shiro Ebi(White Shrimp), actually many tiny raw white shrimp reside on this piece of rice.

I’ve had this once before, and didn’t think much of it. Chewing the shrimp was like eating a hundred little pouches of water, and it had very little flavor. This one was heavenly; the shrimp was so very soft, and the flavor sweet. I’d take this over Ama-Ebi any day of the week. This was one of my favorites, the condensed flavor of a dozen sweet raw shrimp. I think it’s about at this point where Hiro-san started conversing with us a little more, he really enjoys talking about food.

Sayori(Halfbeak), this was a new one for me. The long thin piece of fish was manipulated into a circular form with chopsticks.

The texture is firm and mild.

Kohada, many people call this Japanese Herring, but I know it as Gizzard Shad. Hiro-san told me that they call it Japanese Herring because many customers don’t know what Gizzard Shad is:

Slightly sweet and milky, this was very good. At this point, Captain Jack said "Hiro-san, you are a super-star!" Hiro broke out into a smile and said, "no, my customers are stars….."

Ika(Squid), I don’t know about you, but I’ve had many tough pieces of Ika in my life, this was probably the most perfect piece of Ika I’ve ever had:

The fine grains of salt and yuzu zest added great flavor. I mentioned the salt to Urasawa, who said, "yes, I make it here….", and added breaking into a smile, "I like to make everything myself!" So salt???? Urasawa creates a mixture of salt and water, adds Kombu(Kelp), lets the liquid steep, removes the Kombu, and lets the water evaporate….to create salt!

Aji(Horse Mackerel), one my favorites:

Very tender, I’ve never seen Aji looking so translucent. Very mild in flavor.

Kuruma Ebi(Prawn), this little bugger, was alive and kicking, placed on a skewer, and briefly poached(I know, I know…photos. Maybe next time):

Soft, sweet, and tender. Hiro-san told me, "just slightly cooked, is the best way….."

Uni(Sea Urchin Roe – actually the ovaries, but who cares?), I must say that I’ve never seen a more perfect piece of uni:

I have had better uni, live, directly from the shell. This was as good as "wood box" Uni gets, sweet and creamy. Captain Jack absolutely loved it. At this point the Handai was replenished with fresh rice.

Saba(Mackerel), usually not my favorite, this was excellent:

Aoyagi(Clam), more tender than mirugai, and sweeter to boot, with mild briny overtones:

Really, really, good!

Awabi(Abalone), as beautiful as the Awabi was, I wasn’t too impressed:

Though the yuzu zest added flavor, there was little else.

Shiitake Mushroom:

A medium sized charcoal brazier was brought out, and two pieces of Shiitake Mushrooms were grilled until soft. Nikiri was brushed on to the nigiri, and topped off the earthy flavor. I was rather surprised at how well the meaty texture of the mushroom worked as sushi.

Hotategai(Scallop), two large scallops were opened and cleaned. The meat was butterflied and the Hotategai Nigiri was topped with a brushing of Nikiri and Yuzu zest :

Soft, sweet, and a bit salty. The umami was going strong on this one!

Negi-Toro(Green onion and Toro roll). While preparing this, Hiro-san brought out a piece of Takuan(pickled Daikon Radish), and cut off a round slice. Placing the slice on the cutting block like a wheel, Hiro-san sliced a very long paper thin strip of pickle. The Takuan added a very mild hint of sour to the salty-onion flavor of the roll, as well as a crunchy texture.

Seared Toro, at first I thought, "what a waste", but this really tasted like beef.

An interesting nigiri.

At this point, I started wondering when palate fatigue was going to set in, but it never did. But I’m pretty sure reader fatigue will be setting in, if not already. So I’ll stop here. There’s still one more part to go, where we’ll cover the extras, and the last items of our dinner, including dessert and other things.

A few comments and questions that were emailed to me:

The Crab – Sorry, I dropped the ball on this one. I think the Kani Miso was made from Hairy Crab.

Organic – Yes, everything at Urasawa is organic.

How much did this cost? – Sorry you’ll have to wait until part 3 is done for this one.

Thanks for hanging in there….I hope this isn’t too much for everyone! Part 3 should be done tomorrow!

(Rail)Road Trip – Urasawa Beverly Hills(LA) Part 1

December 12, 2006 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Sushi and Sashimi

I truly have some reservations about posting on Urasawa, mainly because so much information is out there. From the three posts on Chowhound that originally got my attention. You can find them, here, here, and here. And of course the ever informative Gayot feature. All of which I devoured. Before making reservations in October, I found and read this post. And after returning from Urasawa is this fine post on MySpace. All of which provide so much detail and information, and are written by writers much more skilled than I. But I thought I'd give it a shot, and we'll see where it lands. There is a wealth of detailed information on those posts, so please read them.

So Urasawa, huh, where do I start? Well I'd been lobbying for a while to find someone to take the "leap" and pay a visit to Urasawa. And finally found a taker in Captain Jack. (The Missus wasn't sure if She could sit through a 3-4 hour meal, especially if She didn't enjoy it) Arriving at the glitzy corner of Rodeo Drive and Wilshire via cab, we had to make a quick call to find the elevator leading up to Urasawa, identified with this simple sign.(Sorry repeat photo):

Once upstairs we went down a snaking corridor…in the exact opposite direction of the restaurant! Finally back-tracking we found the modest entrance to a restaurant that I've been waiting to try for several years. And though here I was, I had pretty much compartmentalized all thoughts of Urasawa, so I felt somewhat detached. The Missus kept asking me if I was excited about my visit, and I said just a bit, but not much. Probably a personal defense mechanism to prevent disappointment should I not enjoy myself. When Captain Jack asked me the question, I gave him the same answer..His reply? "Dude, you know it's going to be great….just admit it"

As we walked in at about 6pm, the spartan though tasteful decor and the wonderful maple sushi bar that is sanded daily, attracted me….heck, who am I kidding, I went straight over to this:

Now that I was here, I could let excitement take over. Looking at the "food storage case" I now fully understood the definition of the term "food porn"! The size of the abalone alone drove me nuts, and the toro…let's not go there. There was the most beautifully marbled piece of meat lying on the back counter. Captain Jack and I automatically started plotting…

"Ok, Jack, you jump over the counter, grab the meat, and I'll get a running start…you toss me the meat, and I'll make the stairway!"
"One problem Kirk…"
"What's that?"
"Do you know where the stairway is?"
"Hmmm, that might be a problem"
"And furthermore, you got us lost when we first got off the elevator….."
"Party-pooper!"

And so it was back to reality for our intrepid, and hungry heroes. But oh, how nice reality was! We were seated front and center, just in front of the wooden "stage"(work area would not do it justice), so we could see in minute detail everything Urasawa did.

There was a kind of elegant simplicity to the set-up, everything organized in perfect detail; the squares are square, and circles are perfectly round. They say you can tell alot about the artist by his tools….

The wasabi(the real stuff), yuzu(Sudachi), yuzu grater and brush, and other implements were organized as if sitting for an oil painting.

We were provided Oshibori(hot towels), chopsticks were gracefully placed on holders, and we placed our beverage orders. And soon enough three bowls were carried out by Urasawa, and placed on his block, and rubbing His hands together, Urasawa said, "okay, let's get started."

He bowed slightly and introduced himself as "Hiro", and asked us our names and wrote them down. This was my first hint of how unique and personal this eating experience would be. Could you image Thomas Keller bowing to you and introducing himself as "Tom"? Or Charlie Trotter as "Chuck"? And even remembering your name during a 29+ course meal? At this point, Hiro-san asked us if there was anything we don't eat…..Jack and I couldn't help but laugh and said in unison, "we eat EVERYTHING!"

Enough rambling…let's get to the food. I'm going to break this post into 3 parts, because dinners at Urasawa are broken into 3 segments. First part is the quasi-Kaiseki portion of dishes, which I find quite appropriate since Urasawa is from Kyoto prefecture, well known for their Kaiseki restaurants. The second part is the Sushi portion. And third, I would call the finale, where Hiro-san asks if you would like more of anything, or have requests, and the tea and dessert service. This is quite a challenge for me; I decided not to take notes since I'd be taking photos, so everything is from memory, which isn't too hard, considering that I had a bit of experience with the cuisine, and the dishes were all quite memorable!

Our Kubota Manju Daiginjo($150/bottle) arrived, and was poured for us. I chose Kubota, because I received a bottle for Christmas last year, and found the smooth, mildly sweet qualities went well with anything I ate. So at least for my taste, I thought it would be an excellent sake for this meal. A quick side note; Daiginjo, or Junmai Daiginjo is a classification given to sake whose rice is polished to at least 50%. That means, that of every grain of rice used to create the sake, half of it is discarded. In the case of Kubota, a staggering two-thirds(67%) of the grain is milled! I also thought that Kubota had a nice flavor, there have been a few Daiginjo that I've tried that are almost too smooth……

We started with the dish created from those three bowls above:

A nice refreshing salad of chrysanthemum, shredded crab meat, and some thin slices of mizuna. The dish was quite refreshing, with the sweetness of the crab, and even the mizuna(!) standing out.

The very well known Goma Tofu filled with uni, in a mild dashi flavored "sauce", topped with wasabi, and gold leaf.

Wonderful combination of flavors, the tofu amazingly soft, yet able to hold form. The best way to eat this for me was to use the spoon provided, and break into the tofu(it felt almost like sacrilege, the tofu was so beautiful), and get a bit of the everything into each bite. The gold leaf doesn't matter, it has no taste or nutritional content.

The Uni, Crab, and Shrimp Chawan Mushi(Steamed Egg Custard) topped with Ikura(Salmon Roe):

The Chawan Mushi was perfect in texture, soft, custardy, with hints of sweetness provided by the uni. But for me it was the Ikura that shone. Most of the Ikura that I've had has been really salty and tough. These were like perfect, soft and tender bubbles of brine. I've been told that the freshest, cleanest salt water in the world exists several hundred miles off the South coast of the Big Island, deep in the ocean, the Ikura made me think of how clean and refreshing that water would taste. I mentioned this to Hiro-san, who told me that the Ikura had never been frozen or preserved in any way, and is the absolute freshest he could find, a recurring theme through the whole meal.

The signature Urasawa Sashimi placed on an ice sculpture. Funny story about this; Hiro-san saw my camera, and asked me if I did "internet", to which I replied, "yes, but not Chowhound". When this arrived I turned it, but Hiro-san instructed my Server to turn the plate a certain way. Which I guess was more photogenic, but obscured some of the fish.

The Toro was amazing; melt in your mouth soft. The Mirugai(Geoduck/Giant Clam) was absolutely the best I've had sweet, firm, and crunchy. In fact, I had to ask Hiro-san if it was mirugai! Hidden behind everything is "Red Snapper", I took a bite and immediately knew it wasn't the usual "Red Snapper"(Tai) I'd just eaten. The flesh was firm and almost translucent, and had just the slightest light resistance to each bite. So I asked Hiro-san if this was Ma-dai or Japanese Sea Bream, to which he responded with a small smile, "yes, wild, line caught Ma-dai from Akashi Strait". For those who say there's no difference between Tai and Ma-dai……..

The best I can describe this dish, is a sort of Kiku Dango(chrysanthemum dumpling), filled with shrimp paste, in a mild, sweet dashi broth laced with chrysanthemum.

The outside of the dumpling is solid and a few centimeters thick, and seems to be made with Kanten(agar), slightly sweet in flavor. The interior filling is a mild shrimp paste. Again, if one combines all items together, the textures are excellent, though overall this dish is very mild in flavor.

My favorite dish of the evening….the most luxurious Kani Miso, I've ever had!

No there's no Miso in the dish, Kani Miso is the brains, roe, and other innards of the crab mixed into paste. It is usually eaten in the shell, heated and a raw egg cracked on it. In this case there a dab of crab meat, and uni, making it the most amazing dish! Words cannot describe………

At this point Jack had to visit the facilities…..and we got the first hint of the most traditional service at Urasawa. Our Server, ran in front of Jack to open the sliding door for Jack. When Jack was returning from the restroom, the sound of the restroom door queued Her to Jack's return. She sprinted and arrived in time to open the door to an amazed Jack! same thing happened when the elevator arrived on the second floor, and the bell rang! You arrive back at your table, napkin folded, with a fresh oshibori.

Braised Kyushu Beef. Anyone familiar with Buta No Kakuni(Braised Pork) will understand the rich, slightly sweet-soy flavor.

Upon touch the meat almost melted, and yet retained enough chewiness. As Captain Jack said…'whoa, this is ultimate low and slow braising."

At this point Hiro-san seemed to conjure a lively lobster(Ise Ebi) out of thin air, and started working on it very quickly. It was probably the fastest I've ever seen anyone work with a lobster….in fact the tail meat was still quivering on the board.

A charcoal brazier with broth was placed in front of us.

And a plate of Foie Gras, the most marbled Kobe Beef I've ever seen, and Lobster Meat was placed before us.

Hiro-san asked us to let our Server do the first piece of Foie Gras for us, but both Captain Jack and I understood from the beginning how to proceed. Place the Foie Gras in the broth for the briefest amount of time (count to 3), place in the chilled dipping sauce(stops cooking) and eat. The exterior of the Foie Gras has seized a bit, and when you bite into it, there's the mildest of resistance…and BOOM! Foie Gras goodness, oh my! Same with the beef, we watched the family of four who came in later just cooking the beef to death……somehow it just made me sad. The lobster was really nothing new, I've had lobster sashimi several times, and still do not really enjoy it…flavorless, tough….I'd much rather have Ama-Ebi. After finishing the dish off by cleansing your palate by drinking the broth(watch the heat or you might burn your tongue and risk ruining your taste buds for the rest of your meal).

At this point a dish of Gari arrived:

Marking the approach of the Sushi portion of our meal. Our sake had run out and so we ordered another. This is as good a place to stop as any, I'll conclude with a few photos and some comments, and we'll do part 2 next, either tomorrow or Thursday.

A few comments:

Reservations – Urasawa is by reservation only, there is a maximum of ten customers, and a single sitting per evening. There is a 24 hour cancellation policy, you will be charge $100 if you cancel within 24 hours. I made my reservations in October, for December, there were only 6 customers the whole evening, so it doesn't look as if reservations are too difficult.

Timing – We'd advise early reservations, say around 6pm. It is a long multi-course meal, and starting early will give you a better "spacing". If you arrive later, Hiro-san will work hard to "catch up", but you won't be able to converse with him as much as we did.

Here's Hiro-san jamming the 3 meats for Shabu Shabu:

For customers who arrived at about 730.

Other "Stuff":

– The only water served is Evian, at $8 a bottle.

– For the first portion you will be provided with fresh spoons and other eating implements for courses that need more than chopsticks.

– Anything placed on the counter will be moved from the counter to you by the Server. It's really easy to get anxious……

Part 2 of this post can be found here.

Part 3 of this post can be found here.

Road Trip: Dezhou Pa Ji from 101 Noodle Express – Alhambra(LA)

December 7, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Two days ago, JosephE wrote a comment on our post on Mei Jia Deli with the idea of letting the Missus do Her own post. What a great idea! And I think we found the perfect subject – Dezhou Chicken from 101 Noodle Express. Fasten your seatbelts, here it comes………Heeeere’s the Missus!

Driving West on Valley Boulevard after lunch at Mei Jia, shaved ice in hand, I suddenly spotted the sign "Shan Dong Dezhou Pa Ji", which instantly brought back memories of growing up in QingDao, Shan Dong, China.

Back when I was a little kid, we were all pretty poor, according to America standards at least. But we didn’t know any better since everybody had the same things, which were not much. We were just little kids running around naive and happy. Head over heels about Andy Lau, The Shaolin Temple starring Jet Li, and stuff like that.

The refrigerator didn’t become a household item until about the mid 1990’s. Before that, we all needed to stop by the open-air market daily. Streets were blocked up for vendors to set up their stands, one next to another, running over several blocks. Most of what was sold was homegrown or homemade, and each vendor specialized in only one thing, either one type of vegetable, or fresh made tofu, or some kind of fruit. Bargaining is not only to be expected, it is required, beyond just a game, it is an art of its own. It is common for people to spend 5 minutes to bargain down an item saving just 5 cents and walk away with a bunch of green onions worth about 12 cents. Such a victory always brought great joy.

There are also livestock, mostly live chickens, cooped up in a pen, ready to be picked up. For a young man trying to "wow" a perspective girl’s family, nothing is better than arriving with a big, live rooster in hand, upside down bound up around the feet. It always brings a smile from the future in-law’s face. No wonder avian flu often started in Asia! Then again, I never got any food borne disease when I was growing up, no E-coli, no listeria, no hepatitis. I was as healthy as a country bumpkin should be, right along the "growth curve" which we didn’t have in China back then.

On the other hand, everything is always fresh. Fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh killed pork hanging upside down with a seal of approval of blue ink promptly displayed. The Butcher’s greasy apron, the vegetable sellers muddy hand identified the preferred vendors. Meals are prepared daily, my Grandmother would get up before everyone else to prepare breakfast, then lunch and dinner while working full time as a School Principle.

There were Government grocery stores, selling mostly soy sauce, vinegar, or oil, and other rationed items. One of my Aunt’s worked in one of those 7-11 sized stores. She always smelled like a marinade mixture of soy sauce and vinegar. When in season, there would be piles of tomatoes, napa cabbage, or blue crab running sideways along sidewalk all directions at the same time, in that situation, my Aunt would spend most of her time running after those crabs than really selling them. And nothing is more entertaining to a kid with not much toys ( I was not deprived as a child though, I have everything everyone else did if not more, we were considered pretty well to do in the neighborhood).

Well back to this Dezhou Chicken thing. I really don’t know where Dezhou is or why this chicken is so famous. The only thing I know is that it tasted so good, and I remember exactly where the little shop was that we usually got the chicken from. It was always a special treat, a once or twice a year type of thing. Chicken was rare and expensive back then.

OK, the little shop that sold this chicken was located at the beginning of the market which was right down the hill from where my Grandmother’s house was. Tucked behind the vegetable vendor, in a dark little room, the chicken was sold by this dark little man, after you ordered, he would bring out one of the dark little chickens soaked forever in the dark broth in a big iron pot behind him, and hand it to you. The chicken was small, not like the enhanced double D in the States, more like A and a half. The most delicious part are the legs. The bone will slide right off the meat. The meat is dark and full of 5 spice, soy sauce, sugar and wine flavors. The meat is not mushy and tasting like dead meat. It is firm and has a slight chew to it. A family of 10 usually will share one chicken and I often dreamt of having one all to myself. My own neck to knaw on.

Since I moved to States and I haven’t seen nor thought about this chicken for more than 15 years. Now you see how excited I was when I saw this sign.

My chance at last. A good husband as Kirk is, he made an immediate U-turn in the middle of the busy Valley Blvd ( not all that unusual in Alhambra). We had to buy a chicken and they’d better not run out of it, as it was all I was thinking about when I walked into the restaurant. It was a typical, actually a much cleaner eatery, than the norm in the San Gabriel Valley. I was so excited I started ordering in English and the Girl gave me a baffled look. I had to slow down and order in Chinese. It was $8.70 for half a chicken ( still not cheap), for a contorted, dead yogi style half chicken in a Styrofoam container. By the way, the contortion is part of the style. We Chinese know how to maximize space, like twisting the chicken into little balls or squeezing 1 billion people along the east side of a Country.

Back to this chicken, the color is much lighter, the chicken is bigger than a whole chicken was in China, and the taste, while pretty good was much lighter than I remembered. The flavor was not as condensed or as hearty. Still, it was very good. Kirk, on the other hand, didn’t think much of it and I don’t blame him. If I never had this kind of chicken, I probably come to the same conclusion.

In conclusion, I was disappointed in the chicken, but that didn’t dampen my spirit at all. I became wordy and giddy, called my Mom and I could tell she was brought back to those days in China as well. Maybe it is not the chicken I was looking for. Maybe it is something else, like the feeling of having nothing, but still desiring nothing, extremely content, always feeling like the richest kid on the block since I had everything I needed or knew to desire. No desire, therefore no disappointment.

Now go and find your Dezhou Chicken!

101 Noodle Express
1408 E. Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA

Road Trip: Mei Jia Deli – San Gabriel(LA)

December 5, 2006 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

*** Mei Jia Deli has since closed……

On this short road trip, we decided to do something different. Instead of making plans for meals (other than Komasa), we decided to just drive and walk around and see what caught our fancy. So, after sushi at Komasa and driving around, we parked our car on Valley just West of San Gabriel Boulevard, and got out to stretch our legs. Somehow, out of all of the restaurants(and there are hundreds of them), Mei Jia Deli caught the Missus’s eye. Actually the Chinese sign with Tianjin got the attention of the Missus. As we approached the restaurant, the Missus brightened, and kept repeating "oh, oh, Jian Bing Guo Zi, oh, oh Jian Bing Guo Zi". She literally sprinted into the restaurant and started up a conversation with the Waitress.

Unfortunately, Jian Bing Guo Zi was only sold between 8am and 2pm, but the Waitress, a very chatty lady said "it is better than what you get in Beijing", which practically made the Missus swoon. You see, the Missus has fond memories of getting up in the morning and running to the corner to buy hot Jian Bing Guo Zi while living in Beijing. I could just see the wave of nostalgia cresting…….As we walked back to the car, I could see a smile on the Missus’s face. Upon inquiry She told me, "I haven’t heard Beijing and Tianjin accents like that in years!" I swear that I could hear the Missus mumbling "Jian Bing Guo Zi" in Her sleep.

The next afternoon, after checking out the Dog Show we headed over to Mei Jia Deli, which was packed with a very loud, boisterous, and cantankerous group. It really doesn’t take much to fill tiny Mei Jia Deli, there are only 9 tables in the whole restaurant, and four of them had been placed together for a large group. We ended up with a small "spare" table, which usually sees duty as the condiment bar. You can see it in the photo from another visit, good old table number 7. If you’re expecting a bright, clean, and shiny restaurant…well this ain’t it! The floors looked like they haven’t been mopped in a while, the tables and the menus are a decidedly "San Gabriel sticky".

After looking over the menu, a portion of which is only in Chinese, the Missus starting ordering. When She ordered the Guo Ba(called "rice crust", but it doesn’t resemble rice crust in the least bit) the Waitress told Her not to order it. She basically did the "you no like that" thing, She did say the she was "from Beijing and she even hates the dish, and many Chinese customers end up ordering it, and not eating it." I think that She knew that the Missus wasn’t from Tianjin by her accent, and thought we, and especially me, the only non-Chinese in the restaurant would not enjoy the dish.

Of course we got the Jian Bing Guo Zi($2.99). The Missus had spoken on length about Jian Bing Guo Zi, about how the thin crepe/pancake batter is spread on a special iron, or sometimes the top of a barrel, and egg is cracked on top; it is important to note that you should see the separation of white and yolk. A sauce is then smeared on the egg covered batter, some Youtiao(fried cruller) is placed on the crepe, and it is folded up, not unlike a burrito of sorts.

I took a bite, and was totally unimpressed. I looked over to the Missus, who said, "this isn’t very good", the crepe had no taste, just a slight sour flavor, and was not soft and fluffy, the Youtiao was mushy, overall not very good. The bean sauce smeared on the Jian Bing Guo Zi just made it more soggy…….

The Gou Bu Li Bao Zi ("Stuffed buns that dogs are not interested in" – $5.00). I’m sure there’s a story behind the name.

We ordered the Pork, Egg, and Shrimp version, and while the filling was excellent, with large pieces of shrimp, and cloud ears fungus adding a nice crunch, the buns themselves were tough. I noticed that the buns had not been steamed correctly, heat had been allowed to escape making the dough tough and rubbery, not soft and fluffy. When I mentioned this to the Missus, She nodded in agreement, and asked, "How did you get to be so picky". To which I answered, "guess……" Having a Wife and Mother In Law from Shandong will make you that way.

Fennel and Pork Dumplings(actually Dill – $5.00 for 12):

We both thought these were excellent. The wrappers had just the perfect amount of pull and chewiness, probably the best I’ve had in a restaurant. The filling, while not having much meat, was perfect in quantity. I’ve had this type of dumpling before that had a large amount of filling, and the taste of dill just overpowered everything. In this case, the amount of filling was perfect for this type of Jiaozhi. Perfect with a splash of Black Vinegar.

Lamb in Brown Sauce with Sesame Cake($13.99), which is I think is the most expensive item on the menu:

This was brought out in the cast iron wok it was cooked in, the lamb flavor, though on the mild side was good, and the flavoring was just about perfect. Everything was in perfect balance, from the amount of cumin to the slight "heat", all ingredients worked in harmony. I was really jonesing for a bowl of rice…but we are talking about Northern Chinese Food here. Which brings me to the teeth shattering, dry, flavorless Sesame Cake, definitely not my cup of tea. For consolation, all the Missus could say was, "you should have this in China, it’s even harder and drier."

The waitress brought us 2 bowls of Xiao Mi Zhou(Millet Porridge – Free, if you want a BIG bowl it’s 50 cents). We had noticed that the two really loud women on the table next to us had only ordered about 6 bucks worth of food, but were helping themselves to the porridge. They would just stand up, brush past us, walk behind the counter to the pot and help themselves. When the Waitress brought them new bowls of porridge, they just poured off what was in the fresh bowl into their bowls, and dump the bowls on the counter. All told, each one of them had 4 bowls a piece, and that was only while we were there. They had been eating before we arrived, and were still eating when we left.

After taking a sip the Missus put Her spoon down, and never picked it back up. The porridge has a texture like runny-grits, and has no flavor at all. The Missus told me that this was a more refined version of Millet Porridge, most times the millet hasn’t been processed and there are hulls in the porridge. The version She grew up eating had more of a nutty flavor, probably because it hadn’t been processed as much as this.

Still, we had enjoyed our meal, and decided to go back the next morning. This time we lucked out, it was Sunday morning, and there were a few open spaces in the "parking lot from hell" that Mei Jia Deli shares with 3 other restaurants.

So having been seated, the Missus proceeded to order the Guo Ba Cai($2.50), and again the Waitress told Her not to order it. But this time the Missus stood firm, with the help of the 4 people on the next table who yelled out "let her have the Guo Ba Cai". They were eating Guo Ba Cai, and I’m sure the Waitress didn’t try and dissuade them from ordering it.

Looks interesting, doesn’t it? This concoction uses the crepe portion of the Jian Bing Guo Zi, cut into strips and mixed into a thick, brown, gooey gravy. The dish is topped with cilantro, chili paste, and fermented tofu. And it’s delici-yoso!!! The dish hits all of the sour-salty-spicy notes, and is very hearty. Caution, it is also quite salty, but we loved it, to the amusement of our Waitress.

More Dumplings (6 Chive and Pork, 6 Cabbage and Pork – $4.50):

The Missus asked for mixed dumplings, and they arrived steaming. The dumpling wrappers were excellent, just as those we had yesterday. This Jiaozhi fell far short in the filling department. The Pork and Chive dumplings were bland, with not enough chive, and tasteless pork. The same bland profile for the pork and cabbage dumplings as well.

Sesame Cake with Beef($2.50).

I thought that perhaps the presence of 5 spice beef would moisten the Sesame Cake, boy was I wrong. I almost lost several teeth. Still, can you believe breakfast for 10 bucks, in a restaurant?

We’ll most definitely return to Mei Jia Deli, there are a few more items we’d like to try. The place can be a bit intimidating, the people can be loud, abrasive, rude, and aggressive, and we’re talking about the customers! The Waitresses(there are two) are nice considering the circumstances. Most of the clientele have Tianjin or Beijing accents according to the Missus, and Mandarin is spoken exclusively. If you’re able to find an unoccupied space in the parking lot during most hours, give yourself a pat on the back, and go buy a lottery ticket!

Mei Jia Deli
534 East Valley Blvd. #8
San Gabriel, CA 91776