Alan Wong's (Honolulu) 7.27.14

After a short cab ride through the night to downtown Honolulu, we arrived at Alan Wong's, a restaurant situated on the third floor of an office building. Upon entering the elevator, pictures of the elegant offerings we might choose from adorned the walls and I could feel my excitement building for the final fine dining experience of our short stay in Hawaii.  I'm so glad that we saved Alan Wong's for our final night as it was a new and wonderful experience.

My husband had told the hostess when making the reservation that we were celebrating our 10 year anniversary so we were greeted with personalized menus that the restaurant staff had signed.  It definitely put an immediate smile on my face as I was gazing over the selections.

Chef Alan's Favorite Beer & Virgin Passion Fruit Mojito

We actually weren't planning to drink since we had a flight to catch the next morning, but my husband wanted to try Chef Alan's favorite beer, a Koshihikari Echigo “Lager” from Niigata, Japan, and there was a large selection of non-alcoholic cocktails & drinks so I went for the non-alcoholic passion fruit mojito, which was a really refreshing blend of passion fruit, lime, mint, watermelon and soda water.  Yum. 

Since it was our first time at Alan Wong's, we decided that my husband would break from his pescatarian ways (who are we really kidding, I actually decided this ;) ) and order "A Tasting of the Classics" menu while I would order a few dishes a la carte.  I eat more slowly than he does so I felt like my 3 dishes to his 5 would be fine, plus I figured that he had a "tasting" menu so he'd have plenty of room to help me with any leftovers I might have.  This second statement was, in fact, far from the truth.  Unlike most fine dining establishments where a tasting is a much smaller portion, Alan Wong's tasting menu is pretty substantial so for those of you checking it out, come on the hungrier side of fine dining...

By the way, before your first course arrives, you are served fresh warm house roles with a garlic aioli spread.  They are amazingly good, but be careful not to plow through too many or you won't have enough room for your actual meal.  

On to course 1: 

"Soup & Sandwich" & Chopped Ahi Sashimi & Avocado Salsa Stack

These were my husband's starters from the tasting menu.  The soup was a chilled Hamakua Springs tomato soup--a gazpacho--served with a parmesan crisp and a very fancy pig (foie gras & kalua pig) & goat dairy mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich.  The soup was a pleasant counterbalance to the richness of the sandwich and I really loved parmesan crisp.  The ahi sashimi was really fresh and the avocado salsa tasted like a pretty classic guacamole to me.  Again, it was a nice balance of richness with lightness & a nice textural contrast between the fish & avocado and the crunchy wonton base.  

 Richard Ha's Whole Tomato Salad

As soon as I saw this salad in my preview of the restaurant from the web page, I knew that I had to try it and it certainly didn't disappoint.  The blanched tomato is served on a bed of cucumbers with a Li Hing Mui Ume vinaigrette.  The tartness of the vinaigrette with the sweetness of the tomato and the crunch of the cucumber was AMAZING, one of my favorite dishes of the entire trip.  The dressing is like a haw-flake infused French dressing which I loved, but if you don't like French/Catalina dressings or haw flakes or if you're not into tomatoes (which are my favorite food in the world), I could see how this wouldn't be your thing.  It was completely up my alley though! 

Butter Poached Kona Cold Lobster with Keahole Abalone, Hamakua Heritage Enoki Mushrooms & Green Onion Oil 

Next on the tasting menu was the butter poached Kona cold lobster which was delicious.  Texturally the lobster was perfect--firm, not rubbery and the earthiness of the mushrooms was a really nice balance.  It's always entertaining to watch the bonito flakes dance atop any dish and there was a savory, earthy, overall sense to this dish. 

Kampachi Ceviche with Kaffir Lime & Chili Oil Granite

I'm a sucker for the kampachi/hamachi family of fish and of ceviche generally (I did marry a Peruvian) so when I saw this as the chef's special, I had to try it.  I have to say that this is the one dish of the night of which I wasn't a super fan.  It was extremely spicy with a lot of granite to very little fish.  The fish that was in the dish was perfect texturally, but it's natural flavor was drowned by the spiciness of the overall dish.  A little sad but definitely redeemed by my main course.

Oh sadness! The blurry picture! 

Ginger Crusted Onaga (red-tailed snapper) with miso-sesame vinaigrette, corn & mushrooms

I just tried a bite of this and, unfortunately for you, dear reader, there isn't much of a review to go with the poor picture :( It was a very well cooked piece of fish, but I don't remember much else about this.  When I asked my husband what he remembered, he replied, "yummy." (This is why I write the food blog.) He did say that the crumble on the top was savory, crunchy and tasty, but really I don't exactly know what that means.   However, since it was my anniversary, I guess not taking notes during the meal is to be expected...

Pan seared Opakapaka with shrimp-pork hash, truffle nage, gingered vegetables & tapioca pearls

This was my main course which I ordered because it was a classic dish, not really knowing what to expect.  What I got was absolutely amazing.  I am Chinese-American myself and this dish brought me back to some of the favorite Chinese dishes that I've eaten.  Generally, I prefer Japanese food to Chinese, particularly in the realm of fine dining, but this was a great change of pace.  It was like the tastiest steamed fish (I've never had a non-whole fish that was so tender) sans eyeball and on top was the shrimp-pork hash which reminded me of a very tasty shumai filling that complimented the fish nicely.  The truffle nage (or poaching broth) was also incredible--buttery and just a touch sweet.  I could have eaten that with rice as another meal (but I was pretty full at this point so I didn't actually eat much of the rice).  The vegetables were crunchy and while the ginger was present in the flavor, it wasn't overpowering.  A really excellent dish.  

Twice Cooked Short Rib, Soy Braised & Grilled "Kalbi" Style with Gingered Shrimp

I didn't try the shrimp on this dish, but the short rib was fantastic, both day of and as leftovers the day after.  Because of the double cooking, the meat was very tender.  If you are rewarming the day after (because your eyes were bigger than your stomach like ours were!), I'd recommend putting the short rib in a shallow bowl with a damp paper towel lightly draped over the edges to give it a little more moisture so that it retains the first day tenderness. 

Although we really didn't have room for dessert, the tasting menu came with a dessert: 

"The Coconut"

The coconut is a haupia (traditionally a Hawaiian coconut-milk based pudding) sorbet in a chocolate toasted coconut shell with yellow passionfruit (lilikoi) sauce and fresh fruit. This dessert was like the island on a plate.  It was so refreshing and simple, a delightful finish to the dinner.  While I was super full going into dessert, I couldn't help but eating more that I should have of the coconut because it was just so tasty. It wasn't quite as good as the Cherry Tobanyaki from Nobu, but it was definitely an excellent dessert. 

Chocolate Cheesecake Anniversary Dessert

We ended up taking most of this dessert home, but it was such a sweet (pun intended) gesture to include not only the signed menu, but also this beautiful plate at the end of our meal to celebrate our anniversary.  And before our check, there was a small plate of brittle coated macadamia nuts which we also ate the next day.  It was such a memorable evening and a memorable dinner.  

I honestly can't wait to return to Hawaii--the aloha spirit of the state was captivating--and the food was incredible.  When we're near an Alan Wong's, we'll be sure to make reservations for another fantastic meal.  If you only have time and/or budget for one fine dining meal on the island, my choice would have to be Alan Wong's--it is truly a Hawaiian experience worth having.  

Morimoto (Waikiki) 7.26.14

Another morning at home, thinking about how just 4 short days ago at this time, I was at Morimoto Waikiki having lunch.  I have to start this review by saying that I have a total fangirl crush on Masaharu Morimoto and have probably watched every Iron Chef (original & America) that he's on.  I love the concept of his food and that he just seems like a nice guy.  The first time I ate at a Morimoto restaurant was shortly after the opening of Morimoto Napa for my 6th wedding anniversary.  As the restaurant had just opened, Chef Morimoto himself was cooking there and signed my Morimoto cookbook. The omakase that night was truly one of the best meals that I had.  We had been back to the Napa locations a few times after that, when we lived in the Bay Area, and it just was never quite the same, but the last time we were there, I had a chirashi bowl for lunch and thought I had died and gone to heaven (the sushi rice is AMAZING) so we decided to try the Waikiki location for lunch.

Morimoto Soba Ale

So, it was a longish (1.2 mile) walk to Morimoto from our hotel and when we got there, we needed some liquid refreshment.  Morimoto is a little hidden in The Modern Honolulu hotel (it's across the street from Red Lobster), but we found it alright and were quickly seated.  The lunch crowd was pretty sparse, but there were two wedding parties and a larger birthday party there so plenty to keep them busy.  My husband ordered a Morimoto Soba Ale (he had tried it before at the Napa location so he knew he'd enjoy it).  Morimoto has a partnership with Rogue Ales to produce three speciality beers, the soba ale, an imperial pilsner, and a black obi soba.  I ordered an iced tea.  Pro-tip on the iced tea.  It was $7.  And it was not a fancy iced tea.  I understand that I was at a fine dining establishment, but $7 for non-specialty iced tea?!?!

Then, it was time for lunch.  

[Side note: Because we've had a lot of the specialities, we didn't end up ordering any of the appetizers, but I have to say that if you're at a Morimoto and haven't had a tartare (toro or hamachi), you really have to try one.  The tartares are amazing and super beautiful, pricy but worth it.]

Okay, on to our meal.  My husband, in his pescatarian ways, ordered the chirashi bowl: 

For those of you not particularly familiar with Japanese food, chirashi is assorted raw fish on a bed of sushi rice and Morimoto's is definitely one of the best.  I love that the chirashi bowl used a lot of local fish and the rice was the amazing slightly sweet, sticky goodness that I remember. If you're a a fan of raw fish or chirashi in general, it's completely worth the trek to any Morimoto for a chirashi bowl. 

"Loco Moto" Lunch Set

I decided to do the loco moto lunch set, which is Morimoto's take on loco moco, a Hawaiian classic dish.  Morimoto subs wagyu beef for the usual hamburger meat and uses an organic local egg with hayashi gravy (stewed onions & beef).  It was savory deliciousness, but really, really filling and pretty heavy for lunch on a warm day.  The rest of the set was also nice.  The miso soup had freshly cut silken tofu, the sushi was (as to be expected) fresh, and I loved the kabosu dressing on the mixed green salad which was a light counterbalance to the richness of the loco moco.  

Overall, I was pleased with our meal, but it wasn't my favorite on the island.  Morimoto still is my favorite celebrity chef though and I have a hard time imagining that changing any time soon. 

Nobu (Waikiki) 7.25.14

Just returned from a weekend in Waikiki for my 10th anniversary where we got to take advantage of the shopping, the beach, the hiking, and, of course, the food.  This will be the first in a series of fine dining blogs & then I'll probably end up doing a shorter, combined post on cheaper eats.

We started our anniversary weekend with dinner at Nobu, Waikiki.  The Nobu fine dining chain is one of my favorites in the world, so it seemed appropriate to start there. We got there in time for happy hour and started at the bar, where signature drinks were $8.  This is the Matushisa Martini:

Premium Hokusetsu Sake & Ketel One Vodka garnished with cucumbers

I don't drink much, but I took a sip of this cocktail just for good measure.  It was too boozy for me, but there are plenty of other signature cocktails that are sweeter and all of them are $8 at Happy Hour.  I actually had the Signature Shiso tea which was AMAZING (if you're a huge tea lover like I am).  It was a white peony tea with shiso, really subtle in its flavor and perfect for the post-flight headache that I walked in with.  

We decided that we wanted to focus on the local fish of the islands.  We've been to a couple other Nobu locations (Los Angeles & Las Vegas Hard Rock) so we thought we'd try dishes & specials that might be more unique to the Waikiki location, unfortunately, this means that I didn't catch all of the names of the fish that we ate, not being very well versed in Hawaiian fish names :( 

Whitefish Sashimi with Dried Miso

The whitefish sashimi with dried miso is one of our favorite Nobu dishes and the Nobu Waikiki version uses a local whitefish which is slightly firmer than the whitefish normally used at the other locations.  I love this dish because the citrus of the yuzu with the savory of the dried miso, and contrasting textures of the garlic chip & whitefish make a perfect combination in your mouth, with just a hint of onion from the chive.  So delicious! 

Bigeye Ahi Poke NOBU Style

Our next dish was the bigeye ahi poke Nobu style which was pretty much all local, from the island.  The bigeye tuna was locally caught and the seaweed & heart of palm garnish were also harvested from the island.  I had this seaweed several times during our stay on the island and I loved it.  It provided a nice textural crunch and saltiness without being very briny.  This wasn't my favorite dish, but my husband loved it (which is perfect because then we didn't fight over it ;) ) .  It was too earthy and savory and I'm not a huge heart of palm fan, but if you are, it's a great dish to try. 

Tempura Monchong with nori, jalapeño, cilantro, & red onion on a light ponzu tempura sauce

I don't think I've ever had Monchong before, but this was delicious.  The tempura batter was perfect, the sauce was light and it was really balanced on the palate.  I really enjoyed the hot crispy tempura with the freshness of the cilantro & onion and a bit of sweetness with the ponzu sauce.  

New Style Salmon Sashimi

New style salmon sashimi is my go-to dish at every Nobu.  I love it so much.  The salmon melts in your mouth and blends perfectly with the soy, sesame, hint of chili oil and chives. I loved the roasted tomato on the plate--the skin was crisp and it was delicious.  This is probably not my favorite rendition of this dish (I like it better at the Las Vegas Hard Rock location), but it was still definitely a winner. 

Finally, what took the cake (literally) was dessert: 

Drunken Cherry Tobanyaki

I think this is the best dessert I've ever had in my life. Zaya rum-soaked cherries, mochi sponge cake, macadamia nut brittle, warm spiced caramel and amaretto ice cream.  This was seriously AMAZING--as in, I am actually salivating writing this blog right now in remembering the taste of this dessert amazing.  The brittle with the amaretto ice cream & caramel were seriously magical.  I liked that the cherries weren't overly tart or sweet, but really balanced and the sponge cake was a really nice texture.  I seriously would eat this a million times.  In fact, I wish I was eating it right now.  

Well, that's a fitting note to end this blog on--as I look longingly for some poor substitute for some dessert around the house.  But, stay tuned for more culinary adventures from the Hawaii trip soon on the blog.

Georgia's Restaurant (Anaheim) 7.23.14

Just got home from lunch at Georgia's Restaurant in the Anaheim Packing House.  I have been waiting for Georgia's to open because I love soul food. And, I have to start by saying that it is my new favorite spot in the Packing House.  The service is incredible (possibly even over-attentive, but better more than less), the food is delicious and, of course, I love the Packing House as a spot.

After ordering, the server asked if we were dining with them or taking food out.  When you dine in Georgia's space, they bring out cornbread biscuits before your entrees arrive:

Cornbread biscuits--A nice start to the meal :) 

My friend ordered the pulled-pork sandwich with fries.  She's not a cole slaw fan so she took that off (I tried it and it was a little bland on its own).  The pork, however was fantastic--tender with plenty of sauce but not overly saucy.  Their barbecue sauce is on the sweet side (which I love but I know some people are not as into).  She thought the bun that the pork was served on was the best part of the meal. 

Pulled Pork Po-Boy with Fries

I ordered the tri-tip with collard greens and baked beans.  The tri-tip was medium/ medium-well with just a hint of pink.  That's a little more well-done than I usually eat it, but it was still tender and delicious.  I asked for a side of BBQ sauce which was delicious.  The sweet BBQ sauce was a really nice balance for the greens and the baked beans, but of which had a slight kick.  The baked beans had a really nice balance between sweet and spicy and were definitely homemade.  And, I'm a sucker for good collard greens. I also had a sweet tea which was good--not overly sweet or artificial tasting--and very refreshing.  

Tri-tip, baked beans & collard greens

A note on the service, the owner, Gretchen, was so nice.  She came by every table and had a really nice conversation with us.  Everyone who works at Georgia's is super friendly; we were checked on numerous times.  The service was prompt and the food came out quickly.  Seriously, my new favorite place at the Packing House.  I wish Georgia's lots of success and will be back again soon. 

Cha for Tea (Long Beach) 7.22.14

Yesterday, I had a work meeting and since I've decided this week is a "stay-cation --> vacation" week, we met across the street from campus instead of on campus, at Cha for Tea  in Long Beach.  Cha for Tea is a local chain tea shop that serves boba milk tea (and other teas) as well as a small menu of appetizers, entrees & noodle soups.

My two favorite things here are the crispy chicken and the fried dumplings (yeah, yeah, the reducing the gluten consumption is not going so well here), both of which are often being handed out during lunchtime as a sample by a gracious employee seeking to capitalize on passing food traffic.  Yesterday, I had the green tea salad with fried dumplings:

Green tea salad with fried dumplings

The salad was fine. I liked the dressing (green tea sesame ginger) a lot--it's a thicker vinaigrette that goes well with the greens and I'm really glad that they use a spring mix instead of the romaine or leaf lettuce that's pictured on the menu. The crispy dumplings were their normal awesomeness with crispy hot goodness and lots of meat (ground chicken). All in all, it was a fine meal.  Would I go out of my way to come eat here regularly? Probably not, but it's very convenient to campus and the salad made for a much prettier picture than the dumplings on a plate by themselves so yes, a fine lunch, but nothing to necessarily write home about. 

I also ordered the almond milk black tea which is there biggest seller and is usually one of my favorite drinks of all time: 

Almond milk black tea

For some reason, yesterday, either my tastebuds were slightly off or the milk tea itself just wasn't as good as usual.  This is actually great news because, seriously, I need to stop paying over $4 for tea. Maybe it was just the fact that I didn't get a cool heart bendy straw to cap off my experience.  Whatever it was, I will probably go back and have another milk tea at some point, but maybe I'll ask for a little less sweetness as yesterday just seemed too sweet and not almond creamy enough.  I probably should have just asked for an adjustment, but I have a martyr complex so I thought I'd just suffer through it. 

Overall, I like Cha for Tea, but I'm not crazy about it. It's conveniently located, but unless I need somewhere to meet someone, I'm more likely to make some tea in my office or go to Thiptara for lunch where I pay the same price but feel happier about the quality to value ratio.  

Daikokuya Ramen & Ozero Tea & Desserts (Little Tokyo) 7.21.14

So, my friend and I had been planning to get together for awhile to check out the Japanese American National Museum's current exhibition Perseverance.  We finally found a day that we could get together for a museum & lunch date, but, I failed to notice, when I visited the website yesterday that JANM is closed on Mondays. Super sad panda....but hey, there's always lunch to be had, and in Little Tokyo, good eats are never far, so we decided to head over for an early lunch to Daikokuya.

            

(Random street shots of Little Tokyo in LA, because I'm never down here and well, there are beautiful things besides food.)

Daikokuya is an LA-area Ramen chain that was been ranked in Yelp's Top 10 Restaurants in 2011 and is pretty much super busy all the time.  Luckily, we were there early enough to get a seat at the bar without a wait and we quickly ordered two bowls of the Daikoku ramen, which is a pretty standard tonkatsu broth based ramen with chasu (pork), egg, ramen noodles, bean sprout, and green onions:

This was the pristine picture before stirring in the green onions, but you can't really see the goodness of the ingredients, hence...

The less composed picture with the ramen noodles, pork & egg.  Sorry for the shadow in the corner. I probably should have taken more time to compose the shot, but I was hungry. 

So, this is probably the best ramen I've had since returning from Tokyo.  I don't eat ramen THAT often so that's not saying a whole lot, but it was delicious. The broth was savory and delicious, the noodles were just the right texture of firm, the meat was super tender and the egg--OMG, the EGG.  I am not generally an egg fan, but that egg was seriously one of the best things I've eaten in awhile and really made the dish.  My friend thinks that it must have been marinated in something to infuse it with the flavor it had and it was a lovely medium boiled texture so it was cooked all the way through (not runny), but the yolk wasn't firm like a hard-boiled egg tends to be.  It was super good and pretty darn filling.  

Cool Art on the Wall of Ozero

Before getting back in the car for our ride back to her place, we stopped off at Ozero Tea & Desserts where I had a mango jasmine iced tea and my friend had a brown sugar milk tea with boba. 

Mange Jasmine Iced Tea & Brown Sugar Milk Tea w/ Boba

I'm really glad there's not an Ozero around the corner from my house because the mango jasmine tea was pretty addictive--just the right amount of sweet mango syrup blended with a lovely jasmine tea.  When I say, "just the right amount," I mean that the mango didn't over power the taste of the jasmine blossom in the tea which made it really balanced.  I am a stickler for well-made iced tea (a lot of places really overbrew their tea) so this was a nice post-meal treat. 

So, lesson learned--check the hours when going to visit a museum and make sure they're not closed on the day you plan to visit...or don't and have a great meal anyways.  

Wang Cho Korean BBQ (Chino Hills) 7.20.14

Another day, more beautiful eating.

Today's culinary adventure was All You Can Eat Korean BBQ restaurant Wang Cho in Chino Hills.  Wang Cho has 4 menus to choose from according to their website, but if you go on Sunday for lunch, the lunch menu isn't available.  All of our selections were instead from the Wang Cho Prince menu ($19.99 per person; $9.99 for children 3-8; Free under 3--2 hour table time limit).  Let me just preface this entry by saying that I rarely go to AYCE places because I just don't eat enough to make it "worth" the trip (the notable exception to this is Las Vegas where I crab & prime rib buffets to death), but we were meeting some friends for lunch and it had been awhile since I had eaten Korean BBQ, so why not? (Note: It is almost 7 hours since we ate and I am still full--serious meat coma)

One of the things I love about Korean food in general is banchan.  Banchan are the assorted side dishes that come with Korean meals.  Here are some pics of Wang Cho's selection of refillable banchan:

Side 1: Pickled daikon, rice paper, glass noodles, more rice paper and kimchee

Side 2: Lightly dressed green salad, bean sprouts, bean curd strips, potato salad

The banchan were fine.  We went through a lot of rice paper and some pickled daikon.  The kids (a 2-year old & 8 year-old) liked the noodles.  I've definitely seen a larger and more diverse selection of banchan, but theirs were fine, flavorful and waiting for us at our table when we were seated (which is always good when eating with young people). 

We ordered: marinated boneless beef (x2), pork belly, spicy marinated pork, squid (x2), veggies, California Roll (for my son mostly), spicy tofu stew, and angus brisket. It was nice that there were a few things on the menu for my mostly pescatarian husband and I really liked the meat.  The yelp reviews said that the plates would be pretty small, but I actually found the portion sizes to be fine (like I said, I'm not your typical AYCE consumer though), particularly because I didn't want to be charged $5/person for food waste (excessive left-overs).  The service was pretty attentive and the grill was changed regularly.  Our grill did leak sauce from the bottom, which was weird, but avoidable with a strategically placed napkin under the table.  

Anyways, here's the food:

Grilling onions, spicy pork, and marinated boneless beef

Piles and piles of cooked meat (spicy pork, brisket pictured)

If you like AYCE Korean BBQ and live in the Inland Empire, I'd recommend trying Wang Cho and saving the drive further inland to Rowland Heights, Garden Grove or K-Town. It's clean, the meat is well marinated and generally pretty tender.  Their Prince menu (which is the low-end option) still has 24 dishes and is a meat-eaters delight.  While I'll probably end up staying closer to home for Korean BBQ, it was a nice trek to suburbia for a delicious Sunday of eating. 

Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen (Corona) 7.18.14

Last night, my 8-year old son went to a friend's birthday party in Corona, giving my husband and I a chance to have an actual date, like real grown-ups on a Friday night.  Since we're never out in Corona, we used yelp to figure out where to go and the number 1 recommendation for restaurants in the area turned out to be Luna Modern Mexican Kitchen.

Luna is in back of a strip mall/ industrial park, next to a Marriott Residence Inn.  It was pretty busy at 8pm when we got there, but we were seated after just a few minute wait, allowing us time to check out the wall of tequila behind the hostess stand:

My husband said this wouldn't photograph well and he's kinda right, but it's much more visually striking in person, especially if you're a tequila aficionado.

Since we were actually posing as real life adults, we even had a cocktail.  I know. Walking on the wild side: 

Coco-Piña: Some blend of coconut, pineapple, tequila deliciousness

(BTW, for those of you in the area or on your way to Vegas, it's just off the freeway AND they have a M-F 2-7pm Happy Hour so you can get started on Vegas early...but only if you're not DRIVING right after. Don't drink and drive.  That's dangerous.)

Okay, on to the food.  There's a nice basket of chips and salsa served prior to the meal which I didn't capture on photo because, well, chips and salsa look like chips and salsa.  It was delicious, but not anything super special. 

Pipian de Puerco: "Slow roasted pork loin cooked in a medium spicy blend of chiles, serrano-cilantro chimichuri sauce, grilled vegetables and fried plantain arroz blanco"

So, when the dish came to the table, this was not at all what I expected it to look like.  It also had a faint aroma of barbecue sauce, but to my surprise and delight, it was very tasty.  The pork was cooked perfectly and the serrano-cilantro (green) chimichuri sauce was delicious with bright notes of spice.  Just a note--all of their food is on the sweet side, so if you're not a sweet-savory fan, it's probably not the best place for you.  I was not a fan of the rice.  Definitely the least beautiful part of the dish in terms of both presentation and taste, but yum overall on the dish. 

Pepita Crusted Tilapia: "Fresh water tilapia, fried plantain arroz blanco, fresh vegetables, red curry mango sauce" 

So, again the tilapia was really well cooked, but this dish was also on the sweet side.  The lemon helped to balance the dish, but it was sweet overall.  The veggies were roasted (as on the pork dish) and my husband was big fan of the roasted veggies (I thought they were okay, but I prefer my roasted root veggies to have a little more crispness on the outside--they were a little soggy for me). 

In re-reading this review, it seems fairly critical, but I actually really liked the vibe and liked the food and drink enough that I'd definitely come back if I were in the area.  I probably wouldn't brave the 91 East on a Friday night to come back but enough yum for a second visit for sure. 

Black Sheep Grilled Cheese Bar & Hans' Homemade Ice Cream (Anaheim) 7.17.14

My friend, Hong, came down to visit from the Bay Area so we decided to grab a bite at the Packing House.  It had been a couple weeks since I had been and last time, my friends had gotten delicious looking grilled cheese sandwiches from the Black Sheep Grilled Cheese Bar so we decided to check it out this time.

Yes, there's an actual black sheep on the counter. 

Black Sheep is "a division of the Cellar" which is a local cheese focused collective.  If you want just a regular grilled cheese, you can check out the "Classic," but their simple menu allows for some branching out from the traditional cheddar & swiss as well: 

Menu of Gluten-Dairy goodness

Oh yeah, I suppose I should mention that generally I'm not a big gluten-dairy indulger, but well, go big or go home in this case.  Let's get to the food. 

"The Man" Salami (lots of it) & Cheese on Sourdough

I tried a bite of "The Man" and it was salty goodness, especially if you like a lot of salami to your cheese.  My friend, who likes things on the spicy side, said she could have used some jalapeño to give it some kick, but if simple, meaty sandwiches are your thing, it's a good choice.  Our server at the counter recommended pairing with Coke (in a glass bottle because it's fancy), an indication that this was the traditional side of the menu. 

#1: Cypress Grove fromage blanc, caramelized onions, roasted tomatoes, arugula pesto

This was my sandwich and it was AMAZING! It was honestly the best grilled cheese I've probably ever had AND I'm not even a fan of goat cheese.  (When I looked at the menu, I hadn't realized that Cypress Grove specialized in chèvre so I wasn't expecting a goat milk cheese, but that's what I got so I decided to go with it)  The fromage blanc is mild and flavors blend together well on the marble bread.  Seriously, as soon as I got home and despite my fullness, I wanted to run down the street and get another one.  It's that good. 

Since I had decided it was gluten and dairy night, it was time to head over to Hans' Homemade Ice Cream where I sampled several flavors: Cookies & Cream, Mocha Almond Fudge, Honey Vanilla and Wild Mountain Blackberry: 

I settled on a waffle cone single scoop split between the Honey Vanilla and the Wild Mountain Blackberry: 

Pro-tip: At Hans' you can split a single scoop between two flavors (the honey vanilla's at the bottom of this cone--and yes, that's the size of a single scoop! They're really generous with the scoops)

Definitely an indulgent Americana night with a hipster twist!  I'm sure I'll be back at both of these places again soon.  Maybe I will see you there! (Hint, hint, friends--come visit me!) 

Orange Roll and Sushi (Anaheim) 7.16.14

Yesterday's meals weren't particularly photo-worthy, nor was tonight's dinner, but I did have lunch at one of my favorite places, Orange Roll and Sushi. I love it because it's close to my house, the rolls are HUGE, and it's pretty reasonably prices for sushi.  I have many ambitions in life, but one of them is to be the yelp duchess at this place since I am certain that I eat here more than anyone.  I just sometimes forget to check-in.  Anyways, I'm sure this will be the first of many posts about Orange Roll and Sushi and this post itself is a bit of a compilation of my last few trips here.

Today's lunch:

OC Roll: Inside--spicy tuna, tempura shrimp, avocado, with salmon & lemon on the outside 

(one of my faves)

Other delicious photos from previous visits

Lunch last week with my husband: 

Left: Sunset Roll--Inside--Shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado; Outside--Tuna

Right: Autumn Roll--Inside--Spicy tuna, cilantro, avocado; Outside--Peppered Salmon & Albacore

Some other, fairly recent time: 

Top: Euclid roll: Inside--Spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado, cilantro; Outside--Yellowtail, jalapeño

Bottom: Salmon Nigiri

Just a note for non-spicy-tuna lovers, they have plenty of rolls without spicy tuna on the inside.  I like the Orange Roll (salmon inside & outside) personally, but if you love the California Roll based rolls, make sure to check out the list of Chef Special Rolls on the linked page from the menu.  If you just look at the photographs of the Chef Special Rolls, you'll mainly see the spicy-tuna based rolls. There are also plenty of cooked dishes for non-sushi lovers, but the sushi is just SO PRETTY and I love sushi so that's what's featured in today's post. 

Thiptara Thai (Long Beach) & Thuyen Vien (Anaheim) Restaurants 7.14.14

Monday was a good eating day.  Had a lovely lunch at Thiptara Thai in Long Beach...

(Pork with Spicy Eggplant, Jasmine Rice & Salad Lunch Combination) 

....Then followed it up with a great dinner at Thuyen Vien Restaurant in Anaheim.  Thuyen Vien is a Vegetarian/Vegan Vietnamese restaurant that we decided to try for my husband's birthday.  Here was our beautiful meal:

Banana Flower "Tacos" --Fresh and light, but probably not my favorite part of the meal

Eggrolls--Fried to crispy deliciousness, wrapped with mint & lettuce & dipped in veggie "fish" sauce OMG. YUM. 

"Pork" Bun: Vietnamese Vermicelli with Soy Pork and lots of veggies (and some apple slivers) hidden beneath the copious rice noodles 

Buddha's Feast: Tofu, Veggie Shrimp, lots of Veggies & Cilantro