ILikeToEatAndDrink » restaurants

On the Pho-trol – Golden Deli Vietnamese Restaurant

Canela — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 02:52:38 +0000

It’s soggy, it’s gray and feels too much like gloomy San Francisco for this thin blooded LA girl so you know what that means….. That’s right, it’s Pho time! Time for Sis and I to hightail it over SGV way for some liquid sunshine. Where you ask? Mission Dr. and Las Tunas Dr. THE AXIS OF GOODNESS of course; Golden Deli Vietnamese Restaurant to be exact.

First thing you notice when you walk into Golden Deli Vietnamese Restaurant is how comfortable, inviting and warm the wood panel and mirrored interior is. We likes, this is definitely part of it’s charm and I’m sure one reason there’s always a line during peak hours. Sis and I however are super stealth detectives and always make it a habit to arrive fashionably early (11:40). Who needs the lines?

The Pho? Perfection, that’s all I can say about it. Perfectly aromatic broth with tender rare beef, chewy noodles and all the fixings!! This is now my favorite spot for Pho. They have got it down. The service was also quite good and bilingual. Next time we go I’m going to try the Bun and they even have Bahn Mi. Oh Heaven…..

Fresh Lime Soda – tasty but beware lot’s of sugar

Egg Rolls with Vegetables – use the lettuce like a tortilla, sprinkle with herbs then dip in sauce MMMMM!

Most Magical Rare Beef Pho

Aromatic Herbs and Sprouts to add to your Pho

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On the Pho-trol – Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa

Canela — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 01:05:05 +0000

To quote my boyfriend Anthony Bourdain, “a good bowl of Pho will always make me happy, take me to that special place where everything is beautiful and nothing hurts”. Yes people Pho’s comforting lure has inspired Sis and I to take a dumpling break and survey that magical valley known as San Gabriel in search of our own soupy nirvana. We are now officially on a serious Pho-Trol and as any good Pho detective will do I immediately turn to my (usually) trusted Yelp reviews in search of 4 or more star goodness.

First up Nem Nuong Khanh Hoa in Alhambra. Located in a nondescript SGV mini-mall, this small formica tabled fluorescently lit dive is typical of the area. Sis and I walk in and immediately feel conspicuously non-asian; a good sign. Another good sign was the heavenly aroma of Vietnamese broth coming out of the kitchen. Both of us being purists we order the Rare Beef Pho and add a side of Pork and Shrimp spring rolls. How was it? The broth was beautifully fragrant with plenty of Star Anise which I happen to love. With great chewy rice noodles and lovely fresh rare beef this added up to a praise worthy bowl. The surprise of the meal was the pork and shrimp spring rolls. The rolls were made with fried shrimp which was a new yummy twist for me and the sauce was surprisingly delicate; not too sweet. We’ll be back.

More info- What makes a good Pho?

Beautiful Rare Beef Pho

Pork and Shrimp Spring Roll

Inside Pork and Shrimp Spring Roll

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Dump Day! – Din Tai Fung the gold standard

Canela — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 23:04:19 +0000

Okay, I give. I wasn’t going to write this one figuring they really didn’t need any further promotion from me. But, there is no denying that Din Tai Fung is truly deserving of all the hype. After a year of leaving no dumpling house unturned, Sis and I have both decided that when it comes to Xiao Long Bao (aka XLB or Soup Dumplings) nobody can touch them. The thin skin, the meaty filling, the fragrant soup all perfectly assembled in a beautiful symphony of flavor that literally explodes in your mouth. Din Tai Fung’s other offerings also do not disappoint. DTF uses fresh, clean, quality ingredients and you can taste the difference in everything they make. One tip – Go early! This place fills up with eager regulars waiting to get their fix.

The Heavenly Xiao Long Bao

How to Eat XLB’s part 1

Create your dipping sauce with fresh ginger, soy, vinegar and chili sauce as you like.

Dip dumpling in sauce transfer to soup spoon top with ginger.

How to Eat XLB’s part 2

While dumpling is on spoon carefully bite a hole in the top to let hot soup out.

Wait a second to cool and pop that beauty into your mouth.

Excellent Hot and Sour Soup not too starchy with good sour balance

Fresh Crunchy Garlic Green Beans

Chicken Fried Noodles – a little light on seasoning but nothing a bit of soy can’t fix

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I’ll Have The Usual – Gingergrass Restaurant

Canela — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:49:56 +0000

The family and I of course have our favorite neighborhood restaurants and once we’ve each found our favorite dish we seldom stray from it. Here’s “the usual” we get when we visit Gingergrass restaurant in Silverlake usually on a weekend around noon….

My Usual- Wok Tossed Chicken Lunch Special with Iced Green Tea

Daughter and the Mr.’s Usual- Gingergrass Tofu Lunch Special with Vietnamese Iced Coffee (decaf for the young one)

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Dump Day! – Dumpling House Restaurant (Temple City)

Canela — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:43:21 +0000

Next on the Sister’s tour of San Gabriel Valley is… Dumpling House Restaurant (Temple City) (nice website). Dumpling House Restaurant serves authentic northern style Corten Chinese food. Northern style Chinese cuisine is known for its noodles and dumplings. This is because the cold climate of the north is much more suitable for wheat while rice flourishes in the warm southern climate.

Wow, we loved the big comfortable room and the large menu selection. We were excited to find a place we could bring the dumpling-phobic members of our family; there’s something for everyone here. But the big bonus was… BEER AND WINE! (Next girls night out, yeah)

The food? Great. I can comfortably recommend this spot. We’ll definitely be back and try some more of the non-dumpling options. UPDATE – On our second visit with the kids we must say we were a bit disappointed overall the food seemed a bit greasy so I must amend this by say it can be spotty.

Garlic Vinegar Cucumber Salad- fresh, light, good starter

Kim Chi- solid

Fried Pork Dumpling- OMG! Excellent.

Boiled Fish Dumpling- very good but no one holds a candle to our beloved Kingburgs.

Green Onion Pancake- Soo good I forgot to snap it before we dove in. I think this is my favorite GOP; crispy, flakey, chewy!

Mandarin Style Beef Chow Mein- Lovely; not oily or over sauced, great balance of light and hearty. This made me want to try some of their other options. Can’t wait to bring my noodle obsessed daughter.

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Dump Day! – Mama’s Lu

Canela — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:33:36 +0000

Next on our weekly Wednesday tour of luscious San Gabriel Valley’s dumpling joints (aka Dump Day) is Mama’s Lu. Sis and I immediately appreciated the clean and relatively spacious room. Also, the clear easy to read menu was a plus; no translator needed. Overall comfortable and inviting.

We enjoyed the appropriately named Mama’s Lu; it’s like a homier version of Din Tai Fung. Everything was very good, solid but not knock your socks off. To be fair the competition is fierce in these parts and we have now become quite jaded. Highlights were the String Beans and Green Onion Pancakes. Here’s what we had..

Hot and Sour Soup- Good flavor a bit on the starchy side

String Beans- our favorite, garlicky, salty, dried shrimpy goodness

Green Onion Pancake- Excellent, crispy, chewy, not too oily

Fish Dumplings-very good but we prefer Kingburgs Sole Dumplings

Juicy Pork Dumplings- very good, thicker skin we prefer Din Tai Fungs

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Dumplingholics – Luscious Dumplings

Canela — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:27:45 +0000

I have recently been enjoying an unabashed love affair with the San Gabriel Valley, an area rich in all thing Asian and yummy. My current fixation DUMPLINGS! My enthusiasm luckily is now shared equally by my sister and we have instituted a weekly lunch exploration we call Dumpling Wednesdays (aka Dump Day)! The beauty of the SG Valley is that we could literally do this for years and never repeat ourselves. So with that, expect to see a weekly update on our survey. Dumpling Joint DuJour…. Luscious Dumplings

Pork Fried Dumplings- My Favorite! Crispy Goodness with a sweet caramelized crust

XLB’s thicker skin, less soupy than Din Tai Fungs

Small Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce

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Hungry Cat Santa Barbara

Canela — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 00:35:38 +0000

Me and the Mr. have been interested in checking out the raw bar at Hungry Cat in Hollywood but being that we rarely go west of Vermont Ave., we haven’t had the chance yet. Well, this weekend we had planned a nice SB wine country sojourn and decided to stop for a light lunch at HC Santa Barbara. Overall we enjoyed it but there were a few hiccups…one being NO UNI! Our whole reason d’etre! Bummer. The other hiccup… the sauces for our raw platter didn’t come out until we were half way done with it. I’ll let the photo’s speak for the rest of the meal…

Smoky Sweet Homemade Salsa with fresh lime Margarita

Small Platter of Oysters, Clams, Shrimp, Rock Crab, Snow Crab & Caviar

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Musha

admin — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:04:51 +0000

Communal Table

Ahi Poke

Lobster Roll

Heavenly Cheese Shrimp and Scallop Baguette

Brown Rice Cheese Risotto in Cheese Wedge

Ebi Mayo Mayo

Creme Brulee

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