Food Review-ish? Talking about Somebody Feed Phil from Netflix

I have not written in a while, but since Somebody Feed Phil just came back on Netflix, I figured I needed to write something about this wonderful show.  Somebody Feed Phil is on its second season on Netflix and is a reworking of a previous PBS show, I'll Have What Phil's Having.  The show follows the creator and executive producer of American hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.  This food/travel show is probably one of the best shows Netflix has put out and it is very enjoyable.  If you're not watching Somebody Feed Phil, drop what you're doing and catch an episode.  My favorite quote from season one comes from episode three: "Orange is the new Shakshuka".  There's a fantastic story behind it, but I won't share any more.

After watching the entire first season as well as I'll Have What Phil's Having, I can say for certain that this show is absolutely golden.  Phil Rosenthal, a white Jewish American from New York City is a fantastic host because there's a certain innocent wanderlust that pervades him.  He represents the captivated audience who just wants to travel and see and taste different things.  He's very endearing and it shows in the way he interacts with his friends (fellow celebrities and famous foodies) as well as everyday people on the street.  Whether its conversing with Vietnamese women at a park, or practicing meditations with a Thai Buddhist Monk, or even gossiping with Israeli women at the mall, he always does it with a smile and with sincerity.  In some ways, I've become jaded in watching food TV because I've learned to cook that particular dish or have eaten it before, and yet, seeing that childlike wonder from Phil makes me excited about my passion for food and traveling.  His journey across the world, eating amazing street food, trying new things (like durian) and speaking with everyday people is fueling my own growing wanderlust.

His show is funny, its creative and what makes it work is that he comes to each location wanting to learn and share as opposed to tell and lecture.  Phil is genuinely interested and honest.  One of my favorite segments he does every episode is that he Skypes his parents and shares with them his experiences.  He often shows a "fruit of the day" or asks how is parents are doing.  It is a warm segment and it reflects his interest in sharing his journey with people.  He presents the show like a travel diary, one that has no caveat other than to share and be joyous.  As I was saying, Netflix has both seasons available as well as his previous show I'll Have What Phil's Having.

New York Adventures: Zucker's Bagels & Smoked Fish

I went down to New York for my February break and was staying around the Upper West Side.  On my first day, I walked around and spotted this bagel/breakfast spot.  I knew that I would be visiting the place at some point.  This review is one of two restaurants that I had decided to write up while I was in New York. 

I spotted this bagel/breakfast shop a couple of times as I was walking around the Upper West Side and was immediately interested in stopping by for breakfast.  I don't know why, but smoked fish always interests me.  Ever since my first THIMUN trip to the Netherlands and was exposed to herring, I've developed a palate for smoked fish.  When I was in Germany, I remember walking through a public biergarten and making a beeline for a storefront that advertised raw herring.  Nonetheless, after spotting Zucker's on Columbus Ave, I knew I wanted to visit.

Their menu is very extensive and has many choices from both breakfast and lunch sandwiches.  They're also known for their smoked fish, and as a result had a great deal of options.  I ordered the "Leo" on a poppyseed bagel and a "Delancey" on a garlic bagel.  The "Leo" has smoked nova lox, egg and sauteed onions.  The "Delancey" came with two eggs, corned beef, latkes and sauteed onions.  I also opted for no cheese which came standard on the "Delancey".

I started off with the "Delancey" because I wanted to see the "best for last".  I'm a big fan of pungent foods and a garlic bagel in particular is always a must have.  Unfortunately, the bagel sandwich fell apart fairly quickly the moment I bit into it.  Luckily I had a fork around, but the structural integrity of the sandwich was fairly lacking.  The sandwich was really good.  The bagel had a nice toasted outside and a soft and pliable inside.  The garlic bagel provides a nice fragrant foreground for the sandwich.  The corned beef was nice and tender and the combination of the latke almost made it seem like a corned beef hash in a sandwich.  The onions had a nice crunch and imparted a subtle sweetness to the sandwich.  The eggs seemed like there as a filler, but still provided some nice subtle flavors that helped bind the sandwich flavor profile together.  Overall, I great sandwich, though as I said, the structural integrity had much to be desired.

After I finished the "Delancey", I moved onto the sandwich that I was most looking forward to: "The Leo".  The first bite highlighted the smoked lox (salmon).  The fishiness and saltiness of the lox was fantastic.  It wasn't overwhelming but well-balanced and perfectly paired with the scramble eggs and sweet onions.  The poppyseed bagel added different texture to each bite and made the sandwich that much more enjoyable.  It is understandable why Zucker's is known for their smoked fish.

My experience at Zucker's was quite pleasant and I had an amazing time enjoying breakfast there.  While I haven't experienced enough "New York bagels" to be able to differentiate a good bagel versus not, but both of the sandwiches were good and quite fulfilling.

Chick Chick Boom: Thai Food in Central Square

I've been told by many of my Boston friends that they don't "care" about my food reviews in other places (I'm looking at you MARK).  As a result, I've been hard-pressed to visit and write more reviews about some of the restaurants in Boston.  I wrote a very short review of my visit to Chick Chick Boom, a Thai restaurant specializing in chicken dishes with a special focus in Thai-style chicken wings.  I visited this restaurant during the "bombogenesis" winter storm that occurred in early January.  The restaurant is located a few blocks away from Central Square's Massachusetts Ave.

As most know, I'm a sucker for South East Asian food whether it's Singaporean, Malaysian and sometimes Thai. What drew me in was Khao Mun Ghai, the Thai variant on Hainan Chicken Rice, a rice dish with steamed chicken and wonderful sauces to compliment.  The differences between the two dishes are very subtle and yet, Hainan Chicken Rice always ends up as being my preference.  Khao Mun Ghai tends to have more intense accompanying sauces that play into the muted flavors of the chicken. 

I was a little disappointed though. The plate is listed as 14.99, but what was served was a decent serving of rice, but only five pieces of breast meat. Mind you, the breast wasn't dry and in fact was very lovely to eat, but the price point is what kills me a little. Everything tasted wonderfully and I was treated very well but to me for that price, it could've been more.  In a typical serving of Hainan Chicken Rice, there's usually a mix of both white and dark meat to offer variety of textures and flavors.  As I said, the food was indeed good, it's just the portion to price ratio was very disappointing.

The other item I ordered was the Thai Green Curry chicken wings. I had 8 wings which was priced around 8$ and it was amazing. It was a very thick coating of curry that had all the wonderful components of heat, acidity and lots of ginger flavor.  While the chicken wings were coated a thick sauce, the wings still maintained a definitive crunch.  In hindsight, I probably should've ordered the wings entree which comes with a plate of wings and a fried rice or noodles entree that comes out to around 9-11$. I wish I had taken a picture, but I was just too hungry to not enjoy my meal.

I have been jumping back and forth between giving this establishment a 4 or a 3 out of 5 because the food tasted amazing. No doubts there, but the pricing is still throwing me off.  In the end, I decided to rate the restaurant a 3 on Yelp.  Nonetheless I plan to return and enjoy this restaurant and hopefully make the smarter choice.

The Best Ramen Bowls in LA: #6 Tsujita Annex

One of my greatest regrets after graduating was not finishing my series on LA ramen bowls.  I had been to five out of the twelve that were listed, some were good, some were ok, and some blew my mind.  Thus when I returned to visit LA this past December, I knew I had some places I needed to visit, and there was some that I wanted to.  This was the latter.  After visiting the original, Tsujita LA, I had dreamed about making a visit to their annex shop: Tsujita Annex, half a block down.  Also listed on the Discovery LA site: Best Ramen Bowls in LA, the Annex was a ramen only joint that served similar but also different ramen bowls.  At their original store, I ordered their Tonkotsu Ramen and thoroughly enjoyed it.  At their annex, I decided to order the famed Tsukumen, or dipping ramen.  As always, I ordered with firm noodles and a soft boiled egg.

Dipping bowl of high intensity soup and broth

At first glance, the bowl of soup was giving me flashbacks to my previous "ramen" experience.  There were visible chunks of pork fat floating among thick slices of chasiu, cabbage/bean sprouts, a soft boiled egg and a citrus-y chili powder in the corner.  This is then contrasted by the bright yellow thick noodles presented right next to it.  After taking photos, I first tasted the soup.  Hot, and full of intense flavor, tsukumen soup was like a punch in the face.  I love tsukumen because there is a distinct fishy flavor to the soup that is very different from traditional tonkotsu/miso ramen soup.  The flavor is almost reminiscent of dried bonito or tuna.  Unlike my previous experience, the fattiness of the soup was cut very well with the chili pepper blend.  The blend had such a powerful spicy kick while also being acidic that helped balance the fattiness out.  As I began eating the noodles, I always forget that tsukumen is not something that is enjoyed hot.  The noodles themselves are flashed in ice water, thus when dipping the noodles into the broth, the result ends up being a lukewarm mix.  The noodles also have a slight acidic flavor that really adds to the flavor profile.  My preference of firmer noodles also plays really well as the chewiness and firmness adds to the various textures presented.  When eating tsukumen, it is not only recommended, but necessary to slurp.  Only by slurping, are you able to enjoy the noodles while also getting soup at the same time.   The noodles themselves tend to also have an acidic flavor that adds to the overall flavor profile.  Tasting the other ingredients in the bowl, the chasiu had a great smokiness while the egg provided a small taste of sweetness that helped mellow out the experience.  I thoroughly enjoyed this bowl of tsukumen because the variety of textures and immersive flavors all work together to create an amazing bowl of noodles.  One of the best parts of finishing tsukemen is adding some more broth at the end to mellow out the dipping bowl and enjoy the expanded flavors in its entirety.  The soup goes from hyper savory, umami bomb gravy consistency, into a well-balanced soup that seeks to help conclude the meal. 

Tsujita LA and Tsujita Annex are both one of the best ramen restaurants in LA.  The lines are always span around the block and to be honest, it's worth it.  While traveling across the city has and will always be a pain, I am never dissatisfied with my experiences there.  Now that I am away from LA, I miss the plethora of ramen restaurants that I had the opportunities to visit and it forces me to look forward to future visits.

Bon Me: Chinese Pork BBQ Banh Mi

Bon Me is a food truck/restaurant business that is based in Cambridge.  They serve Vietnamese fusion cuisine in the form of Banh Mi (sandwiches), rice bowls and other fare.  I was able to stumble upon the food truck almost every day after school by Harvard Yard.  I've been to the truck a couple of times, always ordering a Vietnamese sandwich. 

As is the standard, they use classic French baguettes that have good crunch and flakiness.  At first glance, the sandwich is quite filled.  I ordered the sandwich to include BBQ pork, chashu Cantonese style.  The sandwich is filled with pickled radishes and carrots, cucumbers, cilantro, jalapenos, red onion and a spread of Sriracha mayo and homemade pork pate.  Each sandwich was also given a choice of which protein was to be filled into the sandwich. 

My first impression was the crunch, a very satisfying sound as a result of the bread and the fresh and pickled vegetables.  There was a good meatiness from the chashu pork with a combination of both sweet and savory.  With each bite, a growing spiciness began to emerge as a result of the raw jalapenos and the sriracha mayo.  However, as I continued to eat the sandwich, I realized that each bite had a different taste, meaning there was no consistency in the sandwich.  A huge part of Banh Mi and in any sandwich, is a balance of flavors across every bite.  The ingredients within the sandwich were not evenly placed thus resulting in unbalanced flavors along the sandwich.  Halfway through the sandwich, I finally was able to taste the pate.  Very nice and meaty with the mineral taste from organs and innards.  The pate imparted a nice creaminess that helped contrast the acidity of the pickles. 

I've always been a huge fan of Banh Mi, and I make an effort to order Banh Mi at almost every opportunity.  While I know that it will never compare to Banh Mi's, I've had in Vietnam or other places, but I always try and keep my expectations low.  I've been back to Bon Me many times since my first visit and I tend to still order the Banh Mi.  The consistency of good sandwiches is still not great, but I've had great sandwiches from there.  I look forward to trying out their storefront in Alewife at some point. 

Yume Wo Katare "Ramen" in Porter Square

It's ironic that Yume Wo Katare roughly translates to "share your dream" (which I presume is correct because that's what the staff said) because that experience was a nightmare. In a small shop in Porter Square, seating only 18, lies a "ramen" (this is in quotations because I would like to make the argument that it's not ramen) shop that sells an experience much less a bowl of noodles. As you stand in line outside, you're told that the theme of the restaurant is to "share your dream", meaning as you finish you're invited to share your dream or passion or goal. It's an interesting concept that forces you to engage with your fellow diners as supporters of said dream as opposed to just members of a population seemingly enjoying noodles. The seats are positioned in three long tables all facing towards the kitchen where the cooks prepare the bowls.

As I said earlier, it is my assertion that it is too kind to deem this restaurant a ramen store because the bowl they serve is not ramen. The bowl is very much pork-centric: from the thick slices of pork belly, to the broth that is mostly rendered pork fat, to the actual chunks of congealed pork fat that floats within the bowl. It was hard to tell what the base of the soup was due to the sheer amount of fat and oil blending together. I presume it was a shoyu-tonkotsu mix but it was honestly hard to tell where the broth began and the oil ended. It was almost as if they rendered a massive chunk of pork fat and then served in in a bowl. The noodles weren't your typical yellow chewy bouncy noodles, nor were they thin beautiful hakata style either. To my disappointment the noodles were the run-of-the-mill Chinese Chow Mein, thick and flat. My heart sank when I dug trough the mountain of bean sprouts and cabbage, to only reveal the horror that lay in the bowl. Ideally the cabbage and bean sprouts are there to cut through the fat. Ideally. The final topping was a mountain of freshly chopped garlic that was there to add a bit of heat and variety to an already overwhelming bowl. I should preface by saying that I ordered the "Buta" which was the large that came with five pieces of pork as opposed to the normal two. It was a mistake. The bowl screamed for something acidic to cut through the fat and entice you back with new bites, yet there was nothing.

 

To call this bowl ramen, is to insult a century or so of creativity and innovation by ramen chefs. There is no combination of flavors that continually entice you, rather it's a shock and awe campaign that's designed to cripple even the most sane diners. As someone who has enjoyed amazing ramen, some even far richer than this, it pains me to see a bowl so horrific. While the food is disappointing, I have to say the people working are one of the most passionate and jovial staff I've ever seen. Part of the charm of visiting any ramen store is the "irashimase" that is yelled as you walk in, and this is no exception. The care that they put into the experience is truly evident. I only wish their food reflected that. I urge future diners to avoid this place unless you fully recognize that the bowl you partake in, is not what you're expecting. It's not ramen, it's a mess.

Please if you're reading this, owners and cooks of Yume. Really take some time and evaluate what you're serving. It's not ramen. Ramen is not just noodles in a soup, it's a beautiful mixture of oils and sauces mixed into a clean and beautiful broth with the right noodles and the right toppings. Something thick and heavy, shouldn't be served with thick and heavy flat noodles. Something already overwhelmingly rich shouldn't be topped with just vegetables and expect it to be a balance. It's not really a dream if it feels like a nightmare.

JW Chen's: Chinese/Taiwanese food (Closest thing to home in South Bend, IN)

Out of the five or so Chinese places in South Bend, JW Chen's consistently ranks the top in both "word-of-mouth" recommendations and online research.  The restaurant is located on an unassuming strip mall (it's not really a strip mall, but it's the closest thing to it, I suppose, really it's a parking lot with some storefronts linked together in an odd configuration), in between a Papa John's and a large tobacco store.  It's hard to miss if you aren't looking for it, and the restaurant itself is quaint and homey.  It can maybe at capacity seat less than 40.  However, the moment you walk in, you're greeted by this lovely grandmotherly owner named Jean.  She seats you and then proceeds to take a seat with you and discuss what you're eating.

Now, I'm decently familiar with what I like in Chinese food, and I can read Chinese/know what to order.  Yet, even before I had a chance to really read the menu, she has taken a chair, and proceeds to help me decide what I want for lunch.  We settle on 豆瓣魚 (fried fish in chili sauce) and 高麗菜 (Taiwanese cabbage stir-fried with garlic) and some rice.  Within ten minutes, my food had arrived and I was taken aback.  The first thing that hits you is the garlic from the cabbage.  It's a smell that reminds you of any random stall in a wet market in Taipei, where the owners are yelling in the background and banging of spatulas in woks.  That first bite solidifies the image.  The crisp and crunchy cabbage mixed in with extremely fragrant garlic is the best bite of vegetables ever.  I would eat a bowl of rice and cabbage every day if it was made like that.  Then with the fish, lightly breaded and fried then combined with a spicy red sauce that has a hint of sweetness is just divine.  Extremely flaky and surprisingly fresh, each morsel of fish is exploding with flavor.  The spice is hot, enough to make you sweat and replace every other bite with rice or cabbage, but not overwhelmingly so.  As I dine on food that takes me home, I have brief conversations with the owner, other wait staff, and I find myself having a sigh of relief and joy with every pause in the meal.

It's hard to describe in words how wonderful it felt to be in a restaurant where all the servers and staff spoke Chinese and would take care of you as if you were a member of their family.  Before I left, I let the owner know that I would return in a couple hours, on my way back to Culver, to pick up some take out for dinner.  We spent another five to ten minutes discussing what to order and later returned to pick up 五更腸旺(pig intestine and blood stew), 三杯雞 (three-cup chicken), 炒菠菜 (stir-fried spinach) and some rice.  She then threw in a free plate of 炒米粉 (fried rice noodles) to ensure that I would have more meals to enjoy.  All in all, I highly recommend coming here for meals, but be sure to bring someone who knows Chinese food.  Don't be stuck just having "orange chicken" or "mongolian beef" or "honey walnut shrimp".  Have a good meal and really enjoy it.

More food for more meals!

The Best Ramen Bowls in LA #5: Tsujita LA

After hearing about this place from multiple people, reading about it on Discover LA's Best Ramen Bowls in LA, and then dreaming about it, I finally made the opportunity to try the "best ramen" in LA.  I arrived for a late lunch in at Tsujita LA in Sawtelle, as I waited to pick up a friend from LAX.  When I arrived at 2:10pm, there was still a line and the line for Tsujita Annex was even longer.  I was seated within ten minutes of my arrival even though the restaurant was full.

I ordered the Hakata Nagahama Tonkotsu Charsui Ramen, which came with green onions, woodear mushrooms and a seasoned soft boiled egg with hard noodles as always.  When that bowl first came out, the first thing I noticed was the smell.  It was an overwhelming wave of pork bones, pork, garlic and an earthy smell of the mushrooms.  It was glorious.  I knew it would be an amazing bowl just from that first smell.  The broth was intense, and was like nothing I've ever had in a bowl of ramen before.  It was thick and silky and was almost like a consistency of gravy.  It was so rich and deep, drinking it was like letting yourself drown in it.  There was a bit of nuttiness from the noodles, which were thin hakata style that also had a bit of saltiness cooked into it.  Because of the thick broth, each bite of noodles had soup clinging on to it that made the consumption of it so much more pleasurable.  The contrast in texture with the mushrooms provided a satisfying crunch that helped provide variance in the experience.  The pork itself was standard, wasn't too soft but had a great bite.  It didn't wow me like the rest of the bowl, which made sense as the broth it self lived in a meaty pork taste.  The seasoned egg was done perfectly and was also very silky and had a sweet yolky center that provided not only a complimentary flavor profile, but also added a bit of brightness to the dish.  While the broth was a bit oily, the green onion helped contrast that by cutting through it and adding a crisp and clean taste to the bite.  All in all, it makes sense why writers like Jonathan Gold claim this restaurant to have the best ramen.  The flavors are intense and deservedly so, the broth is amazing and the contrast in both flavors and textures help bring this bowl all together.  I'm dying to return and have their tsukemen which I hear is a whole other experience.  You can find their restaurant at 2057 Sawtelle Blvd.

What's Next

It's been a while since I've posted a life update, but seeing as most of my readers come from social media, most already know what I'm up to!  For those who don't, well consider yourself now informed.  This past year, I graduated Occidental College in Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Diplomacy & World Affairs (International Relations) as well as Theater.  I also minored in Economics at the same time.  I will be attending Tufts University in September for my Masters of Arts in Teaching in Social Studies.  As of June, I am working at Culver Academy, a boarding school in Culver, Indiana for the summer, as one of their Theater Instructors and Staff.

One of the things that is important to note specifically for my blog, is that as I am no longer in LA, I won't be completing the Ramen Reviews as I intended.  I still have one more review in my backlog of Tsujita Ramen, but other than that, I have basically began writing reviews about none LA places.  That being said, please contact me if you would like a recommendation of LA restaurants.  I'm still quite knowledgeable, and my blog only reflects a small fraction of the restaurants that I have visited in LA.  I look forward to updating you all on my experience at Culver as well as any further details I may have about my journey.  Until then, look out for my backlogged reviews of various places.

Berkeley's Koja Kitchen: Koja Burger and Umami Fries

Recommended to me by my pastor in Walnut Creek, my friends and I went over to Berkeley to try Korean/Japanese fusion restaurant Koja Kitchen.  It was a very crowded restaurant, right in the heart of Berkeley, with quite a few people going in and out.  There was a line to order and then a little bit of a wait for a table to open up.  I ordered the Koja Burger with KBBQ Style Short Ribs as well as Umami Fries.  The burger is Korean BBQ short ribs (kalbi), sesame vinaigrette lettuce, katsu aioli and sesame seeds, sandwiched in between fried garlic rice buns.  The Umami Fries were waffle fries that came with coconut-miso braised pork, red sauce (sriracha), garlio aioli, fried onions, masago (tobiko) and chopped green onions.

The burger was done very well.  The rice buns immediately reminded me of Japanese fast food chain, MOS Burger, that is known for their rice buns as well.  The difference being, the Koja Rice Bun's were pan fried, thus not only providing a drastic textural difference in terms of the crunch and the soft beef, but also it allowed for the bun to retain its shape and not fall apart during the eating process.  Often times, the rice bun tends to fall apart as a result of the refrigeration process in shaping the buns tends to dry out the rice thereby reducing it's stickiness.  The beef was classic KBBQ marinade with a delicate balance being achieved in being both sweet and savory.  I was also able to taste the sesame in the vinaigrette lettuce along with the additional sesame seeds on top, which helped add some variety in each bite.  The burger was very juicy and actually produced quite a bit of grease.  My only suggestion would be to add some heat, some spice.  Whether in the form of jalapenos or kimchi, something to once again, contrast the sweetness and the savory.  Otherwise, a very well done product.

The other flip side, the Umami Fries was very disappointing.  There was just too much going on with the product.  The savory masago and garlic aioli along with the spiciness from the sriracha just wasn't combining well.  The biggest issue was the coconut-miso braised pork.  The pork had an overwhelming sweetness to it, that was very broad but still powerful.  It overpowered the other flavors and didn't mix very well with the other sauces.  Coconut is a hard ingredient to work with, as the flavor tends to seem very elongated with a subtlety to it, but still very noticeable.  In this case, the pork never ceased to be center stage, even though it wasn't good.  I wasn't very pleased with this product.  My suggestion is to remove the coconut-miso concoction.  With two sauces already, providing complimenting flavors of spicy and savory, there's no need to add a radical sweetness to it that may overpower it.

They have 4+ locations scattered across the Bay Area.  Check them out for some interesting Korean-Japanese fusion.

Howlin Ray's: Nashville Hot Chicken

Ever since I read an article about the opening of Howlin Ray's in Eater LA, I knew, I wanted to brave the lines and try the hot and spicy chicken for myself.  Hot chicken is unique in the spiciness and heat that is sometimes overwhelming depending on the spice blend.  The restaurant opened in April of 2016, and ever since it's inception, there have been lines that stretch out across the shopping plaza in which its located in.  In a previous, unsuccessful attempt, I sauntered by the store, only to discover a line that seemed to last 1-2 hours.  Finally, I decided one day to drive out and enjoy a nice lunch at the restaurant. I learned that the store opened at 11:00 and I figured if I got there by 11:05, I wouldn't have to wait that long.  Unfortunately, I was wrong; almost 10 months since it opened, the line was still 50-80 people deep and it took almost 1.5 hours to get through.  The line snaked around the plaza, and the line doesn't seem to get shorter.  As I step forward, more people get in line, all waiting for some Hot Chicken.  At 12:21, after waiting about an hour and 15 minutes, I finally placed my order and sat down.  There is some seating inside the joint, but most of the customers sits outside at large picnic tables.  The customers are quite diverse, members of the rat race, young college-looking people, etc.  I ordered a half chicken: leg and thigh at the medium spice level and breast and wing at hot.  I was informed that the "hot" spice blend included habaneros, ghost peppers, and the South Carolina Reaper.  As someone who grew up eating spicy food, I was confident in my ability to withstand the heat.  Served on sliced white bread and with pickles, the anticipation began to build as I saw chicken after chicken get tossed into the spice blend,  The fact that they don't separate the parts (breast + wing and leg + thigh), made a daunting beast to conquer,

Hot (Breast + Wing), Medium (Leg + Thigh), Fries

When it was first served to me, I recoiled a bit because the smell of the heat was intoxicating.  My eyes started to water and I was cringing just by breathing it in.  I take a bite of the hot chicken and the first thing you notice is the crunch.  It's a very thick and meaty crunch that sort of attacks you back with the texture and the heat.  It's really spicy, which is compounded by the juiciness and the temperature of the chicken.  Everything is prepared fresh so the heat and the pain comes from the spice as well as the temperature.  Everything is scalding.  My lips and mouth slowly become numb as I continue to bite into the juicy white meat inside.  I immediately begin pulling off the skin as I examine the chicken inside.  It's pristine inside, with no trace marinade. Unlike other spicy chicken, where the meat itself is coated in a spicy marinade leading to an orange tinge on the meat, the Hot Chicken at Ray's is immaculately white, being a direct contrast to the heat that coats the skin.  The dark meat is just the same, juicy, flavorful and just as hard to finish.  There's a deceiving sweetness to the spice.  As I battled through the chicken, it came to the point where I had to give up. I had pulled off all of the skin and had just ate through the meat.  The spice and the heat was overwhelming, to the point where I gave up and couldn't finish.  I left the store extremely pleased and satisfied while also beaten: brow is wet, nose is running, and I can't feel my face.  I know I want to go back, it just tastes amazing and I want to finish an order at some point.  Hopefully I can bring my friends along to explore this wonderful addition to fried chicken culture in Los Angeles.

LA Food Truck Reviews #5: White Rabbit Truck

You ever have that feeling of anticipation, that bubbling in your stomach, that knowledge that the food is going to be amazing right when you order?  That's the feeling I had when I ordered from White Rabbit Truck.  I was set on getting curry from Okamoto's Kitchen, and while I did, I saw the White Rabbit Truck parked right behind, and I knew I had to try something.  White Rabbit Truck specializes in fusion Filipino cuisine.  They combine typical Mexican street food: tacos, burritos and quesadillas, with Flipino proteins and preparation.

I ordered the Pork Sisig Burrito which was 10$.  Pork Sisig is typically chopped up leftover pork bits like ears, tails, livers, etc.  Their pork sisig is made with fried pork belly.  It is then finished by chopped and pan fried with a medley of onions and jalapenos.  The burrito is wrapped in a flour tortilla comes with garlic rice, a fried egg and cheese, but I opted to have no cheese.

If I didn't care about my writing, I would say that there are no words that could fully and truly describe my experience with that burrito.  To me, it was the same degree of elation that I imagined members of the crowd of 5,000 had when Jesus broke bread and fish for all of them.  I was a bit giddy when I first bit into it.  There were so many things happening.  There's the aromatic garlic rice, the punch of the spiciness from the jalapenos, the chewiness of the pork belly, the soft silkiness of the fried egg; everything was just so good.  The burrito was so powerful in all of the flavors and textures, it was perfect.  Every bite wanted to barrage me with the intensity of flavors from the pork to the spicy aromatics.  The pork belly was a bit chewy, which provided a texture contrast from the soft enveloping from the rice and the tortilla.  The egg helped smooth the flavors out and really stretched out the mouth feel.  I couldn't remember the last time I had been so immensely satisfied with that burrito.  For what it was, I feel like it could be the greatest breakfast burrito of all time.  It had everything to wake someone up: a bit of heat, a bit of protein, carbs; it's perfect.

I would also like to briefly mention their lumpias, which are fried egg rolls.  After mentioning how I would review their food, they wanted me to try their lumpias which were quite good.  The filling was a mix of ground pork and shaved pickled carrot.  The skin was quite crispy, but a bit cold due to the fact that it wasn't served immediately after being fried, but still quite good.


Unfortunately, they don't currently have a regular scheduled appearance in Eagle Rock, but I do hope they come back.  It would be terrible if, like their name, being elusive and hidden, forcing me to chase after it.  I cannot wait for them to be back in the future, and I look forward to trying other things on their menu.  You can find them on their website, linked above, and their Twitter handle is: @WhiteRabbitTruk.

Side Chick: Hainan Chicken Rice

Over Thanksgiving Break, I had the opportunity to go visit a new Hainan Chicken Rice join in Westfield Santa Anita called Side Chick.  Now as a seasoned Hainan Chicken Rice consumer, both in Los Angeles as well as in Singapore, I tend to have a specific perspective when it comes to chicken rice.  My go to, is always Savoy Kitchen in Alhambra.  There, the chicken and rice are absolutely amazing and the portions are always on point.  It's a hard place to get into because parking is next to impossible and there's always a line.  However, that never deters me from making a visit and grabbing two plates.  Naturally, when I heard about this new place from my friend at USC, I knew I needed to come at some point.

Side Chick is located in the Westfield Mall in Santa Anita.  It's right next to the race track and the mall has copious amounts of parking.  The place was a little bit hard to find as it was in a different food court than I had original thought, as it was in a secondary upper eating area next to Ding Tai Fung.  It's small, and there are a few sporadic food court-esque tables and chairs.  There wasn't much foot traffic so there was no line at the counter.  They are opening a new EMC Seafood & Raw Bar next door, so it's bound to get crowded fairly soon.  The menu is quite limited, with maybe 5-6 items.  I ordered the mix plate with both white and dark meat as well as a serving of stir-fried vegetables.

You can also request for either dark or white for just 1$ extra.  The rice came with three sauces, a scallion-ginger sauce, soy-based sauce and a chili sauce.  The rice itself was topped with fried scallions and there was some pickled cucumber garnish on the side.  Everything smelled quite aromatic and the portion was quite substantial.  The rice was clearly cooked with chicken fat or chicken broth, as is the standard, and the fried scallions provided a noticeable crunch.  The chicken was done very well, very juicy.  Everything was de-boned and the flavors were all spot on.  The soy-based sauce was quite sweet and helped bind all the flavors together.  While the rice was not as fragrant as Savoy Kitchen, I did like how the rice and chicken portions were satisfactory.  Ultimately, I found that the flavors were not as strong or powerful as Savoy Kitchen's.  The price for the chicken rice was about the same as Savoy Kitchen's.  For the entire experience, I think Side Chick may be better, as there's always parking and there's no line.  If I was only focusing on food, then I my preference would still be Savoy.  

I really enjoyed my visit to Side Chick and it's nice to have another choice for Hainan Chicken Rice in LA.

Brief Blog Retrospective

Last year, I revitalized my blog to what it was designed to be.  A reviews site with pieces written from my own personal experience.  Since restarting it in March, I've had a lot of fun visiting, eating and writing about different places in LA.  I am excited to continue this blog into the new year with more posts about different places to eat.  I also can't wait to finish my series on "The Best Ramen Bowls in LA" as it has taken me across different neighborhoods eating some amazing bowls.  Finally, I also want to begin adding more reviews in other things, such as books and movies.  I recently read Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult and it was one of the best things I've read this year.  Look out for something in that area fairly soon.  Thank you so much to my readers who support me and who invite me to have great food.

The Best Ramen Bowls in LA #4: Fujin Ramen

Looking at the map from Discover LA's "The Best Ramen Bowls in LA", I remember being surprised at the two ramen shops in East LA.  Most of the stores that I had been to, or enjoyed were all in West LA, if not down south.  Nonetheless, as with all my other visits, I had to figure out an excuse or at least a reason to be so far east.  As it happened, I was visiting friends at the Claremont Colleges and decided to go out for dinner.  I decided that we should check out Fujin Ramen, in West Covina.

I was actually looking forward to this ramen bowl as it was unique in that it was one of a few miso (fermented soy-bean paste ramen bowls.  Most ramen stores in LA feature tonkotsu (pork bone) or shoyu (soy-sauce) or just shio (salt & oil) based broths.  Miso ramen is usually tonkotsu mixed with the miso paste to give a more savory flavor to the broth.  While tonkotsu broths are usually quite creamy and filling, miso broths are savory and smooth. Miso ramen is my favorite and it's actually quite difficult to find good miso ramen outside of Japan.  Nonetheless, I had high hopes for this restaurant.

The store was actually quite large, bigger than I expected.  Most of the ramen joints in LA are small, and tight; probably only fit 15-20 people at most.  This restaurant could easily fit 35-40.  Ambiance aside, the food looked good and they had quite a bit of options.  As always, I order what the writer of the article recommends, with minor adjustments of course.  I ordered the Fujin Ramen with miso, and requested the "medium wavy" noodles to be firm.  I had planned to order my bowl just as the writer did in the article, but unfortunately, by the time I visited, they no longer offered the "spicy chopped garlic", "kimchi chives" or special "miso paste.  The bowl did however come with chashu, half a soft boiled egg as well as fresh garlic, bamboo, corn and wood ear mushrooms

When the bowl came, my heart sank a little.  The presentation was not very appealing.  Because I had also requested the kotteiri, which is extra oil, there was a visible sheen to the broth.  Mainly, the bowl looked like the elements were just frivolously placed into it, and not carefully allocated as if to highlight the different ingredients.  While presentation is not a big factor when it comes to my reviews, it does set a tone for how the bowl is then consumed.  

The bowl did taste very good though.  The broth was amazing.  You could taste the melding of flavors between the savory miso paste and the sweet richness of the tonkotsu.  The broth wasn't as creamy as typical tonkotsu, but there was a definite mellowing deepness to it.  Because I added raw garlic, there was a slight kick to the broth.  The medium wavy noodles were really filling and satisfying, though not as firm as I'd prefer.  The wood ear mushrooms provided a nice contrast in texture with the crunch.  The bamboo tasted a bit processed, but was also crunchy.  The chashu was surprising in that it was quite thin, but it was still bursting with flavor.  The corn was canned, so it had a bit of sweetness, but wasn't too special.  

Overall, I think it was one of the weaker bowls of ramen I've had.  The presentation was really disappointing and all the standalone ingredients didn't seem to combine together very well.  The saving grace was the miso broth.  Granted, I am slightly biased towards miso, but it the broth was quite good.  Ultimately, I probably won't come out to West Covina for this bowl of ramen.  It just doesn't seem to be on the same level as any of the previous ramen places I've been to.     

The Best Ramen Bowls in LA #3: The Ramen Joint

I cannot believe I'm writing another post already.  I had planned to have ramen today as I was going to be around LAX, but I didn't expect to go Friday night.  Today, I visited The Ramen Joint, another one of The Best Ramen Bowls in LA, by Discover LA.  It's only about 5 to 10 minutes north of LAX off Sepulveda Boulevard on 6220 W 87th St, Los Angeles.  As I've stated before, I usually only go out of my way for these places when I plan to be in the area.  Either that, or I come up with an excuse to go.  In this case, I was picking up my aunt from LAX as she had a quick layover.

Now, there really isn't much around in that area, at least off that specific side street, except for a Thai restaurant, so safe to say, the line that forms is due to a lack of other choices.  Nonetheless, like any other ramen restaurant in Los Angeles (it would seem), the restaurant itself was quite small, probably could only seat about 15-25 people with only one table for four people.  It's atmosphere is quite minimalist, where menus aren't even handed out, instead your attention is directed to a blackboard with all the choices.  If you're elderly and can't see, hopefully you have friends who can relay the contents orally.  As recommended in the article, I ordered the Shoyu Tonkotsu ramen, in which I also asked to have a seasoned boiled egg and crispy garlic chips.

The bowl comes with pork chashu, woodear mushrooms, green onion, bamboo shoot, and wild perilla seed.  The noodles themselves were very similar to the ones served at Shin-Sen-Gumi, thin and white.  Now I usually prefer my noodles to be firm, as they offer a better texture when it comes to chewing, but I've come to realize that unless the restaurant offers the choice, don't bother asking.

When the bowl came, I was excited.  All of the ingredients were prominently displayed, waiting to be devoured.  From the dark swirls of the woodear mushrooms, to the beautiful sheen of the egg.  To my chagrin, there seem to be a distinct layer of oil in the bowl, about 0.5mm.  It was a little bit disconcerting, but I wasn't too worried.  To begin with, the broth was quite flavorful, almost overpoweringly so.  You could taste the shoyu and tonkotsu mixture based on the saltiness but also the deep pork bone flavor.  Most tonkotsu broths leave a creaminess sensation to the bowl, in contrast, the broth was smooth.  The saltiness of the shoyu and the sweetness of the pork bone really combined beautifully.  The woodear mushroom provided a great earthly contrast of flavors, and help cleanse the mouth in between noodles and broth.  The pork, well not as soft as other restaurants, still packed a punch when it comes to flavor.  It was a sizable piece both in thickness and length.  Later as I explored the bowl, I found that the oil didn't really seem to affect me other than noticing it visibly, and that if anything, it helped showcase a depth of flavor that seemed stronger than most other bowls.  The biggest surprise was the egg.  Typical soy-sauce marinade, the egg was hard on the outside, in the sense that it was solid, however the inside blew me away.  Somehow, the chef recreated the poached like softness on the inside, the egg white enveloping the golden sweet pouch of the yolk.  I was enamored.  It reflected great skill and care in the preparation.  As I bit into it, I enjoyed the sweet and savory yolk with immense satisfaction.  The garlic chips were a little bit unsatisfactory though.  Clearly prepared in advance, there was a bit of a staleness to it and the burnt flavor of the garlic was a bit overpowering when not paired with noodles (as I had run out by the time I poured the rest of the chips in).

If anything though, I was a little bit disappointed with the serving size and I find that the problem lies in the noodles.  With the thin noodles, there's a lack of filling, the portion sizes were smaller than I expected and it didn't feel like I had enough. I finished all the noodles with about half of the soup left, when I usually like to have about 1/3 left to enjoy.  I felt a little bit unsatisfied because I wanted more, but couldn't bear to dish an extra 2$ for more.

Overall, for about 12$, it's not as much as you'd hope, but the quality and the flavors certainly make up for it.  With such a small little business, it seems like a secret gathering.  With only 5-8 people waiting outside, it felt like the restaurant was just waiting to explode with people.  Yet with such a small staff on our visit, they too struggled to keep up with the demand.  There seem to be more to-go orders than in-house dining.  If you're in for a quick layover at LAX and want something other than In-N-Out, I would recommend The Ramen Joint.  You'll leave satisfied, and your appetite just about sated, though I would recommend extra portions of the noodles.

Daikokuya Original Noodle & Rice Bowl (Little Tokyo) Review

I love coming to Daikoyuya Original Noodle & Rice Bowl (Little Tokyo) Not only is it an amazing place to eat, but it also has a great deal of nostalgia factor for me. It was one of the first places I visited as a first year in college.  I remember borrowing a bike from Oxy Bike Share, taking a ride down and having an amazing bowl of ramen.  Looking back, I remember that first bowl quite fondly.  I remember walking into the shop after chaining up my bike nearby, sitting at the bar and just delving into a bowl of delicious ramen.  The tastes, the smells, even the atmosphere, brought me back to my brief childhood in Japan.  I loved it.  I've explored other stores for ramen in L.A. as evidenced by this blog, but Daikokuya is always fun to go back to.

When I go, I always order the Daikoku Ramen with firm noodles and the kotteiri flavor, which is added oils to make the ramen richer and thicker.  Daikoku ramen is their "famous tonkotsu soup base, infused with their secret blended soy sauce."  It comes with chijire style egg noodles, kurobuta pork belly chashu, soy sauce marinated boiled egg, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onions and sesame seeds.  To make it a satisfying meal, I always get the combination which adds a salad and a rice bowl of your choosing.  I get the Oyako Don, or Japanese Chicken & Egg rice bowl.  They have the option to add your own minced garlic and benishoga (pickled ginger).

The quality is always the same, superb.  The tonkotsu, or pork bone broth is simply fantastic.  There's a depth to the flavor that is indicative of a broth that has been cooked for a very long time.  With the added oils, it adds a bit of creaminess that adds another degree of satisfaction.  I always add some minced garlic to help accentuate the broth, but also add a subtle kick that really completes the bowl to my liking.  The firm noodles add a degree of chewiness which I prefer, as it provides a contrast in texture between the crunch of the bamboo and the bean sprouts as well as the soft pork belly.  Finally, the soy sauce egg is sweet and satisfying, that helps wrap up the bowl.  As I finish the broth, the garlic I add reveals that spiciness and kick that helps finish the meal.  

With the oyako don, its always simple.  Sweet and savory, coming together in a small bowl that helps sate my appetite.  That soft cooked egg and chick combine with the rice that honestly, makes a satisfying meal in itself.  Not to mention the onions that have been cooked into the bowl that are soft and crunchy in a paradoxical fashion.  It's not too salty, and actually a bit underwhelming in flavor when compared to the ramen.  Still satisfying nonetheless.  

I always recommend Daikokuya to my friends and family who visit because, in my opinion, it's one of the better ramen places in Los Angeles.  It's a mainstay in Little Tokyo, with its walls decorated with old Japanese movie posters and the bar, designed to be like a typical ramen joint in Tokyo.  All that is missing is the vending machine that prints out ramen tickets.  The atmosphere is busy and electrifying as the door spins constantly as patrons walk in and out.  Food comes at a frenetic and passionate pace in order to keep up with the demands of an always full restaurant.  I arrived at 10:00 PM and waited 15 minutes for a spot at the bar.  For 18$ including tax and tip, this is always a must-visit for out of town visitors looking for ramen.  I always leave satisfied.  

Address is 327 E 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

The Best Ramen Bowls in LA #2: Umenoya Ramen Co.

Looking at the Discover Los Angeles article on the "The Best Ramen Bowls in LA", it was definitely hard to find which restaurant I should visit next.  The list covers a great deal of geographical distance and a lot of the places that I want to explore are across the county.  That being said, whenever I plan on being in those areas, I try and make it out to one of the joints.  With that, I ventured down to Torrance and went to Umenoya Ramen Co located on 24222 Crenshaw Blvd in Torrance CA.

This was actually my second visit to Umenoya and I had an amazing time the first time I went.  Last time I ordered their Jiro Ramen which was a massive bowl that contained a grand amount of Napa Cabbage and bean sprouts.  It was delicious.  However, today I ordered their Spicy Miso Ramen as it was recommended in the article.

The Spicy Miso Ramen came with three pieces of slow-cooked chashu (pork belly), a flavored boiled egg, chopped onions both white and green, bean sprouts, Napa Cabbage, leeks and shredded dried chili pepper.  I also ordered mine with a preference of having firm noodles.  Because I ordered Combo C, it included a small order of gyoza (potstickers) and a karaage (Japanese fried chicken) rice bowl.  However, I won't be writing about those because those have nothing to do with ramen.

This bowl was absolutely fantastic (you're going to hear me say that word often, almost as if I was channeling my inner "Ninth Doctor").  Despite being an oily looking broth, the soup was just amazing, it had this surprising kick of spice that accentuated the pork bone and miso based flavors.  What I really loved about the bowl was the different textures that came with it.  The chewiness of the noodles, the clean and crisp crunch of the cabbage and the onions, and the melts-in-your-mouth pork belly.  Each bite was different depending on what elements were added.  The pork belly was so soft that you could cut through it just by using the chopsticks, indicative of a long slow-cooked process. The flavors were also so good.  The rich and flavorful soup combined with the clean and crisp cabbage and onions with a slight kick from the garlic and the chili, all made for a well-rounded bowl.  None of the flavors were overpowering, rather carefully measured and allocated in order to complement each other.  Another highlight was biting into the egg, it was sweet almost like caramel that made for a fantastic contrast to the bowl.  It was also perfect in the sense that it was also perfectly portioned, there was no craving for additional noodles.

If I could describe the experience of eating this bowl, I would say that it was like descending through layers and layers of flavor till which you rested on this happy place where everything came together.  From the pork bone base to miso to the spice to the clean and crisp vegetables, every bite and slurp took you deeper and deeper until you finished the bowl, content.  Its bowls like this that solidify my dream to finish all the bowls on the list and inspires me to continue to drive around to visit all the restaurants.

The Best Ramen Bowls in LA #1: Men Oh Tokushima

This is the first post of a new series where I'm follow this article's Discover Los Angeles "The Best Ramen Bowls in LA".  Granted there are a lot of different sites that say they have the "best list", but I'm committed to trying all of these.  While I've been to some of these places before, I've decided to only order the ramen they recommend on the article in order to try out the "best bowls".  I'm committed to finish this list before I graduate in May.  Please note that the order in which they are written are not determined in any particular way, rather I just decided to go to that one on that particular day.  

Which brings us to the first bowl that I enjoyed: Men Oh Tokushima. Located in a side strip mall in Little Tokyo, it's actually a little bit harder to find as the storefront faces an internal parking lot as opposed to the main roads.  Their address is: 456 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012.

I ordered the Tokushima Ramen, their eponymous bowl. Tonkotsu (pork bone) soup that's been stewed for 16 hours that has been infused with a specially seasoned soy sauce. Their recipe, originating from the Tokushima region features medium sized noodles. Their bowl also included: stir-fried pork belly, braised pork, bamboo, green onion, bean sprouts and a seasoned boiled egg.

For a broth that has been simmering and cooking for over 16 hours, it wasn't very heavy. The broth had a very deep and rich flavor profile but it wasn't heavy to eat. It didn't feel overpowering. The rich pork bone combined with the seasoned soy sauce produced a fantastic sweet and yet clean taste. There was also a slight kick that was attributed to garlic in the soup which made the soup complete. It seemed that the broth was strained and sifted to have that clean clear look with that refreshing flavor. The stir fried pork had an amazing burnt charcoal flavor. It was burnt but not overwhelmingly so. The pork belly was also fantastically juicy and it fell apart at each bite. With a "Facebook like" I was also able to order benishoga (red pickled ginger) which complimented very well with the broth. The acidity paired very well with the richness of the broth. It was a great contrast of flavors that made the dish much more exciting.

Overall the bowl of ramen was very good. It wasn't too big, but filled with immense flavor. What I really liked about it was that the noodles were very filling and the portion size was well done. In some restaurants I order kadaema (extra noodles) because the noodle portion and size, make each portion seem unfulfilling. This bowl was perfectly portioned and I didn't feel the need to go overboard. It was rich, but wasn't that heavy. It felt very complete. This bowl of ramen was very good and it would make sense to be on this sort of list of "best ramen bowls in LA".

LA Food Truck Reviews #1.5: Okamoto Kitchen Revisited

You know, I'd never thought I would be writing another review with @Okamoto Kitchen but after speaking with the owner and trying their "new" Gyu-Don, I knew I needed to revisit it.  For those not in the know, Okamoto Kitchen is a Japanese comfort food truck that ends up on Eagle Rock Boulevard on Monday Nights from 5:00 PM - 9:00 PM.  They do an amazing chicken sandwich: "The Nom Bomb", and their curry plate is amazing.  You can check out my review of both products here.

Anyhow, I had previously ordered their Gyu-Don (for those who don't know, Gyu-Don is thinly sliced ribeye beef and onions, that are slow cooked in a sweet soy sauce and wine mixture, and then topped on rice with sesame and benishoga), just as they were experimenting with it. It had just became a menu item a couple days prior, and I knew I wanted to try it out.  The owner had told me about it on my first visit, and so when I went the second time, I knew I had to try it out.  Unfortunately, it wasn't great.  Basically, the beef quality wasn't great, it was very lean and very tough.  The flavors were there, but the texture of the beef just made it difficult to enjoy.

Today, I had the pleasure of trying their third or fourth iteration of the Gyu-Don.  After speaking with them, and expressing my concerns about their first Gyu-Don, the owner promptly explained that he had agreed.  The owner told me that they decided to switch meat vendors a couple times after feeling unsatisfied with their product.  He graciously then presented a small box of the Gyu-Don to try out and let him know how it went.

*This is not a sponsored review, nor is it contracted, merely expressing my feelings as a result of trying the "new" Gyu-Don.*

The lighting is bad because I took it in the car as
I wanted to get a bite while it was at it's prime temperature.

To put it simply, it was amazing.  You could easily tell that there was a difference in the meat quality.  The meat was more fatty, which allowed it to be much more tender and more flavorful.  You can tell that the beef and the onions have stewed for a long time in their sauce combination because each bite embodies a bit of sweet and salty.  It was just so perfect, the airy and fluffy rice, the sweet and tender beef, the beni shoga (pickled ginger), all combined to make an amazing dish.  I only had a small taste of it, but I can already tell that it is an amazing meal.  For 11$, it is a steal.  To me, this dish shows me that the owner cares about his products.  By taking in feedback and making adjustments, it shows that there is care and dedication placed in his products.  While I'm sure most if not all craftsman have this sense of pride and care to their work, this dish tells me that the Okamoto Kitchen is a place where the food will always be good, and if it isn't, it will be in the future.

Once again, thanks for an amazing night.  I didn't think I would review Okamoto again, but I felt that the "new" Gyu-Don, warranted it's own piece.