Tea Station: Please Come to West LA

I wish we had a Tea Station out in West LA. I mean, what's not to like about having a choice of 33 iced flavored teas, 26 iced flavored milk teas and 14 flavored snow ice and 20 hot traditional Chinese teas? That's not even all! There's also flavored shaved ice, hot flavored tea, hot fruit tea, hot healthy drinks (like hot grass jelly) and hot flavored milk tea, to name a few.

I got the mango shaved ice with an addition of red bean topping, as I had had my caffeine fix earlier that day and craved patbingsoo, that venerable, seemingly loved dessert of red beans plus shaved ice whose variations are available in several Korean, Chinese and Taiwanese coffee shops.

It was a massive mound of shaved iced, topped with mango flavored snow shaved ice, sprinkled with red beans and condensed milk.

I loved that it stays open until 1am and offers snacks like butter toast (aka brick toast) and a bunch tea-flavored goodies like Pu-Erh Flavored Beef Stew with Green Tea Noodle.

Consider it an East Asian Starbucks, at least in price level, except not yet as ubiquitous and much cooler. It's just sad it's a bit of a trek to get to one.

Cooking: Recreating Banana, Shiso and Dulce de Leche Spring Rolls from Nobu

This was how my harumaki, Japanese spring rolls that I stuffed with banana and dulce de leche, were supposed to look like. But I made the mistake of using thicker Chinese spring roll skins, so they ended up looking more like the below.

What is the difference, you ask? The thickness of the skin! It turns out that Japanese spring rolls, the crunchier kind, is a lot thinner than the Chinese skin, which tend to blister when fried.

They still looked pretty good but they just weren't the same.

Anyhow, I wanted to recreate a dessert I had at Nobu Las Vegas years ago, although it now serves a difference version. Miami's location serves a similar one too.

The one I had was truly phenomenal. It was shiso leaf-wrapped bananas with dulce de leche in a spring roll, with a side of chocolate dipping sauce and sesame brittle ice cream. It was better than any of the sushi I had at Nobu's sushi bar.

Of course, I had to improvise because I couldn't readily find the brittle ice cream (Scoops makes it but didn't have it at the time and ordering a pint or whatever would have been too much) and used store-bought chocolate sauce, which wasn't the same but not too bad.

What I'm probably most proud of is making dulce de leche in my pressure cooker. That little can of condensed milk was simmering in water for hours on end and cooled for at least 24 hours. Wow! Call it dulce de leche or manjar, which I'm more used to from my South America days (still searching for some decent mil hojas), that camel colored goodness was dangerously addictive (gotta watch my sugar intake). I thought it'd be too sweet but I added a bit dollop for each roll and it was excellent, if I may say so.

I usually don't like shiso but it went well with the combination of the sweet and savory. I used hazelnut and vanilla ice cream, which was good albeit not the same.

One of the best parts was that I had some leftover dulce de leche and thanks to SC's suggestion, I decided to spread it on some really good baguette from Bread Bar. Heat up some bread and spread it on like buttah. Best snack in the world.

Here's the recipe for a version of the harumaki with passion fruit and merengue that I found online from Nobu:

Banana Harumaki from Nobu Las Vegas

Serves 8 (2 pieces per person)

4 fresh bananas, cut into quarters

16 spring roll wrappers (7-in square)

16 shisho leaves

2-4 tablespoons dulce de leche

1 egg yolk, beaten, for sealing the wrappers

vegetable oil for deep frying

4 passion fruits

yuzu meringues

sesame ice cream

1. Lay a spring roll wrapper on a flat surface and spray with water. Place a shiso leaf, then a banana quarter on the wrapper. Place the dulce de leche in a pastry bag and pipe out, from left to right, 2 tsp to cover the top of the banana. Roll in the wrapper. Brush the egg yolk on the edge of the wrapper and seal. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers.
2. Fry the rolls in 325 degree oil. Transfer to a paper-lined plate to drain any excess oil and allow to cool slightly.
3. Cut each roll in half on an angle. Arrange two halves on individual plates, or arrange all rolls on a platter. Cut the passion fruits in half and squeeze the runny flesh and seeds on top of the rolls.
4. Crumble the yuzu meringues in a plastic bag. Sprinkle around the sides of the rolls and top each roll with a scoop of sesame ice cream.

How to make dulce de leche

Makes 14 oz

One 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Remove label from the can and put in a pot. Add enough water to cover the can by at least 4 inches. And bring water to a boil over high heat. Lower heat and simmer for 6 hours. Do not forget to add water to keep the level above the can, or the can may burst. Leave the can in the water to cool, then remove from the pot. Leave for 24 hours at room temperature before use.

*My notes: If you use a pressure cooker under relately low heat, you can get away with simmering for 2.5-3 hours.


Enjoy and let me know how they turned out!

(photo credits: this blog and this site)

Scoops: Any Flavor of the Best Ice Cream Your Heart Desires

On a hot summer day like this, there's only one answer: SCOOPS!

I naturally found myself in front of that tiny shop on Heliotrope off of Melrose, wondering what wonderful flavors awaited me.

I was pleasantly surprised the line wasn't too bad and I quickly browsed the flavors at hand, including brown bread, Chai, Guiness chocolate and chocolate baileys.

As enticing as those sounded, however, I first tasted the hazelnut banana, raspberry lychee and non-dairy Thai iced tea. And I ended up with two scoops: a deliciously creamy hazelnut mix with subtle banana flavor and a super refreshing raspberry lychee, delivering an almost-sorbet-like coolness in my mouth.

Just what I needed in this scorching weather. I heart Scoops, big time. Apologies for not having an image. I pretty much swallowed the two scoops in exactly five bites. What can I say? The ice-cream was melting and I couldn't wait.

Sweet Lady Jane is No Plain Jane

It may not be picture-perfect, but who needs photogenic cakes that taste like sugar in a bowl? The first time I ever bit into a berry shortcake from Sweet Lady Jane was from leftovers of someone else's wedding cake. I knew then this was the cake I wanted for a special occasion. A few years later, I got my cake and...you know the saying. I got two flat cakes, a berry shortcake and chocolate shortcake, which were both very good although my personal favorite remains the white cake. I wasn't ready to shell out twice the price for a mere tiered cake. Go flat!

I mean, look at the inviting slivers of fresh rasberries, blackberries and strawberries lined with fluffy, soft-as-a-cloud cake and a creamy exterior with just the right hint of sweetness. Its name, Triple Berry Shortcake, alludes to its awe-inducing berry fest.

If berries aren't your thing, the next best thing I would recommend is the banana bread pudding, which comes with cream but doesn't really need it. It's best served warm (low heat in toaster oven for 3 minutes should do it) and is delightfully soft, dense, chewy and banana-y all at the same time.

We've also tried the lemon meringue pie, which was excellent and the capuccino cheesecake, which was a bit too rich and dense for me. But I'm not a huge cheese cake person so you be the judge. The carrot cake was ok but not anything mind-blowing.



Sweet Lady Jane
8360 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(323) 653-7145

A Taste of Italy and France in Florida

As an addendum to the previous post on Florida, I wanted to add some non-Latin American options in case one has had one too many goat stews, plantains, frijoles or arroz con mariscos.

We stumbled into La Gastronomia in Coral Gables near a trendy area with expensive restaurants that were highly rated such as Cacao and Ortanique on the Mile. We didn't want to pay up to $44 for a steak entree, so headed into this Italian joint that was modestly priced.

I liked the pizza at La Gastronomia that was light and thin, without a blob of cheese dripping all over it. Pizza is its specialty and the brick oven by the entrance greets visitors with the comforting aromas of baking crust, cheese, tomatoes and basil. The artichoke pizza was simple and tasty. The pastas were less impressive. Neither the pancetta bits nor the egg and cream-based sauce added anything special to the carbonara.



Sticking to the Italian theme, we ventured a few days later to South Florida's Hollywood near Ft. Lauderdale and found a decent gelato place. La Paciugo serves an array of gelatos and sorbets, perfect following a heavy meal. It wasn't as good as Mondo Gelato in Vancouver, but it certainly hit the spot in Florida's tropical weather.

I had the raspberry, papaya and mango sorbet combination, which was refreshing to the palate. The papaya had the weakest flavor and raspberry had the strongest. Other creamier gelato flavors were ok but not to die for. More importantly, it didn't carry my favorite flavors such as gianduja(chocolate hazelnut) or hazelnut.

Next stop: South Beach. I really liked the art-deco buildings peppered throughout the bustling corridors of South Beach. I thought they added a unique touch to the otherwise fairly generic beach-front walkway (Third Street Promenade, anyone?).

While walking around Española Way, a pedestrian street near the main strip, we came across something resembling a Parisian oasis. A La Folie (being crazy about something) is a charming, quaint French cafe with outdoor seating at the end of the street that looked oblivious to the throngs of people and shops only a few blocks away. It was a perfect little haven for a break from the crowds.



The menu offered everything from crepes and quiche to croque-monsieur sandwiches. The pate sandwich on fresh baguette was very good. It came with a small salad and cornichon (baby pickles), which complemented the potentially heavy sandwich had it stood on its own. The pea soup was a bit too creamy and heavy, and I'm usually not one to shy away from any of those traits. The creaminess was simply overpowering any hint of pea flavor, which is not a good thing.

The service was decidedly French, complete with waiters responding in French regardless of the language in which the question was posed. "I'd like the pea soup." "Tres bien!" "The check please." "Bien sur!" Allez Les Bleus!

The quiche lorraine was a disappointment. The crust was too hard and didn't have a soft texture inside. It was more like a pecan pie gone wrong.

Note: this isn't the best place to call a cab from if you have a flight to catch. A woman adjacent to us waited for over an hour for a cab to find the hideaway and was probably late for her flight.

La Gastronomia
127 Giralda Avenue (near Miracle Mile)
Coral Gables, FL 33134-5208
(305) 448-8599

Paciugo
2001 Harrison Street
Hollywood, FL 33020-5019
(954) 616-1664

A La Folie
526 Española Way
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 538-4484

I Left My Stomach in San Francisco

I had a whole list of eats in mind when I arrived in San Francisco, pondering that eternal question of whether to go for the excitement of possibly discovering a new gem or go to an old standard with the comfort of knowing I'll have a good meal.

Here I share the gems, since I've already reviewed the old favorites (Shabu-sen, etc).



I was fortunate enough to have a very nice dinner at Fringale, a tiny restaurant serving "Basque-inspired" cuisine. Having a large group gave us the advantage of trying many things on the menu.

We shared appetizers, including beef carpaccio with a Szechuan pepper mayonnaise and crispy horseradish (pictured), which looked beautiful but lacked punch in its flavor as I couldn't taste the Szechuan pepper or the horseradish; spicy monterey calamari "a la plancha" with jalapeños and chorizo, which was the clear favorite of mine and the group, with its perfectly-cooked squid that was soft and chewy enhanced with the kick of both the pepper and chorizo (what's not to like?); and butter lettuce with sweet anchovies served with mustard vinaigrette, which was nothing special.



The roast rack of lamb with pesto and Emmental potato gratin I ordered was the most expensive item on the menu at $25, and at least the meat was worth it. The lamb was cooked medium-rare as requested and melted in my mouth like buttah (red wine helped). The pesto seemed almost superfluous given the freshness of the meat that could hold its own flavor. I'm a huge fan of both Emmental (Swiss cheese) and potato gratin, and thought the combination of the two would be a no-brainer. The melted cheese on top, however, was hard by the time the dish made it to the table and the gratin was a bit too mild.

The steak was decent but not anything spectacular. Desserts were good but we were too full to enjoy them. They were creme brulee, hazelnut and roasted almond mousse cake and warm chocolate gourmand, which were rich, dense and a bit too sweet for my taste.

Overall a good experience with attentive service by a waiter with a French accent so thick that he made me wonder whether he was really from the Midwest.

I also liked Flytrap, where I had very good French bread and a prawn salad that was very refreshing but the service was slow, in part due to our large party.

The next stop was Out The Door, the casual sibling of the much-hyped and beloved Slanted Door in the Westfield mall located within walking distance from the hotel. It was very convenient and I vowed to explore that food court more next time.



Out The Door serves Vietnamese food, or rather, Americanized versions of the venerated cuisine. Don't get me wrong. I liked my chicken thigh curry with tiny grains of rice. It hit the spot after days of consuming bland and heavy soups and sauces. The dark meat was juicy and the spices made me sweat but I was happy.



We also had the vegetarian fresh rolls made with tofu, shiitakes, cabbage, mint and peanut sauce, which were bland. My companions had the grilled lemongrass pork over rice noodles with imperial rolls, cucumber and mint, which was meant to be bun with BBQ pork, but turned out to be a watered down version of the real deal with dry, overly sweet meat. Another had the lemongrass chicken with red onions, jalapeños, roasted chili paste and peanuts with rice. The red onion was the star of this dish -- crispy and slightly sweet with a hint of spice. A vegetarian ordered baby spinach sauteed with garlic and caramelized shallots, which reminded me of spinach namul, a Korean side-dish of steamed spinach seasoned with garlic, salt and green onions. It was good but not substantial enough to base an entire meal around.

I've had good food at Slanted Door, but am turned off by the way it charges $24 for its shaking beef, or bo luc lac. Maybe Slanted Door uses extra-good quality free-range beef and adds a modern twist to it, but it tastes similar to (but not as good as) the bo luc lac I've had in Little Saigon -- that splendid Vietnamese dish of stir-fried filet mignon cubes accompanied by watercress and a lemony dipping sauce. Maybe Slanted Door made Vietnamese food more accessible to the masses but I look forward to exploring Little Saigon more than I do going to SD. I have nothing against it, but am convinced I could find so much better for so much less in Westminster where the largest population of Vietnamese Americans live.



Now for the best part: Beard Papa cream puffs in not one but two shops within walking distance from the hotel. After lunching at Out The Door, I picked up a pumpkin cream puff, a flavor I had never had before, and saved it for my late afternoon snack. One could say I'm a fiercely loyal devotee of these puffs and am usually partial to vanilla but this puff's rich pumpkin flavor with a hint of cinnamon was strangely comforting as it reminded me of fall and mentally prepared me for a Thanksgiving feast.

I'd like to thank my new food stylist-cum-photographer, CC (you know who you are, but I'll call her Catherine the Great), for these amazing shots.

All restaurants reviewed here are within walking distance from the Powell St. Bart Station area with lots of hotels.

Fringale
570 Fourth St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 543-0573

Flytrap
606 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 243-0580

Out The Door
Concourse Level
Westfield Shopping Center
865 Market St.
San Francisco CA 94103
(415) 512-6776

Beard Papa
Multiple Locations
Concourse Level
Westfield Shopping Center
865 Market St.
San Francisco CA 94103
(415) 512-6776

Canada Report: Molto Gelato

Some may suspect I have been rather lax with the postings, but alas, I have been doing my fair share of food hunting in Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies and I kick off my first update with something to cool off from the current heat wave in LA.

I could hardly contain myself when I ran into Mondo Gelato, my favorite gelato shop this side of the world (meaning not Italy), on Robson Street in Vancouver.

I had first run into a Mondo Gelato in Berkeley a few years ago and it was truly love at first bite. It helped that Mondo carried multiple variations of chocolate and hazelnut that I have a soft spot for, including gianduia (chocolate blended with hazelnut), gianduia riso (Gianduia with rice crispies) and Ferrero Rocher (yes, the delectable sphere-shaped chocolate in gelato form), to name a few. It has over 100 flavors.



Mondo beats Pazzo Gelato in Silver Lake hands down, not to mention Angelato Cafe in Santa Monica. I have yet to visit Scoops and other much-hyped gelaterias in LA, but who needs black sesame-flavored gelato when you can have Nutella in all its creamy gelato glory? Better yet, who needs Pinkberry or Red Mango when the more health-conscious have a choice of sorbetto, soy gelato or yogurt?

I relished every morsel of my gelato -- on this particularly serendipitous day, it was two scoops of gianduia in a cup. I happily sampled my companions' flavors, which included vanilla (tasted the wonderfully pure and deep flavor of real vanilla beans, no artificial flavors here), green tea (refreshing and just the right aftertaste that good quality green tea offers) and maple walnut (naturally, I had to try this since we were in Canada and it was perfectly sweet without being overpowering with the right crunchiness of walnut).



I had no idea Mondo's reach extended all the way to Beijing, Rome, Hawaii and three Canadian shops. The closest one to LA is in San Diego (In the historic Gas Lamp District: 435 10th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101), which I haven't yet visited. Maybe it's time for me to trek down to San Diego. How I wish Mondo would land in LA.

Mondo Gelato
1222 Robson Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada V6E 1C1

(604)694-0108