King of the Taco World?

I finally tried King Taco and it didn't disappoint. I can't say it was the best I've ever had, but its al pastor version definitely got me hooked on this barbecued pork that is slightly charred on the edges with a slightly pinkish color.

King Taco is almost like a fast food chain, boasting 16 locations throughout Southern California. I realized when I went that I had much to learn about the humble taco. I had prided myself in being somewhat of a connoisseur of this Mexican classic. I fondly recalled the carne asada tacos I had during a road trip to Baja California where I drove all the way to La Paz over the course of several days, stopping by little known towns on the way such as Ciudad Constitucion and Guerrero Negro, and sampling different varieties of tacos in each city. The folks in these towns weren't used to people stopping by and it didn't take long for us to find a favorite taco stand in Ciudad Constitucion run by a very nice lady who made everything from scratch. Needless to say, we made sure to stop by her stand on the way back up to L.A..



Back to King Taco. Upon entering, I saw a very long counter that divided the customer and the cooks/assemblers. After seeing the wide array of filling choices, I had to annoy the lady behind the counter by asking her gringa questions like, "What is buche, molleja, and suadero?" Just so you don't have to hold everyone up at the line, here's the lowdown.

Buche is pig's stomach. Molleja are sweetbreads, those thymus glands of veal, young beef, lamb and pork. I'm not sure which animal's sweetbreads King Taco uses, but I'm going to assume they use the pig's. Suadero is a thin cut of beef from the meat that hangs from the breast bone on a cow.

I tried the Suadero, which had an interesting texture that I didn't love. My favorite was al pastor, perhaps reflected in the photo above that focuses on the top left taco. The bottom left was the carne asada that was nothing to write home about. And the bottom right is the suadero, which I wouldn't get again. The combination of the meats, raw chopped onions and fresh cilantro topped with fiery red salsa was pretty good. You could also ask for salsa verde.



King Taco also offers carnitas (shredded pork), lengua (cow tongue), cabeza (cow head) and chicken. We also got rice, beans and guacamole on the side, all of which were decent but nothing special.

Factoid: I was surprised to find that King Taco owns El Taurino on Hoover and Olympic in Koreatown, which serves famed burritos with very spicy salsa that you want to make sure to get on the side. This is the joint that gets extremely crowded on weekend evenings, so much that they have a truck in the parking lot behind the actual restaurant that caters to late-night workers or club-crawlers until the wee hours.

King Taco
645 E. Washington Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90015
(213) 747-9915

Dim Sum: Mission Impossible

I've been in a quest for good dim sum ever since I moved here about five years ago, and sadly, I have yet to find that perfectly steamed har gow in razor thin rice paper filled with plump shrimps -- yes, the kind served in those huge, bustling halls in Hong Kong.

True, I haven't looked that hard and barely made it to a few San Gabriel Valley favorites, but none has impressed me so far. Lately I have motivated myself to trek out there on a regular basis to check out various dim sum joints, including Triumphal Palace recommended by a trusted source for all things Chinese and auto-related, and The Kitchen recommended by J. Gold.



The first thing I liked about Triumphal Palace was the short wait and its manageable size. No throngs of large parties waiting outside for hours on end. This place doesn't do carts, and as much as I like to chase down the cart ladies while trying to understand what they describe is in the dim sum, no cart means it's all made to order -- hence, more fresh.



We ordered the usual suspects, such as shrimp dumpling, pea-tips and seafood dumpling, vegetarian dumpling, shanghai dumpling, BBQ pork buns and sticky rice in lotus leaf. They were acceptable, but the best was something new we tried, grandiosely called House Special Dumpling in Supreme Soup Stock. It is a deep-fried bean curd roll with a mix of carrots, bamboo shoots and green onions inside that comes in a surprisingly refreshing, clear broth (aka Supreme Stock).



My second favorite was the pea-tips and seafood dumpling, mostly because I happen to like the combination of shrimp and greens and the shrimp was fresh. In the same vein, the basic har gow shrimp dumpling was good but not fantastic. The steamed baby broccoli provided some much-needed fiber.



The shanghai dumplings were too dense and didn't have enough soup inside. There's a reason they are called soup dumplings. These didn't even give me the pleasure of poking a hole to let the hot steam out before biting into them. The BBQ pork buns were a bit too porky and fatty. I got the sense that the pork wasn't the best quality.



As for the Kitchen, it has some cart service but we mostly ordered off the menu. The only two standouts were the noodle dish with lobster that we ordered after our neighboring table started devouring its own; and the sweet green tea concoctions with red bean inside that I couldn't stop popping into my mouth.

The noodle dish seemed luxurious with its glistening lobster pieces in the shell and colorful vegetables sewn throughout the large plate. To be brutally honest, the dish looked better than it actually tasted, but that didn't stop me from deriving satisfaction whenever I scooped out a large piece of lobster meat from the shell.



The green tea rice cakes tasted like they were deep fried or maybe baked, but were perfectly soft and addictively just sweet enough. I couldn't stop eating them despite having reached my capacity for the day. It made me forget about my favorite dessert at dim sum joints -- the mini-custard pies.

One thing I noticed about both these places is that service was unusually courteous and attentive. I wasn't sure whether to be sorry the dim sum experience had become less authentic or glad I was finally getting refills of my chrysanthemum tea without having to chase down the wait staff. Whatever you do, try to get there before noon to avoid a wait. I would probably try them out for their regular menus as well.

Factoid: Dim sum literally means "touch the heart," or "order to your heart's content," but meaning "morsel/snack".

Triumphal Palace
500 W Main St Ste A
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 308-3222

The Kitchen
203 W. Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 289-4828

From Beirut with Love: Care for a Kefta?

I've never had Lebanese food until as luck would have it, I ended up living very close to a Lebanese restaurant -- and a good one at that. Sunnin Cafe is a great neighborhood haunt -- it's affordable, has reasonably healthy and good-tasting food and is a family-run hole in the wall.

Walk in to Sunnin on a Saturday morning and you'll see delectably plumb eggplants crowded onto the grill, getting prepared to let out all their great smoky flavors.

My favorite appetizers are rekakat, which are rolls made out of filo dough stuffed with feta cheese, onions and parsley; spicy potatoes flavored with cilantro, garlic and spices; and babaganouj, the always-popular grilled eggplant dip.



The falafels aren't bad but what I really like is the refreshing "Lebanese salad" that comes with most entrees. The salad, consisting of chopped romaine lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes, is dressed with a super light combination of oil, lemon and parsley. There may well be some other secret ingredient that I don't know about, but these are the ingredients I can taste.

The salad almost makes the other deep-fried appetizers guilt-free. Bite into a rekakat and the crispy filo dough comes crumbling down, only to find a burst of creamy feta goodness inside. Because it is rather strong, I wouldn't want to have more than one rekakat. One is enough to awaken your appetite and have you look forward to the main dish.



I am partial to the spicy kefta, which is grilled skewers of ground beef with chopped onions, parsley and spices, baked in a spicy tomato sauce. Despite its moniker, it's not overly spicy and the fluffy rice mixed with short strands of brown noodle-like garnishes is the perfect accompaniment. If you fancy some balance to the tomato-y sauce, top it off with some yogurt salad, which is a mix of yogurt and cucumber slices seasoned with garlic and mint.

If I'm feeling like something a tad healthier, I get the chicken kebab, a plate of grilled chicken skewers that comes with the Lebanese salad and the same rice. I generally avoid chicken skewers for fear of being disappointed by dry blobs of chicken breast, but Sunnin's are moist and juicy with just the right hint of the burnt grilled flavor on the edges of the chicken cubes.



I consider the spicy potatoes to be a side more than an appetizer, as I like to have the cilantro-tinged potatoes -- that have been deep-fried and smothered in garlic and other spices -- in between bites of the spicy kefta, rather than before. The potatoes could be a little less oily, but the chopped fresh cilantro adds a slightly citrus-like flavor that make the potatoes taste less heavy.

As for the babaganouj, what's not to like? I will say, however, that I prefer the mutabbal, the Armenian equivalent, at Zankou from my previous posting.

My companion is a fan of sfiha, baked dumplings stuffed with ground beef, tomatoes, onions and pine nuts, but I find the dough of the dumplings, well, too doughy. If you must try one of these, I recommend fatayer, which is a vegetarian one with spinach, onions and pine nuts that is a bit less doughy. The tabouleh salad, burgul with tomatoes, onions, parsley and lemon juice, is another favorite of my usual dinner companion because of its refreshing qualities. I can live without it.



I didn't care for the various sausage varieties touted by the friendly owner, the mousakaa despite my love of eggplant, or that Mediterranean favorite, grape leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables, which are called warak enab.

For on-the-go lunch-seekers, most of the entrees can be had in a pita as a sandwich with the notable exception of the spicy kefta.

There is also a Long Beach branch.

Sunnin Cafe
1779 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 477-2358

Thank You Zankou

I've tried many a rotisserie chicken in my lifetime, and I can safely say that Zankou Chicken is hands down one of the best I have ever had. Sure, it raised its prices slightly since expanding to the West side and such, but you can't expect the owners to keep their everyday low prices forever. I do have a beef with the valet parking at the West side location, however. I don't want to pay for valet when I'm going for a quick and cheap bite.

Zankou's chicken is just what rotisserie chicken should be -- crispy skin on the outside that's browned to perfection and moist, juicy meat on the inside seasoned with just the right amount of salt. I prefer the juicier dark meat and like it as is -- I consider the famed garlic sauce, which is really lard mixed with minced garlic, a distraction.

An Armenian family opened the first Zankou in Beirut, Lebanon, back in the 1960s, eventually opening one in LA after they immigrated here in the 1980s at the original Sunset & Normandie location. Zankou has since expanded to six outlets throughout Southern California and counting.



I haven't tried much Armenian food but I really like the bright fuschia pickled radish strips that come with the chicken. They're almost reminiscent of the more vinegary radish cubes that are on the sweeter side and come with Korean-style deep fried chicken smothered in spicy sauce that has reportedly become all the rage in New York. Take a bite of the pink radish after every chicken morsel and it refreshingly cleanses the palate. For heat, since this is LA, after all, there are pickled jalapeno peppers.



I always order mutabbal, which is akin to baba ghanoush, made out of eggplant, tahini sauce and garlic. Tear that pita bread and plunge it into this sumptuous dip with a smoky flavor from the grilled eggplant. Although a party of two totaled a whole chicken at a recent visit, I usually get the 1/4 dark meat chicken that includes hommus, radishes and tomato salad (the last of which I don't care for).

I have only been to the West LA and original locations, but hear they are fairly consistent throughout.



West LA location
1716 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 444-0550

Simply the Best Sushi in LA

I am both happy and sad that Hiko Sushi is no longer LA's best-kept secret, no thanks to LA Weekly's food critic, J. Gold, who recently reviewed this not-so-hidden gem and led us to stand in line for the first time since we stumbled upon it over fours years ago.

A few months after it opened in 2003, we were driving by and my companion suggested we try it, saying it "looks promising." I took one look at the storefront and nondescript mini-mall it was situated in, and dismissed it immediately. After he insisted we give it a shot, I broke down and agreed. We walked in, only to be greeted by a young woman who, upon knowing it was our first time there, proceeded to give us a laundry list of all the things Hiko does not do, including California rolls, teriyaki or anything cooked, stressing that it was "traditional sushi only."

She added that if we sat at the bar, it would be chef's choice, known as omakase. Forget it, I said, slightly put off by this imposition, we're sitting at a table because I want to order what I want.

The first experience was good, sampling tuna (maguro), yellowtail (hamachi), salmon and others.

The best was yet to come, however. We sat at the bar on our next visit, at the complete mercy of the chef, and have never looked back since. It's too bad that on food message boards and circles, sushi chef & owner Shinji-san is known more for his strict rules and lack of "Mr. Personality"-evoking friendliness than the amazing fish and the craft he masters so beautifully every time we go. The man is an earnest guy who takes his craft seriously and doesn't care about prominent food critics or A-list celebrities who seem to flock to his no-frills establishment time and time again.



Let me run down our usual sequence of jewels, infused by some anecdotes told by his daughters, who are also the wait staff. He starts us off with the most refreshing baby tuna sashimi salad, drizzled with ponzu sauce and sprinkled with tons of sesame seeds and finely-chopped green onions. Lovely.

Hamachi (yellowtail) is next. Good as always. I love that he pairs the slightly cold fish slabs with perfectly cooked, warm rice. The pairing is phenomenal. Like most things, I learned to appreciate the right chewiness of the rice grains after having one too many sushi where the rice crumbled or was too hard due to over-refrigeration. I couldn't help recalling a 20-series Japanese manga(comic book) entitled "Sushi King" about the art of sushi-making and the trials and tribulations of sushi chefs and their apprentices. One book was devoted entirely to perfecting the rice -- making it from the best rice grains grown from a tiny, remote village and cooked to just the right doneness.

As anticipation of our next dish starts to simmer, we dip into the freshly-grated wasabi on our plate alongside pickled ginger slices, and dissolve it with soy sauce. The light green wasabi tastes as fresh as it looks. It doesn't come cheap. A single root (photo: Wikipedia) may cost $8 to $10, and wasabi roots cost about $70 to $100 a pound.



Shinji-san then offers red snapper garnished only with rock salt and a dab of grated yuzu. "No soy sauce," he says gently, meaning this one doesn't need to be dipped because it's already seasoned. Fresh with just the right tart-ness from the citrus, score again. Yuzu is a key ingredient in the much-loved ponzu sauce and is used in many other east Asian cuisines to garnish. Koreans store sliced yooja (yuzu) in honey and dissolve it in hot water to make yooja tea, a cold remedy.



What's amazing about this chef, besides being a master, is that even though it is omakase, he remembers what his loyal customers like and serves them exactly in the sequence we always have it. We spotted another regular having multiple shellfish varieties that were totally different from ours. And despite outraged postings about his alleged rules of not allowing one to order the same thing more than twice, he never gave us a hard time about our requests. I, for example, prefer my sushi without wasabi in them and he was more than willing to oblige. In fact, he gets super apologetic when he happens to forget because his hands move so quickly.



But I digress again. I happily await as Shinji-san assembles my all-time favorite sushi, the utterly velvety toro(fatty tuna). It just doesn't get better than this. The fat gives it an almost meaty taste and texture, full of deep flavor and melt-in-your-mouth smoothness. Every time I pop one into my mouth, I can't help but hum "mmmmm" for extended periods of time as I savor this true gem.



Albacore tuna with ponzu sauce topped with chopped green onions is a winner too. Then comes a small amuse bouche of sorts, tuna sashimi with ponzu sauce nested in fried wonton skin. This was on the house but would probably cost a hefty $12 at a fancy restaurant with a velvet rope.

My second favorite is the blue crab handroll, a beauty that comes wrapped in a super-crispy seaweed sheet. He once told us in passing that a small box of these nori sheets cost $300. It certainly tastes like a million dollars. I appreciate his high standards even more when we venture to other much-hyped sushi joints like Sasabune and Echigo and are served sloppy handrolls on not-so-crunchy nori sheets that are torn or have pebbles of rice on the outside. These popular places have absolutely nothing on Hiko.



Shinji-san is credited for making me an uni(sea urchin) convert. It turns out that I like uni -- so long as it's as fresh as the one Shinji-san serves. Prior ones I've tried had a weird smell that reminded me of the sewage system. Not good. As soon as I took my first bite of his uni, it was sheer creamy goodness. Just can't get enough.



We usually wrap it up with anago (fresh-water eel) -- flash-broiled nice and warm with just a hint of the syrupy brown sauce. This one melts too. Just don't ask for more sauce. I never felt the need to ask for more, but I heard that it has historically irked the chef, to put it mildly. You won't get more, so my advice would be to trust him. You won't be sorry.

Other major pet peeves for the chef are cellphone users (that's a "no cellphones" sign you see below) and those who leave out the rice (I recently witnessed an offender who was politely told by Shinji-san's daughter, the waitress, that Shinji-san wouldn't serve her if she left the rice out) and those like Cameron Diaz who allegedly asked for more ponzu sauce (she was refused). I read a few complaints on message boards about how it was the worst service ever but it isn't surprising when they proceed to reveal that they had violated his rules and thus disrespected him. When they protested, some were promptly kicked out. I wish more restaurants had a zero-tolerance policy on obnoxious customers.



On occasion, Shinji-san has served up bonito (yes, the fresh version of bonito flakes, those animated shavings that dance when you sprinkle atop an okonomiyaki, Japanese pancake), sardine and monkfish liver. All were fresh but I wouldn't say they were my favorites.

Two very thin slices of fruit is the complimentary dessert. I should also add that Shinji-san has a disdain for loud people. When a group of young, bubbly and loud kids raved about how good the sushi was and that they would bring their friends next time, Shinji-san didn't flash an ounce of a smile and grunted, "Next time, be more quiet." Terrified, they smiled awkwardly and ran for the door. I suppose it's his prerogative to dislike loud people in his establishment. The funny thing is, the chef doesn't even know celebrities like Josh Harnett or Scarlett Johansson who allegedly stopped by for a bite -- not to mention a Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic who could give him a huge business boost (Let's just say he doesn't plan on framing the LA Weekly review and putting it up on his wall). And when asked what he thought about the positive LA Weekly review, he said it was true. When asked what he thought about the critic, he shrugged and said, "I don't care." His self-assuredness often passes as arrogance. He's an artist, what can I say?



Disclaimer: My budget hasn't allowed me to try perennial favorites such as Ursawa and Nobu (although I did try Nobu in Las Vegas and it wasn't all that), but I have tried the overrated Kiriko (blah) on Sawtelle, in addition to the aforementioned Sasabune and Echigo. In NYC, I have tried Tomoe Sushi (not worth the wait), Blue Ribbon Sushi (yuk), Nobu Next Door (not great) and more recently, Shimizu (innovative sushi), all of which were not as good as Hiko. At the risk of ruffling some feathers, I hereby anoint Hiko to be the best sushi in all of the US.

Make no mistake. This meal won't come cheap -- about $70 per person including tax and tip if you do omakase without drinks or miso soup. Lunch won't be any cheaper. The illogical but convenient trend of charging less for the same items for lunch doesn't apply here. I have also seen them turn away multiple customers who asked for take-out. How do you expect the sushi to hold up when the steaming rice is straight out of the rice cooker?

I am heartened that it's doing as well as it is, as I was concerned when I saw the empty tables on weekends throughout the years. It's a family-run business where wife and children all pitch in, and that makes me want to support it even more. If you ever decide to try it, tell him you read it here. He'll know it was me and I guarantee you he won't kick you out unless you violate his rules! My only complaint is that they need to diversify their music choices. Shinji-san is an avid fan of bossa nova singer, Lisa Ono, and he is in desperate need of some new music infusion. I'm tempted to bring him a new CD on my next visit.

I've decided to include an address for all restaurants I review from now on.

Hiko Sushi
11275 National Blvd. (at Sawtelle)
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 473-7688

Eating Healthy at a Westwood Greasy Spoon

I'm on a roll with comfort food. Next up, we head to our trusty ol' brunch destination, the no-frills, 50's-themed greasy spoon where portions are decidedly huge and atmosphere student-friendly: Headlines Diner & Press Club, aka. Headlines. Unless you're a truck-driver or a college student with a voracious appetite and sky-high metabolism, one order of the omelet should be enough to feed two.

My favorite omelet is the healthy omelet, which isn't that healthy save for the fact that it has vegetables. It also has optional cheese that I gladly opt for.



I like that a host of chopped green bell peppers, zucchini, onions, tomatoes and avocados are fully integrated into the omelet with the cheese holding everything together. Too often I have encountered omelets where the egg is separate from the filling like a pocket and everything falls out when I lift to eat it. Believe it or not, it's pretty rare to see such well-integrated omelets, even in fancy establishments.

The omelet comes with a choice of toast or English muffin and hash browns or fruit. I usually get the wheat toast and hash browns (I can only do so much healthy). It's hard to resist the tempting pile of potatoes stacked on the griddle in the open kitchen, in plain view of customers sitting on the counter nursing their coffee. The hash browns aren't exactly the thinly-shredded-and-cooked-to-brown-perfection kind I am partial to, but they still have some brown bits and more importantly, are hearty.



If you're not a butter and jam person, extract chunks of the avocado from the omelet and spread them on your crunchy wheat toast and sprinkle with some salt. It's healthier (yes, it's a theme) and so much more flavorful! In Chile, people spread palta, or avocado, on bread all the time, not to mention hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.

I have tried other omelets but this one is my favorite. I have also tried the breakfast burrito, which come in two's and are appropriate if you're desperate but inappropriate if you're heading to East LA or Orange County, where you can get a better one for a fraction of the price.



One thing I didn't have this day but highly recommend are the classic diner fare -- curly fries. It's spicy, crispy and plentiful. What's not to like? My companions were also seduced by the inviting look of the fries on somebody else's plate. While you're at it, you may as well try the fish and chips, which are surprisingly good. Sure, Headlines is no Irish pub. But it's decent. I wouldn't get the burger, however, which was not that different from Fatburger across the street.

It gets crowded on weekends, so come before 11am and you'll be ok. I can't speak for its coffee, but I always order Naked Juice OJ, which is good enough for me. So visit your friendly neighborhood diner, sit on the counter and devour that massive omelet. Occasionally, you'll sit next to hung over kids or extremely loud kids, but they're generally innocuous. Besides, it's owned by Koreans so we support the peeps and it's run by the super-efficient and friendly Mendez brothers, who have worked there for years and love soccer.

I Gotta Goreng

After recently having traveled and tried a host of new places, I was ready to go back to my favorite haunts in LA and appreciate the familiar.

Naturally, we headed to Singapore's Banana Leaf at the Original Farmers' Market. The food is an eclectic mix of Singaporean, Malaysian and Indian and I can't get enough of it. The outdoor food court gets pretty crazy and often cold at nights, but it's hard to beat the value and spice at this tucked-away joint.

On this particular night, we had fish curry, which is my personal favorite, mee goreng (stir-fried noodles with vegetables and tofu), nasi goreng (fried rice with vegetables and chicken), beef rendang, which the menu describes as "spicy coconut, chili, ginger chicken or beef served with rice & cucumber pickle," and is usually my second favorite except this night, it lacked spice unlike most of the times we've asked for spicy (it was a busy night), spring rolls, samosas, roti paratha and chicken satay.



The fish curry (above) was just spicy enough and the green peas, carrots and cauliflower were cooked just right and the cilantro sprinkled on top gave the sauce a very fresh flavor. We usually ask to make the beef rendang (left) spicy, but it wasn't this time and disappointed. When it is spicy, though, it goes so well with white rice and has a very complex flavor -- a hint of ginger here, chili there. Wonderful.



The appetizers are almost more impressive than the main dishes. I'm sure it's got loads of butter and not good for you, but the decadently crispy and fluffy roti paratha dipped in the all-too salty curry sauce was extremely satisfying. Tearing apart this Indian bread reminded me of croissants, as they have similar textures.



I've only had the chicken satay and both the meat and sauce were good. The only complaint I had is that the meat could be more thinly sliced so it wouldn't so hard to get it off the skewer and less filling! The samosas were perfectly crunchy and almost creamy on the inside with an amalgam of potatoes, peas and spices. The spring rolls were an afterthought -- not particularly memorable. I wouldn't order this unless you generally love spring rolls.



Now on to the rice and noodles. The rice dish, nasi goreng, is a classic Indonesian dish that I remember fondly from my days traveling in Bali. Likewise, the noodle dish, mee goreng, is a standard Indonesian dish I recall eating quite a bit of when I was there. My favorite part being the fried egg on top, I asked for it but didn't get it this time due to the busyness. You can usually get the egg without asking if you order the set combo that comes with a smaller portion of the noodles or rice and 2 satay sticks.



The noodles were ok but on the dry side. I wanted a bit more moisture and I think the runny goodness of a fried egg may have accomplished that. Sigh. The rice was probably my least favorite. It was dry, dry, dry, and the dry chicken strips on top didn't help.



Even though we didn't on this particular night, we've also had the Rojak Salad, which comes with cucumber, jicama, pineapple, bean sprouts, apple, tofu, and spinach, tossed with a spicy peanut tamarind dressing. Refreshing and healthy, but it didn't serve our purpose of going for comfort food.

Wash it down with an ice-cold mango juice, grab a table amid the busy foot traffic browsing the food stands and dig in. Welcome home.