LALALA RAMEN WEEK! (5.30.2014 - 6.05.2014)

This coming whole week is ramen week at Lalala ramen which allows you to get discounted bowls of ramen. Get your coupon now at (http://www.lalalausa.com/ramenweek2014/).

                                     

Santouka (San Diego, Ca) 4.25.2014

After dreading for more than three hours of long commute with a couple of transfers from one station to another, I finally arrive home in my hometown San Diego. I decided to come home for the weekend since I need to renew my expired passport and I also need to go to a COPA consulate meeting which is only being held twice every two months.  I've never been more excited to be back home especially adding the fact that I just finished a pretty busy week full of research, meetings, laboratories, quizzes and midterms. However, I felt bad at the same time since I couldn't come and join my teammates to one of the most anticipated tournament for me that was held at UC Davis. After getting picked up from the train station, my brother called and wanted to eat out for dinner. Since the weather was pretty gloomy and cold, my family wanted to eat at Tofu House at first, however we totally forgot that it was a Friday night and at this time of the week it's usually the busiest time to go there. When we got there we couldn't even find a parking spot so we just left.

Since Tofu House was a no go for us we ended up going to Santouka Hokkaido Ramen. This branch is located inside Mitsuwa's grocery store and it's one of their nine ramen houses in US alone. The place also had a full house when we arrived as I expected but at least they don't have a long line like the one in Tofu House so we were pretty lucky to find a table quickly. 

For one of my side dishes I got a bowl of Ikura served with smoked salmon over rice. This bowl is amazingly savory and good! Probably one of my favorite side dishes here. The smoked salmon along with the Ikura roe was just plainly perfect together with rice *by the way Ikura is basically a salmon roe which you can usually find in your sushi. I was actually eating this while eating my bowl of ramen and my sister wanted to try it out so I gave her my bowl to try it and then later on I found out that she finished it all! I only had a few bite so I didn't got the chance to enjoy it. Well probably she did lol. I should've just ordered two if I only knew.

Santouka Shio Ramen

I ordered their Shio Ramen. Their Shio bowl contains medium size noodles, pickled plum, Menma, Kikurage, and pork back Cha-shu. The broth was actually a Tonkotsu base made from boiling pork bones, vegetables, fish, kelp, as well as other ingredients.

I don't how and how long did it take to make their base soup here but the quality of the taste shows a good amount of effort was put into it. It was mouthwatering good and savory! Their medium size noodles was also cooked just the way I like it not too soft but just perfect to be scrumptious and chewable. However, I didn't like the red plum that they added since I'm not a big fun of the sour crunchy taste of it so I didn't really enjoy that part in my bowl. The Cha-shu pork though was heavenly with a good portion of meat and fat in each cut that I had. Overall, the whole ramen experience was just great with a well balance of flavor and textures in both the ramen bowl and the side dishes that I had... Now the question is would I come back here again? And the answer is a definite Yes. By the way...since I just had ramen in LA just few days ago it's pretty easy to compare and I must say that this one is better than what I had two days ago. Definitely a must try when you're in town.  

Ramen Yukino Ya (Rowland Heights, Ca) 4.23.2014

As week four of Spring quarter finally kick in, this means that uni students will yet again get bombarded with midterms and term papers for the next several days. In my case, I just finished my Microbio midterm last Tuesday and I have another one waiting for me on Friday. Some of my friends even had three midterms back-to-back on the same day which I find really insane! I just couldn't imagine taking that kind of stress anxiety, but then I was jealous since that means they get to finish their midterms earlier in the week. To celebrate the "end" of their midterms, my friends then decided to head to L.A. for some quick goodeats. After searching on the internet for a place to eat, we stumbled upon this noodle house called Ramen Yukino Ya at Rowland Heights. Although it's not as popular as Foo Foo Tei or Shin Sen Gumi, it has some good reviews and it's closer so we decided to give it a try. The place was actually somewhere hidden around gale avenue and since most of us don't live in the L.A. area, we had a hard time finding it.

We were pretty hungry and excited when we finally arrive at the place. Oh yeah I must warn you guys though that this place is CASH ONLY so make sure (if you're like me who often doesnt carry cash) to stop by at an ATM before heading here. The place was actually quite small with some tables for four party groups and a bar sitting area near the kitchen. According to one of the reviews, the owner was from Okinawa so yes this place is an authentic Japanese ramen house and they do speak Japanese here. The menu selection was very simple with your standard choices of soup base, meat, and type of noodles. They don't really have many choices for side dishes except for a combination of ramen with some California rolls that I saw. I'm also not sure but they seem to only have one server in this restaurant but probably it was only that day. Nevertheless we didn't have to wait that long for our food to arrive.

Yukino Ya Tonkotsu

I decided to get their Tonkotsu. The soup base is made from pork bone and vegetables which is boiled in high heat for 10 hours, simmered and reduced to make it creamy and flavorful. Their bowl also comes with thin straight ramen noodles, easy boiled organic egg, black pork belly chashu, Naruto, Yakinori, Menma, bean sprouts, ginger and scallion. 

Although I'm not quite impress by the consistency of the noodles itself, they gave me a pretty good portion of it which I appreciate by eating every last piece of the strand of noodles in my bowl. It was just good! I also got a lot of chashu pork in my bowl which is a big major plus for me since I'm a big fun of chashu. I like that their soup base was not that oily either. It was pretty good and savory but nothing spectacular. 

Yukino Ya Shoyu

Their Shoyu bowl's base soup was made from pork bone, chicken bone, seafood, and vegetables. Slowly cooked and boiled for 10 hours at low heat to make the soup smooth and clear. It come with Chijire-men noodles (wavy noodles) instead of the straight noodles like the Tonkotsu as well as easy boiled egg, black pork belly chashu, Naruto, Yakinori, Menma, bean sprout, and scallion. This bowl is actually my friend's bowl of Shoyu ramen so I can't really give you guys a full good description of it. Although I had a spoon of his Shoyu base soup and I find it better than my Tonkotsu. Well I guess I will never know what I had missed in that bowl. Although they don't have a variety of selection like the other ramen places I've been to, overall this ramen house is a pretty good and decent place to get your ramen craving fixed especially if you're not into waiting in long lines like many of those popular ramen places in LA. Nonetheless we left the place pretty satisfied and full.

Swoon Dessert Bar (North Park, San Diego) 4.12.2014

Today is one of those weekends where its just perfect to be outdoor and to explore around the city. For the past few months everytime I come home for the weekend I've noticed an increase in new places in San Diego. New stores, new supermarkets, and new restaurants just started to emerge around San Diego. My sister and I decided to try this one place in North Park called Swoon Dessert Bar. After looking at their weekly updated menu and people's good reviews on their unique take on desserts, I did not hesitate to book a reservation.

The restaurant is aesthetically clean and modern in its interior design with big glass windows and on its right is an art gallery which is suprisingly connected with the restaurant. Their menu choices though is what caught my attention. In there you are given a choice between their regular individual desserts which are split into two categories: Sweet and Hybrid. Or their Dessert tasting menu which is a 3 course prix fixe menu. With so many good choices, we decided to have the 3 course prix fixe menu AND one dessert from each Hybrid and Sweet menu to be able to try different variety of their desserts. 

Amuse Bouchë 

For our Amuse Bouchë we are given a Roasted Hazelnut almond top with Salted Caramel gelato. 

First Course

This first course involves a Carrot Cake as the base centerpiece served with peas and crunchy carrot cake crumbs top with Carrot Sorbet and a drizzle of Lavender Snow. At first, I did not quite get the concept of the peas being served in a dessert dish and I was worried that it wouldn't work with the sorbet also. However, after trying it I couldn't believe how all these things goes in together perfectly. The warm carrot cake is well baked and moist which compliments the peas and carrot sorbet. I always like that warm and cold combination in desserts which is a major plus in this dessert. The cake crumbs is also my favorite part because it just add that crunch with moist carrot cake. If only my mom served my veggies this way when I was little I wouldn't mind it at all. This course is like a new and modern unique take on vegetable dish and it all works out magically! 

Second course

For the second flight we're given Ramp Biscuit served with seasoned mushroom Browne Butter and Maple Kumquats. This course is more like a savory dish than a sweet dessert. The mushroom along with the biscuit is very tasty and savory although I forgot what is the crunchy leaves is called. The sweet maple kumquats was just perfect with the mushroom and the biscuits as well. I find it really amazing how different flavors can be in just one simple dish.

Third course

For our final course we had a Lemon Sponge Cake served with Ginger Sorbet, Rum Gelee and garnished with Finger Lime. According to Chef Ian this dessert is "not really a dessert but more like a cocktail". If you guys had the drink called Dark 'N' Stormy before then this dessert is his version of it. I was kinda skeptical whether he could actually get the taste of Dark 'N' Stormy at first but after having a taste I was surprised because it really did taste like Dark 'N' Stormy! Until now I'm still blown away and wondering how he can mimic a cocktail drink and put it in a dessert platter. 

Hybrid

For our hybrid dish we had Bay Leaf Gelato served with Beets, Meyer Lemon and Hazelnut. This is another unique take on seasonal ingredients by Chef Ian. The gelato with the beets is my favorite part about this dessert because its creamy and very tasty. 

Sweet

For our sweet dish we had Peanut Butter Gelato served with Celeriac Ganashe, Rum raisins and Candy Celery. Oh man how am I even gonna start on this amazing dessert. First thing I must say that the peanut butter gelato was just insanely good and creamy! Although I am not a big fun of the rum raisins, this dessert hits the home run with the addition of celeriac ganashe and candy celery that added texture and crunch to this dessert. Definitely a must try especially if you're a peanut butter lover!

Kopan Ramen Japanese Noodle House (Fullerton, Ca) 4.10.2014

It's finally Friday! again lol. I feel like every week of my senior year just keeps going faster and faster and not only that the amount of workload also has been increasing each week. I decided to go back to San Diego this weekend because I felt like I haven't been home for awhile and a friend of mine convinced me to take the train with him. Riverside's weather these past few days wasn't that great either which I think was also one of the reason I decided to go home. Anyways, I was hungry as I arrive to Fullerton station and I was debating weather to eat somewhere or just wait till I arrive to San Diego since I only had a couple of minutes till I catch my next train to Oceanside. However, my hungry stomach couldn't handle it anymore so I whip out my iPhone to look for some goodeats. This then led me to a ramen place called Kopan Ramen House which is literally a 5 minute walk from the station.

As I arrive, I was lucky that the place wasn't busy and so I was promptly seated right away. Their menu was very simple which consist of two sizes of ramen bowls: a small size for $6 and a regular size for $8. Along with this, you are also given a choice of meat and the spice level of your base soup for your ramen as well as other extra ingredients and side dishes.

I decided to order a small bowl of ramen with cha-shu pork for my choice of meat, dried seaweed and eggs for the side and a mild level of spies of their Kopan ramen base soup which is a Tonkotsu rich broth soup. In less than 10 minutes voila... My order came out and I was excited to eat it! The soup base of the ramen was actually pretty good and savory with less oil floating around compared to other ramens that I have eaten before. I wish I ordered extra chashu pork since I only counted two to three meats in my bowl although they gave me a decent amount of noodles and for a $6 ramen bowl I'm not gonna even complain about it. Overall, this place is actually pretty good and cheap for a quick-stop ramen shop especially for hungry commuters like me looking for decent quickbites. It was just about time when I reach the station again that my next train to Oceanside arrive and I can finally go home with a happy stomach.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon (MGM Grand, Las Vegas) 3.30.2014

It was our last day of Spring break in Las Vegas and pretty much it was also our last quarter before our graduation. We decided to stay for another day so that we do not have to go through the traffic on our way back home. Our group decided to split up and to do whatever they wish for on that day. Most of the people in the group decided to gamble again to win their money back after losing last night lol... I do not know how to play poker and I never find any pleasure in gambling so I was stuck and had nothing to do. It then suddenly came to my mind about this one place I have always wanted to try. After meeting with a friend from San Diego, who coincidentally was also in town, I decided to check off a long overdue item in my restaurant bucket list: L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon at MGM is one of the eight branches around the world (one in particular in Westminster, London which have received a Michelin star) owned by one of the international legendary chef in haute cuisine and Chef of the Century, Joël Robuchon. Given the time we still had in Vegas, I couldn't let the chance to just pass me by so I decided to head to MGM Grand Hotel where it's located. To be honest, the idea to dine at Joël Robuchon that day was so spontaneous that I was not even wearing the proper attire to eat at a fine dining restaurant lol (I was just wearing a tshirt and shorts I slept in that night!) but I was like the hell with it I'm there only for the food anyways.

I actually came at the right time because there was only a couple of diners and plenty of space at the chef's table so I was promptly seated right away as I arrive. The restaurant itself have a big open kitchen area where people from the bar and even diners at table can pleasurably watch the chefs at work. I was lucky and sitted at the chefs bar and I was able to see the action in the kitchen. Overall, this restaurant is aesthetically modern with major red, black and steel color pattern which is what I have expected at a L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon. Although I find some elements in the restaurant to be tacky, the restaurant itself still gives that classy and elegant vibe.

As for the starter they handed some complimentary assorted bread with butter while I waited for my first dish to be made. The assorted breads were warm and buttery especially the soft and crusty rolls which was just too delicious to resist! I also find the butter that they serve here to be really unique and probably one of the best butter I have ever had! It was light, smooth and creamy with a hint of sweet. According to my server it's called Echiré butter which is considered to be the 'queen of all butter'. Echiré is handmade exclusively in France and only made in small quantities because of it's delicate texture and flavor in that even by just touching the butter it can change the composition of texture of the butter, which is why they only let small batches to be exported out of the country, so consider yourself lucky if you get some here! I didn't really get bored waiting for my order since I enjoyed eating the bread and was able to see how the chef made my food.

Le Amuse Bouchë: foie gras parfait

Another starter they hand me for my Amuse Bouchë was the Foie gras parfait with Parmesan foam and port wine. The combination of flavors of the port wine reduction and the Parmesan foam along with the hint of foie gras gave this Amuse Bouchë a rich texture which I find really unique and very tasty. Definitely one of the best and a favorite Amuse Bouchë of mine.

Le Foie gras

For my first main dish I decided to get a traditionally poached chilled duck foie gras. This foie gras has the most insanely rich texture I have ever had and it's almost like a creamy cheese by itself it was delicious! At the same time, this dish was also served with a warm toast on the side which was just perfect with foie gras' rich texture. Coming from California, I felt really lucky to able to get my hands on it since our state ban the sale of foie gras.

Le Caille foie gras

For my second dish I had their highly recommended dish: the savory Caramelized quail stuffed with foie gras and served with Joël Robuchon's famous mashed potato. This dish sent me into cloud nine with its savory and rich flavor. The caramelized quail was just perfectly executed and packed with amazing flavors and richness. I could probably eat five more servings of this delicious duck! Probably my favorite dish during this dining experience.

Le Chocolat

Sensation, crémeux à l'Araguani, biscuit Oreo / Chocolate sensation, (crémeux) Araguani, Oreo cookie crumbs. As I like sweets having a good desert always hit the spot and gives that final thrill of satisfaction. The dessert had some chocolate pudding consistency which really compliments with the biscuit Oreo serve on the top. The lower portion of the desert had a little surprise with it's chocolate pearl beads that gave the desert more crunch and a different texture. This dessert really sent my sweettooth cravings into heaven! 

NOBU (Gaslamp, San Diego) 3.24.2014

This is the main sushi bar in the restaurant. However, there are also lounges for a big party diners as well as your regular dining table. I've decided to eat at their sushi bar instead of getting a table since I find it a much better experience dining at a bar setting when eating sushi because of the pleasure of being able to see how the chef makes you food.

 

#1 Akami bluefin tuna

#2 Ebi

#3 Uni 

It's almost always mandatory to have an Uni every time I eat sushi

#4 Ikura (Fish roe)

Another must have for sushi diners

Jalapeño Yellowtail sashimi

This dish is one of the popular dish in NOBU. I was kinda skeptical at first to order this sashimi since I am not a big fan of jalapeño in my food, however this is probably one of those exceptions. The combination of jalapeño and the clean flavor of the yellowtail fish really compliment each other and gives this dish a fresh taste that will make you crave it again.