Not a restaurant review per se, but I got a chance to visit a very good friend of mine last weekend and bless her heart for showing me around a tip of the iceberg of Southern California. I was only there for 2.5 days but we wasted no time and we did not waste any stomach room either. Onward ho!
No. 1 Noodle House
18180 Colima Road
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(626)839-7093
Beef Noodle Soup
[~$8]
Nestled in Yes Plaza, this delectable was sold in a small shop. My friend told me that they were known for the tender beef and she did not lie. It was very soft and full of flavor. They offered plenty of noodles, some stalks of vegetables and a small handful of pickled vegetables. This place makes a great lunch stop or a quick dinner. [4/5]
Phoenix Food Boutique
18166 Colima Road
Rowland Heights, CA 91478
(626)965-8688
Assorted Mochi Combo: Taro, Mango, Red Bean, and Sesame
[~$3.25]
I had previously been to Phoenix before but I didn't have a chance to try too many things, but this time was different. Mochis! Pheonix's mochis have a high filling to skin ratio. Personally I prefer more chewy mochi skin goodness but fans of filling will have a party in their mouth. I also appreciated the tiny toasted coconut flakes on the surface, which gave me texture variety while I chewed. [3.5/5]
Mango Grapefruit Pudding
[~$3]
This dessert bore resemblance of Hong Kong's classic mango pudding but with a twist --> grapefruit! Normally I don't like grapefruit due to its sour and bitter aftertaste but when some of its pulp was mixed with the very sweet mango and pudding dessert the sweet and tart combination was very appealing. [3.5/5]
Phoenix Milk Tea
[~$3]
This milk tea is STRONG. Good and wholesome, but strong! I strongly recommend this for people who either enjoy that taste or need that afternoon pick me up buzz! [3.5/5]
Macau Tiramisu
[~$3]
The anatomy of this tiramisu version was that it alternated between this very sweet crumbly graham cracker textured layer of cake and a subtly sweet cream for about 3-4 layers. It had a hint of coffee taste and no rum taste at all. This wasn't overpoweringly sweet and definitely worth a try if you can't decide on any dessert! [4/5]
Other notables that weren't shown:
Barley Juice with Lime [~$3] - The name says it all, a very cool and refreshing drink with barley bits and the lime adds a nice little kick [3.5/5]
Durian Roll [~$3] - This is a MUST for durian lovers! It's a rectangular piece of mochi with the coconut toppings wrapped around durian filling. I bought this for Ducky and he was very pleased when he nommed on it (and so was I!). [4.5/5]
Half and Half Tea Express
18558 Gale Ave
Industry, CA 91748
Iced Milk Drink with Caramel, Grass Jelly, and Honey Boba
[$3.85]
A sky rocketing trend these days in the milk tea world is the emergence of iced milk drinks. It's not straight up milk, but a very sweet and creamy drink. Of course like other pearl drinks you can load it up with a lot condiments whether it's pudding, jellies, or pearls. Half and Half is one of the most famous, if not the most famous place to grab one of these suckers. I ordered the most popular drink and replaced the pudding with grass jelly. I could have done without the caramel because I felt it made it too sweet for me, but otherwise I loved the drink. It's definitely a different taste from the usual milk tea drinks. It's that creamy aftertaste that really got me hooked. [5/5]
P.S. For us folks up in the Bay Area, there is a notable shop in San Francisco known as the Purple Kow that also serves iced milk just as good @ 3620 Balboa Street, SF, CA 94121. Beware though, at their busiest times the wait can be up to 40 minutes long so coming at off periods are recommended!
Honey Pig
3400 W 8th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213)380-0256
Pork Belly Barbecue Set
[~$26]
Grilled Pork Belly with Kimchi, Green Onion, and Bean Sprouts on a Rice Wrap
We received a couple of recommendations to try this place from my class mates. It's not an all you can eat restaurant, but I felt the quality of meat was very good. I love pork belly, especially its thicker cut brethren. The set came with Korean miso soup, meat, green onion salad, kimchi, bean sprouts, green lettuce an onion, and fried rice! It's a better deal to me than going to Benihana. My friend ordered the bulgolgi set which was also good but I believe this place is more known for their pork, hence Honey Pig! [4/5]
189 The Grove Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Coffee, Chocolate, Praline Macarons
[$5]
The Farmer's Market at The Grove in Los Angeles is one of the most charming places I have been to in Southern California. It has many permanent stalls offering a variety of baked goods, imports, specialty foods, teas, and so much more. I highly recommend this place for a stroll in the early evening (and to whet your appetite). At Mr. Marcel's Gourmet Market I picked up a few enticing macarons. They were very delicious and well made. Crunchy outside layer but cookie like texture on the inside, and who can deny their wonderfully flavored creams in the middle? The price for these macarons is a steal. [4/5]
Tebo Tebo Tea Lounge
15556 Brookhurst Street
Westminster, CA 92683
(714)839-0030
O.M.G.
Red Beans, Pom Pearls, Grass Jelly, Pandan Jelly, and Boba in Coconut MIlk
[$3.50]
They weren't kidding when they called it the O.M.G. because I was flabbergasted at how huge this drink was. Normally I am not a fan of coconut milk, but mixed in with the variety of jellies it came with made the experience overall enjoyable. This is only one of Tebo Tebo's plethora of drinks available. [3.5/5]
Grilled Honey Garlic Pork
[$1.99/stick]
This was really good meat on a stick. And it was also really cheap which won me over. Usually when I go to yakitori places I am baffled at how they can charge so much for meat on a stick (even if it's "specially charcoal grilled"). Although it was a bit salty, still a tasty treat (and not to mention the complementing pickled carrots and daikon salad that comes with it). [4/5]
Eye Candy Toast Box
Thick Toast Topped with Condensed Milk Custard Cream, Strawberries, Apples, Green Tea Ice Cream, and Mochi
[$7.99]
This is the very reason we stepped into this cafe. The gigantic toast box of wonders. To give a good perspective....this monster is probably about a little under a foot. What made this so unique to me was how they toasted it and pre-cubed the insides for you. When sliced open you'll get a number of carb-licious cubes tumbling out. Combining that with the jam packed toppings that come on top of this toast box made it a divine eating fest. I believe this is what Tebo Tebo is most famous for, their toast boxes and I highly recommend going here to try it! [5/5]
Daikon Rice Cake with Egg and Papaya Salad
[$3.99]
We ordered a couple of things including that pork skewer and this rice cake to balance out the overload of sweets we were going to have. It was good, not too greasy, and a good palate cleanser, but nothing extraordinary over here. [3/5]
Bruxie
292 North Glassell Street
Orange, CA 92866
(714)633-3900
Creme Brulee Waffle
[$6.50]
This was another venue recommended to me by my classmates. My friend and I teamed up so we could have a chance to try one savory and one sweet waffle sandwich. The Creme Brulee Waffle got a little cold by the time we sunk our teeth in, but it was still a tasty waffle with its fruits and creme. Not sure if it was because it got cold but as good as it was it didn't leave a strong impression on me. [3.5/5]
Fried Chicken and Waffle with Maple Syrup
[$6.95]
It was down to this guy or the burger....but I am such a sucker for chicken and waffles. The waffles were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, kind of like a gourmet Eggo waffle. The chicken was surrounded in wonderful deep fry crunch but it was not over breaded (so not super heavy!). The meat itself was not dry at all and remained succulent. And the maple syrup just gave it a further boost. Highly recommended! [4/5]
Frances Bakery & Coffee
404 East 2nd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213)680-4899
French Macarons
Lemon, Rose, Strawberry, Raspberry, Melon, and Hazelnut
[$1.85/each]
This quaint little bakery offers a wide variety of macarons and upon my first few bites I was very pleased. The macarons here tend to have a more moist and chewier texture (and I love chewy things so I chewed, and chewed, and chewed). No matter how good a macaron is though, unless it's some sort of exotic flavor, I felt that $1.85 was a bit of a higher price. Still! Any macaron fan must visit this place! [4/5]
Marron Cake
[~$4]
Chestnut cake! A rare sighting for me so it was a must try, and I did not regret it at all. The cake was soft and spongy layered with white cream. What really captured me was the chestnut flavor that the topping exuded. It was so fragrant and just the right amount of sweet. [4/5]
Passion Fruit Cake
[~$4]
I wanted to try one of their fruit cakes. Cake base was similar to that of the Marron cake where it was spongy and soft. The mousse was very sweet but the glaze on top was tart to balance everything out. It was an excellent fruit flavored based cake, but it did not leave as strong of an impression as the Marron cake did. [3.5/5]
Fat Spoon
329 East 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213)621-7890
Sea Urchin Cream Croquette
[~$9]
This croquette was impressive! Despite its small size it packed a lot of flavor, and not just from the cream! They were not hesitant to stuff in delicious sea urchin to create such an egg like, creamy yolk-y flavor. Seafood lovers must try. [3.5/5]
Sea Urchin and Mushroom Pasta
[~$15]
This is Fat Spoon's signature dish so we were curious to see what they had to offer. Its shazam did not from the noodles but from the sauce. They employed a light sea urchin cream sauce to give this bowl of carbs a lift. The mushrooms added an extra layer of flavor. Job well done. [3.5/5]
Squid Ink Seafood Pasta
[~$15]
We were really excited to satisfy our craving for squid ink pasta but to our dismay it was simply pasta drowning in squid ink. They were generous with the seafood but this dish's taste was really lacking. [2.5/5]
Fugetsu-Do
315 East 1st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213)625-8595
Sakura Mochi
[$1.25]
A hop and a skip away from the Fat Spoon is Fugetsu-Do. I've been to this mom and pop shop a couple times for their mochis and daifukus and manjus.......Of course when my eye caught on the sakura mochi, a favorite rice cake of mine, I had to buy it despite being so stuffed. They had a red bean and white bean option. I went for the white one which was subtly not as a sweet as its red counterpart. Soft chewy texture of the pink rice made me smile. This place is a must for sweets fans! P.S. Do not eat the leaf [3.5/5]
Ten Ren
154 W Valley Boulevard
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626)288-663
Iced Milk with Brown Sugar and Grass Jelly
[~$3.50]
It wasn't iced milk from the famous Half and Half but the line was too long and I was going to miss my flight back home. It still had that novel creamy sweet flavor of a signature iced milk but Ten Ren's style was different in that the drink was more like a slush. It was still quite tasty and I sipped it away happily before the TSA could take it away. [4/5]
Whew....I don't think I was every remotely near hunger during my short stay down in Southern California. It's certainly a dining wonderland and I really appreciate my friend for taking me around and squeezing so much into the time we had. To think it was only the tip of an iceberg! I am certainly going to pay another visit down so if you have suggestions please comment! -Kitty
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