Piece of Greece

May not look like much, but yuuuuum.
Le cougar cub's gyro.

Gulen's at the Century City Mall
aka Westfield Shopping Center
10250 Santa Monica Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90067

On My Short List

Of all-time favorite desserts...
A bowl of "Xiao Nan Men" or "South Gate"'s "Hua sen, Do Hua, Huen Gui" (peanut, silky tofu, gelatin". The best way to describe it would be heaven in a bowl. I love, love, love this Asian sweet soup.

Xiao Nan Men
Basement of Taipei 101

An Oldie But Goodie

If you’re visiting Taiwan for the first time, you must pay a visit to this classic joint for what may arguably be the tastiest handmade soup dumplings available. This restaurant is best known for its "xiao long bao" (soupy pork dumplings), but my mom and I dig their minimalist fried rice—-flavored only by eggs, scallions, and lard. Mmm… lard. Their eight-treasure sticky rice dessert is also a treat. A must-eat for Taiwan tourists as well as natives.

Din Tai Fong
Sogo III

(There's also one in Arcadia, California!)

Innovation

Round toast. I didn't have any, so I can't tell you if the stuff tastes as good as it looks. Was reprimanded by the bakery for taking this photo...
Flavorfield Bakery
Basement of Taipei 101

And They Lived Happily Ever After

Dinner with my mom led us to one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Taipei, Sumie. Though I was tempted to order sashimi off the ala carte menu, I opted for the more economical option, the predetermined assorted sashimi meal. As expected, I enjoyed the meal immensely. Sumie not only offers gorgeously presented dishes, but also some of THE freshest sashimi I have ever had the pleasure of consuming. Aside from the tuna, all other pieces of fish I bit into were perfection. Not one with a liking for raw fish, my mom ordered the Beef and Onion rice bowl—which she enjoyed.

To top everything off, the waitress brought our meal to a close with complementary dessert, tiramisu mochi. Talk about a happy ending.

Sumie
Sant Wan Hotel

Itadakimasu!

Grubbed with my old friend, Judy today. I had her choose the location of our meeting and, “Jude” (as I like to call her), selected Daikanyama, a new restaurant on the 5th floor of Taipei tourist hot spot, Taipei 101. We ordered two lunch specials—grilled salted mackerel and assorted sashimi (6 pieces)—and then “upgraded” them to include a beverage and dessert. The lunch special came with the expected starter salad, miso soup, pickled daikon and white rice, but better yet, it also came accessorized with chawan mushi (egg-seafood custard) and braised eggplant. Dessert was black-sesame tofu soup. We wanted red-bean, but they were out.
In summary, lunch was decent, but I think the company was better than the meal.

Daikanyama
Fifth Floor of Taipei 101

Average Joe

A typical Taiwanese "bian dang" (lunch-box). Your's for under four bucks.

Rice, Rice, Baby...

The Japanese have always been innovative—even with their fast food! Check it out: burger buns made of rice. My family's favorite fast-food joint.

Mos Burger
Jen Ai Road, Sec.4

P.S. MOS is an acronym for Mountain, Ocean, and Sea :)

Dinner At My Place

When I don't go out, I enjoy food cooked by my parents' housekeeper, Xiao Hui. Check out the spread on my first evening home! The "Lion Heads" (Chinese meatballs pictured in the center) were particularly delicious.

Food Court

Sbarro, Hot Dog on a Stick, and Panda Express have nothing on this shredded-chicken topped rice which I enjoyed at Taipei 101's Food Court last week for less than two buckaroos. Yum, yummy, yum.

Made in Taiwan

Lunch at Lai Lai Sheraton's "Ching Ke Lo" with my family (mom, dad, and younger brother). Featured: traditional "small eats" go new-age.
From top to bottom:
"Pi Dan" or "Thousand Year Egg" (preserved egg). An oldie-but-goodie appetizer finds itseld renewed by the presence of new "clothes", or spicy seaweed, wrapped around each egg wedge. Well-flavored. My family's favorite dish.
"Ciao Ciao Hua" or "Pig-Ear wrapped around Duck Tongue". A cheeky dish playing on words. In Mandarin, to conduct "ciao ciao hua" is to conduct a "secret talk." As disgusting as the ingredients may sound, this dish was quite tasty. Slices of the dish were incredibly thin--a good thin as I did not find myself making strange faces while consuming the ear cartilage. Not as well flavored as the egg dish, but still tasty.
"Su Er" or "Vegetarian Goose". Bean curd wrapped around a splendidly seasoned, finely shredded, vegetable mix. My mom mom really enjoyed this course.
"Seafood Lettuce Cups" or... hmm. I seem to have forgotten the Chinese name of this dish. A refreshing dish.
"Short Ribs and Glutinous Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf" or in Chinese... again, I am at a loss. Two words? Food Coma. This dish was good, but I've had better. The textures were perfect, but the ribs lacked seasoning.
"Soup Dumplings" or "Tang Bao". Yum, yummy, yum.
I'll be back.

Feeling Beachy

Pictured: Redondo Beach steamed dungeness crabs and a Mrs. Field's ice-cream sandwich.

Reviews to come.

100 W. Torrance Blvd.
Redondo Beach, CA

Underwhelmed

Review to come.

Hirozen
8385 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Chicken Noodle No Soup

Lunch for myself and the cougar cub.

Still The Best

Tutimelon has nothing on the iconic Pinkberry. Fro-yo with Josh at Century City Mall.

Carb-Fest

Following a morning of bike shopping, Josh and I decided to celebrate the last day of summer by indulging in a carb-filled meal at a neighborhood pizza joint. Truth be told, we had originally ventured out in hopes to try out Clementine, a cafe nextdoor to Johnny's but our first choice dining establishment was closed. This was not the first time we'd tried to get into Clementine. The reason we dropped into Johnny's the first time was due to a failed attempt to eat at Clementine's as well. Anyhow, back to focusing on Johnny's. We'd enjoyed their yummy thin crust pizzathe last time we'd dropped in, so this time we decided to venture into the non-pizza sections of Johnny's menu. Josh dug into their chicken parmagiana sandwich, while I forked mouthfuls of their colorfrul vegetarian chopped salad. The meal might have been "healthy" had I not gotten into the basket of complimentary to-die-for garlic knots (coupled with marinara dip)! Josh and I had the waiter refill our basket once. If it weren't for my conscience, I would have had the waiter refill it a second time. Yum.

Johnny's New York Pizzeria
10251 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024

Homecoming Meal

Josh came back to LA last night, so I whipped up a lil' something for him.
The evening's menu consisted of Japanese Coleslaw, Sauteed Mushrooms and Baby Bok-choy, French "Succulent" Chicken, and finally, Magnolia's Banana Cream Pudding.

Josh's review to come!