So a friend texts me saying she wants Beer and Chicken.. So for the rest of my day that’s all I can think about.. So while waiting for my computer to reload stuff on Revit, I usually doodle on scratch paper.. This is what I end up doodling
Month: September 2011
El Gallo Giro – Damn Good Mexican Food
El Gallo Giro
714.549.2011
I know I put this place as “Fastfood” but let me explain why. You walk up to the cashier and order your food, then wait a few minutes and you get your food. There are no seats except for the few bar stool counters by the window. A great place to get lunch to-go or just stand by the bar counter and eat.
I had a bit of trouble ordering because my coworker Ed told the cashier to only speak to me in Spanish since I was trying to get better at it. (She told him she wanted to practice her English haha) I got by most of the way until she threw a curve ball at me but I passed with little mistakes. 🙂
This place has solid Mexican food and I think it stacks up with Sinaloa in terms of quality. They make and sell their own tortillas and it also has a bakery where you can but Mexican sweet bread.
Mil Jugos – Venezuelan Arepas & Juices
Mil Jugos
318 W. 5th St.
Santa Ana, CA 92725
714.836.4601
So, ever since I started working in Irvine in mid-May, I kept hearing my co-workers mention Mil Jugos to me. They ask me if I’ve tried Arepas before (which I have, thanks to Anna when I visited NY 😉 ). So four months later, they finally took me, and I had my first Mil Jugos meal.
Word of advice: GO EARLY. This place gets packed (even with its expansion). It’s better to order before you go so the food is ready when you get there.
Nagaimo (Japanese Yam) – Prevention of Stomache Cancer (참마 – 위암 예방 음식)
Nagaimo, aka Japanese Mountain Yam, (or Korean Yam) is a root that belongs in the yam family. However, unlike yams, it can be consumed without cooking. (Yams have harmful substances in its raw state). It is often used in Japanese and Korean dishes. (I have noticed it in more Japanese dishes than Korean) It is often grated and consumed, or can be cooked. It is often compared to a lotus root, because of its sticky substance that oozes out when cut, and have similar texture when cooked. The sticky substance that people love (or hate – they say it feels like eating boogers) is jam-packed with Mucin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mucin), which is great for coating your stomach wall, and your throat. For that reason, it recommended for people with asthma or respitory problems, and also is known to be a miracle food for preventing stomache cancer. It is also high in fiber, and because of the mucin, people who have digestive problems, ulcer problems, or any problem related to your stomache and intestines, Nagaimo is a great food to consume.
It can be found in Japanese dishes such as Soba (buckwheat noodles), Saba (Mackerel), or with Maguro (Tuna). It has no taste, but the sticky, oozy substance is off-putting for beginners. That is why some people prefer to consume the powder form of Nagaimo. They use the nagaimo powder in cooking or pour it into milk, shake and drink.
There are many recipes online for cooking with Nagaimo, such as making a “Juhn” or Korean pancake, made with the Nagaimo and Potato. You grate the potatoes and put some nagaimo and heat up some oil on a frying pan and cook it until it looks like a pancake.
Continue reading “Nagaimo (Japanese Yam) – Prevention of Stomache Cancer (참마 – 위암 예방 음식)”
The Abbey Food & Bar – “The best gay bar to bring your straight friend to” (LA Magazine)
The Abbey Food & Bar
692 N Robertson Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
310.289.8410
http://www.abbeyfoodandbar.com/
The Story
It was a Tuesday night (actually yesterday, as I write this) and I was going to a concert in West Hollywood. (For those curious, Laura Marling was performing at the Troubadour) SO I decided to look at Google map around the area to see what’s around. And I see “The Abbey Food & Bar” and the name ringed a bell. I was not sure who, but I remember someone telling me about this place. So my friend and I decide to go check it out since it was really close to the Troubadour. When I got there, I realized why the place rung a bell; it was a gay bar. I didn’t really think much of it at first because I just thought it was restaurant that turns into a club at night (which technically it is). But it was not until I got to the restroom, with the urinal with TV screens on each stall with photos of guys in their underwear that it really hit home base. Don’t get me wrong, it didn’t take away from my experience, but it just threw me off in the beginning because I was did not know what to expect. So yes, this is a gay bar. If you go knowing this, I think you won’t be as confused as me and my friend. 🙂
Pears – The Ultimate Cancer Preventing Food (배 – 암 예방을 위한 최고의 음식)
You might wondering what the heck I’n talking about, but I recently watched a Korean health show and they did a thing about pears, specifically Korean Pears (the huge round pears you see at Korean markets).
Studies show that if you eat Korean Pears (I’m not sure if this applies to all pears, but they mentioned that the Korean Pears specifically was the best) right after a meal, within 48 hours a lot of the carcinogens from burnt food, tobacco, etc. gets released through your urine. That’s right, you can pee out a lot of the bad stuff. This doesn’t mean you won’t get cancer but it sure does lower the risk of getting cancer from eating burnt food or BBQ. However, don’t think this means you can go eat Korean BBQ everyday. It takes 48 hours to clean out all the carcinogens from one moderate meal of eating Korean BBQ. If you eat too much meat, or smoke too often, etc., no matter what you do you still risk a possibility of getting cancer or ruin some part of your body. Moderation is still necessary. Pears are also known to be good for your heart, lungs.
However, pears are not good for everyone. Depending on your body type, certain foods can become medicinal or poisonous. If your body type is very cold and weak, pear is not always the best for you since its known to lessen the “heat” in your body. If you go to a Chinese medicinal place or an acupuncturist, they can test to see what kind of body type you are and will tell you what foods to avoid and what foods will be really good for you. Certain foods that is known to be good for you in general may actually cause fatigue, or make you weaker.
배는 암이생기는 원인 중 발암물질을 우리 몸 밖으로 배출시키는 작업을 해주는 암 예방의 최고의 음식이라고 되어있습니다. 그외에 몸에 좋은 작용도 많이 해줍니다. 폐병에도 좋고, 섬유질이 많아서 다이어트와 장을 까끗하게 해주는 효과도 있습니다. 그리고 수분이 아주 많음 과일이라 갈증해소에도 정말 좋습니다. 그러나 역시 암을 예방하는데 도움이 된다는 것이 가장 멋진 것 같습니다. 연구결과 고기를 구워 먹고난 다음 48시간 안에 태운 고기에 의해 있는 발암물질이 소변으로 거의 다 배출 된답니다. 그러나! 역시 그렇다고 안심하셔서 담배를 마음대로 막 하루에 한갑씩 피우거나 고기를 매일 구워드시먼 안됩니다. 삼겹살을 바짝 구워서 거의 태우는 수준에서 먹지 말고 먹는것에 신중해야 합니다. 어디까지나 배는 한번의 식사의 발암물질을 48시간 걸쳐서 배출 시킨거니깐요. 아무리 좋은 약을 먹더라도 더 많은 독을 드시몬 먹으나 마나입니다.
Agora Churrascaria
Agora Churrascaria
1830 Main St
Irvine, CA 92614
(next to John Wayne Airport)
949.222.9910
(Sorry, don’t have good photos of this place. It felt kind of weird bringing my camera here so I just used my iPhone)
Churrascaria?
(A.k.a Brazilian BBQ) is its way an AYCE BBQ place. However, it’s on it’s own level in terms of meat quality, and style. To give a general idea, the servers come to you with a skewer of a single type of meat, which you can choose to take a slice or not. They usually rotate different types of meat. Agora supposedly has 14 types of meat that they serve. Most of them are simply seasoned with rock salt, or some sort of large size salt. It’s seasoned only on the outside but the salt generally spreads into the meat when cooking. However, be aware that the most outer cut can tend to be a little salty. I normally ask for the center cut or inner cut, where the meat is less saltier and more rare.
Just eating only salted meat might be a little heavy, so take advantage of the salad bar, which is common in churrascarias. They have a variety of sauces, veggies, spices, etc. to go with your meal.
Churrascarias are known for using a stop-go card. It’s some type of card or paper with a stop side and a green side. If you need a little breather between meats, flip it over to the stop sign, and the servers will just pass your table without offering more meat. Think of it as the opposite of the signs at Bubba Gump (where you flip the sign to catch the server’s attention).
101 Noodle Express – Dumplings from heaven
101 Noodle Express
1408 E Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91801
626.300.8654
(In a small plaza, next to Dip’s)
Come here during dinner and expect to take a number and wait 30 min. That’s how good this place is. Din Tai Fung got nothing on this place. Best dumplings I’ve had, and their beef rolls are just heaven rolled up and served on a platter.
Continue reading “101 Noodle Express – Dumplings from heaven”
Good Service is Only a Button Call Away in Korean Restaurants
One thing I’ve noticed while browsing through Yelp comments on Korean Restaurants is that they all complain about the service being slow; that they do not come by often to their table. I mean granted some restaurants are just really slow to begin with, but it’s cuz they are understaffed but they don’t make enough profit to afford more staff. It sucks for customers but I think we need to understand that it can’t be helped, unless you want the price tag to go up.
Good service is only a button call away
Continue reading “Good Service is Only a Button Call Away in Korean Restaurants”
황가네 (Hwang’s Restaurant)
황가네 (Hwang’s Restaurant)
15134 S. Western Ave.
Gardena, CA 90249
310.327.7070
(located in the same area plaza as Tofu Village)
Business Hours: 10AM – 1AM
I have a dilemma. I don’t know if I should post this in Korean or English.. I guess I’ll just do it in English and add in supplemental Korean here and there. The main reason why I wanted to start a blog was to review restaurants like this place.. No website, no online menu. Only information is probably on Yelp, and luckily this place has some reviews on Yelp.. However, they’re all about the AYCE. My main purpose of this blog is to start taking photos of the menu as well as review so people have a better idea of what kind of food they sell. Except, I’m an idiot and forgot to take a photo of the very first page of the menu. I’ll go back sometime to take the remaining photo.
Atmosphere
The restaurant is not classy at all and feels like how any small Korean restaurant feels. It’s definitely a good place to drink up while ordering good food. They have everything from your stews or jjigaes, AYCE BBQ (All you can eat BBQ), Grilled Seafood, to casseroles. It’s kind of loud here, especially if you got a team of older Korean men drinking after some event. Don’t wear nice clothes to this restaurant, you’ll look ridiculous.
Food
이 곳은 무제한 고기만 파는 곳이 아닙니다. 무제한 고기도 있지만 전골, 찌개, 탕, 냉면, 만두, 돌솥밥, 생선, 기타등등 많은 음식을 팝니다. 음식들이 전체적으로 맛이 괜찮으며 맛을 낼줄 아는 식당입니다.
조개구이 (Grilled Seafood)
Okay.. I know Koreans are reading this saying the translation is incorrect.. but I decided to stay with the name the restaurant gave it in English. This dish is really just a variety of shells that you grill. According to the server, the type of shells changes daily depending on what is caught and sold that day.
There are three sizes for the Grilled Seafood (A, B, or C). We got the B size, and truthfully it wasn’t much compared to the price. It was still good though. We had topshell, oyster, I don’t remember the last type of clam, and shrimp. When the water inside the shell starts boiliing, it’s ready to eat. You use the picking tool they provide you, as well as the glove. You are given a choice of two sauces: Tabasco, or marinated chili sauce (초고추장). Both go well with the seafood.
Two things that I have to give negative feedback: Price compared to the amount of food + too much sand in the large shell due to not removing the intestines (모래 주머니). Otherwise, it was very good, fresh and refreshing. The oyster especially was admirable. Most cooked oysters I’ve had were not that good and gets kind of gritty. However, since you are grilling it from raw, and you eat as soon as it boils, you do not get that gritty or mushy texture.
흑염소전골 (Spicy Marinated Goat Casserole)
If you don’t like goat, perrilla seeds, this is not the dish for you. This is a popular dish especially with guys and it makes for a good food to go with Soju. If you’re not careful when cooking with goat, it can smell and taste funky. (염소고기는 비릴수가 있는데, 이 식당의 흑염소전골은 안 비립니다) It’s a spicy casserole (although to Koreans.. this wouldn’t be considered spicy). If you’re a beginner at Korean food (yes, even if you’ve eaten every Korean AYCE, you can still be a novice with Korean food. Koreans don’t eat barbeque only you know..) The Goat Casserole is not the best I’ve had, but it was decent. (칼칼한 맛이 없어서 개인적으로 제일 맛있는 전골은 아니었지만 맛이 아주 괜찮았다고 봅니다.) It comes with a dipping sauce for you to eat with consisting of Korean chili power, garlic, perrilla seeds (crushed), sesame oil, green onions, and mustard. The sauce is to help balance the heaviness and richness of the casserole. (The mustard helps ALOT)
삼겹살 콩나물 두루치기 (Marinated Pork Belly & Bean Sprouts)
This dish compared to the Goat Casserole was very refreshing. The bean sprouts helped keep the dish light and kept the dish was being too overpowered by the marinade. It’s another dish you cook on the stove in front of you on a large pan. The pork and veggies are cooked at once with the marinade and the bean sprouts are added a little before it is ready to eat. The dish overall was amazing. It was not salty at all, not too spicy (actually, not at all for me) but I know non-Koreans will find it spicy. If you ever had spicy pork belly at a barbeque place, it is sort of similar in taste to that, but much lighter and has ALOT more veggies which I like. This is another great dish to go with a bottle of Soju.
It is also very good with rice. You are given a choice of multi-grain rice or plain white rice. It goes really well with the multi-grain rice, but if you don’t like beans in your rice, I suggest you stick with white rice.
After you’re done, with the leftover sauce and veggies, you can ask them to make stir-fry rice (볶음밥). They mix in rice, seaweed, sesame oil and stir-fry until it is ready. Eating 볶음밥(stir-fry rice) from the leftover veggies and sauce is very common with Korean food, such as Dak Galbi (Spicy marinated chicken casserole), etc.
Overall
This is a pretty good Korean Restaurant in the South Bay area, which a variety of food. Everything I’ve had so far here was very good and fits to my pallette.
Food Lover Chronicles 