[Food] Avocado Ice Cream

We had a bunch of avocados sitting at home and couldn't finish them all before they over-ripened. So, my sister and I decided to make some avocado ice cream.

We used Alton Brown's recipe, which can be found here. It's very simple and we found that it is similar to many of the other recipes for avocado ice cream that we found.

The ice cream was spectacular. It tasted like avocado (a big duh) with an ever so slight hint of sweetness to it, which was great. The texture was smooth and silky, probably thanks to all that fat in the avocado and heavy cream. To further bring out the sweetness, we finished the ice cream with some salt. It really brings the ice cream to life and makes the flavors pop. In my opinion, the salt is absolutely essential.

Here's the lighting set-up I used for the shots. I had a LumoPro LP120 camera right shooting into a reflective umbrella at 1/4 power as my key light. For my fill, I had a LumoPro LP160 camera left in a softbox at 1/64 power. I shot with a Canon 7D and a 100mm f2.8 Macro at 1/250, f/5.6, ISO 200.

[Food] Sushirrito

This will be a rather short review because there's only one thing to talk about, the Geisha's Kiss Sushirrito from...you guessed it, Sushirrito. What is a Sushirrito? Basically, it's a novel lovechild of a sushi roll and a burrito. It's honestly a supersized roll that you eat like a burrito.

I heard horror stories of ridiculous lines, but because we went during off hours, there was no line at all. Nice! Just remember, don't go during the lunch rush.

After gawking at the menu, I finally decided to go with the Geisha's Kiss. All of these Sushirritos have a long list of fillings. The Geisha's Kiss has chunks of yellowfin tuna, tamago, piquillo peppers, yuzu tobiko, lotus chips, cucumber, avocado, green onions, sesame seeds, and white soya. Talk about a mouthful (pun intended).

There are so many different elements to this roll that some flavors get lost in the mix. There are definitely certain flavors that are more pronounced than others. Overall, you get a nice vinegary sweetness with delicious chunks of raw tuna. I've heard many complaints about this particular roll being to bland or mild in flavor, which is true to some degree, but I still enjoyed it.

The tuna is definitely the star here. I absolutely love raw tuna. It's really a thing of beauty, but too often, it has a terribly fishy taste. That was definitely not the case at Sushirrito. There were only chunks of awesomeness in this roll.

Much of the vinegary flavors came from the sushi rice and from the pickled cucumbers. Pickled cucumbers? Don't you mean pickles? No, these are definitely still cucumbers but have a ever so slight tang to them. They also provide for a nice coolness toward the end of every bite.

The last star player in the roll was the lotus chip. It was the sole source of textural contrast that saved the roll from being a mushy mess. And who doesn't like fried food?

Like I mentioned before, everything else was lost in the mix of flavors. I'm sure they helped in the overall experience of the roll, but I'm not sure how big (or small) of a role they actually played.

I would like to go back to try their Mayan Dragon, which contains chicken katsu, purple peruvian potatoes, julienne carrots, pickled red cabbage, avocado, shaved jalapeños, green onions, and Japanese curry.

At $11 and change for the Geisha's Kiss, Sushirrito is definitely on the pricey side, especially considering that I was just barely at the point of satisfaction (as far as fullness goes). But if you're in San Francisco and want to try this novel creation for yourself, definitely go for it! Make sure to keep in mind that they are only open Monday through Friday from 11am-3pm.

59 New Montgomery St San Francisco, CA 94106 (415) 495-7655 www.sushirrito.com

[Food] Wat Mongkolratanaram (Berkeley Thai Temple)

This past weekend, a group of my friends and I decided to take a trip down to Wat Mongkolratanaram or the Berkeley Thai Temple for brunch. If you're in the Berkeley area on a Sunday morning, especially if you are a resident here (read: student), then this definitely should be on your Berkeley Bucket List. Berkeley has its fair share of Thai restaurants, most of which are great, but there's something different about eating at Wat Mongkolratanaram.

Upon arriving, you'll probably be a bit confused. "Is this a temple or a house?" It seems to be a house turned temple, or something like that. The next thing you'll see are the crowds, and in front of them, the main food lines - one for vegetarian and one for non-vegetarian food. But wait, don't get in line just yet (unless you have leftover tokens from last time, don't worry, I'm about to get to that).

Insider Tip: Get there early. They start serving food at 10 am. You'll beat the crowds and make sure that you get what you want. If you get there late, there's a chance they will run out of certain items, like Pad Thai.

You don't pay with cash here. Instead, you have to go over to the left and exchange your cash for tokens. The exchange rate is $1 for 1 token. Just hand them a $20 bill and they'll give you a cup of 20 tokens. This will ensure the fastest, most efficient exchange for you and everyone else in line. But wait, you may ask, "What am I going to do with 20 tokens!?" It's okay. One, you could exchange them back for cash at the same rate. Two, you'll be back and can use the tokens then.

Once you get your tokens, you have options. You can get your main entrees (remember, the vegetarian and non-vegetarian lines), beef noodle soup, drinks, or dessert. I went straight for the non-vegetarian line. At both of the entree lines, you get a plate of rice and your choice of 1, 2, or 3 entrees. The prices are 6, 7, and 8 tokens respectively. I got Pad Thai and Cashew Chicken with rice and made a beeline for the condiments. I highly recommend the sambal, load up on it before it runs out. Pictured above is my friend's plate of Cashew Chicken and Red Curry.

Insider Tip: Bring your own Tupperware (or comparable food container)! It is generally accepted that you get more food this way and you can pack your leftovers easily (if you have any).

After getting either your entree or beef noodle soup (6 tokens), don't forget to get a drink. Their Thai Iced Tea is excellent! It's cold, refreshing, and not too sweet. I'm sure their Thai Iced Coffee is good too, but I didn't get to try it. Both the tea and coffee are 2 tokens each.

Now that you finally got your food, you're going to have to find a table. If you find one, great. If not, get there earlier next time. The next step is simple, enjoy your food!

The Pad Thai was everything Pad Thai should be: sweet, sour, and salty. It wasn't like some bad Pad Thais I've had. You know, the ones that taste like straight ketchup? If you've had your share of Thai food, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The Cashew Chicken had a lot going on. There's juicy chicken, fresh vegetables, and crunchy cashews. The flavors and textures worked really well together and the sambal just took it over the top. The Cashew Chicken is also a "safe" dish if you're not the adventurous type.

I tried a bit of the Beef Noodle Soup with the fat, flat noodles. I wasn't a huge fan of it, to be honest. The broth was surprisingly sweet, which was the main turn off for me. The beef was tender and flavorful and the noodles had a good bite to them. If the broth was more savory, it would have been a winner in my book. Maybe some sambal and pickled jalapenos would have solved the problem for me.

Some of my friends got the Mango Sticky Rice (5 tokens). The dish is made up of fresh mango slices and pudding that rest on a bed of sticky white and black rice. I can't comment on this dessert because I didn't get a chance to try it, but my friends seemed to enjoy it.

After your meal, take a stroll through their garden. It's not too big or amazing, but it provides a peaceful escape from the crowds and noise.

So, how was it? Let's just say, a friend of mine saw workers from an unnamed, well-known Thai restaurant eating here. If it's good enough for them, it's probably good enough for you. I'd definitely recommend all of you to go if you are in the area on a Sunday morning.

Wat Mongkolratanaram 1911 Russell St Berkeley, CA 94703 (510) 849-3419

[Food] Frysmith

I know I haven't posted in a while, but now that I'm starting to settle into the new semester, it's time for another post! While I was back at home for winter break, I made sure to stop by the Frysmith. If you don't know, Frysmith is a food truck that uses French fries as a canvas to paint a culinary masterpiece on. I swear I thought of something like this before them, but I was young and not ready to start a business. Oh well (:P). As you read this, keep in mind that I made this visit about a month ago and I can't seem to find my notes. I'll do my best to remember everything as accurately as possible.

They had different kinds of poutine throughout the month of December. If you know me, you know I love poutine, but being foodies, we needed to try a variety of their offerings. We got the Rajas Fries, Kimchi Fries, Sweet Po Fries, and their special Holiday Poutine. Also, they switched from their old boats to oval-shaped platters. This switch definitely helps get the toppings more evenly distributed on the fries. It made for a more pleasant eating experience than when they used the classic boat.

The Rajas fries were excellent. You get giant strips of shawarma-marinated steak with caramelized onions, fire-roasted poblano chiles, cilantro, and jack cheese. These fries are MEATY! Seriously, how can you not like something with strips on strips of steak? Oh, and the steak is perfectly cooked, tender, and full of flavor.

The fries are of the thin variety and they sit in the perfect spot between soggy and crispy. For something like this, you don't want a very crispy French fry; and you never want a soggy, limp French fry.

I'm going to go ahead and say this now, these were my favorite. As a Korean, how can the Kimchi Fries not be my favorite? These fries are topped with kimchi, Kurobuta pork belly (삼겹살), onions, green onions, and cheddar cheese. The brightness of the kimchi cut through the fries and pork while the pork and cheese provided the hearty element of the dish. There was a great balance of flavors. It also proved to be an excellent palate cleanser in-between eating all the other fries.

The Sweet Po Fries are sweet potato fries topped with chicken in a tomatillo-tamarind sauce, jack cheese, and cashews. The flavor profile on this one was sweeter than the other fries we had; the tamarind in the sauce is definitely a prominent flavor. The cashews lend a great textural contrast to the rest of the dish as the sweet potato fries aren't as crispy as the regular fries. I thoroughly enjoyed these fries, especially in-between bites of the other fries.

The Holiday Poutine was topped with bacon, cheese curds, and holiday gravy. Remember how I mentioned that I love poutine? Well, this one was sadly disappointing. First of all, the cheese curds weren't as melty as I like them. I know cheese curds are supposed to have some bite and "squeak," but these were pretty firm - the gravy could have been hotter. On that note, the gravy was this dish's greatest downfall. Because it was a "holiday" poutine, they flavored the gravy with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and orange peel. The flavor of the spices were too strong and overpowered everything else. We all came to the consensus that the gravy just didn't work with the rest of the dish.

Overall, this trip to the Frysmith was a very pleasant one, as my other visits have been. They are always experimenting with new dishes and specials. For example, for a week (until yesterday), they turned into the Soupsmith and served soup instead of fries. Everything from the food to their truck sets them apart from most other food trucks. Their custom made truck runs on fry oil! Go check them out some time. Fries never fail.

Frysmith www.twitter.com/frysmith www.eatfrysmith.com (818) 371-6814

[Food] Pepero Day (11.11.11)

First of all, I want to say sorry for the lack of posts for past couple weeks, I've been extremely busy. Anywho, onto the post. As you all know, last Friday was November 11, 2011, or 11.11.11. Not only was it the last binary day of the century, but the most epic Pepero Day for a while. For those of you that don't know, Pepero Day is a Korean "holiday" of sorts where people get Pepero for their friends, family, significant others, etc. You can learn more about it from the folks at Eat Your Kimchi. It's basically a day for snack companies (Lotte) to make tons of money...

What do you do on a cold, rainy Pepero Day when you don't want to buy Pepero? Make some, of course! Some of my friends and I got some pretzel sticks, chocolate, and various things to coat the sticks in. It's probably the simplest thing ever, and it's fun when you make them with people you love! After you're done, you can either give them away or eat them all yourself. If you eat them all yourself, you're probably pretty lonely anyway (joking, but true...). Note: these photos were taken with a friend's camera because of the spontaneity of the happening.

After making bunch of them, I ended up receiving some! I felt so loved until I read the note attached to them.

Threatening, right? I decided to not take any risks and follow their instructions.

I must say, they were a lot more colourful than the ones we made. They did melt a bit, so excuse that in the photos, I'm sure they were beautiful before. Off the record, I think ours tasted better, but they still made for a great pre-San Francisco trip snack! More on that SF trip in later posts to come. But really, they were great! Chocolatey, crunchy goodness, with a hint of salty from the pretzel sticks, not to mention full of love! Food is always better when it's made with love, and I think anyone can testify to that. So, next November 11, make (or buy) some Pepero for the people you love!

[Food] Langer's World Famous Pastrami

Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant is located right by MacArthur Park is Los Angeles, CA. Langer's is a Jewish style deli that serves pastrami and corned beef the right way. If you think pastrami is that thin-sliced, salty luncheon meat you get in your sandwiches, you're mistaken. Langer's has a rich history that you can read more about at their website. My cousin describes it as the Katz's of the West (he's been to both). Katz's is probably one of the most well-known Jewish style delis and is famous for being featured in When Harry Met Sally... Anyway, back to Langer's.

Langer's conveniently has their own parking lot just down the street, which makes life so much easier. Once you get to the restaurant, expect to wait, especially during peak hours. When you step inside, you'll feel like you stepped back in time to the mid 1900s. Even their menu offerings have an old-school flair to them.

When I saw that they had a chocolate egg cream on the menu, I just had to get it. For those of you that don't know, a chocolate egg cream is a drink that was popular back in the day. It is basically seltzer water, chocolate syrup, and milk whipped up real well (there was more head in the photo, but it had deflated). It's not for everyone, but I enjoyed it. My sister and my cousin both got cream sodas, which are also delicious. I'd definitely recommend getting the cream sodas if you're not as adventurous.

Now, here is the pastrami and corned beef I was talking about. [Insider Tip: They'll bring you a sample if you ask.] Notice how the meat actually looks like meat. The meat actually tastes like meat too. Oh, and it's not overly salty. In fact, it's not salty. It really just tastes like meat. I know, this may be revolutionary to some of you.

When I saw this, I knew that we were meant to be...with some modifications. I subbed the Nippy Cheese (American) for Swiss and added some Russian dressing on the side. Pastrami Reuben what up!? Also, note the prices. Quality don't come cheap. The prices are high, but this is not somewhere you go every day.

We got an order of fries to share. They are just your typical crinkle cut variety. Nothing too special. They were great; perfectly crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

No. 44 sub Swiss, add Russian. Behold glory. Everything about this sandwich was perfect. The rye bread was buttery and crisp. The cheese was melted nicely. The pastrami. Oh the pastrami. Thick, handcut pastrami fit for a king. The sauerkraut lent just the right amount of brightness to cut through the meat and cheese. The Russian dressing I got on the side brought the whole thing together with a hint of tang in the midst of it all. Seriously guys, it's hard to top this. Reubens are my absolute favorite type of sandwich and this one tops my list (thus far). My cousin may chastise me because I haven't eaten at Katz's yet, but for now, I'm more than happy.

Here's an obligatory cross section shot. Through all that greatness, there was one thing I didn't enjoy too much: the pickle. I love pickles, but I hate cucumbers. This pickle was a pickle that wasn't sure of it's state of being. It straddled the line between cucumber and pickle. It had too much of that fresh cucumber taste and not enough of the salty, vinegary, pickley goodness. That's just my humble opinion though. I'm sure there's plenty of people out that would love this pickle.

If you didn't catch it in my post, the bottom line is simple - go now. Unless you've experienced Katz's or Carnegie, this is something you don't want to miss out on.

Langer's Delicatessen-Restaurant 704 S Alvarado St Los Angeles, CA 90057 (213) 483-8050 www.langersdeli.com

[Food] Robata Jinya

Robata Jinya is a ramen house in West Hollywood with a very modern, hip look to it, which is probably important if you want to be a big name restaurant in Hollywood. We were among the first patrons of the day and were promptly seated.

All of the broths they make are some variation of my all time favorite, tonkotsu. They have shio tonkotsu, shoyu tonkotsu, miso tonkotsu, and spicy tonkotsu broths. Our whole party chose to get the house special shio tonkotsu, which they only make 20 servings of per day. We also got a few other dishes on the side.

The sushi and rolls were good, but not amazing. They were of your run of the mill sushi joint variety. The clean, simple presentation definitely makes for nice photos though.

The chashu pork bowls were not what I expected. Their chashu pork is not the chashu pork that I am accustomed to. In fact, it tasted just like jang jo reem (장조림), a korean dish made with beef cooked in soy sauce. It was salty and a bit tough to chew.

There was one dish that really stood out, the Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna. I have never had anything like it, so it caught me off guard. The base of the dish is made with cakes of rice fried to a golden-brown crisp on the outside while maintaining a soft, pillowy inside. The textural contrast is amazing. On top of the hot, crispy rice is cool spicy tuna. Finally, the whole thing is topped off with a slice of jalapeno.

I’ll say it now, this was easily my favorite part of the meal. The dish is perfect in just about every way.

The ramen was another one of those “good but not great” dishes. Maybe I’m just spoiled by Daikokuya (previously reviewed); I tend to judge all other ramens against their's. Let’s take the shio tonkotsu ramen part by part.

First of all, the noodles. You get the choice between thick and thin noodles. Everyone got the thin while my cousin went with the thick noodles. I enjoyed my noodles, they had snap without being overly tough. Perfectly cooked; think al dente. The thick noodles on the other hand were too chewy. I would definitely pick thin over thick here.

The broth was a mix of tonkotsu and shio (salt). As I mentioned earlier, they only make 20 servings of this broth per day, which is why we went so early. Sadly, I did not think it lived up to the hype of exclusivity (the early bird gets the worm). A good tonkotsu broth is thick, almost creamy, fatty, and chock full of flavor. The broth here was not as thick and flavorful as I would have liked. In my book, straight tonkotsu is the only way to go.

Now, the toppings. The pork was the same disappointing pork used in the chashu pork bowl. It was far too salty for the ramen. However, in the ramen, it was sliced and boiled rather than chopped and dry, so it was definitely better. The absence of the almighty egg was another disappointment for me (again, spoiled by Daikokuya). The vegetables cut through the fatty broth nicely and were refreshing in between slurps of noodles and soup. Finally, I loved the addition of the fried onion straws, but then again, I have a soft spot of onion straws. These will (obviously) lose their crispiness and get lost once mixed into the broth, so I do not think they are very necessary. Still, a nice touch nonetheless!

Although I may have downplayed Robata Jinya, it is still a nice ramen shop that makes a good bowl of ramen. I definitely recommend the crispy rice with spicy tuna though. If I was in the area, I would go and get a couple orders of just that and I would be a very happy man. Ultimately, I would point you in the direction of Daikokuya if you wanted a great bowl of tonkotsu ramen, but check out Robata Jinya and make the decision for youself!

Robata Jinya 8050 W 3rd St Los Angeles, CA 90048 (323) 653-8877 www.jinya-la.com

[Food] G Burger

G Burger is a relatively new burger joint in La Habra, California. They've been getting a lot of attention lately, probably due to their ridiculous burgers. It's located seemingly in the middle of nowhere and there's not too much space for dining in. I counted about six small tables, two booths, and a counter as well as a couple tables outside. My first impressions were that it was a sit down place, but you actually order up front and can choose to dine in or to go. I would highly recommend against the latter. These burgers are meant to be eaten right away.

On seeing the menu, I was a bit overwhelmed by the G Burger, which was what I had my eyes on. I knew that you could get whatever you want on it, but I didn't think it would come with everything and the kitchen sink by default. It normally comes with two patties, cheese, teriyaki glazed onions, portabello mushrooms, slaw, grilled pineapple, a fried egg, pastrami, avocado, chili, bacon, mixed greens, tomato, and pickles. Talk about a mouthful. I already knew that there would be too many clashing flavors, so I opted to take out the pineapple and substitute plain grilled onions for the teriyaki onions. For the cheese, I went with cheddar.

For sides, I got the gravy cheese fries because I am always on the search for some good poutine. My cousin got the G Style Fries, which are a copy of In-n-Out's infamous Animal Style Fries, but with bacon. My friend that joined us got the Tropical Fries, which come with avocado, pineapple, bacon, and 1000 Island dressing.

The food took a while to come out, but I don't blame them, there's ton of stuff to prepare for each burger.

Let's start off with our sides. I'm going to be straightforward and honest, my gravy fries sucked. The gravy had a really odd flavor profile that just didn't go well with the fries or the swiss cheese. I guess I expected something more like poutine: plain brown gravy and cheese curds. The other sides, however, were great.

The tropical fries played with sweet, savory, salty flavors which I thought worked well. The only thing that I would have changed is using riper avocados. The avocados in these fries were firmer than I like.

The G Style Fries were absolutely top notch, but I did not get a photo...they disappeared too quickly. The crispy fries with grilled onions, cheese, 1000 Island dressing, and bacon. Just wow. They took something great and made it better with bacon. Seriously, (almost) everything is better with bacon. These fries get my stamp of approval over and over again.

Now let's move on to the main event - the burgers. All of us were floored when our burgers came out. I don't remember the last time I had a burger this big (although I've seen bigger, i.e. Hawkins House of Burgers). As I mentioned before, I skipped the sweet elements of the G Burger, the pineapple and teriyaki onions. Still, the burger had way too many things going on. Because of the many bold flavors, I didn't thoroughly enjoy the burger. Let's break the monstrosity down and look at the different elements of the burger.

The buns are great, perfect for a burger this big. They are substantial and can handle the different components of the burger. They don't get soggy and fall apart from the sheer amont of toppings, which is important. The buns do their job just fine.

The patties are delicious and cooked perfectly. They have a big meaty flavor and have a good amount of juice, although not as much as I would have liked.

The bacon was amazing to say the least. It was thick cut, peppered, had a full-bodied bacon flavor, and was not too fatty. In my opinion, this is the perfect bacon for a burger.

The cheddar cheese falls in line with the previously mentioned key ingredients of a hamburger. It is just sharp enough to cut through the flavors, but not overwhelming.

Because these four key elements of the burger meet my standards, I believe that the G Burger has potential. Here are the downfalls.

The pickles are far too sweet for my tastes. I should have read the menu a bit more thoroughly to find out. I like my pickles vinegary and salty. Not sweet. The pickles cut through the melting pot of flavors and ruined the overall taste for me.

The egg was overcooked. I like my eggs with a runny yolk and whites that are just barely set.

Everything else, I either couldn't find or taste. If the slaw, pastrami, and chili weren't listed on the menu, I wouldn't have known they were in the burger. It was rather disappointing because I love all three of these things.

I would definitely go back to G Burger, but I would not get the G Burger "all the way." I'm still thinking about what the perfect combination of toppings would be, but in my opinion, the key to a great burger is simplicity. At the end of the day, the bun, patty, cheese, and (sometimes) bacon are what make or break a burger.

Go try out G Burger for yourself! Get it any way you want it, but my recommendation, keep it simple.

G Burger 421 E La Habra Blvd La Habra, CA 90631 (562) 245-7208 www.gburger.com

[Food] The Hungry Bear

The Hungry Bear is one of those hidden gems that you probably never heard of unless you're a local. I recently found out about the Hungry Bear through a friend who used to eat here as a kid. After we (my sister, my cousin, and I) wandered through an old plaza, we found the Hungry Bear tucked away in a corner.

The moment we walked in, we felt a bit out of place. We were the only Asians the restaurant, which is odd in Fullerton as it has a large Asian population. The decor is very homey and welcoming with earthy greens and teddy bears strewn all about the place. After a short wait, we were seated by our very happy waitress. She made sure to point out the specials.

On Mondays, four of the specials and their Specialty Steak are half off. Their prices are already low to begin with, but we'll talk about price later. I decided to go with one of my all time favorites, country fried steak, my cousin opted to try their Specialty Steak, and my sister got the bacon wrapped filets.

I got started off with a salad. It was nothing special, just a typical salad with dressing. My cousin got the same.

My sister had the cheese and potato soup, which was pretty much cheese and potato. How can that be bad, right? Well, it wasn't. It was delicious. The best way to describe it is as a super thick cheese sauce with chunks of potato.

My cousin's Specialty Steak (sirloin) wasn't quite medium rare, which he ordered. He decided it would be fine to just eat it (it was still great, I tried some), but the waitress insisted that it be the way he asked for it and took it back. They brought another one out within a few minutes. Talk about great service! The second time it was cooked perfectly and tasted even better than it did the first time. The meat was tender, juicy, and flavorful, just like a good steak should be.

My sister's bacon wrapped filets were to die for. The two tender filets were wrapped in bacon and cooked medium. Even without getting a piece of bacon in your bite, you can taste the smokey bacon flavor. With a piece of bacon, its simply amazing.

My country fried steak was a bit different than I'm used to. A typical country fried steak is made with tenderized cube steak, which almost has the texture of ground beef. However, the Hungry Bear makes their country fried steak with a piece of sirloin that's been pounded out. This way, it still has the texture of a steak, but is tender like a more typical country fried steak. The breading is very light and crispy, just the way I like it. Finally, the gravy is light and peppery. It's not like glue, which I've experienced too many times. The gravy complements the steak and doesn't just fill you up. This is a top notch country fried steak.

Each entree comes with a big piece of garlic bread and your choice of potato. We also got a side order of macaroni and cheese. None of the sides were out of this world, but the garlic bread and my mashed potatoes (with the same great gravy on my steak) were still delicious. The macaroni and cheese on the other hand was rather disappointing. It was just boxed mac and cheese.

After all that food, we decided that we needed to get some dessert. We got peach cobbler and apple pie. Each comes topped with a heaping scoop of French vanilla ice cream and a generous amount of whipped cream. The peach cobbler has a bread-like crust on top, which isn't crispy like I'm used to. I liked the apple pie better, but then again, I have a soft spot for pies. The ice cream leant a good amount of sweetness and provides a nice contrast to the hot dessert. The desserts themselves weren't too sweet, which I like.

The best part of the meal was when we got the check. We got all that food (and drinks) for less than $50 and we could barely move. Now that's a steal. Still, I wouldn't mind eating here any other day, even without the half off prices. Everything about the Hungry Bear makes it stand out; the quality of the food, price, and service are excellent. So please, check out the Hungry Bear for yourself!

The Hungry Bear Restaurant 2219 N Harbor Blvd Fullerton, CA 92835 (714) 526-2711 www.thehungrybear.com

[Food] Daikokuya

Ahhh, ramen...one of life's great pleasures. But there's so many different kinds! There's shōyu (soy sauce based), shio (salt based), miso, and what I consider king, tonkotsu. Tonkotsu is the rich, milky soup that is made by boiling pork bones for hours. This is exactly why my favorite ramen place is Daikokuya. Daikokuya specializes in this heavenly ramen and the long wait testifies to its greatness. In fact, while I was eating at the bar, I overheard a woman next to me that came from hours away in Northern California. That's right, just for Daikokuya.

After waiting for a good 45 minutes, we entered the small restaurant and were seated at the bar (the small size of the restaurant definitely contributes to the wait times). Without thinking we all placed our orders. I got the ramen combination with the shredded pork bowl while my sister and cousin (check his brand new blog!) got the combos with tuna sashimi bowls.

Soon after placing orders, we got our salad. It may just look like some cabbage with dressing and masago, but it's a lot more than that. The dressing has a very full-bodied, almost meaty flavor. It's hard to describe, but we all loved it. It was the perfect way to start the meal.

Just look at how sexy that tuna looks. I don't know if words are necessary here. I didn't try it, so I really can't use words, but wow.

My pork bowl was just as good as that tuna looks. The pork is tender and full of flavor, the sauce heightens the flavor experience, and the ginger cuts through the rich flavors.

Before we get to the ramen, let's take a moment and observe the proper way to eat it.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WrkdTrrwew]

Here's an excerpt from the 1985 movie, Tampopo featuring the Ramen Master. Now that we are properly educated...

The noodles are perfectly cooked, just enough bite without being firm. The pork is fatty and melts in your mouth. The soy boiled egg has a yolk that straddles the border between runny and solid. The bean spouts offer excellent textural contrast to everything else. The soup, oh the soup. Someone save me, I'm salivating at my screen. It's everything that you want your ramen soup to be. Flavorful but not overly salty, rich without making you sick, and creamy. Creamy? Yes. That's probably my favorite aspect of the tonkotsu broth. I'm going to have to stop here, I'm having withdrawls.

Does your favorite ramen cause such strong feelings? Probably not. If you've never had a taste of glory, be sure to stop at Daikokuya. There are several locations, but my favorite is the one in Little Tokyo. My other recommendations here are the gyoza, the pork fried rice, and the kotteri, or extra back fat, in the ramen. One comment on the kotteri option, it's delicious, but too much of it can be a bit overwhelming. I've only had it once, but definitely try it out for yourself. Really, anything you get here will be good.

Daikokuya 327 E 1st St Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 626-1680 www.daikoku-ten.com

[Food] Tuesday's Teaser

Mmmmm. Even I can't wait for Monday's Tuesday's post. Coming around 10pm PST. Sorry folks, as of now, it looks like there's no way I'm getting a post up tonight. Hopefully I'll have time tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

[Food] Rainbow Donuts vs. M&M Donuts

Recently, Rainbow Donuts' Cerritos and Norwalk locations started serving blueberry donuts. I heard that they were selling a dozen for only $5 on Friday, so I jumped on that chance to try them out. If Rainbow Donuts' blueberry donuts were comparable to M&M's variety, they would present themselves as a good option because I hate waiting in lines at M&M Donuts. It also doesn't hurt that they are much closer to me. I reviewed M&M's blueberry donuts back in April here.

I got to Rainbow Donuts about 10 minutes before the $5 deal officially started. Surprisingly, there was no line at all. It seemed like I was first one there for the deal. I asked the lady behind the counter if I could get two dozen donuts for the discounted price, and she gladly obliged. The next question she asked caught me off guard. "Frosted or glazed?" she asked. Frosted? What? Oh boy. Then I looked behind the display glass and there were blueberry donuts that looked similar to M&M's, but with a light purple frosting on top. I opted to get half frosted and half glazed.

I walked out of the store with 2 dozen donuts in my hands. I felt like a fatty mcfatfat. It's okay though, I gave a dozen to the kids at church right after. They disappeared within a blink of an eye, so I didn't get a chance to try one. At least I knew that they were good. I would have to wait until I got home to sample from the second dozen.

I decided to try the regular glazed donut first for comparison's sake. My first observation was that they are much more dense than the donuts at M&M. I suppose that's to be expected, after all, they are called "blueberry cake donuts." The outside was also not as crisp. I preferred the texture of M&M's donuts. My biggest gripe here was that they donuts were cold. They had been sitting out, even when I picked them up. I love that they donuts at M&M are freshly made (because they sell so quickly). That's probably the key difference for me.

Let's not look solely at the negatives though. Rainbow Donuts still makes a solid blueberry donut. I thought the frosted donut was far superior to the glazed donut. This is because the frosted donut is (surprisingly) not as sweet as the glazed variety. I thought the glazed donut was too sweet, but the frosted donut was just about perfect. The frosting is definitely a nice touch and adds a bit of unique flair to Rainbow Donuts over M&M.

All in all, I don't think that it's fair to compare the two donuts in a head-on comparison. They are similar, but different. They are both great donuts and I would eat either one any day. If you love M&M's blueberry donuts, then I recommend that you check out Rainbow Donuts. You won't have to wait in that ridiculous line, which is one of the biggest plusses in my opinion.

Rainbow Donuts 11825 South St Cerritos, CA 90703 (562) 468-0678 www.RainbowDonuts.com

[Food] Bludso's BBQ

My cousin wanted to grab lunch last week and we came up with a list of potential places to get our grub on. Bludso's was on that list and something inside of me told me to go there. Bludso's is a Texas style BBQ joint that brings the glory of Texas to SoCal. So, three Asian kids - my cousin, his friend, and I - pull into Bludso's BBQ in Compton, CA and the moment we step out, we undergo sensory overload. There are some smokers by the parking lot and the smell is simply irresistible.

So we walk in and put in our order, a Texas Sampler. Upon asking if that's enough food to feed three, the cashier gives us a reassuring "Ohh yeahhhh." We choose to eat outside on one of their picnic tables because it was such a beautiful day. After a short wait (a very short wait), our food comes out, delivered to our table.

Let me just stop here and take a moment to comment on the staff. Every single person working at Bludso's is extremely sweet and friendly. One of the ladies there came out several times to check on us and brought us a ton of wetnaps and napkins. They all introduce themselves with their first name. In fact, just as we were about to dig in, owner Kevin Bludso pulls into the parking lot right by our table and asks if he could have some of our food in a joking manner. He is one of the friendliest people I've met!

Okay, on to the food. When we opened up the Texas Sampler, all of our eyes widened...take a breath before you read this: Chicken Links, Beef Links, Pulled Pork, Beef Brisket, BBQ Chicken, Pork Ribs, Beef Ribs, 2 sides (we got cole slaw and mac and cheese), and bread for everyone. All that for less than $30. How is that even possible? I'll just cut to the chase now and say that this was more than enough food for 3 heavy eaters.

How was it? I'll start with the sides. The sides were probably the weak point in the meal, but still good. The slaw was not too creamy, which I like. It was a nice palate cleanser between all the meat. The mac and cheese was good, but not cheesy enough for my taste. It was of the dryer variety with little cheese sauce. [EDIT] I recently went back to Bludso's and the mac and cheese was spot on. Cheesy, creamy goodness. We must have gotten an old batch on my first visit. All of the meat was good, but the stand out stars for me were the pork ribs and beef brisket. The ribs had great flavor and fell right off the bone with no effort. The brisket was so tender that when we tried picking it up, it fell apart. It also had this ever so slight crust that developed from caramelization. Gah. Just thinking about it makes me drool.

The links had an interesting texture to them, not what I'm used to. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but it felt like they had a coarser grind. Great. The pulled pork was full of flavor from the BBQ sauce that douses the whole platter. Very good on the bread with some slaw. The chicken is...well...just chicken. I was never crazy about BBQ chicken because it's not very interesting. The beef ribs were just as good as the pork ribs, but I just prefer pork ribs over beef ribs. I was a bit confused because on the menu it says that they serve beef ribs only on weekends, but these guys were way too big to be pork ribs. Maybe someone can clear that up for me.

Bludso's gets a giant stamp of approval for food and service from me. My cousin, also a great lover of food, claims that the BBQ at Bludso's is better than the BBQ he had at Salt Lick in Texas. Fail to believe him? See for yourself!

Bludso's BBQ 811 S Long Beach Blvd Compton, CA 90221 (310) 637-1342

[Food] The Double Double Clone

I recently read this article from Serious Eats on cloning In-n-Out's Double Double. Although I can get an In-n-Out burger almost any time I want, I was inspired to clone one at home. Initially, I only wanted to clone the magical grilled onions, but that eventually led to the whole burger. This is not a strict recipe as I didn't follow a recipe. This is just a rough run through of what I did based on what I remembered from the article. You can read the article for an in depth analysis of the burger.

The first step would be the grilled onions that you get with an animal style burger. I used the method that Kenji used, constantly deglazing the pan with water and cooking the onions for a long period of time. I chopped 6 whole onions...

...with the help of my newest toy, a Kyocera ceramic santoku knife. This guy is super sharp, light, and easy to work with. I absolutely love it.

After the tears and chopping, I began the cooking process. I started with a little bit of oil and a ton of onions.

[slideshow]

Here's a slideshow. Check out the different stages of cooking the onions. After 3 hours of cooking, the onions ended up looking like this...

They turned into an absolutely delicious onion marmalade. After the 3 hour cooking process, I moved onto the rest of the burger. I made sure to cook the patties with mustard, just like they do at In-n-Out with animal style burgers.

After searing the first side of the patties, I generously covered the top with yellow mustard, flipped, put some American cheese and that sweet onion compote on top.

I then put the patties on some nicely toasted buns with some homemade Spread and homegrown tomato and lettuce. I didn't have any pickles on hand, but the burger was still delicious without them. The burger was different from what In-n-Out has to offer, but (dare I say) my sister and I both agreed that this version was better. Before you all smite me and send me flame mail, I repeat that they were different, I just prefer the home-brewed version. Now, with all this left over onion compote, I can take over the world use it on anything. It's a 3 hour process, but definitely worth it. A grilled cheese sandwich with this stuff would be absolutely divine...

[Photo] San Francisco Trip

Here are some random photos that I took while I was San Francisco last weekend for House of Prime Rib (see post here).

[Food] House of Prime Rib

This past weekend, my sister and some of my good friends came up to the Bay Area to visit me. The highlight of our trip was our trip to the House of Prime Rib in San Francisco. I'm going to try to keep my words to a minimum so that you can all bask in the glory of the prime rib...

So pretty much all of us got the King Henry VIII Cut, which is their biggest cut of meat. Included with the main course is a salad, your choice of creamed corn or spinach, loaded baked potato or mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and three kinds of horseradish.

They start you off with some great sourdough bread. Crispy on the outside, light and pillowy on the inside. Perfect. But don't get full off of this. It's a trap! They also give you the choice between sparkling and still water. I love the fact that they have sparkling water at no extra charge.

The salad is an important part of the meal. It has beets in it, which play a key role in digestion after the meal...you know...it's kind of important.

After your salad, they wheel out the "Meat Chamber" and carve your prime rib for you. If there were no consequences, I would probably grab one of the meat chambers full of the prime rib goodness and run.

I got my prime rib medium rare with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes. The meat was amazingly tender, like butter...I honestly cannot find word to describe the prime rib itself...just ughhhhhhhhh. As far as the horseradish goes, I like the middle one the best, the mild one is too mild and the spicy one is too strong (it's just raw horseradish). And make sure to use that Yorkshire pudding (which is basically olde school bread) in the end to sop up all that beautiful juice that pools up at the bottom of your empty plate.

The best part is that they give you another small piece of meat if you are still hungry after your meal.

Here are some additional photos with other glorious things like the meat chamber and loaded baked potatoes (note the amount of bacon on those suckers).

[slideshow]

As far as technical info goes on the photography, it was darker than the bat cave in there. I was shooting around f/2.2-2.8, ISO 3200, and 1/100-1/125. On top of that, I had to bring up exposure in Lightroom, so they are pretty noisy, but it's fine.

[Photo] Mumm Napa Winery

My family came up to visit me this past weekend and we took a trip to wine country. [Disclaimer: I am no connoisseur in wine, the information I'm presenting here is the information that I remember from the tour.]

While we were in Napa Valley, we took a tour at Mumm Napa, where they pride themselves in making sparkling wine with la méthode traditionnelle, or the traditional method that is used in the Champagne region of France. In other words, their sparkling wine is basically the same as "real" champagne. La méthode traditionnelle creates sparkling wine with very small bubbles, which is ideal and is one of the key characteristics of Mumm Napa's wines. One of the big differences is in the grapes that they use. They use the traditional three varieties, pinot meunier, chardonnay, pinot noir, plus pinot gris, which is not so traditional. They make 15 different kinds of wine, using a variety of blends of those four grapes. There was a lot more I learned about the process and what not, but I don't want to bore you with all the technical aspects.

During the tastings, I had some of their juice because I'm not of drinking age yet. I must say, their sparkling juices were amazing. On my first sip, I drank it like I would normal juice, just straight. However, I realized that I wasn't getting the full flavor profile. After swishing the juice around in my mouth, I was pleasantly surprised. The juice had a very full-bodied grape flavor without being overbearingly sweet. I let my family taste it and some of them said they preferred the juice to the sparkling wine itself.

Here are some photos I took during my visit.

[slideshow]

[Food] M&M Blueberry Donuts

Remember that pizza from last week?

Well, that's no pizza...

Bam! Feast your eyes on these blueberry donuts from M&M Donuts in Anaheim, CA. They open at 9 pm and you gotta get there early to beat the lines. These little guys are POPULAR. Sometimes the lines will cause two hour waits. I've seen the drive-thru line wrap around and continue through the parking lot of the plaza. At about $8 for a dozen, the price to flavor experience ratio is off the charts.

Ugh. Just looking at that cross-section excites me. The donut tastes like a fried blueberry muffin. The outside is crispy and glazed while the inside is soft and pillowy. Everyone knows that's the perfect combination of textures (think crisp fries with mashed potatoey [that's not a word...] insides). They're good cold the next morning, but are exceptionally extraordinary when they are hot and fresh. It's impossible to eat just one, you have to control yourself you have to eat a whole dozen.

You know that these donuts are the best just because they come in a freaking pizza box and are made by a cute old Chinese couple. Now, back to last week's post. These donuts with that blueberry crumble Haagen-Dazs ice cream? Just kill me now.

M&M Donuts 1614 W Katella Ave Anaheim, CA 92802 (714) 490-0718

NOTE: I plan to update at least once a week now on Mondays. Hoorah! No need to wait for weeks for new posts! Of course I reserve the rights to not follow through with this, but I really want to stay committed to this.

[Food] Late Night: Ice Cream Cravings

So what do you do when you want ice cream right before you go to bed? You just go and get it! As I was looking into the freezer, debating between Mango and Coffee, this Blueberry Crumble caught my eye. That limited edition royal purple lid whispered carelessly into my ear, "I'm what you want."

Sadly, it was gone before I thought to take photos (you looked at photos of an empty ice cream container). Meh. Let's just say it was delicious. You got the bright, fruity blueberry flavor right off the bat and finished with a slight bit of tartness and crunchy shortbread pieces. It was a flavor-texture-sensory foodgasm. It would have gone PERFECTLY with what I'm going to post about next time. Look forward to that on Monday. For now, here's a teaser photo.

Ice cream and pizza!? Edwin, what's wrong with you? Let your imaginations run wild.

[Food] Deep Fried Party

What do you do when you have nothing else to do? Throw a deep fried party, of course! I'm back in town so a couple of my good friends and I got together to fry up some cheese sticks a la Epic Meal Time.

We went the super simple route. Basic flour and egg dredge, Tangy Carolina BBQ Lays, and cheese sticks.

Crush up your chips of choice. My friends tried Doritos last time and told me that they got soggy too fast.

Set up your dredging stations.

Coat generously. We decided to go for a double dredge then lays method to get more crispiness. Here, Andrew demonstrates his method to optimize Lays coating on the sticks.

We got a bit adventurous and wrapped some cheese sticks with some turkey breast.

Ready to fry!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8fJb0bQHGA]

Get them sticks in that there oil. Make sure the oil is hot enough; test with a a small chip crumb or something of that sort.

While they were frying, we made some Nutella sammiches to snack on.

Here's glory shot number one. Just fry until they get gold and the cheese is melty.

Here's a turkey wrapped one.

Glory shot number two.

We had some peppermint patties, so we just fried those up as well.

Andrew was still hungry so I cooked up a quick cheese stick and chip crumb omelette for him. Nothing special.