Angeli Caffe on Melrose

Sara & I went out to dinner one night 

to this tiny Italian restaurant called Angeli Caffe on Melrose Avenue.

It wasn't one of those hip Hollywood restaurant with flashy lights and loud music

that you can really recall what you have consume as you're leaving the lobby.

As soon as we sat down...

Can't complain about this gigantic rustic bread. 

Fresh from the oven.

Sara's friends raved about daily special ricotta gnocchi from this place.

So, we ordered a few other appetizers including the "gnocchetti".

I wasn't too excited at this point... 

BUT, these little potato goodnesses totally exceeded my expectation.

 Ricotta Gnocchetti

They were soft but still had a subtle chewiness to them. 

Once you put that little gnocchetti in your mouth,

it melts away leaving such savory, velvety pleasure... YUM!

 Goat cheese wrapped with grilled eggplant

 Potato croquettes with salame and smoked mozzarella
They are pretty addicting...
Fried with salame inside, duh?

For the main course, I had Pollo Arrosto (roasted chicken).

It was roasted with fresh rosemary, lemon & tons of garlic and ...

Yes, I could taste all the ingredients in perfect harmony.

 Sara had Linguine ai Frutti di (seafood linguini).

Let's just say that this plate was very clean 

after us two girls devouring everything edible. haha...

To complete the sin of gluttony this evening,

We had to have Tirami Su. Surprisingly, it was just okay.

(Although, the apple crumble sort of daily special dessert I tried later was to die for...)

After this dinner, I went back to Angeli Caffe many more times.

My favorite dishes were... there are more that are not on regular menu.

Tagliata
fillet of beef scallops topped w/fresh rosemary and sage, served on balsamic dressed arugula

Penne all’Arrabiata

spicy tomato sauce

Pizza al Caprino

goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, carmelized garlic

Chicken Piccata Special

I love their food. The ambience is chill. 

Although, make sure you have enough time to enjoy your wine and good company... 

their service schedule is very... Italian. (:

Hope this review can help you exploring your new favorite Italian resturant!!!

Ciao!

shabu-shabu at my house!!!

My lil sis Jenny is back from visiting Korea. Yay!

Wanted to cook something extra delish 

for our long anticipated rendezvous at mi casa.

She was down for some shabu-shabu. (:

For those of you who are not so familiar with this dish...

Shabu-shabu is pretty similar French fondue & Mongolian genghis khan. 

You cook your favorite meat & veggies in boiling water/broth & dip them in sauce.

It's super simple & easy to prep for shabu dinner. 

Make quickie broth with dried katsuobushi fish flake & dried kelp... 

Just simmer for 5-10 min!

Next, chop up everything in your veggie drawer in bite size.

You can "shabu" with beef, pork, chicken, duck, ... any of your favorite choice.

(BTW, from this moment, "shabu" is going to be used as a verb.

You've just witnessed the historical foodie lingo-creation moment. ^^)

Just make sure the meat is sliced very thin,

so you don't have to count 100 for every bite!!

When you go to Japanese or Korean market, 

they usually offer a great selection of shabu meat & dipping sauces.

I like using ponzu with Chinese mustard paste & sesame flavor sauce.

There are spicier options, peanuty one, tangy one and etc.

Time to eat!!!

After you are done with fondue-ing enough meat & veggies,

you can add some kimchi, rice, roasted nori, sesame seeds, and sesame oil 

to make mixed rice...

Even my 4-year-old nephew, Ethan, loves shabu-shabu. ^^

You can buy this kind of pot and portable gas burner at any Korean market.

More pictures of shabu night...

You can also make vegeterian version or fish version... Be creative! Have fun!!!

Cold sake or Korean Bek-se-joo go really well with this dish.

Thanks for reading my shabu story. ^^

Good night~!!

Thai BBQ Original Restaurant

Christy & I have been dreaming about 

having tom-yang-kum for past few weeks. 

It was Christy's precious dayoff today, 

so we met up for some Thai food & Korean scrub massage.

Gosh! My life is really tough. lol.

Christy is as crazy about food as me.

Took some shots to share happiness from our lunch date.

Tom-yang (soup) 

is pretty much the most popular soup in Southeast Asian countries 

such as Laos, Thailand, and Singapore.

We had tom-yang-kum which is with prawns.

Unlike typical Korean soup or American soup,

tom-yang is sweet. It's a little spicy (not very) but perfectly 

swirled with sweet & buttery flavors of coconut milk,

savory mushrooms and prawns...

then there's fresh basil, lemon grass, and a touch of lime.

Yes! Yes! Ye~~~~~~S!

I'm a huge fan of Beef Satay.

Satay is a marinated, skewered & grilled meat & served with sauce. 

This dish is originated from Indonesia.

sweet marinate + peanut sauce = I die ^^

Another cliche Thai dish that I cannot get enough of.

 Le Pad Thai.

rice noodles + eggs + fish sauce + tamarind sauce + 

red chilli pepper + bean sprouts + shrimp + Scallions + crushed peanuts

= Again, I die

Green Curry with Pork

 I often get panang curry,

 but today I tried green curry for the first time in few years.

Love the combination of crunchy bamboo shoots and silky coconut milk

with the heat of green chilies.

I personally like the ground pork version better.

nom nom nom (:

To wash them all down,

We stopped by Christy's favorite boba place.

Cannot stop going back for more Taro Slush Boba these days...

Hope your day is filled with love, laughter, and great food~!!

The best pot roast eva!!!

Ribeye.

Need I say more?

A few months ago, I found the most amazing ribeye steaks from Pavilions by my house. 

I was debating whether I wanted to grilled these guys or make a roast...

Of course, THE ROAST WON.

Time for me to check the mirror, smile big, and (with a little wink)

ask for the roast cut from the back 

where they keep the good stuff... you know?!!

I came home with the perfect ribeye for half the price. ^^

Let the game begin.

First, I turn on the oven and set it at 350°F.

Took out my cast iron pot.

Now, sear the whole damn thing with EVOO on high heat.

For those of you who don't watch the cooking channel religiously,

The EVOO means Extra Virgin Oilve Oil.

Never forget to add a lil bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper!!

Turn it around to make sure you have nice brown coat on all sides.

But please don't turn it around too much...

We just want to "sear" the steak.

Just because I don't get to make amazing pot roast everyday

instead of using left over wine

I opened a bottle of red zin.

When I make a roast, I use red wine add layers of flavors.

Hints of berries, apple, citrus fruits... yum.

Pour about half of a bottle into the pot.

Cover the pot with the lid and put it into the heated oven for an hour.

Take it out & baste the roast & put it back in for another hour.

Repeat one more time as needed until the meat is nice and tender.

Like everything else in your life, use your judgment!!! jaja...

While the roast is cooking in the oven, 

peel the taters, onions, roughly chop them.

I love adding potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery.

Time to be creative with the sauce. 

I usually make spicy BBQ-y sauce.

In a bowl mix your favorite BBQ sauce, hot sauce, spices, 

and add the mixture to the roast.

Put the whole thing back in the oven.

Give it one more hour.

I know you're getting impatient at this point. 

You're almost there!!

When the timer goes off, take the roast out. 

Try to poke one of the bigger taters to see if it's cooked.

Serve it over rice or with some fresh cornbread.

Bon Appétit! 

Arashi Sushi downtown LA

My friends Ashley & Kaye wanted to do Happy Hour Sushi last week.

I went online to search for a new spot, 

Since we always end up doing Noshi Sushi.

Found Arashi Sushi in downtown LA with decent reviews.

Us three girls. We can eat!!

We ordered like mad people...

First we started with Tuna & Avocado Salad & Octopus Yakidori.

I don't have any pictures for these two because... yeah we're to hungry. ^^

Of course our sushi affair was accompanied by Hot Sake & Orion beer.

Then came out Ama Ebi - sushi made from live shrimp.

They're very sweet and fresh. Duh~!

White Tuna, Albacore, Butter Fish, and Hamachi (Yellow Tail) Sushi...

We might have ordered a bit too much... as always...

as you can tell from the picture above, 

the yellow tail sushi were a bit "not from this morning" :(

I always try spicy tuna rolls just to compare their maki quality.

Cali Rolls & Spicy Tuna Rolls

 

My perfect meal is never complete without something fried. ;D

Crunch Spicy Tuna Roll (no rice, with surimi)

We're drinking and eating and talked s**t about our bosses.

We were there for good three hours I think.

I would give this happy hour 7.5 out of 10 for food, service, price value. 

For your reference, our bill was $165 including tax & tip.

Everything was decent. No WOW factor... 

Would I go back?? Not sure. 

Anyway, we went out for some beer at Dublin.

Met a really cook bartender, Chris, who supplied fantastic selections of beer ;)

My favorites were Blueberry Wheat Beer & Dirty Hoe (Guinness & Hoegaarden).

Love doing happy hour with my girls~<3

Have a great day ya'll!!

BCD Tofu House in Koreatown

I think BCD Tofu House is one of the most popular after-hour destinations 

in K-town (Koreatown).

It serves many different varieties of tofu soup (served in a hot stone pot)and 

other popular Korean food such as bulgogi, galbi, and bibimbap.

It's located at where Wilshire and Kingsley cross.

About 2 in the morning, a couple of my friends and I headed to BCD last Saturday.

We were very hungry as you can see in the pictures...

We each ordered BBQ combo with tofu soup:

beef bulgogi, galbi (beef ribs), spicy pork bulgogi (from the left).

When you order soup, they are going to ask you how spicy you want it.

I like it "danger" hot, but my friends usually order medium...

Also, you can add a raw egg to your soup if you want, 

it cooks in the sizzling hot stone pot.

Like all the other Korean restaurants, 

"bahn-chahn"(side dishes) are free. 

Ask for more kimchi if you want some more!! 

Enjoy~!! 

How about some oden soup to warm your heart tonight? (:

It was drizzling all morning. 

The sky was so gloomy.

 Felt like staying in bed and read one of twenty something books I ordered last week.

As soon as I opened a book, 

I had a serious craving for pumpkin spice latte. 

Oh, the sweet aroma of cinnamon & pumpkin ... 

So I strolled down to Larchmont Street by my house 

and had one with extra whipped cream on top!!

It. was. good. 

Then, I went to my favorite grocery store in Koreatown.

Picked up some ingredients for oden soup, 

which is a very common street food in Korea during the winter time.

Remembered this oden soup recipe with rice cake from a magazine.

Bought some plain rice cake called "gah-rae-tuk"

BTW, oden is fishcake. 

Made the fish broth using dried anchovies, daikon radish, and seaweed.

You have to take out the anchovies after 20 minutes or so...

Add the oden on sticks into the boiling fish broth wait for 20 plus minutes.

Add the rice cakes on sticks to the soup.

Bring down the heat to low and simmer it for another 15 to 20 minutes.

While you're finishing the soup, you can make the sauce to dip these goodness...

Just mix soy sauce, sesame oil, crushed sesame seeds, and finely chopped scallions.

STOP if you have no tolerance with spicy food.

I personally like it with diced Jalapenos and Korean crushed red pepper.

Serve the soup with the sauce on the side. 

Tonight, I served kimchi, rice, and steamed broccoli on the side.

Hope some of you out there can enjoy this recipe~!!

Good night (: