Viewing entries tagged
crab

The Counter Burger - Pasadena

June 1, 2016

I've been going to The Counter Burger for over 7 years now. I would also add that it was my first gourmet burger I've ever had. Now that I work up the street on Lake Avenue in Pasadena, The Counter is literally within my reach whenever I want it. It's crazy. And I've been on this burger diet last year where all I ate was mostly that. I'm not sure if it was a phase. But I think it's just all the people telling me how crazy I was to eat burgers constantly. Get this straight. There is no judge zones when it comes to eating. If I want a damn burger, I will get me a damn burger!

Their new menu no longer comes in a binder. It is now as you can see, a laminate menu printed on both sides. The build your own burger is still available, but they cut down on the ingredients that were available to make the building less complicated, and more realistic. Like really, do you really need 10 items on your burger? Might as well go down the street to Souplantation if you just want to fill your cup. Make it quick, make it simple.

The Counter Burger has other locations, please click "Here" to find one near you.

Tater Tots with Pimento Cheese and BACON

If you've never had Pimento Cheese, obviously you need to try it. But to have it served with tater tots becomes a whole new ball game. You definitely want to eat these with a fork to get the biggest bite possible. Portions are great to share.

The first bite is sweet, spicy, and tangy. The heat will slowly creep up. And next thing you know it, you are craving for the next one. It's not as spicy as you think they'll be, but they do pack a good punch of flavor in each bite. Don't worry about napkins. It's all finger licking and sucking at this point.

This item is also on their new menu. Monster lump crab meat, diced eggs, bacon over bacon, roasted red peppers, green onions and spring mix to make you feel better about yourself. Served with a honey mustard dressing, but of course you can always ask for something else. This was $18, but well worth it. I'll say it again, HUGE lumps of crab. I also loved the diced eggs and tomatoes. This was very fun to eat.

They put the chicken in a buttermilk brine. Served with jalapeno jack, tomatoes, sliced Jalapenos, coleslaw, honey dijon all sandwiched between a brioche bun. Jalapenos are frightening. There are days where it wouldn't do much, but there are days it will totally destroy my stomach and bottom after a few hours. This was spicy when I had it, just the way I like it. If you want to give it a spicier punch, ask them for buffalo sauce or something instead of honey mustard. A bleu cheese dressing sounds delicious too.

Last but not least, 2 milkshakes to put out the butt fire. Strawberry Banana and Nutella. YUM. I love milkshakes. They really do make me feel like a kid because we didn't grow up drinking these. So to have it was definitely a treat.

There are also a few new items on their menu. Feel free to ask the staff about them.

Pasadena:

140 Shoppers Lane, Pasadena CA 91101

Comment

3rd Generation Sake Bar - DTLA

May 11, 2016

“Located in the Heart of Downtown Los Angeles’ Financial District. 3rd Generation Sake Bar specializes in Ramen, Sushi hand rolls and popular Japanese side dishes.”

— 3rd Generation

Finding a decent ramen place has never been easy. There's so much components that makes a ramen special. 3rd Generation does ramen decently for what is offered in Downtown LA. Besides ramen, the restaurant also serves handrolls, cut rolls, Poke Bowls, and many sides like takowasa to takoyaki. There are also modern spins like spicy tuna burger and pork belly bun. And of course, beer, sake and wine. So you can pretty much get an idea of what this place is like.

I would recommend getting sides and cut rolls/hand rolls. Drink a lot. Snack some more. And then order the Ramen to end your meal. I've worked at an Izakaya for 3 and a half years of my life and had visited Japan as well to say that's what I would do at a place like this. Given the menu.

All in all, it's great to have something away from the pretentious crowds. There's tons of people in Little Tokyo. Too much in my opinion. But again, the restaurant game is strong. So you can basically land on any street throughout downtown to find some great food. Here on 7th and Flower is where you will find 3rd Generation.

Our meal started with snow crab and salmon avocado handrolls. They do have blue crab which is one of my favorite things. Snowcrab was on the tasting menu today so that was what we went with. They have a 4 handroll special that comes with backed crab, salmon avocado, spicy albacore and spicy tuna. A pretty good steal for $14.

The spicy miso was delicate and not overly salty like other ramen joints I've been to. The noodles were wavy and thick. The pork was cooked perfectly. Served with sweet corn, bean sprouts, green onions, spicy miso paste, tender chashu, and half a soft boiled soy egg. Not extremely spicy, but carries a subtle kick.

Served with bean sprouts, green onion, soy egg, chasu, nori, fried garlic, and a black garlic oil that gives a light smokey nutty flavor to the ramen. Nothing over powering as well. The noodles were not the same as the spicy ramen, but resembled the traditional wavy noodles we are used to.

Tonkotsu broth is normally made with pork bones. Cooked down for a long period of time. Some places will cook it for a few hours while some will cook it for 24. It's insane the care that goes into the broth. I've warned many friends to beware with drinking the broth. Imagine a bowl of liquid fat just trailing down your neck. Yeah, some places make me feel dirty.

The meal was ended with one of my favorites, black sesame ice cream. Smooth and roasty, this is something I would always order when offered at a restaurant. Not a lot of places carry this on their menu so it's always a delight to see.

808 W. 7th St. Los Angeles, Ca 90017

Comment

Spear Steak and Seafood - DTLA

April 20, 2016

You know, when I think about breakfast, I think about things that I grew up eating. I wasn't that kid that got cereal or oatmeal for breakfast. In fact, we didn't eat breakfast during the weekdays at all. Even now, my breakfast is a cup of black coffee and whatever is left of my opened bag of cookies. Being a hardcore carnivore eater growing up, I find solace when I see steak on the menu. I would say 99% of the time, I would order steak if it's on the menu. And that 1% is only when I feel pressured to get something new.

Spear Steak and Seafood House in DTLA not only serves the obvious steaks, but they also do Sunday Brunch. They have 2 items on the menu that I normally gravitate towards: Steak & Eggs and Crab Benedict. During Sunday Brunch, Spear's also have $10 bottomless mimosas. With $7 parking validation, that's pretty awesome. Although I don't recommend anyone driving under the influence of bottomless mimosas.

800 W 6th St, Ste 100

Los Angeles, CA 90017

First, we coffee.

Attentive staff that keeps your cup filled. I don't know how many cups I had, but I was wired for sure.

I love Eggs Benedict. The only reason why I don't order it is pretty obvious. Butter. But, when lumps of crab meat is involved, there really isn't any reason to say now. And boy, was this delicious.

The binding of the crab was extremely simple. A slight crunch of the crust with a nice flaky bite from the crab. For $16 and the amount of crab you get, this was definitely worth it and a must order. Served with crispy fingerling potatoes. Go ahead, dip your potatoes in that ooey gooey Hollandaise sauce.

So I've been really into flat iron steaks. And if you haven't really tried a flat iron, I highly recommend you doing so. It's extremely delicious. It's much leaner than your Rib Eye or New York, but it has an incredible beef flavor. I would say... it feels like a Filet meets a New York. Served with fresh hash, sunny side eggs, ketchup & salsa verde.

Always medium rare. The steak was cooked perfectly as you can see. The salsa verde had a surprisingly spicy kick to it. I don't find salsa verde sauces to be really spicy, so this definitely caught me off guard when I dunked my first piece.

I will be back soon to taste their sushi menu. They have specialty cut rolls that I would love to try. This is a nice spot to hang out for brunch, or to follow dinner with tons of drinks. Because really, REALLY, who just has ONE drink?

Comment

1 Comment

Happy Birthday Donny Wu

October 19, 2015

Ok. Took some of the worst pictures this night for Donny's birthday. I haven't mastered shooting in dark light... and the amount of old fashioned I was drinking didn't help either. We had reservations at Arroyo Chophouse in Pasadena. The chophouse is one of the Yorbas and Donny's favorite places to celebrate a birthday. And when they do, they do it big.

We... had a lot of these. This was the Donny birthday drink. Every year for his birthday, most of everyone will have this as their drink of choice. It goes down so smooth which makes it a dangerous cocktail. Based with bourbon or rye, the orange twist and bitters makes me a happy girl. Don't forget to drink your water (oops).

They made it to my decent photos. Before the camera shakes... and more old fashioned.

Shrimp and King Crab platter. (Alaskan Crab $18, Jumbo shrimp cocktail $14)

First off, the shrimp was supposed to be cocktail shrimp, so this (BBQ Shrimp) had to be returned. When the dish came back, everyone were immediately digging in to one of the largest shrimps I've ever seen used for cocktail. And by the way, it was DELICIOUS. King Crab? DELICIOUS. Everything was extraordinary.

Yeah I don't remember what kind of oysters these were. Just call this post a failed post. BUT, we ordered 2 dozens of the small oysters that they have since they carried 2 that night. These oysters were spectacular! Cold, clean, buttery, had a nice snap with a sweet finish.

We (as in Donny) ordered 4 of these. It was melting your buns good. Food gasmic in your mouth good. It actually made my mouth feel sexy if that makes sense. It doesn't huh? Well this was one of the best Foie Gras I've had. It's simple. They use a thick piece for every order. A literal explosion of flavor in your mouth, and one of my absolute favorite decadent things to order.

The Wagyu New York strip came in at 14oz. I was underwhelmed by how chewy it was.. With that being said, it did have good flavor, but it definitely didn't meet the expectations of a Wagyu Steak. American Wagyu or Japanese Wagyu, I've had both, and this was a bit disappointing.

On the other hand, I tried their Wagyu filet mignon, and that was much tastier coming in at $51.

Of course Donny ordered the Wagyu Rib Eye. The texture of the steak was also underwhelming. The fat in the steak however, was very flavorful. For the price, I would definitely order their regular rib eye...

or their Tomahawk:

This beast, made for a carnivore, came in at a womping 2 1/4 pounds. No knife, just gram the handle and chop it off like this was your last meal. Yes, 2 people can share it and maybe even 3. But you are about to die, so skip the onion ring and eat this up. I'm salivating all over again.

Of course, Donny ordered every single dish on the menu minus the Souffle. I say skip the dessert next time, and order yourself another Foie Gras. Just saying.

Um so yeah. I do have more photos, but it's pretty blurry. Just like the rest of the night.

$1,666 and tip wasn't even included? Bold. We strolled to Old Town Pasadena. Crashed the Blind Donkey (btw yummy burgers), had more old fashioned, water, and played a few rounds of Shuffle Board. Followed the birthday boy to Kings Row Gastropub. And then, ended up in my first UBER ride to another place that I had no idea existed. From there, there were blue liquid shots. I lost track.

And guess what? I drove everyone home! I'm SO AWESOME!

And the next day?

Hungover as F!

Mother F'ers. Happy birthday Wu! till whoevers birthday is next. I will be hibernating.

Life is good.

Daiisies

1 Comment

Bun Rieu

October 19, 2015

Hi Guys! It's been a while, but I am back after a busy week. If you follow my Instagram: daiisies_eat, you will see a post I made of Bun Rieu.

My mom called me on my way home from work to let me know she made some Vietnamese noodle soup for me to take home. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew I was going to enjoy it. I think when it comes to flavor, I get that from my mom. But when it comes to creativity, I get that from my dad. Because everything my mom makes, I love. My dad? I'm not sure I know where to start... but he definitely gets an A for reaching out of the box... (sorry pops!).

Upon arrival to my moms, I noticed she was lugging out this huge bag. I wasn't sure what was inside besides "Vietnamese Noodles". I kept thinking it was Pho, because... heck we are Chinese, since when did my mom know how to make anything Vietnamese?

After parking my car, I did the usual with grabbing my phone, keys, bag, lunch pale, and then the dinner my mom made. It was HEAVIER than I expected. If my neighbors didn't know who I was, they would've probably assumed I stole something with my expression.

Well, you guys already know what's inside since the post reads Bun Rieu and it was also mentioned in the beginning of this post. But, DENG just look at this. She was not kidding about dinner. It was literally Bun Rieu for days. She was smart to put newspaper underneath, because it was spilling the way that I was driving.

Vermicelli noodles? Definitely not pho. My buddy boy there was intrigued with the smell too. On top of the loaded Vermicelli noodles were different herbs: mint (different kinds), Coriander, basil, and leafy romaine.

My heart exploded. Bun Rieu is a tomato based soup with crab, ground pork and shrimp, and some eggs mixed in throughout the soup. For this soup, my mom added pork feet and pork bone.

Put these babies together and you get:

The pork meat balls were mixed with shrimp. The soup had a strong crab shell flavor (Amazing). The pork feet has a nice gelatinous texture that I love. No it is not disgusting. I grew up eating this and probably had some when I was in my mums belly. I slurred in some thai spicy chili garlic paste to excel the flavors. It was a super hot day from what I remember. If I closed my eyes, I could swear I was in Asia. With the sweat dripping down my brows, the bubbles of sweat coming out of my back saying hello... and the awesome sweat stash that is haunting me for days.

Oh crap I just remembered that my mom made me wontons as well! I will update this with the recipe once my mom decides to teach me.

Now... go call your mom, and tell her you love her.. so she will make you some dinner.

Happy slurping.

Daiisies

1 Comment

Wine & Dine

The Counter Burger - Pasadena

3rd Generation Sake Bar - DTLA

Spear Steak and Seafood - DTLA

Happy Birthday Donny Wu

Bun Rieu