Viewing entries in
brunch

Tacos Tu Madre

October 31, 2015

Hello,

Today I've gotten the opportunity to enjoy an amazing treat hosted by Damon Eats (@damoneats) for the soft opening of Tacos Tu Madre.

Tacos Tu Madre is a little shack with dia de los muertos art outside of the restaurant. Being a taco lover all my life, this was definitely a tasting I am excited about. I grew up eating street tacos such as: lengua, cabeza, buche, chicharron, Suadero, and tripas. So you can imagine my appreciation for the craft.

Tacos Tu Madre is a contemporary take on the classic tacos with a few spins on ingredients such as Duck Foie Gras.

Menu

Prices are still unknown at the moment, but you can see a large variety of tacos to test. Come with a group. Or someone who is really hungry that can eat. Like me. I always like to eat. So you can try a lot of them.

Course

This was one of our favorites, hence the first image. The chorizo had good flavor, and was not dry like a lot of chorizo I've had. The eggs were cooked perfectly over easy with a surprise ooey gooey center that became a finger licking madness. I was a bit intimidated by the size of the chorizo, but it was perfect with the eggs and handmade tortilla. I would definitely order this in a burrito.

Another favorite. I'm a huge fan of a simple tartare. Simple, some dishes should be left that way and they did a great job at this one. The tuna was plump, was perfectly seasoned and not overly dressed with the sesame oil, ripened avocado, with a touch of furikake. I would love them to make a LARGE crunchy taco out of this. Just saying.

Fried

Fried Chicken and Fried Shrimp. I love fried anything. Especially in a taco. I have to say, their tortillas held up really well for all the dishes. The chicken had a tangy worcestershire/katsu sauce. The shrimp had a good fresh take with crema, salsa and pickled onions. Both were perfectly fried, and seasoned ever so slightly.

Taco Porn

Top Left: Asada, carnitas. Bottom Left: Korean, Al Pastor.

Delicious everything. Though, I did feel some tacos didn't need cheese. It masked the flavors of the marinade and seasonings of some dishes, but the cotija that they used was very tasty.

Drinks

Don't forget to tip the bartender. At food events with open bar, people think the bartenders are just there to pour you drinks. No. It's common courtesy to tip the bartender even if it's free.

All drinks were exciting and fun. And Yes. I think I drank all 3 in less than an hour. No I am not an alcoholic, I just like cocktails. The one with the lime is their El Diablo: Tequila based, Ginger Beer, and Creme De Casis. Vampire Punch is the one with pomegranates: Gin Based, Compari, Orange Juice and Soda. Death before Dinner is the Vader looking one: Rum Based, Grapefruit, maraschino, lime, and a few drops of charcoal.

Sweets

This was so freaking amazing. I can't even tell you how good this was. It was a perfect warm day in Los Angeles in the high 80's and this will definitely be something I will be driving out here for. You taste the creaminess and roasty flavors of the rice, with the perfect amount of sugar and cinnamon ratio. I'm so glad this was something I did not miss and definitely something I don't regret going in my belly.

We waited a long time for these because they ran out. But it's ok. When there's a wait, it gives you every right to drink. These churros are denser than what I'm used to, but their cinnamon sugar and cream cheese frosting were delicious.

And then, it all came out at once.

When churros fly out of the kitchen, you need a photo bomb huddle. What's not to love right?

It was a very fun afternoon spent with local foodies, eat a shit load of tacos, and have plenty of drinks. The turnout for this event was great. This shack is small and quaint, so make sure you don't bring a family/friends of 10 and expect to find seats. Opening tomorrow, November 1, I am appreciative that I was invited to this social media event. What better way to snap photos of food, but with a group of foodies who get it.

I took over 200 shots today. Pretty impressive.

1945 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

By the way, they open late, so yeah. Drunk or Hungover, they will take care of you.

Happy Taco Hunting!

Daisy

Comment

2 Comments

Special Olympics - SOCAL - Pier Del Sol

October 13, 2015

I've been anticipating this years Pier Del Sol in Santa Monica after a wonderful time I had last year. Get ready, unbuckle your belts, because I'm sure you will gain 10 pounds just by looking at these photos.

Here's a little bio about Special Olympics from their website:

"The mission of Special Olympics Southern California is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.
Our vision is to provide sports and training programs for any individual with intellectual disabilities who chooses to participate, thereby improving their lives and the lives of everyone they touch."

-Special Olympics

Being as big of a foodie as I am, I was super stoked to see all the participating restaurants that will be there. Providence for one, shucked way over 100 oysters to serve the crowd. This year, I was hoping they would do the same. Why? Because it was the best oysters I've ever had.

Unfortunately, I was so excited that I didn't catch the names of the oysters... all 3 times I stopped by! But the clams, were extraordinary. I've never had such clean tasting clams with the most memorable snappy texture. It just pops in your mouth. The sauces that they were serving were impeccable as well. You would think cocktail sauce, horseradish, and mignonette sauce is the most simple things to serve with oysters. Like duh, how can you mess that up? Well... A LOT of places do. And once you've tried their sauces, especially their mignonette, then you will understand the excited booty dance that I was doing.

Hache LA were serving a nice refreshing non-alcoholic cocktail. Fresh strawberries with basil lemonade. Such a delightful cooler to ease of the terrible hot-humid weather that was hitting the pier. I was DRENCHED in sweat every time I stepped into the sun.

Bar Pintxo served one of the best breakfast Paella I've had. I haven't had much either, but the saffron was so aromatic and distinct. There was a bit of socarrat in every bite which drove me bonkers! So delicious! With the creamy soft poached egg was to d-i-e for.

Speaking of delicious poached eggs, it seems like everyone was getting their egg game right.

Getting serious now.

Fishing with Dynamite served one of the best shrimp and grits I've ever had! John just came back from New Orleans a few months ago, and said this topped what he's had there. By the way, I'm not trying to sound obsessed... but the poached egg was STELLAR. The whites literally mushed off... like soft super soft custard.. glued to the ooey gooey yolk... there was nothing more heavenly.

Take a break and grab some fresh s'mores from Spago! My brothers girlfriend, Angela, is the Sous pastry chef that created this with her team for this lovely event. Though this was specially made for this event, I just want to say that their raspberry marshmallow was the best mother f'ing marsh s'mores muusshh I've had! It totally reminded me of the holidays, and y'all know how crazy I am about the holidays right now! BEAST! Think of raspberry covered chocolates. H-ea-v-e-n.

Via Alloro served a duck beat salad and a delicious creamy mushroom truffle soup. Their mushroom soup is something that I was looking forward to this year as well. Though the soup was cold... the mushrooms had a delicious aroma throughout. The truffles, however, did nothing for the soup. I was a bit underwhelmed this year. The duck beat salad was simple, refreshing, and balanced if you eat the dish together. The duck was slightly salty.

This was AMAZING. Hamasaku did this sweet tofu wasanbon that was out of this world! I should've had more of this. It was their version of panna cotta, and I definitely enjoyed this a lot more. It was really thoughtful and well executed. Something so simple done right, gochisousama!

LA Prime did not disappoint with this New York cut steak. A beauty served with watercress, perfect mash and meat gravy. Is that sexy or what? I had 2 plates. (restaurant is located in Westin Bonaventure Hotel).

Mistral was here last year and here again this year serving the same dish. I'm NOT complaining. This was their red wine braised short ribs, doused with a horseradish cream, on a garlic crouton. This was slayed! The horseradish cream was the perfect compliment to cut the richness of the beef. Need I say more? Just one bite folks!

Ok we are almost there. Are you getting hungry yet?

Comforting pesto penne from Terroni! I love, and pretty much am, obsessed with pasta at the moment. I loved the velvet olive oil that you can taste in the whole dish. So silky in the best way ever! I'm definitely going to pop my head in this restaurant in the near future!

Daily Grill was serving up some blackened Ahi tuna. I was a bit skeptical by the simplicity of this dish. But the flavors? PACKED! This was SO delicious, and had gems hidden! There were artichokes, DELICIOUS artichokes. I think this dish was the underdog from the event. Who knew a simple salad like this could be so freaking decadent! I have to visit the Daily Grill AS WELL.

The Tripel created a simple refreshing ceviche served over taro chips. Great dish for this humidity. I never thought of using taro chips for ceviche... genius. Is it lower calories? A girl can only dream....

Really? Angelini Osteria served prosciutto with persimmons. WHY. DOES. IT. TASTE. SO. GOOD. TOGETHER?! Persimmons is seasonal. So how am I going to eat this again? Why do this to me? WHY must you?! I hate simple dishes. Everyone tries to always overdo simple things that stands on it's own. Cantaloupe has nothing on this persimmon. Bravo!

Honary Chef goes to Alain Giraud, chef and owner of Maison Giraud. Serving up some pretty looking food that day. Their salad nicoise was simple and fresh. Again, another refreshing dish to cleanse this heat. And scoot over to grab a mini pain au chocolat, one of my favorite classic french pastries. Where's the coffee?!

Uhhh... yeah you gotta make your sundae from Dandy Don's. Don't forget your nuts and maraschino cherry.

Strand House made this pretty awesome creation. What you see is a blueberry crumb cake, creme fraiche whip you see there, blueberry compote, and a cardamom injector. How fun is that?

Uhhh... yeah this happened to. PINKS was serving up their whole links. No minis. No saving grace. You take the calories, and you run. You can feel bad later, but at this moment, I devour and I will slay.

It's now Tuesday, and I've been working out insanely from eating as much as I did. The hot humid weather didn't make me feel all that attractive either... but now, I feel a lot better. I am super stoked to come back again next year.

Now you tell me. $150 to help charity and to get all this food, is it worth it to you?

gochisousama,

Daiisies

2 Comments

Comment

Mini pounder with macerated strawberries and lemon cream

October 10, 2015

I must be crazy to bake in 99 degree weather. But we all need to satisfy our cravings somehow. I wanted to find a simple pound cake to use for this recipe. Unfortunately, the world currently loves pumpkin, banana, and zucchini pound cake at the moment, because I could not find any plain loafs. I decided to make my own, and if you have a local bakery near you that serves awesome pound cake, feel free to use that.

Recipe Pound Cake (2-3 servings):

4 tablespoons of butter. Softened / room temp.
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of cream
snibble of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

I used my Kitchen Aid mixer for this. I creamed together the sugar and butter. The egg yolks are then added followed by the cream and vanilla. All the dry ingredients can be mixed in a separate bowl to be poured into your wet ingredients. Once your batter is finished, pour in a small baking dish that's been buttered.

Depending on your oven, this was baked for 30 minutes at 350 in my Breville Smart Oven (best oven ever).

Recipe Lemon Cream:

I used the pastry cream recipe from my Pear Tart. With that recipe, I added 1 tablespoon of lemon zest, and 1 whole juicy lemon. (The lemon flavors will be reinforced with the macerated strawberries). The pastry cream recipe will make more than you will need, but I like to keep some laying around to make quick tarts or vanilla wafer dishes.

Macerated lemon strawberries Recipe:

1/2 a lemon of juice
Zest 1 tablespoon of lemon
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 cup of strawberries (tops removed and halved).

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and let it sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

I'm not a professional baker and mostly create random things on the go. I'm sure there are plenty of delicious recipes out there, but these are quick, easy, and ingredients you can probably find in your kitchen.

Happy Baking! Just one more week of heat before it cools down!

Daiisies

Comment

Henry's Cuisine

October 6, 2015

Henry's Cuisine - 301 E Valley Blvd, Alhambra, CA 91801

If you are familiar with 626 restaurants, you can understand there is a lot going on in this area. With that being said, there are a lot of restaurants that stands out, and some that are just trying their best to survive. The more common restaurants like Tasty Garden has emerged over the past several years and has opened a few other locations. Phoenix Inn has been around for 50 YEARS (can you imagine that?) also evolved overtime and some even revamped the interior of their locations. Then, you have the typical Chinese cafes like Garden, Baccalis, JJ, JR, KT cafe, Ledo, and so much more. This is also followed by the many restaurants that serves dim sum in the morning, all the Vietnamese joints, HOT POTS, but we are definitely not going to to go into any of that today. (I'm mind blown just going through all other cuisines in my head)

I picked up my mom today to have dinner. We were trying to figure out how to set up her Bluetooth to connect to her car. I don't know if you remembered from a past post, my mom got a new car.

It took a while before I figured out that... I couldn't really figure it out. We decided to take a break from that and head to dinner. She already had her mind set on Henry's Cuisine because a few of her friends raved about the fried salted pig knuckle. I've heard about it, seen it, and always wanted to try it myself. I am a huge fan of roast pork. Being Chinese, it was really something we grew up eating in the household. We would order a few ribs, chopped it up, made some garlic sauteed veggie, a big pot of white Jasmine rice, and that was our meal. It was tough, but our parents made it easy for us to enjoy tasty meals with a low budget.

See? Literally. Meat. Veggie. Rice. With the addition of the porridge because my mom was not feeling well. First thing first.

Deep Fried Salted Pig Knuckle:

Seriously, it was decadent. My mom went straight for the skin, took one bite, and told me "MMMMMM, it's good" in Cantonese or "MMMMM. Ho sik". I tried it for myself and almost cried. The meat was lean, but tender. The brininess of the pork was perfect. This dish was pretty extraordinary. The saltiness of the pork really makes it distinct as well as the hue of the meat. My mom called dibs on the bone, but before she did I peeled a few bits of skin off for myself. She was one happy mom.

The vegetable was simple. Something we always order because we need to have some green with our meal. It's just the way every Chinese meal goes.

This is another typical staple in the Chinese cuisine. Whether you are sick, or having breakfast, this is always a go to comfort food. Preserved eggs are not for everyone. I didn't start enjoying the eggs till I was in my 20's. I would normally eat around it because I do like the flavors it brings to the congee.

All in all, thumbs up. This place was not packed whatsoever and that makes me really sad. There were these 2 mainland Chinese ladies that arrived at the same times as we did. They ordered food at the same time, but left in the middle of our meal. My mom overheard them saying the food sucks. I'm like it sucks? "MMMMM HO SIK AH!" that's what I said. The ahh puts emphasis on your statement.

How rude were these ladies? They actually went up to the waitress who was closing out their bill, and spoke in mandarin that the food was poor quality. The phrase in our language is actually a lot worse than the English "It sucks/not good/taste bad". It's a lot meaner to say it in our language. The restaurant was not full, so them saying it a few times stung me a bit. It made me slightly mad. The meal I just shared with my mom was delicious. The service we had was one of the best that we had in the area. The food was comforting and there is no reason to be hostile.

I want this place to do good. So I hope that you all can give it a try (especially the pork knuckle). I would totally save the bone, and make congee with that. Just imagine all the delicious roasty pork flavors you can extract from it?

Or you can chuck it at those 2 ladies I saw.

Chow!

Daiisies

Comment

Pear Tart

October 4, 2015

It's finally raining and cooling down out here in Los Angeles. Well I wouldn't really call it rain since it stopped for a few hours, but I am anticipating a lot heavy pours this year *fingers cross*. I've been almost indoors all day with the exception of getting some groceries. Cooking and baking becomes so enjoyable in this weather. I am loaded up with a lot of coffee to not get sucked into this hibernating weather. It's so tempting to grab my cat, Ford, and snuggle with him under the sheets. Yeah he will try to fight his way out, but sooner or later he gets tired and just lays there, and tells me he hates me and how much I smell like bacon.

I decided to bake today. Just to remind you guys, I am a terrible baker. To follow recipes step by step is such a task for me. I don't think I've ever made a sweet baked dish that came out exactly what I wanted, because I would miss a step.... or 6...

Tornado Pear Tart Recipe:

Crème pâtissière (sounds sexier than Pastry Cream):

2 Cups of whole milk
1/4 cup + 1/3 cups of sugar
1 Egg + 2 Egg yolks
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
2 Tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of Baking Powder

Heat the 2 cups of milk with the 1/4 cup of sugar on medium high heat and stir occasionally. In a separate mixing bowl, I mixed the eggs, 1/3 cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, and the 1/4 cups of flour (make sure to whisk until smooth).

When your milk starts to simmer, I removed it from the heat and ladle very slowly into the egg mixture while whisking at the same time. Because I'm paranoid, I slowly added about half the milk and whisking it like crazy before putting it back into the pot. I then put the pot back on the stove, but on medium low. The creme is whisked until it gets to a thick-gloopy consistency. Like this:

When it gets to a thick yogurt consistency, I then add the 2 tablespoons of butter and the 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract. Whisk again and pour it into a bowl with saran wrap on the cream so it does not form a layer. After the temperature drops a little, stick it into the fridge to cool before using.

Crust:

1 Cup of flour
1 stick of butter
1 egg
1/4 cup of sugar
pinch of salt

With a food processor, I put all the dry ingredients and pulsed a few times to mix them evenly. Next I would drop the egg and pulse (you will notice the dough turns into little pebbles). I got the butter, chopped a few chunks, and pulsed it into the flour until it formed a dough. The dough is very soft and a little hard to work with, so I would kneed a little more flour (about 1/4 cup) before forming it into my tart pan.

My tart pan was buttered slightly. I layered the pastry cream on top followed by canned pears I drained and sliced.

SO. Since I suck at following the rules of baking, I totally forgot to pre-bake my stupid tart. Don't forget to do this. Freeze your crust for about 30 minutes so the dough can come back together (Basically fast chilling it). Take a fork and poke your crust a few times allowing steam to escape. After you bake your crust for about 10 minutes at 400 degrees, take it out to let it rest a bit before layering the cream.

About 1/2 the pastry cream goes into the tart. Layer the pears and let it bake for 40 minutes on 350.

Ok I think I'm calling it a tornado because my kitchen was a mess afterwards. Since I didn't bake my crust first, I was kind of surprise that it was still passable. I actually roasted the tart in the oven for about 15 minutes, before switching it over to baking. Because when you roast, the heat generates more so from the bottom of the oven, which is what I needed since I'm anticipating the bottom of the crust will be the most difficult to cook.

I added a little sprinkle of sugar around the crust 5 minutes before removing it from the oven. Let it cool for about 15-20 minutes before removing it from the tin (HOT). Slice it and serve with some coffee or tea.

Please don't go nuts on me with the steps that I took to make this. I've already forgiven myself for the crust...

Happy baking!

Daiisies

Comment

Wine & Dine

Tacos Tu Madre

Special Olympics - SOCAL - Pier Del Sol

Mini pounder with macerated strawberries and lemon cream

Henry's Cuisine

Pear Tart