Rice Box - Los Angeles

April 26, 2016

Rice boxes are a huge staple to the every day Chinese fast food. But calling it fast food is a huge understatement. I watched tons of Hong Kong soap operas as I was growing up and a lot of times these "Fahn Hup" were known as fast food for the working class. When we think about fast food here in America, we are familiar with McDonald's. In Hong Kong, you would find white rice, and proteins like BBQ Pork or Roast Duck with a side of gai lan.

Rice Box is a new up and coming concept coming in the near future to run with the modern approach of Cantonese BBQ. They will be at Unique Markets in Los Angeles this Saturday & Sunday, 04/30 - 05/01 from 11AM - 6PM. They will be featuring a few of their Rice Boxes. We had the pleasure to taste a few of their items before this event. I can't tell you how excited I am about how incredibly delicious the food was. It really reminded me of great comfort rice boxes when my parents would bring some home.

One of the first dishes we had was this Sesame Cold Noodle. It's made with organic noodle, house pickled carrots & cucumbers, organic tofu, sesame dressing, and house made chili oil. This was very fresh and slightly creamy from the sesame dressing.

Growing up, I hated these things. I think I disliked them because it was something my parents always ordered when I wanted egg rolls instead. But once I started getting older, and I start eating less with them, I find myself not having these as much as I used to. And now, I really really love them. The daikon cake is made with daikon, rice flour, bacon (hormone/antibiotic free), dried scallop-shrimp-shiitake, house made chili oil and garlic sweet soy sauce. The cake is normally steamed first before pan fried.

Get it? This is for the absolute mushroom funk lovers. This daikon cake is made with daikon, rice flour, dried wild porcini, oyster mushroom, wood ear, and shiitake served with house made chili oil and garlic sweet soy sauce. I could eat these during any sports game.

One of the ultimate fahn hup's I grew up eating. Rice, BBQ Pork, Gai Lan, and a sunny side up EGG ALWAYS. This organic, hormone & antibiotic free pork shoulder was not shy of any flavor. Their eggs are also organic served with some organic quinoa rice. The best parts are the burnt ends that has been caramelized in the open flame.

Soy sauce chicken is one of my favorite Cantonese dishes. It's hard to find made right. A lot of times, it's extremely dry from staying under the heat lamps for so long. People just don't appreciate this style of chicken anymore. This was perfectly executed. The chicken breast was extremely succulent and I can't say that a lot about chicken breast. The soy sauce was not too salty, but perfectly balanced with the sweet marinade. Served with house ginger scallion sauce, and charred Gai Lan with sesame seeds on organic quinoa rice.

This is for the Vegan/Vegetarian peeps. You get the same marinade as the Cha Siu pork, but with a Cauliflower Steak. Have you ever had a Cauliflower steak? It changes you.

These are for the spicy lovers. Beware because these poppers pack a lot of heat! The organic tofu is deep fried then doused in minced jalapeño, scallion, garlic, salt and pepper. I could take the heat, but I'm not going to lie that I sweated a little.

Roasted Pork belly. It's pretty self explanatory. This might be one of my top favorite ways to eat pork. It's a huge staple in our culture. Something that is served for celebratory events, holidays, or just a Friday night special. The pork belly is the best cut of the whole roasted pig. Rice Box focuses solely on the belly. Yeah, it's good.

To wrap things up, everything we had was phenomenal. To me, this is what Chinese BBQ is all about. If there was a restaurant that made food this great in a rice box, I would be there in a heartbeat almost everyday. This is also something I know a lot of older generations would love.

Don't forget to check them out at Unique Markets. Tickets are sold $10 at the door -Cash Only, but you can always purchase your ticket online by clicking HERE.

Stay tuned as Rice Box is working into becoming a brick and mortar.

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Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop - Costa Mesa

April 21, 2016

I love being in Costa Mesa even though I haven't really figured out all the go to spots. Spending your day somewhere else you are not familiar with can be challenging. It really depends on what to eat in the area. That's always the biggest question. I got the opportunity to taste some food from Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop. They do have a few locations, but why not pick one that I am more comfortable with and getting the opportunity to explore at the same time.

3321 Hyland Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Chopshop is located outside the OC Mix. I've never been to this side of Costa Mesa. Just being here was exciting enough. They have a pretty wide selection of items to pick from. Luckily, they had a Sunday Brunch menu that we were able to pick from. Huevos Rancheros. Almost immediately I knew that's what I wanted. But. John also wanted it. We can't both order the same things. That just doesn't happen. I let him have it. I am always the nice one, remember that. I ordered their flat iron steak with 2 gourmet sides: Roasted Yams & Red Onion, Pomegranate Quinoa.

Steak was delicious. Perfectly medium rare. The seasonings were simple. Roasted yams with red onions, can't complain. The Quinoa, however, were cranberries and not pomegranate which was a bummer. But I did enjoy the sweetness of the cranberries. It actually complimented the yams really well. Lucky you. Lucky me.

I don't know how to say this... but this tasted like the Mexican Taco from Taco Bell. BUT, in the BEST way possible. And come on, who doesn't love the Mexican Taco from TB? The Huevos Rancheros is consisted of over easy eggs, refried black beans, chipotle sauce, pico de gallo, avocado & crisp corn tortilla strips. Ridiculously crispy, the sauce is also extremely flavorful, egg, cheese, guac! I would highly recommend this. Also, this is not as heavy as it looks. It was very light, but extremely satisfying.

After your done, make a stop at the OC mix to check out some shops.

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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?

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Umami Burger - Hollywood

April 16, 2016

If you don't think one burger is enough, then I recommend you try having eight. Ok maybe not literally 8 burgers, but go in a group of 4 to take on the Umami Burger challenge in Hollywood. 3 sides, 8 burgers, 9 pairings, 4 big stomachs to take this on. It's really not that bad... but of course I am lying. It's pretty f***ing intense. I thought I was prepared. Maybe if I didn't slug every drink pairings with my burger I would've made it out alive.

1520 N Cahuenga Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028

The tasting is pretty intensive. For 4 people, it didn't seem like that much of a challenge until the burgers started to roll out 2 at a time.

3 sides appetizers:

Thin fries, tempura onion rings, sweet potato fries, all paired with real sugar Mountain Dew. These appetizers are served with their signature sauces such as truffle ketchup (my favorite) to others like chipotle mayonnaise. Everything was delightful. But beware, don't go all hard on onion rings and potatoes as you will soon realize there is so much more coming ahead.

THROWBACK

HATCH

CALI

MANLY

TRUFFLE

AHI TUNA

GREENBIRD

UMAMI

With a group of 4, it's basically 2 burgers a person. These burgers are full sizes, so you will need to cut these in quarters so everyone can have a taste. If you are worried about timing, they do a great job with delivering the next 2 burgers without waiting too long.

My favorites were: Truffle, Manly, Ahi Tuna, and my all time had to be the Throwback. Why the simple Throwback? Because it tasted like a comfort burger we would eat growing up, but made with the best ingredients. Each burger were enjoyable. I remember taking a bite of the 7th burger and said out loud "I am really full!". The more I ate, the more I drank. The more I drank, the more I eat. I was putting the final nails on my coffin.

Some drinks:

Spicy Mezcalrita

Velvet Mule

Maple Bacon Old Fashioned

Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout

These are 4 drinks out of the 9. Please see the menu above for more reference. My favorite cocktail from the tasting was their maple bacon old fashioned. It also became the drink choice for the rest of the night. Stay tuned for where we landed after Umami Burger. If you think this was a lot of food, well get ready because the night did not stop here.

I would totally recommend this 9 course meal to anyone. It was extremely fun and challenging at the same time. The alcohol pairing made everything better of course. Make sure to have a designated driver, though it's almost impossible to get drunk with the amount of food being consumed.

Definitely a delightful experience. If you want to take this head on, you better finish your drinks!

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Bunker Hill Bar - DTLA - Blogger Mondays

April 14, 2016

It was a pleasure to meet a bunch of bloggers and Instagram influencers this week at Bunker Hill Bar in Downtown Los Angeles. One of my best friend lives a few blocks away and I swear I've never seen this place. It's a total gem in DTLA and also a great place to dine for locals in the area.

The Bunker Hill Bar & Grill

601 West 5th Street Suite R201
Los Angeles, California 90017

There were complimentary appetizers during the evening. Of course, the first thing I looked into were drinks. It didn't take long before the waiter took my order.

A good old fashioned. It has been my drink of choice. It's simple, straight to the point, gets the job done, with a fancy orange peel. I'll just take a few more of these please.

The food was simple, but pretty great. They have tons of TVs for any game day events you can imagine. There might be parking nearby, but street parking will always be my thing. I am definitely coming back for drinks and wings!

Also, they have Duck Fries... did you know duck fries is my middle name?

Just saying.

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Wine & Dine

Rice Box - Los Angeles

Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop - Costa Mesa

Spear Steak and Seafood - DTLA

Umami Burger - Hollywood

Bunker Hill Bar - DTLA - Blogger Mondays