Las Vegas in SLR Quality!

Courtesy of Running Man, we have Las Vegas in SLR quality AND just 1 day after the trip! So for reasons unclear to me, we decided to fly into Vegas saturday morning. Boy oh boy was it early! We woke up at 5am for a 730am flight. Yeah...ouch. Everyone is pretty tired but we can't check into our room at Planet Hollywood until 3pm. So what does the H.o.P. do to pass the time? Prepare for our next meal. Running Man suggested Pink's Hot Dog. Dumpling Man was not so much a fan, and I was like ehh. I had tried it once many years ago and didn't understand the hype but have been wanting to try it again so I can confirm whether I like it or not. So we just walk around the Miracle Mile Mall shops until Pinks opens. Finally it opens and the cholesterol fest begins!

From what I remember of my last Pink's experience, I didn't want to order anything that had a regular hot dog in it or multiple regular hot dogs. I remember they were dinky, skinny, dry, and unsatisfying. So I opted for the polish sausage variety. This is the Planet Hollywood dog, polish sausage, bacon, grilled onions and mushrooms. The polish sausage is certainly tastey but not the best version of processed meat potpouri. The toppings are all sorta whatevers. Grilled onions and mushrooms were more like steamed onions and mushrooms. Hardly any color or taste.




This was my sister's dog. I don't remember what was in it cuz I never tasted it, but it was just a regular dog so how good could it have been?



What's a hot dog without some greasy accoutrements? The obligatory chili fries. When Running Man first brought it to the table, I was like "It looks like someone took a dump on the fries." After that, everyone just dug in like starving Ethiopians. Honestly, there was something unnatural tasting about the chilli. It had a really gummy texture. Like when it was in your mouth it really stuck to the sides of your mouth and felt really thick and sticky. Not that good, but the fries alone were delicous. Crispy and probably better than McDonald's fries except a tad too salty.


The onion rings were too sweet for my taste.




Now onto some more "refined" food. Five times the price too! Last time we were in Vegas, we went to Michael Mina at Bellagio. This time around we tried to get reservations at L'Atelier De Joel Robuchon, but alas no open spots. So we ended up at Sea Blue by Michael Mina at MGM Grand. It's not as fancy as the other MM restaurant and seafood is supposed to MM's thing so we had high hopes.




Running Man trying to get artistic.


Some buttered flat bread/pita bread. By this time I was pretty hungry so I ate this without much regard for taste and slathered on the following dips.



From left to right: humus, red bell pepper tomato spread?, feta cheese c olive tapanade.



We ordered multiples of the "Raw & Marinated," "Fried & Crusted," and "Grilled" tasting trios.

The "Raw & Marinated" trio was served with some buttered toast and flat bread.



From left to right: tuna tartare, yellowtail crudo, scallop ceviche. I've had better tuna tartare and the ceviche was slightly too sweet and soupy for a ceviche in my opinion. The crudo was DELICIOUS and overall made the dish a winner.





Dumpling Man and I passed on this dish of fried junk. From top and clockwise: lobster corndogs, dungeness crab piquillo peppers, and corn fritters? The crab things were crabby so not so bad, but everything else was just fried junk as I said.



The "Grilled" trio: Shrimp lettuce cups, lamb kebabs, and teriyaki chicken skewer. This dish was just so so, but I did enjoy the shrimp lettuce cups.


I'm still not quite clear what the direction of Sea Blue is aside from seafood. They had a section of "Morrocan Clay Pots" that are invidual sized dishes that come out covered with this dome triangle shaped lid. Whether they are cooked in it or not or if its just for show, I'm not sure. Either way, I'm still not sure if what was cooked in the morrocan clay pot was really morrocan. For instance we have the "Sea Blue Paella" which actually was more seafood than rice! I had a few bites and it was good, nothing spectacular I don't think.




Alaskan King Crab legs. They were hella salty!!! No lemon served on the side either. They were just cut down the middle but a cracker woulda helped out a lot. This dish gets a C for barely passing.





"Dayboat Scallops" Good but I don't think JLin was that impressed.



This was my dish, "bacon-wrapped chilean sea bass." The fish was perfectly cooked, the bacon added a subtle smokey hint, the broth was delicious flavored, and those little sun dried tomatoes were soooo good! There were chickpeas that tasted undercooked to me. Overall I liked my dish a lot, but maybe it was a bit salty too.



On to dessert! It ain't dinner with me at a fancy restaurant until we get dessert! The obligatory "molten chocolate cake." I've had better, but the peppermint ice cream was a nice touch.




Apple tarte tatin. I almost always pass on apple desserts. I think apples just get mushed up in the cooking process and never taste that good. I have to see what the apple dessert looks like before I'd eat it. Some I know might taste good, others will just taste unforgettable. This was my sister's choice and yes, it was forgettable. Some soggy apples on a nicely flakey puff pastry. The ice cream was so terribley melty that I don't think I got a good sample before it ran all over the plate.




Some flavor of creme brulee served with figs and a palmier. It was good but not special.


Overall, the H.o.P. was not that impressed with Sea Blue, but it was certainly more flavorful than the other Michael Mina restaurant. I doubt I'll be returning here any time soon. Michael Mina, please step up your game!!!!!

Pink's Hot Dogs @ Planet Hollywood
3667 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109-4331
(702) 785-5555


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Sea Blue @ MGM Grand
3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV 89109-4319
(702) 891-3486


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Random Cooking

So I dunno what they hype about shaking beef is. I've tried all these different recipes and it just tastes like beef with oyster sauce and garlic. Nothing too far off from anything my mom has ever made, except she never used filet mignon which I think is what is supposed to be used. But whatever, I ain't gonna fork out the moola for filet mignon when I don't even like it that much anyways. I tried using the recipe of Charles Phan of the Slanted door. It was totally unimpressive and I'm pretty sure I followed it correctly. I'm sure I'm lacking some element of caramelization since my wok isn't very hot. I dunno. At the end of the day I prefer good ole steak cubes with oyster sauce.




Looks pretty doesn't it? Red rice made from stir frying some garlic and tomato paste. Dumpling man was not doing cartwheels over the dish but he ate it up. Put corn with anything and he'll eat it up.





On another night I had a tofu salad. I found a really great sesame Japanese dressing from Murakai market that I can't seem to find anywhere else. It's a good dressing but can taste heavy. I'm pretty sure its on par with a creamy ranch dressing with regards to fat and calories. Sprinkle on some dried bonito flakes and you have an instant salad that goes well with a bowl of curry or something.




I like beef noodle soup, so I tried making a pork version. Tastewise it was not what I was going for, flavor wise, but it looks pretty complete and appetizing doesn't it? Dumpling man liked it. I used fresh noodles, korean brand. I think they're they type they serve with jajang mien at korean chinese restaurants. They cook very fast and when served in a noodle soup like that, can get overcooked and soggy so be careful. I'd love to be better at cooking noodle soups.

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Red Corner Asia

So I used to be a big fan of Palms Thai. Between Elvis, the hours, the plentitude of seating, and the delicious food, how could you ask for more?! Plus, a thai friend in med school gave Palms here seal of genuine Thai approval. When someone with 5 syllables in their last name says a Thai restaurant is good, I believe 'em! But recently a friend recommended RCA also known as Red Corner Asia. Keep in mind this friend is white. But hey, I keep an open mind. The reviews on yelp also supported this =).


So I love Thai salads. I just love their fishy, sweet, sour, spicy dressing. I'm becoming a fan of Thai papaya salad. Vietnamese eat green/raw papaya as a savory salad too. Pictured below is their Papaya Salad with Dried Shrimp (Som Tum Thai) minus the dried shrimp cuz Dumpling Man does not like dried shrimp. It's delicious! But pretty spicy!






Then there were some fried shrimp balls. Just fried. Shrimpy. Nothing special.




The pad see ew is delicious. Can't find a bad pad see ew in Thai Town. Not too sweet or fishey.




This is either yellow chicken curry or duck curry. I can't remember. Either way, I'd say the curries here are slightly weak. They're a little more bland. The duck is very fatty but its most delicious.



I forget what this next one was called, but it's basically stir-fried glass noodles, eggs, veggies, and shrimp. Good stuff but I'd doubt I'd order it again, wasn't really that special. Definitely good if you like glass noodles.



Their Pad Thai is surprisingly not very red or orange like most pad thais i've eaten. It still had that sweet/sour/tangy taste which I enjoy. I'm not the biggest fan of a hunk of egg in my pad thai, but its solid nonetheless.



This is one of my favorite dishes at Thai restaurants. Unfortunately at the more Americanized Thai places, the ones I get takeout from on the Westside don't have this vegetable. I grew up eating it at home. It's some sort of spinach but I guess it's called "morning glory." Vietnamese just stir-fry with a bit of garlic and season with fish sauce. Thai ppl do the same, but tons more garlic, fish sauce, and I think bean paste cuz theres hunks of what looks like fermented beans in there. All of it makes a very punched up version of a vegetable dish I liked growing up.




I love red corner asia. Definitely my go to place for Thai food in Thai town. Too bad its so darn farn. Altho from the bev center it probably takes 20 min on a weekday. So not horrible, but mentally it seems further. Anyways, you should go check it out. Give me a call cuz I'd like to go too =)



Red Corner Asia
5267 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 466-6722
http://www.redcornerasia.com/



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Hide Sushi

I've been on a blogging hiatus as of late. I've had some technical difficulties with my camera. I've just been feeling like the pics are subpar and so haven't been as motivated to post pics. I'm in the market for a better camera, but darn these things can get expensive if you're looking for a good one. Anyways, on to the food as usual...



So I went Hide Sushi a long time ago when I was in college. At that time, I don't think I really appreciated real sushi. I was new to the raw fish deal so I think I liked rolls better. But nowadays I can definitely call myself a fan of real sushi, minus the uni, sweet shrimp, etc. That I have yet to develop a real appreciation for. Until re-discovering Hide I didn't have a good go-to sushi place that was affordable. My go-to sushi place was Crazy Fish for rolls, but when I had a hankering for the real deal I just went without. After some yelping I found Hide again and decided to give it a go.





They do offer hot dishes in addition to sushi and some rolls.




As you can see, the sushi is priced quite affordably.



Standard miso soup, nothing too special.



Some salted cabbage stuff, again not that special. These things come when you order a dinner set and not just sushi.



Mmmm, now for the good stuff! From left to right: spicy tuna roll, yellowtail roll, salmon, and eel. All so delicious. Just getting hungry thinking about it. The yellowtail roll is particularly impressive. Just tastes fresh and very subtley flavorful with the scallions. The salmon is pretty good, but Dumpling Man is not that impressed. The eel is perfectly sweet and delicately crisp in all the right places.








This is Dumpling Man's favorite: albacore. They do it particularly well here for some reason. And you get to pour ur own ponzu sauce.



I'm not that big a fan of the hot food here. The chicken teriyaki was sorta dry, the beef was better but neither that impressive. Good dishes to fill up your stomache so you don't go broke on the sushi.




Overall I am a big fan of Hide becuz the sushi is so fresh and the price is very very RIGHT. Most people I've talked to agree that Hide is good for its location, price and quality. Obviously you'll prob find better sushi in Little Tokyo or Torrance, but when it comes to the Westside, we take what we can get! One person, who's name I shall not mention, has compared Hide sushi to that one could obtain from your local supermarket, like Ralph's. This person obviously is a gigantic boob when it comes to food and prefers his/her sushi to be served on warm rice, which in my opinion spoils the delicious rawness of sushi. It's a wonder why I continue to be friends with this person. But who knows, maybe warm sushi rice is appropriate for certain types of fish. I certainly cannot appreciate it. Anybody have any comments on this??

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Kogi Taco Truck

So I thought I was one of the last people to try Kogi, but apparently there's still tons of people who hadn't even heard of Kogi until recently. One such person is my old roomie. She too is a foodie and I remember when we first started rooming together she told me it was nice that I liked to eat cuz her previous roomie was not much of an eater. She liked to eat. I liked to eat. She liked to cook. I liked to cook. She liked to bake. I liked to bake. What a pair! Haha. I kid, but its always nice to be around people who have similar interests. More and more, my life becomes centered around food. So I find myself gravitating toward fellow foodies.

On this foodie journey, my old roomie and I planned to chase down Kogi and Marked5. Marked5 you ask? It's like japanese burgers on rice buns. That's about the extent of my knowledge. First stop Kogi. Luckily we got there just as it parked and started setting up, so the line wasn't bad at all.




The menu:


My roomate and I weren't sure of what to get and of how much to get. Especially since we planned on eating more at our 2nd stop, Marked5, we wanted to plan appropriately so as not to overeat. We got 2 tacos each. 1 beef, 1 pork for me and 1 beef, 1 tofu for old roomie. We were concerned that that might not be enough and that if we wanted more we would be stuck in a longass line. So we also got sliders to split.



I chomped on the sliders first. The flavors were immediately mouthwatering, and my first thought was like "All the hype is true! This stuff is well worth the wait!" Well-marinated beef and a perfectly complimenting veggie/salad toppings. After a while, the bun became soggy and didn't seem to compliment the filling as well. So I moved onto to the tacos.



What was in the slider was the same thing in the taco. Also delicious! I've heard complaints that it all tastes the same. Different meats that are masked in the same flavors since all are slathered in the same sauce with the same veggie toppings. Point well taken. Stuff still tastes good tho! Again after a while i got sick of the taco and just ate the filling and I began thinking to myself. Gosh this would all taste great with some rice! Haha. Maybe next time I'll sneak over my own rice and dump out the filling onto my own rice.

Mmmm, spicy pork taco!


So old roomie had read on their website that they have some special dessert, called chocolate tres leches. I was unimpressed by the appearance. It looked sooooo homemade and sorta suspicious. Wrapped in plastic in a tin foil cup. It was really good tho. Like a chocolate cake I've never had. I can't even describe what about it was different. Certainly the topping of "spiced peanut brittle with toffee, cocoa pebbles, cinnamon toast crunch" was good. You wouldn't really know there was cereal in there. There was also some creamy center with some tapioca balls which was a little weird but really didn't add or detract from the overall deliciousness. I think that makes it the tres leches, but my favorite part is the cake. And it's all yours for $4.





Mmmmmm, chocolaaaaaaaate.....


Anyways, you won't be seeing pics from Marked5 cuz those bastards up and moved from their posted/planned location. My poor friends who I was gonna meet up with even got there before I did and had to break the news that there was no such Marked5 truck at the Venice location. Instead they were over by Robertson and Olympic. I was disappointed and this caused our food truck chase to come an abrupt end. It probably was for the better since old roomie and I were pretty full from all the Kogi-ness. Ironically I did see the Marked5 truck on my way back home and was tempted to stop but I was angry they ruined my plans and didn't want to give them any business for the night. They looked pretty empty anyways. Anyways, there's always a next time!

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Marie Callendar's Fresh Strawberry Pie

Anybody who knows me, knows that I have a penchant for this particular pie from Marie Callendar's. It's always been tradition to have one of these on my birthday. I was luckily born in April which is the beginning of strawberry season and boy did I reap the season's bounty year after year. My mom was also born in April and we would heartily finish off a pie just between the 2 of us in about a day and a half. The best part is collecting all the pie tins and then bringing them back for 50cents each and using that towards your next pie purchase. As far back as I could remember, these pies would be for about $7, but now theyre like a whopping $16-17? Anyways, I don't lament about the cost so much as my mom does. I'm just happy to get my hands on one and to have someone to eat it with. As much of a fatass as I am, I would never attempt finishing one by myself. Dumpling Man helped me eat this one. Most people don't understand my love for something to simple. To most, it's just a pie and there are certainly better strawberry pastry preparations out there. I do not disagreed. But this pie just holds a special place in my hurt, or maybe my stomach.

Anyways, since I haven't been home this much this strawberry season I haven't been able to get one for me and my mom. Come to think of it, I don't even think I had one for my birthday this year. Ok, that makes me feel a whole lot better for getting it this time. I was contemplating maybe getting a peach pie, but apparently they stopped making them last week but the strawberry pies will continue to be churned out for another 2 weeks! Now who else thinks this year has an uncommonly long strawberry season? I mean it's freaking September and there's still some delicious strawberries out there!

Look! You can see the seeds!


Pardon the un-artistic background. For now I'm working on lighting and keeping steady so that the details of the food come out well. A tripod would certainly solve my problems. I'm just too lazy to get one.



Yummm!! Look at the delectably flakey crust!



I ended up having this slice and a half for snack time, and another at dinner =)


Life is certainly better with Marie Callendar's Fresh Strawberry Pie in my life. *Sigh*

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Providence

Boy was I looking forward to eating here all week long! After watching Top Chef Masters, I made a mental note of all the LA top chefs and all their restaurants so I could eventually try them all. So that would include Jar, Ludo Bites (no longer at the Breadbar by my house sadly), Campanile, and Providence. The only one with any Michelin Stars is Providence with an impressive 2 stars. The 2 stars are well deserved in my opinion. So lets start our journey.

It was my sister's birthday so she flew in from SF to spend the weekend and do what the H.o.P. does best...GRUB. A place like Providence should be reserved for special occasions, and the descent into wrinkles and menopause certainly deserves forking over $$$$ for an extra inch on the waistline.





The ambience. It wasn't an exactly open layout, say like Cut. It was more partitioned off, and I'm not exactly sure how many areas there were but the room we were in had some funny stuck on things on the wall. Looked like sea shells but on closer inspection they were more like tortilleni shaped plaster things. Anyways, totally unimportant especially since I have no visual to show you. This next picture makes me want to go out and get a tripod. The Dairy Queen was right in his photo tutorial to me. It's all about lighting and how steady you are. This picture was obviously taken with the camera sititng on the table. I was pretty impressed at how nice it looked.


So I took every dish with and without flash. In my opinion flash really sucks. Makes things look so harsh, but these darn fancy restaurants and their low lighting makes food picture taking a real task. I got decent shots without flash, but for the extra detail I decided to post the flash ones.

The bread. Bacone brioche and olive foccacia. The bacon brioche tasted like you were eating a more moist and less crispy version of a biscuit with these undertones of bacon. I bet you instead of using butter for the fat they just used bacon drippings cuz I only got one or two bacon bits in my one brioche and it was deliciously bacon-y. The olive focaccia was also quite savory but not overwhelming olive-y. Both were annoying to eat cuz they made your hands oily, but I eventually caved and used a fork to eat my bread =). Nothing wrong with that I say!


We ordered the 5 course tasting menu for our table of 7. We got wine pairings for 3 of us, but really we pretty much all shared the wine cuz who's gonna drink one glass of wine with each course? On top of that we ordered a bottle for the table to start the night off. I think my brother has picked out better wines in the past, but still better than the 2 buck chuck sitting in my kitchen.


The amuse bouche. From left to right. Gin & Tonic in a gelatinous cube which is activated by the lime. Mojito in a thin skin that breaks in your mouth. Carrot soup with creme fraiche. The last one didn't really make much of an impression on me. The gin and tonic was interesting, but the mojito thing was wonderful. Both had such interesting textures and I never really imagined drinking alcohol this way. Very fun.



Japanese Kanpachi with crispy rice crackers, flowering coriander, soy creme fraiche.
Very fresh, delicate, and a good starter. The flowering coriander was a nice touch.


Salt Roasted Santa Barbara Spot Prawns served with simply with olive oil and lemon.
Oh so I mispoke when I said we had 5 courses. After hearing the description of the spot prawns from the waiter, we decided to order it as an additional course. So 1 spot prawn for each person instead of 3 as a regular appetizer or 5 as an entree. It's presented table side, still in the salt roasted pan. They uncrust it and plate it. I'm not sure if its cooked in the olive oil or if they drizzle it, but it is quality olive oil. I never smelled an olive oil so fragrant and delicious. It went well with a squeeze of lemon. I even ate some of the head and I was a lucky one that got a female so the eggs were creamy and delcious.




Hokkaido Sea Scallops with chantrelles, haricot vert, applewood smoked bacon, jurancon sec.
Don't know what that last ingredient was. Probably related to the sauce, which was lovely. Scallop was perfectly cooked the the sauce was so interesting. The wine pairing for this dish was totally off. It was the sweetest darn Riesling I ever had. It was even sweeter than the Moscato served with dessert. Bad job to the Sommelier! Overall the wine pairings at Michael Mina was far superior although the food was far inferior.



Wild Alaskan Halibut with burdock, shiso, lemon.
That crispy thing on top is burdock. Nobody knew what it was but we all loved it. Apparently, its some sort of plant thats eaten like a root vegetable, which makes sense since it had starchy quality to it and tasted like a fancy potato chip. We all associate halibut with being dry but of course this was very moist and light.


Roasted Tenderloin of Veal with crushed butterball potatoes, spring onions, hazelnuts, spring garlic confit.
This was probably my favorite dish and my first time having anything "sous-vide." After hearing it all the time on Top Chef it really makes you curious. So for all those who don't know, per Wikipedia:
French for "under vacuum",^[1] [sous-vide] is a method of cooking that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period of time at relatively low temperatures. Food is cooked for a long time, sometimes well over 24 hours. Unlike cooking in a slow cooker, sous-vide cooking uses airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point (usually around 60°C or 140°F).

Anyways, the best part of the dish was the potate thing under the meat with a wonderful caramelized onion flavor. The meat was obviously very tender, the sauces went very nicely and I even ate the whole garlic!


Cheesecake with cranberry puree, gingerbread crust, and pear sorbet.
This dish caused us some headahces thanks to my intelligent sister. My mom doesn't really like milky cheesey things being the typical Asian mom that she is. So when we initially ordered she asked if she could substitute out the cheesecake for another dessert. I guess we got the impression substitutions were not their favorite thing to do. So my sister chimes in that my mom is lactose-intolerant, which she IS NOT. So they ok'd the substitution most graciously. Anyways, the manager came to us afterwards to get more details about this "lactose intolerance," pointing out that most dishes had some form of dairy in it. I guess they confused "intolerance" with allergy because it seemed like a whole to do. They served her first course without the creme fraiche in the carrot soup shot. It seemed like my mom's tasting menu would be doomed, but I guess we clarified and my mom ordered a chocolate ganache for dessert. I think she really missed out because the cheesecake wasn't really that cheesey. It was more like a panna cotta, very delicate. That chocolate mess on the right was actually gingerbread ice cream and it was sooo original and tastey but definitely melted a lot faster than the pear sorbet on the left. God, I wish I could eat some right now as I type. Droooool.



My mom's dessert was too deeply chocolately, but quality nonetheless. I preferred the cheesecake.



Overall this place was simply amazing. Everyone was really pleased, unlike with Michael Mina where there was a sense of disappointment. I can't wait to find another occasion to go back for! I shall leave you all with this.

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