Exciting lunch (Saladang, Pasadena)

Many moons ago, Chan Dara was one of the few popular Thai restaurants that people used to frequent. But unfortunately for people who lived on the East Side, it was not very convenient. Not until the mid to late 90's when Saladang in Pasadena opened, did us East Side people have something to get excited about. In my opinion, Saladang has gone down hill. Perhaps my opinion is a little harsh. Perhaps it might be that many other Thai restaurants have since gone on to show case Thai food. Back in the day, people's palate towards Thai food was relatively in the infant stage and therefore everybody thought places like this were the greatest ever. So I must rescind my previous statement that Saladang has gone down hill. Actually their food is still very good. Damn, I'm flip flopping like a fish on land right now :) But in all honesty, I can't say that their food is bad. I still like this place, but the only thing is that I compare it to a place like Lotus of Siam in Vegas. And really, that's not a fair thing to do.

Singha Beer

This beer was refreshing! I've really grown to like the different Asian beers. To me, they are similar to Mexican beers. Really refreshing on warm sunny days. Ahhhh!

Garlic/Black Pepper Chicken

This dish is consistently delicious. Although it says Garlic Chicken, in my opinion it is not overly garlicky. Maybe, that's because my taste buds are permanently nuked from eating so much garlic. I love garlic!

Pad See Ew

This dish was a little disappointing. Usually the noodle dishes here at Saladang are pretty good, but on this occasion it was not. The beef in this dish was tough as nails too. I was surprisingly disappointed :( But I'll forgive them this time.

Chocolate Ice Cream

The complimentary ice cream was a real nice treat. I just wish they gave me a bigger scoop :)



When dining at places like Chinese or Thai restaurants, it's best to go with a lot of friends and family that way you can order a myriad of dishes. Variety is the spice of life. But on this particular occasion, it was just me and "Mrs. Gohan". We were in the neighborhood seeing the doctor. This was before "Baby Gohan" was born. So we decided to stop in and enjoy some lunch and to talk about the excitement of having a baby.


Saladang
363 S Fair Oaks Ave
Pasadena, CA 91105
626-793-8123

Everyone's Favorite Gyoza (Mom's house, Monterey Park)

There are somethings in life that brings such joy to people and sometimes it is a particular food. Such is a gift that is my mom's gyoza (Japanese dumpling). Anyone who has had the privilege of tasting her gyoza will tell you that it is absolutely fantastic. Everybody craves her gyoza and can barely wait until she makes it again. It's like a food orgy in your mouth. "Momma Gohan's" gyoza are delicious and perfect. So perfect, that I find it very difficult to order gyoza from any restaurant or eat anyone else's home made gyoza. They pale in comparison to my mother's. Some may say that my opinion of her gyoza is a bit over exaggerated or biased, I say you're crazy. They are that good! We always joke, that one of us better learn to make her gyoza before she passes away and takes her secrets with her. Sadly that was the case with my father's sukiyaki. Since he passed away 7 years ago, no one can come close to replicating his sukiyaki :( You always hear a question posed when it comes to eating....What would be your last meal? I recently asked my wife to narrow down her list of a last meal. My mother's gyoza was a top of that short list. And I would have to say, most of my family would agree!

Uncooked Gyoza

Gyoza

Unfortunately the picture I took of my mom's gyoza doesn't do it any justice. Believe me, it is to die for. When they are cooked right, they are crispy on one side, but yet nice and moist. After each batch is made, my whole family begins to eye them before they even hit the table, so that they can lay claim to the one they want. It didn't take long for "Mrs. Gohan" to get in the act too :) Before long, her hashis (chopsticks) were moving pretty quickly too. Sometimes even my nephew and niece eat any where from 15-20 pieces.


Mom's House
Address: Top Secret :)
Monterey Park, CA.

Delicious Katsudon! (Ducks Restaurant, San Gabriel)

Rewind about ten years or so.... my mother's friend told us about a new restaurant that serves really good katsudon (Japanese rice bowl dish with pork cutlet). Having just returned from a short stint of living in Japan, I was in the mood for some authentic katsudon. But since that time, a decade had past since I returned to eat at Ducks . Not that I was disappointed from my previous experience, on the contrary, it was more out of convenience. Ducks was a little out of the way and soon became....out of sight out of mind. But I'm glad that it's back in my life again!

Katsu Don

The breakdown for the terminology of Katsudon is actually two-fold. The first portion (katsu) comes from tonkatsu (Japanese for pork cutlet), the second half (don) comes from the word donburi (Japanese for rice bowl). So actually this would be a pork cutlet rice bowl with egg and sauce drizzled over a big bowl of rice. What ever you want to call it...it's just plain and simply good! I would have to say that Duck's katsudon is probably one of the best that I've tasted here in the states, although I have not tried many here. It's not that often that you see katsudon on menus.

Udon & Tempura Set

Because Mrs. Gohan doesn't like eggs and therefore doesn't order the katsudon, this is what she usually orders. She orders the Udon & Tempura Set. Since I'm not the biggest fan of Udon, I really shouldn't judge the quality or taste. But for what it's worth....I thought it was pretty decent and the Tempura is pretty good as well, although this combination set is a little bit on the pricey side.

Corn Soup

In my opinion this corn soup is one of the worst corn soups I've ever tasted. If this was the only dish that I had to base my opinion on about Ducks, I would never ever return or recommend them to anyone. But luckily for them everything else that they serve is pretty good. The corn soup seemed like it was warmed up milk with a little corn inside. Absolutely terrible in my opinion. Definitely not like Curry House's corn soup.

Katsu Curry

I've always know that Duck's tonkatsu was delicious, but I never tried their curry before. And on a recommendation from a friend I decided to forgo my usual and try Duck's Katsu Curry. Katsu Curry is one of my all time favorite dishes so I was pretty eager to try it. After having tried it I was not as impressed as I had anticipated. Although the flavors were all good, I think I'll still stick to my usual dish....katsudon



Ducks Restaurant
1381 E. Las Tunas Drive #1
San Gabriel, CA. 91776
626-287-8743

What a great import! (Beard Papa's, Little Tokyo)

In Japan Shu-Cream (cream puffs) are really popular. It's almost like donuts here in America. I never really got into cream puffs, but years ago I remembered hearing about this place at the Gardena Marukai store where people would line up just for cream puffs and often times would sell out. The place was called Beard Papa's and it was a franchise store from Japan. Why would people line up just for cream puffs? But then again, when Krispy Kreme first opened it was a mad house as well. I figured it's probably the same thing, so it piqued my interest. Now you can find Beard Papa's everywhere. What a great import! From the moment I first ate a Beard Papa's cream puff I was hooked. Hook, Line, and Sinker. I'm glad that they've grown but I'm afraid that they are over saturating by growing too fast and that they will end up closing up shop. They just need to look at Krispy Kreme and learn from their mistakes. I do like that they created a new cream puff. The cookie crunch cream puff. I absolutely love it!

Eclair

The eclair is just like the original cream puff except that it covered in chocolate. Anything dipped in chocolate is good!

Strawberry Cookie Crunch Cream Puff

This was the first time I tried the cookie crunch with the strawberry filling. And I fell in love with the strawberry filling although I still think the original is better.

Vanilla Cookie Crunch Cream Puff

The original vanilla filling is still my favorite. If you look closely you can even see specks of vanilla bean in the picture :)



Beard Papa's
333 S. Alameda St.
Los Angeles, CA. 90013
213-620-0710

Always a crowd (Shabu-Shabu House, Little Tokyo)

Many, many, many years ago I used to work in the heart of Little Tokyo and I always wondered why does everyone wait outside for so long to eat at Shabu-Shabu House? Like clock work, people would start gathering outside right around 5pm or so as I watched in amazement. I couldn't get over the fact that people would wait such a long time and pay money to eat shabu shabu (Japanese Hot Pot). Shabu Shabu was always a type of food that we would eat at home, never at a restaurant. Next thing you know shabu shabu style restaurants were all the rage. The first time I ate here was years after I had worked in Little Tokyo. Again it was my wife's family that got me hooked to this place. Soon after my first experience, I too, was one of the many who would endure standing in front of the restaurant like a bunch of salivating wolves ready to pounce.
The quality of the food is really good, but what makes this restaurant so good is their sauce. Their sauce is truly unlike any other shabu shabu restaurant sauce. Oh, and I can't forget....they don't charge for extra gohan (rice) :) You got to love that! And we always end our meal with an Iced Coffee, which by the way, used to be free :( But I won't hold that against them. I still love this place!

Shabu Shabu Set Up

In my opinion, what makes this place so special and worth the wait is the sauce. The sauce on the left is some sort of peanut/miso dipping sauce. Add a little minced garlic and this sauce defines deliciousness! The other dipping sauce is regular ponzu (Japanese citrus sauce). Nothing too special about it, but the peanut sauce is something else!

Beef

The quality of beef is really good at Shabu-Shabu House. In fact, the owner's wife actually attends the same church as my mom and for awhile we used to order big slabs of the ribeye from them. We then used to slice it ourselves and eat shabu shabu at home or cut it thicker and make steaks.



Shabu-Shabu House
127 Japanese Village Plaza Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-680-3890

My third favorite (Hakata Ramen, Rosemead)

You know, I would have to say that Shin Sen Gumi's Hakata Ramen in Rosemead is probably my third favorite ramen-ya (ramen shop). But due to its proximity to where I live, I frequent this ramen shop more than any other now. I used to go to Foo Foo Tei in Monterey Park, but since we moved I really haven't gone back there. And having eaten at Hakata Ramen, there really is no comparison to that location. Hakata Ramen truly serves a better ramen anyway.
There are times when you go to Hakata Ramen and you may encounter a line and other times you can go there and get a seat right away. I don't think there is any rhyme or reason. I think you just got to be lucky. But as far as the food goes, I really enjoy there ramen a lot. I love the fact that you are able to pick how your noodles are cooked (hard, medium, soft), how much oil in your soup base, and how strong of a flavoring you would like have your broth. Another thing I like about this Shin Sen Gumi compared to the Monterey Park location is that they are not as boisterous.

Gyoza

Although these gyoza (Japanese dumpling) are quite small, they pack a big punch of flavor. I have to say that Hakata Ramen's dumpling is quite delicious. Although nothing compares to my mom's home made gyoza!

Hakata Ramen

Hakata is actually a city in Japan in Fukuoka prefecture and it is renowned for ramen. And this ramen definitely does not disappoint! Like I stated before, I love that they allow you to pick how you like your ramen cooked! I always order my ramen noodles hard with strong oil and flavor.



Hakata Ramen
8450 E. Valley Blvd
Rosemead, CA. 91770
626-572-8646

SoCal's best Ramen! (Santouka, Torrance)

After reading countless reviews of all the different ramen-ya (ramen restaurant/shops) around SoCal, one shop is always mentioned as one of the best. Santouka ramen is consistently rated as the top ramen shops, but unfortunately for me, Santouka is only located in the Mitsuwa Markets on the West Side, Torrance, and Costa Mesa. Living on the east side makes it difficult for me to justify driving all that way for ramen. Like I've stated in previous blogs, I'm not the biggest fan of ramen. The only ramen I actually really love is in Tenri Japan. But having said that, I think I might have found another favorite ramen-ya in Santouka.

The first time I actually tried their ramen was when I was coming home from watching my nephew play basketball at Venice High School. I had to pick up a few things at the market and I remembered that I passed a Mitsuwa on the way. So when I went into the market I had totally forgotten that there was a Santouka there. So needless to say I was ecstatic and anxious to try Santouka. What I ended up ordering was the Tokusen Toroniku Shio Ramen (Special Pork ). I was completely blown away. The texture and of the noodles and depth of flavor in the broth was just exquisite. Not to mention that pork. The pork is so tender and delicious it almost melts in your mouth. If you really want an in depth review, you should read Rameniac's blog. After having tried the ramen at Santouka I became a believer!

On this particular occasion, I found myself at the Torrance location. And again I was coming home from seeing my nephew's basketball game at South Torrance High. Wow, I should thank my nephew for having games in locations where it is close to some good food :) Personally, I felt that the location in Los Angeles was actually a little better than the Torrance one. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but regardless it was spectacular!

Toroniku

Here it is....the special pork. I like that Santouka serves the accompaniment on the side for you to put in by yourself. The pork is so tender that it probably would disintegrate if it was put in there for too long. Just thinking about this is making me crave some Santouka ramen.

Ramen

Here's the picture of the Tokusen Toroniku Shio Ramen. The noodles have a very nice texture to them unlike many typical ramen restaurants around. They have a nice bite to them and the soup is soooo good! In my opinion, its the best ramen in SoCal!



Santouka
21515 Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
310-212-1101