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Monthly Archives: June 2015

Bangkok Thai (Carrollton, New Orleans, LA)

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There’s definitely a lack of good Thai food in this city and I feel like I’ve come pretty close to finding something good. We went on a late weekday afternoon and it was surprisingly empty. Initially, not a good sign, but we figured it was later in the afternoon and lots of people had already had their lunch.  Our waitress was sweet and helpful, but there was a slight language barrier.

 

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Thai Tea. 

 

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Level 3 Pad Thai with Chicken and Shrimp. 

 

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Green Curry. Coconut Milk. Bell Peppers. Thai Basil. Eggplant. Onions.

 

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Param Vegetables. Stir fried vegetables topped with Peanut Sauce.

 

We ordered a Pad Thai with spice level 3. We tend to eat a little spicier and that was the perfect amount. We also ordered the green curry with spice level 3 also and it was even spicier since green curries tend to already be spicy. I’ve noticed that Thai restaurants in this area lack a selection of fresh, stir fry vegetables like Ong Choy or Bok Choy. Sometimes, I just want a big plate of veggies to go with my curry and pad thai, but there must be a lack of asian produce so I rarely see anything like that. Instead, we ordered the Param vegetables, which were just a mix of broccoli, carrots, baby corn, and mushrooms topped with a peanut sauce. That was surprisingly pretty good.

Overall, I’ve definitely had more wholesome and authentic Thai food in other states, but this seems to be the best in the city that I’ve tried so far. If you’re craving Thai food, Bangkok Thai will not disappoint. I got my Thai fix and was definitely satisfied!

 

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Rating: 3/5
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Mochi Cream (Mitsuwa Shopping, Torrance, CA)

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My cousin treated us to desserts from Mochi Cream after eating at Santouka (click here for review) at the Mitsuwa Shopping Market. At first glance, I thought “Oh yum…Mochis”. I’ve always liked mochi since it has a sweet, chewy texture and filled with either ice cream or cream or both. I was delightfully surprised to find that Mochi Cream has THE best mochis I’ve ever had. Normally, when you eat them in the restaurants, they’re lightly powdery with a sweet, chewy tapioca texture with ice cream on the inside and yeah, that’s great, but these mochis had another level of flavor.

 

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Mochi Cream stand. 

 

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Selection of Mochis. 

 

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Green Tea Mochi. 

 

There was a sort of paste or powder on the inside, depending on the flavor that you get. Each flavor was almost unique. Some fruity mochis had fresh fruit inside. Some had bits of chocolate. My favorite was the green tea mochi since it was jampacked with green tea matcha flavor. There was matcha on the outside and it even had a powder or a paste coating the cream inside. Other flavors that I tried: Peach Yogurt, Caramel Macchiato, Double Mango.

When you order them, they initially are frozen. You can eat them while they cream is still frozen or you can wait until it’s thawed out. I liked both ways. When it’s frozen, it’s like ice cream encased with a delicious sweetness. When it’s thawed, it’s a soft pillowy dessert that gushes with cream as you bite into it. YUM! I love that Mochi Cream’s mochis all have a uniqueness and authenticity about them. If you’re gonna make dessert, go all out right?

I took these to the Oakland airport with me and flew to New Orleans, LA and they held pretty well. I ate them that night. I wouldn’t let it go any longer since it is a cream product and should be refrigerated.

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Rating: 5/5

 

 

Saigon Seafood Harbor Restaurant (Sunnyvale, CA)

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When I asked the locals for the best dim sum place, Saigon Seafood Harbor is the best around! It’s known for authenticity in food and in service… If you’re familiar with the asian food service industry, you’ll know it’s  subpar at best. There’s an ongoing joke in my family about one time when we requested 3-4 xiu mai trays for our 6+ person table. The waiter replied “Later! Later!” because they wanted to accommodate other tables also so we could only have one. Never in the history of my restaurant going have I ever been so blatantly ignored. Since then, we’ve learned that going really early in the morning or at slower hours of the day, you’ll get better service and as many orders of xiu mais your little heart desires.

 

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Entrance of the Sunnyvale location. 

 

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Tofu Skin.

 

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Xiu Mai. 

 

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Har Gow. Shrimp dumplings.

 

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Cai Lan. Chinese broccoli.

 

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Roasted Duck. 

 

My favorites are the xiu mai, tofu skin, taro puff, xiu mai rice noodles, and cai lan. These are my usual must-haves when I order dim sum. We also ordered the Roasted Duck and that was delicious. It was seasoned perfectly and had a nice crispy skin. If you’re looking for dim sum in the area, I would highly recommend Saigon Harbor Seafood Restaurant. Just be sure to avoid primetime hours for quicker and more polite service!

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Rating: 4/5
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Gong Cha (North Valley, San Jose, CA)

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Bubble tea. Boba tea. Milk Tea. There’s a variety of different names for these delicious drinks and they can be found all over the U.S.. I’ve noticed they’re always the best in cities with larger asian populations. Unfortunately, New Orleans has a few, but none of them compare to places I’ve tried out of state. On a recent visit to San Jose, my cousins took me to a hot spot for bubble tea. They’re known for the *NEW* Milk Foam addition to the bubble tea. I was curious to find out what the hype was all about.

 

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When we arrived, there was a large crowd of people waiting for a drink. We waited about 15 minutes before we got to the front of the line to order. The drinks are very customizeable. You can choose 0, 30, 50 70, or 100% sweetener and between 0, 25, 50, 100% ice cube level. That was the first time I’ve seen this much customization for a drink!

 

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I’m not much into sweet teas so I chose 70% sweet. I would’ve chosen less, but my cousins encouraged me to add more. We ordered 25% ice, which I regret now, since the drink didn’t retain much coldness afterwards. I would opt for 50% or more ice level next time, but to each his/her own. That’s why customization is an awesome thing!. I’m a simple bubble tea drinker and normally just order an iced Jasmine tea with tapioca so I opted for the Milk Foam Green Tea with tapioca to change things up a bit. Some recommended that I mix, then drink first while others recommended that I taste the milk foam, then mix. I chose to do the latter and it was interesting. The milk foam was slightly savory and after mixing the drink, it balanced everything really well. It’s like adding salt to your hot chocolate. So good! The wait is a bit much for a drink, but definitely delicious and I’d go back again!

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Rating: 4/5 spoons

 

 

Santouka (Mar Vista, Los Angeles, CA)

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I’ve been on a little hiatus and doing some traveling, but I definitely haven’t forgot about my readers! I have some great places to share from San Jose, CA and Chicago, Il!
First stop…Santouka in Los Angeles, CA.
For those who aren’t familiar with ramen, it’s a Japanese style noodle soup containing homemade ramen noodles, Chashu pork, seaweed, and boiled egg. Every restaurant has their own take so occasionally you’ll see different cuts of meat or a sous vide/soft boiled egg instead. Imagine pho….but Japanese style. Quick and fairly cheap eat.
Santouka is located inside of the Mitsuwa Shopping Center. Ramen is pretty popular here in the Bay Area and there’s almost one on every corner. There’s actually another ramen place right around the corner from the Mitsuwa Market called Kahoo, but we decided to try Santouka first…

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Consistently long line at Santouka inside of Mitsuwa Market. 

 

 

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Cute display menu. 

The setup is cafeteria style so you’ll have to get in line. While waiting, there’s a super cute display case that makes ordering simple. You can choose from Shio (Salt), Miso (Soybean Paste), Shoyu (Soy), or Tokusen Toroniku Ramen (Pork Choice Ramen) for your Ramen broth of choice. There’s a variety of combo meals that includes the ramen bowl and a small side or you can order a la carte.

 

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Spicy Miso Ramen. Pork Broth. Miso paste.

 

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Seaweed and Bonito Flakes Bowl. 

 

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Shio Ramen. Mild, creamy soup. Salt-seasoned. Pickled plum.

 

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Braised Pork Bowl. 

 

Once everything is ordered, find a seat to enjoy your food and your number should be called shortly. We waited approximately 15 minutes. Not bad of a wait considering there were so many folks ahead of us.

I ordered the Spicy Miso Ramen. You can also order the regular miso ramen and flavor to taste with their chili paste (extra 0.50 cents up charge). The broth was homey, simple and satisfied by ramen craving but the Chashu was extremely fatty and so was the broth. The broth was mainly on the fattier side due to the chili paste so next time, I would order the regular Miso Ramen and flavor to taste with the extra side of chili paste. The spice was perfect, in my opinion, but I tend to eat most things on the spicier side.

The rice bowl was simple and some would say it’s a bit plain or dry but pouring a few spoonfuls of broth into the rice bowl was quite homey and moistened it up a bit.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience. There’s a bit of a line, but service was surprisingly quick. The ramen was a quick, cheap bite, but I did wish my broth and Chashu was less fatty. Regardless, it was a great bowl of ramen and sometimes you just want a little bit of that “hominess”.
TIP: Make sure to bring cash. CASH only here!
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Rating: 3.5/5 spoons

 

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