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Showing posts from August, 2011

Thai Tea with a Twist!

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Fluff Ice My friend Doreen introduced me to Fluff Ice in Monterey Park. I took sampled the original and peach flavors.  It's flavored ice shaved into ribbons which are actually good, esp on a nice day. Just opened  4 months ago And Yesterday they introduced a New Flavor! Thai Tea* A deconstructed version with condensed milk and a very nice flavor... Where else can you get a Thai Tea dessert? Fluff Ice 500 N Atlantic Blvd, Suite 153 Monterey Park, CA 91754 (626) 872-2123 Read Doreen's review Dining with Doreen and examiner.com Please Note: Monday - Thursday: 1 pm - 11 pm Friday: 1 pm - 12 am Saturday: 11 am - 12 am Sunday: 11 am - 11 pm Thanks Matt! Photos by Jay Terauchi Unless noted Jay Eats Worldwide ©Jay Terauchi * Photo by Fluff Ice

San Diego Food Adventure

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August 28th was my San Diego Food Adventure I love heading down to San Diego, especially since the Valley has been over 100 degrees. Today was the beginning of the 75th Western Foodservice & Hospitality Expo at the San Diego Convention Center, you know, where they have Comic Con... Before heading to the Gaslamp District, I stopped off to see my friend Kate and to sample her latest sushi creations, see Miss Sushi San Diego . Red Head Roll (Top) Shrimp Tempura Roll topped with spicy tuna, spicy sauce, and crunchies. Volcano Roll (Bottom) Eel, salmon, cream cheese, imitation crab, avocado, Halibut, dynamite sauce, and eel sauce. Both rolls very good and served with cucumber and seaweed salad. Go see Kate! Follow her Facebook Fan Page Rancho Santa Fe Farmer's Market It's a beautiful Day in the Gaslamp District of San Diego San Diego Convention Center Sorry, No Pictures inside the expo... OK, I'll see what I can do Maplewood

Dumplings Close to Home

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Din Tai Fung It's not your typical dim sum... It's funny to hear from my friends who go to Taiwan and come back to tell me about this great dumpling house with Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). I ask if they went to "Din Tai Fung"? The answer is always YES. I tell them they have a Los Angeles location in Arcadia and this one is much closer to home. Soup dumplings have a bit of soup inside them, so it's best to eat the whole thing vs trying to bit it in half. Be careful tho, when they come out of the steamer, the soup is very hot. When making them, they place a bit of gelatin inside the dumpling. When heated, this gelatin turns into a liquid, hence the soup inside the filling (pork, seafood, etc.). Steamed Pork Dumplings (10 pcs) $7.50 (soup dumplings) Shrimp Noodles $8.75 Shrimp and Pork Shiomai (10 pcs) $9.25 Pork Chop Fried Rice $7.00 One of the must haves when dining with me The pork chop is well cooked and not greasy... The

Ramen Monday - August 29

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Ramen Monday Already? Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen Gardena Geez, it's been over 10 years that I've been eating ramen here. In fact, on my way to Japan, we stopped off here to eat before getting on a plane for the 10 hour flight to Narita. Hakata ramen is a tonkotsu based broth, made with pork bones. For lunch, I usually get the A-Set, Hakata Ramen and Pan Fried Mini Gyoza Dumplings for $7.25. But today, I opted for the new G-Set: Hakata Ramen and a Beef Bowl. Hakata Ramen with extra ginger Beef Bowl with rice It isn't as good as it was 10 years ago. The broth doesn't have the flavor it once did and they're cutting back on the thickness of the chashu and also garnishes, I asked for extra ginger. It's a decent bowl of ramen and I can see why it's still popular, but not like it used to be. Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen 2015 W. Redondo Beach Blvd. #C Gardena, CA 90247 (310) 329-1335 More Ginger Please! Photos by Jay Te

Ramen Lunch Special

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New Menu 1/2 1/2 1/2 is no longer available Ton Chan Ramen's Lunch Special Having heard me talk about Ton Chan Ramen, my biz partner @ Rhinofishfood wanted to meet up for lunch and try their famous tonkotsu ramen. On my first visit, I noticed the lunch specials, see my first visit ( Ramen Monday ) with Doreen Fang . The 1/2 Ramen, 1/2 Fried Rice, and 1/2 Karaage Chicken stuck in my mind. So today, while Jeff Nitta had the Hakata Shio Ramen with 1/2 Fried Rice, I opted for the 1/2, 1/2, 1/2... 1/2 Tokyo Shoyu Ramen 1/2 Fried Rice 1/2 Karaage Chicken served with corn, broccoli, carrots, and potato salad AND Mango Custard for dessert Everything was well cooked and tasted great. This is a place that I would definitely come back to... They'll probably see me on September 4th for the Ramen Speed Eating Contest. All for $8.95 Monday - Friday 11 am to 3 pm Ton Chan Ramen 821 W Las Tunas Drive San Gabriel, CA 91776 (626) 282-3478 Have to find an excuse to go back. Who wants to go?

National Peach Month!

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August is National Peach Month! #foodcalendar It was interesting to find out that peaches originated in China, for some reason I always thought Persia. Maybe it's because in school, I learned that the English name "Peach" comes from the Latin word meaning "Persian Apple", did you know that? Regardless, this is the month for peaches... Peaches and White Nectarines Thanks to my friend Doreen Fang for introducing me to Fluff Ice in Monterey Park. Since it's National Peach Month, I tried the mango. Duh, I had the peach... Peach Fluff Ice Read Doreen's Dining with Doreen Examiner.com Fluff Ice isn't your typical shaved ice, it's flavored ice that is shaved into ribbons. The texture and flavor makes for a nice refreshing dessert on a hot day. You can get toppings with it, but today it was all about the PEACH! I'll have more on Fluff Ice in a week or two, so stay tuned... Fluff Ice 500 N Atlantic Blvd, Suite 153

Ramen Monday - August 22

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It's Ramen Monday again... Ton Chan Ramen San Gabriel (Now Closed) Heard from my Twitter friend @sherimiya that they went to Ton Chan Ramen in San Gabriel over the weekend and said it was a solid. Ton Chan Ramen has been on my list since they opened earlier this year. They're located right next door to Golden Deli on Las Tunas Drive. Since Sheri gave the nod, thought that it needed to be moved up on the list. My friend Doreen and I were having lunch that day, so I asked her if she was up for ramen? I gave the restaurant a heads up that we were coming in for lunch on Tuesday. Tokyo Shoyu $8.25 Standard Toppings: egg, chashu, and green onions Additional Toppings: bok choy and bean sprouts I asked Yukiko (server and twitter maven) for her recommendation and she mentioned the Tokyo Shoyu. It's also my favorite, so that's what I ordered. Hakata Shio $8.25 Standard Toppings: egg, chashu, green onions A

True Food Kitchen

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Globally Inspired Cuisine Great Tasting Food, That's Good for You! I was invited out to dinner tonight and this time I didn't have to cook for anyone or have to fix a mistake. We met up at True Food Kitchen at Santa Monica Place, opened about 3 months ago. It's a restaurant developed by Fox Restaurant Concepts and best-selling healthy-living author Dr. Andrew Weil. This Phoenix-based restaurant features a menu and ambiance that appeals to sophisticated diners pursuing a balanced lifestyle. OR someone like me who wanted to try a good tempeh burger... Medicine Man $6 Olivello Juice, Pomegranate Juice, Cranberry Juice, Black Tea, Soda Water and Blueberries One of their most popular Natural Refreshments See What Jay Eats... We thought we ordered the Summer Chopped But not according to the menu ? Whatever it is...It was very good. Mixture of kale and lettuce Grass Fed Bison Burger $16 Umami Mushroom & On

Ramen Monday - August 15

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It's Ramen Monday! Mottainai Ramen Gardena This was my second visit to Mottainai . This time I ordered the Yokohama Pork Freaker (Mild), the first time I had the Tokyo Sho-yu Props ($6.95) with the White Bomb ($1.50). Yokohama Pork Freaker (Mild) $7.50 Bamboo shoots, green onions, chashu, and nori Not really a fan, but interesting syrupy broth Flavor was good, just wasn't a fan of the broth texture. Gyoza (5 piece) $2.95 Forgot to order the White Bomb (garlic flavor extra) for $1.50, they also have a Red Bomb (spicy) too. It adds a bit of garlic flavor or spiciness to the broth. Overall, the service was really good, gyoza was above average but a bit greasy, noodles cooked well, but should have ordered the Tokyo Sho-yu Props ramen instead. Live and learn... You can order a larger portion or extra noodle too... See you next Monday! Mottaninai Ramen Pacific Square 1630 W Redondo Beach Blvd, Suite 9 Gardena, CA 90247 (310) 538-3233 Closed Tu