Post 50.3: Goodbye Thousand Oaks, Part 3 - Authentic Chinese (LA: Agoura Hills)

The Thousand Oaks area has plenty of cookie-cutter restaurant chains that serve cookie-cutter American food.  It's tough to find a good mom and pop shop that serves anything remotely close to the cuisine from the home country.  The first time I was introduced to a local Chinese restaurant, I sat down to find a placemat with the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and a shining, metal fork.  Now... I'm not against Western silverware, but the lack of chopsticks in plain sight in an authentic Chinese restaurant is a bit unnerving.  And disappointing.  The second time a co-worker suggested Chinese food, I walked up to a restaurant with two abnormally large horses guarding the entrance... not my definition of Chinese food.

Thankfully, another co-worker discovered Hot Wok, a small mom and pop restaurant run by an immigrant trio from the northeastern region of China.  Rather than serving overly soy sauced Americanized Chinese chock full of water chestnuts, Hot Wok (滾鍋) rolls out truly down home items like hand-made dumplings (手工水餃), scallion pancakes (蔥油餅), and spicy broiled (poached) fish filet (水煮魚片).  Here are some of the dishes from Hot Wok that have saved me from the panda and the horse in T.O.




Black bean noodles
listed on the menu as cha jiang mien (炸醬麵)

With plenty of cucumbers and bean sprouts, this noodle dish is a little bit Chinese... but with a simple black bean sauce, this noodle dish mixes in the characteristic of Korean jjajangmyeon.  My ideal version would include a good portion of ground pork, but the black bean sauce is enough to make me feel right at home.

Leek & pork dumplings
listed on the menu under (韮菜豬肉水餃)

Hand-made dumplings around the Conejo Valley? Unbelievable.  Not only do they come close to the real deal, they are the real deal.  Flavorful pork is blended with fragrant green leeks and filled into freshly made dumpling dough.  These eight little heavenly clouds with just a touch of soy sauce truly spark a bit of inner happiness.

Pan fried pork calzone
listed on the menu as imperial pan fried meat pastry (京都肉餅)

I've never actually had this item ever before, but ironically, this pork pancake hits close to home.  The imperial pan fried meat pastry, as Hot Wok calls it, is like a calzone in that it's stuffed with different ingredients and enclosed with a bread-like carbohydrate.  Like a lasagna, though, there are multiple layers; ground pork and thin pastry are placed over each other one layer at a time within the outer casing.  Soft, crispy, soft, crispy... savory, salty, savory, salty... the textures and flavors confuse my brain.  And I'm also confused about what to call this item... pastry? Calzone? Pancake? There's one thing my brain knows for sure though... this thing is delicious.

Beef wrap
listed on the menu as beef roll pastry (牛肉捲餅)

While the imperial meat pastry is something I've never had before, the beef wrap is something I've enjoyed throughout my adult life.  Wrapped within a Chinese tortilla are slices of braised beef and an explosion of cilantro.  It's relatively small compared to the beef wraps at other restaurants, but you know what that means? I can eat the whole thing by myself.

Cumin lamb
listed on the menu as lamb with tze lan herb (孜然羊肉)

The mix of cumin and chili peppers with fatty curls of lamb creates a truly tasty flavor.  The spiciness is more fragrant than biting.  It's an addicting taste.  You'll understand when you place the savory lamb over a bed of steamed white rice.  The rice soaks up the spicy oils from the lamb, taking away just enough grease so that you can continue shoveling bite after bite into your mouth.

Stir fried loofah/luffa

listed on the menu as sauteed si qua (清炒絲瓜)

Luffa isn't your typical green vegetable.  It's not leafy like bok choy, and it's not as common as gai lan (Chinese broccoli).  I'm surprised this unique vegetable is even served outside of the San Gabriel Valley.  Not only does this vegetable turn into the exfoliating, body cleaning sponge once it's dried, it's also special in that it tastes more like a soft cucumber rather than the squash that it is.  Stir-fried lightly with just a hint of garlic, luffa will help you get your daily fiber intake in a tasty way.

Thousand layer pork
listed on the wall in Simplified Chinese only (笋千層肉)

The illusion of a thousand layers is created by slicing the fatty pork belly paper-thin and cutting the edges into the shape of ocean waves.  The thousand layers of pork belly sit atop a mound of young bamboo shoots, which are tender yet crisp to the bite.  Dig down deeper under the bamboo shoots, and surprise! You will find a bed of green spinach, which balances out the unhealthy fat of the pork.  The pool of brown gravy is another illusion itself.  Upon seeing the sauce, I thought that the dish was going to be overly salty, but a hidden sweet and savory flavor took over... if only the thousand layer pork was truly a thousand layers.

Sure, the first few items on the Hot Wok menu are orange chicken and kung pao shrimp, but hidden on the final pages of the menu are what save it from being tossed into the same category as Panda Express and P.F. Chang's.  Items that are also worth trying are a Korean style spicy seafood noodle soup (jjambbong) listed on the menu as three delicacies chow ma mien (三鮮炒碼麵) and Taiwanese beef noodle soup (紅燒牛肉麵).  I'm definitely going to miss this comforting lunch spot.  'Til next time, T.O., let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110416

Post 43.4: Bay Area - Smorgasbord

I'm all pooped out from writing lengthy posts about San Tung and Burma SuperStar, so this post is going to consolidate all the remaining smorgasbord of meals that I had during my weekend trip to the Bay Area.

Breakfast @ Country Inn Cafe (Bay Area: Santa Clara)

I had my first meal less than an hour after I landed at SJC.  Vickee whisked me away to a very filling breakfast with Ian, Aparna and Jeff.

Country fried steak and eggs over-medium

The country gravy smothered over the top was amazing-delicious.
This was the server's recommendation, and it made the perfect protein-packed breakfast.

Swedish pancakes with lingon berry butter
The crepe-like pancakes were light, but I could barely finish after inhaling the country fried steak.

Wine tasting @ Picchetti Winery (Bay Area: Cupertino)

What's the best way to digest a very filling breakfast? Mid-morning wine tasting of course! This is where my eyes were opened to the Mission Angelica, a Port wine that tasted like honey and was thick like syrup.  The sommelier dropped an ice cube and a lemon rind into each of our glasses for the tasting.  Quite interesting.

The entrance to Picchetti Winery

Wild peacocks roam the premises, so it's not a good idea to bring your pets.

Benches adorn the open grassy area, which makes for relaxing picnics.

The first tasting of many

2007 Chardonnay, Leslie's Estate

Picchetti charges $5 for five tastings.

The tasting room
Festive carolers provide holiday cheer as wine connoisseurs taste their favorites.
Barrels of wine are nestled right under the floor boards of the tasting room.

Lunch @ Santouka inside Mitsuwa (Bay Area: San Jose)

Nothin' beats the ramen from Santouka.  The chain restaurant is usually located inside a Mitsuwa Marketplace food court, but I think their ramen beats out local LA favorites Daikokuya, Orochon, and Shinsengumi.  A simple bowl of noodles in the afternoon really made me feel like I was on vacation.  And a walk around Daiso helped jump start my digestion.

The miso ramen and its spicy sister
Wood ear mushrooms, slices of bamboo and kamaboko lay atop the noodle bed.
The chasu is fatty but firm, and the broth is flavorful but not extremely salty.  The fish cake (kamaboko) is al dente, and the wood ear mushrooms have a texture similar to cartilage.

More wine @ Press Club (SF: SOMA/Union Square)

At Candice's suggestion we headed over to the Press Club near the Metreon to chill out with some wine.  The venue's basement has a spacious modern interior and had different sections of bar counters catering to specific types of wine.  The music was current but not pop, loud but not blaring... the crowd was Financial District yuppie cool.  They've got an interesting concept in terms of paying for the wine.  Patrons swap their Visas and MasterCards for the Press Club's own plastic charge card, and it's later used to cash and check out.

99 bottles of wine on the wall
Jamie, who happens to work for a wine distributor, was kind enough to show us a red wine with tastes of vanilla and leather.  Insert S&M joke here.

Late-night grub @ Golden Boy Pizza (SF: North Beach)

We shed our pre-midnight yuppie casual cool for a bit of post-midnight college kid debauchery at John Colins.  How can you pass up a night out without stopping by Zorro or Golden Boy?

Clam pizza
Minced clams are hidden under a chopped shrub of parsley.  Just a bit of intoxication augments the amazing-delicious taste.  Supposedly, Golden Boy makes the clam pizza only every so often; I'm glad I got to try it before my memory completely faded.

Breakfast @ Curly's Coffee Shop (Bay Area: North Beach)

I've passed Curly's a number a times when walking through the North Beach neighborhood, and I've asked my friend Grace, "How come we never eat here?" It always seemed like a very friendly, neighborhood coffee shop... and it is.  The coffee shop serves up traditional American breakfast with Japanese flair.  I'd stop by again for an early morning meal as a substitute for the long waits of the nearby brunch places.

Spam and eggs
The infamous canned lunch meat grilled alongside eggs with toast and hash browns
I ordered eggs over-medium... not solid but not too runny.  Perfect.
The hash browns were crisp on the outside and soft in the middle.

The ramen
Japanese ramen submerged in a pork broth with chasu and egg.
The soup was sticky and thick, almost like gravy.  The egg was cooked very well... medium-boiled with a slightly gooey and runny yolk.  The broth was a little on the salty side.

I was actually quite surprised at how much I accomplished in less than 48 hours in the Bay Area.  Half a dozen meals, wine tasting, spontaneous bar hopping, 2 near-missed flights, and 2 chance encounters with Nick Wong who ate at the same restaurants for lunch and dinner, San Tung and Burma SuperStar, as I did in the same day.  Minus the sprint through SFO to make my flight back to LA, I felt accomplished and ready to take on corporate America on Monday morning.  Until the next trip, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20110113/20101212

Post 18: The Crunch and Crackle of Haemul Pajeon

The Korean seafood pancake (haemul pajeon) has a crunch unlike any other crunch.  It's unique.  It's special.  It's... hard to describe.  

The crunch and crackle from Corner Place in Cerritos.

Are there even different types of crunches? Do they actually sound different? Most definitely.  Let's see... there's the crunch you get when you bite into a ridged Ruffles potato chip.  That type of crunch is more like a snap... it makes cacophonous echoes in the caves of your mouth with every mouthy movement.  There's also the crunch you get when you bite into an Extra Crispy from KFC.  That crunch is deep.  It's got muscle.  It's a force to be reckoned with.  The crunch of a Korean seafood pancake is different.  It's more like a crackle.  It's not noisy... but it's not weak either.  The pancake is crispy... yet it caves in with more pressure...

The pretty pajeon from Han Bat Restaurant in New York City.

(photo courtesy of oolong-milktea)

Koreans say that the best time to eat haemul pajeon is on rainy days because the pitter patter of the raindrops hitting the ground reminds them of the same crackle of the pancake.  In some sort of strange cinematic imagery, I can just see a beautiful (pale as hell) hopeless romantic (Korean) sitting by the window sill with her face pressed against the cold, foggy glass... she is peering out at the grayish storm clouds (don't forget the pale blue hue cast upon her porcelain white skin) and thinking in anguish about her long, lost love (haemul pajeon).  But rain or shine, anyday is a great day for seafood pancake.  No need to wait for the downpour.

I swoon for the pajeon at Soowon Galbi in LA's Koreatown.

This is one of the few food items that I crave on a consistent basis.  If it's been too long of a time without haemul pajeon, it's hard for me to fall asleep.  I count slices of pajeon to fall asleep the same way some people (absolutely no one) count sheep at night.  (Seriously, does anyone actually count sheep?) Images of the flaky, golden outer shell play through my mind over and over again.  I want to embody the tunnels of leggy green onions trapped within the pajeon batter.  It'd even be kinda cool to hang out with the octopus tentacles.  If the pajeon batter was quicksand, well, let me sink.

Kimchi is a suitable complement for a spicy kick and an extra crunch.

Just writing about this is causing a pool of drool to form on my keyboard.  Wipe, wipe.  Korean food is now on the agenda tomorrow.  I can't stare at these pornographic pajeon pictures any longer.  Until you hear the crackle of the pancake, let's get S.O.F.A.T.

ML - 20100515

Post 16.2: Carbohydrate Pairings

For almost every carb there is a complementary, liquid counterpart... call 'em BFF's.  For example, the perfect pairing for a warm chocolate chip cookie is... an ice, cold glass of milk, of course! How about an evenly glazed morning doughnut? It's hard to imagine that without an equally fresh, steaming cup of Joe.  Cornbread, you say? Arguably, it just might be a bowl of chili.

The complementary, liquid counterpart for my thousand-layered, hand-pulled shredded pancake (手抓餅) is the simple bowl of stewed beef soup.  If you can dunk a doughnut into your coffee at breakfast, and if your cookies can take a dive into your milk after dinner, then you can surely dip the shredded pancake into a savory beef soup.  

Like a bloomin' onion, each piece of the pull-apart pancake can picked off... and like string cheese, each shred can be torn away to its roots... if you try hard enough.  And as each piece of the pan-fried pancake sinks into the soup, each drop of soy-sauced soup ascends each fiber of the pancake... and the chili oil from the soup surface obediently follows its leader... remember chemistry class when you tested pH balance by watching the chemicals travel up Litmus paper?

And just when the pancake is holding its own weight in beef soup, it shows you that it has absorbed more than a Bounty paper towel by descending the soup back down the same fibers it's traveled up.  Xylem... up.  Phloem... down.  I hope you have a spoon handy.  And if not you had better be holding your recently drenched pancake over the bowl of soup.

Drip... drip... drip... MUNCH.  After three drips the pancake was at the zenith of perfect balance: when the soaked innards of the white carbohydrates had softened... and the crisp, brown exterior had just started to crumble under the pressure of osmosis.  I just couldn't hold back any longer.

Sometimes I take more pleasure in submerging the shredded pancake into the soup than splashing a classic French-dipped sandwich into au jus.   Ha, you can't spell au jus without A&J.  One of my favorite carb/liquid pairings can be found at A&J Restaurant (半畝園).  What's your favorite pairing, and where do you get it? Until next time, let's all get S.O.F.A.T.

ML 20100424/20100321+0419+23