Food in LA: Warszwa

Posted on 12 June 2011 by christao408

So busy running around LA visiting friends and family that I’m a week behind in reading subscriptions and responding to comments – but I want to keep the posts uninterrupted so here’s another!

Polish restaurants fall into a category of dining experiences that rarely hit my radar screen. I’ve been to them perhaps twice before in my life, enjoying both times but not feeling so compelled that I rushed back. Plus, given my circle of friends and where I live, it is much more likely that I’ll end out at a restaurant serving Asian food rather than Polish. They say vacation is an opportunity to gather new experiences and perspectives, so it was fitting when one of my high school friends suggested we go to Warszwa, a Polish restaurant in downtown Santa Monica.

Warszwa relocated from Berkeley, where it was a neighbor to a recently-opened Chez Panisse, to the LA area in 1979. For the past 25 years it has occupied a former house on Lincoln Boulevard in Santa Monica. As you walk through the different small dining rooms, you get this sense of being in your Polish great grandmother’s home rather than being in a restaurant. Service is friendly and efficient, making for an enjoyable dining experience.

I started out with the borscht, a beet-based soup that is a staple of Polish and Russian cuisine. Because it is summer (or, at least, is supposed to be summer), they were serving a chilled borscht, which has buttermilk, sour cream, and cucumbers and is rich, tangy, and very refreshing. I’ve experimented with borscht and would like to try making this chilled version.

The six of us shared two appetizers – the first was crispy fried potato pancakes (similar, but more refined, than most latkes I’ve had) served with cinnamon apples and dried plum compote and a dollop of sour cream and chives. Very tasty starter.

Handmade pierogi – Polish raviolis – with three fillings: white cheese, potato puree, and caramelized onions; wild mushrooms with shredded cabbage; and chicken breast with herbs, served with sorrel sauce (on the right). All were very enjoyable and different than I expected.

The main courses mostly had a similar look and feel, as most were accompanied by the same side dishes.

Lamb dumplings served with a Dijon sauce, which the menu claims is an Eastern Polish specialty. These were tasty.

Tawn had a variation of the dumplings filled with salmon, served with a basil sauce. Also tasty, although as we were sharing these two dumpling dishes, we filled up quickly!

One friend had cabbage leaves stuffed with beef, jasmine rice, and sauteed onions, baked in a tomato and paprika broth. Now, my mother made stuffed peppers a lot when I was a child and I think this stuffed cabbage calls forth certain pleasant childhood memories.

Schnitzel – either pork or chicken, I don’t remember – which is a fillet that is pounded thin, breaded, and fried. Kind of a Polish katsu, if you will. The meat was tasty, although it is hard to describe it as anything other than fried meat. Not much nuance.

The specialty of the evening was a fish dish, served in a cream sauce. Tasty, too!

Our group after a delightful, if slightly filling, meal – Tawn, Anita, Lilian, Samantha, Lalima, and me. If you are craving something different and find yourself on the west side of Los Angeles, a visit to Warszawa may be just what the doctor ordered!

Pinkberry

Posted on 11 June 2011 by christao408

(Entries are bouncing around a bit chronologically but I’m still in LA on vacation.)

One treat I’ve indulged in several times while in LA is Pinkberry, the premium frozen yogurt chain started here in 2005 by Shelly Hwang and Young Lee. Reviving the craze of the 1980s, when there was a frozen yogurt store in every corner strip mall, Hwang and Lee have expanded from their first store in Los Angeles to more than 100 locations across the US and even internationally.

Tawn, Anita, Samantha, Lily, and Lalima enjoy their Pinkberry in Culver City.

I’m not about to claim that this is some incredible food that you must rush out and try, but it is pretty good. I like that the quality seems high, they use only fresh fruits (not frozen or canned) as toppings, and if you choose carefully, a Pinkberry frozen yogurt can be a pretty healthful dessert or snack. One morning when I was at the Southwest Airlines terminal at LAX perusing my breakfast options, I realized that a Pinkberry yogurt with fresh berries and some low fat granola on top would be the best option among the breakfast pizzas, Croissanwhiches, and breakfast burritos on offer.

My sister and her family are in town now staying with Tawn and me at a beach house

. We went to Pinkberry last night. While they have frozen yogurt places in Kansas City, they are nothing like Pinkberry. There it is self-serve yogurt with flavors that underwhelm with their artificiality. Here it is pure, tangy goodness with lots of fresh toppings.

Even though it was a chilly evening by the beach, we bundled up for some Pinkberry!

Huntington Library and Gardens

Posted on 10 June 2011 by christao408

After visiting the Farmers Market on Saturday morning and being denied the opportunity to pick cherries, thanks to the unseasonably cool weather that had held their ripening at bay, we decided to visit the Huntington Library. The Huntington is an educational and research institution that includes art collections, extensive libraries, and several specialty gardens including a Japanese garden (currently closed for renovation), a rose garden, and a cactus garden.

The Huntington sits on over 120 beautifully cared for acres on the San Marino estate of former railroad magnate Henry E. Huntington. It is such a large space that I don’t think you could reasonably expect to cover even a fraction of it on a single day!

The sun shining through a skylight made this interesting pattern on the granite floor as we passed through the buildings on the Huntington’s grounds.

Stopping in the Conservatory, we saw a collection of plants from different growing climates, including tropical. When we walked into the mist-filled section, we felt right at home!

The primary part of our afternoon was spent in the recently opened Chinese Garden. It is very beautiful, although you can tell there are many areas in which room has been left to expand.

A sculpted window frame in the garden.

A beautiful red maple.

The gardens, looking roughly west.

A caterpillar that was walking along a ledge along the water.

View from the other end of the garden, looking back roughly east.

Three of our four high school friends with whom we spent time during the weekend. Samantha, Lalima, and Anita.

Gorgeous trees, a covered walkway, and the beautiful blue sky.

In the Chinese Garden there is a restaurant and tea house that serves surprisingly decent food. Tawn had a lemon chicken, which I realize doesn’t sound terribly authentic, but at least it was tasty and pretty fresh.

I had a bowl of soba noodles with a sauce of beef and pork. Also pretty tasty.

The food was so filling that the son of one of our friends just had to lay down for a nap.

Finally, we walked through the Rose Garden, where Tawn snapped lots of pictures of flowers that inspired him.

And that was our trip to the Huntington, a site I’d suggest to anyone who visits Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Farmers Market

Posted on 9 June 2011 by christao408

Saturday morning we headed with our high school friends (who came down for the weekend to visit us) to the LA Farmers Market. The market, located at Third and Fairfax near the CBS studios, dates to 1934. This was my first visit and I was impressed with the range of different food stalls. I didn’t look around the entire market, but my impression is that there aren’t really that many farmers offering their wares. Here is a look at some of the food we tried.

There are lots of seating areas, mostly in the shade. You can order from different vendors and still sit at the same tables, which give you a lot of flexibility. We were there by 10:00 Saturday morning and it wasn’t very busy, although by the time we left things were notably busier.

Hard to tell the breakfast from the desserts! Crepe with chocolate, strawberries, and bananas.

Belgian waffle with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Someone’s husband didn’t wait until I took the pictures to begin

Ran into a place called Moishe’s Village, which serves Middle Eastern food. My attention was caught by the borekas, a flat bread with toppings cooked in a brick oven. Basically, oblong pizzas without tomato sauce.

Wide selection of borekas.

I chose the sausage and egg and asked the lady to cut it into pieces. She scolded me, saying that I should have ordered scrambled eggs so it would have cut more prettily.

Another popular spot is Bob’s Coffee and Doughnuts.

Yeast donuts. Very tasty, although I’m not a huge fan of donuts.

Tawn in his market gear.

Loads of fresh fruits, especially the peaches, apricots, and nectarines. Stone fruits are my favorite reason to come back to the US during the summer.

Close up on the beautiful artichokes.

Afterwards, one of my friends insisted that we must try Littlejohn’s English toffee.

The picture doesn’t do justice to the toffee, but it was pretty good. Not as hard as a lot of toffee, so much easier on the teeth to eat. Well, except for all the sugar.

We were going to go cherry picking afterwards but when we called ahead to the farm, we learned that thanks to the cool weather, cherries are coming in a few weeks late. Sadly, no cherry picking this trip.

Food in LA: Orris

Posted on 7 June 2011 by christao408

Almost two years ago, Gary took me to Orris, Chef Hideo Yamashiro’s west Los Angeles Japanese inspired small plates restaurant. (Entry here) On Friday evening, our visit to LA overlapped with a business trip by Tawn’s boss and her counterpart from Kuala Lumpur, both of whom I’ve met several times. We had time enough to pick them up from their Century City hotel and take them to dinner at Orris before ferrying them to the airport for their return flights.

Here is what we had to eat:

Thinly sliced beets with Basque cheese and balsamic soy.

Sauté of seasonal mixed mushrooms

Free range fried chicken with sweet and spicy yuzu sauce

Basil marinated black cod with basil mashed potato

Grilled Japanese eggplant with burrata and parmesan cheeses

Lightly pan fried mixed seafood atop spring greens with lemon zest

Seared ahi tuna sashimi with sweet onion soy and avocado

Asparagus salad with tarragon dressing, pecans, and tomato

The dishes were all nicely prepared and enjoyable, although Tawn’s boss does not eat cheese so had to work around a few dishes. I described this as a “Japanese inspired” small plates restaurant, and initially it can be hard to see what is meant by that. As Tawn’s boss observed when the first dish (the beets) arrived, it doesn’t look very Japanese on the surface.

The inspiration comes more than anything from the principle that is common in Japanese food to keep preparations simple and the number of ingredients to a minimum, so that the freshness and quality of the main ingredients can shine through. Using the beets as an example, you have really four ingredients – beets, cheese, a balsamic-soy dressing, and a little olive oil. They go so well together and all serve to highlight the sweet richness of the beets.

Of all the dishes, I think the black cod may have been my favorite. The fish was fully cooked but very moist and tender. The marinade had highlighted the meatiness of the fish without overwhelming it. The basil-tomato salsa on top echoed the marinade and the small serving of basil mashed potatoes underneath provide a pleasing starch to accompany the protein.

As for desserts, there were four on the menu so we ordered the lot and shared.

Fresh berry wonton with poached pear and yuzu custard. This was the unanimous winner from all the desserts. Interestingly, I had approached it with low expectations as the concept of a “berry wonton” seemed misguided. It turned out to work very well.

Apple tart with Tahitian vanilla gelato and caramel sauce

Fresh seasonal fruit with crème brûlée. Unlike most crème brûlées the cream sauce was still soft and was not set to a firm texture. Almost like crème Anglaise poured on top of fruit and briefly torched.

Flourless Valrhona chocolate soufflé cake with coffee gelato. Cake isn’t my favorite and this struck me as just another one, nice but not surprising.

The location on Sawtelle just north of Olympic is convenient and there is inexpensive parking behind the building. Metered street parking is also available. Reservations not accepted.

Food in LA: Metro Cafe Culver City

Posted on 5 June 2011 by christao408

For our first three nights in Los Angeles, we stayed near our friends’ house at the Travelodge Culver City. While I would normally worry about a Travelodge (especially one in a big city) being a bit sketchy, the one in Culver City received really good reviews – lots and lots of “10’s” – on TripAdvisor.com. Sure enough, for about $100 a night, they offered these very large rooms with two king beds (and room for at least one more if they wanted to add it). A recent remodel had included a lot of thoughtful touches such as ample cabinets, granite countertops and tiling, and even the shower curtain rod that bows out from the tub so the curtain doesn’t cling to you. A surprising find for what is normally considered a two-star hotel.

An even bigger find is the Metro Cafe, a coffee shop that is located in the front part of the hotel. Guests of the hotel get a coupon good for $5 off at the metro and the Serbian owned restaurant received just as many good reviews as the hotel itself. It is every bit the kitsch cafe of the 1950s without trying too hard to be that. In fact, with the solid ceramic coffee mugs, sturdy chairs, and laminate tables, it may just be the real article, still extant.

We had breakfast our first morning there and had we not made arrangement with friends to dine elsewhere during our stay, we would have been very happy to have eaten all our breakfasts there. The lunch menu looked good and everything I read – and heard first-hand from friends who have eaten at the Metro Cafe – indicates that the dinner is very nice including many Serbian specialties.

After a full night’s sleep and a cup of joe, Tawn looks ready to tackle LA.

One item that caught my attention was the French Toast. Thick slices of fresh brioche were lightly battered and fried on a well-seasoned grill. Fresh strawberries and bananas were accompanied by a homemade raspberry sauce. This was one of the most enjoyable French Toasts I’ve ever had.

Tawn had the eggs benedict, which was unpretentious and expertly executed. The potatoes were well-seasoned with crisp edges. Just a really satisfying start to the day. We’re here for another 10 days or so. I think we really need to come back!

After breakfast we set out to run some errands. For the two days I will be at work, Tawn will have the car and be on his own, so he wanted to get back behind the wheel in the US, the first time in the more than six years since he moved back. The car, a Dodge Charger, was a bit more powerful than what he drives at home, but he did a good job getting reacquainted with driving on the right side of the road. And also scaling back that Bangkok style aggressiveness behind the wheel!

In the afternoon we did some browsing in West Hollywood, sharing a veggie burger and fries at a shop on Santa Monica Boulevard. The patty was tasty but had no cohesion as a burger, falling apart as we tried to eat it. The fries were tasty but I prefer the fries at in-n-out burger. The bun was nice, though.

Flying to LA on EVA

Posted on 3 June 2011 by christao408

Tawn and I flew from Bangkok to Los Angeles yesterday, a journey that was about 18 hours gate-to-gate and went pretty smoothly, thanks to the good service of EVA Airways of Taiwan and an upgrade on the transpacific segment to business class.

In the EVA Airways lounge in Bangkok we had a bite to eat, including this passable pad thai. Not bad for something that was prepared in advance and was sitting, covered, under the heat lamps.

And ice cream! Passion fruit and cookies and cream. That was a nice treat.

Nice view at the gate area at Bangkok Airport in the mid-afternoon sun.

Our flight out of Bangkok was in the premium economy class, which offers about 6 more inches of legroom than regular economy and one fewer seat across the width of the cabin. Only a little bit more expensive than economy class – and actually similar in price to what US carriers charge for their economy class – and a lot more comfortable. The food is nicer, too. This was the dinner served out of B angkok.

Close up of my chicken and rice dish, which was very nice.

Tawn’s seafood and noodles wasn’t very pretty, although it did taste okay.

In Taipei we visited the EVA Airways lounge, which is available to even their “silver” tier fliers, which is a relatively low bar to achieve. Two flights from Bangkok to the US is pretty much enough to keep that status. While in the lounge, Tawn tried some of their congee (rice porridge) which he pronounced was quite tasty.

For the Taipei to Los Angeles segment we cashed in some miles to upgrade to business class, which is a nice way to fly. Considering I’m not at a point in my life where I would ever consider paying for business class, using miles is about the only chance I have!

Appetizer of smoked duck breast, pate served in a plum, and shrimp.

One of the benefits of being in business class on EVA is that you can pre-order dishes from a special menu available online. That way you know exactly what you will have to eat. I ordered lamb chops served with mint sauce, gratineed potatoes and mixed veggies. Tasty.

Tawn’s dish, which he pre-ordered. A Chinese style sea perch with three types of sticky rice and steamed veggies. The sauce is made of fermented soybeans. Tasty.

Fruit plate

Some sort of a cake, served with chopped pistachios.

During the flight, the window shades were closed, lights were dimmed, and in the business class cabin, there are LED “stars” in the ceiling and a cool blue glow. The idea is that the ceiling lates can gradually change colors to simulate sunset and then sunrise in order to help you adjust your circadian rythm. However, they change a bit too quickly for that to happen.

Before landing, Tawn enjoyed congee (“jok” or rice porridge) with a variety of condiments. Compared favorably with the one served in the lounge before the flight.

Made to order latte with a crystal sugar stir stick. Very nice.

Special ordered “breakfast” shortly before our descent into LA: chicken noodle soup with pickles and side dishes, made by Din Tai Fung restaurant in Taipei.

Coming in over the central coast area of California as the sun’s rays grow long on the hills, about 7:40 pm.

Coming in over west Los Angeles, about ten minutes before landing. We were a few minutes ahead of schedule but, even then, it still took about two hours to get through immigration and customs. In any case, we’re here now!

Food in Bangkok – Santawa

Posted on 2 June 2011 by christao408

This dining experience happened nearly a month ago and I’m just now getting around to writing about it. Since returning from Hawai’i, I feel like there’s been a certain amount of delayed reality to my entries, probably due (at least in part) to a very heavy work schedule. That said, I’m trying to get caught up.

A few weeks back another Singaporean friend invited me to join him for lunch at Santawa, a classic Thai restaurant located on a soi, or alley, back behind the Bangkok Bank headquarters on Silom Road. We set a date for a holiday so the streets were very quiet as I walked in the blazing sun to the restaurant.

The restaurant itself is quite well-hidden, despite being right on the street. There is no English-language sign (and I was working from the English spelling of the name, not the Thai spelling) and even with the sign it is still sort of nondescript. In fact, I almost walked past it and Kelvin saw me and ran out to catch me before I wandered away.

Santawa has been a fixture of the Silom / Narawathiwat area for decades. Its primary lunch crowd is local housewives and the proprietress usually ran the show from a designated table near the front of the shop. Lately, it seems, her health is declined and she is no longer coming in regularly. Everything else, though, seems to continue unchanged.

Goong gra beuang – Crispy fried multilayered pancake with fresh shrimp and a sweet chili dipping sauce. Not the highlight of the meal, actually.

Tom kar gai – a coconut-milk based soup that is usually quite mild and bland. In fact, it is often used as an early food for children. As you might imagine, it is quite popular with foreigners. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the broth had a very complex flavor and it was really, really good.

Kelvin initially thought that Tawn would be joining, making four of us including his Thai friend. However, Tawn was unable to make it. When I arrived, Kelvin and and San had already ordered so we had massive quantities of food. Rice, anyone?

Yam makeua yao – Grilled eggplant served in a sour sauce with ground pork on top. This is one of those dishes that is a mainstay here in Thailand but is regrettably uncommon in Thai restaurants overseas. Soulfood Mahanakorn does a neat version of this dish that uses bacon instead of ground pork. Santawa’s original, bacon-less version was still very nice.

Panang curry with pork and heaps of basil leaves. Panang is one of my favorite types of curry and it, along with Massaman curry, is generally a more accessible type of curry for those not accustomed to Thai-style curries.

Stir fried greens with a salted fish sauce. Clean, simple, and satisfying with lots of umami. Salted and fermented fish and shrimp are common ingredients in Thai cooking, not to mention the near-ubiquitous fish sauce, which adds a certain something-somthing to the dishes that, if not added, taste a little flat.

The final dish, one I have never had before, is a duck breast, pounded, breaded and fried, served on deep-fried kale leaves with a mayonnaise like sauce. It doesn’t look as good as it tasted, so you may just have to take my word for it.

All in all, the restaurant was a pleasure, one of those bits of old Bangkok that have somehow been caught in a time warp and (thankfully) fail to keep up with the times.

christao408

The adventures of an expat American who moved to Bangkok for his husband.

Monthly Archives: June 2011