Sona's Little Pleasures

So I finally decided to give Sona a try since overall I've heard positive reviews about it. It was hard getting a reservation through OpenTable although when I arrived the restaurant was practically empty. Kind of sad, but at least his Comme Ca is doing well (they did have more tables filling up as the night went on, although still wasn't packed).

The place is well decorated with a sleek, minimal style.

We started with an amuse bouche: a shot glass of watermelon "gazpacho". The shot was chilled and was actually sweet, almost as sweet as pure watermelon juice.

They had 4-5 different types of bread, including an interesting Earl Grey one which I tried.

One of the great things about Sona is that when you order their Chef's tasting menu, they will try and serve each person a different dish - but along the same line - giving you even more opportunities to try out different dishes!!! (This was one of the reasons I can't remember all that I ate - there were so many different ones!)

The chef de cuisine was Japanese and so they have been serving a lot of Japanese-influenced dishes. Tonight, also, we started with a couple of sashimi dishes.
One of them was a kanpachi (i wuv my kanpachi):
The pieces were nice and fresh and I really enjoyed the sauce and garnish.

The other fish was I think, albacore? I can't really remember anymore, it's been a while.

Then we had the veal sweetbreads and lobster ravioli (!!!!)
How much goodness can you fit in one dish? I haven't had that many sweetbreads in my life, but this was the best one I've had so far. The lobster ravioli and its broth was pretty light and managed to cut the richness of the sweetbread very well.

The roasted corn soup was also a great dish:
It was served with a braised pork belly. The pork belly was just a wee bit dry, but overall good, and the corn soup itself was amazing.

We then moved on to the fish dishes. One was the seabass.
The sauce for this dish was great, but as far as the fish itself goes, I've had better seabass. This one was a little overcooked/ a little dry.

The other was a halibut. Now, this was delicate and delicious.
It was cooked just right, flakey and juicy. I believe it was served with english pea puree.

Then came the meat dishes. This one I believe was Venison.
Cooked perfectly medium rare, it was a very tender piece of meat.

One of us got the roasted squab, which was delectable!
I liked this better than the venison, personally.

Then they proudly presented the Seared Wagyu Beef
It was definitely delicious and well-prepared, but I'm not sure if I'm that big on it ... it was very fatty - you can see the marbling! I somehow felt like I was eating fat (yes, I'll devour foie gras any day), so it was a bit weird ... although again, it was delicious.

A mint-cucumber granita was served as a palate cleanser. I always love these granitas as they are always so refreshing, and mint is a love of mine :)

We were offered a cheese platter, which I accepted (they charged extra for it though, which I wasn't aware of before :( ... Providence didn't charge!)

Again, couldn't really remember ... there was goat cheese for one ...
The three cheeses were served with: 1) balsamic vinegar, 2)hazelnuts and 3) sea salt caramel (yum!)
Now, on to the desserts: I don't really remember what this dessert was - I think there was some passionfruit in it.
Anyway, it wasn't anything memorable.

Next was some sort of panna cotta with coffee gelee. This dish was really small. The gelee and panna cotta were ti~ny, not even bite sized.
It's hard to say how this was, the little bites barely allowed for any taste, especially since Panna cottas themselves aren't exactly bursting with flavor.

My favorite dessert that night was the Chocolate Beignet:
Melted dark chocolate inside a rich chocolate dough with a crispy outer layer. This was also served with ice cream which I didn't take a picture of.

All in all it was a wonderful, leisurely meal. On the whole everything was well done with quite a few of very memorable dishes. Everything was very beautifully presented of course. Compared to Providence, the dishes are less innovative, but on the upside it provides a certain 'comfort level' for both chef and customer ... (the salt and pepper ice cream from my last Providence visit for example I found ... strange). Anyway, I really enjoyed my meal and will definitely be back another time. Maybe rotate with Providence now? Or Ortolan?


Sona
401 North La Cienega Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90048
310 659 7708
www.sonarestaurant.com

Beach's Comfort Food

I've been making quite a few runs to LAX, and Venice area is always a nice place to stop for dinner, so I've been trying different places. This is a backpost from a few weeks ago, when I hit James' Beach for the first time.

The place was pretty hopping outside on the patio, where you first come in, but is pretty quiet inside the dimly-lit main dining room. We sat inside on a booth. James' Beach offers a consistent special entree every day and on Tuesdays it was chicken pot pie. I actually wanted to try the Monday's Special (Short Ribs), but I guess not this time a round.

We ordered a smoked duck salad (from the specials menu) as appetizer:The smoked duck was good, but we thought they didn't give quite enough. The peaches added a really nice flavor and goes well with the blue cheese. There was too much blue cheese for us, but since you can easily pick those out it wasn't a problem. Overall a light refreshing salad.

I ordered the pot roasted briskets:
The briskets were a bit fatty and the sauce a bit salty. It's definitely "comfort food" and hit the spot, but wasn't anything special.

My friend ordered the Sand Dabs and it was actually really delicious!
I liked it better than my brisket. It was light yet flavorful and the spinach, and especially the golden raisins played really well together.

Now, I didn't know what sand dabs were prior to this, so I looked it up and according to www.ochef.com:

"Alan Davidson, author of The Oxford Companion to Food and one of the world's foremost authorities on seafood, refers to the sand dab as a European fish, found in the North Atlantic. It is a flatfish, with a brown back, and can reach 16 inches in length, although is often closer to 10. He says it is "a good fish, with a pleasing flavour, well suited to being fried.

It's so great when you find out about some new food and liking it :)


The Summer Peach Crisp from their Specials' menu was pretty good - noticeably fresh peaches that are still crisp upon biting.



But, the one that takes the cake (or pie) for me was their Cherry Pie:



It wasn't too sweet, the whole cherries they have in there were awesome and it also had a nice crust. As far as cherry desserts go, this was one of my favorites. I would definitely get this again next time around (if they're still serving it)!

The service at James' Beach is kind of slow and the noise level depends on whether you're sitting inside or outside (way quieter inside), but it has solid food. I'll probably be coming here again when I have to make a run to LAX.

James' Beach
60 North Venice Boulevard
Venice, California 90291
310-823-5396
http://www.jamesbeach.com

The Best (Instant) Noodles

I'm not just saying this because I'm Indonesian ... but we Indonesians make the best instant noodles out there (although no I've never tried the Japanese $3 instant noodle packages because with that kind of money I'd rather go to a food stall and eat a fresh bowl).

Indonesian's "Mi Goreng" literally means "Fried Noodles". The most common one is the one produced by the company "Indomie" :Just like the name suggests, you're supposed to be getting "fried noodles" so you're supposed to drain the water after boiling the noodles, and THEN put the sauces in and mix it. (I've given it to a friend who didn't read the instructions .... and then asked why the soup is so bland ...).

Now, my favorite way of devouring this is with one sunny side up egg:
Go get one and try it! In LA you can get one pack for about 33 cents and they sell them at 99 Ranch Market :)
It's bold in flavor and probably has a lot of sodium ... but it's good >_< !!

Chickens and Cobblers

Have you noticed I keep ordering cobblers (crumbles/crisp) for dessert? If not, you probably soon will as I make more backposts :P

This is a backpost of my visit to Cynthia's on Third Street. I've been hearing good things about their blackberry crumble and that's pretty much my main reason for this visit.
Cynthia's was pretty quiet - we came early and were the 2nd table in the house - and has a casual/ homey feel. The music was definitely noticeable and they have a note on their menu saying that they will not turn it down ...

Piping hot bread was served.
Bread was decent and since it was hot it tasted even better.

We shared the crab cake appetizer from the Specials menu.
It was served over a bed of mangoes and the sourness really complements the crab cakes. Overall a good dish, though I would've loved more crab in the crab cakes.

I, of course, ordered their infamous fried chicken. I usually do not order chicken at restaurants (especially breasts) because they tend to be dry and overcooked. But I do love fried chicken and was curious after all the reviews. Then came three big, crispy, fried chicken breasts:The mashed potatoes and greens weren't much - I guess they were good but how can they be special in the first place?
The fried chicken on the other hand, really was good! Althouth they were chicken breasts, they were tender and juicy since they were cooked properly. The skin was crispy and had a nice texture. If only they didn't put it on top of the mashed potatoes - that made it soggy over time.
Definitely a memorable fried chicken dish!

I unfortunately can't really remember what kind of fish my friend ordered ... I think it was a barramundi, but sorry can't guarantee that that's correct. It was off of their specials menu.Whatever it was, it was delicious! I had a few bites and really liked it. The fish is tender and flavorful and juicy. The flavors were bold, which I like in my fish dishes. It was served with some orecchiete which was also done well. A great dish overall, I wish they would offer it again and again.

And now it's time for the blackberry crumble! First of all, it was HUGE. Definitely enough for two:
It was indeed a great crumble. The crust was oat-based and was nice and slightly chewy. The flavor was right on though. Whole fresh blackberries inside. It was more watery than normal crumble/cobbler, but it tasted great and at least you know you're not just chowing down a whole lotta syrup... (although that wateriness does make seem like I'm missing something)
I'm generally that a huge fan of blackberries (go blueberries!) but I did really like this crumble. Don't know if it's the best in LA but definitely up there somewhere.

Cynthia's Restaurant3

8370 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 658-7851

Mark The Dates! Lobster Fest

Be sure to mark your calendars! September 19-21 is the Port of Los Angeles lobster festival (in San Pedro) !!!

$17 gets you a 1.25 lb meal, and $31 gets you the "2-on-a-plate special"! That's 2.5 lbs of lobster!
Here's my picture of the glorious meal from last year:I think you still have to pay for admission on top of the meal, though ($8 or $6 with the coupon on the website ) so might as well take that to its full advantage and get the 2.5 pounder ;)

Gjelina, Unpolished ABK Gem

We went to try out Gjelina, a new hopping place on Abbot Kinney. It was a Monday night buy they were super packed. The main dining room was extremely, extremely loud and it made me think twice about eating there. We were told that it would be a 30 minute wait but after about 15 minute one of the hostesses said that she had a couple of non-counter options for me.

She took me to the back room and the patio, which was A LOT quieter - thank god ...
I chose to sit on one of the couches they had on the patio. Very cozy, the patio is very nice.
I have to agree that the service still needs a lot of work. The waitress was very pleasant, the food came pretty quickly, so why do I say that? Well ... it's the order that the dishes came in :(
We ordered: a platter of cured meats, the arugula and sweet corn salad with grape tomatoes and ricotta, the grilled Monterey Bay squid with rocket salad, and the Mushroom Toast.

First came the Mushroom Toast (not the salad first?)
Easily my favorite dish of the night. The portions here are pretty small, but then again they are priced accordingly (pretty much tapas-size). I wasn't that interested in it in the beginning and if it wasn't for the reviews I would not have ordered it, but this dish was amazing.
Giant mushrooms that are amazingly flavorful. The sauce is slightly creamy and is just great!
Don't share this with more than one other person ... otherwise you will be fighting over it!!

Then next came the Grilled monterey bay squid, with rocket and chimichurri
The squids were great, not too chewy and the sauce is wonderful, but the arugula/rocket is a bit bitter for my taste ...
The chimichurri didn't add much in my opinion (besides relieving the bitter taste in my mouth).

After this dish we realized we won't have enough food since the portions are small, so we ordered the grilled shrimp. In the meantime, our cured meat platter came. It consisted of:

Duck confit
My fave from this dish. Very good (although it doesn't top the one I recently tried at Bar Tartine's in SF).



Salami, made in NY
Pretty good, but I'm no expert.

Homemade Elk Terrine with Cherries
Now, this was an interesting piece. It was pretty good and gets a plus for uniqueness. Plus I've never had elk and I liked this terrine quite a bit.

The platter was served with their homemade mustard sauce which I thought was delicious.

The shrimps came pretty quickly after, which just made me wonder if they had completely forgotten about my salad ... Anyway I chowed down on my shrimps first:
The waitress had mentioned that the shrimps were "huge" but they really weren't. Three of these lads divided by two people left you wanting. The shrimps were pretty good, and the sauce was also tasty, but I don't know if three pieces were worth our $12.

So this is where I started going ... "Uhm ... where is my salad?" The waitress apologized and said that it'll be right out, but it still took a while. In the meantime, someone brought over another one of the shrimps. We told them we had ours already (although we were eyeing these since we were still hungry!)

Well, finally, the long awaited salad came!
There was not that much sweet corn and I'm a corn lover so that's a minus ... and again, the arugula is too bitter for my taste. I wonder why ... I usually love arugula :( Note to self: no more arugula from Gjelina. Get mushrooms instead! After that long wait for it, it was rather anticlimactic.

Soo ... salad, and then dessert! Funky way of dining, I'd say.
Again, the portions are small so we weren't full and wanted one dessert each. We were eyeing another table who had the peach cobbler and the flourless chocolate cake, so we went ahead and ordered those. The waitress said that these two are the best, but I saw a chocolate walnut pudding on the menu that looked really2 interesting. Must try next time.

The peach cobbler ($8) is one of the best I've ever had!It's pretty small and the crust is nothing special, although good. The deal clincher is the peaches though! For a fruit dessert, the fruits really make a big difference and a lot of places don't seem to pay that much attention to it, but the peaches they used here were excellent (at least for tonight)!

The flourless chocolate cake was also good
Rich and dense. The chopped nuts add a nice touch to the whole thing.
I think I've had my share of flourless chocolate cake though and would probably have been happier with the chocolate walnut pudding or such ...

Overall, I thought Gjelina is pretty good, with the mushroom toast and peach cobbler being the highlights of my meal. I would only go if I can get a patio or back room seating - I'd go deaf in the main dining room. The couches are pretty cozy and would be nice and romantic for a couple, although eating from the coffee table was a bit of a challenge. Service needs a lot of work, but hopefully they will work out all these kinks.

GJelina
1429 Abbot Kinney Blvd
Venice, CA 90291 (310) 450-1429

Missing Laksa in LA ...Out of Luck?

There isn't much in the way of Singaporean food in LA. So what do you do when you're craving it? Would you hold out or would you try your luck?

The Singaporean restaurants I know of are only Singapore Express, and Banana Leaf. Since I was heading to the 3rd St Farmer's Market for the fruit juices at Eple anyway, I wondered if I should try out Banana Leaf. A majority of their menu is decidedly Indonesian, like "nasi goreng"/fried rice etc. Being Indonesian I can't justify my eating Indonesian food at a Singaporean restaurant, especially with Simpang Asia so nearby.

I've been craving, but wasn't sure if I should try my luck here, but in the end I did anyway. Here's a bowl of Laksa from Banana Leaf: Now, the last time I had laksa was what, IMHO, the best katong laksa in Singapore: 328 Katong Laksa. So how does Banana Leaf's Laksa compare? Well ... it's not bad, but it really doesn't. I thought the soup was not bad and they add an adequate amount of the chili sauce, but it was just full of fishballs. While katong laksa contains the right amount and proportion of shrimp, squid, and fish sticks, Banana Leaf's laksa contains a bit of tofu and a whole lot of fish balls ... I like their bean sprouts touch, but otherwise it doesn't quite do it for me. Oh, and it's missing the coriander.

I guess when you're really craving laksa, it's a decent bowl to tide you over until you can make it down to Singapore. This part of the world is sadly underrepresented in LA, hopefull that will change one day ..

Singapore's Banana Leaf
6333 W 3rd St # 122
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 933-4627

Fresh Fruit Juices, with a Kick

Summer is the time for ice creams, shaved ice, smoothies, and ice blended drinks! We heard that Eple at the 3rd St Farmer's Market at the Grove has great smoothies so we decided to give it a try. It's a chic looking place that seems a bit out of place at the farmer's market. It was right next to a Pinkberry and I heard it is owned by Pinkberry also.We went up to order, but it turns out that they don't actually have "smoothies." What they have is fresh fruit juices blended with a little bit of ice.

I love mint so I ordered the watermelon and mint juice. It was really refreshing and I like it better than smoothies since it doesn't fill you up with all that sugary yogury/sorbet. The flavors worked out really well! Watermelon is such a refreshing summer fruit, perfect for the summer heat. And mint is also refreshing and cooling. As the heat picks up I'll be craving this drink again and again, I'm sure.

They also had a special that day: the peach and mango juice (pictured to the right).



Their fruit bowls are very pretty and well-decorated and the fruits they used are great. But $8 for this?
I don't think it's worth $8 ... I guess you're paying for the looks. I'd rather go to the produce vendors and grab a bunch of fruits for a lot less!

I was really happy with my fruit juice from this place, and I'll definitely be back for that watermelon-mint one!

Èple
Third Street Farmer's Market at the Grove
6333 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA
(323) 933-9211‎