8 Flavors of Xiao Long Bao at Paradise Dynasty (Indonesia)

A restaurant chain in Asia is taking Xiao Long Bao (XLB) to another level with eight different flavors of XLB. At Paradise Dynasty, which has locations in Singapore and Indonesia, you can get XLB with black truffles, foie gras, cheese, ginseng, garlic, crab roe, and szechuan flavor (and of course, there's the original).

The XLBs were about the same price as Din Tai Fung, but if you order the sampler (a basket of all 8 flavors, they can get pretty expensive). If you know what you want to try or have a lot of people to share with, I'd suggest getting a basket of individual flavors.

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Brunch at M.B. Post (Manhattan Beach, CA)

I knew that the bacon cheddar biscuits at MB Post would be perfect for brunch. What I didn't know was that Chef David LeFevre had a lot more under his sleeves.

We even went from sweets to savory to sweets again. While waiting for the fourth person in our group to arrive, we started nibbling on the Sticky Buns with pecan and brown sugar ($6). This one's a must-get for the sweet-toothed, or just to share with the group.

Between the four of us, we tried many a great cocktails ($12 each), from the Last Rites (Sangria with Compass Box “Oak Cross” Scotch, lambrusco, pear, quince, hibiscus) to the Bloody Mary-derivative, the Coughlin’s Law (Tito’s Vodka, Belgian Pilsner, tomato, dill, bacon, and quail egg) and MO-PHO-JITO (mojito w/ starr, kaffir lime, mint, ginger, coriander honey).


A bowl of oro blanco grapefruit salad with grapes and honey is a lovely way to either start or finish light.

The fruits in this bowl was so sweet and fresh, they barely needed anything else!

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Cucina Enoteca (Irvine, CA)

Cucina Enoteca is the new restaurant at Irvine Spectrum, the second venture of Cucina Urbana in San Diego. The decor in the large space varied from a rustic patio, a high ceiling with caged bulbs in the dining room, and abstract painting in one section of the wall.

Cucina Enoteca has an adjoining wine store, where you can pick out wines at retail price and pay minimum corkage (on Sundays, you can get free corkage for any bottle over $20 that you buy here).

The kitchen is now headed by Chef Lauren "Lulu" DeRouen (formerly of Pinot Provence). She wasn't in the kitchen the night I was there so I ordered instead of having the kitchen send out stuff. They did anyway!
The kitchen sent out a trio of vasi : ceci bean hummus with piquillo jam, burrata with roasted garlic confit, and duck rillette with apricot mustard.

All three were great - I also enjoyed combining the burrata with the duck rillette together. The fresh, creamy burrata is made by DiStefano Cheese in Baldwin Park (the same one they have at Stella Rossa Pizza).

I didn't realize they were sending out the burrata vasi, so I had ordered the burrata and speck ‘caprese’ salad, with pickled pear, arugula, candied pecan, fried shallot, and sherry vinaigrette.

Well, I didn't really mind more burrata, and this one was great especially with the pear.

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