South Coast Plaza Food Extravaganza II: Charlie Palmer & Marche Moderne + Giveaway!

The South Coast Plaza Food Blogger event was well on its way with a great meal at Hamamori and a salt/olive oil/wine tasting at Michael Chiarello's NapaStyle. Now we continue on to Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's for dinner (of course there's another meal that night, don't be silly).
We were first taken to their wine room downstairs, where they showed us their eWineList, supposedly the world's first electronic wine list where the sorting option easily makes all of their $17-$8100 bottles browsable.

Twice a month Charlie Palmer also holds "50 for 50" where 50 wines by the bottle go on sale for 50% off at their Next Vintage wine shop!

They brought down a selection of cocktails from their menu and I opted for the Blood Orange Mojito, which was refreshing and pretty light.
I tried Pleasure Palate's tamarind drink also, but it was too strong for our tastes. After the cocktails, we went to the dining room and had our dinner.

We start with brandade croquettes, followed by three-cheese risotto cake with chorizo aioli (pictured below).
The brandade croquettes were unmemorable, but the risotto cake was quite an interesting dish, the creamy, cheesy risotto is encased in a crispy shell.

Mussels with saffron aioli
Plump and fresh mussels soaked in creamy cheese was a hit at the table.
Next we had Kobe Beef Sliders with a tray of fries.
That's a pretty thick piece of meat there, but open your mouth wide enough and it would still fit. The meat was flavorful and moist, though the burger as a whole was a bit on the dry side. The fries that came with this was quite good though.

Burrata cheese with oven roasted tomatoes and arugula pesto.
This might've been my favorite dish from this meal, even if it seems so simple. But we all know how great a simple dish can be with quality ingredients, and this is the case here.

Seared oven roasted marrow with golden raisins and red onion marmalade.
Decidedly a lot of people's favorite and definitely a heavy duty dish. Even with the golden raisins cutting the fattiness, even a spoonful felt like my arteries are clogging. It's worth it though.

"Ham & Eggs" - tuna ham with truffled eggs.
Tuna ham? Yep, with the looks and smell of prosciutto, this tuna ham from Spain could easily deceive you. On top of truffled eggs this was excellent. I can have this for breakfast any weekend

Charlie Palmer at Bloomingdale's
3333 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 352-2525

At the end of the night we went away with goodie bags. But lucky you, I'm sharing :) Yep, there's a giveaway in this post! Just go to the end of the post to find out more.

Naturally, the night does not end there. We haven't even had dessert! For dessert we were then escorted to Marché Moderne, a restaurant headed by chefs Florent and Amelia Marneau that I knew was a favorite among many OC bloggers. These are what we had for dessert:

1. Pecan & banana mousse tart with caramel - a lovely mousse with a thin crumbly shell. Be careful when picking this up though, the shell can barely hold the heavy mousse filling.
2. Raspberry with meringue
3. Warm beignet with orange creme anglaise - my favorite, for sure. The warm beignet is moist and fluffy, and the creme anglaise has a great fragrance to it.
4. Green tea & apricot macarons- airy and lightly sweet. These macarons aren't as chewy as others I'm used to, but they are delectable nonetheless. Perfect with my cup of mint tea.

I was pretty happy with my dessert experience here, and can't wait to go back for a full meal one of these days.

Marché Moderne
3333 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 434-7900



Read E*starLA's report here.

Disclosure: In case it wasn't clear, our meal was indeed comped by South Coast Plaza. And I'm getting these posts out like mad cos even though SCP isn't paying me to blog, they are 'rewarding' those who finish posting fast enough (w/in 72 hours) with a $100 gift certificate.
Oh, and I got a goodie bag from SCP containing a cookie, an access card to the VIP Hospitality suite, tomato sauce, smthg from Kiehl's, etc. I also got a goodie bag from Charlie Palmer w/ a bottle of wine, a wine opener, and a $25 gift certificate.

You're probably hating me right about now, I got to eat all these for free just because I have a stupid blog?
Don't fret, I'm sharing some with you! Yes, you. Well, only one of you, actually.

I will be sending off a $25 gift certificate to Charlie Palmer to one lucky winner!
To win this gc, just comment below with your name, a way to contact you, and tell me 1)if you've eaten at South Coast Plaza and if you have, 2) your favorite South Coast Plaza eatery. Comment before next Sunday 10/11 (midnight). I'll pseudo-randomly pick a winner on Monday. Good luck!

South Coast Plaza Food Extravaganza Part I: Hamamori & NapaStyle

These days what i had considered "mall food" has been taken to the next level, with the likes of Breadbar in Century City Mall and others. Among these, South Coast Plaza probably has unparalleled food options in Southern California, housing some of the most highly regarded restaurants in Orange County. Being LA-based, I haven't explored OC much, so when an invite to a blogger event at South Coast Plaza came along, I took this opportunity to get to know the South Coast Plaza restaurants.

Their PR person had apparently organized quite a night for all of us bloggers and writers.

The first day of our visit started out at Hamamori, a chic sushi restaurant on the 3rd floor of the West Wing.
We were greeted by James Hamamori behind the sushi bar, the owner/chef who also own Wasa in Irvine and Newport Beach.

We started with seared albacore with crispy fried onions, vinegar soy sauce

Next is a duo of vegetable appetizers: Shiitake Fries with creme fraiche, and Asparagus Tempura with Japanese rice crackers.

A series of special nigiris followed suit. The first two became the favorite of most of us. They are Hokkaido scallop with Himalayan pink salt, shiso, lemon, and Osetra Caviar, and Hamachi with Himalayan pink salt, lemon, and Japanese chili paste.

They were both very fresh and the seasoning and garnish was not overpowering but quite enhanced the flavor of the fish.

The last of the nigiri was Freshwater Eel with Foie Gras, finished with orange zest.

May I remind you guys at this point that I've been out of town for a while and have not had foie gras for ... oh, I don't know, a loong time. Anyway, I'm justifying why this dish excited me so much and I mindlessly ate my piece without taking a photo! Luckily Pleasure Palate let me snap a photo of hers. The foie gras just melted in my mouth and added this delicious creaminess on top of the sweet eel. So good.

The next dish was a fun hands-on experience of cooking Oregon Kobe shortrib on a hot lava rock from Mt Fuji!

The lava rock was super hot and cooked the thin short rib slices within seconds.
The tender meat slices were served with three types of sauces: steak sauce, apple sesame, and sea salt with chili pepper.


Hamamori
3333 Bear St, Level 3
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 850-0880



After our starter meal, we continued on with an interesting tasting at Michael Chiarello's store, Napa Style.

Here we were divided into two groups that started with different tastings. My group started with the salt tasting.
These are salts that chef Chiarello himself likes to use in his cooking like the popular Gray Salt, Truffle Salt, and even Jurassic Salt - possibly the oldest salt there is, found covered under volcanic ash in Utah.

Next we move on to the olive oil tasting. We had a couple of very interesting olive oil here.
One was an olive oil that somehow had the fragrance of banana ... somehow. A bit strange.
We also tried some Blood Orange Olive Oil - had a nice zesty fragrance and would probably be very good tossed with some salad. We got a goodie bag after and I received the Meyer Lemon olive oil - still yet to try it.

Our last tasting was the wines from Chiarello's vineyard.
Chef Chiarello named his five wines after his children and his wife. These are the wines we tried:

1. Giana ($39), a 2005 Zinfandel named after his youngest daughter. This had a spicy nose and taste, though the aftertaste is surprisingly short considering how strong the wine tasted. Quite a nice wine and pairs nicely with food.
2. Felicia ($49), 2007 Old Vine Zinfandel named after his 2nd daughter. These vines are from 98-year old root stocks that are all farmed dry. One of my favorites out of the tasting, full boodied with a nice fruity taste.
3. Roux ($45), 2006 Old Vine Petite Syrah. This is a smoother and more balanced wine that the previous. It had a subtler nose and a smoother fruity taste.
4. Bambino ($49), 2007 Cabernet named after his little boy (Aidan). A sweet wine that has a bit of spicyness to it. I liked this one quite a bit too.
5. Eileen ($69 but a $55 special is currently running), a 2006 Cabernet named after his wife. This wine has a sweet nose and is smooth and full bodied.

NapaStyle
3333 Bear St, Level 2


Disclosure: In the spirit of the FTC guidelines, although SCP is not paying us bloggers to blog about this event, they are incentivizing us for blogging early by offering a $100 SCP gift card to those who blog within 72 hours. Will I make it? I have 2 more posts to go and 24 hours, so we'll see ..

Upcoming Events!

October 4 marks the beginning of this year's dineLA Restaurant Week. Running for 2 weeks (Saturdays excluded), dineLA has managed to gather over 200 restaurants this year. My personal picks: RH, Spago, The Bazaar, and lunch at LGO Pasadena.

October 7 is Choctoberfest! at The Grove. That's Chocolate, Wine, AND Beer for you. With ~30 wine+beer lined up and artisan chocolates, you can still feel extra good with the fact that this event benefits the T.J. Martell Foundation for Leukemia, Cancer, and AIDS research. The event is held 7-9 PM. Tickets are $60 at the door or $49 advance.

October 11 has tons of stuff going on. The afternoon kicks off in Pasadena with the third annual LA Chocolate Salon with over 35 chocolatiers, wineries, confectioners etc. Event starts at 11 am and last year they did run out of chocolates so come early. Tickets are $2o for advance purchase and $25 at the door. 11 am-5 PM. The Pasadena Center, 300 Green St, Pasadena, CA.

Say you go to the Chocolate Salon at 11 am and fill up on chocolates and wines until 1 pm, then you can head down to Venice for A Taste of Abbott Kinney. This event features samples - food, wine, spirits- from Venice's favorite restaurants, cafes, bars, etc (including Joe's, Beechwood, Jin Patisserie, and Intelligentsia) and also discounts at participating retailers during the event. Tickets are $60. 2-7 PM.

At night, there's Savor the Season benefitting Break the Cycle to end domestic violence. Last year's event was a blast and this year's line-up includes BoHo, RH, Reservoir, Water Grill, Cakes Suzette, Stefan's at LA Farm, Beverly Hills Caviar, and much more. The VIP section includes Oyster Gourmet, The Beer Chick, and more. Tickets are $100 or $250 for VIP access. 6-9 PM. Global Cuisine by Gary Arabia, The Lot Studios, 1041 N Formosa Ave, West Hollywood.

The Burger and Banana Pie Battle: Pie N Burger or Apple Pan?

A neighborhood landmark. Countertop service. Ageless menu. Aging servers. Both Pasadena's Pie 'n Burger and Westwood's Apple Pan have their own supporters, but which side do I fall under? Between Apple Pan's old waiters (I've had the same waiters for the last 5 years, I swear) and Pie 'n Burger's waitresses, between a big daily pie menu or a small but lauded pie selection ... it's time for me to make that comparison.

Being a former Bruin, I've naturally blogged about my love for Apple Pan, their hickory-smoked burger, and of course, their banana cream pie!

But I'm a beaver now. And beavers sometimes go to lunch at Pie 'n Burger around the corner. Most patrons sit on a long counter, but a couple of tabletops are also available. The place is bigger than Apple Pan with a bigger burger/sandwich and pie menu. There's always a wait here during lunch time.
A burger runs you $6.50 here (add $0.25 for cheese).
Nicely grilled meat and buns (although the buns could be better quality, it was at least nicely grilled), topped with lots of crisp lettuce and their thousand island dressing. A good and satisfying burger over all, although it's priced rather highly. In comparison, Apple Pan's Hickory sauce seems more unique and special.

Pie 'n Burger offers dozens of pies, but I love my banana cream pies, so I opted for the banana meringue pie here (they don't have the cream option). Shown here is half of an order - I was splitting with Kung Food Panda.
Good cream, good meringue, good crust. But. I wished there were more bananas in the pie - chock full of them like Apple Pan's banana cream pie.

So don't get me wrong. I'm very happy with having Pie 'n Burger around the corner of my school. I like their burger, and I like how many pie varieties they offer. But at the end of it my heart belongs to Apple Pan.

Pie 'n Burger
913 E California Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91106
www.pienburger.com

Balinese Dirty Duck Diner: Crispy Duck with a View

One last meal in Bali took us back to Ubud, home of Babi Guling Ibu Oka and Nuris bbq ribs. This time we visit the famous Bebek Bengil restaurant, a.k.a Dirty Duck Diner.
We were greeted by a decidedly Balinese entrance and valet parking, already suggesting that this place probably has quite the ambiance and won't be cheap (relatively speaking).

Indeed, Bebek Bengil offers the option to dine on the balai-balai, the wooden sitting platforms available around the restaurant. You can, and probably should, reserve these platforms beforehand. We didn't, but after waiting a few minutes managed to score the best seats in the house, a small balai right next to the rice paddies.
We all got the famous crispy duck, Bebek Bengil, which was rather heftily priced by Indonesian standards at Rp.67,000 (about $6.70) a plate. Then again it is Bali and one always pays for great ambiance.

Shoes off, sitting on the platform lesehan style with pillows, just shooting the breeze while staring at the verdant rice paddies, this ambiance is certainly hard to beat.

Our plate of crispy fried duck and rice finally came, to be eaten with our fingers.
The duck was fried to a crisp in palm oil, after being seasoned with bay leaves, lime, ginger, galangal, coriander, and other herbs and spices.
Under that deliciously crispy skin was lean, but tender and full of flavor duck meat.
This was served with some urap made with green beans and bean sprouts cooked in coconut milk, galangal, and chili.
The urap had a nice flavor that accompanied the duck perfectly. We were also served some amazing house-made chili sauce made with chili, shrimp paste, onions, and other good stuff. Even I could not avoid dipping everything in that sauce.

Needless to say, I cleaned all possible skin and meat off the bones. The portions here aren't big and the price is rather high, but chilling in the breeze after licking the duck bones clean was heavenly. Oh yes, we could definitely eat like this everyday - if only Bali was just a drive away.

Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner)
Padang Tegal, Ubud.
Bali, Indonesia
Phone: (62-361) 975.489
Fax: (62-361) 975.546

Bali, Indonesia - Restaurant Reviews

Ubud:
Babi Guling Ibu Oka (Suckling Pig)
Naughty Nuri's Warung
Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner)

Seminyak:
KuDeTa
Mykonos

Kuta:
Warung Made

------
Not Really Food:
Trisna Bali Agrotourism

Save the Date: Truffle Dinner at Minestraio Trattoria Oct 19

Last year I enjoyed an all-truffle prix-fixe meal at Gino Angelini's former La Terza, to the dismay to some readers who said the would definitely have gone if only I had let them know in advance!

So here goes my advance notice. La Terza is now replaced by Minestraio Trattoria but Chef Gino is still throwing a truffle extravaganza. Last year's 7-course black truffle menu for $75 is now replaced by a 4-course menu for $90. Less courses, more money? But wait! This year's menu includes ... can you guess? White truffles.

Here's their full menu for the night:

First Course

Pure of Leeks with Scallop and Summer Truffles

Second Course

Ossobuco Agnolotti with White Truffles

Third Course

Beef Tenderloin Tagliata with Parmigiano Sauce and Summer Truffles

Fourth Course

Black and White Chocolate Mousse

Menu $90

Exclusive of tax, gratuity and beverage

Reservations required 323/782-8384

Minestraio Trattoria
8384 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA 90048


Just don't say I didn't tell you.

Spanish Suckling Pig Feast at Lorca (Tijuana, MX)

Spanish suckling pig seems like the perfect post to follow-up Balinese suckling pig. The suckling pig at Lorca was our first meal on the 2nd day of the Baja FAM Media Trip. The Tijuana Convention and Visitors Bureau wanted to showcase not just the Mexican food scene of TJ but other higher-end options around.

Lorca is a showcase of Andalusian cuisine in a cozy and rustic setting. Rumor has it we originally went there for the Paella Valenciana, featuring clams, shrimp, chicken, mussels, and saffron rice.
The paella at Lorca is a dry paella version, but flavorful and full of great fresh seafood.

We did realize that this was only our first (out of seven) stops of the day. We knew we should eat light and pace ourselves.
But what were we supposed to do when they brought out a whole suckling pig??
I had suckling pig at Ford's Filling Station before, but this one here was much more impressive.

Fragrant, succulent, moist. Crisped skin.
Balinese suckling pig is more flavorful, but Spanish suckling pig is more tender. Try them both. We all aimed for the cheeks and of course Deep End Dining went for the brain.

The meal was accompanied with garlicky potatoes.
Needless to say, we ate too much for this meal. Especially considering we had 6 more restaurants to go to.

Lorca
8611 Brasil street
Col. Cacho
Tijuana, Mexico
Ph.(664) 634-03660
www.lorcarestaurante.com/

Bali, Suckling Pig, Paradise Island.

I had forgotten how beautiful Bali is. When it was so close to 'home' (Surabaya - 30 minutes by plane), you kinda take it for granted. But this trip reminded me full force.

There's of course the beach. Kuta beach was cleaner than I remembered, still as crowded as ever though, but we had ample space to sit and take in the breathtaking view of the sunset.

There are the beautiful tiered rice paddies everywhere, and seeing the workers everywhere in this developing country remind you of where your food came from. And why it's so cheap.

But, of course, we're here for the food. Not to be outdone by Anthony Bourdain, our first meal in Bali was perhaps Bali's most famous dish - at its most famous restaurant, suckling pig aka Babi Guling Ibu Oka.

Tourists and locals alike flock to this place. Most of the seats are lesehan, which means you sit on the floor (on a pillow), barefooted. Even then we had to wait 20 minutes or so to get seated.

As soon as we walked up we were greeted by a suckling pig on a tray, where they are cutting the meat and skin off. Eye candy. We were already hungry, but the drool-worthy view made the craving even harder.
The "babi guling special" comes with rice, suckling pig's meat, crispy skin, deep fried skin, blood sausage, and urap made with green beans.


This Rp.25,000 (~$2.50) plate is satisfaction incarnate. What makes Balinese suckling pig so special is that it had been stuffed with herbs and spices and cassava prior to roasting over an open flame, making it so full of flavor. The meat is still rightfully tender, and the meat is only the start of it. There's the oily crispy skin, and the delightfully crunchy fried skin, not to forget the chunky and flavorful blood sausage and the spicy vegetables.

All this goes down perfectly with a bottle of Indonesian Pilsner, Bir Bintang (For those interested, Bintang is pretty light with a slight hoppy finish).

The only thing that might be a problem for some people is that Ibu Oka's suckling pig has now become less spicy (though you can get more chili on the side), perhaps to 'tone down' to tourist level of spice. Better for me I guess, since I could eat it without breaking too much sweat.

Either way, Babi Guling Ibu Oka is still one of the best (if not the best Balinese meal).

Baja Winery Bed and Breakfast: Villa del Valle

Baja is not all about the parties, the beach, and the food (oh and how we love the food), but they have also seen a surge in wineries in the Valle de Guadalupe area. Just like Napa and Temecula, besides selling wines and holding wine tastings, some wineries also function as a cozy bed and breakfast.

One such place in Valle de Guadalupe is La Villa del Valle, a beautiful British-owned bnb/winery and one of the very few such places in Baja so far.

Perched on a hilltop, this B&B provides a magnificent view of the valley.
It only has a pool and a vegetable garden patrons can walk through.

Our group had our wine tasting in the cozy and swank living room (leather covered couches and tables - PETA would go nuts).
The wines that La Villa del Valle produced are called Vena Cava, and we tasted two-three of them.
The Vena Cava wine is organic and self-sufficient. As such, their white wines also tend to be unfiltered. This gives their Chardonnay a cloudy appearance which may turn some people off, but in reality this wine has more flavor and depth than your typical chardonnay.

We were also served some small bites during the wine tasting, including this zucchini fritter with kumquat sauce.
We thought the kumquat sauce was not only great but also creative.

Another appetizer I really enjoyed was the ground ostrich meat wrapped in kale.
Staying at a b&b in a wine country means you'd have to drive rather far for outside food and nightlife, but naturally La Villa del Valle offers dinners. We were served a few small bites of appetizers during the wine tasting, and if they are any indication, dinner here should be quite good.

La Villa del Valle
Valle De Guadalupe, Baja, Mexico
www.lavilladelvalle.com

Lousin's Mom n Pop Arakadz(Armenian) Cuisine

Lousin's Arakadz cuisine caught my eye at the last Restaurant.com sale. Right in Pasadena by the 210, it was a (ok, two) stone's throw away from Caltech but I've never heard of it.

A lot of people now know about Restaurant.com - get a $25 gift certificate to restaurants for only $10 may seem enticing enough, but then you find out that they regularly hold crazy sales. The current sale is 90% off from 9/9/09 til 9/13/09. That's $25 for $1 if you don't want to do the math.

So most of the restaurants listed are usually not cheap and not that exciting, but occasionally you'd find some exciting places pop up temporarily, like FIG, so I've gotten into the habit of checking the list whenever the sale is going on.

Lousin's is actually quite the opposite of FIG. A hole-in-the-wall in a strip mall right by the freeway, we could hardly tell it was there when we arrived.

The place was empty when we came for lunch, with the exception of the wife who runs the place and two teenage girls who were probably her daughter and a friend.

We seated ourselves and got a paper menu. Besides the expected Armenian staples, Lousin's also offers $9.99 new york steaks and lamb chops and $2.99 turkey burger third pounders.

Oh, did I mention we came with a $10 restaurant.com gc off of a $20 order? Cheap? I felt like we were cheating them.

Lousin's is run by a lovely couple and yes, they are the only two working at the restaurant. Our lunch didn't end up being a quick one, but understandably the wife was doing the order taking and cooking since the husband did not come until later that day.
We also got a side of pickled cabbage on the house.
Leaving the steaks and burgers for another time, we shared some typical Armenian dishes, starting with the Beef Shawarma Plate ($6.99)
Served with a salad rice pilaf, this was a good-sized portion for the price. The shawarma was tender and well-seasoned and the rice was quite fragrant.

The lamb dishes are typically $1 more expensive than similar items, but we like lamb anyway so for the second dish we got the Lamb Shish Kebab Plate ($7.99)
This was also served with a pita, which we removed to show you the meats! Still well seasoned though not as tender and since it's also not dressed, it was a bit dryer than the previous. But this was still good with the grilled vegetables.

We also got the Lamb Loole Kebob Wrap ($4.99 -- the beef/chicken are 3.99)
Unlike the shish kebob, the loole kebob are made of seasoned ground meat. We were so full we couldn't finish this so we split it and took it home. I had my half for lunch the next day and it was still moist and flavorful. Luckily the wrap is not doused with salt so I didn't have to worry about the pita getting soggy overnight.

Lousin's is a nice place for a cheap lunch with solid food, though granted it wasn't that quick of a lunch, and they definitely deserve more business than they seem to be getting. Come now, help out the mom 'n pop shops!

Lousin's Arakadz Cuisine
336 N Allen Ave
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 793-9955