Tasting Spanish Olive Oil at The Bazaar: All the Things I Never Knew

Did you know that Spain is the largest olive oil producer in the world? Spain produces 52% of the worldwide olive oil while Italy produces 21%. There are 2.5 million hectares of olive trees in Spain. That's about as big as the state of Massachusetts!


I was recently invited to a tasting of olive oils from Spain led by Alfonso Fernandez Lopez from the LA trade commissioner of Spain. Different farmers from Spain have put together their resources for this event, where I learned so much about olive oils. We tasted four olive oils and proceeded to partake in a multi-course lunch prepared by the staff of Jose Andres' The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel, with each course centered around olive oil.

I have an open bottle of olive oil in my pantry that's probably been there for months. Little did I know that an open bottle of olive oil will only maintain its full aroma and flavor for 15 days!

Tasting olive oil turns out to be as rigorous as tasting wines and there are many varietals with distinct characteristics.

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First Time at My Family's Own Restaurant: Kogyo (Surabaya)

There's definitely a conflict of interest here since I'm actually talking about my family's restaurant. My mom opened Kogyo on the 2nd floor of Sutos (Surabaya Town Square) in January but I haven't gone home to Indonesia since then until very recently. Finally could see and taste it for myself!

I don't want to seem like I'm promoting our own restaurant, but you know, after hearing about it for 10 months, I got excited about finally going there myself.

The whole thing started when I brought blogger friends Mattatouille and Glutster to Indonesia last year, and talking about the Kogi hype to my mom, it seemed natural that with a real Korean and a real Mexican in town, we should try making it ourselves.

It's a small and casual place with mid range prices. My mom tends to say you can't find another place serving US rib eye at our prices in town (the local beef is so much tougher compared to the marbled US beef).

The menu is mostly Korean plus some non-Korean items my mom is proud of (like her niu ru mien aka beef noodle soup which seems to have a small following of its own). There are people who come a couple times a week just to have the beef noodle soup.

Photo by my brother.

Our most popular item is probably the Durian Mochi.

The chewy mochi skin is made fresh and the mochi is filled with cream and real durian monthong! I've never had anything like it before and loved it. Props to my mom for thinking up something like this.

I try helping out with the menu by suggesting some items. So far I've contributed Pat Bing Su (aka Korean shaved ice), and soon dubu is not far in the future ..

I never told my mom about the Kyochon/Bonchon hype here, but she must've known about Korean fried chicken from somewhere else, since I found these fried chicken wings with sweet and spicy plum sauce on the menu.

I didn't get to try everything, since we still ate at home or went out to other places to eat while I was there, but I really like their burrito too. Guess I'll have to wait until 2012 to try the rest.

Kogyo BBQ
Surabaya Town Square (SUTOS) unit 1-46 (2nd floor)
Surabaya, Indonesia
@KogyoBBQ

The Luggage Room Pizzeria Brings Much-Needed Good Pizza to Pasadena

I’m pretty excited about the new food places that had opened their doors in Pasadena lately, from Cham to Intelligentsia and now: The Luggage Room, the pizzeria attached to La Grande Orange, housed in the old luggage room of the Pasadena train station (hence the name).

I received an email invitation for dinner during the first week they opened. When I went the place was already teeming with customers.

The menu features a short but varied list of appetizers and pizzas, just enough to please everyone.
We started the bacon wrapped dates ($9) which dangerously came in half-dozens.

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Dining (and Drinking) at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (Edinburgh, UK)

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a members-only club where you can enjoy specially bottled and rare whiskies from around the world. While a membership will cost £100, it turns out that the Edinburgh location (their first location) has an attached restaurant that is open to the public. Getting an affirmative answer to whether or not we can get their society whiskies at the restaurant, I booked a table of twelve to celebrate a colleague’s birthday.


Celebrating your birthday in Edinburgh drinking whiskies? Lucky dog.
Our party was big enough to warrant getting their private room (we feel special!)

The food at SMWS is indeed expensive, especially considering the currency conversion, but apparently if you come early enough they have a special 3-course menu that’s reasonably priced. Alas, we didn’t make the cut and had to order a la carte.

We each started with a wee dram our server had recommended: 21 year aged Glenkichie, cask strength.

Then, amuse bouche. Where else would your amuse bouche comes with a glass of whisky?

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Edinburgh, UK

Casual Dining
Oink
Tea Tree Tea
The Verandah

Bars/Pubs
Ghillie Dhu
Whiski Restaurant and Bar


Fine Dining
The Kitchin
Scotch Malt Whisky Society

Shops
Demijohn, The Liquid Deli

SUGARFISH: Quality Sushi, "Everyday Luxury"

Emmanuele (Lele) Massimini and his friends were avid fans of Sushi Nozawa and made the trek from Santa Monica to Studio City every week for Chef Kazunori Nozawa's sushi. When Chef Nozawa mentioned his concept of bringing his high quality sushi at a cheaper price to them, the SUGARFISH team was born.

Photo courtesy of SUGARFISH

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Corkbar: Test Kitchen Tuesdays, Gougeres, and Pork Sliders

This warm and spacious downtown wine bar is designed by Ana Henton (who also designed Intelligentsia Venice), with nice touches like the hanging shelves of empty wine bottles.

Corkbar's wine list is dedicated to California wines, and so is their beer list for the most part. The food menu changes seasonally with some mainstay items. I was invited by their PR to taste their new Fall menu, although since I have never been, I tried a lot of their somewhat permanent items.

Every Tuesday, Corkbar holds what's called TKT or Test Kitchen Tuesdays, where Chef Albert Aviles will try out and serve a new dish for just $2. Last week it was a bowl of Chile Verde, for which chef Aviles even called his mother for her recipe.

Chili meets chile verde for a hearty, spicy bowl. For $2, they gave very generous portions.

One don't-miss appetizer is the Cheddar Cheese Gougeres ($7)

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An Appeal: Donate to Indonesia Disaster Victims

You may know that Indonesia, my home country, has been hit with three natural disasters in the past month, from earthquake and tsunami to volcano eruption. I'd like to take a page in this blog to raise awareness and hope to get some people to make a donation for the victims of these disasters.


 Villages covered in ash after Merapi volcano eruption
Photo by satria_adi1

The 7.7 magnitude earthquake and 3m (that's 10 feet) tsunami in Mentawai, Sumatra now has a toll of 400 deaths and 300 missing, with hundreds still injured. Six villages were destroyed and about 12,800 people are currently living in camps. Building temporary shelters, feeding and healing the victims, as well as rebuilding what once was a surfer's paradise will require a lot of help and resources.

If you'd like to make a donation to the Mentawai victims, you can do so through SurfAid International
 or Food for the Hungry.

 -----------------------------------------------------

The Merapi volcano in Central Java (one of the most active volcanoes in the world) erupted yet again yesterday, spewing hot smoke all day long. This was the fourth eruption since it first erupted just a little over a week ago. On top of the death and injured tolls, about 20,000 people have been evacuated from their homes which may have been burnt or covered in ash. That's 20,000 people who will need shelter, food, and medicine. Worse yet, they fear Merapi will continue to erupt over the next month.

If you would like to help the injured and evacuated children victims of Merapi, you can donate through Save the Children.

Any of your help would be greatly appreciated by these victims.

Star(Chef)-Studded Iron Chef Dinner at Sashi

This past summer, Chef Makoto Okuwa of Sashi in Manhattan Beach challenged Chef Michael Symon on Food Network's show Iron Chef. This wasn't the first time Chef Okuwa is on the Iron Chef show, as he was actually Iron Chef Morimoto's sous chef before opening Sashi, but this was the first time he's there on his own.

To celebrate his appearance, Sashi set up a special dinner filled with superstar chefs including Iron Chef Morimoto himself, Top Chef Master Michael Voltaggio (who lives nearby and is a big fan of Sashi), Noriyuki Sugie (Ironnori/Breadbar), chef Sonny Sweetman (Exec chef of Wolfgang Puck), and chef Waylynn Lucas (Exec pastry chef of Patina).

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Demijohn, The Liquid Deli (Edinburgh, UK)

Demijohn was an incredible find on Victoria St. While looking for Oink, the Scottish hog roll store, I passed by this storefront with their sign touting “Gooseberry Gin.”

Naturally I walked a little closer, and saw bottles of various shapes on the window, with handwritten labels. Nelson’s Spiced Rum Liqueur? Seville Orange Gin? How could I not check it out?

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In The Kitchen with Neal Fraser: On Ad Hoc Cooking and Searing Scallops

Last month I attended Los Angeles Magazine's "In the Kitchen" event held at the Snyder Diamond showroom with Chef Neal Fraser of Grace and BLD.

As usual the night starts with some appetizers made by a chef from Sub Zero/Wolf, Brian Beaudry, including endive bites, mushroom with truffle oil on toast, and smoked salmon-wrapped asparagus.

After we sat down, chef Fraser walked us through his recipe of making Sautéed Day Boat Scallops with Risotto, midnight moon, English peas. It turns out that Chef Fraser is quite a funny guy, and apparently hates measuring ingredients (thus claims to be a bad pastry chef). He had actually forgotten to bring some basil for the recipe, but when you're an experienced chef you know what to substitute to get the right results.

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Ile de France Camembert: The Cheese for Cheese Lovers

Camembert, with its strong aroma, is not a cheese to be taken lightly. This cheese first originated in Normandy and is made from cow's milk and its surface ripened usually for at least three weeks.

Since Ile de France just came out with a new recipe for their camembert cheese, they offered me a sample for review. It came to my doorstep via overnight delivery.

Now, keep in mind that this, as any other cheese, should be eaten at room temperature, where the camembert will be wonderfully runny. Since I like taking cross section shots I did this one before it's at room temperature and ready to eat:

It should be even runnier than this:

The camembert may look like brie, and is as smooth and creamy, but a simple sniff will tell you the difference. A strong nutty and musky aroma; no, this is no simple brie. The flavor is more intense as well: earthier and nuttier

So, I decided to do a recipe with the camembert this time around *gasp*. Don't be too surprised though, as I'm no great cook I'm doing a grilled camembert sandwich!

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Recipe: Sautéed Day Boat Scallops, Pea, Risotto (Chef Neal Fraser)

At Los Angeles Magazine's "In the Kitchen" event held at the Snyder Diamond showroom, Chef Neal Fraser of Grace and BLD shared his recipe for sautéed day boat scallops, served with risotto and English pea sauce.
(Save the date for Nov 10, where Loteria Grill's Chef Jimmy Shaw will do a cooking demonstration. Details here.)

Sautéed Day Boat Scallops
Risotto, midnight moon, English peas
by Chef Neal Fraser (Grace, BLD) - serves 4 people

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Blogger Prom 2010: If High School Was ...

Blogger Prom is what your prom might've been like in high school ...
If you were of legal age of drinking during high school and the organizers of your prom secured alcohol sponsors and a signature cocktail.

If said organizers had access to Yamashiro, the restaurant with the best view in the city.

(and when there's a giant screen showing our tweets all night long because we're okay being geeky like that)

If everyone dressed their best and ended up on the LA Times blog!

Nastassia from Let Me Eat Cake and one half of the Manila Machine

If prom came with duck or black cod tacos for dinner!

If no one judged you for stuffing yourselves with truffles from Chocobox and two Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches.

... plus a selection of cheese and dried fruits from Barrie Lynn, The Cheese Impresario, including her infamous "cheese sex" (a 10 year old cheddar from Hook's Creamery).

If prom kept feeding you for the next two weeks with coupons from Manila Machine, Border Grill, Sprinkles, and 7-11 (and kept you smelling good too with all the shampoos and deodorants).

The best part? We all raised $2,400 for Operation Frontline!

Many thanks to the Blogger Prom committee members LA & OC Foodie, Caroline on Crack, e*starLA, Happy Go Marni, Liquid Muse, LAist, ShopEatSleep, and When Tara Met Blog for putting on a great party.

Celebrate Fall: Pumpkin Pinkberry (FREE mini today 4-7 PM)

Today Pinkberry launches their new Fall flavor: Pumpkin Pinkberry!

They delivered small sized cups of the new flavor to my office this morning so I can sample it with my coworker. The new yogurt, made with real pumpkin puree, was topped with their featured toppings: crunchy honey graham crackers, Pinkberry Swirly Whip and a dusting of cinnamon.

It reminded me of pumpkin pie for obvious reasons, but was much lighter and more refreshing since it still had the sour flavor characteristic of Pinkberry. Bottom line: we all really enjoyed it.

The Pumpkin Pinkberry, as well as graham crackers, cinnamon and pomegranate seeds will be available through the end of the year.
But just for today (Friday, Oct 22), if you go to a Pinkberry between 4-7 PM, you can get a FREE mini pumpkin pinkberry so you can sample the new flavor firsthand!

Table20 Celebrates LA's Best Bartenders

My personal opinions aside, Table20's contest on LA's Best Bartenders certainly brought some of the city's best together at downtown's Elevate Lounge with some mighty rum punches.

The night had started slow and since I overestimated traffic, I arrived 30 minutes early (in LA? Impossible!). I ended up waiting at Takami and had one of their $4 bar snacks, calamari with rice krispies crust. Not a bad portion for $4.

Since the bartenders were still preparing their punch, we first had to wait outside the lounge, but the management graciously provided a drink ticket for the bar at Takami.

Sure, some of my other favorites were missing from the contest, like Julian Cox and Pablo Moix, but 5-6 glasses of punch are enough for a night. I say 5-6 because there were supposed to be 6, but The Edison's Joe Brooke went MIA that night.

A special shoutout to the only female finalist, Dee Ann Quinones from STREET, The Parlour Room, and Philippe Chow.

My favorite drink of the night ended up being Cole's bartender Max Diaz's Red Sparrow Punch.

I might have been biased towards this cider-like hot drink as it was raining outside, but it was definitely a great drink regardless!
For this punch Max Diaz combined the Don Q Anejo rum (one of the sponsors) with apple cider, cabernet sauvignon, green chartreuse, and a "secret syrup" that, alas, shall remain a mystery.

At the end of the night, Matt Biancanello was crowned Best Bartender in LA. The skills of Matt Biancanello are already well known in the city from his creative concoctions at the Library Bar such as the Shiitake Manhattan and Arugula Gimlet. Congratulations to Matt, all the other finalists, and the other great bartenders of Los Angeles!

Kōloa: The Rum of Kaua'i

Kōloa Rum is the first rum to be distilled in the island of Kaua'i, combining the best resources in Hawaii (sugar and pure water) in copper pot stills. Founded in 2001, Kōloa started producing unaged rum last year and is currently aging some in bourbon barrels.

They produce four types of rum: white, gold, dark, and spiced. During a recent tasting event, I got to try the first three along with some great cocktails made from them.

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An L.A. Pilgrimage: Langer's Deli

I finally made it to Langer's and one visit was enough to see why everyone loves their pastrami.

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Oink (Edinburgh, UK): Scottish Hog Roll and Crackling!

What better way to get customers in the door than a whole roasted pig on the window?

That's exactly what Oink, a little shop on the similarly-little Victoria St, does to get you to try their Scottish hog roll.

Not that the gourmet pig could've passed by a pink pig-shaped sign that says Oink without going in. 

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The Pantry (Santa Fe, NM): Breakfast with the Locals

The Pantry was probably the most memorable breakfast I had in Santa Fe.
The PR for Taste of Santa Fe set us up for breakfast at The Pantry. When we arrived the place was bustling with locals. The Pantry is a Santa Fe institution that first opened its doors in 1948. Since then it has changed ownerships a few times but it seems to be doing quite well under the current owners, the Singley family. The son had just graduated from Le Cordon Bleu Scottsdale and is on track to take over the business.

As most meals in New Mexico, The Pantry provided one big, heavy, breakfast.
After waiting a day and a half, I finally got my sopapillas!

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