Bug Bites!

Somehow the members of my lab got to talking about bugs and eating them a few months ago. Finally we managed to get people to go down to Typhoon in the Santa Monica airport tonight.
Typhoon is a Pan-Asian restaurant just below The Hump (I think owned by the same people also). Definitely has a nice view with the small planes there and all.

There were 10 of us and we ordered family style - bugs and nonbugs.

The first one that came definitely had a shock factor and was probably the grossest of them all. This was the chicken-stuffed waterbugs:First of all, we were shocked (and disappointed) that there were only two bugs on a $10 plate ... and since there were 10 of us it was a bit hard to share ...
So they were salty and crunchy ... with an aftertaste. The chicken? Could barely taste it with all the bug's exoskeleton pieces swirling around in your mouth ... They remind me of fried shrimp skin- salty and crunchy and otherwise doesn't taste like much.

We actually didn't order this but I guess they thought we did anyway ... this was the scorpions on shrimp toast:
Again, there were only two of them - plus the scorpions were tiny. I didn't get to have this one so can't tell you how they were.

Then we had the seaworms, also deep fried and served on lettuce wrap:
I was actually most scared of this one, but it turned out to taste and look pretty harmless. The seaworms to me tasted (and looked) like anchovies. My first bite was incredibly spicy and my mouth was burning. It didn't happen again though, I think it was just a piece of green chili in there.
Next we had the crickets, which rumdood said it was good (if he remembered correctly from years ago).
The crickets were somewhat small, but these were probably our favorite out of the bugs.
The potato strings do mask the flavors though, so you have to try the crickets by themselves.

The last one was the Chambi ants, also served with potato strings. Looks like an ant hill ...
The ants were harder to pick out to see how they taste, since they're so small. Eating them with potato strings mask the possible ant flavors. I think they do give subtle but distinct taste to them, but with the deep fried salty potato strings it's hard to be sure.

All in all, it kind of felt like the bugs were just a gimmick. They don't really taste like much - but then again that is not necessarily the fault of the restaurant. The prices definitely insane though, $10 for two pieces of cockroach-looking waterbugs.

Obviously the bugs - although drained our wallets - didn't really fill us up, so we ordered some "normal' stuff. Among others we got the Mongolian lamb:
This was actually really good. They served it with a bunch of this flaky bread that was delicious. The lamb retains its "lamb taste" which we liked, and the spices were pretty good.

Typhoon
3221 Donald Douglas Loop S.
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 390-6565

Scoops: The Ultimate End of Summer Loot

Summer's almost over, and it's still hot. The only good thing about this heat is how much better it makes certain things, like icees, smoothies, and of course - ice cream! So it was time for me to check out Scoops on Heliotrope. (this is a backpost from a couple weeks ago - when it's even hotter!)

It seems like such a weird location. A small, cute place decorated with christmas lights next to dark industrial buildings on a small street. But it's known to be the best ice cream in LA, so the crowds still gather, sitting on small tables outside.Scoops offers a variety of flavors - from really unique flavors to dairy-free and vegan selections.
We ordered the large one - 6 flavors!! It was less than $6 and it ended up being 2 large full styrofoam containers! They are very generous and much cheaper than, say, gelato places!
So the flavors we got were:
Strawberry Lingonberry, Chocolate coconut, lemon mint sorbet, raisin and white wine, black sesame

(I didn't take a picture since we got it to go and everything was in a styro container with the lid on)

AMAZING! I felt like I have not had ice cream this good in a long time! The strawberry lingonberry was my favorite. Their ice cream is very smooth and creamy, their sorbey really refreshing. Their chocolate ice cream was wonderful - very chocolatey.

Of course, we couldn't finish it all so we ended up taking one container home. It didn't refreeze too well :/ (melted on the way home) but it was still very good. It's a bit far from my place, but nonetheless, mark my words, I will be back, even when it's no longer hot outside!


Scoops
712 N Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90029
(323) 906-2649

Cheap Eats Under $5: Sam Woo's Wonton Noodle

More on good, cheap eats around LA! Unfortunately most of the ones under $5 will be around the San Gabriel area, but this one has branches all over, so you can find it in, say, Van Nuys too!

Sam Woo BBQ is pretty popular and has branches in downtown, Van Nuys, and of course, the San Gabriel area. They are usually popular for their roast duck and chashu (BBQ pork), but more on those another time! Right now I want to focus on their cheap wonton noodle soup: $3.95!This particular bowl is from the Alhambra location. It's a pretty big bowl and will definitely fill you up. They give you about 4 wontons, stuffed with pork and even shrimp. I really love the thin noodles - the thinness creates this wonderful texture in my mouth :)
The broth is pretty fishy compared to higher quality places, but it's flavorful and for the price, I think it's a great bowl! It hits the spot and doesn't hit your wallet that hard.

Sam Woo BBQ
514 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 281-0038