The Food Event 2009. Another Year, Another Blast

Last year's The Food Event, hosted by Los Angeles magazine, was at the top of my favorite food events in 2008. This year, The Food Event was a huge success yet again.



I was excited to see the Petrossian booth as soon as I came in and enjoyed their offerings, including this tartar topped with caviar.

There were plenty of notable bites that day, including a slider from Dakota, pear and burrata salad from a new tapas place in Pasadena called Noir, desserts from Essential Chocolate, and various offerings from Gordon Ramsay, Gaylord's, Dominick's, and more.

Lemonade LA offers something different with their mint lemonade and cold deli items such as the couscous and the poke.

Naturally there were tons of wines to sip and sample. The ones I got to try some Syrah Rose from Eagle Castle, a blend called RED from Vina Robles, and of course some Semler wines from Malibu's very own vines.

And then there were the cooking demonstrations! Famous Los Angeles chefs standing 5 feet away from you showing you how to cook?

First up was Chef Andrew Kirschner from the Wilshire restaurant demonstrating his Steamed Mussels in Curry Broth (here's the recipe).

Chef David Myers from Sona and Comme Ca showed us how to make Pumpkin Creme Brulee, just in time for the holidays.


In case you missed the video I posted on Monday, Chef Ludo Lefebvre of Ludobites showed us how to make his Spicy Chocolate Mousse with Orange Olive Oil puree all the while making jokes and bantering with the audience.
For those of you who missed it, here's the video, sans subtitle.

Chef Suzanne Tracht couldn't make it but the chefs from Jar came and whipped up a simple but amazing salad.

Last but not least, Chef John Sedlar of Rivera and his chef de cuisine talks about tortilla and the history of guacamole and his tortillas florales.


Chef Sedlar also talks about his recent trip to Tijuana with some of us foodbloggers and hitting 22 restaurants/taco stands in 48 hours (oh yeah, that's how we roll) and some of the implications of the surge of foodbloggers.






Read estarla's coverage here

Eva Restaurant: Sunday Family Dinner, and Free Wine?

It's not everyday you walk into a restaurant greeted by the chef and his baby girl in his arm. Plus that baby girl is the restaurant's namesake herself, Eva.

Between receiving LAist's Sam Kim's email saying "What are you doing for dinner?" and us joining him and MyLastBite + hubby at Eva was about 40 minutes. We were there for Eva's Sunday Family Dinner - a $35 family-style prix fixe that included, yes, included, wine.

Here's what we had for dinner:

Heirloom Tomatoes with Crushed Basil
Delicious, juicy heirloom tomatoes lightly dressed to accentuate the natural flavors of the tomatoes.

Risotto with Shrimp Scampi
Good texture on the risotto and good flavor on the shrimp.

Fried Chicken
These are great fried chicken with crispy skin and the meat is tender and juicy. "Succulent" is a great way of describing it. I did want more ... maybe I should've asked for another piece.

Creamed Corn
Quite the addictive side dish, creamy and the sweetness of the corn really came through.

Braised Short Ribs
The braised short ribs were quite good, tender and flavorful. I did, however, at that point feel that the meal was overall too heavy and wasn't perfectly tied together. I thought that the fried chicken and the short ribs belonged to two separate meals.

Chef Gold came by and asked us if we wanted some egg cream. Egg cream? We had no idea what an egg cream was, but sure, we'll take 3.
According to Wikipedia, it apparently contains neither eggs nor cream, but instead is a concoction made of milk, chocolate syrup, and soda.

For desserts: chocolate and banana cupcakes.

Probably because we were sitting with MyLastBite who knows the chef well now, Chef Gold brought to us a plate of Cuttlefish with Matsutake Mushrooms & Kyoho Grapes
Eating cuttlefish apres-dessert is strange, perhaps, but it matters not because the cuttlefish was delicious and wonderfully chewy.


Eva Restaurant
7458 Beverly Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 634-0700

Indonesian Street Food: Popiah Tiong Sim in Jakarta

Jakarta, like all other Indonesian cities, are filled with food carts and hawkers, and Pluit street is known for their selection of Medan/Hokkianese food.

Being from Medan, one of my grandma's favorite cart is Tiong Sim which sells popiah, a Fujian/Chaozhou-style spring roll made with a thin, crepe-like buckwheat skin.
Every popiah here is made to order, and it's quite something to watch the guy expertly, and very rapidly, build your popiahs.

The popiah skin is first brushed with hoisin sauce, then filled with lettuce, ground chicken (or any meat would work too - we're in Indonesia here so it has to be halal), fried shallots, and pickled jicama. Some places also add crushed peanuts.

Then he rolls, rolls, rolls, and voila!
The skin is so thin but the popiah does not fall apart. The flavor of the buckwheat skin really complements all the filling. Dip in chili sauce or chili-ed fish paste and you won't be able to stop eating. Unless you're eating with your cousins and all the popiahs are gone within 5 minutes.

Tiong Sim
Jl Pluit Sakti Raya no. 42
Jakarta, Indonesia