Plaisir Opening Party: Launching Guilty Pleasures

Plaisir is the newest hot bakery in town, recently launched by owner Daniel Salva and Frenchman Pastry Chef Philippe Dray (previously at Cafe Flore).
Plaisir has only been open for about a month but have garnered some great reviews on Yelp.

The main attraction at Plaisir is their take on the traditional cream puffs. Colorfully glazed and filled with a creamy mousse, the cream puffs come in many a flavor.
Their namesake creampuffs, which come in 2 sizes, are quite addicting. I was recently invited to their grand opening party where I tasted the vanilla, mint, and peach cream puffs. The peach filling has a nice hint of tartness that makes it even easier to keep popping more in your mouth.

We also tried some of their savory offerings:
Buttery croissant sandwiches include ham & cheese, and lox & cream cheese.

There's a special quiche-of-the-day every day and that night I tried their spinach quiche.
Good and healthier, but I have to say I loved the slightly richer and cheesy Quiche Lorraine even more (regular order $6.95).

You can also order crepes and Belgian waffles made-to-order here. I'll have to try them next time.

Besides the cream puffs, chef Dray also offers a variety of other desserts. A peek inside the display case during this party shows mousse, baba au rum, and various cakes.

During the opening party they had a live DJ and generously flowing cava, because as they say this place is about guilty pleasures.

But it's not ALL about guilty pleasures. You can do your work here too.
What I really loved about this place is not only do they offer FREE WI-FI, but each seat is also set up with an iPod nano and its very own headphones.

With a freshly made crepe or Belgian waffle and a couple of Plaisir creampuffs next to your laptop, it's quite the work set up, don't you think?

Plaisir is located in the same complex as Trader Joe's on Santa Monica Blvd. Parking is available in the back with free 1-hour w/ validation.

Plaisir
8613 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90069
(310) 855-7177
www.plaisir-la.com
@PlaisirLA

JTYH: Knife Cut Noodles, Chili Peppers.

JTYH has been one of the foodbloggers' favorite in the past year. A descendant of the much-loved-but-now-defunct Heavy Noodling (I never did make it there), JTYH was first raved about by Sinosoul, and one by one bloggers made their way there. Especially after J. Gold did, too. I came here first with Sinosoul and crew, and then that same week with LA & OC Foodie so I can pick up the crap I left in his car before my travel mug gets moldy. But with everyone else writing it up at the time, I got lazy about it.

It's probably time now. That, and, you know, the photos are already uploaded and all.

The main attraction at JTYH is the Shanxi dao xiao mian (knife cut noodles).
Shaved fresh off a ball of dough with a sharp knife, because I don't think you even can buy it dried.

You shave it like this:
and btw, is that a cute logo or what?

JTYH has a selection of noodle soups, including the spare rib soup (above, $5.95 for a large), or the beef stew noodles below (same price), involving beef briskets.
But for me, the best thing to get is the stir fried noodles in shacha sauce ($6.25). Usually this comes with beef and they have a different stir fry noodles with lamb. On my visit with Sinosoul, we somehow got fried noodles with lamb in shacha sauce.

Stir fried, the noodles had a chewier consistency and it is also a much more flavor forward dish than noodle soups.

Bored with those long noodle strands? Try the Mooshu "Cat Ears" ($5.75)
The cat-ear-shaped "noodles" are thicker and even chewier. It's reminiscent of orecchiette and was perfect tossed with scrambled eggs, wood ear mushrooms, and pork. It's great any time of the day but was perfect for our br/unch outing.

JTYH also offers a variety of non-noodle dishes.
Fried Three Ingredient Dumplings ($6.95)
In this area you can find even better dumplings, but the ones here aren't bad at all.

Pan Fried Onion Cake ($2.95)
A pretty nice rendition that's not too greasy and has a nice crispiness.

The beef roll is also quite good, with a crunchy roll and a generous flavors.

The spice hounds would be happy to know that JTYH also offers some Szechuan dishes, including a great and crunchy pork intestines dish and these ribs:
and fish filet doused in red hot chili sauce.
For some of you these are probably not *that* hot, because I could eat them although I was dying.

Bottom line: go for handmade knife-cut noodles, stay for the rest.

JTYH Restaurant
9425 Valley Boulevard
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 442-8999

Indonesian Street Food: Kue Leker (Surabaya)

Street snacks in Indonesia are everywhere and are as varied as the number of islands in the nation (about 17,000).

The good thing about having out-of-the-country guests? I have an excuse to indulge in many of them. This kue leker cart was set up right in front of the spicy chicken place we went to for lunch, and since my brother said it was good, we got some.

Kue leker guy on wheeled push-cart

Kue leker is almost like a crispy folded crepe, usually filled with chocolate and banana. It is supposedly one of the staple foods of my home town, Surabaya, although apparently people from a neighboring town, Lamongan, claim its theirs also. Surabaya-ers will win by sheer number.

The origin of the name "kue leker" is not certain, but a likely explanation is that the word "leker" came from the Dutch word "lekker" which just means good or tasty. Kue simple means cake in Indonesian, so if the first part is true then the term just means "tasty cake."

The cake/crepe is made to order on a rotating hot pan while the guy pours chocolate syrup and plops banana slices down.
It seems quite likely that this dessert did originate during the Dutch colonization, right? I mean, it's practically a chocolate and banana crepe, rather European. And they did colonize us for 300 years!

As the bottom is getting crispy, it's folded and flattened, distributing the fillings around. Eat it while it's fresh: hot and crispy.

They'll have some already made on display, but you can always ask for a freshly made one.

It's a simple dessert that's quick to make and hits the spot, just as street snacks should be.


in front of:
Ayam Penyet Bu Kris
Kl.Tenggilis Utara no.1
Surabaya, Indonesia