Craving Otak Otak in Westwood

I've had a lifelong affair with otak otak. Otak otak is spiced fish cake, steamed and grilled in banana leaves, and eaten (usually) with slightly spicy peanut sauce.

My favorite otak otaks are the ones from Jakarta, and when my relatives come visit, I always ask them to bring me some, and an otak otak fest would proceed for 2 days!
But now that I"m stuck in LA ... well, one of the best options seem to be Ramayani in Westwood.

The dishes at Ramayani can be hits and misses, but this seems to be the case at all Indonesian restaurants. The 'sop buntut' here is not bad. My gotta-have dish is naturally the otak otak:At $7.50 for 10 pieces, these aren't cheap compared to back home (but what is?). The otak otaks though has the right consistency and texture, and *almost* the right flavor. More spice, grill it some more, and we'll be set. The peanut sauce is the problem here. Not spicy enough, not even peanut-y enough, this one actually tastes like it was partly made with peanut butter - a common practice here in the U.S.

With all that said, these are pretty tasty things and I urge you all to try them here at Ramayani.
They can't compare to the ones back home, but what's an Indonesian girl stuck in LA to do?
They're still really good and definitely worth a try!

Ramayani
1777 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 477-3315

Pho Filet in El Monte

Pho with filet mignon. At first it sounds a bit strange. Pho = cheap. Filet mignon = pricey. But at these Vietnamese restaurants from San Gabriel to East LA, the result is still a cheap bowl of pho, kicked up a notch by the high quality of meat!

This was my first time meeting Wandering Chopsticks, who took Pleasure Palate and I to Pho Filet in El Monte.

Wanting to be adventurous and all, I ordered some pennywort shake (on the right). Wandering Chopsticks ordered the pennywort juice (on the left).
The pennywort shake also had mung beans in it, making it sweeter and less 'grassy'/'herby' than just the pennywort juice. WC said I should probably get that one, me being a pennywort-noob :P

This time we forgot to ask for the filet mignon on the side. Why would you want to do that? Because otherwise the filet mignon would get overcooked by the end of your meal, but if you order it on the side, then you can put it in one by one and you'll get a medium rare piece of filet mignon everytime!
The broth here tasted of more spice than most, which I really liked. And yes, you can definitely tell the upgrade on the meat!
Delicious, filling, and cheap. A bowl of pho here ranges from $5.50-$6 (depending on the type and number of different meats you get). For filet mignon? That's cheap! You can step up to a large bowl for $0.50 more.

For reviews of more dishes, and more food porn, filet mignon-style, check out Wandering Chopsticks' blogpost.

Pho Filet
9463 E Garvey Ave #A
South El Monte, CA 91733
(626) 453-8911

FIG in Santa Monica: Quiet Spot for Meal and Drinks

FIG, a restaurant focusing in seasonal and local ingredients, has as its namesake the 100-yr old fig tree that sits in front of the Fairmont Miramar hotel (where the restaurant is located).I heard from LA&OC Foodie that FIG is on the Restaurant.com list- where you can buy a $25 gift certificates for $10 ($35 min purchase), and oftentimes they will have a 80% off sale! That's $25 for $2 people!! I bought 3 ...


Psst! Now til 6/25/09 they're having a 80% off sale! Just enter code: DISH.

We came late, past 9:00 PM. The restaurant was pretty quiet overall (except for a table of 4 drinking ladies that were quite ... lively), and I liked the decor and ambiance.
The menu is divided into Snacks, Salads, Appetizers, and Entrees. At the bottom of the menu is a nice touch - a list of currently in-season ingredients, and also what will be in season soon.

The bread at FIG is served warm, each in its own paper bag, and accompanied with arugula butter.
Never had arugula butter before, it was quite a nice touch.

Our first orders were from the Snacks section: Tarte Flambee (fromage blanc, blue cheese, lardon) - $6
This was nothing special, more like a mini, less-cheesy pizza.

Roasted Tomato Soup (mascarpone, basil) - $9
Pretty good and hearty, with a nice smokey flavor from the roasted tomatoes. Actually, this reminds me of the tomato soup at Nordstrom's cafe - when it's done right!

Young Beets with Santa Barbara Pistachios - $8
Very good and light and refreshing, but the portion is pretty small.

I thought the portions from the Snacks section were pretty small and doesn't seem to be really worth the price - especially in comparison to the other dishes I had later from the Appetizers section.

Although the next dish I had was called the Mushroom Fricassee ($12), it seems that the focus of the dish was in fact the sweetbreads.
Do share this dish with another person. The mushroom fricassee itself is a bit heavy and add on top of that the pieces of fried sweetbreads and it would make it hard for one person to finish this dish by itself. The mushroom fricassee was delish, the sweetbreads were decent but were a bit on the tough and dry side. They were not the best quality sweetbread, but then again this whole dish was only $12...

Warm Quinoa Salad (chard, butternut squash, toasted almonds) - $13
Delicious, and healthy too! It wasn't so much like a salad rather than a rice bowl - except that the quinoa instead of rice gave it that extra firm texture and a nice flavor. The toasted almonds were also a great addition.

Braised Tongue (tomatillo, breakfast radish) - $11
This was one of the rare occasions I enjoyed tongue in the US. Most tongues I've had in this country were tough, but this one was tender, just like how my family prepares it! The tomatillo sauce is a little spicy, but even I can still eat it so it's not too bad :P I really enjoyed this dish.

Both the braised tongue and quinoa salad made for a great lunch the next day too!

After all this food, and especially the spicy tongue at the end, I wanted something light for dessert, so I just ordered the sorbet. You get 3 scoops, and I just asked for 2 blood oranges and 1 pomegranate.
A bit denser and heavier than your usual "sorbet" but good nonetheless!

The bar at FIG boasts fresh seasonal ingredients and it's currently a great and quiet place to just sit, have a drink, and talk. And of course, eat. I want the restaurant to do well, but hopefully it won't get too crowded!!

Also, with the way we ordered, the $25 certificate didn't put as big a dent as I had hoped. Skip the snacks, just go with appetizers/ entrees and you'll do much better!

Read the reviews from LA&OC Foodie and Carolineoncrack!

FIG Restaurant
101 Wilshire Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 319-3111
www.figsm.com