Andy Gavin's Blog, page 80
September 22, 2018
Eating Chengdu – Fiery Hot Pot
Restaurant: ? Hot Pot
Location: ? read the Chinese card below
Date: August 4, 2018
Cuisine: Szechuan Hot Pot
Rating: Stomach of Ox in Chili Oil says it all
_A visit to Chengdu wouldn’t be right without some fiery Chengdu Hot Pot to cleanse the GI.
Nearby was another of those restored streets that looks like the China you wish was still around.
Replete with pole toting vendors.
And giant gates.
This is our hot pot. It was recommended to us because they have individual pots and actual vege...
September 21, 2018
Major Coche to the Dome-O
Location: 1725 Naud St, Los Angeles, CA 90012 (323) 545-4880
Date: July 26, 2018
Cuisine: Korean Fusion
Rating: Big dishes amazing
_It’s with gigantic expectation that NY restaurateur David Chang opens his first LA outpost.
Looking on the map, I was pretty skeptical of the weird between Chinatown and Dodger’s Stadium location — a totally annoying spot for me to get to during traffic! Two brutal hours! It took Fred much less time to get here from the OC!
The area...
September 19, 2018
Eating Chengdu – Alley Noodles
Restaurant: Somewhere near the Kuanxiangzi Alley
Location: ? Central Chengdu
Date: August 4, 2018
Cuisine: Szechuan Noodle House
Rating: OG dan dan
_Chengdu has a couple areas now of older style buildings that have been restored and turned into pedestrian streets filled with different mixes of stores, restaurants, and vendors.
This one, apparently Kuanxiangzi Alley (someone who reads Chinese can confirm), is very popular and upscale.
And crowded!
Among other Szechuan delicacies they offer...
September 16, 2018
Charcoal – First Foray
Restaurant: Charcoal Venice
Location: 425 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey, CA 90292. (310) 751-6794
Date: July 21, 2018
Cuisine: New American Grill
Rating: Interesting so far
_We were out on a family bike ride and decided to stop at Josiah Citrin’s (owner/chef of Melisse) newish more casual eatery for brunch.
It’s located on Washington Blvd about 2 blocks in from the ocean.
The space is contemporary and attractive.
Maybe about 3000 square feet.
Grilled Cucumber Gazpacho. Persian Cucumber...
September 14, 2018
Eating Chengdu – Chen Mapo Tofu
Restaurant: Chen Mapo Tofu
Location: 197 W Yulong St, LuoMaShi, Qingyang Qu, Chengdu Shi, Sichuan Sheng, China, 610000. +86 28 8675 4512
Date: August 3, 2018
Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese
Rating: Most balanced Szechuan I’ve had
_Being an obsessive lover of Szechuan food I’ve been wanting to go to Chengdu for years.
It’s really quite a neat city with both modern…
And “antique” buildings — something you don’t see as much of in many Chinese towns. It also has A LOT of crowds having grown in the l...
September 12, 2018
Hamji Park
Restaurant: Hamji Park
Location: 4135 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 733-8333
Date: July 10, 2018
Cuisine: Korean Pork BBQ
Rating: Great ribs and pork
_K-Town adventure time, with LA’s awesome Korean food scene.
Hamji Park has a couple outputs, but we go to the Pico one. The small chain specializes in Pork BBQ Ribs (Korean style, of course) and various other pork products.
The interior is pretty much all K-Town — down to the ceiling hoods.
This is a surprisingly short menu for a...
September 10, 2018
Eating Xi’an – De Fa Cheng
Restaurant: De Fa Cheng
Location: 28 Pingan Market, Bell Tower Square, Xi’an, China. +86 29 8767 6615
Date: August 2, 2018
Cuisine: Chinese Dumpling House
Rating: Really interesting if a bit “big”
_When I came to China in 2008 I ate at De Fa Cheng and enjoyed it tremendously. That trip, it was one of my favorite meals and I always regretted only taking a photo or two (it wasn’t until 2010 that I started photoing every meal I ate). It claims to offer “authentic” Tang Dynasty dumpling feasts....
September 8, 2018
Going Native
Restaurant: Native
Location: 620 Santa Monica Blvd Suite A, Santa Monica, CA 90401. (310) 458-4427
Date: July 7, 2018
Cuisine: California Small Plates
Rating: Have to try more
_When we last checked in with Nyesha Arrington, she was helming Leona. Now that’s closed and she’s opened a new place in the Santa Monica Yacht Club space. I never even made it to SMYC, always meant to, as friends were owners. Although I have mixed feelings about Tar & Roses (their other place).
Anyway, I mostly remem...
September 7, 2018
Eating Xi’an – Warrior Lunch
Restaurant: ? near Terracotta Warriors
Location: ? near Terracotta Warriors
Date: August 2, 2018
Cuisine: Shaanxi Chinese
Rating: hearty and tasty
_After a nice hot (100 deg) morning visiting the vast terracotta army of Qin Shi Huang it was time for lunch.
The human version of this army most have eaten a lot of noodles!
We stopped at a local place just outside the grounds. The name wasn’t in English but anyone who reads Chinese can feel free to zoom in and translate for me. Please message...
September 5, 2018
Ride the Banana Boat
Restaurant: Banana Leaf
Location: 5835 Temple City Blvd, Temple City, CA 91780. (626) 309-0209
Date: July 8, 2018
Cuisine: Indonesian
Rating: The real deal, but we could have ordered a bit more varied stuff
_Sunday is SGV Chinese night, but tonight, while we did venture east to the SGV, we mixed it up a little with Indonesian! Of course we still got in the requisite 90 minute foot massage and a quick visit to the crack house.
Banana leaf is in Temple City very close to Bistro Na and Grand H...
