L.A.-Chinatown- Fee Fi Fo Fum I LOVE DIM SUM

What’s the heartiest and yummiest way to start a day?

DIM SUM!

 Dim Sum is a Cantonese term for a type of Chinese dish that involves small individual portions of food, usually served in a small steamer basket or on a small plate. 

(thank you wikipedia)

 In a Dim Sum eatery, push-carts are rolled around the tables piled high with steaming dumplings, buns, soups, and various other traditional eats. (By traditional I mean delicacies such as chicken feet :P ) You are served a piping hot pot of loose leaf oolong tea and a dish of spicy mustard and chili sauce, and then it’s time to let your inner grub bug go to town! 


Today I went to PLACE: Golden Dragon in the Los Angeles Chinatown. To start off I had shrimp dumplings. They were so soft, tender, and were pure perfection when bathed in my spicy mustard/soy sauce concoction. I also partook in the sticky rice and steamed pork buns. Part of the fun with Dim Sum is the variety. All the portions are small enough to be able to indulge in several different flavors, and affordable enough at 1.75$ and up to not be afraid to try new things.

As well as featuring savory dishes, they also have dessert-type dishes too- things like eggs tarts and Matuan (a chewy dough filled with red bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds, and deep fried.) I personally think most/all the desserts are a little too "out there" for me and stick to getting Chinese cookies somewhere down to road to satisfy my sweet tooth.


Overall, I can concur that Dim-Sum is delish and I love the selections, however Golden Dragon is not consistently up to par. I have gone in the past and often they will be out of certain dishes or some are far from fresh and seem to have been sitting out for a while. I have always heard San Gabriel or Monterey Park is the place to go for the bomb Dim-Sum, but have yet to make it that way. A couple recommendations from friends for places with great Dim-Sum include:


 NBC Seafood
404 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 282-2323



and


Elite Restaurant
700 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 282-9998

BUT, if your like me and are a good distance from Monterey Park and want to try out Golden Dragon to see if Dim-Sum is for you- check 'em out!


Golden Dragon960 North BroadwayLos Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-2039 ‎

L.A.- Santa Monica- Main St.- #3

After driving down Main St. in Santa Monica multiple times a week its hard not to notice some of the cool looking eateries. A restaurant formerly known as La Grande Orange, recently re-named PLACE: M Street Kitchen became my target to satisfy my T.F.T. {Tasty Food Tooth! :) }  I made reservations, and would probably recommend them on weekends but I didn’t see too many people standing around so it could be a mission possible without one.  The atmosphere was upbeat and fun with SEATING: nice patio seating amongst greenery as well as numerous tables inside. 

This is a great date place or cool dinner spot to hit with the comrades. They had an extensive wine and drink menu and the food menu featured a contemporary blend of Asian-Mexican cuisines.  Ranging from “Pulled Chicken Nachitos” -a nacho dish with fresh guacamole, tomato salsa, cheddar and Oaxaca cheese- to  sushi rolls- this place had the best options that just seemed to work surprisingly great together. 

For entrees they had fresh fish dishes as well as pasta and fried chicken. Because of my recent hankering for fried chicken I naturally went for the “Dixie Pan-Fried Chicken” which came with mashed potatoes and made-to-order coleslaw. It was pretty darn delicious. The chicken was not oil soaked and the potatoes were fluffy and smooth. The only problem I had was lack of dressing for the chicken. Cranberry or gravy would have been ideal…but ranch seemed to hit the spot. A fellow diner I was accompanied with got the filet mignon tacos. At first glance I was entertained by the minimal substance on the plate but figured some people don’t eat a lot? LOL. 

Anyways they were also bomb to which I concluded this place rocks! To finish the fulfilling meal off my party ordered every dessert  on the dessert menu, making me overwhelmingly excited and ready to devour numerous desserts in: 

*THE GRUB BUG vs. THE DESSERT MENU*

(…GaMe On!!) A warm chocolate cookie with ice cream, carrot cake, banana cream pie cake, and lemon pound cake adorned the table within minutes. Then,  within minutes I was ShUt DoWn. The richness ultimately kicked in and left much of the dessert hanging…sad day.  Each dessert was so “just right” I was impressed. When choosing I highly recommend whichever one your gut is attracted to, but highly highly recommend the fresh, chewy, ooey-gooey chocolate chip cookie with ice cream.

OVERALL: M Street Kitchen is yet another personally recommended eatery. The staff was friendly, helpful, and smiley ( <--- current day bonus) plus the atmosphere was bubbly and pleasurable. This is a cool spot to go to on a Friday or Saturday with the hustle and bustle of the bars, restaurants, and nightlife going on throughout Main St, but also a cool spot probably at any time.  They have an American-type breakfast menu with benedicts, scrambles, and pancakes as well as salads, sandwiches, burgers, and tacos for lunch. But the yumminess does not stop there! They even have an adjoining pizza joint, Stella Rossa. …With a big cool looking bar, and awesome smells of pizza no doubt will I check out their pizza soon!

To peek at M Streets menu further, check out their website:

M Street Kitchen

Or just go peek at them directly! 

2000 Main St # D
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 396-9152

Conquering home cooking- part one

While I love eating out, and finding the hidden gems of eateries, I also LOVE home cooking. There’s something about quality homemade food that can’t beat even the posh-est fine dining restaurant. I grew up with my mom cooking constantly for me and the rest of my family with international flavors daily and a great array of ingredients and variety of dishes. I guess this is where my passion for food spawned and here we are. Anyways, I have decided to incorporate my personal home cooking recipes on the blog so I can share other delightful tastes with those who might not have the time or ability to eat out 24/7.

Recently, I have been in search of nutritious and delicious dishes and snacks that will also not break the bank. When I came home today The BF had mentioned he had watched The Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten) make granola bars. awwwww (heavens chimes) WHY have I not thought of making such a scrumptious healthy snack before?! I took a look at the recipe….talk about simple. It called for butter and sugar but since I'm trying to whip my body to be beach ready I figured how bad could it be to leave those ingredients out.

Here’s my rendition of Ina’s granola:

Ingredients:

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded coconut

1 tablespoon brown sugar (possibly unnecessary if desired to void)

½ cup flax seed

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup agave (honey can also substitute)

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup dried chopped cranberries

½ cup dried chopped apricots

Directions:

1.     Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper

2.     Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan (not the prepared buttered pan) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the flax seed.

3.     Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F

4.     Place the honey, agave, sugar, and vanilla in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the apricots and cranberries then stir well.

5.     Pour the nutty mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for an hour or 2 then remove from pan and dismember into little pieces.

*Keep note that I turned this into just a loose granola recipe, I believe the consistency differs from Ina’s granola bars due to lack of butter and amount of sugar*

Now all that’s left is enjoy. It’s a great snack on its own, but is heavenly in Greek yogurt and also mixed into plain cereal like Crispix. 

$ - The cost of creating this masterpiece was roughly 20 bucks....but with PLENTY of leftover ingredients to create another batch or two :) 

If your interested in Ina's granola bars, check out her recipe @ Barefoot Contessa Granola Bars