Viewing entries tagged
oxtail

Georgie - Beverly Hills

September 9, 2017

I had the pleasure of dining at Georgie located in what I like to call restaurant row of Beverly Hills. Tucked away in Montage Beverly Hills you will find Georgie, a modern American cuisine showcasing quality ingredients treated with Michelin technique-driven preparations by Executive Chef Wilfrid Hocquet. Extremely humble and passionate about cooking, he brings his many years of experience from working in Michelin Restaurants in France to Le Louis XV out in Monaco.

G eorgie
225 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Without much time put in (ok maybe a little), we ordered a few rounds of appetizers to start.

The fennel added such a nice touch without being too herbaceous. I loved the crackling of coarse salt which complimented the butter. These are made to order and something I would recommend.

House Pâté cut up into squares so it's easy to share. Topped with Peach Compote, Pickles, Jus Vinaigrette. There's all kinds of meat mixture in this. I believe there is chicken, duck, foie gras, and a few more. Good stuff.

Served with Cantaloupe, Honeydew, Calamansi. I can almost never say no to Hamachi Crudo. It's always a refreshing appetizer that feels guilt free. Gorgeous plating again.

Meaty Dungeness Crab served with Cucumber, Preserved Lemon Aioli, Tomato Jelly. Another extremely refreshing appetizer. And if you've never had tomato jelly, you are missing out. This dish is what summer is all about.

Burrate is slowly surfacing a lot of restaurants these days. Georgie showcases the burrata with Stone Fruit, Market Tomatoes, Apple Cider Vinaigrette. The fruits were a mixture of goodies. All in season. Loved how all the appetizers ties in together.

This was the special of the night. Handmade Cavatelli pasta with braised oxtail. The oxtail was so tender. The Cavatelli pasta was delicious with the slightest chew you love from fresh pasta. I would be on a lookout for specials if you come.

A fish you would rarely find in any restaurants. I believe it's a European Sea Bass. Delicate and holds up to a lot of flavors. Served with Artichokes, Zucchini, Saffron Sauce. The silky skin on the fish is captivating.

Perfectly cooked rack of lamb. Little to no gaminess which is what I prefer. Served with ground lamb stuffed in eggplant, chickpea crisps, and savory jus. It's hard to find lamb cooked like this. I feel like in America, we love things with tons of char. I know that's how I like my meat at least. This had a slight golden brown all around the lamb. It didn't take over the flavor of the meat. This was really good. I would order this again.

Chicken is not something I would order. EVER. I can't put together what can make chicken breast different from one to another. I love making it at home, don't get me wrong. But at a restaurant especially one as fancy as this, I would never. But, our host, the ever so sweet Cassandra, highly recommends we tried it. Chicken Breast, served with Confit Carrots, Blackened Potatoes, Tarragon Aioli. BEST bite of the night. Or, hands down probably the best dish of the night. The chicken breast was sous vide so the protein of the meat has broken down to something I've never experienced before in a chicken breast. It almost had a texture of a medium cooked tenderloin. Not stringy at all, easy to cut with a butter knife. Those blackened potatoes were also on a different level. I can never eat potatoes the same way anymore. I can't... with this dish. Must order.

Almost there guys.

Man. Desserts never hit me this hard. I'm not a big sweets girl. All my friends know that. Even my attitude shows. But this was flipping good. We think that might be a pistachio gelato. Salted Almond Butter Gelato, Almond Dacquoise, Malted Milk Crumble. If I died that day, I would be happy. But I didn't. And another dessert was served.

This should be the last thing you eat. If you want something rich, order an espresso or hot coffee. Fresh Mint Chip Gelato & Sweet Cream. I slapped my forehead in disbelief how delicious that mint chip gelato was. With the sweet strawberries and little meringue... there's no other way to end the night.

But it ends. I will be back soon. They seem to have a pretty tasty looking breakfast menu as well I am dying to try.

Thank you Georgie for having me.

Au Revoir

Georgie
225 N. Canon Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

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Yangji Gamjatang - KTown

August 20, 2017

This was the first place I took blogging more seriously. A lot of my friends if not 99% of them all love Korean BBQ. All love trekking out to Korea Town to find the best all you can eat BBQ. But a lot of them, and acquaintances that I've come across never had other Korean cuisines besides that.

I don't remember if I was hungover when I first came here. That or still drunk. Who knows. But this place is legit and will definitely be a cure for your hangover or is you just caught a cold. No matter what it is, any excuse is a good excuse to check out Yangji Gamjatang.

3470 W 6th St Ste 6 Los Angeles, CA 90020

Every table gets water served in a Psy water bottle. It reads, you could drink me or you can have soju and beer instead. That's not what it says but, it's funny to think so.

With your order, you get the famous Banchan that these restaurants are known for.

I like to try something new every time I come. This is their oxtail soup. It's good, simple and clean if you want something lighter, but their gamjatang is still my favorite.

Here it is. Their gamjatang. Oh so delicious pork bone soup braised in a light spicy broth with potatoes. You can share this, but I don't recommend it. Just order your own. I add more korean spicy powder to give it more heat. This soup is pretty mild and the broth is also light if I had something critical to say. This soup showcases the pork bone without too many complicating flavors. A must try when you come.

3470 W 6th St Ste 6 Los Angeles, CA 90020

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Phoenix - classic Chinese cuisine

November 2, 2015

Phoenix has been around since 1965. One of my recent posts (here) about Phoenix in Alhambra was opened in 1997.

My father immigrated to the States in 1980, and like most Chinese immigrants, a lot of them resided in Chinatown. Makes sense right? My dad lived right across from Phoenix, so you can imagine how often he ate here. There's a server there, that has been working for Phoenix in Chinatown since 1981. That means my dad has been there longer than he has.

Our whole family would come dine here pretty often for their signature Phoenix boneless chicken. Not knowing much as a child, I didn't know how precious the food actually was. When people ask me, what's a good authentic Chinese cuisine, I would have a blur. Like.. Besides white rice? Because I know we eat that. Without that we would die. But after many food adventures, I always find my most comforting Chinese food memories, besides my parents cooking, but to be kept here.

It was a late dinner this past weekend, and my brother David and his girlfriend Angela were coming home after a vacation trip to New York. As tired as we were, we couldn't say no to a family dinner at Phoenix. I finished a Taco tasting for Tacos Tu Madre that day, had 3 drinks, then edited and blogged for 4 hours. Yeah I was pretty tired.

I didn't think I was hungry until the menu items were thrown around. Phoenix chicken... Salty Sour pickled cabbage... Fried intestines... I don't need anything to have my palate awake and read to eat.

At the Phoenix in Chinatown, here is where you will find dishes that are not served at other locations.

This is one of ours, and definitely my dads favorite dish. This may sell out sometimes depending if they have the pickled cabbage or not. The owner of Phoenix still makes the cabbage, in house, himself. The dish is also sweet which marries nicely with the sourness of the cabbage. The portions are also pretty hefty.

I grew up eating their boneless chicken, but have come to realization that I love this with bone in so much more. And honestly, I like to pick at the bones for the meat. So much more flavor, and besides, I am a professional at his. Ask people who know me. By the way, this was a half order.

Water Spinach with Malay sauce (excuse the blur)

One of our favorite veggies (I know everything is a "favorite"). As mentioned before, the leaves soaks up so much flavor of the Malay sauce (or any sauce you pick). The stems has a nice snap. I love chewing this with my rice. The rice soaks up the sauce, scoop one big bite, veggie, bite of chicken. Pretty damn perfect.

I love this dish! Only if made correctly. I'm not sure if they make the sauce in house, but assuming they do because it turns out slightly different sometimes. It's a little tangy, and has a nice round of sweet notes from the tangerine. The pineapple and green peppers are a good palate cleanser. And, these aren't as crispy. A lot of Chinese food, is breaded so it can adhere to sauces better. Like a lot of different cultures, this technique is widely used.

Squishy interior, crunchy ext. What more can I say? This is, however, an acquired flavor. I'm not expecting everyone to be popping a few of these in their mouths and enjoy the flavor and texture. But if you can get pass what you are eating, you just might, actually fall in love. Hey, eating this is like white rice to me. It's hella normal and it's not disgusting at all. A salad with no meat is disgusting. Sorry.

Another specialty you will only find here. A big Cantonese cuisine that was also made in our household. The oxtail is braised for hours in Asian spices like 5 spice and ginger, probably 50 kinds of soy sauce, till its fork tender. Though I think this needed a good 1-2 more hours, it was still very flavorful. And look at all that tail.

Ummm yeah this was for me. Always order this with your food. I eat the Jalapeños and everything.

Going back to my dad. It's amazing and scary how time flies. I know I'm young, have so much ahead of me, but being here just makes me feel some of the most important memories are passed.

My dad and the waiter that had been working there for over 30 years, were discussing past workers at Phoenix. Some retired. Some passed away. My dad would think some workers were young, but those memories were long gone as they are 85 now.

If you are ever in Los Angeles, and want Chinese, Cantonese, food, come here. To this location in downtown. And take a look around. It may seem updated because it had been renovated not too long ago, but there's still a warmth here that you won't find anywhere else. The veteran that has been there for 30+ years is basically, the only history we have left of that place.

And always, look at their menu board for their specials. It's written in Chinese, but I'm sure you may ask a server to assist you.

Now go bond with your family and loved ones. Moments like these are not only for the holidays.

301 Ord St, Los Angeles, CA 90012

daisy

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Wine & Dine

Georgie - Beverly Hills

Yangji Gamjatang - KTown

Phoenix - classic Chinese cuisine