Viewing entries tagged
shrimp

Katsuya - Glendale

August 23, 2016

John's mom took us here for a quick birthday lunch. We were at the Americana to take her shopping and she decided to might as well take me to a belated birthday meal. I've only been to Katsuya for Happy Hour which was pretty fun. All Happy Hours should be fun. If it's not fun, the truth is probably you aren't a fun person. Just saying...

For $19, you can order their sushi lunch

Sushi top to bottom: tuna, yellowtail, salmon, albacore, shrimp, scallop, and unagi

You get 7 pieces of sushi, a spicy tuna handroll, and a freaking 10 piece California cut roll. Everything was pretty good and definitely worth the $19 lunch deal.

You just have to make sure to eat the handroll first, or the Nori will start to moisten and turns chewy.

We also ordered a Spider Roll to share:

I didn't mention that we all ordered our own sushi lunch special. It was more than enough. We had trouble to finish our spider roll and California rolls. There's normally no wait to be seated which was also a reason for us to check it out. Outdoor seating is preferred though I haven't sat inside before.

Enjoy.

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Weho Bistro - West Hollywood

August 9, 2016

Weho Bistro is a low key French-inspired restaurant located on the corner of La Cienega and Holloway drive. With a large variety of selections on their menu, I am delighted to share a few items from our dinner. Our dinner was accompanied by great friends, Frances, Hugh, Rob, and mi amor John.

1040 N La Cienega Blvd West Hollywood, CA 90069

High Valley Vineyard 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon - Excellent red. Full bodied with a smooth finish.

Bread, herb olive oil & balsamic, and olive tapenade.

We planned ordered family style. A few items from their shareables were avocado and burrata toast, escargot, Cheese and pate board, mushroom soup and french onion soup.

Filet Mignon with Peppercorn Mushroom sauce

Angus filet, wrapped in bacon, seared till golden and medium rare, topped with crispy onions, served with a side of potatoes dauphinoise and tomato provencal . The mushroom sauce was killer in this dish. Each bite of the filet gets a glorious dip with a slather of mushrooms.

Duck breast with a cognac and honey sauce. The duck was cooked beautifully. Crispy skin which soaked up the decadent cognac sauce. Also served with potato dauphinoise and their tomato provencal.

Six sauteed JUMBO tiger shrimp drenched in a garlic, basil, shallot, and tomato sauce served with a basmati and wild rice medley and sauteed garlic green beans. Anything drench in the sauce described above is an absolutely hands down "GIVE IT TO ME" dish. I can't help but eat the tails as well.

Dessert crepes, tartetatin, ice cream sandwich and banana creme brulee to end our dinner extravaganza.

Parking is available shared with CVS. That's right, free parking in West Hollywood. So surreal.

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Happy Birthday Donny Wu

October 19, 2015

Ok. Took some of the worst pictures this night for Donny's birthday. I haven't mastered shooting in dark light... and the amount of old fashioned I was drinking didn't help either. We had reservations at Arroyo Chophouse in Pasadena. The chophouse is one of the Yorbas and Donny's favorite places to celebrate a birthday. And when they do, they do it big.

We... had a lot of these. This was the Donny birthday drink. Every year for his birthday, most of everyone will have this as their drink of choice. It goes down so smooth which makes it a dangerous cocktail. Based with bourbon or rye, the orange twist and bitters makes me a happy girl. Don't forget to drink your water (oops).

They made it to my decent photos. Before the camera shakes... and more old fashioned.

Shrimp and King Crab platter. (Alaskan Crab $18, Jumbo shrimp cocktail $14)

First off, the shrimp was supposed to be cocktail shrimp, so this (BBQ Shrimp) had to be returned. When the dish came back, everyone were immediately digging in to one of the largest shrimps I've ever seen used for cocktail. And by the way, it was DELICIOUS. King Crab? DELICIOUS. Everything was extraordinary.

Yeah I don't remember what kind of oysters these were. Just call this post a failed post. BUT, we ordered 2 dozens of the small oysters that they have since they carried 2 that night. These oysters were spectacular! Cold, clean, buttery, had a nice snap with a sweet finish.

We (as in Donny) ordered 4 of these. It was melting your buns good. Food gasmic in your mouth good. It actually made my mouth feel sexy if that makes sense. It doesn't huh? Well this was one of the best Foie Gras I've had. It's simple. They use a thick piece for every order. A literal explosion of flavor in your mouth, and one of my absolute favorite decadent things to order.

The Wagyu New York strip came in at 14oz. I was underwhelmed by how chewy it was.. With that being said, it did have good flavor, but it definitely didn't meet the expectations of a Wagyu Steak. American Wagyu or Japanese Wagyu, I've had both, and this was a bit disappointing.

On the other hand, I tried their Wagyu filet mignon, and that was much tastier coming in at $51.

Of course Donny ordered the Wagyu Rib Eye. The texture of the steak was also underwhelming. The fat in the steak however, was very flavorful. For the price, I would definitely order their regular rib eye...

or their Tomahawk:

This beast, made for a carnivore, came in at a womping 2 1/4 pounds. No knife, just gram the handle and chop it off like this was your last meal. Yes, 2 people can share it and maybe even 3. But you are about to die, so skip the onion ring and eat this up. I'm salivating all over again.

Of course, Donny ordered every single dish on the menu minus the Souffle. I say skip the dessert next time, and order yourself another Foie Gras. Just saying.

Um so yeah. I do have more photos, but it's pretty blurry. Just like the rest of the night.

$1,666 and tip wasn't even included? Bold. We strolled to Old Town Pasadena. Crashed the Blind Donkey (btw yummy burgers), had more old fashioned, water, and played a few rounds of Shuffle Board. Followed the birthday boy to Kings Row Gastropub. And then, ended up in my first UBER ride to another place that I had no idea existed. From there, there were blue liquid shots. I lost track.

And guess what? I drove everyone home! I'm SO AWESOME!

And the next day?

Hungover as F!

Mother F'ers. Happy birthday Wu! till whoevers birthday is next. I will be hibernating.

Life is good.

Daiisies

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Bun Rieu

October 19, 2015

Hi Guys! It's been a while, but I am back after a busy week. If you follow my Instagram: daiisies_eat, you will see a post I made of Bun Rieu.

My mom called me on my way home from work to let me know she made some Vietnamese noodle soup for me to take home. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew I was going to enjoy it. I think when it comes to flavor, I get that from my mom. But when it comes to creativity, I get that from my dad. Because everything my mom makes, I love. My dad? I'm not sure I know where to start... but he definitely gets an A for reaching out of the box... (sorry pops!).

Upon arrival to my moms, I noticed she was lugging out this huge bag. I wasn't sure what was inside besides "Vietnamese Noodles". I kept thinking it was Pho, because... heck we are Chinese, since when did my mom know how to make anything Vietnamese?

After parking my car, I did the usual with grabbing my phone, keys, bag, lunch pale, and then the dinner my mom made. It was HEAVIER than I expected. If my neighbors didn't know who I was, they would've probably assumed I stole something with my expression.

Well, you guys already know what's inside since the post reads Bun Rieu and it was also mentioned in the beginning of this post. But, DENG just look at this. She was not kidding about dinner. It was literally Bun Rieu for days. She was smart to put newspaper underneath, because it was spilling the way that I was driving.

Vermicelli noodles? Definitely not pho. My buddy boy there was intrigued with the smell too. On top of the loaded Vermicelli noodles were different herbs: mint (different kinds), Coriander, basil, and leafy romaine.

My heart exploded. Bun Rieu is a tomato based soup with crab, ground pork and shrimp, and some eggs mixed in throughout the soup. For this soup, my mom added pork feet and pork bone.

Put these babies together and you get:

The pork meat balls were mixed with shrimp. The soup had a strong crab shell flavor (Amazing). The pork feet has a nice gelatinous texture that I love. No it is not disgusting. I grew up eating this and probably had some when I was in my mums belly. I slurred in some thai spicy chili garlic paste to excel the flavors. It was a super hot day from what I remember. If I closed my eyes, I could swear I was in Asia. With the sweat dripping down my brows, the bubbles of sweat coming out of my back saying hello... and the awesome sweat stash that is haunting me for days.

Oh crap I just remembered that my mom made me wontons as well! I will update this with the recipe once my mom decides to teach me.

Now... go call your mom, and tell her you love her.. so she will make you some dinner.

Happy slurping.

Daiisies

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Wine & Dine

Katsuya - Glendale

Weho Bistro - West Hollywood

Happy Birthday Donny Wu

Bun Rieu