Kotohira Restaurant

I'm not in this area often, but was attending an audiophile event in the area. What I love about traveling a few 10-30 miles outside of my neighborhood is that it really pushed me to find a new restaurant to try. Being at the event, walking up and down stairs, visiting rooms by rooms filled with amazing HiFi can really stir up an appetite. It can also make me very hangry. 

What sucks about being a nowaday foodie is no matter what, you are in charge of picking a place. Even if that baton has passed... it always comes back.

Kotohira was discovered by the love Yelp app. I'm not a fan of the reviews people leave, but I use it just to know what there is around me. I've been to this plaza before where Kotohira is located. I've eaten at Furaibo a few times mainly for their tebasaki karaage. 

I wanted something warm, hearty, and comforting. Kotohira was a perfect choice. It had the traditional Japanese lunch combos available with sizeable bowls that will make you take a nap. Here are a few things I was able to snap.

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Side udon that comes with a combo. Slurp away.

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Pan fried gyoza. Dip this in a mixture of vinegar and hot chili oil.

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Chicken Karaage. Another one of my favorite dishes as mentioned before somewhere in this blog. I love extra lemons. I'm salivating just thinking about it.

Bento combination with tuna sashimi, chicken karaage, grilled saba, tempura, and Japanese root vegetable. When I went to Japan a few years ago, I ate a lot of combinations like this. It's really comforting and brings back a nostalgic memory.

unagi over hot rice. 

Subtle scoop of Neapolitan ice cream.

Edit 1747 W Redondo Beach Blvd Gardena, CA 90247

Tasty Duck - San Gabriel

I grew up on a lot of food now that I think about it. Roast duck with a few bowls of steamy white rice is one of my top comfort foods. The way the fat drips into the rice with all the natural flavors just makes my feet tap. Peking duck is kind of like that in a different way. It's sophisticated and more refined. There's more technique to get peking duck perfect. With that said, there isn't anything sadder than a peking duck with saggy skin. No one wants a saggy skin.

There are different combos you can order here aside from ordering dishes individually. This combo comes with the Peking duck 3 ways. The classic Peking duck comes with thin pancakes, hoisin, cucumber, and scallions.

I find it truly amazing. I haven't had enough Peking duck in my life, but many to roast duck that I can say this is delicious. Skin is crispy, meat is tender. The pancake wraps had nice flavor. This is a must.

Soup is also made as part of the 3 way duck combo. 

Sprout stir fry with duck. Not a huge fan of this. Mainly because my mom made me pluck the end of these sprouts growing up.

Happy Family. Wine chicken, beef, and jelly fish salad.

Filet mignon cubes with black pepper sauce. Always a favorite.

Scallop and veggies served over a crispy noodle basket. One of my favorites as well. 

Not in the combo. Sticky rice with BBQ Eel. I highly recommend this. I'm a huge fan of sticky rice. Eel has a natural fat that renders through the rice. There's something absolutely heavenly about this dish. Remember to pace yourself.

Enjoy!

Momed - Atwater Village

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Momed is one of my favorite casual spots to hit up. It's tucked away the residential area within Atwater Village. You would really need to want to come here in order to find it. I've had a few items from the countless times I've been here. Here's what I tried that I haven't introduced before.

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Duck Shawarma

Blistered cherry tomatoes, black mission figs, garlic aioli, arugula, onions, rolled in house-made lavash. Hearty and definitely amazing. I absolutely loved these momo chips. You get a choice of salad or these chips. I highly recommend the chips... I mean... there's already arugula in the wrap. I loved the black mission figs in this wrap. It added another level of texture and sweetness that complimented this succulent duck.

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SHORT RIB FRICASSÉE

braised short rib, roasted fingerling potatoes, caramelized onions, applewood smoked cheddar, arugula, 2-sunny organic eggs, ciabatta.

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Short ribs were tender. Nothing beats a runny egg yolk with a nice hearty bread to scoop it all up. A great fuel starter before hitting the gym or to recover from a hangover. My stomach is grumbling all over again.

3245 Casitas Ave Los Angeles, CA 90039

Boiling Seafood Wok

My brother introduced me to Boiling Seafood Wok. Funny that I've never seen this here. I've been to this tiny plaza to buy donuts. Then again, there are tons of hole in the restaurants just like this all over 626. At this point, I recommend you just checking it out without reviewing on Yelp. Most of the reviews are biased anyways. And honestly, it's the places you least expect to be great that comes out on top. My only recommendation is to always bring cash.

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Complimentary soup during lunch

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This is the boiling Chilean sea bass pot. This was supposed to be spicy, but I found it far from it. If anything, there's a strong dose of white pepper. This was simple, but comforting. You will find bean sprouts, cabbage, tomatoes, pickled cabbage, and leaf celery (aka chinese celery). You can add noodles to this, but I love soaking this into my rice. The pot comes with a butane stove. You can also order this in a larger size as well with the addition of adding more seafood if you want to pay extra.

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Chinese green mustard. I wasn't a fan of this growing up because of the slight bitterness this had. I've definitely grown to love this vegetable. In fact, I started to love greens that contained more fiber. This isn't something I would order if I see pea tips or ong choy on the menu, but since we ordered a few fatty dishes that day it felt suited for the occasion. 

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Steamed chicken is a staple of Chinese cuisine. I don't know what about it makes it for me, but I always like to order steamed chicken. This is served bone-in with a soy-ginger-onion oil. Growing up, this appeared on the table a lot with the usual bowls of rice.

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Braised pork belly is something I naturally gravitate towards. It takes a lot of time to perfect this dish. I've had this inconsistently prepared where parts would be dry why certain edges would melt. This was pretty good. I definitely recommend this if you're a pork belly lover like me. This is like the Chinese version of pork kakuni. A dish from heaven for all the rice lovers as well.

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Fried large pork intestines. Ok. I get it. Looks gross, because it does. And it takes the right people to share this with. It's not something I get to order. Normally, I am the only one that wants this, so it's not ideal to order this. Luckily, the company I was amongst enabled me to order this. A good fried pork intestine will be cleaned out from any... impurities.. that may still linger within the linings. Should be boiled ahead in a light seasoned broth to tenderize the meat. Must be fried golden and crispy. From time to time, the intestines may be stuffed with green onions. This helps reduce the gamey flavor, but I grew up eating this so I don't mind it. This and some beer is the perfect late night grub.

Life is short, try new things.

7940 Garvey Ave Ste 108 Rosemead, CA 91770

Lawry's The Prime Rib - Beverly Hills

Being in a family of meat eaters, we've never really dined out for Prime Rib. A chophouse is something we are more prone to show up at, but we decided to check out Lawry's for my dad's birthday. You may know them for their seasonings sold in markets, but they actually have a few restaurants dedicated to their classic old fashioned Prime Rib served tableside.

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Fresh Sourdough still hot and steamy.

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So good, but beware! If you plan to order additional sides with your meal, this will definitely make you full quicker. 

An order of Prime Rib comes with a spinning salad as a starter.

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Horseradish cream with horseradish on the side if you like more kick.

The Prime Rib silver cart comes rolling by as soon as your plates are cleared. Your server will ask which cut you would like. We all ordered their signature Lawry's cut. They also have a California cut which is slightly smaller and the English cut which is 3 thin sliced (though I saw some having 2, maybe it depends on the size of the roast). There is also 2 sizes over Lawry's cut. The Jim Brady followed by the Bowl Cut. Pick your poison. Basically, pick how long you would like to hibernate for. Each plate comes with a splat of mashed potatoes and gravy with a Yorkshire pudding.

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Medium Rare. With Au Jus. I skipped the horseradish cream and went straight for the horseradish. We ordered all the sides. From creamed corn to creamed spinach. A small disclaimer that the spinach has bacon.

Happy Birthday Dad!