cardinal79 "I like blueberries."

Okay, so after hearing my one friend rant about this place as the only desperation late night spot after clubbing, I masochistically had to try the place to see if the rumors were true.

And hey, my friend was totally overreacting (or he just hates Cantonese food) because Daimo’s is a reasonably priced nosh spot that should not be relegated to the culinary wasteland. I thought that all they would have would be those watery noodle soups with vegetables and wooden yellow stick noodles floating in the broth. But no, they had a ton of stir-fries, steamed fish, stews, hotpots, and bbq plates. I had the bbq pork over rice, and although a tad chewy and not as charred and glazed around the edges as I would’ve preferred, it was satisfying and filled me up.

And surprise surprise, the service was actually pretty good! The waiter dropped off my lunch with a smile on her face and a bounce in her step, and after I paid my bill she said “thank you, come again.”

Wow, absolutely amazing. I never would have thought that one of the most exquisite Japanese restaurant’s I’ve been to in the US would be in my old hometown of Orange. Run by a friendly husband and wife team, Ohshima provides a refreshingly eclectic and delicious take on the traditional Japanese small plate dinner with global combinations and exciting textural juxtapositions.

After wetting our appetite with a beer and a junmai-shu sake recommended by the chef, we started with little bitter melon ringlets stuffed with ground beef and lightly fried in tempura batter. The sharpness of the vegetable cut the richness of the beef with the tempura batter providing a perfectly light, non-oily coating. We also had broiled black cod in a yuzu (Japanese lime) based marinade- a nice departure from the usually sweet miso marinated version. Then came a green papaya salad with dried little fish and Japanese rice crackers – a crunchy twist on a Thai classic- followed by a custard soup with bbq eel. The custard soup was an absolute revelation, lighter than any version I’ve ever had with a deliciously perfumed broth surrounding a plump piece of eel.

And if this weren’t enough, there was the sushi. I don’t know much about sushi, but there were over 20 different varieties flown in from Japan, many of which I hadn’t seen since living in the mother land. I had scallop, amberjack, black snapper, gizzard shad, needle fish, mackerel, yellowjack, and some unknown shellfish. Every fish was wonderfully fresh and the chef presented a variety of textures and flavors ranging from the delicate, creamily soft scallop to the tender and richly oceanic yellowjack. Each piece came pre-seasoned and sauced, leaving the diner only with the task of consumption.

And it didn’t stop there! On the house, the chef provided us with a seaweed salad with bits of raw tuna in a miso based dressing. It was an awesome textural composition with the crunchy seaweed and the tender tuna all lightly veiled in a subtlety sweet dressing.

We concluded the meal with green tea and azuki bean ice cream. A perfect ending to an already perfect meal.

For many Japanese Americans growing up in LA, the Far East Cafe in Little Tokyo was the bastion of Chinese cuisine for more than 60 years. The Northridge Earthquake put an end to that reign, leaving thousands of loyal patrons stranded and hungry. But fortunately for the grumbling horde, the son of the original owner of the Far East has run a quiet outpost of the restaurant in East LA for several years.

Eating at the New Formosa Cafe is far from a “new” experience but a re-acquaintance with an old standby. Almond duck, seaweed soup, tomato beef- all the old favorites we loved and that mystify traditional Chinese foodies are there. Everything is hearty, saucy, and earthy- the kind of food that makes you want to sop it all up with a bowl of white rice.

The food certainly does not surpass the glorious imports in San Gabriel nor does it even represent the best of its genre (that would be Wong’s in Garden Grove). Nevertheless, the New Formosa Cafe is history in the present and a reminder of all things we loved growing up.

Awesome old school Chinese food. Hard to find places that serve these kinds of dishes like almond duck (pressed fried duck with almond sauce), hom yu (ground pork and salted fish), etc. Place has been here since the 60’s.

I’ve been eating here since I was a kid and my parents have been eating there before me. This place is not a traditional Cantonese restaurant. I’m not sure whether it’s Americanized Chinese food or if it’s Chinese food altered to fit Japanese tastes. All I know is that nothing goes better with a bowl of rice than a plate of Wong’s almond duck. And those egg rolls are unlike anything else- the skin is thick almost like fried wonton skin and the interior is packed full of ground pork without a vegetable in sight. They’re absolutely marvelous dipped in the sweet and sour sauce which isn’t cloyingly sweet like the ruby red jelly most are familiar with.

Grace and I came here for our anniversary, and we had a marvelous experience. The chef’s reputation for traditional French fare with a “California flair” was well-earned. I had a tasting of sauerkraut three-ways, then salmon in a pistachio crust, and finished with a loin of lamb with lamb sausage. Grace had a “colorful” vegetable ragout with poached egg, then scallops with truffles, and then filet mignon in a fig and walnut reduction. Although the flavors weren’t wholly unusual, they were interesting enough to stand out from the sea of gourmet restaurants out there, and the execution was flawless with balanced sauces and clean flavors.

The service was wonderful as well. The waiters were all very kind and down to earth, and the management was generous enough to provide us with a special dessert to commemorate our special evening.

I highly recommend Fleur de Lys to anyone celebrating a special occasion or with too much money burdening their wallet.

Oh by the way, Grace paid! Woohoo!

Although I was dreading going to a pharmaceutical dinner with Grace tonight, Aqua pleasantly surprised me with its delicious tasting menu, complementary wine pairings, and thoughtful service. After Michael Mina left, I wondered whether Aqua would rest on its laurels as another pretentious business spot for law firm partners to impress their clients. Although Aqua didn’t overwhelm me, enough of Mina’s influences remain to join a solid new culinary ensemble provided by the resident chef.

We started with Mina’s signature tuna tartar, which was one of the best we’ve ever had with crunchy almonds to contrast with the tender tuna, and the surprising addition of Moroccan harissa power to add a curry-esque spice to a normally mild dish. Awesome combination, plus the white wine (started with a V, and apparently is an oddball grape that no one’s ever heard of) added a flowery aroma that really meshed well with the spice and creaminess of the fish.

Unfortunately, the rest of the dishes were rather ordinary, albeit tasty, renditions of dishes that you can get at most haughty gourmet reliquaries. The halibut in a brioche crust didn’t have the textural juxtaposition which I had hoped for (although the halibut was incredibly moist), and the filet mignon in a red wine reduction was basically a good rendition of something any culinary school grad could scrape from under his/her boot.

Dessert was a molten chocolate cake, and although a crowd pleaser, didn’t offer anything new or exciting. But if you were looking to get your chocolate fix, the dish certainly sufficed, for it was a rich, gooey, cocoa explosion.

Overall, it was a tasty meal, but I still hope to try MIchael Mina’s flagship restaurant at the Westin St. Francis as a basis for comparison.
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