Ta Bom (Brazilian Food Truck)

A bright yellow and green rectangle rolling down the 10 freeway...I followed one day with curiosity as I'd never seen this monster before. I'd heard of a Brazilian food truck in town but had never seen it and knew that I had to try it. I didn't manage to try it that same day but a few weeks after that, they announced that they were going to be close to my workplace...yay!

The foodie crowd, consisting of a couple of coworkers and I, decided we'd hit Ta Bom up since it was in the vicinity. Boy, were we excited! By the time we ordered, I think we managed to thoroughly confuse the poor lady!

Salpicao - Chicken salad wrapped in a spinach tortilla. I hate to start the review with this but this was the worst item we ordered...so let's get it out of the way. Bland and nothing special at all.

Coxinhas (Spicy & Regular) - These were potato balls (shaped like a drop of water) with a chicken, cream cheese mixture inside. I enjoyed the spicy coxinha a lot! The regular was ok but the spicy one was definitely worth it.

Tacos (Chorizo, Steak, Chicken) - Just regular ol' tacos. Nothing too special...no special sauce. Just good tacos. The chorizo was quite greasy but that's how chorizo normally is.

Fruki (Guarana Soda) - Guarana soda imported from Brazil. Made with real cane sugar and just plain tasty. Very pricey but tasty.

Hamburgao - This burger was loaded! Burger patty, tomatoes, lettuce, onion, bacon, cheese, corn, thousand island dressing, potato sticks and an egg. Very tasty and will be a definite reorder the next time we hit the truck.

A great addition to the LA food truck scene.

Hong Kong Palace, Rowland Heights (06.21.11)

We were invited to join a special meal by a family friend. It was a birthday celebration with 8 courses. The restaurant was running a special offered on all days except Saturdays and holidays. Now, we hadn't been back to HK Palace for at least 5 years and we wondered if the food had gone downhill. Nope...true to form, it's stayed pretty consistent.

Course 1...Veggie Dish - Stir fried baby bok choy with king oyster mushrooms, bunashimeji, shimeji and stewed oyster mushrooms.

Course 2...Black Pepper Beef Stir Fry - Very peppery...so peppery, in fact, that our hosts had to wash their beef pieces in their tea to wash off some of the black pepper. It was just fine for the hubby and I (we love spice) but a tad too much for our friends.

Course 3...Traditional Chinese Soup - A very tasty soup made with pork, silkie hen (black chicken), and Chinese herbs. This was when I was reminded that soup is very nourishing and I should make it more often.

Course 4...Broccoli with Chicken & Squid - American broccoli topped with stir fried strips of chicken and squid in a clear sauce. A solid dish. Nothing too special.

Course 5...Peking Duck - Nice fluffy and soft buns with a well prepped Peking Duck. The skin was nice and crisp (not too fatty) and served on a bed of prawn crackers. This place always has great duck.

Course 6...Suckling Pig - This was a deliciously, porky preparation. Perfectly crispy pig skin and nice tender meat underneath. Served with a cucumber salad and hoisin sauce. This place makes the best tender piggy!

Course 7...Yang Chow Fried Rice w/ Crispy Shrimp - This was a basic fried rice but what made it super special were the hundreds of tiny head-on shrimps which were fried and sprinkled on top. The shrimps were almost dried but not really and were absolutely delish! The hubby really enjoyed this dish as did I.

Course 8...Lobster Yee Mein - This was a dish with 2 lobsters served on a bed of super buttery yee mein. The noodles were delicious on their own with all that butter but the lobster added a nice element to the dish. Most people would say that the lobster was the highlight of the dish but, for me, I thoroughly enjoyed the noodles. Probably because I'm a carb loving biotch but to me, the noodles really were awesome!

All this food for $198...serves 8 to 10 guests and they kinda do require you have at least 8 people there. Otherwise the deal is different but not a bad deal for the price.

Yummy World, San Mateo (06.20.11)

My lazy ass is finally getting around to posting on meals we had a couple of months ago.

So...let's talk about Yummy World. Yummy World has been the must-hit place for the hubby every time we go up north. He loves loves loves one of their fish dishes (well...it's fish prepped 2 ways) and I agree it's a good dish.

Fish Two Ways is our must order dish so we ordered it yet again. The first preparation of the fish is "ching-chow." Stop trying to speak Chinese, people! Translated literally it means "clearly stir-fried." It's a simple preparation, really. There's a bed of steamed yu choy and on top of that are chunks of the fish stir fried with red bell peppers. A nice, clean-tasting dish. No heavy sauce...just clean bright flavors.

The second preparation is "fish in clay pot," which had tofu, scallions and fried, breaded pieces of the fish in a brown sauce. I like this prep because of the huge chunks of tofu...this is Chinese comfort food. This is the stuff you crave on a cold rainy night...it just warms and fills you up!

We were in a rush so we only ordered 2 dishes. The second dish was one which we hadn't been able to try in past visits. We ordered the Spare Ribs Chow Fun in Crab Sauce. This dish was a little disappointing to the hubby but I liked it just fine. The dish was served very very hot so a little hard to enjoy given my lack of patience. In fact, I think I did manage to scorch my tongue. Good flavors with huge chunks of eggplant and chunks of what else? spare ribs! Yes, crunchy, chewy, porky spare ribs. Very yum!

I have no doubts that we'll be hitting Yummy World up again on our next trip north.

Bistro Jeanty (06.18.11)

I have to start by saying that I can't write a fair review on Bistro Jeanty as I was a bit under the weather that night. An allergy attack earlier in the day had left me all sniffly and congested so I have to put that out there.

Creme de tomate en croute was good. The puff pastry very flaky and the soup had a nice tartness to it that cut the heaviness of the creme.

Escargots were buttery and buttery and utterly delicious! I love me some butter and I love love love garlic so this was a perfect combo for me. The bread they brought was perfect for the garlic butter left over from the escargot.

Terrine de lapin was good but not outstanding.

Epaule de porc was very tender and a good size portion for the price. This dish did not disappoint. I didn't want anything too heavy and it was just right. The brussel sprouts added that nice bitter tinge to it that really brought out the sweetness in the pork.

Flat iron steak was the special of the day served on a bed of risotto. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare with a pat of butter on top and a very generous serving of risotto.

Daube de boeuf featured a very nice tender portion of beef with mashed potatoes, carrots and peas. My hubby ordered this and he loved the beef. Didn't care for the potatoes so he left those for sicky me who loves the taters.

Entrecote frites was your standard preparation. Great french fries. The meat was cooked just right but nothing special enough to write home about.

A good meal...I will have to return to try again when I'm feeling better.

Ad Hoc (Yountville)

Ad Hoc was one of the last stops on our roadtrip to Canada and back. We decided to take our hosts of sorts to Ad Hoc since we'd given them the Ad Hoc cookbook as a Xmas gift. Rezzie was made 2 months in advance and we weren't sure what to expect as the menu wouldn't be decided until the day of. As we drove down the OR coast to Napa we viewed the menu on Ad Hoc's website...Baby Iceberg Wedge Salad / West TX Style KC Strip Steaks / Fried Soft Shell Crab (supplement) / Cypress Grove Chevre's Humboldt Fog / Peanut Butter Bars. A very simple menu and kind of blah but oh well...what'll you do since the rezzie was set already?

We arrived early for our rezzie and had to wait as another Asian family finished their meal...table was at the front of the house but roomy enough for our party of 8. The place only had a single stall bathroom for each gender. Hmmm...not so good since us women can take a while but again...oh well. We were finally seated and reviewed the simple menu for the night. A bread basket was served and we were all ravenous so we chowed down on the bread from TK's Bouchon Bakery which was just down the street. I'd expected the bread to be better but the butter made it more palatable. We finally decided on a bottle to pair with our meat...2008 Tres Sabores Zinfandel. A nice substantial red to go with the steak and light enough to pair with the crab. Most of our dining companions didn't drink but they would indulge in a just a bit to go with the flow.

Baby Iceberg Wedge Salad...nice and light. The dressing was just right and the bits of bacon were soooo good! You could taste the quality of the bacon and the freshness of the lettuce. The tomatoes were perfectly ripe and the sliced radishes added just enough kick to keep things interesting.

West TX KC Strip Steak...cooked to perfection! The meat was the perfect medium rare and served with super fresh English peas. There were bits of porcini mushrooms and spring onions in the peas that went perfectly. Just the right flavor combinations. When the waiter asked the littlest gal in our group how she liked it...all she could muster was a thumbs up as her mouth was busy chewing. The side dish that accompanied the steak was Ad Hoc's version of a loaded potato...potatoes fried in duck fat then served with creme fraiche, pancetta crumbles and a smidge of chives. Very good.

Fried Soft Shell Crab...a little on the small side but good nontheless. We each managed to get a couple of bites of the soft shell crab that was dusted in cornmeal then fried and served with some micro greens and a remoulade sauce. Presentation was simple and neat.

Cypress Grove Chevre's Humboldt Fog...served with marinated olives. The olives were salty and went well with the cheese. It was not an overpowering cheese...creamy and good when eaten with the olives and the live watercress. We had to ask for more green olives as the dish came with more kalamatas than green ones. Our waiter was gracious enough to bring a small cocotte of them.

Peanut Butter Bars...rich and decadent. By this time we were all pretty full and could have done without dessert but how could we turn it away? The peanut butter was rich and a little on the heavy side for me but very fresh. I ended up asking for a doggie bag to take 1/2 of my bar home along with the extra one that we had. The peanut butter was covered in valrhona chocolate and served with candied peanuts.

Overall a little disappointed but still very good food and service. One would expect nothing less from a TK establishment. The menu was simple but the ingredients were very fresh and that made a huge difference. We had let the maitre d' know that we were celebrating 2 birthdays when we made the rezzie and they even confirmed when they called but we did not receive anything special or even a birthday wish from the server. Not a huge deal but a bit of a letdown given this was a TK place and the bar was set pretty high since our French Laundry visit. We would try this place again...hopefully with a different menu.

Flemings Steakhouse (LA Live)

Time to celebrate the hubby's birthday and he said he wanted to try Flemings since we'd never been. It also helped that we'd received a $50 enticement from Amex to visit so we made the rezzies and waited for our hot date night!

Traffic to the restaurant wasn't too bad until we hit downtown and the freeway was almost closed down to clear up a hazmat situation. Really? On a Saturday? We called the restaurant to let them know we were running late so they wouldn' t give our table to someone else...no worries, we had an early rezzie and they still had booths available. We arrived after parking in the LA Live parking structure and it was a short walk to the restaurant. First time the hubby was at LA Live.

So we arrived and they opened the doors for us...nice touch. We checked in with the hostesses and they thanked us for calling to let them know we were running late...2nd nice touch. She led us to our table and asked if we cared for a black napkin...3rd nice touch. As we settled in, the bus boy came and asked if we wanted water and what type...LA's finest tap would be just fine, thank you very much. After he returned and filled our water glasses our waitress showed up with the menus. As we started looking through the menu, our "first" course arrived...compliments of the restaurant...in the form of a freshly baked mini loaf of parmesan bread with 2 spreads (chardonnay feta and sundried tomato). Both were yummy and the bread was nice and warm.

On to the food then...we had to order the Lobster Tempura as that was recommended by 3 different friends. It came and the first few bites did not disappoint. The batter was good and well seasoned and the accompanying tempura'd veggies were good as well... bell peppers and asparagus. This we had to eat fast because as it cooled down, you really started tasting the heaviness of the oil in each bite. Instead of bringing our own wine like we normally did, we decided to order a glass of white to share and then we'd each order a glass of red to go with our meal. We decided to order the Cakebread Chardonnay since it was a special occasion and neither of us had tried it before. It was a nice smooth chard that went well with the lobster.

Then we decided on our entrees...hubby ordered the Bone-In Ribeye and I the Porcini-Rubbed Filet Mignon. Hubby was happy with his beef when it arrived. It was very beef-y and tender all around. Cooked perfectly and well seasoned. My filet, on the other hand, was cooked perfectly but it did not taste as I'd expected. The porcini rub was not apparent on the meat...it was more like a porcini dusting. The meat was very beef-y as well and perfectly tender. For our side dish we ordered the Lobster Mashed Potatoes. Richly decadent and super buttery. I had had the lobster mash before at the Flemings in Fresno and it was great there and we'd also had it at Mastro's where it was simply phenomenal! This time we were a little disappointed. The lobster tasted overcooked, dried and old. The sauce it was cooked in was great but the lobster itself was a disappointment. Had the manager come over to ask how our meal was, I would have had to let him know...alas, he did not show (minus point). We each ordered a glass of red to complement our meats. Hubby had the 2006 Duckhorn Cabernet which went perfectly with his steak. I was debating between the Trefethen Cabernet and the Hall Cabernet so our waitress brought me a small sample of each to help me decide. I went with the Trefethen as that definitely had more noticeable terroir than the Hall. The Hall was deeper but fell kind of flat for me. The Trefethen had a more robust feel and was more distinctive from the first sip.

Our waitress convinced the hubby to order the Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert and that did not disappoint. It was fresh made with a molten chocolate core and served with vanilla ice cream and chopped pistachios. They also brought a bowl of fresh whipped cream that made every bite worth the cardio we would have to do to work it off! And last, but not least, they gave the hubby a box of 4 truffles as a Happy Birthday and Thank You for celebrating his birthday at Flemings. Definitely a nice touch.

All in all, a good meal with great service. We would go back but just a couple of misses made it miss the perfect mark.

Malan Noodles (Hacienda Heights)

So I was super hungry after 2 meetings, a smallish breakfast, no lunch and fighting 2 hours of traffic to get back. Once in the door I asked the hubby if he was hungry and what we were having for dinner because I was starvin' marvin. He said he could eat so I told him to get into the car because we were going to hit Malan Noodles for some hand-made noodles.

We hopped in the car and he drove while I read reviews of the place on Yelp. Sounded like the Malan Beef Soup Noodles were the thing to get so I ordered a small since the reviews were mixed. You can order different types of noodles and they're all hand-made (you can see into the kitchen as the guy pulls and pulls the dough into the shape you want). You can choose from small, medium and large round; small, medium and large flat; and triangle. I chose the triangle and the hubby chose medium flat. I preferred mine because the texture was chewier. :D

We also ordered the Simmered Chicken Gizzards and Spicy Tripe (both served cold). The gizzards were ok...nothing special. We'd had better at Jade Restaurant in Rosemead. The spicy tripe was really spicy. It was mixed with that chili oil and the seeds gave it that tongue numbing spice. Good but a little too spicy.

The noodle soup was a nice consomme type broth with slices of beef on top of the bed of noodles with a good amount of cilantro and green onions. The soup was nice and hot on a day that was ending on the cooler side. The noodles...oh the noodles...they were so yummy! I had the triangle noodles and they were chewy and looooooooong! Not too mushy, not too al dente...just right. They did make for a bit of a mess since I kept pulling and trying to fit bite after bite into my mouth while still piping hot...I think I mentioned I was hungry, right?

All in all, a good noodle spot that we'll hit up again. It's in a bit of a weird spot...next to a dialysis center with windows that opened up into the dialysis center so you could see the paramedics transporting patients in while you ate. It wasn't busy when we went since it was late afternoon/early evening by the time we got there. The waitress was nice and seemed to be the only server there. A little pricey for a bowl of noodles but not bad for the novelty of having fresh, made-to-order, noodles pulled your way!