Little Fatty post-Farmers’ Market shopping:
Wonton Noodle Soup
Best part? Exploding fish balls!
The fish balls have a spongy exterior and a molten center of gooey liquid that tastes like sweet flavored with shrimp paste. I loved these.
Also, look how many noodles there are, I filled a plate (breakfast tomorrow) and still had plenty left in my bowl. Very good noodles, springy, thin, curly, just how I like them.
I am so hungry after seeing your posts, @Chowseeker1999.
I didn’t eat a lot of goat growing up…it was too gamy for Mom, but later in life, she found a goat curry from somewhere in Little Saigon that she liked enough to order take out. I’ll have to ask her which place it is. I didn’t know De 7 Mon even existed until @ipsedixit mentioned it. I love this board…it opens my eyes to new things all the time!
We hoped that Boston Lobster would be a good sub for Newport - nope. We had similar experiences with our food.
We have noticed Newport being somewhat inconsistent. We went a couple of times during the slack periods - after the lunch crowds - and felt it wasn’t as good. Could be the second or third stringers or reduced crew are doing the cooking at that time?
Happy hour at Seven Grand. St. George “Baller” whisky (designed for highball cocktails, aged in umeshu casks). About half the price I get it for in SF now that it’s discontinued.
Snap pea with yuzu flower, Shizuoka wasabi, edamame, and dashi. We liked the slight crunch from the interspersed bits of snap pea. A cool and refreshing start with subtle sweetness.
Hassun plate, with 9 kobachi all highlighting a different classic preparation. Clockwise, from top left: tai no nanbanzuke (cold, vinegared fried snapper with onions and carrots, “nanban” style); nasu no nibitashi (eggplant braised in dashi); simmered celeriac; edamame in dashi; ocean trout wrapped in pickled radish, with su-miso sauce; whitefish and myoga nikogori; hotaru ika with pickled kelp and cucumber; bamboo leaves marinated as hijiki; kumquat yokan.
Gjusta takeout the next morning, at a friend’s place. I had the prime rib butcher with extra horseradish, some classic lox, cold-smoked kanpachi, salmon belly, and marinated anchovies (they were out of my favorite oil-cured sardines). The sandwich was very good; the salmon belly was my favorite (nicely smoked and almost reminiscent of brisket!); the lox and kanpachi were a little firmer around the edges than I remember from my last visit. Still, an enjoyable meal; also snacked on the prosciutto and some some pate de campagne from Eataly.
Sashimi plate and bento box lunch at Aburiya Raku. The kanpachi and shimaaji sashimi were great. I also liked the tororo with uni, ikura, nameko mushroom, and okra - “neba neba” in a cup.
Dinner at Torimatsu in Gardena.
Toriwasa - rare chicken with wasabi, mitsuba stems, and nori in dashi sauce. Beautiful texture and I’m glad we got to try this!
Hot pastrami sandwich at Langer’s. Really good sandwich. The bread is key - love how it’s double-baked and the crust isn’t too hard, but the crumb is soft enough without falling apart.
My visit was slightly longer than a weekend…
Napa and New York next in the coming weeks.
Always call first to make sure Sergio Nguyen is cooking.
It’s Sergnio.
cannot wait for some of the ID’s
Hi @bulavinaka,
Thanks for the report back as well. Yah, Boston Lobster is not a good substitute for Newport. But even the current Newport isn’t a good substitute for Newport as it used to be. Our bad experience happened during prime dinner hour (6 p.m.) on a weekend. 
I haven’t been back to the OC Newport in a long time. I’m hoping it’s still great. Has anyone tried it recently?
Thanks @attran99. Let me know if you find out where that goat place is in Little Saigon. 
Thanh Mai has goat curry, the same strip mall as Le Crossiant Dore/ Ba Le
Never had a problem at the Rowland Heights location.
French Fry poboy too.
Hi @BradFord,
Nice visit and report!
Sounds like you had some great dining experiences this visit. 
How did you like Mori-san at Shiki compared to Mori-san back when he owned Mori Sushi?
For the skewers where was that from? You didn’t list the restaurant.
Oops, fixed - we ate yakitori at Torimatsu in Gardena.
We’ve sat with Hiro-san all this time (we’ve been going to Shiki for almost 4 years now), so I have not sat with Mori at Shiki yet! But, Mori was indeed busy and the bar was pretty full.
Yes, I had a good visit; thanks. But, there are still many places to visit again, probably in June. We simply couldn’t fit the other half of what we wanted in LA; we missed out on Korean, Thai, Mexican, Persian, and Taiwanese food altogether!
Ah, thanks @BradFord. How did you like Torimatsu? We thought it was fine / solid when we tried it a few years ago.
You’ve dined at Raku for dinner right? 
Just checking.
I think Torimatsu is a solid neighborhood yakitoriya that’s comfortable and a step above what I normally get in the Bay Area. We tried to do a couple of casual places (budgeting for New York) and had some business in the South Bay, anyway, and we left satisfied.
Yes, I’ve had dinner at Raku, of course 
I think I like it better for dinner, anyway. Thanks to your many reports, we had a good guide and we’ve found our groove there a bit. I’d like to return more often but like I mentioned there are simply too many good places to visit in LA!
For clarity purposes, this is french fry poboy poutine style. @Chowseeker1999
Hi @Chowseeker1999 -
Interesting food weekend.
While reading I was thinking “There is no way s/he is going to like this fried rice as much as Dragon Beaux.” 
Question: What type of Chinese food would you (or anyone) say Boston Lobster is? A mix or straight ahead? Is it common to have a Vietnamese dish in a restaurant like this?
Happy Weekend Chow Seeking!
Outstanding extended food weekend @BradFord. Thanks for sharing. Please share your upcoming Napa & New York visits!
Hi @attran99 -
It’s interesting reading your and @Chowseeker1999’s talk on Goat Curry in an Asian context. It speaks to the conversations about what is authentic and who invented what or brought what to what country. My one and only time eating Yellow Curried Goat was in Jamaica. 
