The elusive shiu mai at Trieu Chau Santa Ana. More rare than the fried dough and DTF’s mini soup dumplings combined.
A wad of fatty pork with shrimp, topped with Chinese sausage.
Get here before 10am if you want this and even then it’s 1 in 10. Today we got lucky. Plenty of fried dough even at 11am for those interested.
Portsmouth in Whittier…I always seem to forget to take pictures when I come in.
Kumamoto and Shigoku oysters
Kale salad with pickled onions, crispy pork belly, capers, and house vinaigrette
Roasted bone marrow with chorizo, tomatillo salsa, cucumber, radish, and toast
Roasted cremini mushrooms with lobster, king crab, Gorgonzola, Chile de arbol, fried egg, toast
Crispy pork belly crepes avocado crema, pickled daikon, radish, pickled jalapeños, micro greens
All washed down with a nice bottle of Bordeaux. Always a pleasure to come to my usual watering and dining hole.
Given the spelling, are these related to the dim sum shu mai? They look quite different…
As far as I can tell these are the carb free version and 4x the size. Filler is the same though.
The big difference IMO is VN xiu mai usually served w/o wrapper and in some type of broth or sauce - perfect to dip those crullers in.
Having said that those TC ones look like no xiu mai I have seen before!
Great weekend of food for me, but no pics.
On Friday night had a very good meal at Pok Pok. Highlights were the cha ca la vong, eggplant salad, and several gin and tonics.
On Saturday night, went to Chente for pescado zarandeado, aguachile, and camarones. Everything was excellent. Hadn’t been in a while because the last time I went was a bit underwhelming. Must have been an off night, because the snook was on point this evening. Also, that rice with the shrimp is $$$.
I’m happy to see this place (Korean chef slinging American comfort/Italian fusion) able to survive in the difficult Buena Park, especially at such a low price of entry.
Saturday lunch at Tokyo House in Santa Monica (on Ocean Park). We had originally planned to go to Native Foods but discovered that it’s closed (and is likely being taken over by Crimson… meh).
Tokyo House is… okay. A good amount of food for the price (3-item “bento box” is $13 at lunch). Sashimi was kind of sad since the piece had been placed directly on top of each other, which resulted in the lower pieces being kind of flattened. Tempura should’ve been allowed to cool a bit longer; the top shrimp pieces were quite nice but the bottom ones (vegetable) were soggy. Pork kastu could’ve also used WAY more sauce. Bean sprouts were actually really good (some sort of soy sauce/wasabi marinade).
Partner’s salmon teriyaki was pretty tasty.
I think this place is more of a I-work-in-the-area-and-need-a-place-for-lunch kind of thing.
Is that “Chente” as in Mariscos Chente on Centinela in Mar Vista?
Thanks to @Porthos, I finally had a chance to try Trieu Chau. 
Ordered their Chao Chow Noodles (the waiter said it had “everything” which sounded like the one Porthos recommended), LOL.
It was indeed a bit of everything and quite tasty! It had Roast Duck, Chicken, Meatballs, Fish Cake, Ground Pork, Shrimp, Green Onions and other things I didn’t know.
But more importantly, @Porthos was right: Just a bowl of tasty soup and noodles. And a great value, I think it was $7.50 including tax already added.
I need to come back for the Bone Soup and Shiu Mai.
Trieu Chau Restaurant
4401 W. First Street
Santa Ana, CA 92703
Tel: (714) 775-1536
You got all the ingredients except for the 1-2 pieces of liver. Also, next time add wonton for another level of gluttony which brings the bowl to $9 after tax.
You can also try to do like the old 70+ yo guys do and mix yellow egg noodles and white rice noodles. Or order it dry and have bone soup on the side.
Also apply liberally lime and some of that chile paste that they have on the table.
Glad you made the trek!
Speaking of guilty pleasures:
Rose City Pizza’s (Rosemead Blvd, Rosemeqd) fantastic chili cheese tots:
And a smog city beer.
If there’s a better chili cheese tots joint with beer, please let me know.
Dog Haus. I like the love boat better though (tots/chili/slaw). Of course you can always get the slaw on the side…
I bet you loved the tots and your tots loved the beer.
you mean I loved the beer and tot loved the tots. tots = cylindrical fries = you be quiet while I drink my beer.
[quote=“paranoidgarliclover, post:94, topic:2255”]
looks better than the one that @TonyC
[/quote]dick!
Have had the Dog haus tots. They’re pretty good (and far more accessible to most) , but the Rose City tots’ serving size borders a pound, and are far crispier.
You’re a beast dude. I can barely finish the DH serving.
I’m poor, 'member? 1 (unphotogenic) tray of Rose City chili cheese tots serves 4 seeing I can’t afford Sizzlers.
The DH tots are great complement to the dogs (and beer), I get it.
Are the pizzas any good there?
I suppose this isn’t worth an entire thread about, but the Secret Spot in Huntington Beach is one of my favorite little places in all of SoCal. The HBSS is a burrito you can have stuffed with organic chicken, tofu, or (the best option) grilled veggie turkey. It contains fresh avocado, a brilliant cheese blend, grilled potatoes, house BBQ sauce, and salsa. An absolutely extraordinary accomplishment of Surfer Cuisine. Maybe not for everyone, but for me, one of the most simple, enjoyable things to eat. Everything fresh, and delicious. The veggie turkey gets particularly crisped up and adds both fascinating texture and umami bombs into the mix that are very different from anything else I’ve eaten in a burrito. Plus the mixture of BBQ sauce and salsa is remarkable. I’ve just never had anything else like it anywhere else.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAvbEmPE0LE/?taken-by=compulsiveaesthete
