July 2020 Rundown

hanhgry · July 31, 2020, 10:37pm

Last weekend I went to VP Tofu in Monterey Park for the first time since the COVID restrictions started.

They are only allowing in 2 people at a time, and you can no longer grab soy milk out of the cold case. You tell the employee which flavors you want and they get it for you.

They are also not frying tofu to order unless you specifically ask or have a particularly large order. I think it’s to prevent a backup of people waiting for tofu. I ordered a 10 piece plain fried tofu and it was given to me pre-packaged, shrinkwrapped on a foam tray. Still good but just something to note if you prefer the just freshly fried stuff.

Like the pandan flavor better than the regular soy milk.

Got pandan tofu pudding, some bánh cam and black sesame bánh bao chỉ (or “mochi” as it’s called on the label). Their bánh cam ball is way too big compared to the amount of the mung bean filling inside, but it’s fried sweet dough, so I ate it anyway. I prefer less hollow space inside bánh cam.

JeetKuneBao · July 31, 2020, 11:53pm

I love me some Pandan Soy Milk!

doughboy · August 1, 2020, 8:05pm

Honestly, dont know where to ask this question and I know this is the wrong month but my sister told me that Vik’s Chaat House in Berkley has Pakistani mangoes right now and I am very jealous. Does anyone in LA have a plug for some Pakistani mangoes?

aaqjr · August 1, 2020, 9:04pm

Had some really good mangos from Jordan market on Westwood blvd last week . Not sure where they were from though.

js76wisco · August 1, 2020, 10:15pm

Modo Donuts pop up at Irvine Mitsuwa
Churro
Honey sugar
Strawberry

The flavors are very mild. Maybe a little too mild especially the strawberry but the texture of the donuts is the star. Great wonderful chew and still a little crunch a few hours after picking up.

Gr8pimpin · August 2, 2020, 12:22am

TRIPP’S BURGERS and JOHNNY’S WEST ADAMS BANG X2

TRIPP’S BURGERS

OK, I’ve got to admit this was a crazy good burger. Crispy edges, though he doesn’t put any of the condiments right on the burger so it’s served plain. Tripp admitted today he did not feel like slicing onions so he did not have onion burgers. But there’s bacon (and maybe pork) in the patty.

SINGLE CHEESEBURGER

We took a bite of our single plain. Delicious. Absolutely delicious. we decided not to put anything on it it was so good. Martin’s potato roll. Ok, I see why you all give them such love!!

Wifey and liked this better than the Win-Dow, but barely, but would’ve preferred if the cook had assembled them with the toppings. The bacon flavor really comes through.

Plain. Yep. Plain good!

TRIPLE BURGER

The “kid” ate a triple, dressed it, and liked it, But preferred the Win-Dow.

Tripp’s was not cheap, however. A pretty small single is $9 and the triple was $14. Then again came with a bag of chips.

Second stop, Johnny’s pastrami on Adams.

This was definitely not Jewish food. It was a smoked brisket place that put an “ode to Jewish dishes” on the menu. Kind of like if I took over a Tex-Mex place and made cornbread with a hole in it and called it my Tex-Mex ode to the bagel.

My favorite thing was the burnt ends. Tender juicy. The fat was soooo great,

My full thoughts (on everything we had, sandwiches, knish, etc) if you are interested (probably not, though) are here in the Johnny’s West Adams thread

J_L · August 2, 2020, 1:57am

“I feel a bit rusty,” Chef Brandon grins as the bento boxes are most courteously handed to me by Hayato’s new kimono-clad host, Yuki-san.

After an absence of a few months, the famed Hayato bento boxes are back!

And Chef Go is too kind in his self-assessment, as today’s bento may be the best box I’ve yet experienced, from the already-lofty heights I’ve come to expect from Hayato. Case in point: The Satsuma sweet potato may sound deceptively simple, but on first bite, it becomes completely revelatory. The tuber is not gritty in its starch at all. Rather, it imparts a full-hearted earthiness that tells the diner of the care it received on the farm, and in its delicate preparation by Chef Brandon and his team. Such profound Japanese sensibilities.

The Karakuchi was an excellent dry choice to accompany the bento today. I’d highly recommend that anyone who picks up a bent at Hayato to also consider pairing it with a bottle from the thoughtfully curated sake list. If not for the pleasure of it all, then at least have some sake to help Hayato in these times. Chef Brandon has hired back his entire crew to restart this bento box endeavor. I hold much respect for everything Chef Brandon and his team stand for…

beefnoguy · August 2, 2020, 3:44am

+3000, so this. Thank you for a killer report, and especially that super thoughtful ending paragraph!

I picked up a Sohomare Karakuchi too from another restaurant up here to go a couple months ago. Very solid food friendly sake for sure, and for those buying sake to go, can always play around with it at home (e.g. save some and warm it up too) and pair it with other food.

I do like that Dewazakura Mountain Cherry too Daishichi “The Gate” is quite luxurious (designed for kaiseki for sure) and the bottle design is elegant too.

beefnoguy · August 2, 2020, 6:10pm

Forgot we are in August already!!

Catching up:

Revisiting Sushi Yoshizumi’s kaisen futomaki. It was even more ridonkulous this time. So much flavor in all the ingredients mixed in together, and the uni was especially creamy that added additional texture. The most prominent flavor that was key, was the ni shitake.

New offering: kaisen chirashi

The bara chirashi got retired, it’s really sad a lot of customers didn’t appreciate that it was literally high end Japan sushi omakase offering… they just assume it’s leftover fish when it is not. And what’s even sadder, quite a number of of non FTC grade customers are oblivious to the fact that there are different grades and price levels of a wide variety of seafood, and can’t even tell the difference between cheap kinmedai and higher quality kinmedai that costs x2 or more (especially the superb seasonal phat ji-kinme you guys have also been enjoying from Katsuura a couple months ago), and yet jump to conclusions and harsh judgement based entirely on price without understanding value…

So Akira san tweaked it and the results are as good as dine in nigiri. Changed presentation and arrangement, and you still get ~18 varieties of what he does best! All of his masterful skills are on display here: konbu jime, marinated, aged, shoyu zuke, knifework, salt cured, cooking (tamago, ebi) and dashi, not to mention ingredients selection, and other wisdom. The shari is expertly seasoned and has the addition of shio konbu, ni shiitake, and kanpyo for a really superb mouthfeel (sorry I didn’t get a good shot of that, next time)!
Really wish you guys could try this and his other offerings! Interestingly, Andrea Chang of LA times has been here at least once for takeout in the last couple months.

JeetKuneBao · August 2, 2020, 8:24pm

I would make the trip for that Futomaki.

Do you think Akira san can make that after a omakase? (If when everything is back up to normal)

NYCtoLA · August 2, 2020, 8:38pm

Some of these are from yesterday, but I figured I shouldn’t make two posts…

Beef banh mi at Nong La

The bento box from Jimmy Sugishita, perhaps his best yet

The aji bozushi on a Match Stoneware plate @hppzz @PorkyBelly

The clam belly sandwich at Connie and Teds

Strawberries and cream tart

The seafood paella at Holbox - this was before chef unloaded it into the takeout container - thanks for the encouragement to go @J_L

Btw, I was encouraged to see that the Mercato Paloma was reasonably busy at 3:30pm on a Saturday, and Holbox filled 3-4 orders in the 10 minutes I spent waiting for mine

Spot prawn aguachiles

Grilled kanpachi taco

Wagyu char siu banh mi at Kato - thanks for the heads up @PorkyBelly

Looks like we should have had an FTC meetup at Hayato yesterday!

J_L · August 2, 2020, 8:59pm

Thanks for the feedback! You ate super well! Glad that Mercado La Paloma is busier. Those clam bellies look divine.

beefnoguy · August 2, 2020, 9:27pm

You mean like two rolls of kaisen futomaki for an add on for dine in, or a box to go? Very much doubt that when things go back to normal he will have those available (ie a box to go after the meal, unless you request it way in advance and if he even has the additional time to do it). If adding on say, a seafood futomaki (two pieces), that could be do-able but it will depend on what he has remaining, and it will likely not be as packed nor as thick. Right now he is down to doing everything himself… and doesn’t have the luxury of a full staff anymore, and even if dine in were to resume (and be safe) it’s uncertain what that will even look like. Which is why he could use all the support he can get right now…

I just had the regular and maguro futomaki’s for lunch and am already super stuffed.

Chowseeker1999 · August 2, 2020, 11:17pm

I see the OG, legendary @JeetKuneBao is back! And you had that post a few months ago claiming you don’t think you can do a bang x bang anymore! I couldn’t imagine eating more after Yoshizumi-san’s wonderful Omakase (we were stuffed!). You’ve been training with your Uncle Bruce, to be able to down that wonderful looking Futomaki after the extensive Omakase course!

hungryhungryhippos · August 3, 2020, 7:53am

Holbox is top of my list when I get back to LA .

J_L · August 3, 2020, 10:32am

Mangoes continue to be glorious this time of the year. I asked politely for just a bit of extra mango for my order of mango sticky rice at Chilli Thai (West L.A.), and scored big!

Truly delighted in a cuppa’ siphon-brewed joe, and also snagged the last t-shirt at Balconi Coffee Company before their last day on July 31… (sniffles) Owner Sato-san hinted that he may be coming back soon to the coffee scene - Let’s all keep our fingers crossed!

Office lunch take-out from Konbi… The omelette sandwich with nori and crab was outrageous! Also, don’t sleep on that strawberry roulade.

I wanted to see how Pasta Sisters was doing, so I made a quick bang-bang takeout trek to Father’s Office and Pasta Sisters in Culver City. Both are open for outdoor dining. On my take-out visit, I found the Father’s Office burger was subpar - just a lack of balance in its tastes, with sad bread. I was hoping the kitchen was just having an off day. So, I got another FO Burger this time around - Not better. For now, I’m sadly declaring a ‘downhill alert’ for the FO Burger. The FO Spanish mushrooms were OK…

Fresh pappardelle pasta with porcini mushroom sauce, from Pasta Sisters… Such a great al dente bite! Not a high-execution type of dish, but honestly it doesn’t have to be to make me happy. This pasta really hit the spot that day.

Apricot pie… More of a torte than a pie, in my book, but those are just semantics, because this dessert item is simply delicious.

Time to journey to Far East (Plaza in Chinatown), to check out our fellow FTCer Chef Johnny Lee at his restaurant Pearl River Deli. In addition to @JLee, I met up with @chrishei. @Dommy also made a surprise cameo appearance as well! Chef Johnny was so kind and took time out to chat (all at a safe distance) with us in front of his shop. We talked for a while about current restaurant developments: How businesses must adapt, what’s been our favorite takeout so far, and even Mold-gate. I suppose this would qualify as a different sort of Pearl Jam (without the mold) altogether.

Now, onto the goods:

BBQ Combo (chicken leg, char siu pork ribs)… Outstanding! This is comfort food I could eat every day. I wasn’t aware you could order a fried egg to be added to that (totally sorry Chef, I’ll order the egg next time), so on that day I brought my own fried egg in a Tupperware #BYOFE.

Hakka Pork Belly… Just like grandmama makes. Mustard greens on the bottom make this a perfect accompaniment for a hot bowl of rice.

Shrimp & Pork Wonton Noodles in Soup with Char Siu… WOW! These wontons are all that and a bag of chips! The rave reviews are no joke - These are the best wontons I’ve had so far in L.A.

Beef Short Rib, Tendon & Radish Stew on Rice… I took this home to enjoy later. Really nice in flavor. The only room for improvements would be smaller cuts on the meat, and bit less grease on the au jus.

J_L’s Sorrowful Rice: Char Siu Ribs, Yu Choy, Fried Egg… So beautiful, it brought a tear to my eye. (Or was it because of the onion?) Seriously though, Chef Johnny’s siu yuk is legit yum.

Impromptu Far East Plaza bang-bang at Amboy ensued:

Classic Double Burger, Fries, Badmaash Oat Milk Chai and Calamansi Cream Pie by @Laroolou… Damn fine burger!!! This is a wonderful smashburger - Its superb sesame seed bun (by Bread Bar LA) takes me back to the McDonald’s buns of my childhood (and young J_L loooved McD’s as a kid). I gotta come back and try their DH Burger, and soon!

Calamansi cream pie… This was a first for me. Nice representation of the calamansi in the custard, tempered by cream and crunchy crust - Nice!

Office lunch take-out with Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich: How do they make this thing so tasty?

Sugar Kiss Melon, from Nijiya Market… At the height of sweetness and juiciness right now!

PorkyBelly · August 3, 2020, 6:29pm

No love for the fries? I thought they were excellent, maybe even better than the burger.

https://ftcsfo3digitaloceanspaces.b-cdn.net/uploads/default/original/3X/1/7/1710cdc3131fd4e4d0c54b4784d7da7d690330d1.jpeg

J_L · August 3, 2020, 6:39pm

Thanks for mentioning. The fries were tasty indeed! The smashurgers and fries were both serious contenders for Best in Category.

beefnoguy · August 3, 2020, 6:52pm

I’m Sorrowful with joy you did the ultimate char siu comfort donburi (weeping a tear remotely from NorCal)!!! Stephen Chow would be so proud. #GodOfFTCery #CharSiuFuHustle

Chowseeker1999 · August 3, 2020, 6:59pm

! I didn’t know either!

Thanks for the info @J_L and the great report. Glad you liked Pearl River Deli’s Wontons. So good right?

And thanks to you, I now understand what Sorrowful Rice is (yes we watched the movie).