Shame about the lamb ribs - they were truly outstanding. Hopefully they can find something worthy soon.
[quote=âBookwich, post:197, topic:5642â]
Those Singapore noodles look great
[/quote]They really do!
Sea Harbour is about 25 minutes from the 405/10 interchange on a weekend morning. Get there by 1000 and youâll be done by 1100. Coming home will most likely be slower but so worth it.
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All my map apps give me a 45 minute average. (I start at the Washington on-ramp at Fairfax). Either way, itâs no excuse. 
[quote=âSgee, post:198, topic:5642â]
Churro Don Abel?
[/quote]No, darn it! They looked and smelled delicious. But we were on our way someplace and wanted the tacos to stay hot. Next time weâre doing the whole shebang, bang, bang, bang: agua fresca, pastelaso, birrieria, churros, maybe even bring a couple of ice-cold Modelos.
P.S. Our oldest could eat tacos every day - but is hard to please. He wolfed down five.
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My thoughts exactly! Frankly I was ill prepared for all they had to offer. My to-go items the taco de canasta (steamed basket taco) and beef birrieria were quite good too - worth checking out next time.
Great idea for the beer; I was eyeing the Micheladas some other customers were gulping down (yelp pic)
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Exactly!
We got lucky at the small counter. But I have an urge to take the portable picnic table next time. 
[quote=âSgee, post:206, topic:5642â]
I was eyeing the Micheladas some other customers were gulping down
[/quote]Me too!
Great find. Thanks for sharing.
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Maybe the time estimate is for now. It takes us about 30-35 minutes door-to-door on the weekends in the morning.
For some reason heading northeast seems like it is very far away. But a day trip to Santa Barbara or Ventura to visit the farmers markets isnât a big deal.
Itâs coming home from the SGV that can get tough. Same for SB and Ventura.
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On a Sunday morning with no traffic at 9:25AM, West LA to SGV took us 30 minutes.
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Kitakata 
Green onion chili ramen and juicy as fuck karaage. (See picture with juicy chicken)
ST Patisserie
Paris Brest
Didnât even have to fly to Tokyo or Paris.
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that paris brest looks amazing.
clearly i ordered wrong when I went to ST.
Mille Feuille, Exotic, Paris Brest and Mont Blanc are my favorites.
The Mille Feuille are weekend only now. Bang it with a Portola coffee 
or a lovely cheese plate from the cheese shop.
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Donât go.
Sea Harbour sucks.
Youâre missing nothing.
Save the gasoline. Tastes better than any thing Sea Harbour serves anyway.
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Donât go to the San Gabriel Valley?
And where do you eat dim sum?
Mariscos Tocho
Thanks to @JeetKuneBao and an LA Weekly article, we finally made it out to Mariscos Tocho. 
As the truck proudly states, Mariscos Tocho started from Rocky Point (Puerto Peñasco, Mexico).
Taco Tocho (Shrimp, Beef & Cheese):
It sounded intriguing, but for us, it fell short. The Shrimp was fresh and nicely cooked, but the Carne Asada was a pretty typical Carne Asada flat-top style, kind of hard to go back to this once youâve enjoyed smoky, mesquite-grilled versions like at Tacos La Carreta and Tire Shop Taqueria.
Ceviche de Camaron Tostada:
Wow! @JeetKuneBao wasnât kidding, this is super fresh tasting Seafood. I loved the Shrimp (tasted bright, meaty), and the Salsa Negra was slightly smoky and had a real burn! 
Is it sad that this humble little food truck had easily 3 - 5 times the interesting flavors compared to the âalta cocinaâ high end disaster that is Verlaine?
This was delicious!
Pescado Inflado Estilo Rocky Point Taco:
This Fish Taco was OK. It is their own take on what a Fish Taco is, but Rickyâs is much better.
Tostada Pariente:
But itâs this Tostada that is the thing you should consider ordering: After taking a couple bites, we could see why @JeetKuneBao recommends this so much. It is a giant mound of fresh Seafood, I loved the Camarones (Shrimp), but itâs the Pulpo (Octopus) that was my favorite. Meaty, tender, and not rubbery at all (like how some Octopus can be).
The Pico de Gallo fresh Salsa was fantastic, but itâs the Salsa Negra that really made this Pariente stand out. And after a few bites, we were sweating like crazy, it is a creeping spice, but it gets HOT! 
(Cash Only)
Friday - Sunday, 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Mariscos Tocho
2540 Santa Ana Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90059
Tel: (562) 415-7519
Sunny Blue
I was craving a delicious Onigiri so we decided to stop by our favorite local spot.
Mentaiko Omusubi (Spicy Pollock Roe + Brown Rice, Rice Ball):
Lightly crisped Nori (Seaweed) wrapper, I love that you can get this with Brown Rice.
Eggplant Chili Miso Omusubi (Japanese Eggplant in Chili Miso Sauce + Brown Rice, Rice Ball):
This was delicious! Really enjoyed the Eggplant and Chili Miso flavors, which matched well with the Brown Rice and crisped Seaweed.
Sunny Blue
2728 Main Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Tel: (310) 399-9030
Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong
Weâve never made it out to this popular Korean BBQ chain, founded by a famous ex-wrestler (Kang Ho Dong), because every time we passed by the original Koreatown location (or subsequent branches around L.A.), there was always a crazy wait time. Well this weekend, we were visiting friends in the SGV and finally made it out to a newer branch.
Cartoon caricature of the former wrestler-owner:
One aspect that we appreciated was that they swap out different types of grills depending on the meat being cooked, a nice touch.
We ordered the Beef Combo (Thinly Sliced Brisket, Seasoned Prime Boneless Short Rib, Prime Boneless Short Rib, Beef Brisket Soybean Paste Stew):
Thinly Sliced Brisket:
Was (sadly) the best cut of meat the entire evening. Sliced really thin, it was quite tender and had a decent beefy flavor.
Prime Boneless Short Rib:
There was clearly marbling on here, and they even have a very diligent server (per table) that patiently cooks each cut of meat at your table, flipping it repeatedly, checking on the doneness before giving the OK to eat (which was really nice for tableside service).
However, it was just chewy and had gristle running through it! 
Seasoned Prime Boneless Short Rib:
The Seasoned version of the Prime Boneless Short Rib was even worse (more gristle). It was really disappointing.
Beef Brisket Soybean Paste Stew:
Was just really salty.
Pork Combo (Premium Seared Pork Belly, Premium Pork Jowl, Marinated Pork Collar):
Premium Pork Jowl:
This was the best cut of all the Pork Combo, being only slightly fatty and when cooked through, it was somewhat tender. Thereâs a lot of food, but it just didnât seem that special.
Premium Seared Pork Belly:
This looked delicious, and we couldnât wait to dig in! But like the other meats, it was just really chewy, and had gristle. 
Marinated Pork Collar:
The marination gave it a nice saturated flavor, but this, too, was just gristly and chewy.
Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong earns some of its popularity on cooking service alone: It is impressive to see how patient and diligent the servers were (at each table), cooking and cutting and adjusting the flames, to cook all the meats for you. Sadly, that was the only thing we enjoyed here.
I think Parkâs BBQ is still the gold standard (of the places weâve tried), and the quality of the meats here the most shockingly disappointing aspect.
Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong (Various Locations)
5700 Rosemead Blvd., Ste. 100
Temple City, CA 91780
Tel: (626) 285-9678
Newport Seafood
And we had another friendâs birthday, and they decided they wanted (a lot of) Lobster, and liked their last visit to Newport, so off we went.
Live Seafood Tanks:
It was a mad house as usual, with a huge wait, but thankfully we showed up just as it was getting busy, bypassing most of the wait time.
Beef with Oyster Sauce:
Clams with Ginger and Onion:
Big Pea Sprouts Sauteed with Garlic:
Nicely cooked, tender and fragrant.
Sauteed Shrimp with Bean Curd:
Lightly seasoned, a nice balance with the bolder flavors this evening.
Newport Special Lobster (Live):
This is the reason you go to Newport Seafood: Their Live Lobster, wok fried & sauteed to a garlicky, lightly spicy finish. We ordered a 5 - 6 pound Lobster and it was seriously the size of a small dog(!).
It was a touch overcooked (just a touch), but generally tender, meaty and their Newport-style Sauce was wonderful. Donât forget to eat some of the Lobster Roe (pictured above). So good! 
Crispy Fried Squid with Salt & Pepper:
This was sadly a bit soggy. It lacked the crispiness of a great version, a touch laden with oil.
Steamed Whole Fish (Live Red Grouper Fish):
Delicious! It lacks the finesse of places like Sea Harbour, but Newportâs Steamed Fish is solid replacement if youâre in the mood for some Chinese-style Steamed Fish and are already here.
The sauce is wonderful (pour some over some Steamed Rice), take a bite of the Steamed Red Grouper with some Green Onions and enjoy! 
Service is horrendously bad, even when compared to a hole-in-the-wall, informal eatery in the SGV. We tried getting the attention of multiple waiters, and at least 50 - 60% of the time, they âshooedâ us away! 
Looking perturbed that weâd even bother them (they waved their hands in frustration and kept walking past us). UhmâŠ
But overall, we had a good dinner, with good friends, and enjoying their Live Lobster. Newport Seafoodâs greatest strength is probably the QPR, although thatâs shrinking recently. At $18.95 / lb for Live Lobster, itâs a relative bargain, and you can customize your meal to fit however many people are with you (ordering a small, medium or large size Lobster, etc.). Their Live Crab is $16.95 / lb, and their Live Steamed Fish (Red Grouper) is $30 / lb.
Overall itâs slightly cheaper than Sea Harbour, but the difference isnât as great as it used to be. Given the quality and care, finesse and far better service and better flavors that Sea Harbour has, weâd probably go there first, but it does lack the ability to stun your friends and guests with a massive Live Lobster so large, it literally induces gasps of shock and awe. 
Newport Seafood
518 W Las Tunas Dr.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Tel: (626) 289-5998
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Someone has been awful pissy lately, huh?
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Thatâs his tongue-in-cheek way of opening up more seats for him and his party at Sea Harbour.
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Was in East LA on Sunday and saw Memeâs Texas BBQ Smokehouse on Whitter Blvd so decided to stop in.
Got the Pit Master Combo which comes with a pork rib, quarter chicken, two slices of brisket, a pulled pork slider, bbq beans, and a side (I got macaroni salad) for $13.50.
No smoke ring visible on the pork rib but it had good flavor and decent chew (not fall off the bone tender). The other items had a nice smoke flavor. I shared the combo with my wife, and the kids got pulled pork sandwiches which came with a side. Afterwards, we were treated to complimentary brownies. The combo, two pulled pork sandwiches, two pieces of cornbread, and 4 sodas came to about $40 which is a pretty good QPR!
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