Eat Drink Style Thank You to the Rat Man - Chorizo, Sake & Manila Clams, Beef Bourguignon Recipe and A Scoop of Scoops

J lives in a great spot in Los Angeles. It's close to our favorite eating spots with Chinatown, Koreatown, Thai Town and Little Tokyo within a 10-minute drive. The 101 is less than 3 minutes away. The complex she lives in has several cottage-style units, a nice courtyard for hanging out, a semi-view of the Downtown skyline and most importantly, warm neighbors. After a few months, we were all on first-name basis and pretty much knew about each of the neighbors. This is great we thought. The grass is green, birds are chirping, dragonflies buzzing around – life couldn't be better.

Or so we thought.

J and I started to notice that the soba noodles and spaghetti pasta packages were being opened. Unless it was a new design, vietnamese rice paper had small teeth marks. Cotton was being removed from J's japanese-style futon. Occasional scuffling in the walls and banging sounds in the oven.

Rats.

One night, J and I were ready to go out. I went over to her closet to grab my jacket and all of a sudden, we froze to the sound of something rustling in j's wicker hamper. I turned to look at her and pointed my finger at the hamper. Her eyes were widened, eyebrows arched with concern and distraught. I signaled for her to open the kitchen door. She came back and I slowly opened the hamper. And within a flash, something black and hairy with a long pink tail jumped out. He scurried right by J. J quickly watched as it went by and let out the most delayed scream ever. 2 seconds later. It was pretty funny haha. Anyway, the rat didn't see the open door and instead, ran behind the fridge. Great. I went back there with a broom and proceeded to slam the spank the back of the fridge like it liked it. J was annoyed and told me to stop haha – I was probably releasing stress from a few months ago and forgot that I was after a rodent. Anyway, it was nowhere to be found. We moved the fridge and stove. Nothing. Rats are so clever. Did he sneak out while I was on the spanking spree?

We knew of one last option – call JR. JR is J's next door neighbor. A tall, slender early-30's drummer who proved to be one of the most handy guys around the complex. He has helped J out many times with different things. We asked him to come over and help us rat out the rat. After a few minutes of looking, we were all baffled.

JR: "Wait. Did you check inside the stove?"
Me: "You serious. It's freaking hot in there."
JR: "Be right back."

He comes back with a flashlight, and lifts the broiler door open. And sure enough, we see a trembling rat wedged in the back end of the broiler. I couldn't believe that it got through the stove from the back side. We opened the door, stuck something in the broiler and out popped the rat. Thank you JR.

But the story does not end here. Again, we found feces and opened food a week later. Was it the same one? Couldn't be. An Orkin guy was even sent out and he really didn't do anything but give J these stupid old school Tom & Jerry mouse traps. Rats aren't stupid.

Me: "You know what you need?"
J: "What?"
Me: "You need some clear sticky tape. Just tape."
J: "And we throw some bait."
Me: "Yesssssss." *evil*

J found some sticky tape at the store. But we needed something delicious to lure that hairy bastard back in here. Thank god J had some of that delicious cashew butter from Trader Joe's. That stuff lures me too. She put a ball of the butter past the sticky tape line. And within an hour, she reported hearing noises in the kitchen - like nails gliding across the ceramic tile. She called me while I was at work and I could hear the rat making noise. She peeked in and saw the rat, about 7" minus the tail, stomach stuck to the tape - exhausted. It was relief yet cruel at the same time.

Me: "Are you just going to just let it die?"
J: "I don't know what to do."
Silence.
Together: "JR."

JR comes over and picks up the tape with the rat attached to it. The rat was miserable, tired and nearly dead. JR takes the rat to the back, grabs a big stone and puts it out of its misery. I think it was the right thing to do. Thank you JR.

Now that I've whet your appetite. Let's get on to the food. As a simple thank you to JR for helping J out and for being a really down-to-earth, good neighbor, we invited him over for dinner.

We started off with some delicious cheese that J got at Silverlake Cheese store. The creamy, triple-creme kind. Stuff that looks like butter.

As an appetizer, we made some manila clams. I love the clams served up at Musha, which are cooked with sake, parsley, leeks, mushrooms, garlic and about 10 lbs of butter. Who doesn't like butter?! Our take included sake and white wine, chorizo sausage for a spice kick and korean-style sliced scallions. And it was delicious. JR and J were so hungry that they started sponging up the sake/butter sauce with bread. Not healthy, but good.

Chorizo & Sake Manila Clams
Simply wash and scrub the clams to rid them of any sand or nasties. I bought nearly 20 clams - about 2.5 lbs. First pan fry some chorizo pork sausage and break them down into small bits. Set aside on paper towel to soak up the grease. Sauté some shallots and garlic over medium heat. After you've sweated them, add about 1 cup of white wine, and about 1/2 a cup of sake. Wait a few minutes for the alcohol to burn out and add about 2-3 tablespoons of butter. As soon as the butter melts, bring the clams to the party. You'll see the clams slowly pop open. ***A side note. To identify dead clams, take a wooden spoon and tap the clamshell. If you hear a solid sound, it's alive, if you hear a hollow sound (like cracking open egg shells), it's dead. Once all of them have opened (about 4 minutes, add the sliced green onions and stir - making sure that you spoon butter into all the clams. Serve immediately with french bread.

Beef Bourguignon
JR is french, and we knew that he would like this. We sautéed some beef stew meat in olive oil and added a mire poix (onions, carrots, celery). Poured in some red wine and add bay leaves, garlic, thyme, peppercorn and tomato paste. To thicken up the stew, we added potatoes, a little flour and mushrooms. Baked the whole thing in a dutch oven at about 450 degrees for nearly 4 hours. The result is a hearty and savory meat dish that goes well with greens, rice and potatoes - or simply with fresh warm french bread. If you want the recipe, feel free to email me – I'm too lazy to type it out.

A Scoop of Scoops Ice Cream
Any dinner party we have, J will get stoked. Her first choice for dessert is always Scoops Ice Cream over on Melrose/Heliotrope. Owned by a very nice Korean man, Scoops conjures up very interesting ice cream flavors daily. He even has a white board for people to write down suggestions for future flavors. I believe he has even made a foie gras ice cream. Mmm. Not a flavor any PETA person would like to see on a menu. Pictured above is the brown bread and chocolate, banana and cinnamon flavors. A delicious way to end a hearty meal.

Thank you to JR for being a good neighbor and friend to us, and thanks to everyone for reading. I know this was long.

Eat Drink Style Koreatown Battle of the Tofu Houses: Beverly Soon Tofu VS. So Kong Dong Tofu

Tyson vs. Holyfield. Holyfield vs. Lewis. Great matches. But what about the real bouts - food fights!? For many in Los Angeles, it's Golden Deli vs. Pho 79, Sushi Zo vs. Sasabune, Phillipe's vs. Cole's french dip – the list goes on an on. But who reigns as champ in the soon tofu circuit? For those that have never eaten this delicious Korean dish, it consists of meat, seafood, tofu, broth and chili powder all served in a scalding hot stone pot. Before I frequented the two places above, I ate at BCD Tofu House a lot and Young Dong and Min Dong in the SGV area - they were average but I wanted the best of the best. All over Chowhound and Yelp, Beverly Soon Tofu and So Kong Dong were the two most mentioned places - both of which I had to sample. *Ding Ding Ding* Rumble time!

Live from the streets of Koreatown on Olympic Blvd., lie two contenders that have forever had conflict with each other. In fact, they are directly across the street from each other! On the North corner, weighing in at 2717 W Olympic Blvd Ste 108, about 900 square feet, in its 20+ years of serving food... Beverly Soon Tofu aka BST - The Beast! And on the South Corner, weighing in at 2717 W Olympic Blvd Ste 108, also about 900 square feet, also in its 20+ years of serving food.... So Kong Dong aka SKD - Super Killer Destroyer! (k that was stupid, but just play along). Let's take an insider look at those two opponents.

BST sits on the corner of a strip mall with very bad parking. All the buildings in Koreatown are 2-3 stories, and can only afford 10-12 parking spots because the area is so tight. The interior of BST takes on a rustic Korean atmosphere - I love the wooden benches they use. And can hold about 36 people. To add to the authenticity, you'll see a government-supplied metal bowl as part of your settings. No not for rice or soup - but for your ice tea! They give you your own ice tea dispenser which makes it easier for the servers to be more efficient in taking care of the food.

Beef Soon Tofu
BST really packs a powerful punch with the soon tofu. The broth used is extremely full-bodied and you can tell it wasn't some kind of bouillon/powder used for flavoring water. For $8.27 per pot, BST doesn't dent your wallet. (That was bad!) The stock really has a strong beef taste and is thick, not watery like some other places. The tofu is soft and fluffy, the way I like it. Some places I've been to, the tofu is just too chunky/pasty and when mixed, turns the whole dish into swamp mush. You can easily lose your appetite if this occurs.

BST offers 10 kinds of soon tofu: the combination (meat/seafood), seafood, kimchi, mushroom, vegetable, fish egg, squid, shrimp vegetable, seaweed and soybean paste (dwen jang).

Here's a slow mo replay of BST's beefy uppercut. Even when mixed up, tofu and broth stay separated.

Like BCD Tofu House (Bok Chang Dong - the 24 hour soon tofu joint), they offer korean bbq platters with the soon tofu. For an additional $6, you can turn your soon tofu into a powerhouse combo! (sorry) Although the amount of kalbi given is sparse (6-7 pieces), you can't find a better pairing for your molten hot bowl of tofu. These are cooked inside the kitchen, so don't worry about getting the Soot Bull Jeep or Gui Rim experience.`

Not pictured are BST's side dishes (ban chan), which are another strong point - they are definitely high quality. Everything is good - the kimchi, the bean sprouts, radish, potatoes... and their secret weapon... silky round cuts of tofu in a light broth, sesame oil and seaweed strips. I gobbled this in 3 scoops. Loved it.

When the server brings you the rice that accompanies the soon tofu, it's also served in a stone pot. Once she scoops out the rice into the metal bowls, she'll add ice tea or water to the stone pot to loosen the rice that's burnt and stuck to the sides of the pot. With the help of some salt, this becomes an instant double dinner. Or if you choose not to add water, you can eat the burnt rice pieces on the inside of the pot, which Koreans refer to as 'noo roong ji'. Both are good sources of double dinner. In addition to the soon tofu, I hear that BST serves a good bibimbap, which is a stone pot filled with meat, eggs, veggies and rice - served with sesame oil and sweet red chili paste (gochujang).

Total bill comes out to about $34 with tax and tip for two people. Service is great here, parking isn't.

Now a look at the Super Killer Destroyer, SKD, across in the South ring. SKD sits in the corner of a strip mall hidden behind the stairwell and also offers bad parking. BST has an advantage to SKD b/c it's on the north side of Olympic - much easier to turn into coming from either direction on Vermont. This area around 6 pm on a weekday is pure shit.

I came here on a weekend around 7 pm and it was quite slow. For a place to be this hidden and still hold a great reputation in the overwhelming Koreatown area really says a lot. I was greeted warmly and instantly smelled the goodness coming out of the kitchen.

For $8.50, you get a piping hot bowl of soon tofu. And it is super delicious. Thick, hot, bubbling - just like BST. But I'm going to have to say that SKD's soon tofu (beef, very spicy version pictured above) gives a nice hook to BST's noggin. Every single scoop made me want more and more - it was like chewing gum that never ran out of flavor. Tofu was very silky and fluffy like BST's, but I found that the soup evaporated faster than BST's, making everything really mushy and choppy. Still very good though! I'd take this over BCD anyday.

SKD also offers 10 kinds of soon tofu like BST: combination (meat/seafood), seafood, clam, oyster, beef, pork, kimchi, mushroom, beef intestines and dumplings.

A good way to test the quality of the soup is to try the plain soup version. Just kidding, that's just my bullshit excuse for not being able to handle much spiciness (due to excessive drinking in the past). Great soup - I could definitely taste the essence of beef and seafood in the broth. I quickly stole some of J's spicy soup and dumped it in my bowl. Again, the broth evaporated quite quickly. But nonetheless, delicious.

Unfortunately, for those that are used to BST and BCD's kalbi/tofu combos, it doesn't happen here. This is where I think SKD may lack as a restaurant in whole. If you're in for the tofu, just come to either place and order the tofu. Some may argue that you don't go to a tofu house to order meat, which is true, as you don't order soup noodles in a chinese banquet restaurant. But if you must have a side of meat to go with your tofu, I suggest going to BST. SKD only offers beef and pork bul go gi (slices of meat served on a platter w/ onions) for $12.99 which is steep. If you add that to your $8.50 soon tofu, that's $22 we're talking there. But that's for sliced beef, not like kalbi ribs you can get at BST.

With a more expensive pot of soon tofu and no real meat combo, things aren't looking good for SKD. But the tables have turned and a possible comeback is in sight. This is SKD's secret weapon that may see to BST's strong set of side dishes... the spicy raw crab called 'gae jang'.

I've never had this but I can tell you that I have a favorite new side dish. Raw crabs are cracked and fermented with red bean paste along with green onions and garlic - awesome. There was so little meat on it though and I knew that it was more for sucking on. The paste used is really tasty. Crab does things to dishes – like how blue crab enhances the taste of Laotian/Thai papaya salad. You can order a whole plate of the raw crab for $10.99. Total bill for two orders of soon tofu with tax and tip comes out to like $18.

Judge's Scorecard after 20+ Years of Fighting

Best Overall Soon Tofu - I'd give it to SKD for it's strong broth. Both places have nice silky tofu, but it's the broth that's important.

Best Overall Side Dishes - This is a tie. BST has very good overall ban chan. But it's SKD's raw crab dish that wins a lot of people over. If you don't think you'll like raw crab, don't go to SKD. They also have fishcake but it's quite rubbery - not the best korean fishcake I've had.

Best Variety - This is a tie when it comes to soon tofu variations. I like the idea of BST's fish eggs, squid, soybean paste and seaweed in the tofu and I also like SKD's clam, oyster and beef intestine offerings - very unique! But I am a sucker for the dumpling tofu (mandoo), which is only offered by SKD.

Best Value - I'd give it to BST for their tofu/meat combos. BST offers both kalbi and bulgogi w/ combos, but SKD only offers non-combo bulgogi for $12.99. Quite expensive IMO for sliced beef. Even if I only want to eat soon tofu, I'd still come to Beverly because of the ban chan.

Best Miscellanous Benefits - Not that I really care about this but it depends on what you like. I like the old school benches at BST. SKD feels like any regular restaurant. Service is great at both places. Parking is shitty at both strip malls. I believe BST closes 30-60 mins earlier than SKD. And BCD Tofu House is open 24 hours.

Overall, I think both places are very solid. I'm glad there are other places to go to besides BCD Tofu House which for some reason just isn't on the same level as BST & SKD. I do like the fried yellow covina fish that's served as ban chan though - so tasty.

Are there better places than these two? Lemme know! I'd love to try it out and do another rematch posting. As always, thanks for reading.

Another compelling battle is also taking place in Koreatown... Pho 2000 vs. Pho 4000. Who is the real Pho restaurant from the future?!

Beverly Soon Tofu
2717 W Olympic Blvd #108
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-1113

So Kong Dong
2716 W Olympic Blvd #104
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(213) 380-3737

Eat Drink Style Supermarket Love Affair: My Junk Blog

If you're bored at work, or refuse to work, stop by my junk site... Supermarket Love Affair! Updated five times a week... or basically everyday at work.

Eat Drink Style Foodporno! The Ramen Girl

I haven't watched the film Tampopo, which was shot in 1985 but I've heard that it's good. It's a film about a woman and her passion for ramen. 22 years later, again the topic of ramen comes up. This movie stars Brittany Murphy, who plays a chef-in-training in a ramen noodle shop. Compelling story, I know. Not sure when this comes out soon, but I certainly hope the theatre sells cup o' noodles at the snack bar during the premiere. That'd be fun to hear slurping inside the theatre.

Eat Drink Style A Thesis/Dissertation: Why Are There So Many Asian Food Bloggers?!

***These theories are mine, written for fun and do not apply to all Asian ethnicities. Just my fellow Chinese people really, haha. If you're offended, just go to cuteoverload.com and blow some steam.***

A few of my friends who have been recently sucked into LA's food blog world have brought up a particular question many times to me.

Why are there so many food bloggers of Asian descent in LA? In the world, even?

Because we love food. No shit. That's obvious, but why? Hmm. Good question – could this be a coincidence? I don't think so. Out of the 33 links on my blogroll, 28 are authored by people of Asian descent. Whoa! I wish Confucius was here. But then again, this miniscule debate wouldn't exactly be on the top of his list. But we care about this small-minded issue because we love food, so I'll have to undergo a Ghost moment with Confucius. Not in a creepy way - I have a girlfriend.

Theory #1: Dinner Time is Family Time
The dynamics of an Asian Family work like this. The all-too-expressive Dad will be in the living room reading the newspaper or watching some Chinese soap opera with some young girl crying and the guy walking off. Repeat five times in an hour. Mom will be peeling some vegetables she got on sale at 99 Ranch Market with her apron that has random Engrish cartoons on them. Something like.... "Happy Happy Cook Love" with bunnies and shit all over. Little Sister is in her room practicing for the One Man Band competition. She's playing the violin, piano, flute, cello and studying for her Calculus 19A quiz – all at the same time. Big brother is filling out his Ivy League college applications, with UC Berkeley as 'backup' and counting down the minutes till he gets to release his stress on online video games. 98-year old Grandma, mother of the father of course, is taking care of the baby sister singing her the Chinese alphabet song like a broken record. Everyone is dispersed in this activity center we call home, but when it's dinner time, everyone is at the table - hungry or not. You see, this is where the congressional hearings take place. Dad's got the gavel ready, maybe even a feather duster, and he's ready to hear the children's daily reports. There's also the occasional wedding banquet at the Chinese restaurant which is mandatory. You don't know everyone there, but you have no choice but to sit there and watch your drunk uncles get smashed off Hennessy and XO. Then there's the one of many relatives that visits from Asia, Canada and Australia. Bottom line, food brought generations of family together. Everything sounds so forced and strict, but you know what, the day I left for college... I missed my parent's home cooking. I didn't miss the lectures... I missed the food that brought us together. It's something I took for granted because now we hardly eat together as a family. It wasn't anything special, but it was good because it was made with TLC. Asian families are very close-knit and it's no wonder you see a herds of Asians. At clubs, it's not a surprise to see a group of 40. At dinner parties, restaurant servers are rushed to put tables together for the birthday dinner for 30. Yes, we stick together because that's how we grew up... being together.

Theory #2 All Asian Food Has A Common Origin
Rice, don't like rice, so I'll pick noodles for instance. The Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, Mongolians, Malaysians, Indonesians, Burmese and Filipinos - they all eat noodles. We all eat rice and beans and have evolved different methods of preparing them. When I grew up, I was exposed to Chinese noodles because my dad is the true noodle whore. He passed that whoring gene down to me and my sister. Here are a few cultural favorites:

Hong Kong: wonton noodles, fish ball noodles, beef ball noodles - brought over by the Chiu Chow people. Traditionally, Hong Kong and Macau love to eat beef brisket egg noodle soup and wonton noodles.

Chiu Chow/Chao Zhou/Trieu Chau/Teo Chew: this seafood city is the land of delicious beef ball/pork ball/fish ball noodles. Vietnamese refer to their soup noodles as 'hu tieu'... which is the same as chinese (guo tiao) and thai (kway tiao). They love to eat fat rice noodles and yellow egg noodles. The Chiu Chow people brought this to Vietnam, Cambodian, Taiwan and Thailand. You'll know you're in a Chiu Chow restaurant when you see the menu in four different languages: chinese, vietnamese, cambodian and sometimes thai. Go to Chinatown, there are at least 5 Chiu Chow restaurants, with Mien Nghia being my LA favorite and Trieu Chau Restaurant being my OC favorite (Santa Ana).

Taiwan: beef noodle soup, beef ball noodles, pork ball noodles, vermicelli (fun sih/mi fun) Taiwanese are originally from the Fujian area, which is the province next to Chiu Chow. They fled to Taiwan because of the Qing dynasty, and at that time, was initially occupied by Malaysian, Polynesian aborigines and then later colonized by Portuguese, Dutch and Japanese. The original beef noodle soup came from Muslim Chinese and in China alone, there are probably hundreds of variations just like Japanese ramen. Some words in Chiu Chow dialect and Taiwanese sound VERY similar.

Vietnam: pho beef noodle soup. Pho is a variation of Chinese beef brisket noodle soup with lighter colored, aromatic soup. In southeast Asia, fish sauce is used more commonly than soy sauce. Mongolians brought with them to Vietnam the spices used in the soup, such as anise, coriander and cinnamon. There is a saying in Chinese... "where there is land, there are Chinese." So true. Chinese are all over Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos... they fled for work and war refuge. And with them, they brought their food. In any vietnamese restaurant, besides pho, you'll see something called 'hu tieu' which as mentioned before is the Vietnamese name for 'gwo tiao', which means soup noodles with thick rice noodles or yellow egg noodles. The soup base consists of boiling pork bones, chicken bones, dried fish, fish sauce and shallots. The result is a sweet, yellow broth.

Thailand: ever have Thai Boat Noodle Soup? The name for soup noodles is 'kway tiao'... which is the same as Chinese 'guo tiao', Vietnamese and Cambodian 'hu tieu'. Same thing, soy sauce based soup with herbs and beef parts.

Cambodia: Cambodia is heavily influenced by French, Chinese and Thai cuisine. You'll see fried rice, fried noodles and of course, hu tieu. In Cambodian restaurants, it is very likely that they can speak Chinese, Chiu Chow dialect, Vietnamese and sometimes Thai.

Japan: cha-shu ramen. everybody loves ramen. At Shin Sen Gumi, my fave ramen shop, the noodles used are similar to Chinese noodles which are called 'la-mian' (mandarin) and 'lai-mein' (cantonese). But cha-shu style pork is their main ingredient, not beef. Like Chiu Chow noodle soup, the broth is made by boiling pork bones... but for 10+ hours. This causes the collagen and marrow in the pot to form a rich, white broth.

Korea: neng myeon ('liang mian' in chinese which means cold noodles), jaampong and jja jiang myeon. Jaampong is a spicy, seafood noodle soup which is similar to China's 'chao ma mian'. That shit will send you to the toilet in no time. Jja jiang myeon is a variation of Chinese 'ja jiang mian' which is a pork/black bean paste noodle served with cucumbers. I love both the Chinese and Korean versions.

The Philippines: again, where there's land, there's Chinese... and with that, they bring their food. 'Pancit canton' dish is similar to the Chinese 'chow mein'... only with a different type of noodle. Some variations include Chinese sausage, shrimp, pork, carrots and celery.

Hawaii: not noodles typically, but a big clusterfuck of delicious foods. The lunch plates you usually see at Shakas, L&L and Ono Hawaiian bbq are massive boxes filled with some kind of Asian meat, rice and macaroni salad. During the sugar plantation era, there was a large influx of Chinese, Japanese and Korean immigrants. After work, they would set up little night markets and sell their culture's food for extra money. That's why you have fried rice, tonkatsu cutlets and korean bbq. Gravy and macaroni salad are not from Asia if you haven't figured out.

What's my point? Noodles pretty much have a common background. And because I love noodles, it's very likely that I'll try another culture's dish. I'm sure those that love pho will probably like Chinese beef noodle soup. And those that love Chinese beef noodle soup usually end up liking Thai Boat noodles. Each culture's variation is different enough to distinguish it as its own type of noodle soup. I'll eat pho one day, and the following week, eat Chiu Chow noodles. Same dish essentially, different taste. In essence, if you combine all the Asian cultures soup noodles, that's A LOT of different things to try.


Theory #3: Asians Eat Everything
Yes, and so do, the French, Mexicans and Spanish. So don't call PETA just yet. There's another saying... "Chinese will eat anything on the ground with legs, except for tables and chairs. Chinese will eat anything in the air except airplanes." haha. And it's the truth. Chinese are thrifty and will not let anything go to waste. In some countries, it is a sin to kill an animal and not use all of it - an unworthy kill. When you are living in a poor country, you do what it takes to see the next day. Even if it means eating an animals feet. And if that's all your given to eat, you're gonna make sure that its edible. For example, Filipino food consists of a lot of offals and entrails. During Spanish colonization in the Phillipines, the Spanish gave Filipinos leftovers and 'non-edible' parts. What'd they do with them? 'Dinuguan' is a popular dish consisting of pork blood cubes, pork stomach, snout, ears in blood stew. Those parts you don't see very often on TGIFriday's menu.

Introducing, the Southeast Asian sampler platter! Jack Daniel's, beer-battered blood cubes! Mesquite-BBQ pig ears! Beef organ Nachos with Salsa Verde!

The best dim sum dishes are chicken feet, beef tripe and pork blood soup with daikon. Yum. Because the unused parts are undesirable, they are cheaper. So when mom goes to 99 Ranch, she's getting the cheaper stuff - the parts. The practice of cooking offals and unused parts also makes Asian cuisine that more interesting than say – meat,potatoes and any of Rachael Ray's 30-minute salads. It also adds more variety as a whole to Asian cuisine. If you like Chinese tripe, you'll like tripe in Vietnamese and Thai noodles. Just remember when you say 'eew', someone out there is saying 'mmm'.

Theory #4: Asian Food Is Cheap
I'm sometimes amazed by how affordable Asian food is. And I wonder how these restaurateurs actually keep a roof over their head. Places like PF Chang's will make my parents faint. A bowl of pho is $4.25... what would wou rather have a piping hot bowl of cholestorol or McDonald's $4.25 fatty cholestorol-laden fried food? #4 Special please. To eat 'family' style means to order a few dishes and share with the table. So you can imagine the bill being divided up will amount to a low cost per person. My friends and I had a large dim sum get together not too long ago... twenty people, a smorgasbord of food.... $10 each. $10 at a non-asian place will barely get you an appetizer and soup. You know those delicious soupy dumplings - 10 pieces for $4.50. For some Chinese people, that is a rip because in Shanghai, you can get 10 of those for like $1. Crazy. Anyway, because the food is affordable and tasty, you can eat out more often and not damage the wallet. I don't know too many people that can afford to eat at Mozza, Doughboy's, Malo and Lucques all in one week. Not to mention how rich that food is. But I can afford to eat at Saap Coffee Shop, Golden Deli and all-you-can-eat korean bbq at Gui Rim 2. That's about $40 there. Thanks to Christine D for bringing up this point.

Theory #5: Asians Love Computers
Oh yes we do. I do. If you don't believe me, go to Fry's Electronics - half the staff is Asian. Wait a minute, there's a place that allows me to be around computers AND make money at the same time? Nice - application please! The computer and internet allows us to voice opinions with anonymity. You can do everything on the computer nowadays - even find @$$!

In essence, I think that the combination of closeknit families, wide variety of Asian cuisine as a whole, relentless devouring of the whole animal, affordable costs and love for computer technology... is the reasoning behind the high amount of foodblogging done by people of Asian ethnicity. Everyone wants to find a niche and with the thousands of food blogs out there, we know that the topic of food is very much a cozy, comfy nest for us to rest in. Eating at a restaurant is the best way to kill two birds with one stone... you want to stay in touch with family and friends but you also want to feed your face. Not many people I know will get together with their families and go and get loaded at a dive bar or bikini waxing salon. It's also the best way to not have to clean up your house and have guests sit on your furniture, which is already wrapped in thick plastic to ensure centuries of usage. True story, I knew of an Asian family that even had their Oldsmobile interior wrapped in plastic. Might as well have added bubble wrap outside of the car.


Ok, so now the real question is... what am I eating for dinner?

Thanks for reading.

Eat Drink Style Durian Candy... Only A Matter of Time

My favorite type of movies have to be asian independent/foreign films. And I owe it to my dad for getting me so into it. On my Netflix queue, I'd say 30% of my queue is foreign. America is very sensitive and there are just way too many topics that would get the MPAA hot and bothered. Especially Asian horror. That's why there's the foreign section in any movie store - it's for you to get a glimpse of something unfamiliar and untainted. Anyway, as a kid, my dad would take me to the old Garfield Theatre on Valley/Garfield - where Kang Kang Food Court and Crepe In The Grip now exist. But besides watching Asian cinema, which during that time – hailed some bad film making, I was more interested in the snack bar. And it wasn't your typical snack bar. No popcorn, no nachos or Milk Duds. They offered stuff like dried cuttlefish, fruit-flavored and curry-flavored beef jerky, White Rabbit candy, dried prunes in those plastic heart-shaped containers, haw flakes, and canned grass jelly. Oh pure FOB joy. It's not like I couldn't get those at the local Chinese market - it was just special to eat pungent food in a theatre with other people eating pungent food. Just like the fresh smell of canned butter. Mmm.

But things may have been different in theatres if they had offered... Durian Candy! What is durian? It's a spiky fruit that is known for it's sweet yet pungent odor. I didn't like the stuff growing up as my relatives would try to foie gras that sh*t into my body. Garfield Theatre is no longer in commission and I could imagine a conversation with the manager sounding like this, if they had sold this particular stinkbomb candy.

"Yeah, we're shutting down the place in about a few weeks. Ticket sales have been plummeting. I'm sad. Oh, and by the way, you have to try our new durian candy at the concession stand - it's great! I know Chinese love it!"

This weekend I was in Chinatown eating lunch with J and her mom at Mien Nghia. Afterwards we headed to the Wing Hop Fung emporium to find medicine and I stumpled upon this! If I see something that even looks remotely bizarre, I immediately think about about my friend Eddie of Deep End Dining and Steve of Steve Don't Eat It! Hey, have to try all the food I can before I die.

There are some bad girls out there, but the clever, snide ones, put on the innocent look. This candy is no different. She looks like a caramel, but inside is a spiky bomb waiting to detonate. Made with durian powder, malt, sugar and coconut milk this has the light odor of durian. It's encased in wax for easy wrapper removal. *Pop* Ok, hmm... no initial taste. About 5 seconds into it, I started to taste the durian-ness. Then the taste of coconut milk which steadily balanced out the durian powder. Hmm! I like it! For the whole 5 minutes it took to eat the candy, it kept me amused - not like gum which loses it's flavor after about 15 seconds. If you're into bizarre candy - try this too! I like these a lot... Gengkis Khan Caramels!

Wing Hop Fung Emporium
727 N. Broadway Suite #102
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 626-7200

Eat Drink Style Suh Ra Bal, Koreatown - May the Owner RIP

Sad news, read about the shooting at the korean bbq restaurant Suh Ra Bal on 1st/Western. I've never eaten there. Condolensces to the family and friends of owner, Lim Hyo-Jin. More news here.