Eat Drink Style Honey Pig, Koreatown - Porny the Pig

Sometimes, words are simply unnecessary. And sometimes, I wish these images were scratch n' sniff. Google and Apple, I'm waiting. There are three things that define Honey Pig: fire, shield-size grill and pig. Lots of pig. Go. Enjoy.

Honey Pig
3400 W. 8th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 380-0256

Eat Drink Style The Boiling Crab, Alhambra - Redux

On Sunday night, my new family and I sat back in our seats in relief and satisfaction. We were at Boiling Crab, and examined the aftermath of our seafood genocide. Our hands sticky with sauce and spices; the outer edges of our lips slightly burnt from the slight heat. On a large piece of white butcher paper lay the remains of the insects of the sea. Shrimp completely stripped of its natural clothing, crab shell pieces smashed like a car in an accident and tiny crawfish severed at the midpoint. It was in fact, a battle scene the insects of the sea had no chance of winning. But they were doomed to begin with the second they entered The Boiling Crab in Alhambra. These guys are either boiled, steamed or deep fried. From there, they are lathered in your choice of sauce – the whole garlicky, lemony, spiceful, buttery sha-bang in our case. And finally, tossed into a plastic bag and shaken up till they are painted a new color. Oysters, catfish, gumbo – are also on the menu but not what they are known for.

When we first opened the bag, you couldn't see much but orange objects, yellow corn and brown sausage slices. But the smell, man... I suddenly remembered what a lovely ingredient garlic is. Name one thing with butter, garlic, wine and spices that tastes bad – sans the whole Olive Garden menu. I reached in first to grab my first shrimp. I removed the head and went straight for the brain, the sweetest part of the bugger in my opinion. Then I cleaned off all the sauce on its arthropodic body. And after removing the shell, I took that shrimp back to Garlicville for a night on the town. Damn. That. Was. Tasty. We looked at each other and nodded – oil all over our hands and mouth.

When the waitress cleaned up our table and handed us the bill, I had to ask:

Me: "Do you sell this sauce?"
BC: "No."
Me: "You should bottle it up and sell it."
BC: "Yeah. Just come back again!"
Me: "I know. But for now, may I have two plastic bags please?"

Like my mom from Hong Kong would do or Asian for that matter haha, I dumped all that sauce back into plastic bags. I do not usually do this, but I have finally found an exception. Even at one point, extending my arms up so that I can push out all the sauce from the large bags. Jeni's mom laughed. But I didn't, I had serious game face on. I don't joke around when it comes to sauce like this. Afterwards, we quickly went to 99 Ranch to buy a pound of shrimp. I went home and threw them right into the Boiling Crab marinade. I swore I hear the shrimp scream, "Yayyyyyyyyyyyy" – they continued to scream and cheer until I tied up the bag.

The next day, all I could think about was my shrimp. I brushed my teeth twice, but I still smelled 'Le Cologne de Garlique'. I would look at the time and countdown. Ok, 4 more hours till it's on. Almost time for Boiling Crab Redux.

I even bought some fresh corn and found some Trader Joe's chicken sausages – threw them into the sauce party. There was major happiness going on in there.

I threw maybe 8-10 scoops of garlic sauce onto the sausages and corn but reserved the rest for the main event. Versus boiling the shrimp, I decided to take it to another level by doing it Hawaiian style. I cooked the shrimp no longer than 4-5 minutes total since they were so large. My only complaint with BC is that the shrimp were overcooked. But that's ok, the sauce more than made up for it. These shrimp tasted awesome and I think the shrimp trucks of Hawaii or Uncle Moki's might have something to aspire to now. Boiling crab, thank you. And thanks for reading.

The Boiling Crab
742 W. Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 576-9368
www.theboilingcrab.com

A review of the Garden Grove, OC location by super-foodie & poet, Elmomonster.

Eat Drink Style Engrish #1: Chinatown Duck & Fish

I love the site Engrish.com and I thank them for the many laughs it has provided. Japan is full of quirkiness and many times, the signage is intentionally created for god knows what reason. But what about my Chinese people, I don't think their intentions are to make you laugh. They just want you to get in to their restaurant, sit down, shut the hell up and eat. And they don't care if any of that English really makes sense. To the printing presses, who is proofreading??? What is the rush to print these menus/signage out, that you can't even look over it once??? Send it to me, I'd do it for FREE so that we don't add more fuel to the already mile-high fire.

Here are the latest ones I've found in Chinatown.

Is it really that SPECLAI? How is that you spell it correctly first, then completely re-order the last 3 letters of the word? This ad does not boost the self esteem of this already-doomed $10 lobster.

I would be sore too if I saw how my life was fated at this restaurant. Notice how the manager had blocked out the prices, because they are cash typos. But he doesn't bother correcting any Engrish. Whoever designed this poster should also get a spanking – it looks like the fish and duck corpses are on vacation in Tahiti. Why does the fish look like one of those painted Asian fans? It also looks like it's wearing some sort of headband from an injury. Probably from banging into the glass of a 10 gallon tank that contains over 100 fish. I also like how the duck looks like it's taking off like Mary Poppins, holding a plate of his chopped up comrade. Haha, the absence of webbed feet are funny too.


And here's an oldie but a goodie. Leave it up to the Koreans for an offer you can't refuse on Thanksgiving... $6.99 for ROBSTER. I'd take lobster with kimchi and gravy on it anyday. Mmm!

I have a feeling this will become a regular section on my blog. So, please feel free to send any you find and I'll post them up. Not limited to Asians, although we rule the world in Engrish. Thanks for reading.

Eat Drink Style Mariscos Chente, Los Angeles - A Shrimp Morgue in Mar Vista

It was a Saturday afternoon and I sat patiently hunched forward with hands crossed on a table with a lazy susan. Jeni was by my side and so was Eddie, Rickmond and Javier. Eddie, also known as the ultimate predator and every animal's/insect's worst nightmare had invited us to a day of adventurous eating. Just before, we had stomached a Filipino duck egg in its nascency – eyes sheathed with very thin veiny skin, claws just firm enough to give you a nice prick in the throat and enough feathers to remind you that you were in fact, consuming a dormant mammal. We had also just finished live spot prawns that jumped out of the pot brought out by the server. About 10 minutes before, they had added a Chinese rice wine and covered the shrimp with a lid, intoxicating them to a lethal state. We picked up the shrimp with our hands the second we their antennaes became limp. We took off their heads, exposing their brain and pulled off its shell. The shrimp was so sweet and fresh, and a few times, I thought I felt the pulse of the once alive shrimp on my tongue. It was exciting and unexpecting.

And now, we were up for the final dish, live lobster... sashimi. All of us looked at each other with confusion and excitement. Eddie saw the server coming through the double doors with a large platter, rubbing his hands together in sheer joy. When the server laid down the platter, we saw not one, but two lobsters. They faced each other on a bed of ice, with antennaes in full motion and making contact with each other. In between the two lobsters, was a small pile of light gray flesh resembling that of red snapper sushi. But then, there was something that caught out attention. The lobsters were moving, but it was only their head that remained. The thorax, abdomen and tail were nowhere to be seen. For a moment, there was an eerie silence. The server even looked at us to get our reaction, almost asking us through ESP, "are you really sure you want this?" We hesitated for a few seconds, and one after the other, we straightened our chopsticks and grabbed a piece of the flesh. I saw the lobster staring at me as I reached my chopsticks into the flesh pile in front of them, even brushing their antennaes. I dipped the lobster sashimi in the provided soy sauce and wasabi, which is not a typical condiment in a Chinese restaurant. I then put the piece of lobster in my mouth and looked at the lobster still alive and kicking. For a second I felt it was a bit wrong, but that quickly changed once my palate approved of the sashimi. My god, it was delicious. Sweet, beautiful texture and reminiscent of sweet shrimp (ama ebi). Once we had finished the sashimi, we cleaned out the heads of the lobsters and by this point, they had fortunately died. I wondered if they could see me eat them alive and I certainly hope they didn't. I felt as though I had walked away with murder and I'll never forget this delightful meal. Note: the lobster is very well dead upon being cut up and Eddie quotes that the remaining nerve or muscle reflexes will still be in effect for a little while.

Almost a year later, I was reminded of that occasion with the live lobsters the second I walked into Mariscos Chente in Mar Vista with my coworkers. With its white walls, green tables, blue-tiled floor, stainless steel metal and open dining area, I was mildly reminded of a morgue – a shrimp morgue to be exact. But I knew this place, much like any other humble Latino-run restaurant, was not about decor or adornments. They had something very delicious in store for us.

Mariscos Chente is run by Sergio Eduardo Penuelas and his wife, Maria. ("Chente" is short for Vicente (Vincent) in Spanish, which is Maria's fathers name – the original chef of MC's dishes.) They come from the Western Mexican states of Sinaloa, and Nayarit respectively – both of which offer an extensive list of seafood dishes. According to Street Gourmet LA's great discussion and review on Mariscos Chente, "it's Nayarit cuisine with a Sinaloan chef." I had eaten ceviche a dozen times, but had never tried Nayarit or Sinaloan-style food. Let's go.

Cubeta de Cerveza (Bucket of Beer)
Eating a Mexican seafood meal without some sort of alcoholic drink is simply immoral. Even more immoral than eating the flesh of a live lobster. The food gods will make sure you spend more time in the purgatory rather than ascending to heaven. Chef Sergio knows that, and that's why he endows you with your very own cubeta de cerveza... 6 beers for $15. Salud!

Grilled Marlin Tacos
I watch a lot of Discovery Channel and National Geographic, especially the ocean related stuff. If there's one fish I do want to catch and cook up before I die, it's a marlin. Pretty easy stuff considering it'll only take 4 hours and rip off all the skin from your palms. This is one TOUGH fish and tough fish means tough meat. Right? Wrong. Leave it to Chef Sergio to give you some of the tastiest, smokiest marlin tacos you'll ever have. The meat has a consistency of pork and its super moist. A simple dip into the hot, cucumber-infused green hot sauce and you can relax knowing that Chef Sergio just saved you 4 punishing hours of skin-tearing pain on your palms. Guys will be grateful.

Ceviche de Camaron
Your standard dish at any Mexican mariscos restaurant. But you'll notice a large portion of cucumbers are mixed in – that's because Nayarit and Sinaloa use it heavily in their cuisine. This ceviche was done very well. Just the right amount of lime and not too sour. The shrimp was well balanced with the cold tomato and cucumber cubes – altogether it was very refreshing. I would get this again and maybe even request an octopus (pulpo) version.

Coctel de Camaron y Pulpo (Shrimp & Octopus Cocktail)
Another standard dish that comes in a glass, rather than a plate. It's almost the same as ceviche only there is ketchup added. In addition to the freshness of the shrimp, octopus and vegetables, there was a nice smokiness in the juice and I can't quite figure out its origin. FYI, this is also the Mexican version of the "hair of the dog" and I believed it as we passed this along to everyone at the table. You will be completely sober after eating/drinking this. I have to say, I am now a huge fan of lime juice that is mixed with seafood, ketchup and veggies. Mmm, Sea Juice anyone?

Camarones Aguachiles
And here is the reason why I deem Mariscos Chente as a shrimp morgue and why I am reminded of the "Day of the Living Lobsters". The server brought this out to us and we were immediately attracted to the dish. The shrimps were all facing outwards, staring at each one of us. Their bodies had been butterflied beautifully, and the flesh resembled a cape behind their heads. And they weren't flying anywhere else but into our stomachs. The plating of the butterflied-Shrimp with heads still attached and the combination of gray, green and purple colors immediately hit our brain as true food porn. It was naked. It was sexy. And it was true Mexican seafood. Aguachiles refers to the stellar sauce that Chef Sergio makes – a little lime, chiles and cucumbers are blended together in this harmonious sauce that accents the sweetness of the shrimp. Not quite as sweet as Spot Prawns but still delicious. I love the texture of raw shrimp.

Camarones a La Diabla
The server set this down and immediately reminded of a massacre. The shrimp, some beheaded, lay on the plate amongst fallen comrades in their own blood pool. It was beautiful. Considered to be the spiciest of Chef Sergio's dishes, this is simply fantastic. Chef Sergio serves up the perfectly sautéed shrimp in a sauce made of two types of chili (Nuevo Mexico and Chili de Arbol), cooked onions and butter. I think I tasted a hint of beer but that could be from my cubeta de cerveza. I have never found a Mexican seafood sauce as spicy, buttery and smoky as this and we made sure to lick that plate clean. We added the rest of the sauce into the shrimp cocktail and jokingly told Sergio to check out our invention: Ceviche a la Diabla. He laughed and then walked away muttering... "pinche chino." Just kidding.

Another Gratuitous View of Camarones a La Diabla
If Chef Sergio bottled this sauce up, he would make a fortune and shrimp would hate him forever.

Camarones a La Pimienta
I think these are in my top 3 of Sergio's shrimp dishes. I am a black pepper freak.

Camarones Checo
All you're going to taste in this is garlic, tons of spice and butter. You will love.

Camarones Borachos
These shrimp are deep-fried, and then sautéed with Worcestershire sauce (Salsa de Ingleterra) and tequila. Wasn't my favorite because the shrimp was way overcooked. It was nothing like Japanese deep fried shrimpheads.

Pescado Zarandeado
And this is probably Sergio's most proud dish – the pescado zarandeado. The verb zarandear means to shake or stir, but it has nothing to do with this dish that requires grilling with a special robato tool. He uses a fish called Snook and after filleting it in half butterfly style, he adds a sauce made of soy sauce, limes and mayonnaise. The fish is then folded back into its original form and sent to grill hell. And this beauty is served upon a turquoise tray – I love it.

Chef Sergio Eduardo Penuelas
Here is the shrimp mortician himself. Everyday, he probably sacrifices over 3,000 shrimp. He is the nicest guy and I have to say, probably the best Mexican seafood chef I had ever met. My biggest problem with ceviche in general has been the overuse of lime more as a way to mask older seafood, rather than 'cook' the seafood. But Chef Sergio has helped me realize my love for Mexican seafood once again. His sensibility of adding just the right amount of everything is exhibited in every dish we tried.

Compared to your "standard" Mexican restaurant, there is a lot to be learned about Nayarit and Sinaloan cuisine as there are huge differences. We didn't get to try the Nayarit specialty, pescado zarandeado, which is a whole-grilled Snook fish marinated in soy sauce, lime, chipotle and mayo. It's supposed to be the most popular, if not best dish at Mariscos Chente. Nor did we get to try the many variations of sautéed shrimp in various sauces such as pepper and oil, butter, garlic and tequila. The good thing about Mariscos Chente is that the menu is small enough for you to complete in about 4-5 visits and it's comforting knowing that anything you do try will be made by a very talented, warm chef that will have you coming back more than once. Thanks for reading.

Mariscos Chente
4532 S. Centinela Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90066
(310) 390-9241

Mariscos Chente reviews on Los Angeles Times, Street Gourmet LA and Exile Kiss.

Eat Drink Style Breakfast Noodles in Chinatown, Los Angeles - A Tasting of Chiu Chow Soup Noodles

What is your breakfast fix everyday? What gets your day going?

If you ask me what I want for breakfast, the chances are that it won't involve fried eggs, bacon, waffles, pancakes or sausages. I love those but I can't eat that all the time. One thing I can eat everyday is noodles – soup noodles to be exact. And I'm not ashamed to bring out the inner FOB at 7:30 am, because a tasty goal s achieved. Over the last few months, I had given up searching for a nice lunch time option in the Westside area. Although I'll crave the Indian food on Venice Blvd., Santouka in the Mitsuwa plaza and the tiny Tokyo 77 Coffee Shop run by the sweet Japanese women, they still don't cut it for me sometimes. I thought to myself, maybe I'll just eat a HUGE breakfast and just skip lunch all together. Yes, great idea.

Because I'm right in the Echo Park area, I have access to some good ethnic enclaves. Thaitown to the Northwest, Koreatown to the Southwest and of course, Chinatown to the east by Downtown LA. While Chinatown is not regarded as a place for true, authentic Chinese food, there are some places that offer some decent soup noodle soups to offer. Over the last few decades, there had been a large influx of Vietnamese-speaking immigrants/business owners to Chinatown. Signs that had originally been written in Chinese, now had tiny captions written in Vietnamese and even in Cambodian. But they are not Vietnamese nor Cambodian, they are people from the city of Chiu Chow ( 潮州 ) located within the Guangdong province. The Chiu Chow are also known as Chao Zhou, Trieu Chau, Teo Chew and Diojiu. The people of this province have strong migration patterns due mainly to commerce. They are in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and even Burma. If you've never heard the Chiu Chow language, it strongly resembles the Taiwanese language, both of which are derived from the Hakka dialect. It makes sense the people of Taiwan are originally from the mainland province of Fu Jian. Just Southwest of that is Chao Zhou.

Anyway, let's not get too historical, I hope you're starting to get hungry. You've probably had Chiu Chow food if anything – wontons, fish balls, pork balls, beef balls, squid balls, shrimp balls, wide 'ho fun' rice noodles and yellow egg noodles... products of people from Chiu Chow province that have brought their foods along with them all over Asia. The most common dish involving all these delicious foods comes in a noodle soup form with various meats, offals, meat balls or seafood- 粿條, guo tiao (Mandarin), goh tiew (Cantonese) hu tieu, kway teow (Thai) and kuy teav (Khmer).

Here are a few places that I frequent in the Chinatown area. I will get into my fave breakfast places in Thaitown and Koreatown in a future posting. But for now, these will hopefully keep you full and content for a very little price.

A few things on how to maximize your experience at a Chiu Chow restaurant:

(1) Chiu Chow broth is typically made with pork/chicken bones, dried shrimp/squid, fish sauce and rock sugar and has a very delicate taste. At times, it can be considered bland when you're putting it up against other dishes such as Vietnamese bun bo hue, Northern Chinese beef noodle soup or Thai boat noodles. Chiu Chow restaurants will usually provide you with a nice big tray of condiments with the usual Sriracha, Sambal Oelek, Hoisin sauce and fish sauce. But in addition, you'll see the Satay chili bbq sauce, pickled green chilis, crushed chili flakes, red/black/white vinegar, chopped peanuts and sometimes a sauce similar to Maggi Seasoning. Put on your blue gloves, goggles and lab coat - experiment a little!

(2) Chiu Chow people are masters of making all types of meatballs, fishballs and seafood pastes. Once you've eaten them in Hong Kong or in Taiwan, you'll know what I mean. You can usually buy them by the pound for like $5-6, and they usually taste far better than packaged meatballs at your local asian market.

(3) Chiu Chow restaurants will typically have a menu written in English, Chinese, Vietnam and Cambodian (not to be mistaken for Thai). They will have familiar dishes like fried, beef chow fun, gravy noodles and the like, but I typically avoid those.

(4) Chinese donuts (油條, 油炸鬼) are usually only served in the morning. They won't sell any past 11 am. I like to dip them in the soup and some jungle sauce I conjured of consisting of fish sauce, hoisin and sambal oelek.

(5) Fried shallots/garlic are a big thing in Chiu Chow soup noodles. It's free of charge for a little flavor kick.

(6) Most Chiu Chow restaurants will offer a noodle mix. Here's a noodle guide taken from the Kim Chuy Restaurant of Chinatown.

Mien Nghia Restaurant 綿 義
I had written about this place before and know the staff quite well. Run by a group of Chiu Chow people, they speak Cantonese, Mandarin ,Vietnamese and Chiu Chow and offer various types of soup noodles... no rice! The short, stouty man, Duc, may seem rough along the edges but for me he keeps things interesting at Mien Nghia. They have two other locations in Rosemead and San Gabriel, and in competition with several other Chiu Chow restaurants.

Mien Nghia, in my opinion, is known especially for their satay chili BBQ sauce. This condiment is essential for soup noodles and without it, the soup is really nothing more than a simple broth made of pork bones and chicken bones. It is made with chilis, garlic, shallots, peanuts, dried shrimp and oil. If this sauce uses dried scallops or Chinese ham, it then graduates as a sauce known as XO sauce used in gourmet Cantonese cuisine. The chef/owner of Mien Nghia works at the Rosemead location and I find the sauce to be better here. You can buy this sauce in a styrofoam cup for like $5 and take your own noodles cooked at home to the next level.

#36 Chicken & Fried Fish Cake Rice & Egg Noodle Mix
By far, their most popular noodle, followed closely by the pork kidney soup noodles and seafood combo. It usually comes with fresh sole fish slices lightly mixed in starch to add a gentle bite/texture to it during boiling. I usually go for the fried fish cake slices (炸 魚 片）because it's a favorite of mine. Can't decide between rice noodles or egg noodles? Each one of Mien Nghia's soup noodles comes in a mixed noodle version making your indecisive stomach very happy. I also find the soup and chicken to be much tastier here than the Rosemead and San Gabriel location. Could be due to the fact that they can get fresh chickens at poultry shops right around the corner in Chinatown. But overall, you can't go wrong with any of the chains.

Notes
Mien Nghia sometimes puts TOO much noodles in their bowls (rather tall bowls, not wide) with TOO little soup. After a minute or two, the noodles have absorbed a good portion of liquid, making the noodles stick together like a dense haystack. Not fun because you have to untangle them like a bowl of yarn. Ask for a larger bowl to contain this growth.

Hoan Kiem 湖 劍
Hoan Kiem (literally, Sword Lake) is located in the same plaza as another Chiu Chow restaurant Kim Chuy Restaurant (金 水 Far East Plaza) which has probably been around since the 80s. It's run by a Chiu Chow man from Vietnam and his wife & daughter. With a photo menu that touts a whopping TWO items, the people there have a pretty good chance of guessing your order correctly. Will it be their tasty, home-style pho ga (chicken rice noodle soup) or pork & wood ear fungus-filleed rice crepes known as banh cuon? I usually come for this:

Pho Ga (Chicken Rice Noodle Soup)
While this traditional Vietnamese dish is nowhere near ultimate, the soup here is quite tasty, so tasty it'll make you say "M...S...Geezus". It's life's philosophy of giving and taking. You want something tasty, you have to give up something. It is probably more of a 'Chinese' style noodle soup rather than a true Vietnamese pho ga. And what a great way to remedy a sickness, as Campbell's does. My only problem with the standard pho ga here is the usage of white meat chicken – large, bland chunks that may suggest that you're actually eating rubber. It actually costs more for you to ask them for chicken gizzards. If they used the same exact chicken from Mien Nghia, man this would be tasty. I love the medium-sized rice noodles. Add some black pepper, Sambal Oelek and a little fish sauce and I'm a happy man. They also serve a dipping sauce for your dry chicken rubber.

Notes
When I shot this a few months back, the owner and his family were still there. I came back here a few weeks ago and was surprised not to the see the same family. I actually found out from Rameniac, who used to eat here weekly, that they had retired. The new people running it were their nieces and nephews. And sadly, the soup is no longer the same. But give it a try and you may find something I'm missing.

New Kamara Restaurant
Mien Nghia, I am sorry, but it is time we end our relationship. It's been a good two years and I'll never forget the times we had. I've moved on and found some one new, unique and she's quite hot. It's true, I've found a noodle shop that makes me even happier. I owe it to the true Noodle Whore, my dad. He raised me on soup noodles and passed on much of the Asian food knowledge I try to pass on this blog. He took me here back in the late 90s but we stopped going. I came back here another time, and was disappointed. And in one last effort to find something different than Mien Nghia, I came back – but there were new people running it. The second I walked in I knew there was something good in store for me. The scent of fresh broth made of pork bones, rock sugar, dried squid and freshly fried garlic – a broth that is very characteristic of Chiu Chow/Cambodian cuisine. If you've eaten hu tieu nam vang, then you've eaten a Vietnamese variation of a Chiu Chow noodle dish. Nam Vang is the Vietnamese term for Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia (Kampuchea). I've eaten here probably over 30 times in about a 3 month span – no joke. Graham of Noodle Pie has a nice write up on HTNV.

Chiu Chow Seafood Combo
This is Kamara's variation of what the Vietnamese refer to as hu tieu nam vang. In the broth, you get shrimp, ground pork, pork slices, liver, duck, pork balls, fish cake and your choice of noodles. The pork balls and fish cake are made in house.

An Upgraded Bowl of HTNV
This is the way I eat it. Remember the part about experimenting with the condiment tray? I do this... 3 scoops of the homemade chili sauce (peanuts inside), some fish sauce, some fake-Maggi sauce (looks like soy sauce), white pepper, Sambal Oelek and finally, lime juice. Another thing to mention is the noodle selection. They use a brand of noodles made by a company called Hong Tou Noodle Inc. over by Highland Park/Garvanza. After years of eating Kim Tar brand egg noodles, I've finally found a noodle that has EXCELLENT bite to it in both wide and thin sizes. the only place that I have seen these at is at Silom Thai market in Thai Town for $1.79 a pack. I also ask for an extra shot of fried garlic and man, it really brings out the broth.

Kamara's Wontons
While these are not by true definition, wontons, these make a really nice addition to your-already-very-delicious bowl of seafood & pork noodles. Chef Wu uses wonton skins made by Hong Tou Noodles Inc. to create these soft, velvety wontons that almost seem to have just the right amount of bite, yet be slurpable at any point. All he uses is ground pork, but there's a nice 'chewy bounce' to it that I really enjoy. This is what I order every time and the employees here don't even bother passing me a menu.

Chiu Chow Dry Noodles
Another thing Chinese people are into is, low mein, which refers to soupless noodles that have been tossed with some light sauce and topped with meat or seafood. You can order the same seafood & pork combo sans soup and it's very very delicious. Chef Wu adds a nice sauce and kicks it up with some fried garlic. I took J here to try this and now she is hooked. Her mom too.

Pork Bone Soup
Any bowl of dry noodles will come with this pork bone soup. I love it. I'll peel off all the meat and shred them over the dry noodles and make an ultimate noodle concoction. Simple visit to the condiment station and you're good to go.

This place is also the backdrop for what I call the Cambodian Lotto Social Club. At any time of the day, you'll see older Cambodian-Chinese men in the shopping center and in the restaurant, with eyes on a store that has a Lotto screen faced towards New Kamara. Everyday, they try out their luck and whether or not they win, New Kamara is more than just a restaurant for them – it's their community. New Kamara, my new love, is by no means a place I would recommend you driving an hour for. It's more of a place that feels very homey to me and proof that you don't need to overcomplicate food. The wonton seafood noodles are a big clusterfuck of various asian ingredients that somehow makes sense to me and my stomach. And I hope that you'll like them too. Thanks for reading.

Mien Nghia
304 Ord Street (c/o Broadway)
Los Angeles, 90012
(213) 680-2411
Mon-Sun 7 am - 5 pm

Hoan Kiem (in Far East Plaza)
727 N. Broadway
Los Angeles, 90012
(213) 617-3650

New Kamara (in Asian Center)
709 N. Hill Street
Los Angeles, 90012
(213) 620-1090
Mon-Sun 7:30 am - 5 pm

Eat Drink Style Steven Segal Energy Drink

Next time you're at a bar ordering say, a Red Bull Vodka, opt for Steven Segal's Lightning Energy instead. Not only will you be bouncing off the club walls like your in America's Best Dance Crew, you're letting all Alpha males know that you're not afraid to unleash the ultimate groin shot with style and whipping braided hair. You can find this at classy places like like 99 Cent Store. Braided hair and tight-fitted black shirt sold separately.

Eat Drink Style Kogi BBQ - A Look at the Day in Life of Chef Roy Choi & Efficacy of Twitter

Newsweek just put up this video interview of Chef Roy Choi and his Korean taco empire. The modest chef explains to us the importance of social media vehicles like Twitter and shows us what his 9 am - 3 am 'day' looks like. Did you know that they got hit up by sign-flashing gangs in certain parts of Los Angeles?