Monthly Archive for August, 2010

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Golden China Restaurant – Rowland Heights

Published by Gastronomer on August 23, 2010 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and Rowland Heights. 10 Comments

On our first attempt to dine at Dongbu Live Fish, my friends and I were greeted by dimmed lights and a “closed” sign. We were eagerly anticipating a feast of fishes, but alas, it wasn’t in the cards this Sunday evening. After coming to terms with the heartbreaking situation, we changed gears and headed to one of Danny‘s staple restaurants in Rowland Heights: Golden China.

Located in the same indoor mall as Ranch 99 Market, Golden China cooks up a variety of homey Szechuan, Cantonese, Taiwanese, and Shanghainese fare. Nearly every table was filled at this no-frills comfort food haven when we arrived.

Danny took care of the ordering, while Hong and I kick backed and relaxed. The first dish to arrive was a braised bean curd and pork stir fry. The braised bean curd, which had an extra-firm texture not unlike meat, was delightfully savory mingling with the bits of pork and salty seasonings. The spice level was completely manageable even though the waitress warned us otherwise.

While I order yellow cupcakes topped with chocolate frosting to test out unfamiliar cupcakeries, Danny uses “water boiled fish” as an index for Szechuan establishments. Bathed in a goopy chili pepper sauce, the chunks of white fish were firm and flaky. The sauce didn’t pack us much punch as we could’ve handled, but the dish was very good nevertheless.

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GIVEAWAY: Taste of Beverly Hills Tix

Published by Gastronomer on August 22, 2010 in Giveaway and Los Angeles. 130 Comments

In celebration of all things epicurean, Taste of Beverly Hills will showcase the talents of Los Angeles’ top chefs and restaurateurs. Over 100 local restaurants and California wineries have been selected to participate in this gastronomic blowout. The four-day event will feature six diverse and delicious sessions [See the official schedule for a complete list of participating restaurants]:

Beverly Hills Celebration (9/2 – 6:30 to 10:00 PM) – Headlined by pop star Natasha Bedingfield, along with CNN Talk Show host Larry King as master of ceremonies. The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce introduces Mayor Jimmy Delshad to kick off the evening’s festivities. Guests will be provided with unlimited food and drink from renowned Beverly Hills restaurants and chefs. Celebrated chef Wolfgang Puck of Spago Beverly Hills and Cut Beverly Hills will make a special appearance.

The Art of Mixing (9/3 – 7 to 11 PM) – Featuring the city’s top mixologists and DJs “mixing” their talents.

Secrets from the Kitchen and Cellar (9/4 – 11 AM to 3 PM) – The day will be filled with session after session from chefs, master sommeliers, and other experts in their fields, showcasing their tricks of the trade of all things food and wine. Additionally, the day will feature LG’s Taste of Something Better cooking competition, hosted by chef Tim Love.

Date Night (9/4 - 7 to 11 PM) – Enjoy a beautiful evening of food, wine and entertainment with a significant other or friends, while partaking in some of the city’s top restaurants and their signature entrees. Spend one-on-one time with industry experts and delve into a beautiful variety of wines, showcasing vintners top wines, but also pouring some everyday selections.

The Art of Brunch (9/5 – 10 AM to 3 PM) – No one does brunch like L.A. Avoid the hour-and-a-half waits and come partake in an unparalleled brunch experience. LA’s finest brunch hot spots will be serving up each of their signature dishes along side free-flowing Bloody Marys, Bellinis and Mimosas.

BBQ in the Hills (9/5 – 7 to 11 PM) – Expect the unexpected as local top chefs and restaurants express their interpretation of what BBQ is all about.

Taste of Beverly Hills Tix Giveaway

I have TWO tickets (valued at $300) to give away to ONE lucky gas•tron•o•my reader. The winner will choose ONE Taste of Beverly Hills session to attend. To qualify for the giveaway, please leave a comment with your name and email address in the appropriate fields, and your answer to the following question: What’s the greatest thing you’ve ever eaten in L.A.? Only one entry per person, please. I’ll be using a random number generator to choose the winner. All entries must be received by Sunday, August 29, 2010 at midnight PST. Good luck!

[NOTE: Taste of Beverly Hills will be hosting a Happy Hour at The Peninsula Beverly Hills on August 26 from 5 to 7 PM. In addition to half-priced food and drinks at the hotel’s rooftop bar, any Taste of Beverly Hills tickets purchased during the happy hour will be discounted.]

Class 302 – Rowland Heights

Published by Gastronomer on August 21, 2010 in Dessert, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review, Rowland Heights and Taiwanese. 14 Comments

After gorging on the freshest cuts of halibut at Dongbu Live Fish, may I suggest grabbing dessert at Class 302? It’s a little cafe serving Taiwanese snacks and sweets, most notably shaved snow. Danny, my friend and Chinese food guru, introduced me to this spot a few weeks ago, and I’ve since been back twice. If Rowland Heights weren’t such a drive, Class 302 would certainly be a bi-weekly habit. The shaved snow is really wonderful, especially on scorching summer days like these.

Modeled after a traditional Taiwanese classroom, the ambiance here is strangely appealing. Diners eat at desk clusters, waitresses don school girl uniforms, and notebooks are tucked into little cubbies. The combination of kitsch, fun, and food attracts droves of Taiwanese teens and nostalgic elders. Who knew playing school offered such popular appeal? The model minority stereotype lives on…

Shaved snow is a very distant cousin of Hawaiian shaved ice. Its unique ribbon-like texture is achieved by freezing huge chunks of flavored water and milk, and then shaving it using a special machine. The resulting sheets of snow are gloriously creamy and dissolve ever so quickly on the tongue. It’s been years since I’ve tasted freshly fallen snow, but if memory serves me right, it tasted just like this (minus the infusions).

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Dongbu Live Fish – Rowland Heights

Published by Gastronomer on August 18, 2010 in Japanese, Korean, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review, Rowland Heights and Seafood. 21 Comments

Promises of breathtakingly fresh sushi of the Korean variety brought my friends [Ravenous Couple, Kung Food Panda, Two Hungry Pandas, Stellar Recipes] and me to Rowland Heights. We almost always travel west in search of pristine raw fishes, but an enticing lead on a Chowhound thread led us down Rosemead Boulevard and further east on the 60.

Our destination was Dongbu Live Fish, a restaurant specializing in thinly sliced raw seafood known as hwal uh. Dongbu sits in the far corner of strip mall in the same complex as a veterinarian practice and a DIY barbecue joint. It is one of a handful of Korean businesses dotting the city’s mostly Taiwanese landscape.

The restaurant is run by a family of four. Dad is the chief fisherman and chef, mom serves as his sous, and their son and daughter manage the cash register and serve customers. Together they delivered excellent service and made us feel like we’d been eating Korean sushi our whole lives.

Our party of seven was seated immediately in the center of the cramped, but homey dining room. The soothing sounds of bubbling and gurgling tanks stocked with all manner of “live fish” provided a fitting soundtrack to our meal.

In addition to the house special hwal uh, Dongbu also serves funky sushi rolls, udon noodles, and rice bowls [see full menu here]. While the offerings sounded tempting, we had our heart and stomachs set on the hwal uh experience. After a short discussion with the restaurant’s owner, we chose the medium-sized serving ($85).

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Nürnberger Bratwurst Glöckl am Dom – Munich

Published by Gastronomer on August 17, 2010 in Bavarian / German, Munich and Restaurant Review. 6 Comments

My dream of squeezing in a culinary excursion during an international layover came true during our flight home to Los Angeles. Rather than twiddle our thumbs for five hours inside the Munich airport, The Astronomer and I hopped aboard a local train in search of a proper German meal. With the airport located an hour outside of town, we had to hustle to get our grub or risk missing the second leg of our flight. Meals spiked with an element of danger are the best!

The Astronomer and I found ourselves at Nürnberger Bratwurst Glöckl am Dom based on a Frommer’s recommendation naming it the “the coziest and warmest of all local restaurants.” The place has been around since 1893 and was rebuilt after World War II.

The cottage-like interior was adorned with dark wood furniture and colorful bric-a-brac. A small army of traditionally dressed barmaids worked the room, serving sausages and beers to a steady stream of patrons. The entire scene was straight out of the Oktoberfests of my youth, minus the whole frat brother/meat head vibe.