Linh Phuong Nguyen makes my favorite bowl of southern style pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) at Phở Filet, a worn-in restaurant straddling the border between Rosemead and South El Monte. While the filet mignon that comes standard with every bowl is a cut above the rest, it’s Ms. Nguyen’s unparalleled broth that distinguishes her product from the dozens of pho hawkers in town.
Chef Keiko Nojima’s French pastries with a Japanese flare at Patisserie Chantilly are nothing short of spectacular. From the perfectly precise layers on each cake to the delicate cream piping on the famous puffs, immense care and attention to detail goes into creating each sweet.
While every dessert lining the pastry counter is impeccable, it’s the black sesame cream puff that gets all the good press. Each pâte a chou shell is filled to order with black sesame-infused whipped cream and drizzled with mesquite honey and sprinkled with soy powder. The intense and pure flavor that Chef Nojima is able to extract from the black sesame seeds is incredible—neither too much cream nor sugar cloud the main event.
Comfort cuisine reigns supreme at Ma Dang Gook Soo, a charming den of Korean home cooking. Ladies donning red-striped aprons were quick to pour glasses of iced barley tea as The Astronomer and I perused the menu and considered the plethora of dishes available.
The food photographs plastered overhead were helpful in narrowing down the array of options.
To start, we shared an order of mandu, boiled dumplings stuffed with minced pork, tofu, and scallions. A dab of vinegar and a touch of soy sauce and these parcels were all set.