Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

25 Nov 2019

Noodle Palace – Rosemead

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Wonton-goers still weep for the loss of Noodle Boy, but so it goes in the cut-throat San Gabriel Valley restaurant scene. Taking over its space is Noodle Palace, a Shanxi-style restaurant serving an assortment of cold dishes, dumplings, and pancakes, along with knife-cut and hand-formed noodles.

With so many flour-forward items to sample, it’s best to come in for lunch or dinner with two or three friends. While it might be hard to resist jumping straight in for noodles, please take a pause for pigs ears ($10).

The densely packed terrine, mesmerizingly stratified and full of cartilage and skin, arrived in satisfyingly thick slices. The sweet chile soy sauce served alongside took the ears’s snappy texture and gelatinous chew to the next level.

Following a pause for pigs ears was a parade chock-full of carbs. The scallion pancake ($3.99), draped on the plate like the coziest winter throw, delighted us with its light and flaky layers and subtle green onion glow.

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Restaurant Review

21 Nov 2019

Parsnip – Highland Park

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It’s raining and thundering today in Los Angeles, which means it’s the perfect time to finally write about Parsnip. Here on a quieter stretch of York Boulevard in Highland Park, Aracelly Flores and Anca Caliman are cooking up Romanian comfort food with a California point of view.

The Astronomer, June, and I came in for dinner on a Friday evening. After placing our order inside, we grabbed a table on the sidewalk and settled in for some eastern European cooking.

Every table contained a condiment jar filled with pico verde, a spicy and vinegary brew brimming with onions, chiles, and dill that tasted terrific atop just about every dish.

First up were a duo of dumplings. The baseball-sized bulz ($5), polenta dumplings filled with cheese, red peppers, and sauerkraut, were served with sour cream and benefited from the table-side pico verde.

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Restaurant Review

18 Nov 2019

Ốc & Lẩu – Garden Grove

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The Astronomer, June, and I lunched at Garden Grove’s perpetually packed Ốc & Lẩu while in the neighborhood visiting the newest member of our family: Baby Leo.

We don’t get around to Little Saigon nearly often enough, so when we do sit down for a meal in this Vietnamese culinary paradise, The Astronomer and I tend to order too much food out of giddy enthusiasm.

Many moons ago when The Astronomer and I called Vietnam home, we’d dine at seafood shacks once the sun set over Saigon. The food was always terrific at these informal sidewalk establishments, and the local crowds were welcoming and up for a good time.

The flavors at Ốc & Lẩu brought us back to Vietnam, but the polished environs were purely Little Saigon.

To start, a most refreshing passion fruit soda ($4.99) for our little lady. We might have to order an entire pitcher of this sparkly and sour beverage on our next visit.

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