Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Now Closed

01 May 2009

Yummy Cupcakes – Los Angeles (Santa Monica)

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I admit that my adoration of cupcakes is so 2006, but alas, I cannot control my affections. My heart will let go when it’s good and ready.

After checking out a potential wedding venue in Santa Monica, The Astronomer and I swung into Yummy Cupcakes to refuel—wedding planning is an electrolyte zapper.

With a partially open kitchen and functional concrete flooring, Yummy Cupcakes has more of an industrial feel than the cutesy, pretty-in-pink vibe that characterizes most cupcakeries. The selection of cupcakes available on the Friday afternoon we visited was extensive, with new flavors coming out of the kitchen on a regular basis. However, my favorite combination of vanilla cake and chocolate frosting was disappointingly MIA even though it was listed on the chalkboard menu.

Since The Astronomer isn’t mad for cupcakes like I am, I had the liberty of choosing both flavors. I selected a mandarin orange cupcake ($2.75) from the daily specials menu and an Old School cupcake ($3) from the standard menu.

The mandarin orange cupcake was comprised of a vanilla bean cupcake baked with bits of mandarin oranges and frosted abundantly with a mandarin orange buttercream. The Astronomer and I appreciated how both the cake and the frosting were infused with bright citrus notes. The pieces of real fruit in the cake added a nice touch as well. Our only qualm with this cupcake was the ratio of frosting to cake—a quarter of the frosting ended up in the garbage can.

Inspired by Hostess Cup Cakes, the Old School consisted of a chocolate cupcake piped with fresh whipped cream and topped with chocolate ganache. The Astronomer and I had mixed feelings about whether or not this cupcake was a winner. On one hand, Yummy Cupcakes successfully mimicked a Hostess Cup Cake. On the other hand, Hostess Cup Cakes contain some pretty gnarly ingredients and lack deep chocolaty flavor. I would’ve declared the Old School a success had Yummy Cupcakes taken artistic liberty and boosted the amount of cacao in the cupcake.

POWER RANKINGS

Sprinkles Cupcakes > Dots Cupcakes > Vanilla Bake Shop > Crumbs Bake Shop > Auntie Em’s Kitchen > Yummy Cupcakes > Violet’s Cakes.

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Yummy Cupcakes
313 Wilshire Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Phone: 310-393-8283

Restaurant Review

30 Apr 2009

Kingburg Kitchen – San Gabriel

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Whenever I walk into a Chinese eatery in the San Gabriel Valley, there’s a very good chance that I’ll be greeted cheerily by the proprietress in Chinese. After saying “ni hao” with confidence, I usually have to come clean and confess that I’m actually Vietnamese.

Sharing a common language has an easy way of making people feel comfortable. Whenever I can’t come through in the conversation department, I find myself resorting to universal signs of satisfaction like smiling wide, giving a thumbs up, and rubbing my belly.

English doesn’t go very far at Kingburg Kitchen, but fortunately, pantomiming works like a charm.

During a mid-week lunch with my friend Carissa, we each ordered Kingburg’s noodle and dumpling combo ($6-7). From the limited menu, we both selected spicy beef noodle soup and boiled pork, sea cucumber, and shrimp dumplings. The only downside to Kingburg’s combos is that pan-fried dumplings are excluded.

The soup arrived first. The generously portioned bowl of noodles came out of the kitchen steaming hot. From the moment the broth’s spicy aroma hit my nostrils, I knew this soup was going to be outta sight. As I slurped my way through the hunks of tender and pleasantly fatty meat, bits of pickled mustard greens, and delicate egg noodles, beads of content sweat formed across my nose. Kingburg makes a fantastically good bowl of spicy beef noodle soup.

The pork-, sea cucumber-, and shrimp-filled dumplings arrived minutes after the noodles. The boiled parcels would’ve tasted fine on their own, but they bordered on bland eaten alongside the bold soup. To bring the dumplings up a few savory notches, I drizzled them in excessive amounts of chili oil.

After downing five dumplings and a large bowl of spicy beef noodle each, Carissa and I waddled out of Kingburg immensely satisfied.

The Astronomer and I, along with our friend Shay whom we met in Vietnam, returned to Kingburg a few evenings later for dinner. This time around, we shared one combo (spicy beef noodle soup and sole dumplings), a bowl of sesame noodles ($4.50), and an order of pan-fried pork and leek dumplings ($6.50).

Served hot, the “sesame” noodles turned out to be intensely peanut buttery. Even though I was hoping they’d resemble something like the cold sesame noodles I savored in Hong Kong, they tasted more like the peanut noodles I sampled at the Muslim Quarter in Xi’an. The addition of chili oil made these sticky noodles even tastier.

The boiled sole dumplings were on par with the dumplings I ate with Carissa, but the pan-fried pork dumplings were a bit of a let down. Although the skins had a nice golden sear, the wrappers were too thin and the pork filling didn’t ooze with porcine juices like the specimens at Dean Sin World and Luscious Dumplings.

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Kingburg Kitchen
715 W. Las Tunas Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Phone: 626-282-2386

Now Closed

29 Apr 2009

Jin Patisserie – Los Angeles (Venice)

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Jin Patisserie is a chick magnet.

Offering handcrafted chocolates, dainty sandwiches, artisanal teas, and painfully beautiful cakes, it’s no surprise that Jin has to fight females off with a stick.

I visited Jin Patisserie with my gal pals Laurie and Bex one sunny Saturday afternoon. Jin’s famously soothing courtyard was fairly empty when we arrived, so we had our pick of tables—we chose one in the sun.

After hemming and hawing over the menu long enough for our waitress to look slightly peeved, all three of us settled on the lunch set. The set included a sandwich of our choice, green salad, chips, and the Cake of the Day.

Bex and I selected the smoked salmon sandwich ($15.50); Bex ordered hers on white bread, while I chose an olive loaf. In addition to smoked salmon, the fixins included thin slices of cucumber and onion, Romaine lettuce, and a shmear of cream cheese. Bex and I liked the sandwich very much, but truth be told, there are limits to how good a cold sandwich can be.

With dreams of Euro Pane dancing in her head, Laurie chose the egg salad sandwich on Ciabatta ($13). Unfortunately, Jin’s creation didn’t come close to matching Sumi Chang’s open-faced beauty.

In regards to the sides, all three of us agreed that the chips tasted just like Lay’s. Laurie desired and expected something more “la-di-da and homemade tasting.” The salad was uninteresting rabbit food. In fact, it was so boring that Bex couldn’t even bring herself to eat it.

The highlight of our Jin Patisserie outing were the cakes. Kristy Choo, the proprietor, learned about food while growing up in Singapore and traveling regularly to Japan as a flight attendant. Her desserts have a distinct style that is aesthetically interesting and palate pleasing.

The Cake of the Day on our visit was a Lavender Gateaux (lavender butter cream layered with dark chocolate ganache on lavender sponge). The Lavender Gateaux didn’t appeal to any of us, so we accepted the $3 surcharge to substitute it for delights that better suited our fancy.

Bex chose the Inspiration (left – soft caramel with bitter-sweet chocolate with a touch of sea salt), while Laurie and I selected the Spring Bouquet (right – fluffy meringue, light exotic cream, fresh mango, and strawberries), which is served on weekends only.

Bex was thoroughly delighted by her Inspiration. The small nibble I had was salty and lovely. Laurie and I adored our Spring Bouquet as well. Laurie said that it was the lightest dessert she’d ever eaten and that it tasted like a sunny day. I agreed on both fronts.

As we paid our bill, Bex, Laurie, and I agreed to return to Jin Patisserie again. However, next time around we’ll lunch elsewhere because even though the cakes here truly take the cake, the sandwiches don’t offer enough bang for our buck.

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Jin Patisserie
1202 Abbot Kinney Boulevard
Venice, CA 90291
Phone: 310-399-8801