Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Now Closed

02 Dec 2008

Fulfilled – Los Angeles (Beverly Hills)

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Due to our substantial clout in the dining community as food bloggers, Wandering Chopsticks and I were invited to a soft opening / press event at Fulfilled in Beverly Hills. [Sarcasm is so difficult to convey online!] Fulfilled specializes in little Japanese bites called Imagawa-yaki, pancake-like pastries filled with sweet Azuki bean paste.

Before plunging into the Imagawa-yaki samples, I sipped a cool Azuki Green Tea Honey Latte. The bean and coconut beverage reminded me of Vietnamese che.

Each Imagawa-yaki, or Ima as they are referred to at Fulfilled, is carefully handcrafted by an Ima artist on a cast aluminum grill. The Imas are lifted from the grill using a special chisel-like tool.

At Fulfilled, Imas come filled with traditional Japanese Azuki bean paste, as well as a number of fitting sweet and savory combinations. During the event, I tasted five different Imas including the Nutty Buddha (Ghirardelli Chocolate, Toffee, Crunchy Peanut Butter), Honey Yakuza (Goat Cheese, Mission Fig, Honey, Walnut, Cracked Black Pepper), Sumo Italiano (Prosciutto di Parma, Smoked Ham, Aged Parmesan, Fresh Basil), Spicy Samurai (Chicken Apple Sausage, Pepper Jack Cheese, Diced Chili, Fresh Cilantro) and Green Ninja (Spinach, Feta Cheese, Sun Dried Tomato). The Nutty Buddha and Honey Yakuza were two of my faves.

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Recipe

01 Dec 2008

Mì Cà Ri Gà – Chicken Curry with Fresh Egg Noodles

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Inspired by a killer bowl of lamb curry noodles I feasted on at the Bowrington Road Market in Hong Kong, this recipe adds a distinctly Chinese twist to my grandma’s classic chicken curry.

5 chicken drum sticks
3 large yams
1 large onion
2 tablespoons Vietnamese curry (brand: Con Voy)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 14 ounce cans of full-fat coconut milk
Salt
Fresh Chinese egg noodles

Peel and cut yams into large chunks approximately 1″ thick and 2″ in diameter; set aside. Chop onions; set aside. Heat oil in a large pot over moderate heat. Add the onions and sauté until slightly softened. Add a generous dash of salt and 2 tablespoons curry powder. Stir until fragrant; about 10 seconds.

Add chicken to pot and cook until the skin is seared and golden; approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add yams and coconut milk and cook on low heat for 2 hours with the lid on. Make sure the chicken and yams are submerged under the coconut milk. After 2 hours, salt to taste and serve with fresh egg noodles prepared according to directions on package.

Restaurant Review

30 Nov 2008

Yum Cha Cafe – San Gabriel

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A couple of weeks back, Wandering Chopsticks and I headed to the San Gabriel Superstore for some groceries—I bought coconut milk and fresh egg noodles, while WC returned some moldy tofu and picked up ingredients for curry laksa. After we finished up shopping, we dashed over to Yum Cha Cafe for a quick bite.

Yum Cha Cafe, which is more of a food court than a cafe, is located near the front entrance of the superstore. They specialize in dim sum and noodle dishes for the time-conscious crowd.

During our visit, WC and I stuck to the dim sum offerings. While I prefer dim sum served a la cart (get it?), I was curious to sample fast food-style dim sum. After queuing up, WC ordered a selection of her favorites, plus an order of pan-fried dumplings per my request.

The goods, clockwise from top left—pan-fried pork dumplings, rice noodle sheets with shrimp, shrimp har kow, and pork and vegetable tapioca dumplings. All four items were satisfactory, but none of them knocked our socks off.

Admittedly, it was strange eating dim sum from Styrofoam containers under fluorescent lights. For me, food experiences are oftentimes influenced by ambient factors such as lighting and presentation. Of course, I have treasured many a bowl of noodles in parking lots and tiny rooms with used napkins strewn across the floor, but I’ve always associated dim sum with a more refined dining experience. While the superstore dim sum was good, some of the tastiness was diminished because it was eaten with a plastic spork.

Yum Cha Cafe is a cheap and quick alternative to traditional dim sum, but something’s definitely lost in the fast food translation.

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Yum Cha Cafe – San Gabriel Superstore
1635 S. San Gabriel Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Phone: 626-280-9998