Yelp Tasting Menu at WEST Restaurant and Lounge

I'm still full from the 11 course feast we enjoyed last night. The CMs and entire staff at WEST organized a stellar event and I'm so happy I got to be a part of it.

We started off with drinks in the lounge where I met some cool Yelpers. I really liked the Across the Universe martini which had hints of blackberry and was topped off with a mint. 

Right before 7 pm, we headed to the dining area and sat at the best tables. The manager had reserved all the tables next to the windows for us. Woohoo! We get to dine and enjoy the view.

Here's what we ate:

Sunchoke soup with brown butter powder and truffle: AMAZING!! My second favorite of the evening. The flavors were delicious and I liked the presentation in a small cup.

Roasted baby beet with triple creme goat cheese and beet caramel: A big chunk of cheese surrounded by beets and sitting atop caramel. Quite tasty, cheese lovers would dig this dish.

Seared foie gras with quince jam and ginger bread: Generous portion of foie gras sitting on top of quince ham. Nice flavors, but I didn't really like it.

Braised pork cheek with crispy potato and apple mustard: Pork lovers will dig this dish! Cooked perfectly and had a nice balance with the apple mustard.

Crispy egg with bacon jam and arugula: OMFG, this dish was the best one of the night! Poached egg that's been battered and deep fried. Need I say more?

Orange sorbet with pop rocks and lemon cream: Such an original concept! I loved it! The pop rocks really brought back some fond childhood memories. Who doesn't love the feel of pop rocks in their mouth?

Stuffed quail with brussels sprouts, chanterelle and pancetta: MMM MMM GOOD. I loved the brussels!! The quail was cooked perfectly as well and very tasty. 

Lobster macaroni with sundried tomato and lobster foam: Was really excited for this dish, but it was too salty. I did like the chunks of lobster though.

Braised short rib with parsnip puree, shallots and radish; Yummmy, loved this dish as well. Very tender and the parsnip puree was delish. 

Seared scallop with raisin puree and rainbow cauliflower: This one was okay, the cauliflowers were my favorite part of this dish. Scallops were too salty and I didn't really care for the raisin puree. 

For dessert we had dulce de leche, chocolate aero, caramel ice cream and popcorn. I liked the ice cream and chocolate aero. Aero was fluffy and light as air! 

We ended the evening with chocolate truffles. Loved it!

I'm definitely coming back especially since we all got preferred dining cards. Thanks, WEST and big kudos to Chef Matthew Woolf! Service was spot on as well. We really did dine like kings and queens.


WEST Restaurant and Lounge
Hotel Angeleno
170 N Church Lane
Los Angeles, CA 90049

Fat Spoon

I've heard rave reviews about this place, especially about their signature uni and mushroom pasta and the curry pan.

My friend and I came here for lunch the other day. I read it was close to Daikokuya so when I saw the long line, I knew I had arrived.

We ordered the curry pan to share. It was pretty big. I didn't really care for it too much and my DC agreed. It reminded me of a hot pocket. My friend said it wasn't hot enough, temperature wise. I have to agree, the curry pan came out lukewarm. And it took a while to come out too.

curry pan

I had the tarako pasta. It was delicious! The roe, cream, scallions and dried seaweed all blended nicely together for a very original flavor. The big portions came in a huge bowl as well. I couldn't finish it all so I took it home. I highly recommend this dish.

takaro pasta

My friend had the seafood curry and it was just okay. The curries don't come with any spiciness so don't come here expecting that. The waitress provided us some garlic chili oil to help with spice, but it didn't really have any kick at all. I would forgo the curry here.

seafood curry

I had a side of garlic bread with my pasta which was an additional $2. I should have known it wasn't free when she asked me if I wanted the garlic bread with my pasta. duh.

I'd come back just for the tarako pasta, but only if I was already in DTLA.


3***


Fat Spoon
329 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 621-7890

Palsaik Samgyupsal Korean BBQ- 8 Flavors of Pork Belly

A group of us came here over the holidays to try the famous 8 flavors of pork belly. Not really being a fan of pork, I agreed to join because I've heard that even non-pork lovers like this place. 

We had a party of 6 with no reservations so we ended up waiting an hour! Yeah, we should have called. Ooops. The host gave us a coupon for a free pork belly which was nice of him. I think if the people who were just sitting at the table occupying space for 30 minutes AFTER they were done eating had left, we probably would have waited less than an hour. What is up with that? They weren't even talking, just sitting there. Did they not see the hordes of people waiting outside?!

Anyways, when we finally got seated, we put our purses and jackets inside the stools to avoid the smell of meat. Pretty clever idea! 

menu

We ordered the 8 flavors, some spicy seafood stew and cold noodle soup.

kimchee + bean sprouts 

spicy seafood stew

veggies

The presentation of the pork belly is pretty incredible. Eight different rolled up fatty pork, just waiting to be devoured. I liked that the servers cooked it for us and even cut it up! I was wondering how we were supposed to eat the huge slices.

8 flavors of pork belly

grillin

The banchan was just some kimchee and bean sprouts thrown on the grill. But, it's not really about the banchan here, so don't expect tons of dishes.

I liked the spicy seafood stew which came with my favorite- baby octopus! The cold noodle soup that we ordered at the end was just okay.

cold noodle soup

Oh.. the pork belly? Yeah, it was pretty damn good. My favorite flavor was miso, with wine being a close second. I didn't like the curry at all. It was really weird.

All this food cost $20 each for our party of 6. Not bad!

I'd go back, but with a smaller group.

Parking is available in the lot, but you might have to circle a bit if it's during peak dining hours.

4****


Palsaik Samgyupsal Korean BBQ
863 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 365-1750

Hwang Jang Korean BBQ Restaurant - $10 AYCE

The saying "You get what you pay for" really applies to this place. We were actually across the street at Castle BBQ, but the wait was too long so we came to Hwang Jang. We were seated right away and then left alone without service.

Finally she came back and asked us what we wanted. We said AYCE please and about 5 minutes later a huge plate of brisket, pork belly, chicken and bulgogi arrived. The brisket wasn't very good, too chewy and thick. Pork belly was meh, chicken was tasteless and the bulgogi surprisingly was the best. 

Banchan was decent and we even got the coveted steamed egg. Service was pretty bad, but whatevers. I guess you can't expect much for $10 a person.

We didn't like the meat that much so ended up not really eating a lot. You know it's not good AYCE when you leave and you can STILL eat.

I would pass on this place.


2**


Hwang Jang KBBQ
480 N Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90004
(323) 465-6707

Creamy Avocado Pasta

We picked up some avocados from Ralph's for 47 cents each so I looked up some recipes online and came across this one: Creamy Avocado Pasta from Two Peas and Their Pod. It looked simple and tasty so I whipped up a variation for dinner.

I substituted with egg noodles and didn't use any cilantro, but it still came out delish. Make sure you add tons of garlic cause it really brings out the flavor. 

Ingredients

8 oz of pasta, spaghetti or linguine are best
2 medium ripe Avocados, pitted and peel removed
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium sized pot. Add salt and olive oil to the water, put in pasta and bring to boil. 

2. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce by placing the avocado, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper into a food processor or blender. Process until smooth and creamy.

3. When pasta is done cooking, drain and place pasta back into the pot. Add the sauce to the pasta and toss until pasta is well coated. Add more salt, pepper and lime if desired. 

Enjoy!

The Misfit - Not For The Faint of Heart

Very cool restaurant and atmosphere. We were looking for a place to eat on a weekend day and decided to give The Misfit a try.

We sat down by the window and proceeded to order. My friend had mentioned that the oysters here were yummy, but I wasn't in the mood for oysters.

However, it was happy hour and they had sangrias for $3.50 a glass. BTW, HH is 12-7 pm every day, so indulge! I only had one since it was the middle of the day.

What we ordered:

Ahi tuna burger, pan seared medium rare, meyer lemon aioli, avocado: Pretty damn tasty! I would have liked it if they didn't toast the bread. Toast and my mouth don't get along. Too hard for me. Other than that, good solid dish. ($12)

Baked mac + cheese, green chile, brown rice pasta + chorizo: Good lord, this was a dish to behold! It was super heavy, but delish. I found it a bit greasy for my taste, but then again, I kept eating it. Definitely a dish to share, as I don't forsee anyone eating this by themselves. ($14)

Prime rib french dip sliders, seasoned + sliced to order, homemade au jus: Yum! Another great dish, 2 sliders per dish. i liked the au jus which added flavor without being salty. ($13)

Fried chicken: 2 pieces of fried goodness. I loved the crispy skin and sweet mustard dipping sauce. You need to try this if you're a fan of fried chicken. Sure beats KFC by a mile!

The service was good and attentive. Music was way too loud. I would prefer to be able to hear my companions in the middle of the day, but loud music is fine at night.

I'd definitely come back. They also have bottomless mimosas!

4****

The Misfit 
 225 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90401
(310) 656-9800

Blockheads Shavery- Shaved Ice Goodness

Seriously, the best shaved ice I've ever had and I've had a ton of shaved ice. In fact, I'm not even a fan of shaved ice, but Blockheads has made me a believer.

Their ice is so soft and fluffy, it's not even like your typical shaved ice. More like buttery, flakey snowy goodness.

I had the black sesame with rice balls and coconut puree. OMFG. Heaven in a bowl!! The black sesame may sound weird, but it's really, really good. It has a unique flavor that is hard to describe. Kinda sweet, but not overly sweet. I also tried the taro, but it wasn't as good and didn't really taste like taro.

Black sesame with rice balls & coconut puree

Plain with mango puree and mango

Tip: If you check in on Foursquare, you get a free topping when you order a regular with a topping. Good deal! Regular is $3.50 and toppings are 50 cents each.  You really can't miss this new gem on Sawtelle.

5*****

Blockheads Shavery
11311 Mississippi Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 445-8725