Noir Wine Bar

Not sure why this place is called Noir Wine bar, but hey, it's the food that matters right?

We came here on a Tuesday night and parking was quite easy to find in the residential area. Big plus, it's free!

The place was completely empty at 7 pm, except for us, but I didn't mind. Better service for us!

We ordered the beef shabu shabu, 7 oz with brown rice that cost $1 more. I should have just had the white rice, since the brown rice was weird and sticky. But, trying to eat healthy so I stuck with it.

Shabu came with napa cabbage, tofu, mushrooms, broccoli, squash and udon noodles. Napa cabbage was all you can eat, so we got some more after we finished ours. The ponzu sauce was amazing! It had a slightly sweet taste to it without being overly sweet. We got more because good ponzu is hard to find. The sesame sauce was pretty tasty too.

Veggies





You also get a choice of salad. I got the tuna sashimi salad and OMG, it was soooo good! The dressing must have crack in it. I wanted more when I was done.



I guess 7 ounces of beef is actually quite large since it took me a while to finish it. Very fresh and tasty dipped in the ponzu.

We only had one pot, but it had a divider in the middle so it's okay. I prefer having my own pot though.

Service was friendly and accommodating. Bill came to $30 each.

Not the cheapest shabu, but I'd come back. Mizu is still my #1 though.
 
3.5 ***

Noir Wine Bar
801 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Dip's Grill

Dip's Grill really has it going on. My friends and I made the trek here from the westside the other day for lunch because we've been hearing such rave reviews for it.

The place is modern and clean and service is spot on. We sat a booth and started perusing the menu.

Since we were starving we ended up ordering more than we could eat. But, hey, better to have more food than not enough food.

Steamed rice cakes (banh beo)- I've never had these in my life and they were delish! A huge portion of rice cakes arrived each sprinkled with scallions, dried shrimp and fried garlic. Pretty damn tasty! Eat them individually and top off with some fish sauce and you've got an addiction in the making.



Fried crepe with seafood and bean sprouts- Another solid dish. Never had these either, but when you eat them wrapped inside a lettuce leaf along with mint and other veggies, it's really flavorful and well-balanced. Of course, don't forget to dip in the special sauce.



Fried shrimp rolls- These were okay. Kinda lacking in shrimp and forgettable.



Vermicelli plate with egg rolls, beef and pork - Tasty mix of vermicelli noodles, beef, fried egg rolls and veggies. I liked it quite a bit. My other dining companions weren't too gung ho about it. Oh wells, more for me!



Spicy beef noodle soup (bun bo hue)- Oh hells yea! This came last and was worth the wait. Rice noodles in a spicy red broth along with big chunks of beef. Man, what more can you ask for? The noodles were alright, but we all loved the broth. Beef was substantial and they didn't skimp on the pieces. It was very flavorful with just the right amount of spiciness. I highly recommend this dish.


We ate till we reached an unanimous food coma. Total cost of lunch - $45.

Not a bad deal. Oh, if you check in on Yelp, you get 10% off your bill. We checked in and were supposed to get 10%, but I guess the waiter forgot. We didn't realize it till we left anyway. So, hopefully next time!

I'm still thinking of that spicy broth. Yum-o.

4****

Dip's Grill
1412 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 284-3477

Bao Dim Sum

Dim sum in Weho? Sign me up!

When I first heard of this new restaurant opening, I was so excited. No more driving to the SGV or Chinatown for dim sum. And the best part is they serve dim sum at all hours. You can get your fix at night if your heart desired.



We arrived for dinner one night and were seated immediately. The place was pretty empty, but then again it was only 6 pm. I noticed that all the diners were non Asian. That didn't faze me since we were in Weho, not Chinatown.

Service was great, but food was hit or miss.

Xiao Long Bao: Four steamed dumplings per order. I liked how they were sitting on individuals foil cups. Pretty tasty, but nothing like Din Tai Fung.



Har Gow: Steamed shrimp dumplings, four per order. These suckers were huge! I thought they were pretty authentic, nice job.




Shrimp dumplings with chives: I liked these even better than the har gow. The chives give it a nice kick. Three per order. Boo.



Tripe: Hells to the yeahhhh... I love steamed white tripe. Served with ginger, carrots and cilantro. Very tasty, thumbs up!



Radish Cake: This is one of my must haves when I eat dim sum. I was disappointed in theirs though. Way too soft and undercooked. I like radish cake slightly fried with a crust on the bottom. Meh.




Crispy taro balls: 3 per order. Basically fried taro balls. I think there was pork in there, but not sure. Not a bad dish actually.



Crispy seafood chow mein: Ehhh, this was tasteless. No flavor and pretty small serving. I would pass.




Wonton soup: Way too salty. Wontons were weird tasting. None of us liked it. Pass.

I'm not sure if I'd come back, but if the craving hits at night, I probably would.

Oh yeah, they forgot our green tea, but charged us anyway. However, the manager removed it with a smile. Can't beat good service at a Chinese restaurant.

3***

Bao Dim Sum
8256 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-6556

Boiling Point

The weather is cooling down and this makes me crave soup. Enter Boiling Point, an authentic hot pot restaurant in the heart of the SGV.

The moment you enter, you are transported to a faraway destination that serves soupy concoctions packed with everything from noodles to beef intestines. Don't worry, you don't have to partake in the exotic ingredients.

Lunch specials start at $8.99 and come with your choice of hot pot and a soft drink or tea. With prices this low, there's no wonder the wait was long. We had to wait around 30 minutes and it was already past lunch time.

Since BP is known for its stinky tofu, we got a side of it along with beef hot pots. No intestines of pigs blood for us, thanks. We also got a side of pork, quail eggs and vermicelli. I wasn't sure if the noodles came with the hot pot and the waiter wasn't very good at communicating in English, so we just ordered it anyway. It's an extra 50 cents so not a big deal.

Hot pots come out boiling hot on an open flame. It's quite deceiving, but the pot is endless. I felt like I had to eat for a while before making a dent. The broth was spicy and we only asked for medium. But, it was good!



I didn't really care for the stinky tofu as it was kind of bland. They come in big cubes and aren't the typical fried ones you get at other places. The stink factor was very low. The meat was decent, but not the best quality. Quail eggs were awesome!

Make sure you get the sauces too. They are located by the cashier at a do-it-yourself station. Garlic soy and soybean paste were our favorites. The chili oil is extremely hot so beware. I had one taste and passed on it.

Service was okay considering how crazy packed it was. Our waiter was flustered, but managed to get us what we needed. Too bad they were out of boba and Chinese donuts! It was a bit disappointing since it wasn't even dinner yet.

Overall, a good place for hot pot lovers. But, make sure you're up for the wait. Also, cash only. Boo to that.

3***

Boiling Point
153 West Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91755
(626) 288-9876

Jinpachi - Toro Heaven

If you're looking for authentic Japanese food and sushi, Jinpachi is the way to go. I came here a couple weeks ago for dinner and I still fantasize about the amazing toro they serve here.

Located on Santa Monica Blvd in the heart of West Hollywood, Jinpachi is an unassuming restaurant that you can easily miss walking by. But, it's so worth the visit, even if you just get a few pieces of sushi.

Service was great, polite and on par. The sushi chef really knew what he was doing and each piece of fish was very fresh.

Here's what we ordered:

Sweet shrimp - I would skip this one. It tasted ordinary, not like the really amazing sweet shrimp at Sushi Go 55.

sweet shrimp & toro


Toro sushi - OMG. We ordered 4 pieces to start with and got 4 more because it was THAT delicious. Both of us took a bite and were in toro heaven. It literally melted in our mouths. I swear, I've never had better toro elsewhere. Definitely a must get item, but it's not cheap. It's still worth it though!

close up of toro goodness


Salmon sushi - Delicious and fresh as well. Like butter. Highly recommended.

Yellowtail sushi - Pretty good, but not outstanding.

Tuna sushi - Good, but not our favorite.

salmon, yellowtail, tuna


Spicy tuna, toro, salmon


Unagi - Very good, nicely grilled.

Blue crab hand roll - Yummy, but the blue crab hand roll from Sugarfish still holds my heart.

unagi, blue crab


Chawan Mushi - Loved it! Soft, silky, flavorful and packed with mushrooms and seafood. Simply delicious.



Mixed tempura - Came with white fish, shrimp, and assorted veggies. Kiddo liked it and it's a notch above the mixed tempura at other restaurants.



In a nutshell, I'd come back here just to eat toro. Mmmmmm. I'm drooling thinking about it now.

Save up because it ain't cheap. Just remember, toro!

Jinpachi
8711 Santa Monica Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 358-9134

Shabu @ Kagaya

Oh my heavens. I had one of the best dining experiences here last night. It truly warranted the $51 price tag per person. In fact, we had so much food, I am STILL full this morning, and I passed out right away when I got home. Can you say food coma?

We arrived before our 8 pm reservation so we had to wait outside for the other diners to leave. But, once we were seated, the food journey began. And what an adventure it was.

Started off with a halibut and caviar sashimi. The flavors were amazing and I loved the caviar. I did think the halibut was a bit chewy as did one of my dining companions.



Next up was the duck soup. At first it was mild in flavor, probably due to the extremely flavorful sashimi, but after a few sips, the soup took on a life of it's own. It was sooo good and comforting. And the duck, omg, it was beyond tender. Very creative and well thought out soup.



Following the amazing soup came shark's fin chawan mushi. OMFG. OMFG. This was one of the best things I've ever ate! I should be on that Food Network show. The steamed egg mixed with the shark's fin was orgasmic. I could eat this every single day.



At this point I was already getting full, but after a brief 10 minute break they brought out the shabu. We all got the mixed shabu A, which consisted of beef, clams, king crab legs and one oyster. This came with rice and a plate of veggies - mushrooms, vermicelli noodles, napa cabbage, tofu and chrysanthemum leaves.







We dug in and started chowing down. Wow, the beef was so tender and fresh. It basically melted in my mouth. I liked the ponzu sauce they gave us but if you're into spice like me, add a few drops of hot chili oil and the flavors really come out.

The veggies were all delicious and cooked up pretty fast. I'm a fan of those chrysanthemum leaves, so damn good.

Clams and crab legs were good as well, but the best was the oyster. Yes, you get only one oyster, but holy moly, it was one of the freshest oysters I've ever eaten! We opted to eat it raw, and I would recommend you do that as well. If you cook, it's a waste of a oyster!



After eating all this food I really felt like I was going to explode. We all were in a food coma, but geared up for the next course.

Rice soup. I've never had it before and was quite interested to see what all the fuss was about.

They took our pot of soup and within 10 minutes came back with rice soup. It had rice, egg, tomato and veggies in it. It was amazing!! I was so full that I felt like I was 3 months pregnant, but I still downed my bowl of soup.



At this point, we were crying for mercy. But, the waiter came back and asked us what we wanted for dessert. I got the creme brulee, my friend got the sorbet and my other friend got the green tea mousse.

creme brulee



I'm not a huge dessert fan, but that creme brulee was heaven on earth. It was seriously one of the best I've ever tasted. I liked that it was small too, and yes I practically licked the bowl. The green tea mousse was pretty good as well.

green tea mousse



peach sorbet



The service was excellent all night and our waiter was on top of things. 5 stars for service.

Everything was amazing last night and I can't wait to go back asap. Who's with me?

5*****

Kagaya
418 E 2nd St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 617-1016

AYCE KBBQ @ Yi Ssi Hwa Ro

Woooot! One of my new favorite AYCE KBBQ places. A group of us came here the other night and ate till we almost exploded.

There are 2 different menus, one for $16, the other one for $20. We opted for the $20 one because it came with baby octopus, shrimp and spicy kalbi.

I'm a huge fan of baby octopus, I could eat them every day. However, the baby octopus here was not that good. The tentacles were good, but the head was so sandy I had to spit it out. Gross.

However, the chadol (brisket) was soooo good that we ordered 5 plates of it. Yeah. You think you aren't eating that much since the meat is so thinly sliced, but really, don't kid yourself. Meat is meat and it's gonna expand in your tummy.

The kalbi was good as well, and rib eye steak was alright. My faves of the night was the chadol and kalbi. I didn't get a chance to try the spicy kalbi cuz I couldn't really breathe after round 3.



Oh yeah, loved the rice papers and the sesame oil with salt dipping sauce. I didn't much care for the purple rice though. White rice!

As far as service goes, it was pretty damn good. They were attentive, friendly and even changed out our grill multiple times. I like that, it prevents cancer.

Oh, since 2 of our friends had birthdays that night, they gave us a free bottle of bubbly and made them dance in front of everyone. It was awesome.

We also had 3 bottles of soju at $6.99 and $9.99 per bottle. The $10 bottle was a bit smoother.

Overall, great dining experience and at $33 per person, a great deal.

Yi Ssi Hwa Ro
3465 W 6th St
Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 365-8111