Tofu Ya

A few weeks ago, I had a Singaporean friend visit me over her college spring break. Owing to the fact that my friend goes to school in Arkansas, she has had very limited access to Asian cuisine and therefore her trip to LA was highlighted by eating at any and every Asian food eatery within sight. On her first night with me, we decided to try the Korean BBQ place on Sawtell blvd, Tofu Ya.

One of my favorite things about Korean BBQ are the side dishes or banchan that accompany the meal. We had dishes of kimchi, kongnamul (cold boiled bean sprouts with sesame oil), pickled cucumber, fishcakes, and japchae. MMmmm. I could make a meal out of just banchan.

For the main meal, my friend and I family-styled it up and shared an order of dolsot bibimbap and bulgogi with an order each of the soon tofu soup.

The broth of the soon tofu tasted like it had been stewing for hours and the intense seafood/shrimpy-ness of the soup reminded me of home. The one thing that would have made this soup over the moon delicious would have been a little more seasoning in the salt department.

My opinion of the Bibimbap was that it was just alright. Nothing too wrong with it but nothing extremely right either. The gochujang or red pepper paste lacked a little seasoning and fell short in the spicy and sweet categories. I also wished there had been more namul (sauteed or seasoned vegetables) in the dish.

While the bibimbap was a little bit disappointing, the Bulgogi was nicely marinated and sweet. Additionally, the cut of meat used in Tofu Ya's bulgogi was nice and lean. If I am not wrong, bulgogi is suppose to be made with sirloin or other prime cuts of beef. However, I have been to many restaurants and ordered bulgogi, only to be served a plate of less than lean meat! Argh!

Bulgolgi always reminds me of the 2nd international age group meet that I ever represented Singapore at. Held in Busan Korean, that was the first time I was really introduced to Korean cuisine. While in Busan, I dined on a steady feast of ginseng chicken, kyoho grapes, the sweetest peaches ever (bought from the street cart across from the hotel. Also when I learned that mama t can split a peach in two simply by twisting it) and bulgolgi!

Details:

Tofu Ya

2021 Sawtelle Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90025

310-473-2627

Saison

While I was in San Francisco a couple of weekends ago for work, I had the extreme pleasure of dining at Saison. Saison is the joint venture of executive chef Joshua Skenes and wine director Mark Bright, whom The Tasting Panel Magazine recognized at our 2009 New Leader Awards that were held at the SLS hotel. After meeting Mark in Los Angeles, he insisted that whenever we were next in San Francisco, we had to come dine at his restaurant.

Before dining at any new restaurant, I try to preview the menu online just so the indecisive chick in me has a small idea of what I want to order. However, it had been a busy week at work and I never had a chance to even think about dinner at Saison. So it was a rainy Friday evening and I found myself in a cab on my way to Saison not knowing that a decadent 8 course tasting menu was waiting for me at the other end.

Finding the restaurant itself proved to be a bit of a challenge as Saison is tucked away at the back of a courtyard. There is a sign that says "Saison" but it is not lit up and one can walk/drive by it a 1000 times and not notice it at all. To enter the restaurant, you walk in via the kitchen, and yes, you feel like you are going the wrong way. Personally, I like that the main entrance is through the kitchen as you get to see a bit of the behind the scenes action. In addition, walking through the kitchen lends itself to the restaurant's casual we're-all-friends-here vibe.

The main dining room at Saison has 6 maybe 7 tables with one communal table in the middle, complete with wooden benches. The decorations and mood of Saison read rustic, simple and down to earth (minus the wall art with 1000 nails sticking out of it). According to Mark, the space used to be an art gallery. It felt intimate without being over the top romantic, casual without feeling like you wasted your time getting dressed up and hip without feeling overdone... I liked it.

The first dish on this decadent tasting menu was little leeks, wild caviar and meyer lemon paired with bubbly from Château de Lavernette Crémant de Bourgogne, non-vintage.The caviar was perfect and simply melted in my mouth. Additionally, the hint of salt from the caviar only worked to highlight the natural sweetness of the leeks and I appreciated the play on sweet and salty. The only thing that bothered me about this dish was that it was hard to look cool as you chased the last little balls of caviar around the dish trying to get them onto the spoon and into your mouth.

Up next was the farm egg with smoked butter and golden trout roe, served with a side of asparagus topped with what I assumed to be smoked butter. This dish was definitely a creative one. Digging into the egg, there were textural surprises with the crispy salty roe and the gooey fresh egg. I will say that while very tasty, my egg was a little underdone and I did not like the transparent-ness of some portions of my egg. This was a real pity because the egg truly was very fresh. A little more cooking time would have knocked this dish out of the ball park.

Our third course was roots (carrots, daikon, radish) stewed with bonite, caramelized shoots, leaves and flowers. I don't know if I even noticed the flowers that were suppose to be on this dish. I was so excited at the thought of a root soup (I have been craving one for ages and ages) that I didn't take the time to visually enjoy my dish before devouring it. With clean and simple flavors, the roots were perfectly cooked with the right amount of mush and bite. It amazed me that this dish could be so delicate and comforting at the same time. If I were a less classier person, I think I would have brought the bowl up to my face to slurp up the last remnants of bonito broth. But I didn't... This course was paired with the Domaine Séguinot Bordet Chablis, Burgundy, France 2007.

For our next course, we were served pertrale sole roasted bone in with vadouvan spices and artichoke citronne. Unfortunately, this was my least favorite dish of the evening for many reasons. First, my fish was a little undercooked on the inside and second, the dish smelled better than it tasted- never a good thing. I did appreciate the lemony artichoke and spinach leaves but they did little to salvage the under-seasoned sole. In my opinion, all this dish needed (besides a little more time in the oven) was just a touch of salt to wake it up. The fish was paired with the Kientzler Riesling Reserve Particular Alsace, France 2003.

Up next, a crimson beet aigre-doux, hibiscus and bone marrow paired with 2007 Becker Estate Pinot Noir, Pfalz, Germany. I was nervous when I saw this on the menu as I was afraid the natural nuance of the beet would get overpowered by the fatty richness of the bone marrow but I was proven wrong. The sweetness of the beet played harmoniously with the soft, salty, butteriness of the bone marrow and the flavors just melded beautifully. Ahhh.

For our meat course, we were served a sonoma lamb, whole roasted with warm spices natural jus as well as a 2005 Château Lyonnat Lussac St Emilion Bordeaux, France. This lamb... ohhh... ahhh...mmmm...no words. Literally there are no words. This is one of the best lamb dishes I've had in a long while. With just the right amount of seasoning, the Dura Masala (cinnamon, cumin and all that kind of good stuff) did not overwhelm the natural lamb flavors but only worked to enhance them. Sweet figs, yogurt sauce, watercress and arugula completed this perfect piece of meat and left me speechless.

The week before dining at Saison, I had a spice crusted rack of lamb with butternut squash, cippollini onions and michigan dried cherries at Waterbar in SF during a Portugal wine dinner. At that time I thoroughly enjoyed my rack of lamb, but after tasting the lamb dish at Saison, it was like I was once blind but now I see. I think what I love best here was the subtly of the dish. The chef could have gone heavy handed and drowned the lamb in a complicated sauce, but instead he let the meat speak for itself by serving the lamb in its own natural jus.The only way this dish could have improved is if it came with a side of second helping.

Our cheese course was a point reyes inverness with sun-toasted walnuts served with a slice of walnut bread from Acme. Not quite as spectacular as the walnut bread from Campanile/La Brea Bakery, it was a little too soft for my liking and lacked the nutty oomph that I was craving. The mild sweetness of the sun-toasted walnuts was lovely and helped cut the tartness of this very rich and indulgent cheese.

Our pre-dessert course was a satsuma ice cream mandarin granite to which I say "ehhh". I know this dish was meant to be a palate cleanser but I wish there had been more flavor to this mandarin granita.

And for dessert, a chocolat-walnut crumble, salted caramel ice cream from Ciao Bella. After a dinner of restrained flavors, I was hoping for a more intense dessert but was sadly let down by this dish. While the dessert did a wonderful job of balancing the salty and sweet, the creamy and crunchy; I was not blown away. But then again, I am the girl who has not met a chocolate cake she deems too rich so I guess that's just me. I don't like subtlety when it comes to my sweets.

As if the 8 courses were not enough, we were served a little end-of-the-meal treat of lavender and sea salt shortbread cookies. I am not usually a huge fan of shortbread cookies but neither am I usually a fan of turning down food that is placed in front of me. What can I say, I have a fat kid inside of me! Eating them upside down (salt side directly on my tongue) allowed the sea salt to be the first thing to hit my palate and brought out the savory lavender in the cookies.

Subtle and uncomplicated, the menu at Saison clearly pays homage to the seasonal farm fresh ingredients. The flavors in each dish were concise and refined and I definitely appreciated the impeccable presentation. To me, Saison is kind of a huge contradiction on so many levels: it's a sophisticated restaurant tucked into what looks like a back alley of a abandoned warehouse, it has a members only feel to it yet the rustic interiors are comfortable and unstuffy, the food there is seemingly simple, but in actuality requires an astonishing amount of technique to execute. Its basically fine dining in farm form.

Details:
Saison
2124 Folsom Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-828-7990

Apologies from the author:
1. I apologize for the lack of/dismal descriptions of the wine pairings. Food I KNOW but wine I am just starting to learn. I know what wine I like but ask me to tell you why and what I taste.. that's a whole other ball game. (Which, I guess is ironic considering where I work.)

2. I also apologize for the lack of focus/too much white light/lousy framing on some of the pictures. I blame
a. the lighting in the restaurant
b. my little dinky camera
c. my greedy stomach that somehow managed to overpower my perfectionist self and made me give up on taking the perfect picture just so I could devour everything that was set in front of me, stat.

R. Nichols Stationary

Last night, I returned from my birthday/work trip to New York City. Today, I thought it only fitting to share these note cards from R. Nichols.

The taxicab note cards do a lovely job of capturing the spirit of the beautiful and bustling city I just returned from. Even though I had a rather stressful time dealing with work emergencies all weekend (no thanks to Icelandic volcanic ash for grounding my boss, our French winemakers and all our wine!), I still managed to have a marvelous time in New York (with many many thanks to Luisa and Chris for being fantastic hosts and friends!! xoxo). It really is a city that I could see myself living in. But since I am not an American citizen and my visa is tied to my job, I am stuck in LA for the time being. No complaints there though, LA is great city in its own way and there are a lot of people that I love in LA!

Detail:
R. Nichols
Taxicab Note Cards
$20 for a box of 10 with envelopes

Birthday Confessions

Dear Readers-

I'm so sorry I have been MIA for a while and been neglecting to post, work has had me swamped and I haven't had a chance to even think my own thoughts!

Anyway, today I turn 24. *yay and sigh* I love birthdays because it selfishly means presents (and yes, I do buy myself a present or two and I also try to observe April 19th as a holiday)! However, I also hate birthdays because it means getting older. I know in the grand scheme of things, 24 is not that old at all, its not even a quarter of a century old. But still... I just hate getting older.

This year, I am unable to declare April 19th a holiday because I've to spend the day touring New York city with a bunch of French winemakers. But later tonight I am meeting up with an old college friend and her husband and we're going to have dinner at The Little Owl. So it looks like it will be a pretty decent 24th birthday.

Anyway, to mark the big 24 (sigh sigh sigh), I thought I would do a "birthday suit" type post, I thought I would strip myself down to a "naked" more vulnerable place and make some birthday confessions. Here goes nothing...

1. I am insanely jealous of the long luscious lashes (alteration woot woot!) that my niece and nephew have. The have big gorgeous eyes and long lashes while I have small half-open eyes (I completely blame papa t) with stubby lashes that point straight down! Jealous!

2a. I hate the smell of milk. It makes me want to hurl.
2b. On the other hand, I drank my nightly "cup" of warm milk from a feeding bottle (that makes me sound like a baby animal but I couldn't remember the correct term for it) till I was ummm too old... Maybe 5 or 6?? I mean I was old enough to know that it was embarrassing and that I should hide it from any and all overnight guests. I mean when my cousin stayed overnight, my poor maid had to bring it up covertly and I drank it in secrecy!

3. My idea of extreme sport is driving around on a quarter tank of gas.

4. Despite the fact that I graduated from UCLA, I always feel stupid and behind whenever I go home to Singapore. Always.

5. My feet sometimes smell...bad.

6. Even when I was in the best shape of my life (aka Olympic athlete shape), I never had abs. Don't get me wrong, I did not have a belly but I never had, and never will have abs. Poops.

7. Sometimes I find myself wishing that I had a cool accent and lived in a foreign country. Then I remember that I ALREADY do!

8. I eat my emotions (but really, who doesn't?)

9. Even though I've done a lot with my life thus far, I feel like I've not achieved anything significant or noteworthy. This is why I dread getting older, each birthday feels like a reminder of all the things in life I have not done.

10. The most embarrassing moment in my life was my performance(s) at the 2008 Olympics.

On This Day...

On this day in 1805, writer Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense, Denmark. In his lifetime, Andersen authored many of the best known fairy tales like "The Ugly Duckling", "The Princess and the Pea", "The Emperor's New Clothes" and "The Little Mermaid" (which is what the Disney classic was loosely based on).

In my early college years, I took a writing course where we studied Scandinavian literature and Andersen was one of the authors we covered. I am embarrassed to admit that it was only then that I realized where many of my classic fairy tales came from. It is amazing how mainstream American/Western culture often adopts and appropriates things from other cultures and the origin (and some times worse, significance) of that said artifact gets lost in the process of cultural appropriation.

To honor this Danish author's birthday, Google's normal multi-colored logo (well unless it is April Fools day, then it becomes "Topeka") on its home page is being replaced by a series of Google doodles that reflect scenes from Andersen's well known fairy tale "Thumbelina". Go check it out!

Image from Chronicle Books

Happy April Fools Day

Happy April Fools day my friends! While I've never pulled an April Fools prank on anyone or ever been victim to one, Mama T did fall for a pretty good April Fools prank years and years ago.

She'll most probably kill me for telling this story, but I can't help it... it's too good not to share.

There used to be this popular morning DJ duo in Singapore that my family and I tuned in to on our morning commute. The Djs were witty, entertaining and managed to toe the fine line between being locally relevant yet cool and cosmopolitan at the same time. My family loved them!

On that fateful April 1st morning, said Djs announced on air that Singtel (main service provider for land lines in Singapore) was intending to clean out their cables that day by shooting out blasts of air through the phone lines. (What?! Anyone with a sound head on their shoulders would have already begun to question this logic... shooting out air through phone lines?! These are cables not pipes people!) The DJs went on to recommend that their listeners go home and tie plastic bags around their phone receives so as to contain the dust that was surely to explode from the phone receivers on their end. Sounds insane right? But sadly, that is exactly what Mama T did!! (tehehehe)

I mean picture it, my mother driving home after dropping me off at school and insisting to our maid that we had to tie plastic bags around all our phone receivers so that when that jet of air came through, all the dust that had been collecting in the phone cables won't get all over our house. (mwahahahhaha)

I don't remember how or when mama t found out she had been suckered but I do recall that on their show the next morning, the two Djs were forced to apologize on air because so many listeners had called in to complain! HAHA

Anyway, if you, like me, don't do April Fools jokes, here is a fun little find to celebrate the day!

Aren't these Marc Jacobs flats just so amusing! :) Complete with with floppy ears, crystal eyes, plastic whiskers, and a stitched-on tail, how much more appropriate can these get for April Fools day!

Details:
Marc Jacobs
Patent Leather Mouse Flats
$230