Son of a Gun - West Hollywood

One lazy Sunday afternoon the hubs was browsing the homepage of a certain search engine and saw an article on the best seafood restaurants in the nation. He flipped through it and saw they named Son of a Gun in Los Angeles as one of them. My interest got piqued and I looked through the article and Yelped the restaurant. The pictures of the food looked so enticing. I told hubs he should make reservations for our anniversary dinner there. Fast forward 2 weeks later, we were there waiting excitedly for our dinner.

We got to WeHo around 5+pm on a Saturday afternoon and was lucky to find a street parking spot. Fret not if you can't find streetside parking, Son of a Gun offers valet parking for $5.

We knew what we wanted to order. Lobster roll, shrimp toast and linguine with clams. I would have added the fried chicken sandwich to the mix had we not have awesome Korean fried chicken the day before. The lobster roll and shrimp toast were items almost every diner ordered so of course we have to try it. Linguine with clams was hubs' choice as he had a disappointing experience several weeks ago at another restaurant and wanted to try a winner. We decided to add shishito peppers to our orders so we'd get some greens. Heh. For drinks I ordered a house fermented shandy and hubs got Hitashi Pale Ale.

Our drinks came first and I was wowed by mine. It has apple cider, lemon juice and spiced apple. It tasted like the holidays, so comforting. Next came the fried shishito peppers and shrimp toast. The shrimp toast was beautifully fried to a golden brown. It was small, about 4 sq inch for $11. It was scrumptious. It had shrimp paste some veg and sriracha mayo. The crustacean taste was inviting but not overwhelming. Meal was off to a great start! The shishito peppers were fried with sesame seeds and bonito shreds sprinkled over it. It was served with a lemon garlic aioli $9. While this dish was good, it didn't leave me wanting for more. Serving size was ample though.

Linguine with clams came next. It was such a small serving, probably less than half a regular serving at a regular Italian restaurant for $19. Unfortunately for hubs this dish was not a winner. It was too salty and even if it wasn't, the taste or portion did not justify the price.

Next came the highly anticipated lobster roll. I read reviews saying it can be polished up in 2 bites and figured maybe these people take big bites. But when I saw the size, I understood what they meant. The lobster roll was about 2 inches long. I have to say it was delicious, they were not stingy with the lobster and the bread was pan fried very well and the texture was good. Well worth the $7. Should have ordered 1 each.

We weren't feeling full by the time we finished the 3 dishes so we added another. We decided to go with the country ham with hush puppies $15. The ham was thinly sliced and tasted like prosciutto. The hush puppies were very well seasoned and complimented the ham. The honey butter on the side did nothing for us but then again we are not a huge butter fan.

The meal cost us around $100 including tax and tips. While it was a good experience, we probably will not be making our way here again.

Son of a Gun

8370 West 3rd St

Los Angeles, CA 90048

(323) 782 9033

Cocohodo

Monster Munching, my guide to good food in OC reviewed Cocohodo a couple of weeks back. I didn't realize there was a Korean food/snack place I haven't heard of in OC and was dying to try this especially since the red bean pancake man outside Hmart stopped appearing many months ago.

I bought a mini box which was $5 for 12 pieces. In my haste to order I overlooked the prices for the paper bag packaging. For the same price, I could get 15 pieces in a paper bag. Since I was gonna be the one stuffing my face with it, there was probably no need to get them in a box, but oh well. They have many other sizes too and I'm pretty sure the next time I'm here I will upsize.

I realized I've rambled on for 2 paragraphs without telling you what Cocohodo sells. They sell hodo kwaja which is a batter-like pastry encasing a piece of walnut and sweetened red bean paste. The pastry is in a walnut shell shape and each pastry is individually wrapped in a thin tissue. The batter to filling ratio is low, the red bean paste is not too sweet and the walnut in it just makes me think this is healthy! So, hurry over there and get your little bundles of joy!

Cocohodo
5327 Beach Blvd
Buena Park, CA 90621
(714) 994 5965

Steamed Chicken with various Chinese Goodies

So someone came home with a less than satisfactory blood test results which meant I had to tweak our diet to improve it. Black fungus has been touted to be able to reduce high cholesterol so I was looking for recipes to use this particular ingredient. 

I didn't expect to like this dish so much, but I do. It was easy to fault to prepare and so delicious. It reminded me of those braised chicken wings my mother would make. This is definitely going to be one of the dishes I will keep coming back to when I want a fail proof comfort meal and I hope you will like it as much. Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you off. I just figured since I needed to rehydrated the black fungus I might as well throw in some other stuff as well. You can feel free to opt out any of the dried ingredients. I would recommend including the mushrooms as it soaks up the amazing gravy and is just a joy to bite into.

Steamed Chicken with various Chinese Goodies

- 1 whole free range chicken chopped into pieces
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing rice wine
- 2 tbsp premium oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soysauce
- 4 pieces dried shitaki mushroom
- 4-5 pieces black fungus
- 1 tbsp dried wolfberries
- few strands of dried lily buds
- 1 tbsp ginger thinly sliced

Wash and pat dry the chicken pieces. Put them into a bowl and add the rice wine, soysauce and oyster sauce to it. Massage the marinade into the chicken and leave it in the fridge for an hour. In another bowl, place the dried products and fill it with warm water. Set it aside for about 20 minutes. After 20 mins, wash all the ingredients. Slice the mushroom (sans mushroom stems as they are too tough to be eaten) and black fungus. Place the rehydrated ingredients into the bowl with the chicken. Steam chicken dish for 30mins. You then have a healthy and delicious dish which will have you go mmmmm....

Beach Live Seafood

After sitting for a grueling exam some time ago, I decided to pamper myself a little, so we headed to Buena Park for some Korean sashimi. I've never tried it before and so my love for Korean food compels me to try it at least once. Korean sashimi, hwe, differs from Japanese sashimi in the fact that the fish is still alive right up till you order it. I think fluke is the default fish, but I may be wrong.

When the waitress handed us the menu, I was uncertain which sashimi platter to order as there were 2 types to choose from and the English description was unfortunately not very useful. So, I whipped out my phone and showed the waitress the picture I saw on Yelp and she understood what I wanted and pointed to the second set of sashimi which was $60 for a small set. She added, in halting English, that the set includes rice and soup.

Within moments, she came back with a tray full of banchan (refillable side dishes you usually get at Korean restaurants). We were pleasantly surprised by the variety. There was miso soup, a small bowl of porridge with egg shreds, saba in a sesame citrusy dressing which tasted awesome, sea snails, sliced abalone and edamame. Whoa, I could fill up on these things alone! 

While we were happily filling our bellies with the banchan, our sashimi arrived. The serving was huge! Thin slices of fish sat on shredded radish. I took a slice, placed it on the lettuce they provided and added some dwenjang paste mix which included Korean soybean paste, scallions, garlic and some sesame oil. Mmmm, so good. The texture of the fish is different from Japanese sashimi. It was more toothsome but was just as delicious. Given the gigantic serving, I was barely able to eat my share of the fish and had to concede defeat, leaving hubs to clear the plate.

We were getting ready to pay when the waitress brought out 2 bowls of nurongji, charred bits of rice mixed with tea, a boiling pot of spicy stew and a beautifully broiled mackerel pike. Hubs and I looked at each other, wondering how we're gonna finish these. I took a sip of the spicy soup, despite protests from my bursting belly and widened my eyes, gesturing to hubs to try it too. They gave us a pot of muentang, spicy fish stew. It was so good I couldn't stop. The broiled pike was also good, but not spectacular. While we were unable to finish this last "course" we were definitely happily filled to the brim. For $60 (before tax) this was definitely a worthy meal.

Beach Live Fish Restaurant

5440 Beach Blvd

Buena Park, CA 90621

(714) 521-5555

Mon - Sun 10am - 11pm

Chong Qing Szechuan Mei Wei Restaurant

The temperature reader registered 100 degrees in my car, the sun was scorching hot, yet I was craving something spicy. It was a choice between our trusty Korean tofu pot place or this Szechuan restaurant I've been wanting to try. Decided to go for the latter.

It was around 530pm on a Friday evening, the restaurant was relatively quiet, but people kept coming in for their takeaway orders. We settled for the famed water boiled fish and the wanton in spicy sauce.

The food came out pretty fast and we happily doused the white rice with the spicy sauces. The wantons were huge and there were about 12 of them in one serving for $6.99. The sauce was spicy, sourish and hit the right spots. Our fave wanton with spicy sauce is from A&J restaurant across the street and we've not been able to find a strong competitor until now. While this sauce was not as tasty as A&J's, it was still v good and the value for money should not be overlooked. You get 12 big wantons whereas A&J's are on the smaller side and you probably get about 6 per serving.

The water boiled fish was a great choice as well. While the sauce looks pretty intimidating, it was not as spicy as I expected, though definitely not for those not accustomed to such fiery dishes. The sauce was made with hot bean paste, spicy oil, dried chillies and many other aromatic ingredients. I couldn't stop ladling the sauce over the rice. I would be contented eating just those 2 things :). The fish is most likely catfish. It was smooth and tender and complemented the sauce very well. The napa cabbage which soaked in the sauce's goodness helped eased the guilt of gulping down such a delicious albeit sinful dish. For $10.99 this was a huge portion and we had enough leftover for lunch the next day.

All in all, so happy to have found this place. It will definitely be on our list the next time we crave for spicy comfort food.

Chong Qing Mei Wei Szechuan Restaurant

5406 Walnut Ave
Irvine, CA 92604

(949) 651-8886

Mon - Sun 11am - 9:30pm

Amazing Pasta at Cucina Alessa

Hubs and I found Cucina Alessa about 2 years back when we were looking for an Italian restaurant to spend our Christmas eve.  I'm a carbaholic, so I'm naturally drawn to pasta dishes.  Also, I was hooked on Giada's cooking shows many moons ago and she made pasta look so delectable.  

I remember having a very satisfying meal that Christmas Eve even though we were seating in the cramp patio area with not much decor to speak of. I don't know why it took us so long to go back, but hopefully it won't be 2 years until our next visit.

Cucina Alessa has 2 locations, 1 in Newport Beach and the other in Huntington Beach.  We opted for the Newport one since there were more post dinner activities nearby.  Do note that if you go to the Newport location, you have to go about 20 minutes ahead of your reservations time to ensure you have sufficient time to find parking.  Cucina Alessa has only a few parking spots outside the restaurant and chances that they get filled up when you are there are very high.  It being a beach city also means you're competing with many other people for the scarce roadside parking.

Dinner at Cucina Alessa started with warm bread and a flavorful pesto.  I like that they serve pesto instead of the olive oil + balsamic vinegar combination you usually get at other Italian joints.  Don't get me wrong, I love olive oil + balsamic vinegar, but the fact that Cucina Alessa went the extra mile to churn out the pesto just made it extra special.  The bread was warm and pillowy with a hint of herbs (I'm guessing it is thyme). 

I was pretty bent on getting burrata as a starter as it was something we don't get to eat very often.  I had wanted to get burrata and prosciutto, but when our waitress was telling us about the specials for that night, both hubs and I decided that the fried burrata in marinara sauce was the way to go.  I mean, how can you go wrong with fried cheese?  This appetizer definitely did not disappoint.  The fried burrata had a thin coating of breadcrumbs on the outside.  Cutting into it yielded a soft stringy burrata that oozed out slightly.  And the sauce, oh, the sauce.  I was afraid it might be tart like most marinara sauces are, but this one was sweet and after we finished the burrata, I was sopping it up with the bread.  So so good.

For our main dish, hubs and I both ordered pasta and I must say we made very good choices although I think it may be hard not to at Cucina Alessa.  I chose the Pappardelle Bolognese which had homemade pasta with traditional bolognese sauce.  Hubs went for the Livornese which consisted of fresh fish, shrimp and scallop with white wine oregano tomato sauce and linguini pasta.  I apologize for the bad pictures, we were sitting outside where lighting was bad and I didn't want to keep taking pictures with flash and annoy other customers.  My pappardelle bolognese was a simple dish but hit the right spot. The pasta was rolled out thin and held the bolognese sauce well.  The livornese was chock-full of seafood.  The scallop was huge, with radius of around 2 inches.  The fish was very fresh as were the shrimps.  The sauce had a hint of spiciness to complement the freshness.  I wish I had a better picture for this!  The portions were pretty big, or perhaps we ate too much of the bread, so we doggy bagged around a pretty substantial amount for lunch the next day.

We enjoyed our meal thoroughly and I'm glad we are near this unpretentious Italian restaurant that serves such delicious food.

Cucina Alessa (Newport Beach)

6700 W. Coast Highway

Newport Beach, CA 92663

(949) 645 2148

Napa Cabbage with Goji Berries

Yet another super simple dish. Adding goji berries to vegetables is a great way to increase your intake of antioxidants and to impart some sweetness to an otherwise savory dish.

Napa Cabbage with Goji Berries
Serves 2

- 6 leaves of napa cabbage
- 1 tbsp of goji berries

Wash and chop the napa cabbage into 1-2 inch pieces. Wash and soak 1 tbsp of goji berries in water. Heat 1 tbsp of oil and throw in the cabbage. Stir fry till the cabbage softens and the green turns into a livelier shade. Sprinkle some salt, add in goji berry with some water. Mix everything and serve.