Wowowow! I just teared up of joy and pride of my hometown Hacienda Heights watching the “Colima Road” youtube video. Colima road would be the famous road that runs through to Rowland Heights & Diamond Bar. I grew up on this road. My elementary, junior & high school was around there. After school, my dad would drive my grandma in his minivan to the 99 ranch market or Hong Kong market. Anyone that knows good food, knows that the best Taiwanese & Chinese restaurants are in Rowland Heights, NOT Chinatown. There are some good ones in San Gabriel too, but I’m going to vote Rowland Heights as the best. It’s all those mom-n-pop shops with no Engrish names that are the yummiest to go to. As far as restaurant cleansiness, you know it’s the ‘B’ or ‘C’ rated that tastes the best. For $4 a bowl of noodles, you will have a bigger party in  your mouth than any $20 meal in LA. MSG? More prease.

When asked where I grew up, no one knows what and where Hacienda Heights is. I’d have to further explain it’s only 25 miles east of West LA, a member of LA county, on the intersection of 605 and 60 fwy. Some may know 60 as the fwy to Riverside. I say Diamond bar and then it becomes more familiar. I’ve come to really appreciate this small town I grew up in. I found myself driving 30 miles east or west (whether in College or now) to go home weekly for the food, market and culture. Colima road has grown to become a Culinary landmark within the last 5 years.

There are a lot of yuppy/hipstery cafe shops that have opened, just to name a few..

-the newest 85c – fresh, beautiful pastries (complete FOOD PORN!), cakes & coffee drinks, with lines out the door. It became very popular among the S. Cali culture this past year in Irvine, originally from Asia (Taiwan & Shanghai)
-Guppy House – huge portions of desserts and drinks to share among friends, open late nights
-Class 3o2 – a Taiwanese restaurant with tapas sized portions of skewers and noodles, the interior like a classroom in Taiwan
-Half & Half - Cafe shop with specialized boba drinks
-Phoenix Cafe – Different kinds of Chinese specialties, I recommend the Singapore curry noodles. YUM!!!
-No. 1. Noodle Shop, in Yes Plaza – for SPICY, delicious beef stew noodles

Check out my Yelp reviews, or send me a message. There a few others I don’t know the name of. I’ll be more than glad to tell you all the spots, or heck, I’ll even take you!

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A few cool kids decided to film a video about Colima road. Amazing Job FungBros Production for portraying our humble little street & shedding light on an under-appreciated area! I salute you!

Yelp Review: Lukshon
Category: Asian Fusion

3239 Helms Ave
Culver City, CA 90232

(310) 202-6808

The ambiance was gorgeous. Very trendy. Especially as Spring & Summer is approaching, for those late night dinners with a fire pit outside, warm seats and a perfected lighting. The whole restaurant is finely decorated with a modern sophisticated culinary look.

The chef presents fusion of Southeast Asian flavors at it’s finest. With modern European ~ Tapas served dish. Common ingredients are xo Chinese sauce, indonesian/malay spices, korean, japanese fusion, do ban jan, indian spices. Overall the dishes were on the saltier side, but if they fix that, it’d be perfect.

-My favorite was the Lamb Roti – a Small pizza style of indian savory Roti (deep fried bread) stuffed with cheese (i think) topped with Lamb pieces, corn, red pepper, fresh yogurt, basil, a touch of spiciness. Also a side of pickled cauliflower & vegetables, to balance off the fire in your mouth.

-Aloo (potato) & Okra – Small potatoes seasoned with Xo sauce, cilantro, indian seasoning and basil.

-Chicken pop – worth ordering, pretty tasty but too salty and fatty.

We did not like:
-Coconut rice cake – too hard, too sweet. with a side of XO spicy Chinese sauce. Just wasn’t into it.

-Foie Gras – I didn’t like it. At all. Even as I forcefully tried to eat it, knowing I was wasting 16$, I couldn’t do it. I’ve had delicious Foie Gras at many French restaurants and do enjoy this acquired taste. Lukshon prepared it in a tiramisu look. As you bite into it, you start to taste some sweet, then you bite into this hard pungent taste. Gross.

They had a huge variety of cocktails ranging from beers, fine wine, rice wines and beers from select Asian countries. I would definitely come back for a light dinner with a group of at least 4 to share the different dishes and to explore the drink menu on a longer night.

Slide show of their food on Grubstreet LA

Yelp Review: Robata Jinya

8050 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
Neighborhood: Mid-City West

(323) 653-8877

Review from Jacki U.

I had an amazing experience here! It was a late Wednesday night, we were driving down Weho on our way to Wockano’s as I was craving Sushi, when by fate we passed by this familiar looking, eclectic new restaurant. The familiarity was the homeyness of the design from the outside looking in. Some mystery inside awaiting to be unraveled. We had to try it.

The inside decor was even more impressive. With higher-end trendy sushi spots like Nobu & Sushi roku, and it’s ridiculous pricing, I’ve shyed away from sushi spots in these prime locations. Robata Jinya actually felt like I was in Japan. It was trendy, authentic, cozy, with a variety of designs that one’s eye would never stop wandering.

We ordered many things on the menu tapas style and was not dissapointed with ANY. The dishes were all delivered in unique sophisticated presentations. I ordered the Shishito pepper, mixed mushroom wrapped in foil, spicy tuna on crispy rice. We didn’t order the ramen but it looked and smelled delish.

Tower of sashimi with spicy sauce.

The organic tofu which was delivered as soy liquid, and then poured into a large wooden cup which cooked the tofu within 3 minutes. A side dish of fish flakes, green onions, soy sauce and unidentifiable yummy seasoning.

The menu was reasonably priced (approx. 20-25$ per person) especially for it’s location and I’d recommend it for a fun date night, birthdays, casual dining, late night dining.. basically for any occasion. It’s definitely made top of my list and will become a regular.

Food Trucks have always been around. From the early days of ice cream trucks floating around town, to the 25 cent Lemonade stand situated out by elementary school children to Hot dog stands. In the recent past 2 decades, there has been Food trucks among construction sites for city workers to grab a quick bite during lunch. There are hot dog/sandwich carts situated all over New York by federal/corporate buildings. Illegally-run bacon-wrapped hot dog trucks line the streets of Hollywood late night for intoxicated individuals to pay an overprice of 5$ for their gluttonous souls.

This past year, there has been a new trend of Food Trucks. Asian food trucks. Yes, the “Kogi Truck”, which started it all. Just within a year, hundreds of Asian food trucks have popped up all around Los Angeles. “Kogi Taco” is a Mexican-Korean fusion style meat mixed with cilantro, raw onions and Korean flavor sauce. Who would have thought stuffing Korean BBQ meat into tortilla would be such a hit?

The Uprise of Asian Food Trucks Brought a Demographic Shift — A Whole New Culture

This ‘Kogi-taco’ phenomenon has brought a whole new demographic & culture into the Food Truck Culture. It is no longer a pastime, quick-fix lunch habit for blue-collar workers, or corporate businessmen grabbing a quick bite before the next meeting. This new demographic consists of an age range of teens to mid-30′s. The genius who invented the Kogi Taco truck maximally utilized the most recent technology of Twitter to allow followers to track them down. Since this restaurant is on wheels, it brought all the more excitement for followers to log on, and chase them down. Downtown LA has a range of them, and even food truck festivals that have been put on. One day on the south of Wilshire and La Brea, the next north of Wilshire and 4th in Santa Monica. It became a trend for young hip friends to spontaneously skate on over at any time of the day for a cheap delicious bite.

A lot more Asian-Americans were appearing at the scene of Food trucks, which were merely rare to find in the past due to their conservative nature. Asians all over the internet started Yelping & Tweeting about their favorite food trucks, advertising for friends or friends of friends who had recently started one. Yelp has now a section just on Food Truck ratings.

Restaurants are losing business over the Food Trucks, perhaps a result of the Recession. Perhaps a result of something new. Now one is able to pay half or even a third of the price for something just as fresh, in a quicker time, while still being able to hang out. This trend has brought more people together, since there are no arranged table seating, individuals flock around the cart mixing and mingling during lunch time.

Imitations: Hundreds of Asian Food Trucks appear all over LA

After Kogi Trucks begun a year ago, imitation trucks like the ‘Calbi Truck’, ‘iKimchi BBQ’ have started serving very similar menus. Other Asian foods have popped up as well. There are now a range of trucks on Sawtelle Blvd in West LA such as the Vietnamese truck ‘Nom Nom’ serving sandwiches, ‘Yum Yum Bowls’ which serve Yoshinoya type bowls, sushi trucks, ramen trucks and more.

The most recently established to add to the family is the ‘Dumpling Station’ founded by Helen Pan which will open in March around Pasadena, the very first Dumpling Truck.

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My Mission

 

I am taking a Documentary Film Making course at UCLA Extensions right now, and my 2nd project I wish to do on this subject. I wish to explore what it takes to start a Food Truck Business, and the future of the Asian Food Truck Business.

Taiwan has beautiful National parks & Hot springs for tourists. But what do the locals do on a regular basis? Shop and Eat. And that’s pretty much it. And there’s enough of it to go around.

We boarded the train by noon and got back around 3 pm. I washed up and got ready real quick as some family friends were coming to take me out. Uncle Tza is my mom’s elementary school classmate. His family have become real close with my mother as she goes back almost every year or 2 for a classmate reunion. He’s a professor at a Buddhist College for Sociology. A very wise/witty man, who’s family you cannot get enough of, full of Love & positive energy. The type of family you wish to have one day & see on the Brady brunch. I doubt the classmates were all very close in elementary school (boys and girls have cooties here in Taiwan too), but there forms that bond of spending your childhood years in a certain place, and being able to reminisce of the teachers who spanked you to bring a group together.

He came with his 22 year old daughter and niece & drove me touring around Taipei. Taipei is a pretty small city, wouldn’t take more than an hour to go north-south, east-west without traffic. But there aren’t really any high ways, and there’s such a huge population that it takes Foreverrr to even go a block. Theres so many beautiful attractions around. The president’s house/government building. Monumental Parks. Temples. Arena’s. Expensive housing districts. 7/11′s in every corner like Starbucks.

Last Saturday, Taipei actually hosted the 2009 Deaflympics. I never heard of that, but wow! Deaf people from all over the world train for this Olympic and come together on this night to compete. Hence 1/3 of the population around town this week all signing to each other. It’s very inspiring. This week is also the announcement of a new government official, so roads are blocked up lined with tons of police cars and paparazzi. Very “tzuh-nau” as the Chinese would say – “Filled with so many fun things to do“.

Uncle Tza took us to Ding Tai Fong, which is a chain dumpling restaurant owned by a smart Taiwanese business man who has franchises all over Taiwan and US. In LA, there is one in Arcadia. Any hour of the day you go to this restaurant, is at minimum an hour wait. You have every dumpling, bun, noodle you can find. At this location was 3 stories (typical of restaurants, even Mcdonalds because there are not enough space to build horizontally). It’s medium ranged price for a Chinese restaurant (5-7$/plate) but damn the food is AMAZING. There is not one dish that’s bad, and it’s consistently wonderful. I ate about triple the amount a normal human should have. Besides the food being so delicious, the meat melting upon entering my mouth, it’s Chinese custom for parents to continually stack food onto your plate. And it’s also rude to not take it. Yum. They ordered spicy oil pork/vegetable wontons, leek dumplings, pork/shrimp buns, alcohol soaked cold chicken, A-choy (greens), and more food which has blocked my brain from remembering more at this moment in time.

I was stuffed for the next 4 hours as we wandered Shi-Da night market filled with clothing shops and more food.

There are so many shops and a great way to walk off all your calories. The fashion is on par with Japan’s. But a lot of the clothes are extremely tacky too.

A beautiful blue striped halter dress you may spot from afar, will in fact dissapoint you as you get close and realize they decided to add a huge orange flower or lacing on. Some of which you can cut off & sew yourself since it’s cheap enough to not feel so bad about altering. It’s best for accessories and purses.

I just bought a purse for 7$. Love cheap shopping. You don’t feel so bad making the most of it, then throwing away. Hit & Quit. Li Ja shopped with me, we started to get worn out, stopped by 7/11 for my daily favorite drink: unsweetened green tea. Then uncle picked us up, dropped us off at Taipei 101 building – THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD, currently (until Dubai or somewhere else builds a taller one), for a photo-op. Unfortunately it was too tall to capture both Jacki & it in, so we walked around just to be tourists. By 11 I needed to get home and crash.

I flew in last night around 9 pm. My uncle & I walked out from his place on Kun Ming Road in Shing-mun-ding (trendiest neighborhood in Taipei) to Hua-shee-jieh road (Snake Alley). On the way there, I stopped by a street cart for a bbq spicy Corn on the Cob for 1$. It’s nothing like you’ve had in US.

Then once we got to the alley, we sat outside a stall on these mini-stools & had mixed Tempura soup slathered on with some sauce similar to BBQ sauce.

People wonder how the Asians stay so thin. I’m no scientist but I will tell you a huge attribute is MODERATION & TEA. The US has brainwashed people into thinking how horrible Carbohydrates are. Well yeah, obviously if you’re meal is a huge hamburger bun with double fried red meat, a side of fries and coke! Europeans also eat a lot of pasta & bread and stay thin. Hence the book “why French women don’t get Fat.”

People have attempted to strip away carbs, yet Americans are still the most obese in the world. The Asians eat smaller portions and a bit of everything. An equal portion of rice/noodles, a small portion of greens, a small portion of meat, some tofu or beans for soy/fiber. Some religion like Islam & Judaism condemn Pork as if it’s the dirtiest thing on the planet. Ya pigs seem dirty, but pork has been eaten in Asian cultures for as long as history can remember. The Japanese are known to be the healthiest people in the world, considering they eat rarely any fried food, all freshly caught seafood, some pure noodles and pork. They even eat rare pork. It couldn’t be that dirty if the Asians are living such long lives and healthy.

Tea is key. Every tea has it’s own specialty. Green tea has been known to be the best for metabolizing. It also contains a lot of caffeine so it’s good to switch it up with others.

This morning my uncle asked if I wanted some soy milk and bread. Blah, sounds boring. We took a walk & I was up to eat anything that looked yummy.

We stopped by a bakery, and they had a divided pot (popular everywhere, even at 7/11s) filled with appetizers. The sauce is a mix of soy sauce & extract of tea bags. I got a box and filled it with tofu, a huge chicken leg, tea-brewed egg and a turnip cake. My uncle looked at me weird like “you sure you wanna eat that for breakfast?” Hey, good food can come at any time of the day! And surely enough, I scarfed that whole bad boy down in 2 minutes.

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Taiwan is humid all year round, and is in Typhoon season around summer time til mid-Autumn. Recently there was a huge Typhoon that wiped out villages outside of Taipei, unfortunately. Relief efforts and non-profits have been focused to help out with Typhoon Marokot.

It’s pretty warm out right now, sticky warm, but bareable.

Taipei, capital of Taiwan where I am, is like a mini-NY. High rise buildings, shopping malls, homes (apts) stacked on top of each other. It’s a small island so the best way to condense is to stack, stack, stack!

The Metro subway is sophisticated like Hong Kong & NY. Everyone takes it, Incredibly simple to navigate, any grade school children can figure it out, and cheap. Most people take taxi’s or motorbikes, not many own cars.

What I also enjoy about Taiwan vs the other Asian countries is that people mind their own business. It’s like that in more advanced countries. And it depends on how you look at it. The more advanced a country, stereotypically the more self-absorbed they are. Which is good in some cases when traveling for a purpose out of leisure because you don’t want people bothering you about where you’re going or begging you for change. But in other cases, there’s a beauty in the less developed countries because individuals genuinely wonder about the world out there. They keep an open mind and really have to hear what you have to say, where you come from, and can’t wait to share it with their family and friends.

It’s a good break though here from my last trip. No body bothers to look at you or talk to you. However if you ever need help with directions, they are among the warmest in helping you out. It’s like one big family here. Everybody get up and sing!!

 

Taipei, Taiwan (My parent’s native land) is a little island off the coast of China no larger than an average US State. ”Ihla Formosa” – beautiful island, once named by the Dutch who fell in love with this magnificent land. Taiwan’s known for the beautiful Agriculture from Mountain to Shining sea, famous for the various Hot springs, hiking, biking, nature walks. It’s known for it’s advanced technology parallel to Japan & China (faster than US). A Population of 23 million, and over 22 million all own cell phones (this includes children that just learned to walk). A temple ratio almost equal to the people population!

Taiwan has amazingly laid back people despite being this advanced. Poverty level is extremely low. The national religion (more as a Philosophy of life) is from the ancient Chinese teaching (further back then time of Christ) of Lao-Tzi “Taoism” which preaches family values, honoring ancestors, education, and peace. It’s reflected upon their attitude. Crime rates are rather low. Women have complete equal rights. There have not been any huge wars within the last decade. Well, there’s the exception of the tacky physical fights that break out at the end of Government meetings, but that’s daily comedy for the news.

Education is not highly preferred, it’s a MUST. (Watch Joy Luck Club for an idea) I can attest to that growing up in a traditional Taiwanese/Chinese-upbringing, even though in a US home. Bringing home my report card with a B in it meant being pulled out of extra-curricular activities & enrolling in more after school programs, on top of the ones I already have. Attending Chinese school every saturday as if mon-fri school was not enough to practice reading/writing Chinese. We, the Taiwanese people are overachievers. I may have despised this growing up, but now I really appreciate it. Look at where the world is today. The attention is shifted from the West to the East.

Don’t get Taiwan mixed up with Thailand! I’ve had some people hear I’m Taiwanese and say “Oh! So you’re from Thailand!” No no, it’s 2 completely different country. Taiwan is a part of China. Taiwan is split between 2 different political parties – one party favoring Taiwan’s loyalty to their parent China.. many of which migrated here 50 years ago with the Kuo Ming Tong (KMT) from China. And another smaller party, many the Aboriginies that have been in Taiwan longer are fighting for Taiwan’s independence. That’s a whole political issue I’m not getting into.

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But what I will get into is how much I enjoy the food here. Blogs have been written purely focused on this Culinary Heaven. Mention Taiwan to anyone that’s been there and the mutual agreement is that it has the Tastiest (& most interesting) street food in the world!

It’s food has influence from all over Asia as Taiwan has been a relatively safe haven for people to escape. Some have even called it a small Switzerland. I think the style of the people in their enjoyment of Life reflects that of the French. They spend most of their time snacking on smaller portions (moderation) but remaining thin, by walking all around the city. Plates come in smaller portions so one can share them with friends and not over-eat.

The most infamous dish here which many have heard of is the Stinky tofu. It’s indeed an acquired taste. The best way I can describe it is that it’s acquired like some Stinky European Cheese. You either love it or you hate it. Most likely if you didn’t grow up eating it, you will never understand. It’s fermented fried tofu. The smellier it is, the more us Taiwanese savor the taste.

We also don’t waste body parts and thoroughly enjoy the chicken feet, cow tounge, duck neck, chicken gizzard, pork blood, etc. You can pick from the variety at the street carts and they’ll bbq for you on the spot.

Noodles and rice are the most popular: And you won’t get bored eating it because there are so many ways to prepare them. So many different shapes and sizes of noodles. My favorite are the hand-pulled thick noodles. You can taste the difference between noodles made by hand vs machine-made. There are fried thin noodles known as ‘mi-fun’. Beef stew noodle soup. Thick fried noodles. Wontons. Fried Rice. Rice fried with chinese pork sausage.

Hwa-shee-jieh ”Snake Alley”: This alley is controversially known for it’s live performances of feeding live rats to snake, then inviting you in to eat. Supposedly Snake is good for the skin, vitality and virtility. How can you not be sold on that!? I tried some snake meat last time I was here. Pretty damn good! Tastes like tender Chicken mixed with some kind of fish. I also had a shot of Snake blood. Yummmm. This alley also has all the other delicious Taiwanese street food.

Taiwan is most well known for it’s night-markets. It seems to be open til 2 or 3 am filled with food where people of all ages go to relax, eat and drink. Old men go and play cards. Young people go and mingle. It’s nothing like the night markets in Thailand filled with strip clubs & raunchiness. This place is good for kids. There are also night markets filled with shopping and knock-off brands. Taiwan is also very advanced in Fashion, although some stuff I find a bit too out there.

So bad…… that it’s Sooooo Good!!!!

PORK LIVER SOUP

I had that tonight. It’s a guilty pleasure I have once every few months at Taiwanese deli’s. It’s especially gross sounding to the Non-Pork eaters, and quite frankly, it is kind of gross tasting in need of some serious acquired flavors to understand. It is made with Black Sesame oil, Mi-Jiu = Chinese Rice Wine, about 30% alcohol that we use to cook in many of our soups and food for flavoring. The alcohol is burnt out by the time food is served generally, although sometimes you could get a slight feelin-good buzz from it if you drink a lot. It’s also an alcohol that farm/village people may drink in Taiwan. Also this soup you need lots of ginger to even out the distinct taste the Pork liver has.

What can I say… Us Chinese people are known to be frugal, and #2 cheapest people according to Russel Peters. We do not waste a single body part!!