Deericious!

Destination #2 of our summer vacation last year was Singapore, as a stopover on our way from Vietnam to the Maldives. Singapore is very small, and you can visit most of the points of interest in one day. Rei and I got the sight-seeing out of the way early on (definitely do the night safari at the Singapore Zoo) and spent the rest of the time eating! We had made to order dim sum at Yum-Cha in Chinatown (3*), chili crab on many different occassions (5* at Jumbo), mandarin chicken rice at Chatterbox, Meritus Mandarin Hotel (4*), satay sticks outdoors at Clarke Quay (3*), and again, lots of Tiger beer.

My favorites were the chili crab and the chicken rice dish. Chili crab is a crab dish cooked in a tomato based sauce with sweet chili sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, chopped onions, garlic, etc - very tasty. You eat the crab and dip fried chinese bread in the sauce. The mandarin chicken rice is what we know as hainan chicken rice. Mmm tasty! Fragrant rice, perfect broth, tender chicken with three dipping sauces: soy, ginger and chili. Ya ya ya!

All of the guide books and city guides recommended going to the Long Bar at the Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling (3*). This was where the cocktail was originally invented. We trekked our way across the city to find the bar packed with tourists and businessmen having after dinner drinks. The hotel was very impressive - on the outside. Apparently, if you’re not a guest, you can’t even take a look around! I’d say go for the experience, but expect to be ripped off (about $15usd for the Singapore Sling).

Last summer, Rei and I spent 10 days in northern Vietnam. We didn’t know what to expect, but the food, in general, was better than expected. We ate a lot of the same things day in and day out which were included on different tours to visit Sapa (5*), Halong Bay (3*), and Perfume Pagoda (1*). On a daily basis, we had french bread with spreadable cheese (breakfast), Vietnamese coffee (always good), Tiger beer (lots of it), bottle water.

One thing new that we tried in Vietnam was a dish called cha-ca. The best place is Cha Ca La Vong in Hanoi. Cha Ca is monkfish cooked in peanut oil, in a pan at your table over hot coals. It’s mixed with tons of green onion, tumeric, fresh dill, and basil. This is then put over rice noodles with a splash of fish sauce, topped off with peanuts. If I remember correctly, the meal was about $6usd, including a few beers, for two people. Yummy! Too bad we haven’t been able to find this dish here in LA. Anyone else ever tried it?

Over the holidays, Amanda and I took a tour of Italy. While we saw lots of beautiful sites all around the country, most of you wanted to know about the food. So, here are the highlights…

In Rome, we tried many places just by walking around and getting a sense of what the locals ate. It was definitely a hit or miss experience, mostly miss. After trying a bunch of different popular tavola caldas (cafeteria style restaurants), we found ourselves sticking to a lot of good foccacia sandwiches; gelato (!!); and lattes. ** There’s a low-key pizza joint close to the river in Rome where they bake fresh foccacia bread and construct a sandwich with a tuna mousse, proscuitto, cheese, and arugula. Heavenly!

After a few days, sis and I decided that we had still yet to find a ‘treasure’ and tracked down a highly recommended place by Frommer’s Italy - La Grotta Azzura, very close to the Vatican. There were lots of Japanese tourists at this place, so we figured it was highly recommended in the Japanese food magazines as well. We started with a lobster linguine in light tomato sauce (4*); followed by osso buco with saffron risotto (3*) and salt crusted whole bass (5*).

The most notable meal we had was in Sorrento, charming place called L’Antico Trattoria. The chef gave us two amuse bouche plates to start. The first was simple - green local olives and a liver mousse on crackers. Delicious! I generally don’t like olives, but these were amazing. (I almost wanted to ask for more.) Next, we tried a fried cheese drizzled with some type of sweet syrup - melts instantly in your mouth. Amanda and I couldn’t figure out exactly what this was though because the waiter said it very fast in italian. Other notable items were the pesto linguine w/ mussels (3* great taste but pasta was too undercooked); bacon wrapped pork loin (3*); and branzino which was presented in a fish shaped pastry shell that the waiter removed at our table - just like on iron chef (4*). No room for dessert… the food was that good! 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 glasses of wine set us back about $80usd including tip.

I’d also like to add that the streets of Italy are lined with cafes and pastry shops which sell tons of yummy sweets. Our favorite by far was a small pastry that was filled with a lemon rice pudding. We found this in the small, charming town of San Gimignano and sadly was unable to find anything comparable for the rest of the trip.

Take a look!

At the end of last summer, we made reservations two months in advance (to the day) for Gary Danko up in SF. We were going up to the Cal game, but secretly, I was just as excited about trying this restaurant which everyone raved about. When the day finally came, we arrived at our reservation 20 minutes late. When I called to let the restaurant know, they simply said, "no problem madam, please arrive safely." Wow! I was expecting total snottiness from an upscale, in-demand place such as GD, but I was surprised to find the staff to be nothing short of uber-polite.

Gary Danko has a five course tasting menu ($81) that you can get with wine pairings ($50). Since we had enough people in our party to try many different things, we decided to go with the a la carte menu where you can select 3 courses ($61), 4 courses ($75), or 5 courses ($69). Most notable were the roast maine lobster w/ chanterelles, edamame puree, and taragon (5*); pan seared sea scallops w/ leek potato puree and shitake mushrooms (4*); and pan seared beef filet w/ potato, leeks, bacon, and black truffles (3*). For dessert, we had the trio of creme brulee (3*) and baked chocolate souffle (4*). Fantastic! We even got mini cheesecakes to go as gifts from the chef.

Overall, great experience. Gary Danko doesn’t disappoint, and their menu includes many different types of game (squab, quail, venison, etc) if you’re the adventurous type. Again, great food, great dining experience, but probably special occassion restaurant since it requires reservations two months in advance.

Last week, for Rei’s bday, we finally went to try Providence, chef Michael Cimarusti’s highly acclaimed restaurant, which now occupies the old Patina space. One word sums it up ~ fabulous! The space is somewhat minimalist modern with neutral colors and seperate dining room areas on both sides of the restaurant. The service was impeccable and the food was perfection. We were seated promptly and given the highest levels of attention by all of the staff throughout the evening - from hostess, to waitstaff, to somelier, to bus boy. The biggest challenge was to decide whether to go with the set menu consisting of five or nine courses, or to venture off and put together our own choices. After much discussion, we finally opted for the a la carte menu because there were just too many things that we wanted to try which were not included in the set menu. We also decided on a Lane Tanner Pinot Noir from Santa Maria Valley.

To start, we were given an amuse-bouche (small bite before the meal to whet the appetite and give an impression of the chef’s style) consisting of a truffle creme fraiche, fennel puree and meyer lemon gelee. The three layers were to be blended together before eating. This was definitely the most creative food I have ever come across, and it was absolutely delicious, very refreshing. We opted for four small appetizers to start - nantucket bay scallops w/ chanterelles, bacon, pistachios and potato puree, all drizzled lightly with a sherry vinegar reduction (5*); foie gras with quince and puree of oranges (3*); kumamoto oysters with two types of mignonette sauce (3*); pork belly w/ chanterelles and sour cherry reduction (4*). The scallops were out of this world, and the pork belly followed closely. For our main courses, we had the striped bass with german butterball potatoes and sweet peas (3*) and the wild baltic salmon prepared medium rare with truffle vinaigrette (4*). I’d say the striped bass was good, but lacking in complex flavors. The salmon, however, was perfection - medium rare salmon steak with a super crispy skin. Too bad the truffle vinaigrette wasn’t a bit stronger in truffle flavor!

Dessert was yet another tough decision. We opted for the chocolate panna cotta with marshmallows on the side (rich and creamy chocolate flavor, yet not too sweet) and pineapple torchon (pineapple cake w/ a moist cornbread cake texture and a fennel ice cream which tasted like light licorice). The waiter brought the desserts with a birthday candle, a surprise to both me and Rei! I had told the reservationist weeks ago that we were celebrating a birthday, but I guess I forgot. Surprisingly, they remembered! This attention to detail is what really sets Providence apart from other fine restaurants in LA. (Many times, waiters will forget to bring out a candle on the dessert, even if you’ve just reminded them during the meal!) Both were wonderful and we ate them both in their entirety. Next time, we’re going to try the quince soda with lemon sorbet! To end things, the chef sent over a dehydrated chocolate chip cookie and a shot of vanilla milk. Yummy!

I’d have to say, this was the best dining experience that both Rei and I have had in LA. Best food, best service. Not cheap though… 1 bottle of wine, 4 appetizers, 2 entrees, 2 desserts = $290 including tax and tip. Providence should be at the top of everyone’s list, but probably for special occassions. Enjoy the pics!