Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Ramekin in Los Feliz



Hello! 

We were invited to a special private tasting of Ramekin's desserts. 
Special thanks Paul Yoo, Jason Park, and Jenni Hwang for having us.

Thanks for watching. If you'd like to visit this location its located here


Ramekin
1726 N Vermont Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Neighborhood: Griffith Park/Los Feliz
(323) 667-9627


ramekinla.com
Ramekin on Urbanspoon

Dog Haus Biergarten in Pasadena



93 E Green St
Pasadena, CA 91105
(626) 683-0808
Dog Haus Biergarten on Urbanspoon
This is such a cool place. When you hear biergarten, it automatically makes you think GERMAN. German sausages, German beers, and bench seats where you can socialize with your mates. Well, it's kinda like that but a whole lot more here.

Dog Haus is unique because they put a different twist to your traditional german wurst or sausage. They also have interesting burgers on Hawaiian style bun! I think the tater tots does it for me. With their cool selection of interesting sauces, it's definitely the place to taste something new and exciting.

When it comes to beer, the German stuff is always on tap. But if you are a craft beer drinker like myself, they also got you covered. Last time we came here, they had a speakeasy XPA in the bottle for $4. It's not cheap, but its definitely not expensive at a place like this. On tap, they got your lagunitas IPA and one of my favorite Rasputin American imperial stout! If beer isn't your thing, dont worry. They got a full bar to make you something else.

The inside is like a sports bar. It was great to watch the Laker game here once. But the the bench tables outside is where it's at. Just like how they do it at the Oktoberfest places, get some food, grab beer and drink with your buddies on the good ol bench seats. It's not pretentious, and just enough to not seem super ghetto. It is after all, old town Pasadena AMIRITE?

We did a video to document this last visit, check out it in the link below. Make sure to subscribe on youtube if you want to see more.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Bak Kung Kbbq in Koreatown



3700 W Olympic Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 734-9292
Bak Kung Korean BBQ on Urbanspoon
My fellow yelpers totally hyped this place up for me(I'm talking about you James S. Jen H. Bridget P. Tiffany D!) Everyone raved about the place. So my friend Sam C. and I decided to come visit. We managed to drag my little cousin Dorothy X. along too. When I looked it up, this restaurant is definitely on the outskirts of Ktown. Normally I would have doubts, but the hype was too much set any skepticism in my head.

We came on a Saturday, arrived at 12 on the dot. There was no one else there. Never seen a KBBQ joint so empty. Parking was free when we arrived. Saw the valet booth stand hidden on the side. But since it is the outskirts of Ktown, you should have absolutely no issues finding street parking.

The food:
The thing that makes Bak kung(BK) stand out is it's cheap AYCE lunch menu, the usage of real charcoal, and the variety they have on the limited menu(the cheaper one).
-The ban chan was ok. I liked the kimchi, the picked daikons were a good touch, pancake was a bit on the week side. Nothing extravagant. It's $11 AYCE KBBQ for lunch, can't really complaint.
-The meats were great! We got the cheapest AYCE lunch special. It was only $11.
What was available: 
+ Beef Brisket
+ Bak Kung Sauce Pork Belly
+ Plain Pork Belly
+ Pepper Paste Marinated Pork Belly
+ BBQ Beef Bulgogi
+ BBQ Chicken Bulgogi
+ Spicy Marinated Chicken
We only got beef brisket, 3 type of pork belly, and beef bulgogi. Normally cheap $10ish KBBQ doesn't get this fancy. But the BK sauce pork belly was good, pepper paste pork belly was interesting, it was a bit sweet. Beef bulgogi was good if you enjoy that marinated meat. 

The service was great. Not sure if it's because there weren't too many people or it's just that awesome. We almost didn't have to ask to change the grill. The lady just automatically came out with a grill and changed it. That's super good service at a KBBQ place.

I've got to come back again and take advantage of that soju special. I heard it's pretty cheap! I was a bit disappointed that they didn't have kimchi bean sprout during lunch. The ahjumma told us that they'll have it for dinner. So next time I'm coming back for dinner! And of course, we did bring out the camera and was able to shoot a quick video for you all. Check the link below, make sure to follow us on youtube if you want to see more. Tell us some places we should cover in the comment section!

Tasty Garden in Monterey Park



500 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 872-0900
Tasty Garden on Urbanspoon
Just recently revisited our beloved HK Style cafe, Tasty garden. Even though this is not the original or only location, I think it's still the best of them all. In fact, I think it's pretty safe to say that it's the best among other HK Style cafes.

A few more things to add to my previous review. These days, we are all trying to be a bit more health conscience right? Love the iced lemon teas at these cafes, but it's always super sweet. Luckily, you can have it not sweetened here. Also, you can order beer and wine at this location. For whatever occasion, this tasty garden has you covered. As far as beer, I think you are limited to Chinese beers like Tsing Tao. If you haven't heard of it before, it's just a Chinese lager. Should taste similar to Budweiser, since they do have part ownership in the Chinese beer company. For wine, I saw mainly Beaulieu Vineyard(BV) reds on display. In the minds of your typical Chinese wine drinkers, it's a good brand. To me, it's just the stuff they sell at Costco in bulk. I'm sure they have other stuff stashed away, just gotta ask the manager.

My parents always order the rice in clay pot. Was told that it's their specialty dish. I think it all right. When I want to indulge at Tasty, I usually go for the curries or the Portuguese sauce pork chop rice. Something about the rice and that sauce, it's super addictive and amazing.  Back to us being healthy again, since we are trying to stay away from carbs these days. My friend and I ordered a protein filled dinner. 
Consists of:
-French Style filet mignon
-Grilled chicken steak with mushroom sauce, side of string beans,
-fish fillet in black bean sauce

The food was great. The service was even better. I had to tell my friend to stop drinking his tea because they just kept refilling his cup. Unbelievable. A Chinese restaurant with service? Almost unheard of. Keep in mind, this is at dinner time when the restaurant was pretty much full. In the 626, best place for HK style cafe, right here. Hands down.

Check out the video my friend and I made from our visit. If you like our video, make sure to subscribe for more.