I am back!

It's been way too long since my last blog post... Sorry readers, work's been kill'n me!  Well, I'm back now with more EATS!  Let's start with some local LA's favorites... Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich) and lobster tacos.  I will provide everyone the address of both local food spots!

First y'all gotta check out this little deli / market in Chinatown. It's like a little Chinese bodega in Los Angeles. They have Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich stuffed with Cantonese style bbq pork. It was a party in my mouth! Must go and check this place out!

Lien Hoa Deli & Seafood Market
721 N Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Cash Only

Here is a snap shot of the mouth-watering bbe pork Banh Mi.



Also, while we were waiting for the sandwich outside of the market, we saw the employee from the market buying fish from a dude in a truck load of fish... alive and fresh!



We continued riding through Downtown, K-town, Hollywood, then Los Feliz / Silverlake. John wanted to show me this fish taco spot called Ricky's Fish Tacos... which is located a few blocks south of the Best Fish Taco of Ensenada. Word on the street is that Ricky's Fish Tacos is BETTER than the Best Fish Taco of Ensenada. Well, this I gotta try!

Ricky's Fish Tacos
1400 N Virgil Ave, Hollywood, CA 90027
Cash Only



When John and I arrived at the doubled tented outdoor fish frying station I knew we were in for a treat. This place was packed with people waiting to get their hands on the fish, shrimp and lobster tacos. For about 6 bucks a taco you get a giant sized taco with a fried lobster tail.  The tail is perfectly seasoned and fried... topped with fresh cabbage and pico de gallo, I'd like to have one... now.







All I gotta say is, see you next time Ricky's Fish Tacos! maybe this weekend... ha!

After the taco break, John and I parted by the train station...end of bike ride.
Thanks Uncle John for this great biking experience! I'll call you up next weekend and let's go on another adventure :)

Papa Chang's Big 60

My dad's big 60 birthday is coming up and we wanted to take him out to a nice lunch. Our only challenge was to find a restaurant that's close to our neighborhood and a restaurant that specializes in Central/South American flavor. Thanks to Yelp, we found the restaurant that fits the requirements - 1810 Argentinean Restaurant in Old Town Pasadena. We were really excited about this place.

Typically, if you are to dine in any South American restaurants you are expected to order and try their version of Empanadas... we did, and it was delicious! Beth and Sean (my little brother) liked the beef Empanadas a lot and I enjoyed the chicken Empanadas more. Overall, Mission Empanadas was successful.



The other appetizer we ordered was Croquetas de arroz (risotto croquettes, mozzarella, tomato sauce)... This dish was absolutely and perfectly prepared... from the texture of the croquettes to the tomato sauce... this dish blew me away! I have to say it's better than Little Dom's version of fried risotto balls, and less expensive.





Moving on to the main entrees... We ordered two entrees and one salad... which was plenty enough for all 5 of us

The salad was a big hit! Beth even said that she would come back to the restaurant just for the salad. Well, what's this awesome salad we ordered? its called Lentejas (mixed greens, lentil, red beet, egg, feta cheese, lemon vinaigrette), it's simple and fresh... But I'm not too sure whats so Argentinean about it :/



Churrasco (8oz flat iron steak) - the steak was cook really well... and that's about it, the rice was meh... reminded Beth of Uncle Ben's rice... which is NOT GOOD! Same with the other Entree we ordered... It's basically the same but with sea bass instead... and the fish was over cooked... Overall the entrees were disappointing... we should've just ordered a bunch of Croquetas de arroz and Empanadas...





After the lunch we walked over to Dot's Cupcakes. Not much to say about this place... cupcake was too sweet and the staff was not sweet enough... sigh... BUT Happy Birthday Dad regardless!!! Hope you had a good one :)

Flavors of Belize

First of all, I'd like to recommend this place to EVERYONE! If you have never had Belizean food you are required to check this place out! Click here to visit their YELP page.

Flavors of Belize
1271 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90019
(323) 931-4840

Belize is a Central American country that is sandwiched in between Mexico and Guatemala. I lived in Belize from 1997 to 2000 and they have some of the most unique flavors! Think Caribbean!

I've been craving Belizean food for a few weeks now... I blame the Food Network for airing this episode of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives featuring Garifuna Flava in Chicago... all I wanted was rice and beans... panades... tamales... no Mexican food can substitute this craving... I had to do a Yelp search on Belizean restaurants in LA... :)

FLAVORS OF BELIZE is a new restaurant opened right off the I-10 freeway and La Brea... with it's 5 star reviews I couldn't resist!  I had to get my fix...

My TOP 3 Belizean Dishes.

Rice and Beans - this is the basic carbohydrate component in Belizean cuisine. It is basically rice cooked with red beans and coconut milk... works perfect with Belizean stew chicken, fried plantain and potato salad!





Panades - Deep fried empanadas filled with either chicken or fish. I actually attempted to make some panades of my own during Super Bowl XLV... but it was not nearly as legit as the one's here... it was sooo good!



Tamales - move aside Mexican style tamales... make room for the all mighty Belizean tamales... it's THAT good! Trust me, tamales wrapped in banana leaf is way better than wrapped in corn husk!



We also ordered...

Salbutes - Belizean twist from the Yucatan version... it was really good, but I have to be honest... not really what I remembered from the salbutes I used to get from San Ignacio, Belize... Beth seemed to enjoy the dish a lot!



It was a successful Belizean food-venture! Everything was delicious and true to its original recipe! The only tiny complain about this restaurant is the fact that they don't have Marie Sharp Hot Sauce :( Instead they have a house hot sauce... not the same... Number 1 hot sauce rule to Belizean Cuisine is... must comsume with Marie Sharp Hot Sauce... just ask ANY Belizean!

Never heard of Marie Sharp Hot Sauce and would like to try a bottle? click here to purchase one!

Note to self: bring my own bottle of Marie Sharp Hot Sauce next time :)

My Lunch is Better Than Yours - Ichiban (Glendale)

nuff said

California roll, Albacore and Scallops !!! 1/2 OFF at Ichiban Lunch Menu

Beat This Caption - Food Edition

"new design concept for Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales"

Joe's Pick of the Week

Spicy Yellowtail Sashimi from Gin Sushi

If you ask anyone that lives around the neighborhood of Pasadena / SGV / Arcadia about Gin Sushi, they will probably tell you that they go way back with Gin Sushi.  This is also a place where everyone would come for a birthday gathering and the staff sing the birthday song, take a polaroid photo of you and put it on the wall of fame :)

Don't question their food.  Order what you like from the menu and I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy the food there.  If you don't like their food, you probably don't like sushi and we probably don't have much in common :)

But if you love sushi and you want to Eat with Joe @ Gin Sushi one day... feel free to email me:) eatwithjoe@gmail.com

Pork Blood and Fish Balls

淡水 Tamsui is a city north of Taipei. They are famous for fish balls! They even have a fish ball museum! Before I get to the fish balls... let me introduce my American friends this little popsicle looking thing called 豬血糕 (Pork blood cake).



This is one of my childhood favorites, a true Taiwanese street cuisine! It is a made of pork blood and sticky rice... covered with awesome sauce and peanut powder and love!

Now... back to the fish balls!!! Fish balls in Tamsui is famous and delicious! Every fish ball is stuffed with a small amount of pork, just enough to make the fish ball juicy and chewy at the same time! Beth said, "This is the best fish ball I've EVER had!"



If you want to try the best fish ball ever... I suggest you visit Tamsui, Taiwan!

Dinner with Rotory International in Taiwan

I'm not quite sure exactly what the Rotory Club is. My aunt Anita is a member, so is my uncle. They invited us to a special dinner event held at an upscale restaurant in Banqiao. We had no idea what to expect, but we both knew that we will definitely be fed with lots of yummy food! This dinner came with a whopping 10 course meal and complimentary wine, tea and Mccallan scotch (well, the Mccallan scotch was from my uncle ha!).

First Course - Giant serving of sashimi with a miniature ice sculpted snowman. We both did the "woo... ahhh..." when the dish was served.



Then followed with shark fin soup, jumbo shrimps, shrimp sticky rice, steam eggs, pigs' feet, chicken stew soup, fish collar, sweet buns and fruit plate. According to my Aunt Anita... "Everything here is expensive! so eat up!!!"



Throughout the event we had to kanpai (drink toast) everyone in the Rotory Club and they had to do the same to our table! People got really wasted and there were lots of karaoke and dancing!!! My aunt and uncle won raffle prizes... they ended up giving all the prizes to us! So we came home with three stacks of cakes, one box of giant Asian pears, and a makeup gift bag :) I hope we get invited again!

Eat Like the Aborigines

Monday, January 3rd, 2011... We visited the Leader Village @ Buluowan, Taroko Gorge. Leader Village is a hotel/restaurant where you can live and eat like the aborigines! When we first stepped into the courtyard, I felt like I was in the Dharma Initiative (LOST). You are surrounded by humongous mountains and cool looking cabins :) It took my breath away!

Buluowan Vegetarian Meal



Shan-Yue Romantic Meal.



The food was different. They served sticky rice in a bamboo tube... Hualien's speciality skinned chili pepper... The vegetarian skewer was seasoned so well, Beth thought she had the best bell peppers ever! Grilled tilapia was amazingly tender and moist (yes, i used the word moist)... I mean, I can go on and on and on about how amazing this meal was... plus the scenery was out of this world! Also they have free wifi for me to "check-in" on my Foursquare.

Next time I will have to try the "When Wild Boar Met The Eiffel Tower Meal"



Check out this video of the courtyard and more photos by Beth Moser Photography


Leader Village @ Buluowan - Taroko Gorge from Joe Chang on Vimeo.