Dominique’s Kitchen – Redondo Beach, CA
May 31, 2013
Dominique’s Kitchen has happy hour on Monday’s only. I went once and really enjoyed the $3 wine and $3 apps like Parmesan Kale Chips.
So, last night, I was in the mood for French food but without all the frou frou trimmings. I wanted a neighborhood feel! That led me back to Domnique’s Kitchen. It’s super affordable French food done well in a neighborhood atmosphere. My cousin Betty and I sat at the bar where we met its only one other occupant at the time – Steve.
They immediately brought out 2 small complimentary snacks of black olives and white beans with tiny pieces of arugula and a small swatch of brie. I think it was meant to tide us over until service could compensate. Unfortunately, even though no one else was there, service was totally absent. We had to flag someone down just for drink orders! To begin, I started with a glass of the tempranillo $7.50/glass. Continue Reading
Holy, crackpot! This is seriously ridiculous…ly hilarious! The Lonely Island f. Robyn “Go Kindergarten”
May 29, 2013
New music by The Lonely Island f. Robyn. Yeah, I said it. Robyn is on this ridiculously hilarious track. Please, just listen to the lyrics and then laugh out loud. It’s so catchy too!
Dumpling House – Gardena, CA
May 29, 2013
On Memorial Day, we hit up the very newly opened Dumpling House in Gardena for lunch. I was super excited to find a place that made xiao long bao’s relatively close to me. Dumpling House just opened at the beginning of the month and despite the mixed Yelp reviews, I didn’t care. I had to try it if it had xiao long bao’s and authentic Chinese food.
We were literally the first table of the day having arrived promptly at 11am when they first opened. Service was slow from the get as we started ground hogging and popping our heads up every few minutes wondering where our water was. Eventually, we were able to flag a waiter down who quickly brought us a pitcher of water. I pretty much ordered a good smattering off their extensive menu. Continue Reading
Recipe: King’s Hawaiian “Leftover” Apricot & White Cherry Cobbler
May 28, 2013
Now for another addition to our “leftovers” recipe series. You know, since I enjoy trying new restaurants all the time, my fridge often looks like a war zone. The Asian in me just can’t let things go to waste! So, I try to repurpose them whenever I can. I can honestly say that this is perhaps one of my most successful creations. On Saturday, we had gone to the farmer’s market and bought a whole bunch of fruit. You should not go food shopping when you’re hungry. We bought way more than we could eat before they rotted. And we ate at King’s Hawaiian restaurant the other day and greedily asked for more of their complimentary rolls to take home which they obliged. Consequently, we had 15 semi-stale rolls to finish off as well. Epiphany! I could make some kind of fruit cobbler and turn the buns into the cobbler topping…
And thus, King’s Hawaiian “Leftover” Apricot & White Cherry Cobbler was born. Continue Reading
Memorial weekend spent in sun and sangria!
May 28, 2013
I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial holiday. I know I sure did! The whole weekend has been full of equal parts gluttony and exercise. *sigh* Story of my life. The day before, Memorial Day, I ran 6 miles on the beach…without SPF. Ooops. And though I’m not usually a sun worshiper, I did spend quite a few occasions this weekend admiring it’s lovely view. Unfortunately, my face did not appreciate it. Slightly rosy and not just form the copious amount of wine consumed this weekend, I did, however, feel healthy, happy and whole. 🙂
For the actual holiday, I spent a leisurely day making the aforementioned seafood paella as well as a “leftovers” King’s Hawaiian cobbler (recipe to follow). You know, when you’re working that hard, you need to make sure you stay hydrated…so, I made a quick pitcher of sangria. Continue Reading
Recipe: ‘Leftovers’ Seafood Paella
May 27, 2013
So remember all the carnage from the Boiling Shrimp? Yeah, well the pounds of leftovers are put to good use with my bastardized seafood paella. It’s a bit of effort and a lot of time but it’s so worth it.
First, you have to shell and de-head the shrimp, reserving the meat for later. Take the shells and put it in a large stock pot with any bits of leftover lemons. I also threw in leftover limes from the cocktails yesterday and a sliced up half of a yellow onion. I dumped about a cup of chardonnay in there as well. Any will do. I went with whatever we already had open in the fridge. Add about 4 parts water to 1 parts shells; or using my method, the shells should fill 1/4 of the stock pot and the water should fill 3/4. I then brought it to a boil and let it simmer for about 4 hours to make a thick shrimp stock. Continue Reading
Sunsets and ocean views!
May 27, 2013
Happy Memorial Weekend, everyone! I spent a “lazy” Sunday running 6 miles + 1 mile walking = 7 total miles. Then, I ruined it with Indian buffet. hahaha After that, I passed out for a long nap in the warm afternoon sun.
I grew up in the midwest where summer times meant humidity and heat – air so thick, you could drink it. So, I love the California summer time with sun, ocean views and breezy days. Cocktails with friends as the sun sets against a soundtrack of summery pop? Gorgeous and perfect.
Cocktails in California
The Boiling Crab…wait, I mean Boiling Shrimp (a.k.a. The Boiling Crab knockoff) – Redondo Beach, CA
May 26, 2013
There is a magical place with multiple locations (all totally inconvenient from me in Redondo Beach) and it’s called the Boiling Crab. The seafood is fresh and perfectly cooked (most of the time) and the seasoning is overwhelmingly salty/spicy and swimming in garlic…just the way I like it…
…this is not that place. This place is the Boiling Shrimp. Both places are run by Asian people. Don’t you love our ability to even knock off restaurants? The Boiling Shrimp opened a location in Redondo Beach on the pier. They used to deliver and seem to indicate they still do, but every time I call for delivery, they don’t have it. But, it’s seriously only a 5 minute drive from my house. It’s the kind of place you’d totally go for a summer sunset with beer and buckets full of seafood. Frankly, I’m just not willing to make the drive to the Boiling Crab and wait the 3+ hours for a table some times, so, in a pinch, the Boiling Shrimp will do. And even though, I know it’s only a watered down version of the real thing, it still hits the spot when you measure it agains the inconvenience of battling LA traffic. Continue Reading
King’s Hawaiian Restaurant & Bakery – Torrance, CA
May 25, 2013
King’s Hawaiian makes the most wonderful buns. Sweet, soft and chewy!…Unfortunately, their restaurant really isn’t that great. BUT, Hawaiian food is generally meh. That’s not to say I don’t love eating Hawaiian food (actually, I probably could’ve just stopped at “I love eating.”). On the contrary, I love eating Hawaiian food. I’m just honest when I say that it’s really not all that adventurous. Meat, rice, mac/potato salad, the occasional poke, and then lau lau (meat steamed in taro leaves) which is as crazy as it gets.
While King’s Hawaiian makes all of the typical Hawaiian dishes, they also have some more imaginative choices like Kalua Pork Nachos – tortilla chips covered in black beans, cheese, kalua pork, and sour cream. Those are delicious. Everything else is what you would get at any roadside food stand in Hawaii. Continue Reading