Chabuya Tokyo Noodle Bar

2002 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025

Stephen: After a great morning 3-hour hike up to the Parker Mesa Lookout yesterday, Ashley and I went to Sawtelle Blvd for lunch. I personally really wanted something cold to eat so when we saw Chabuya advertising their tsukemen (dipping noodles) we decided to stop there. Funny thing though, I ended up ordering their Hiyashi Summer Noodles instead while Ashley ordered their classic ramen so neither of us got what we stopped here to get.

The noodles were actually really good and chewy and I really enjoyed the slightly salty, sweet, nutty flavor of the sesame sauce. The chashu pork was decent but not very flavorful while the radishes and cucumbers made things seem much lighter. The seasoned boiled egg was really just a normal egg not much seasoning anywhere and not what I expect from a ramen shop. The seaweed was kind of floppy too but I am just being nitpicky there. Overall the noodles were light, cold, and salty-sweet which was just what I wanted that afternoon, and I definitely did like it.

Ashley: As for me, I ordered the classic ramen. I really liked the broth; it was really rich and flavorful! It was a decent serving size as well--especially for the price. It also had bamboo shoots, green onion, a slice of pork, and seaweed if I remember correctly. NO EGG though :( The noodles had a good texture and were just the right amount of chewy, although I still preferred Stephen's noodles. Overall, I wouldn't say this ramen is anything special. My favorite ramen house is still probably Daikokuya (Little Tokyo). But it's decent. 

Happy eating!

-STASH

Read More...

Da' Pasquale Trattoria

9749 Santa Monica Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
(310) 859-3884

Two days ago, Ashley and I went to Da’Pasquale Trattoria for our second dineLA experience. We found a couple of parking structures conveniently located right behind the restaurant. I'll just say outright that this place offers an exceptional experience especially for its warm service, fresh ingredients, and a pleasant dining ambiance. Walking into the restaurant, the decor was very reminiscent of restaurants in Italy which I thought was a great touch. What was amazing though is that despite the restaurant being so busy at the time, the owner himself was able to personally greet us at the door. We were seated quickly and walked through the bustling floor of the restaurant to get to our seat. This restaurant really nails the authentic Italian dining experience right here in the heart of LA! Their Dine LA menu consisted of a three-course meal. Ashley and I each chose different dishes so we could sample more of their food.

They started off our night with some bread and sauce of olive oil with balsamic vinaigrette. The bread was warm and fresh out of the oven, a little bit hard on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. It was not the best bread I have ever tasted, but it was definitely a very good start nevertheless. it was such a busy night so we waited quite a while to get our food, but at least our waiter never left us feeling forgotten and would periodically come back around in order to ask if we wanted more water or more bread. This was awesome because since the restaurant is family-owned, the waiting staff really made us feel as if we were part of the family during our visit.

Ashley: For my appetizer, I chose the Prosciutto e Mozzarella. The Prosciutto was absolutely delicious! They paired the meat and cheese with arugula, which I found to be quite bitter. But that just might be preference. Stephen, however, thought it complemented the dish quite nicely. The mozzarella cheese, while not super rich, was light and creamy. And the presentation of the dish itself was beautiful.

Stephen: For my appetizer, I ordered the Peperonata con Burrata. It is basically a medley of bell peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, basil, oregano, and burrata cheese on top of baked bread. Man, this appetizer is so good, I wish that I could have had it as the main entree all on its own. The bell peppers were fresh and sweet, the best bell peppers I have ever had in a restaurant. The eggplant was tender and added a slight nutty flavor to the dish, while the tomatoes, basil, and oregano just took it to a whole new level. The burrata cheese is very light and subtle, a testament to the freshness of the mozzarella cheese that was used to make it. Fantastic, this dish is a must order on a visit to Da' Pasquale.

Ashley: For my main dish, I chose to try the Pici Alla Salsiccia Picante, which is basically hand-rolled long pasta. And honestly, I was quite disappointed. While the sauce itself was quite flavorful, I found the noodles to be too thick and chewy. The serving size was not that generous either. Some of the other people sitting around us appeared to have ordered from the regular menu with significantly larger portion sizes. This pasta dish was mediocre at best. Nothing special, and if you were going to try the Dine LA menu, I would recommend trying some of their other options.

Stephen: I had the Filetto di Branzino All' Aqua Pazza, which is basically sea bass with potatoes and spinach on the side. I definitely wished that my sea bass was bigger because the fish was so tender. I felt that the flavors did not fully develop in the dish, and I found myself wanting a little more seasoning. Some of the potato chunks were cut too small as well, and as a result were a bit overcooked and crispy for the dish. The ones that were the right size however tasted very good and had a buttery texture to it. Spinach, really no complaints here, the leaves were robust and not at all wilted. More fresh ingredients, I love it!

Ashley: The dessert was my second favorite part of the meal--after the appetizer. I got the homemade tiramisu, and everything about it was just right! It wasn't an overwhelming attack of sweetness. The coffee flavor was perfect, and the cake layer was just the right level of sponginess. Would highly recommend trying their homemade tiramisu! I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Stephen: The torta della nona really hit the spot. I'm generally not a fan of sweets and pastries and usually never order dessert but since this meal came with it, I gave it a try. The portion size was perfect for me but it could understandably be deemed a bit too small. I usually make a measure of how good a certain pastry is by the quality of its crust, and the torta here passed with flying colors. It was rich and thick without being crumbly and tasted very satisfying. I definitely appreciate the lemon zest in this pastry which gave it that lemony flavor without any of the tartness. The dessert also avoids being too sweet and may convert me to ordering desserts more regularly in the future. This treat is a great way to end the meal.

Da' Pasquale Trattoria is a great Italian dining experience located close to Century City Mall and begs you to become part of their family with their great service, food, and environment. While their main courses were a bit underseasoned during our visit, the ingredients were fresh and their plating is inspired which shows that their hearts are in the right place. Their owner deserves special recognition as well. He really makes you feel welcome in the restaurant and is very passionate. Because food was coming pretty slow that night, we saw him go to tables that have been waiting a while and apologize for the wait. Ashley and I agree that we would wholeheartedly come back for more in the future.

Happy eating!

-STASH

Read More...

SugarFISH by Sushi Nozawa

Ashley: We went to the SugarFISH in Brentwood, and my oh my talk about good sushi. This was the best sushi experience that I've ever had. The reviews on Yelp did not lie--the sushi literally melts in your mouth. None of that sinew-y slimy-ness. Just good AMAZING DELICIOUS fish. The dining experience itself was quite unique as well. Me and Stephen both got the Dine LA menu, which featured the following:

Edamame starter
Tuna sashimi served with scallion and ponzu sauce
2 pieces of albacore sushi
2 pieces of salmon sushi
2 pieces of yellowtail sushi
2 pieces of halibut sushi
2 pieces of large scallop sushi
1 toro handroll
1 crab handroll

I will be talking about the first four and Stephen will take the rest :) They brought out one plate at a time. I was super excited throughout the whole meal because I just kept looking forward to the next plate. The service was fantastic. The serving sizes were quite small, but for the quality of sushi that you're getting, it's worth it! So to start off...the edamame was nothing special. I did think it was slightly more flavorful--but that's most likely due to the extra salt that they added.

The next dish was the tuna. IT WAS SO YUMMY. I was so sad that the serving size was so small. I was literally eating it piece by piece trying to savor it for as long as possible. The sauce was interesting--I've never had anything quite like it. But it went so amazingly well with the fish. The green onions added a nice touch as well.

The third dish was the albacore and salmon sushi. I don't recall ever having albacore, but I think it's one of my new favorites now! I feel like I'm repeating myself over and over again, but the texture of the sashimi they serve is nothing like the average sushi restaurant. I thought I knew what "melt in your mouth" meant until I had sugarFISH. 

I'll let Stephen talk about the rest. Overall, it was a little bit pricey, but definitely worth it. And with dineLA we decided we might as well give it a try. We stopped by McDonalds afterwards to fill ourselves up while watching the new season of Suits. Pretty good evening.

Stephen: For the next dish we were presented with six pieces of sushi this time. From left to right they were yellowtail, halibut, and scallop. The scallop nigiri was hands-down both of our favorite sushi of the night. The scallop was nirvana-inducing. It just bursts with flavor when you bite into and the tangy ponzu sauce that they lightly drizzle on top just adds to the whole flavor of the sushi. There is absolutely none of that “fishy” taste to be found here and combined with the moist texture of the scallop, everything just screamed FRESHNESS. Both of the other nigiris were almost equally as fantastic, melting in your mouth just as perfectly, but the scallop really occupies a special place in my stomach. With the quality of the fish that we were presented, it’s very hard to go wrong with any of the sushi items on the menu here.

We finished off the meal with two hand rolls, medium-toro and blue-crab roll. Both of these rolls were tender and really delicious. The medium-toro had a light taste to it and is a very nice pink color testament to its freshness. The blue-crab was saucier than the rest of the sushi we had tried that night which really surprised me. Personally, I preferred the nigiri and just enjoying the freshness of the seafood as opposed to tasting their sauces so I wouldn’t put the blue-crab hand roll on the same level as the rest of the sushi we enjoyed during dinner. Another thing worth mentioning is that the seaweed was a little tough for me to bite through. It was great because it is very crispy; however it just didn’t seem to want to separate.

I had always been a diehard sushi fan and this is hands-down the best sushi I have ever had. It is pricy but this place prides themselves on having the best quality fish around. Their sushi goes back to the basics and they even explain on their menu that there are three components of good sushi: the fish, the rice, and the sauce. It sounds weird, but the soft, warm rice really makes a difference in how the sushi tastes. Another thing is that I recommend not eating the sushi with any soy sauce, just let the sushi itself surprise you!

Happy eating!

-STASH

Read More...

Bobee 5

1756 S Nogales St
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Ashley: Stephen and I have heard so many great things about this place (mostly concerning their beef noodle soup) that we finally decided to give it a try. It was absolutely hands-down the best Taiwanese beef noodle soup (~$7) I’ve had in my life. Even Stephen, who keeps insisting that there’s nothing in America that can compare to the traditional dish served in Taiwan, was quite impressed. 

They give you a choice of thick or thin noodles, or even no noodles at all. Me and Stephen both chose thick noodles, and my were they tasty! The texture was just right—not too dough-ey. As for meat you can choose beef, beef tendon, both, or none! The soup itself is extremely rich but not too oily! A lot of beef noodle soups that we’ve had in the past were drenched in oil, so much that you could see a layer forming at the top of your bowl. Bobee 5 makes a note on the menu saying that this dish is spicy, but honestly, it wasn’t at all. My spice tolerance is almost non-existent and even for me this dish was not spicy. Unless you chow down on a huge chunk of red pepper. The cabbage in the noodle soup added a nice touch since they absorb quite a bit of flavor while sitting in the noodle soup. Overall, I must say, this was DELICIOUS. And we will definitely be back.

The restaurant atmosphere is nothing special, and the space is rather cramped. Service is typical of most asian restaurants (waiters are not very attentive, etc.), but for this beef noodle soup, we looked past it. The food arrived pretty fast though, within 10-12 minutes. So if any of you are looking for a quick, delicious, authentic bowl of Taiwanese beef noodle soup, look no further! Let us know how your thoughts if you ever do make a trip to Bobee 5! 

*** Also, this week is DineLA! We’re hoping to make it to at least a couple restaurants to take advantage of the discounts :)

Happy eating!

-STASH

Read More...

Nick's Laguna Beach

440 S Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Stephen: Today, Ashley and I stopped by Nick’s Laguna Beach for lunch after spending our morning at the Thousand Steps Beach. It was pretty funny because we had originally intended to go to ReMark’s for lunch after Ashley had planned our entire Sunday together while being bored at work. She was so proud about having planned our Sunday perfectly from morning until 2pm, but she forgot that ReMark’s is closed on Sundays. So while at the beach, we did what any normal college student would do when hungry and consulted the grand dictionary of restaurants, Yelp. We found Nick’s and decided to go there instead.

Nick’s is mainly known to be an American breakfast and brunch restaurant, but they were serving lunch when we arrived at about 11am. The place has porch seating, bar seating, and tables arranged against the wall all around the establishment. Personally, I was looking to sit on the porch on this nice sunny day but the entire place was full and we had to wait about 25 min in order to be seated. Once we were seated, the service staff was very nice and friendly and quick to take our orders. I had ordered the braised short ribs ($19) and Ashley ordered the buttermilk fried chicken ($15). The food came out quickly (~15min), despite the restaurant being as crowded as it was.

Our dishes did not disappoint; both looked and tasted amazing. The braised short ribs were layered on top of a bed of buttered mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables (string beans and carrots), surrounded by baby onions, and topped with fried onion rings. The meat was tender and juicy while all the vegetables and especially the baby onions tasted fresh and sweet. The fried onion rings were very tasty while the mashed potatoes were creamy but not too buttery.  The portion sizes are decent, not too big and will easily feed the average appetite. I definitely would love to go back in the future and try some of their other dishes.

Ashley: The buttermilk fried chicken was also delicious. The fried layer was nice and crispy—not too thick, and the chicken itself was tender and juicy. The mashed potatoes went extremely well with the gravy that they had poured over the whole dish, and the biscuit was rich but not overly buttery. Overall, I thought it was a very well balanced dish, and excellently presented. I wish they would have given more chicken than mashed potatoes, though…it was quite an overwhelming serving of mashed potatoes. The corn was alright, nothing special. But I think everything else about this dish makes it worth the $15! If any of you decide to give this restaurant a try, we’d love to hear about what you ordered! :)

Happy eating!

-STASH

Read More...