Must-Have Good Fortune Dim Sum For Chinese New Year

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

Having a Dim Sum Brunch on the first Sunday in a Chinese New Year is my annual ritual.  Like last year, I went to my favorite Chinese Dim Sum restaurant for brunch.  The reason I went there is because I was brought up to always eat foods that were the Chinese New Year metaphor for good fortune.  It was actually an excuse for my parents to indulge the kids and themselves to eat the not so healthy food that their freakish healthy lifestyle totally banned for the rest of the year.  One of those banned foods that get their sanction temporarily lifted during Chinese Year are sweets. For their concern for diabetes (which none of us have), and tooth decay (which we all have more than one despite the ban on sweets), my parents didn't allow me to have candies or sweets,  except for Chinese New Year.  Christmas was no exception.

After being sweet deprived for most of the year, my dad suddenly would commend me to eat a lot of the sweet (Cantonse Style) Chinese New Year Rice Cake (as shown in the above photo) during Chinese New Year.  I was ordered to eat so much of this rice cake that I totally dreaded for it by the middle of the 15-days Chinese New Year celebration...and I would so look forward to the end of the Chinese New Year so the rice cake would just get lost.  The reason that my dad wanted me to eat a lot of this gluey rice cake that is made with rice flour and raw crane sugar, is because the Chinese pronunciation for "cake" is the same as "vertical growth", meaning eating this cake during Chinese New Year will help the kids grow taller, the parents' net worth grow more, every employed adult will get great promotion, and every student will score really high in exams.  For anyone who wants high-performance in anything they do, this rice cake is the must-eat sweet during the Chinese New Year.  

I remember my grandma always spent days to make lots and lots of this Chinese Rice Cake to give to her many siblings, relatives, cousins, children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She turned her flat into a Chinese New Year Rice cake factory for a week every year to mass produce this cake. This tells how important it was for me and my siblings to eat a lot of them, for "vertical growth" in our height and "high performance" in school...

I never made this rice cake myself because this isn't my most favorite food.  But I still eat a little of it now that I no longer live with my parents and my dad can't nag me into doing anything anymore. Strangely, I am starting to like it now.  It's quite good after being pan-fried when the outside is crispy and the inside is gluey.  I don't like it steamed, I only like it pan-fried, The pan-fried version is available at all Chinese Dim Sum restaurants here in Los Angeles, and the one offered by PV Palace in Torrance is almost as good as my grandmother's. 

Restaurant: Restaurant: PV Palace 

Address: 2166 Pacific Coast Hwy, Lomita, CA 90717 

Phone:(310) 326-3228 

Hours: Friday 10:00 am – 9:30 pm

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Trader Joe's Unsweetened Instant Oatmeal

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I'm trying to be more conscious of what I eat for breakfast, not because I have a weight problem. It's because my breakfasts that I had all my life were mostly not so healthy.  I actually skipped breakfast quite a lot due to time shortage in the morning.  When I did have time to have breakfast, I often chose breakfast items that were mostly carbs, fats, sugars with not much fiber. Fruits and vegetables of course were very rarely included in my breakfast  So when I saw the Unsweetened Instant Oatmeal during my grocery shopping, I decided to stock it up so I could flavor my own oatmeals with real fruits.  I'm very happy that I bought it because this is the best unsweetened instant oatmeal (130 cal per packet) I've ever tasted.  While I haven't tried it with fruits yet, I'd added 2 tablespoons of low fat milk (16 Cal)  and 2 tablespoon of condensed sweetened milk (130 cal) after it was cooked with water in the microwave per the package instruction, and the oatmeal came out to be so creaming, delicious and filling. Yet, I only consumed 306 calories in total. I really love the extra flavor and crunch added by the ground flax seeds, chia seeds and  quinoa. This is another oatmeal winner of Trader Joe's.

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Granola Crusted French Toasts

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I personally think that it's not a good idea to try to make French Toasts healthy.  I had recently had a plate of Granola Crusted French Toasts at this new restaurant that I love. I don't know what kind of bread was used as the toast, it was just too dry and too tough for me.  It tasted like one of those "healthy multi-grain gluten-free bread", which was days-old.

I just  don't like tough, grainy, chewy and dry French Toasts. The powdered sugar and the scant strawberries topping and syrup didn't help to make the French Toasts any moister.  I later ordered two extra cups of syrup (which was just too light for my taste) and poured it all over, but still the French Toasts were too hard and dry for me. I like the OMG French Toasts from The Turning Point in New Jersey so much more.

The cappuccino there was very good though. This new restaurant has a lot of dishes that I love but not these French Toasts.

Restaurant: Brio Coastal Bars & Kitchen 

Address: 21532 Hawthorne Blvd, Torrance, CA 90503

Phone: (310) 214-1628

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Trader Joe's Wild Caught Alaska Cod

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

Ewk! This is my opinion after trying out this fillet in my beloved Korean Soon Tofu soup starter kit.  While this frozen fish fillet is labeled as a product of the USA, (this was the reason why I bought it,)  this supposedly wild-caught Alaska frozen cod tasted no better than similar fish product of China that I tried back in 2015.  I love Trader Joe's but this frozen cod had the same bad texture and was just as tasteless. I mean tasteless in terms of how cod is supposed to taste.  May be all frozen cods have the same characteristics due to some kind of special treatment at the packaging plant?  There is no flavor of fish or food, just a hint of weird freezing smell; which I personally found revolting.

I don't think I will ever buy pre-packaged frozen cods again because they taste just as awful as they look.

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Thomas Everything Bagels Review

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I'm not a fan of bagels.  For the last 10 years of my life, I've been giving myself several chances to learn to like bagels so I can fit in with my friends and everybody whom I know. I had given up on trying until last night when I was trying to shop for my usual favorite "Portuguese Rolls" from ShopRite in Manchester Township New Jersey, and the rolls were all sold out. I was desperate to buy something in preparation for breakfasts this week.  So I ended up having a crappy breakfast this morning, despite the delicious Philadelphia Honey Pecan cream cheese that I very generously spread on top of the toasted bagel half.  Priced at $4.69 for a bag of six bagels, they are a lot more expensive than my usual favorite bag of 6 Portuguese Rolls freshly baked daily at the grocery store's bakery at $2.49 per bag.  

I just tossed away the 5 and a half bagels in the trash because I don't think I want to keep eating them in the morning for the rest of the week. I don't like the bagel's bitter "after-taste" that is so typical with breads that have long shelf-life, piled in the grocery store's bread aisle.  Then there is the 'preserved' smell of such breads that always bothers me, even through the plastic bags.  I thought bagels could be different after being toasted and loaded with cream cheese.  But the bitter after-taste of the bagel was so prominent that I initially thought it was the fault of my cream cheese due to artificial sweetener.  But the cream cheese was actually very good and the bitterness was solely from the bagel.

I won't buy this line of bagels anymore.  I haven't lost my hope for bagels yet.  May be one day when I feel brave enough to try another brand of bagels, I'll finally find the one. Until then, I'm going to stick with the freshly baked Portuguese Rolls.

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All Natural Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

My friend invited me to a potluck death party yesterday. (Or, do you call it the post-funeral party?)  It was a party to gather all her mother's friends, relatives and everybody who had known her well to celebrate her mother's death.  Wait, this doesn't sound right... I should say, "to commemorate her mother's life on earth".  

I always hate potluck party because: 1) I hate being obligated to bring a dish when I'm not much a social cook or a social baker, 2) the food  that was brought by the attendees was never good 99% of the time regardless of whether the food was grocery-store bought or so-called homemade, and I always left the party feeling hungry.  A potluck party always presents two levels of stress to me, i.e. the stress of  brainstorming on what food to bring, and the stress of acting as if I enjoy the food brought by others to the party when it really sucks.  But yesterday, it was the rare 1% of the chance that I actually enjoyed something at a potluck.  They were the all natural Pink Lemonade Cupcakes that I bought from Trader Joe's. ($ 3.99 for a box of 4 cupcakes).

I am never much a fan of American cupcakes (because they always taste too sweet and loaded with heavy hydrogenated vegetable shortening that I hate, and I grew up with less sweet, lighter, fresher, perishable cakes at Asian bakeries).  These all natural American style Pink Lemonade cupcakes that I bought actually surprised me because they tasted very good.  The cakes were really moist, buttery, and rich in lemon flavor.  The cream cheese icing was light and not overly sweet. Most importantly, the icing didn't have the yucky food coloring taste that I experienced with all the other American store-bought cupcakes; and also the ones proudly home-made by my friends (who drown their cupcakes to death with colors that made them look too scarily colorful to eat).  The icing tasted light but very delicious and the color is a natural coloring from Hisbiscus flower.

I bought 2 dozens of these cakes yesterday and lied to my friend that I made them at home... I have no idea what compelled me to cook up such a lie.  I guess it's because on Instagram, I often see  my friends proudly showing off their signature dishes that I have unconsciously developed a vanity to want to prove that I'm not the barren one who has no signature dish of my own!  So I went to great length to make my store-bought cupcakes look more home-made by topping them with low fat chocolately cat cookies (with no artificial colors or flavors, and no preservatives), which were also bought at Trader Joe's. (16oz tub for $2.99).  

I personally won't top these cupcakes with chocolate cookies again because I don't think chocolate goes well with lemonade...But my thoughtless food pairing yesterday actually made my home-made lie more believable to my friend.  Luckily, the attendees at the party ate the chocolate cat cookies and cupcakes separately, so such an odd combo of flavors didn't ruin the cupcakes. My two dozens cupcakes disappeared at the party very quickly while other attendees' brownies and sheet cakes were sitting on the buffet table, mostly ignored.  May be the attendees at the party were acting as if they liked my cupcakes since I lied that I made them myself.  If you want to find out whether they were faking their reaction on my cupcakes or not, grab a box of this at Trader Joe's and see if you enjoy them.  I do, very much.

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I Always Know That Carbs Are Actually Better For Me

Content shared by: Jane Ong

I was brought up in a carb eating culture where we all eat lots of carbs like fresh white breads, noodles, and white rice.  All my family, friends,  relatives and myself are slim.  I never knew carb was bad until my American friends told me that they couldn't eat white rice or white bread because they said pasta,  white rice and white bread made them fat.  I did see their concern but I never was able to relate weight problems to the food I eat so much, white rice and white bread??  I just never knew in my life anyone in my hometown (with many millions in population) who isn't slim, from my schoolmates, my neighbors, to my own family and friends in my hometown; we all have diets that are culturally heavy on white rice, white bread and all kinds of noodles (or pasta).

The doctor in this video just confirms what I always suspect: carbs can't be as bad as they are portrayed in the American dieting culture. It's because my family and I have been eating mostly carbs all our lives and we are all slim and healthy people, except for me because I'm recently suffering from some minor adult acne breakout around my periods.  I suspect that my breakout as an adult has much to do with my recent years' increase in consumption in meat and proteins.  The rest of my family have flawless and blemish free skin. I know I don't have the acne gene because I never had acne problem before.  The only difference between me and the rest of my family is I'm living in America now and I am eating a lot more meat and dairy. Meanwhile, everybody in my family are still having the same white rice heavy diet  like we always did.   

How To Cut A Classic Batonnet

Content shared by: Jane Ong

Batonnet what?  I had never heard of "Batonnet" until I read about Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson's cooking school experience in his autobiography "Yes Chef". Now I can see that there is a lot of standing around in the cooking school to just watch and listen!!!  This is no less boring than when I had to sit through Statistics 101 in college, which is actually a lot safer for someone who has chronic daydreaming syndromes like myself.  I really respect those of you who can cut Batonnet.  I certainly will chop my fingers off due to my attention deficiency disorder....  There must be some kind of gadget out there that can cut Batonnet real fast, no?

Heart Healthy Whole Grain Blueberry Oatmeal With Flaxseed & Plant Sterols

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

Even though I love having breakfasts in restaurants during the weekends, making breakfast during the weekdays have always been part of my getting-ready-for-work morning ritual.  Okay, by "making", I really mean "microwaving".  For more than two weeks, I have been having this Trader Joe's whole grain instant blueberry oatmeal every weekday morning ($3.99 for a box of 8 packs), and every weekends afternoon as snacks.  This is the best tasting instant oatmeal I have tried and it tastes like homemade, when microwaved with water according to the direction.  I like to add a couple tablespoons of low-fat milk after microwaving and a drizzle of condensed sweetened milk to add more creaminess and taste to it.  I like this oatmeal so much because it's really flavorful with oats and whole grain.  The blueberries add just a hint of sweetness.  This oatmeal is very mild and subtle on sweetness.  While I hate all the overly sweetened instant oatmeals out there, I do love to add a drizzle of condensed sweetened milk to this unsweetened Trader Joe's instant oatmeal for texture and for the perfect level of sweetness for myself.  For some reason, this instant oat meal is best microwaved with water, not milk.  So milk should be added after microwaving and not during.

I have been suffering from acne breakout in recent months and I suspect that it could be due to my lack of fiber in my diet, (of course my work stress too).   This is what prompted me to start a daily dose of this oatmeal.  Whether having this everyday will help me clear my skin or not, I have yet to see, but I have found that since I have been eating this everyday for about 2 weeks now,  my digestive system has been improved and I'm no longer suffering from constipation.

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Avocado Bacon Tomato Egg Benedict

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

For years, I had walked by this cute restaurant for many times near the beach, but I never tried it out because I didn't see the menu being any more special than the other restaurants on that same street. This morning was the first time I got to try this place out.  I tried this place out today because I noticed that since its first location near my old apartment by the beach years ago, this restaurant has become an expanding chain.  I happened to drive by its new location near my new neighborhood on my way to the bank. It happened that on this particular stretch of street, unlike the beach town I used to live; I wasn't aware of any boutique restaurants competing for my breakfast money besides the fast food chains and my usual diner Coco's.  So this restaurant became my only obvious choice when I was craving for the kind of California breakfasts I used to so enjoy when I was living by the beach.

The yellow decor inside looks just as cute as the yellow decor outside.While it looks like a lovely cottage restaurant, the setup is more like the fast food place where customers order the food at the counter, and go find their own seats, with the number tags they are given.  I ordered the Avacado Bacon Tomato Egg Benedict ($12.00) from their specials' board, and an iced coffee ($2.40.)

It took me a while to find the station that keeps the iced water, napkins, creamers, sugar, etc.  The iced coffee was okay, not as good as the one I had from my favorite Asian bakery.  The egg benedict was a little short on hollandaise sauce but it tasted great.  I wish they could drizzle more.  I could have asked for more sauce but since it was a self-service restaurant, I just didn't want the hassle to walk to the counter to ask the cashier (who seemed to be busy taking on new orders) for more sauce.

Bacon is the same bacon and tasted pretty much like bacon everywhere.  The salad drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette, avocado and potatoes were really fresh and high quality though. I could taste the freshness.  I loved the fresh flavor of the potatoes there. They were a lot healthier than the typical hash brown. For those who are used to food with a lot of seasoning, they may find this egg benedict a little bland tasting.  It's because this dish is completely relying on the bacon, pepper, herbs, and a light drizzle of hallandaise sauce for flavor, and there wasn't much salt.  It's good for those who are watching the daily sodium consumption. For others who need more salt, they just have to sprinkle it themselves.  For me, I, every once and a while enjoy food with less salt for a change. 

To me, the only spoiler for that egg benedict was the English muffin.  I didn't like the bread at all because the English muffin tasted stale to me.  I don't think it's really stale.  It's just I was never a fan of the typical grocery store bought English Muffin or bread of any kind.  Such breads just carry that hint of smell and taste that bother me a lot and I always tell my friends that those breads smell stale to me, even though my friends don't seem to be bothered one bit.  For this reason,  I don't usually like to have sandwiches in most of the restaurants.  This egg benedict would have been perfect if only the fresh whole wheat bread from my favorite Asian bakery were used instead of the grocery store quality mass-market English Muffins.   I also don't like the self-service business model, because it's just inconvenient when customers need to box up leftovers or to ask for extra something.

Restaurant: Yellow Vase Bakery, Café & Flowers 

Address: 28902 Western Ave, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA 90275

Phone: (310) 833-1313

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Portuguese Egg Tart For Sunday Breakfast

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I admire people who dedicate their Sunday mornings to making home-made breakfasts.  To me, Sunday morning is when I make up the sleep I miss during the weekdays. The last thing I want to do after waking up from my long sleep on Sunday morning is to make breakfast, I don't even want to make coffee. Unless I have some compelling reasons to stay home on Sunday, then I will unwillingly make breakfast.  Otherwise, after I rise and wash up on Sunday, I normally just leap out of the door and drive to my favorite places to get breakfasts. I usually go to different places to have different types of breakfast from week to week, and today, I went to one of my favorite Asian bakeries to get my beloved Portuguese Egg Tart ($1.65), to enjoy with my favorite Iced Coffee (medium 85C Coffee from the same bakery for $2.75, equivalent to Starbucks "Venti" size). 

This Portuguese egg tart is almost as good as the famous one I had from Macau during my vacation there a few years ago.  This is actually the freshest and best tasting egg tart I ever had in America. (Well, the last time I had Portuguese egg tart in America was at a supposedly authentic Portuguese cafe in Sherman Oaks CA, which I didn't care for because it was cold and the pastry wasn't fresh enough for me. I wasn't impressed with the way it tasted either. )

I also like the iced coffee here better than Starbucks because it's not as bitter, but it's more flavorful and aromatic,  and it comes already perfectly creamed and sweetened.  Sunday breakfast like this is one of the reasons I put up with the high rent and ridiculous long commute to live in Los Angeles.

Bakery: 85C Bakery Cafe

Address:1735 W Carson St, Torrance, CA 90501 

Phone: (310) 320-8585

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BBQ Ribs & Buffalo Wings

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I'm not the kind of person who can wait till Memorial Day or July 4th to have BBQ. I'm the kind of person who enjoys BBQ just on any typical day, whether it's a holiday or a workday.  Thank god there are so many places in Los Angeles where I can pick up BBQ on the way home.  Tonight when I drove by Chicago For Ribs on my way to an evening run by the beach,  the air was drafted with the delicious charbroiled BBQ aroma so intense that I could smell it even when I had my car's windows all rolled up.  I admire the other commuter cars which just ignored the aroma and went straight home to cook dinner, or to wherever they needed to be.

When I smelled that enticing BBQ, I just had to make a U-turn to cross to the other side of the road to have my BBQ dinner.  Of course, I ditched my evening run for a BBQ dinner combo instead ($12.95).  The dinner combo came with my choice of 2 meats, which were baby back ribs and buffalo wings.  I like the baby back ribs which were tasty and tender but I wish I had gotten the BBQ chicken instead of the buffalo wings which were just deep fried and smothered with BBQ sauce.  The wings weren't  that much better than the frozen ones I bought from the grocery stores.  Besides,  I'm never a big fan of thickly breaded fried chicken wings drowned in BBQ sauce. I ordered the wings thinking they were charbroiled.  The baby back ribs were great though. The dinner combo also came with 2 sides of my choice, and a piece of corn bread or dinner roll, which I picked corn bread, coleslaw and mashed potato.  The coleslaw was somewhat too bitter for me but the mashed potato and the corn bread were great.  I really enjoyed the corn bread with the whipped butter there.  For $12.95, it was a lot of food on a big plate (which provided enough leftover for lunch tomorrow), and also a learning curve for me with this restaurant.  Now I know what to order  next time to make a more delicious BBQ plate.

Restaurant: Chicago For Ribs

Address: 1637 W25th St, San Pedro, CA 90732

Phone: (310) 832-7427

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Southwest Chicken Quesadillas

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I have to admit, I'm no expert in Mexican food, I had never had Mexican food until I moved here to Los Angeles.  Even though I like Mexican food, I rarely have it because I just like Asian food more. I like Mexican food enough that I can eat it everyday for the rest of my life if the only kind of Asian restaurant near me is PF Chang.  

The last time I had a quesadilla was probably 3 years ago. When I saw the above box of frozen chicken quesadillas in Trader Joe's freezer ($3.69 for a box of 2), I remembered how I liked it so I bought a box to try out. The flour tortillas are supposed to be filled with white meat chicken, Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack cheeses, corn, bell peppers, spinach and black beans, with mild jalapeño peppers, and Mexican style spices. I wasn't disappointed, the quesadillas tasted rather good for frozen food.

If I have to rate these frozen quesadillas, I will give them 4 stars out of 5.  They make great meals during those times when I leave work so late that all my favorite restaurants are closed. I also like eating one of them for breakfast when I wake up in the morning feeling hungry and miserable. (Each quesadilla has 400 calories).

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Free Chocolate Macaron Giveaway

Our test kitchen is going to try out the above all natural macaron baking mix.  We are therefore looking for a taste tester to taste the macarons we will be baking from this mix.  We will ship the taste tester half a dozen chocolate macarons to taste, and the taste tester will then let us know how he /she likes them.  (Note: we are doing this test independently with our own money and we aren't sponsored by the manufacturer or any of  its retailers directly or indirectly.) 

To qualify to participate in this taste test, you must be free of any form of food allergy.  To apply, please do the following before April 15, 2016; and we will randomly select a taste tester from our pool of  qualified candidates if there is more than one applicant:

1. Be a follower of this blog through Google +, or Twitter, or Facebook.
2. Share this post on either Google +, Twitter or Facebook.
3. Scroll down this post and fill out the giveaway participation form.

London's Afternoon Tea Tour Bus

Fried Egg With Balela Bean Salad And Buttered Toast

Recipe submitted by: Jane Ong

I can't live without eggs.  I had been having at least one egg for every meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for many years since I was weaned off my milk bottle. But my egg consumption has been drastically cut down since I graduated college.  It was not because I was worried about the cholesterol.  It was mainly because I have this horribly long commute in the morning to work that I don't have time to cook and eat breakfast.  But whenever I have the time to indulge in my morning breakfast at home, I always treat myself a fried egg over easy.  According to Harvard University, eggs contain nutrients including protein, vitamins B12 and D, riboflavin; and folate, and therefore may help lower the risk for heart disease when consumed in moderation. (i.e., One egg per day.) To make my fried egg breakfast healthier, I gave it a middle eastern twist by pairing the egg with Trader Joe's super delicious Balela Bean Salad. (If you are a talented cook, you can probably make your own Balela Bean Salad, but I opt for Trader Joe's all natural high quality ready-to-eat version because I absolutely don't know how to make this bean salad myself.)

Makes 1 Serving:

Ingredients:

• 2 oz of Trader Joe's Balela Bean Salad ($2.69 for 8 oz container)
• 1 large organic egg
• 1 piece of high quality white bread, toasted and buttered (I got my bread freshly made from my favorite Japanese Bakery)
• Dried parsley flakes 
• Moran's Grilling Seasoning 

Direction:

1. Fry an egg in any style you want (I prefer mine to be over easy with runny yolk inside).
2. Sprinkle dried parsley flakes and Moran's Grilling Seasoning on top of the egg, serve with buttered toast and Balela Bean Salad.

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Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

When I first moved to Los Angeles, the first thing I noticed wasn't the lame "Hollywood" sign. (By the way, what's so special about it that this sign has been featured on so many posters and glossy pages of travel guides?)  It was the ugly strip malls on almost every block I drove by that caught my eyes.  I found many of these strip malls very ugly, and depressing (because they just have such a third world vibe about them).   

But lately, I have fallen in love with these ugly strip malls in Los Angeles because I realize that there are always ethnic mom and pop restaurants nestled in them.  I never know what new food I will discover by driving into an ugly strip mall and this "unknown" element just adds a little excitement to my boring commute home from a long day of stressful corporate prison.

Last night, my venture into one of these strip malls had gotten me a tasty bowl of Vietnamese Chicken Curry ($7.99) with steamed rice on the side.  Compared to Thai curry or Indian curry dishes, Vietnamese curry is  much lighter in texture and the sauce is more broth like than gravy like.  I found this light version of very tasty and tender chicken curry stew very appetizing.  This is the kind of dish that goes extremely well with steamed rice or crusty bread.  I can get really full and satisfied by eating a lot of rice with only half of the chicken curry. This allows me to box the other half home for lunch the next day.  I can always make a big pot of steamed rice very easily with my rice cooker at home to use up the left over curry.  This helps cut down my dining bills.

Restaurant: Taste of Viet
Address: 1650 Sepulveda Blvd, Harbor City, CA 90710
Phone: (310) 326-2889

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Middle Eastern Fusion - Savory Shrimp

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

Whenever I am lucky enough to call the shots for my business lunch or dinner, I try to bring my clients to my favorite restaurants near my home.  This restaurant is one of those I proudly introduced to my clients who are health conscious and picky about food quality This is an organic restaurant which serves natural and organic food, so I myself come here every time to splurge a little when I get my paycheck .  I have been coming here since this place opened years ago.  And each time I visited, I cleaned the plate because the food here tasted just so good.

I usually ordered the kebabs but last night I tried out the savory shrimp, which had broiled shrimps, broiled veggies (that included potato, asparagus, eggplant and mushroom), enhanced with a creamy sauce seasoned with white wine and onions, served with cilantro-infused rice. At $25.95, this dish is one of those more expensive entrees on the menu. But if I get the opportunity to treat myself, this is where I spend my money. I just love to support neighborhood restaurants that use locally sourced organic and natural ingredients.  This place is near the beach and the Friday farmer's market.  It's a great place to round out a weekend evening of breezy beach walk and shopping at the Farmer's market.

Restaurant: Turquoise Restaurant:

Address:1735 S Catalina Ave, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 

Phone:(310) 373-3234 

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Marie Callender's Herb Roasted Chicken

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

Even though I'm living in a town that has lots of great restaurants nearby and there are lots of delivery options,  there are times I just want to stay in my PJs and I just don't want to interact with anyone, and that includes calling restaurants to order delivery. I guess I can still order online but it seems to me popping a frozen dinner in a microwave is less a hassle.  Today is such a day.  This is why even though I am not a big fan of frozen dinners, I still store a few boxes in the freezer, particularly when they are on sale.  

This Herb Roasted Chicken meal from Marie Callender's is the best frozen dinner I had tried so far.  I bought it on sale for way under $3.00.  Just like the box says, the bone-in chicken is tender.  This roasted chicken tastes actually better than the Grocery store rotisserie chicken I've had in a number of American diners.  For a meal that has only 430 calories, it's quite filling (for me).   Right now they are doing a "Child Hunger Ends Here" campaign, under which the company will donate 1 meal for each code I enter on the campaign's website. The code is printed on the back of each frozen dinner I bought.  This just makes eating frozen dinner at home  so much more meaningful than ordering restaurant delivery.

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Seasoned Pork And Sausage Clay Pot Rice Meal

Review submitted by: Jane Ong

I was working on my client's company yesterday in Costa Mesa in Orange County, California.  I stayed on for dinner instead of jumping on the crazily congested 405 to get back to Los Angeles. I thought I would avoid waiting on the freeway. But instead of waiting on the freeway, I found myself standing with a tray of food waiting for a spot to eat in a food court inside the Mitsuwa supermarket. I love my neighborhood Mitsuwa supermarket so much that I always seek it out whichever town I visit. But of course, not every town in California  has a Mitsuwa supermarket. I was so happy to see one near my client's office in Costa Mesa.  I just didn't expect it to be so packed at 7pm in the evening. It was like a mad house there.  I hadn't experienced a food court this crowded in America.  When I was standing around and trying to look for an empty spot to put my tray down, I almost felt like I was back to my vacation in Hong Kong.  There were so many Asian people crowding in the food court:)  

It was only when I tasted the food, I realized I wasn't in Hong Kong.  While the Seasoned Pork & Sausage Clay Pot Rice Meal ($7.29) tasted decent in terms of food court dining in America, it's not nearly as delicious as the ones in Hong Kong.  I did find it okay for a weeknight dinner after work.  I personally like it much better than fast food pizza.  The meal came sizzling hot with a bowl of broth based turnip soup on the side.  It's filling and comforting.  I always love the tasty and chewy Chinese sausages.  But I have to admit I've had better Chinese sausages elsewhere. The jam-packed parking lot and the long wait for the food (due to high customers traffic) was also a little annoying to me, from a spoiled customer's view point.  I'm sure such busy customer traffic is fantastic for the vendors and the supermarket in terms of cash flows and profitability. My father in Hong Kong always said, "I would rather be in a crowded city that presents profit opportunities for business than a quiet country side where I don't see the shadow of even one person..."

For me, I just hope that Mitsuwa in Costa Mesa can expand the square footage, particularly the square footage in its parking lot to accommodate its visitors volume.  Until then, I will temporarily stay away from it.

Restaurant: Sky Express
Address: 665 Paularino Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Tel:(714) 437-7198

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