Food | fabliss - Part 29

Manmi Bakery | Garden Grove, CA

my family is addicted to the fruit cake at this korean bakery! it was my first time here last week when we had to get a cake for lunar new year. delicious!! i love everything about this cake! frosting is not too sweet and the cake is light and fluffy. if i could, i would eat this every day! a medium cake will run you approximately $20.

cream puffs are amazing here! $1 for 4! what a steal! little cream puffs that tastes like heaven? i’m in.

remember, cash only. be prepared.

Manmi Bakery
8942 Garden Grove Blvd
Garden Grove, CA 92844

By vivilinh | February 12th, 2013 | Coffee, Tea, & Bakeries, Dessert, Food, Restaurants | 2 Comments

A Southern Brunch @ Spoonful | Universal City, CA

spoonful just opened up! it took over henry’s hat (closed october 2012) spot on ventura. we were pretty excited to go here for brunch because we wanted to try the southern fried chicken with grits and collard greens! we’ve never had grits or collard greens.

it is right across the street from the la fitness. (yep, from where we were sitting, we could see the dedicated people going to the gym… yeah, we felt bad about ourselves but hey, we were hungry)

the decor is very, very cute. water in mason jars, edison lights over the bar, chandeliers, quotes on the walls…

so the southern fried chicken ($14)… crispy on the outside and super moist on the inside. gravy was pretty good too!

so our thoughts on collard greens and grits. we werent huge fans of the collard greens and can definitely see how people either love it or hate it. collard greens are on the bitter side. the texture of grits is something you have to get used to but i enjoyed it with my chicken.

second thing we ordered: bourbon french toast ($12) very tasty. you would think that it would be too sweet, but it wasnt. loved the bananas! the french toast itself wasnt too soggy or to tough. you could cut through it with a fork. i liked this dish.

service: when we visited spoonful, the place was on the empty side so our water / sweet tea service was awesome!
parking: it was a sunday so we just parked at a meter in the front of the restaurant no problemo.
overall: it’s definitely hard to eat this place while you are staring at people enter and exit the gym. the food is definitely not on the “light” side but then again, you know that when you decide to go here. overall, we liked our food but didnt love it…and for the price? not really. from the initial reviews we read, people loved the food. did we order the wrong thing? despite the brunch menu, the bar has a lot of potential. we will keep an eye on you, spoonful.

Spoonful
3413 Cahuenga Blvd W
Los Angeles, CA 90068
Neighborhood: Universal City

By vivilinh | February 4th, 2013 | Food, Restaurants | 1 Comment

Native Foods Cafe | Costa Mesa

for most of you who know me or have followed my blog long enough…you know i love meat! so when my cousin suggested that we go to native foods cafe (what was explained to me as a vegan spot) for lunch, i was very hesitant. well…let me tell you my conclusion first and then i’ll go into detail. i freaking loved it!!! so i’m passing on the love.

who doesn’t appreciate a refreshing drink?! enter: watermelon fresca with some mint. you’ll love it and the little chunks of watermelon too! i didnt try the other flavors (which i’m sure are great) because the watermelon just screamed my name.

appetizer ordered: nuevo native nachos! homemade corn tortilla, black beans, native taco meat, native chipotle crema (on the sweet side), native cheese, salsa fresca, guacamole, corn, green onions, cilantro and jalapenos! this is one of the must tries. why? because it’s different, it’s delicious…and it’s nothing like you think it’s going to taste like. this is something you definitely have to eat fast since it does get a little soggy. vegan cheese…how do they do it? also, jalapenos add a good, but not overwhelming kick.

entrée #1: portobello and sausage burger. this is one of the coined favorites of native foods cafe. grilled portobellos, native sausage seitan, caramelized onions, pomodoro, sweet roasted garlic, creamy pumpkin seed pesto and mayo. it looks pretty hefty but its actually very light. (that’s what happens when there is a big mushroom in there) so this burger tastes delicious! i thought the texture would be a little weird…but it didnt phase me at all.

entrée #2: indo noodle salad! cucumbers, red peppers, onions, carrots, baby greens, rice noodles, sweet peanut-chile dressing, ginger-glazed native tempeh, peanuts and cilantro. so i loved this. originally, we ordered this because we love peanut sauce…but what makes this salad is the glazed tempeh! it is so, so tasty. as a note, i was lucky that i shared this with my cousin because i dont think i could have eaten this by myself. its good…but on the sweet side. if i had to eat the whole thing…i’d probably crave salty fries. overall, this salad was very refreshing. not too heavy. would i get this again? yes, but there are so many other things on the menu i want to try.

first thought when i finished eating: i think i can be vegan now! bold, huh?

atmosphere/service: inside was on the stuffy side so we sat outside. staff was super friendly. loved the staff/vibe.
parking: ample

i am so glad my cousin dragged me here! now, i can recommend it to all of you! they have multiple locations…most of which are in the o.c. i just found out that there is one in culver city! how lucky am i?!

until next time!

Native Foods Cafe
2937 Bristol St
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
nativefoods.com

By vivilinh | January 31st, 2013 | Food, Restaurants | 3 Comments

Pork Belly @ Palsaik | Los Angeles, CA

we have officially fallen in love with the eight colorful flavors of pork…a specialty at palsaik in k-town (their logo is a happy pig. how could you not come here?). we never really liked ordering pork belly at korean bbq places before because isnt as flavorful as bulgogi or kalbi. but we recently discovered that it is not meant to be! there are dipping sauces usually provided for pork belly: (i) sesame oil and salt and (ii) chili bean paste. yum! ok, enough with the pork belly backstory.

it’s pork belly time! here are the eight flavors:

wine
original
ginseng
garlic
herb
curry
miso paste
red pepper paste

the eight flavor set runs $49.99. this is something that you have to order in order to get a feel of what this restaurant has to offer. also, the set is a good deal since one strip will run you $6.50-7.00.

we also ordered seafood soybean paste stew ($9.99). it is a little spicy but we loved the kick. it was a nice, refreshing palette cleanser too! we would definitely get this again.

its always the best moments drinking with friends after a long week at work. agreed?

eight pork belly strips come out on little dishes. pretty impressive display if you ask me. four strips are cooked at a time. also on the grill is kimchi and bean sprouts for your eating pleasure.

your waiter takes care of all the cooking so you can concentrate on eating and drinking your beer / soju. the strips are cut into manageable pieces.

so you eat this with rice or you can wrap it in lettuce then dip it into sauces…or do both? …anyway you want!

my favorite dipping sauce: sesame oil and salt! my first bite of the wine pork belly! yum!

this is now one of our favorite places to eat in k-town now! our favorite is definitely the original, miso, garlic, and chili pepper. our least favorite was the herb…it just didnt jive with everything else (tastes like italian food). we had a party of four. the set of eight plus the soup was good enough to fill us but since we all eat in massive amounts, we also got two extra strips of the original and the chili paste.

after you are done eating or finishing up, the waiter will come by and make you kimchi fried rice with your left over kimchi! yum part dos!

atmosphere: very clean. each table has its own vent, grill, and stools for you to put your purse and clothes so that they dont stink of bbq when you are done. (so smart) i heard the wait could run an hour but we lucked out and got seated within 15 minutes. not bad.
service: very pleasant!
parking: ample parking since there is a huge lot shared by other businesses in a plaza.
overall: go here. you wont regret it!

enjoy!

Palsaik Samgyupsal Korean BBQ
863 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Neighborhood: Koreatown

palsaikbbq.com

By vivilinh | January 27th, 2013 | Food, Restaurants | 5 Comments

JINYA Ramen | Studio City, CA

ramen time! our spot on a cold day is usually ramen jinya in studio city. we have tried orochon, shin-sen-gumi, daikokuya… the ramen at orochon and shin-sen-gumi…eh. not very flavorful. to be honest, we also like daikokuya but dont get the craze. plus, we arent fans of waiting an hour to get seated either. the broth at jinya is fantastic. perfected seasoned, noodles cooked perfectly.

the large menu outside

tonkotsu spicy, hot and with thin noodles. this is my favorite thing to get here…and probably the best ramen i have had. “hot” isn’t too spicy for me. kyle usually adds some chili to it. we have tried the original but like the flavor of spicy more.