Hungry Hungry Hippo...Who Are You?

So I basically know all my avid blog readers...except for one: Hungry Hungry Hippo. And out of curiosity I would just like to know a little more about you who has written so loyally to my thoughts. Email me please at mmonoda@yahoo.com. Look forward to it.

Dinner and a Movie: Julie/Julia and Torafuku

Today I went to go catch the new movie Julie/Julia and it was so good. So good that I would go see it again in the theater (which for me is hard bc I hate sitting there for so long). So good that I would buy it on DVD and watch it over and over again. So good that I would (and have) bought the Julia Child's Cookbook for inspiration. I think for me, I related to this movie so well being the wannabe chef/cook and of course occasional blogger. It hit my two greatest loves: eating and cooking and my newly found love for blogging. I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time, laughing, gasping, and of course drooling.

After dinner, I thought about eating Panda Express at the mall, but like my sister said, we can't eat the PX after seeing all that gourmet food in the movie. So we ventured off to Torafuku which is this Japanese restaurant right next to the Westside Pavilion that I always see but have never tried. It was very "Japanese" meaning the wait staff and cooks were probably from Japan as were most of the clientale. It was as authentic as you could get in the area. I had the chef's Omakase dinner set. It came with all sorts of yummy goodies. The Japanese always know how to present items to look so delectable. The set included some kurobuta tonkatsu, ebi tonkatsu, tamago, 4 pieces of sashimi, miso-shiru, tsukemono, gohan, saba-yaki, and nimono. Very delicious and all for the mere price of $25. I would definitely recommend this place for some tasty, authentic Japanese food.

My Perfect Sunday Part 2!!!

I'm such a lucky girl....two sundays in a row have been just ideal for me. Today, I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day. I drove home to Cerritos and visited the Target nearby my house. Now you think....how is that so great? Well, when you live in West LA, Target is about a good 5-10 miles away and with LA driving time could take 30 minutes just to get there. So it is a convenience to live near a Target, which most likely means you live in the burbs. I had a chance to get some new workout clothes and some bikinis for my upcoming Atlanta/NYC trip (a itsy bitsy teeny weeny, black polka dot bikini....lol). Then I went home to my parents house and spent some time with my parents, Chibi, and Angie who was also visiting. It was just relaxing talking to my parents about buying a place, petting little Chibi and chasing him around the house, and having El Pollo Loco with Angie for lunch. After taking a little nap, I drove over to the Kishiyamas. I just love hanging out with them and they always make me feel so welcome and like part of their family. Joni made a delicious hamburger dinner with some really tasty asparagus and chopped boiled egg salad. Then after dinner she so expertly took some photos of me. She must be an expert because she somehow got me to look good! Then we all went to the park to play. They treated me to some Frostbites Italian Ice and Cream dessert. That was amazing and something I've never had before. Although the experience was very different from last weekend, it was equally special and just as perfect.

My Perfect Sunday: Dinner and Drinks at Riva

My idea of a perfect Sunday is waking up, reading the paper, walking to the Farmer's Market, cooking my dinner for the week in one pot, walking to the Bally's for a light workout, and having a lovely dinner and cocktail with good company. An extra special Sunday if I get to go somewhere like Bed Bath and Beyond to use my coupon to buy something for my place. And an extra extra special day if I can go to a place like Sur la Table or Williams Sonoma to check out high quality culinary tools you can't find anywhere else. In a perfect world I would get to share this experience every Sunday with someone special.

This Sunday, I was lucky to have a second chance not only to spend some quality time with a important person in my life, but also a second chance to visit a restaurant that I had enjoyed once in the past. Riva is the second restaurant of talented chef Jason Travi of Fraiche. When I last visited Riva in February (see past blog), they were solely known for their pizzas. They changed their menu to include Italian small plates....something pretty unique to the restaurant world. I'm all into the small plates these days so you could try a bunch of different things. They still serve their pizzas sun-tues so we lucked out. We started off with some cocktails. I hadn't had a drink for awhile so it was really nice to enjoy my vodka and pink grapefruit drink with my dinner. We moved on to a few small plates including an asparagus salad with meyer lemon and pecorino cheese along with some tasty greens that we both couldn't figure out what it was. Perhaps pea shoots...or at least it looked like pea shoots. Next, we shared an Octopus Fra Diavola crostini which was spicy but nicely mellowed out with the long crostini pieces. Our last small plate consisted of a braised veal cheek oddly placed on a somewhat sweet tart filled with creamy filling, golden raisins, and apples slices. I have been a fan of the veal cheek every since my taste buds laid taste on them at Sona Restaurant during a wonderful tasting. Of course it was no Sona veal cheek, but it was nonetheless fatty and melted in my mouth. For our pizza, we had the Tradizionale pizza which had spinach, prosciutto, and tomato. Very tasty but if you do go here, make sure you have the Molto Maile....the meatball it to die for.

For dessert we shared an off menu dessert specially prepared by an up and coming baker/chef. It was a flaky tart filled with a luscious Scharffenberger chocolate ganache with golden raspberries and a hint of mint. It was expertly molded into a 4 inch tart pan. Upon first bite, the bittersweet chocolate melted in my mouth and then a few seconds later the raspberry hit my palate, then came the mint. It was seriously orgasmic and I could have eaten another. I can still close my eyes and imagine it. It was truly the perfect way to end my perfect Sunday.

Michelle's Pancakes (not what you think)

I have been subscribing to the LA Times newspaper in an effort to further my education about the news and current events. Of course I love the food section and have found some new places to check out. Michelle's Pancake was one of those restaurant finds. I am a big fan of trying new and interesting places and I love Chinese food. The restaurant is located in a strip mall and is a small place but the turnover is pretty fast. We tried a few things that everyone looked to be enjoying. We had the plain green onion cake which was cooked perfectly and not too oily. It could be dipped in this extremely garlicky concoction on the table. We also had some steamed dumplings with pork and leeks which was light and healthier tasting. My favorite was the special beef and leek cake. Beef, leeks and some tasty juices were wrapped in a onion cake like layer and pan fried. Looked like a manju to me. When you bite into it, it sort of explodes. Very tasty. If you are interested, read the article....if you are anything like me, it will definitely tempt you to go.



LA Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-find15-2009jul15,0,1798170.story

Michelle's Pancake
706 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776-1161
(626) 293-8098