[quote=“ipsedixit, post:56, topic:5824”]
Just wish both came with the flatbread that accompanies the beef tartare.
[/quote]Hmm… what do they come with?
[quote=“linus, post:57, topic:5824”]
im weird about a lot of stuff.
[/quote]Me too brotha’.
haha Fair enough. I kind of like the “try it in multiple forms” thing sometimes, though myself. Just never seen a duck tartare.
Funnel fries.
Crispy, thin, not greasy, a sprinkle of powdered sugar for a touch of sweetness. I did not know about these. They are a wee bit magical.
The Shack, Playa del Rey
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I’ll respectfully dissent. I enjoy that Nikka Coffey Malt Whiskey enough to sip.
I do admit it has the most “bourbon-ness” of the Japanese whiskeys I’ve tried. It’s not very delicate, but I do find it very smooth.
Mitsuwa - Japanese Gourmet Fair
Headed over to the Mitsuwa Market flagship and remembered they had their recurring Gourmet Fair.
In recent years, the offerings have gotten more sparse and a bit disappointing… long gone are the days when they would invite various outstanding specialists from Japan (like their early Ramen fairs). But we held out hope there’d be some worthwhile booths to visit.
Yamacho - Hokkaido Seafood
The Yamacho booth featured fresh seafood from Hokkaido. There were prepared foods such as Salted Squid Guts, Hokkaido Herring with Field Mustard, Tsubu Clams with Wasabi, etc.):
They also offered a variety of Fish from Hokkaido for you to take home and cook up:
I really wanted to buy the Gindara Saikyo Miso (Black Cod Marinated in Saikyo Miso), but we had plans for the next few days, and I wasn’t sure how long to cook it for.
Hokkaido Scallops with Wasabi:
We settled on some of their Hokkaido Scallops seasoned with Wasabi. These were plump, bright, tender Hokkaido Scallops, with just enough Wasabi-based Marinade to give it some nice sinus-clearing properties. 
And they were delicious! 
I also really liked their Tako Wasabi (Octopus with Wasabi). They had samples of all of their prepared Seafood offerings.
Amo Chinmi - Hiroshima Fried Fish Cakes
This booth originated from Hiroshima, Japan, and were offering 7 varieties of Fish Cake on a Stick. 
Garlic & Shrimp Fish Cake:
They use Tara (Cod) ground up and mixed with other ingredients. For this one, they grind up Shrimp, Garlic and Tara and then deep fry it.
It was sadly, very chewy and you could barely taste the Shrimp in it. 
However, all of the Fish Cake Sticks were around ~$2.50 - $2.70 so it wasn’t that big of a deal.
Octopus & Ginger Fish Cake:
This was much better, with noticeable chunks of Octopus and a strong Ginger taste to make it stand out from the Tara base. It was still a bit chewy, but more tender than the Shrimp & Garlic.
Koshiyama Kanseido - Ishikawa Japanese Sweets
Koshiyama Kanseido’s booth featured Jonamagashi from Ishikawa, Japan, what they described as “a traditional Japanese sweet eaten with green tea at tea ceremonies. It expresses scenery or season with various colors and shapes. It requires artistry and technical skills, as all pieces are made by hand.”
These were adorable!
We had to buy a few to try.
If you like Anko (Red Bean) fillings, then these sweets are for you. They were soft, pliable, tender, and weren’t overly sweet.
From: June 8 - June 12, 2017
Mitsuwa - Japanese Gourmet Fair
(At Mitsuwa Market)
21515 S. Western Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
Tel: (310) 782-0335
Oumi Sasaya
Since we were in Torrance already, we decided to try @CiaoBob’s recommended Udon specialist.
Complimentary Chilled Tofu:
This tasted pretty fresh, slightly silken, and was a nice way to start lunch.
Chicken Udon with Green Onion:
A light, delicate Broth, not heavily salted (which is a good thing), with a nice amount of Green Onions to perk things up. The Handmade Udon Noodles had a little bit of chew, but were a bit soft (due to the Broth). Overall, a nice Hot Udon Soup if you were in the mood.
Shrimp & Mochi Tempura with Udon Cold:
But it’s their Chilled Handmade Udon Noodles that shine: Not only is it pretty to look at, but the “al dente” quality of the Noodles remain intact in this cooled dish. There’s a real nice mouthfeel and chew, and the Dashi-based Sauce provided to pour over was just the right amount of salinity.
And the inclusion of Ground Daikon and Ume Plum makes it really refreshing when mixed together!
The Shrimp and Mochi Tempura were nicely fried (not too oily), and had a slight crunchy exterior. Definitely some of the best Handmade Udon we’ve had locally. Thanks @CiaoBob!
Oumi Sasaya
2383 Lomita Blvd., Unit 101
Lomita, CA 90717
Tel: (310) 530-4661
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Nice coverage @Chowseeker1999. We truly enjoy the prepared seafood products from the folks at Yamacho in Hokkaido. For those who aren’t familiar with their goods, it’s kinda like Japanese/Hokkaido-style poke made with seafood of superb quality - mostly shellfish and cephalopods.
We always make a point of catching them in the week leading up to the New Year. Get a bunch of their products, the various tsukemono and some sashimi from Mitsuwa’s counters along with a good bottle of sake and we’re set.
We’ve only had their salmon (they throw that in as sabisu/gift if one is a “good” customer). Because the packaging is excellent, the salmon held up nicely in our freezer and was delicious simply grilled.
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Thanks @bulavinaka. 
I forgot to take a pic, but Yamacho also had some Ikura and Mentaiko for sale, and it looked gorgeous. I was so tempted to buy some, but then I wasn’t how I could prepare something to match that at home. 
Maybe simply over some steamed rice?
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Ikura over rice, mentaiko stired into bowl of hot, buttered noodles (thin spaghetti, soba, ramen noodles, I’ve done them all, and they’re all good). It isn’t “cooking” really, more of a quick and easy snack or dinner. These are two of my favorite things.
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Steamed rice is how we enjoy everything ready-to-eat from Yamacho. @Bookwich is obviously a fiend!
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Quick trip yesterday to Mitsuwa Torrance for the gourmet fair led to dinner last night (see dish of the month thread for fishcake on a stick) and lunch today. Tried the “stamina don” for sale in the grocery store’s prepared case. It caught my eye because I love the slime…natto and okra together! Plus tuna, a few strands of seaweed, and radish (the latter 2 ingredients not listed on the label for whatever reason), all on a bed of rice. I added some pickled gobo, also purchased at Mitsuwa. The tuna was flavorless and the rice hard. Oh well. Still got my dose of slime for the day. $5.80 for the bowl.
A couple shots from the Hokkaido seafood stall at the gourmet fair
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#The Ponte
tuscan style chicken liver pate - cherries, aged balsamic
Cherries were too tart, need some more sweetness with this dish.
wood roasted prawns - calabrian chili butter, calamari, venetian black rice
Highlight of the night, great snappy shrimp with toothsome black rice. The chili butter gave everything some nice heat.
black torchietti alle vongole - clams, fresno chilies, cherry tomatoes, basil breadcrumbs
My favorite pasta of the night. Chewy, spicy, crunchy.
pasta al pomodoro
Solid, but didn’t live up to the hype.
braised duck agnolotti - foie gras emulsion, english peas, pickled spring onions
I was looking forward to this the most, but didn’t taste much foie and the flavor just didn’t pop.
spring vegetables - celery root puree, pickled leek vinaigrette
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@PorkyBelly the spaghetti looks over-sauced. I don’t remember that much sauce being on it previously.
Continuing on with the weekend and the previous post…
Kobawoo House
Made famous by Jonathan Gold a few years back, this Bossam (Korean Boiled Pork Belly) specialist has been consistently packed for years.
Complimentary Banchan:
These were OK. Their Napa Cabbage Kimchi was extremely spicy for those chili-heads out there.
Haemul Pajun (Sizzling Seafood Pancake with a Mixture of Shrimp, Mussel, Squid and Crab Meat with Green Onions):
I’m always looking out for a nice Seafood Pancake, so we ordered one of these to try. I remember we ordered this before on our last visit (about 3+ years ago), but I forgot if it was good or not. Visually, this looked enticing - a nice golden brown - but ultimately it was a bit too thick.
The outer crust was slightly crisped and had a little bit of crunch, but it the Pancake was so thick that the inside was mushy. My Korean co-worker who joined us agreed, saying it wasn’t “done right,” like the way he and his family enjoy it at home and the way he prefers it (more crisped).
Wang Bosam (Napa Cabbage Wraps with Boiled Pork, (Steamed Skate), and Glazed Pork Feet):
It normally comes with Steamed Skate, but our server noted that if we were here for the Bossam (Boiled Pork Belly) and their Jokbal (Boiled Pork Foot)), then they have an option to remove the Skate, and they’ll add more of the Pork to the dish (he said it was very popular that way), so we went with that option).
It is a massive mound of Boiled Pork, chilled then thinly sliced. It looked great and we dug in, taking a slice of their Pickled Radish as a “wrap,” adding a piece of the Pork Belly, and some of their Kimchi to taste.
The Bossam was lightly seasoned, and tasted OK. It wasn’t bad, but slightly chilled / cold Pork Belly slices with some spicy Kimchi wrapped up just came across as underwhelming after enjoying the warmed up Bossam (and Jokbal) at Myung Ga.
In addition, the Bossam was dry. Just by itself, it was only lightly seasoned, and the Raw Oyster that @PorkyBelly had before seems to be missing now.
Their Jokbal (Boiled Pork Feet) is also served chilled and thinly sliced:
This had more flavor than the Bossam, but we all had similar reactions: That it was fine, but after having enjoyed Jokbal at both of the other two Jokbal specialists, there was no comparison: They were both far more enjoyable.
Kobawoo is still doing brisk business (with a 30+ minute wait when we arrived), and people still waiting when we left. Their Bossam was generally “traditional,” according to my Korean friend, but we all felt that the taste was more enjoyable at Myung Ga, especially warmed up and more tender and succulent. And for Jokbal, Jang Choong and Myung Ga were places we’d rather go back to.
Kobawoo House
698 S. Vermont Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Tel: (213) 389-7300
Sul and Beans
Parking for this plaza is a madhouse! 
But we decided to get something tasty after Kobawoo, and stopped by Sul and Beans, a Korean Shaved Ice Dessert specialist.
Fresh Mango Bingsoo:
This is the first time we tried Korean Shaved Ice, which tasted like a really refined version (super thinly shaved, soft Ice) of Taiwanese Shaved Ice Desserts.
Their Fresh Mango Bingsoo is essentially a giant bowl of finely Shaved Ice topped with a massive amount of Fresh Mango in a Sugary Syrup and Condensed Milk.
It was pretty tasty, but really like eating Mango but slightly sweetened and with some cool, refreshing Shaved Ice.
Black Sesame + Red Bean Bingsoo:
But the winner this evening was their Black Sesame + Red Bean Bingsoo! This had @paranoidgarliclover written all over it! 
A nice nutty, fragrant Black Sesame flavor was coming through with each bite, not overpowered by the Red Bean (thankfully), and with a nice crunchy textural contrast from the Toasted Almonds and Toasted Dates. It was delicious!
This wasn’t even the best Black Sesame Dessert we had this weekend, but that’s for another post.
Sul and Beans
621 S. Western Ave., #208
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Tel: (213) 385-5510
Elite Restaurant
A few years ago, Elite and Sea Harbour were the top Dim Sum restaurants and on our old board, we had fans in both camps. We could always count on @Porthos to chime in with a follow-up report on how it was doing, if we didn’t make it out for another visit, but times change.
We were curious how Elite was since our last visit (maybe 3 - 4 years ago?), and it felt like a nice Dim Sum Sunday to give it a try.
Iron Goddess Tea:
We chose Iron Goddess Tea for this visit, and this had a beautiful aroma, with good Tea Leaves. It went downhill from here.
Pork Shui Mai:
As you can see in the picture, the Roe was spilled and toppled over because our server decided to fling the Siu Mai onto the table. 
Besides that, these were the largest sized Siu Mai we’ve seen at a Dim Sum place yet, but biting into it, I saw the reason why: Large chunks of pure Pork Fat (unrendered) was used as filler for this dish. It was chewy Fat, not even tender or succulent, and the overall taste was pretty average.
Crystal Shrimp Har Gow:
Their Shrimp Har Gow was disappointing as well: The Dumpling Skin was pasty and stuck together. It also fell apart easily, and they didn’t clean out the Shrimp, as there was a muddy / dirt taste to the Shrimp. 
Deep Fried Taro Cakes:
Deep frying anything makes it better, right? The Deep Fried Taro Cakes were fragrant and easily the best dish we had at Elite. It was a touch oily, but overall, the warm, soft (almost Baked Potato-like) texture and aromatic Taro made this quite appealing.
Pan Fried Turnip Cakes in X.O. Sauce:
Our favorite Sauteed Turnip/Radish Cakes usually have a slight crisped texture to the exterior after being pan-seared fresh to order. These were pasty, doughy, and you could barely taste any Turnip at all (as if it was mainly filler). 
The X.O. Sauce was also pretty average, providing a barely there Seafood brininess (probably more ruined after having the excellent X.O. Noodles at Corner Beef Noodle House (thanks again @ipsedixit!)).
Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Wrap:
As if the Dim Sum couldn’t get worse, it did: Their Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Wrap was wrapped in parchment paper first (a sad trend by some of the Dim Sum houses around the SGV), which really blocks any Lotus Leaf infusion into the Rice). Besides that, the Glutinous Rice was really dense and really stuck together (abnormally). It was also really salty.
Tripe with Ginger and Onion:
This was overcooked, with the Tripe being really chewy, and the Sauce tasted pretty one note (mainly salty).
We’re used to “service” for most SGV Chinese restaurants , but for a restaurant that used to pride themselves on being, well, “elite” / one of the best Dim Sum / HK Seafood restaurants, Elite’s service today was the worst we’ve ever seen:
They never refilled our Tea once (we had to try and flag down someone for a long while before someone finally stopped by). They never replaced our dirty plates. Even asking for the bill was a chore of asking 3 different servers before getting it. Contrast this to Sea Harbour, in all of our visits, where we always had Tea and Water refilled multiple times without asking, new plates rotated in periodically, etc. and it was even more disappointing.
Beyond the horrendous service, Elite’s Dim Sum has become really mediocre. It was even worse than Lunasia, and probably on par with 888 Seafood. We left hungry but were glad we cut our losses (this was $21 per person at this juncture of a partial meal). I should’ve known that when the SGV experts like @ipsedixit @chandavkl @raytamsgv @J_L and others aren’t talking about Elite these days, there must’ve been a reason.
There was nothing that made us feel like we wanted to return. We’ll be sticking with Sea Harbour at this point.
Elite Restaurant
700 S. Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Tel: (626) 282-9998
Ichimian Bamboo Garden
So at this point, we felt it best to finish things off on a brighter note, so off we went to get some nice, refreshing Handmade Soba.
One thing that gave us pause when we walked in: The entire staff was new. We didn’t recognize anyone from the front or back of the house (you can see straight into the small kitchen), but we kept up hope that things were still great…
Mentai Oroshi Soba (Spicy Pollock Roe, Grated Daikon Radish + Handmade Soba Noodles):
Firstly, the inherent combination of Mentaiko and Grated Daikon was fantastic and so refreshing! One of my favorite combinations for Chilled Soba Noodles.
Ume Shiso Soba (Japanese Plum, Shiso Leaf + Handmade Soba Noodles):
But their Ume Shiso flavors are even better! That burst of piquant from the Japanese Plum and the fragrant, aromatic Shiso Leaf, mixed in with the Chilled Soba Noodles. So good!
Their very thin-style Soba Noodles still had excellent chew and body to them, thankfully, and the staff confirmed they still make their Soba Noodles fresh every day.
The one quibble by the new staff would be that the amount of Soba Sauce and toppings might’ve been too much (excessive). While I love Ume, they really gave a huge dollop of Ume for this bowl (more than we’ve ever seen in the past), which slightly overwhelmed this dish.
The original staff seemed to get things right, but the Soba Noodles overall were still quite good.
Ichimian is the only one of the South Bay Soba specialists that opens for lunch on Sundays, so if you’re in the mood for some great Soba, you probably have only one choice. Outside of that time table, we’ll probably head over to Otafuku or Inaba first, especially if in the mood for some Tempura.
(Cash Only)
Ichimian (or Ichimi Ann) Bamboo Garden
1618 Cravens Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
Tel: (310) 328-1323
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I love your reports, and I love that you go to places that are new, and not the usual FTC favorites.
When you go somewhere (like Elite) and you get food that is not very good, do you still eat it, or do you take a bite or two, then push it aside?
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Hi @Bookwich,
Thanks.
When the food is just not good (really salty, or just bad), we’ll take a bite or two, but then politely leave the rest. 
Like many, I don’t like wasting food, but I also don’t want to intake a bunch of excessive salt or fat or force myself to eat something that’s plain bad.
If it can be salvaged, then we’ll try and take it back (or our friends will). Like the Seafood Pancake at Kobawoo… if it was cooked a bit more, crisped up and the inside was more done, I think it would’ve been very good, so our friends gladly took it back (and we would’ve as well, if they didn’t).
Like how you salvage some dishes as well in some of the previous posts! Love that.
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Thanks @PorkyBelly. Great report.
Some of the pastas sounded like they were real winners. Do you think it’s worth visiting? Or other places are just a better experience? Thanks.
Elite has really upped their game for dinner. Call ahead and reserve the market specials.
And that said, they still make the best rendition of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall in California. Again, have to call ahead.
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Ah, good to know dinner is still good there. Thanks @ipsedixit. We’ll just avoid them for Dim Sum then.
If you haven’t been to scarpetta or the patio at terrine it might be worth a visit, other than that it’s a nice safe place to take the parents.
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