Pasadena Updates

Swedish Scoops opened up on Raymond down the street from Jimmy Johns. Not sure what Swedish gelato is but I’m going to try it. Looks cute inside.
https://swedish-scoops-homemade-gelato-coffee-bar.business.site/

Tortugas next to King Taco is closed.

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Intrigued. Gelato with lots and lots of lagom? Please report back!

Definitely some interesting and unique flavors. Basically gelato using Swedish ingredients like Swedish pears, Daim, etc… Red Bull or Bubble Gum gelato anyone? Owner was very nice and let me sample a bunch.

I tried the melon, blackberry, pear and ultimately settled on pineapple. The flavors were nice a bit restrained and not too sweet. The pineapple was a little denser than the other flavors but I suspect this is because the pineapple was down to the end of the container. It almost tasted like a pineapple creamcicle which I loved. I’d come back again and try some more flavors.

There is a Paradiso Gelato 2 blocks away so we’ll see how this place does.

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being passive-aggressive is beneath you.

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the arturo’s taco truck on fair oaks just south of del mar now features a separate al pastor station.

if you order al pastor, they give you a second receipt that you take over to the station and the person fills your order. i decided to try one, along with my usual order of cabesa.

it was quite flavorful. i’m still assimilating mexican cuisine, so i’m not going to try and categorize where it ranks in the pantheon of places offering al pastor, but IIRC cooks who specialize in al pastor typically draw a higher wage in the taco world. i was also intrigued by the alleged lebanese origins of al pastor; there are so many different influences in mexican regional cooking and there doesn’t seem to be anyone on this board who really gets into it.

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Made my way to Cluck2Go for lunch today. Great Hainan chicken rice. Chicken was tender and flavorful while the chicken broth infused rice was aromatic and got a nice chew. Lastly, the broth given was from the broth that the chicken steeped in. Yum!

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RE: Ding’s Cold Appetizer Plate

  • Just wanted to update you guys, I got a pretty bad case of food poisoning from the cold appetizer plate (beef tendon, pig ears, etc.). Just a heads up, hopefully it was an aberration – haven’t been back since. :frowning:

I wondered what would eventually go into the old 800 Degrees spot. I’m not familiar with Chef Tony. Do we need another dim sum place in old town with Lunasia 4 blocks away?

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Chef Tony is next level dim sum. It bests Sea Harbour any day.

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Yeah. Chef Tony is at the top of my list for my next visit to Vancouver. Given that LA’s best dim sum trails the Bay Area, and the Bay Area trails Vancouver, absolutely yes.

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Unless they redo the inside there is not a lot of seating. But excited to hear about the new addition. I work 2 blocks from here.

I like that the guys from Frenchifornia are really keeping true to the Frenchy part of their name. Not sure how they are doing this considering how much rent is in Colorado but good for them.

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After four decades in Chinatown, my mom is retiring to Pasadena–my soon-to-be homebase when I visit from the East Coast.

This may be a long shot–is there an Asian supermarket in Pasadena? I googled but not much shows up, recommendations end up further south or east in the SGV. She’ll be close to the Lake station so going to Chinatown should be simple. And I will show her a couple of bus routes to Ranch 99’s in Arcadia and Alhambra. But something a little closer would be great. I’ve tried to tell her she can buy lots of common variety produce and meats in the “white” supermarkets in Pasadena and pick up Asian stuff once a week or so when she can hitch a ride with my brother. But you know Chinese mothers…To be fair, she’s used to buying food in small batches so stocking up is a cultural shock.

Really excited about Chef Tony opening up a dim sum place in Old Town. I’ll be checking out Ding’s, Hainan chicken, Lunasia, et al, when I visit in September.

Edit: oh wow, checking Maps, I see there’s also 85 C Bakery, Boiling Point and Little Sheep in Old Town. That’s not too shabby–soften the move a bit for dear old mom.

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Your mom’s best bet for Asian groceries near where she is living (Lake station) might be the Whole Foods on Fair Oaks. They stock a pretty good variety of Asian spices, condiments and packaged (ie canned) foods, as well as having some varieties of Asian vegetables like bol choy, daikon, etc. Pricey, yes, but closer than the Ranch 99 markets in Arcadia or north Alhambra.

There are also some Indian markets further north from her on Washington that might fill the need for various Asian groceries, depending on her needs and preferences. And also there’s Namtaste Spiceland on Allen, which is another Indian market that I like.

Sign her up for an uber/lyft account on your c-card. SGV is the way to go and relatively close by to Old Town.

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FWIW, she can also take a bus west on colorado blvd into eagle rock to the seafood city (filipino) in the mall. however, the amount of crossover to chinese foodstuffs is limited.

there are no good routes via public transportation of which i am aware, but the super king supermarket to the north in altadena has seen an influx of ethnic asian customers. i was caught off guard hearing cantonese and mandarin spoken while shopping there. the point is that there are no significant enclaves of cantonese/mandarin speakers near that location - so they either live nearby and deem it worthy - or they’re driving significant distances to shop there. either way it seems noteworthy.

but chinatown might be the best bet for reasonably priced/authentic ingredients accessible by public transportation.

I think you mean Whole Foods on Arroyo Parkway.

Thanks all for your suggestions, much appreciated.

Chinatown is the most straightforward option as it’s a straight shot on the Gold Line. Sadly, Chinatown has been reduced to a one market neighborhood (Ai Hoa). She’s likely to be in that area on a weekly basis for many reasons.

My mother would more likely kill her firstborn (me) than pay Whole Food prices :wink: And yes, trying to explain to her the cost/time benefits compared to going to another market further away is unlikely to make much headway.

I have the Uber/Lyft idea on dial. For my next trip I’m going to forego the rented car (for most of the trip anyway) as I will be showing her the local transportation options–she’s a bus vet so she should get the hang of it. And we will do some ride-sharing so she has some exposure. I think she’s only ever been on 2 rides with me and her reaction was, “This doesn’t look like a taxi? Why doesn’t it say taxi anywhere? We know nothing about this guy! Is it safe? Where’s the meter? How do we pay?” So yeah, a little more exposure.

She’s a tech luddite and has limited English. A few months ago she transitioned from her scotch-taped flip phone to a smartphone. I’m very proud she has learned to use the camera. Still haven’t quite mastered checking voicemail. So yeah, for ride-sharing, I’m either going to request rides for her from my phone or remote-access her phone and request rides from her own account. Either way, first she has to become attuned to the ride-sharing culture so there are no mishaps.

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And yes, it’s a disappointment there aren’t direct bus routes into the MP, Alhambra and San Gabriel (Valley and Garvey corridors) easily walkable from her place. The 260/762 buses that go down Atlantic are the closest and that’s about 15-18 minutes walk for her.

Still the Gold Line is a godsend. No way, moving to Pasadena would be attractive without it.

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Lot of Chinatown folks get on the 76. It goes down Valley. Yeah that would be backtracking a bit but if she is in the neighborhood visiting