Wow that looks incredible O_O
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It needs a little more eggā¦
But itās Tomatoes and Scrambled Eggsā¦
Hands down the most popular homestyle Chinese dish (Han Chinese btw). Us Chinese may disagree passionately about politics but every single Chinese knows this dish and knows how to cook it. Whether you are Chinese from Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Vancouver, SF Bay Area, SGV, and everything in between. There is infinite ways to cook this! I been experimenting with using Bianco Tomatoes lately. Itās also so simple and basic that this is easily the first dish one learns to make! Itās also so simple and basic that many restaurants do not have it on their menus. But I am sure it can be made upon request. Which brings me to something I been thinking aboutā¦what if I go to all my favorite SGV places and ask them to make me Tomatoes and Scrambled Eggs, BUT only the way they make it for their family or the way their mom/grandma made it.
Tomatoes and Scrambled Eggs, I absolutely love this dish ever since I was a kid.
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My last bites of 2019. Happy New Year everybody.
Patisserie Chantilly. From top right clockwise.
Lemon meringue - ruined all future lemon desserts for me
Fuji apple tart - the best apple pie of all time in a tart. Love the use of Fuji apples
Chestnut cake - yum. I mean if you like chestnuts this is an absolute must
Chaser
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Hi @js76wisco,
Yes! Love Patisserie Chantillyās Mont Blanc! 
But waitā¦ where are your Choux aux SĆ©sames (Black Sesame Cream Puffs)?! 
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I wax poetic about tomatoes and scrambled eggs let me do the same for Cantonese soups lol
For the most part here in California/West/foodie media/etc, soup in Cantonese food culture has largely been ignored. Dim sum, roasties, and cafes are what comes to mind when thinking of Cantonese food. Soup is so important and fundamental to the Cantonese from everyday food to when one is ill to large celebrations at fancy seafood restaurants. It really is not a meal unless there is soup! My maternal grandfather was from Guangdong, one of his favorite thing to eat was soup. For me a small way to connect with him since he is gone is to make some soup (made some chicken bones/carcass and ginger soup the other day). In SGV back in the day I remember almost all the lunches/dinner had free soup to start, I donāt think that is the case now! (I need to remind myself to take a pic of Sea Harbours soup offerings to show you). Some cha chaan tengs also offer it when you buy a āover riceā plate or a main. Looks like Tak Kee Lee in SF does, and that place is on my to do list. I am rambling so Iāll stop.
I didnāt know that was tsai gan! I always just used mustard greens no wonder my soups arenāt as good.
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@Chowseeker1999 you got me. We ate a few in the store before we could take pictures. Those cream puffs are so good. My 7 year old inhaled one.
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Iāve seen some of double boiled soups menu pictures at Sea Harbor (kevineats). Very large sized and quite expensive, although there are a couple that may be interesting (conch, chicken, matsutake, and hairy gourd, dried scallop, bamboo pith, pork). The stock needs to be solid though for it to work, and the ingredients need to make sense (this is an area thatās a bit tough to understand unless you know also the effects of them overall, not all combinations are logical or correct). One of the absolute best double boiled soups from the original Yumās Bistro was watercress, dried duck gizzard with a chicken stock as a base but is enhanced with many other ingredientsā¦I think there were also dried scallops, red dates, chicken feet at the very least. This probably beats whatever Sea Harbor has on their menu although Iām sure with enough advanced notice SH could whip that same soup out.
Tak Kee Leeās house soup is included in the meal sets that include a drink of your choice. Itās typically just a lighter bodied soup with carrot, green turnip, chicken and/or pork neck, ginger and some salt. Itās not bistro/seafood restaurant kind of house soup, but more homey. Itās much less complex compared to yours at Hong Kong Cafe but still hits the spot.
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NYT article on Armenian flatbread. Shout out to zhengyalov hatz
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Iām convinced the food writer for NYTofLA is just trying to score as many free trips to LA as possible
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Itās not a bad idea. Get out of the cold weather in the winter on somebody else dime and eat great food. All they need to do is keep an eye on FTC for new places to write about.
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pretty sure Tejal Rao is a transplant resident of LA now.
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I shouldāve expected nothing less from the food section of the NYT
Hi @cjla & Co -
We had all this at Breraās little bro next door, Sixth + Mill, (same owners). We havenāt been in a while but the food was solid and pasta was really good and the waiter was well trained on the wine list. And not to be crass but thisā¦
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She might be my favorite reviewer covering food in LA right now
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That makes sense.
A couple odds and ends to round out 2019
Tripp Burgers
A popup mostly in West LA
Double cheeseburger on the left and single chili on the right. The chili is really nice, but if I could only choose one it would be the double cheese. You can add chopped onions, pickles, mustard, and ketchup as per your taste.
I really enjoy this thin style of burger - have been to Burgers Never Say Die, Standingās, and now Tripp among the newly opened ones. Of the three, I think I like Tripp the best - potato bun plus more crisp plus the burger is still juicy. I donāt think you can go wrong with any of them though, so I would pick the ones geographically most convenient at the time or with the shortest wait.
Btw, they do have some pork in their burgers in case you have any dietary restrictions - one customer seemed pretty annoyed that he had missed that fact and let the entire parking lot know it.
Marieās Cafe
A Vietnamese cafe in Simi Valley that serves banh mi, a chicken pate chaud, shaved snow, and boba. They also have beef stew on Wednesdayās. I donāt think itās a destination place, but a decent option if youāre in the area. I like this banh mi more than Pho So 1 (the only other place Iām aware of that sells banh mi in the area), mostly due to the bread and the fact you can order a cha lua version (in addition to many other kinds of meat, including a couple āfusionā ones). The flavors were a bit more muted (wondering if thatās catering to the local demo).
The POG boba tea was reasonably fresh, and the boba bubbles were good. Pate chaud was really nice, though only made with ground chicken. Didnāt get to try the shaved snow but got my eye on it for next time.
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Woah! I have been following them for months and I was not aware of the pork in the mix. Thanks for the heads up. It doesnāt bother me, but I do have some friends who donāt eat and I LOVE this burger. Iāve been off burgers for yearsā¦ but Tripp has revived my loveā¦ probably because of the pork addition thoā
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Last meal of the year involved an order of tamales from La Flor de YucatĆ”n. The colados and the vaporcitos were fantastic with our champagne cocktails. I donāt know how they get their masa to be so light and fluffyā¦and I love the sauce that comes with the vaporcitosā¦salty, sweet, acidicā¦with just a touch of spices and heat.
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Ohhh I need to finally get over there!