Surprise kebab pop-up at Tabula Rasa.
She gave me extra lebneh for knowing a bit about Persian cuisine.
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Found myself in Westchester again on Friday, so I had lunch at Ayara Luk and picked up some food for dinner at Al Watan.
The green curry with beef at Ayara was excellent. Not as spicy as I usually like Thai food to be, but still flavorful and filling.
My plan was originally to hit Zam Zam for some lamb pulao, but I realized they only serve it on Saturdays, and so decided to try the Friday special lamb pulao at Al Watan instead for comparison.
Despite looking similar, they actually taste very different. The Zam Zam version skews more toward cinnamon and clove, while the Al Watan version tastes strongly of fennel seed and lemon rind.
Al Watan’s pulao was well prepared but I personally prefer Zam Zam’s version. Lemon and lamb are a classic combination, but not one I love. It also didn’t help that I took a big bite of lemon rind before I realized what it was.
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Mae Tings Coconut Cakes, Weekends only at LAX-C.
Papaya Salad (crab option as well), Sticky Rice, and Grilled Pork Skewer.
The Coconut Cakes! Fresh and hot. Easily one of my favorite desserts. Much better than Bhan Kanom Bakery.
Chimney Coffee. Got a pour over with coffee from Chiang Mai. $5! But I only really have coffee once a week, so it’s worth it. Took a to-go cup and walked over to LA State Historic Park/Cornfields and enjoyed a walk/reading/meditation.
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Mako Sushi
House pickles. I have no idea what is what.
Hamachi Toro/Yellowtail Belly.
Tuna Guts. I could eat this over a bowl of rice. (Is such a thing even exists?)
Saba/Mackrel Battera/Oshisushi. Damn this was good. I ask Mako what was in the middle, “Secret”.
Abalone. “Feet” and guts. Wish there was more abalone liver! Not sure what the sauce was. I wonder if I can get abalone liver in different ways…sauce? over rice?
Chutoro/Medium Tuna Belly and Torotaku maki.
Tai Head/Snapper Head! Everything that is not bone was absolutely delicious. I got the last piece. Mako insisted I have this.
Kohada. Mako says this is one of the most traditional sushi. Hey a little history with your meal.
Squid.
Mmm beef! Didn’t ask for this but I got it and I have no idea if I was charged for it.
Mako Sushi is very traditional but also very laid back. I enjoyed talking with the chef. Why waste time and money with Sushi Nazi’s. I noticed every Japanese speaking customer orders/eats something that is not on the menu. I think to truly enjoy this place you have to know your shizz and do your homework. BTW Mako is the father of one of the Chefs at n/naka
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I need to try this, thank for the report. Was their shiso in the middle of the rice?
Shanghai Restaurant
One of our friends wanted to try some Shanghai cuisine for their birthday, but they didn’t want to drive all the way to Shanghailander so this was the next closest option. 
Tofu and Vegetable Cold Dish:
While the simply-named “Shanghai Restaurant” might not be amazing overall, they still make some dishes that are just crave-worthy and delicious, like this Tofu and Vegetable Cold Dish. The Tofu is seasoned well, as are the Pickled Vegetables and that Sesame Oil. Delicious! 
Flaming Shrimp:
Sadly, these Shrimp did not arrive to our table on fire, nor were they hot: The humorously named “Flaming Shrimp” were actually Chilled Shrimp, that were wok-fried at an earlier time and then chilled. To be fair, they were pretty tasty, nicely seasoned.
Scallion Chicken:
This was better than our last visit: Poached Chicken, Green Onions, although having less of their Soy Sauce-based Sauce might’ve made this dish much better.
Shanghai Thick Noodles - Pan-Fried:
True to its name, these were thicker Noodles, almost like Udon. They were stir-fried with some greens and Onions. Maybe a touch soft, but fine.
Yam with Gee-Tsai:
I love this dish! The “Yam” is slightly crisped, but soft, having an almost Water Chestnut type texture. It’s lightly seasoned, and the Wood Ear Mushrooms add a nice textural contrast.
Pork Knuckle (“Pork Pump”):
Still one of the most gasp-inducing dishes you can quickly order around town, Shanghai Restaurant’s version of the “Pork Pump” (as it was known on our old board (because of a typo from Mei Long Village?)), the Pork Knuckle is a massive plate of Stewed Pork Leg, slow-cooked until the meat is just tender and delicious. We like Shanghailander’s version more, but this is an OK version if you feel like braving this dish.
Sauteed Bean Seedling with Garlic:
Delicious! Like a much better tasting version of Spinach, sauteed with Garlic. Less iron-y and almost like a Swiss Chard.
Braised Eel Sauteed with Yellow Chives:
Shanghai Restaurant’s version of Braised Eel is really addictive, there’s a touch of sweetness to the savory Soy & White Pepper seasoning.
House Special Spring Rolls:
These were pretty mediocre. OK Egg Rolls, but not like the ones from Yu Garden.
Sauteed Clams with Onion and Ginger:
The Clams were overly fishy. Disappointing. 
Tofu with Brown Sauce:
The hilarious generically named “Tofu in Brown Sauce,” was actually surprisingly well-done: Silken Tofu in a “Brown Sauce” that tasted like it had been slow-cooked for hours.
Steamed Spareribs with Rice Flour:
We weren’t too thrilled about the previous version we had, but one of our friends wanted to order it. It was better than last time, with the Pork Spareribs being tender and lightly spicy.
Shanghai Restaurant is a generally OK place to try some traditional Shanghai dishes. Shanghailander is better, but much further away, and if this was on the Westside, I think we’d be thrilled to have something like this so near us. But in the context of the SGV, and better places before it, it doesn’t reach the heights of greatness, but sometimes that’s OK if you’re just in the mood for these dishes. Our friends really enjoyed the dinner, and that’s good enough for us.
Shanghai Restaurant
140 W. Valley Blvd., Suite # 211
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Tel: (626) 288-0991
L Fish Tacos
We remember reading an article on Eater about a new Ensenada-style Fish Taco specialist opening up, called L Fish Tacos. Then @ipsedixit mentioned it in passing on a post, and we finally made it out to try it.
L Fish Tacos is essentially open, but they’re cooking in front of their restaurant, while they’re still remodeling the interior. Although the interior was actually open for dining and they were prepping some food inside already.
They had a nice array of condiments for the Fish & Shrimp Tacos being offered.
Fish & Shrimp Tacos:
They serve 2 types of Fish for their Tacos, depending on what they can get in stock: Angelshark or Tilapia. For this visit, thank goodness they had Angelshark.
Fish Tacos (Angelshark):
Their Angelshark Fish Tacos had a nice crispness to the exterior batter. The Angelshark itself was pretty tender and flaky, tasting like a good “Fish Taco.” The crispness was almost on par with Ricky’s Fish Tacos, but not quite. Still it was quite good by itself.
We took their recommendation and dressed it with their Pico de Gallo and Onions & Cilantro, with their Crema de Cilantro.
It was shockingly… bland. I would agree with @ipsedixit that the Battered Fish from the Fish Tacos were better by itself, maybe served like Fish & Chips instead of in Taco form. I’m not a good cook at all, but I know the Pico de Gallo I’ve made at home tastes better than this. The Crema de Cilantro barely added anything to it as well.
Whereas for Ricky’s Fish Tacos, his array of Salsas and Crema all augment the Fish Taco in wonderful ways and any of them alone with the Fish Tacos elevate the taste.
Shrimp Tacos:
Their Shrimp Tacos looked like it was battered the same as the Fish, except they were soggy. 
Every single piece of Shrimp we ate turned out soggy. As if they didn’t… dry off the Shrimp before frying it? Or they fried it at the wrong temperature. It lacked any crispness at all.
On the positive side, they were nice and plump.
For L Fish Tacos, I’m pulling for them to improve their Salsas and Cremas (and their Tortillas). With those improvements, I think they’d have a very good Fish Taco worth trying, but as it is right now, I’d rather eat Ricky’s Fish Tacos.
(CASH ONLY)
L Fish Tacos
3205 E. 4th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90063
Tel: (323) 412-6586
Birrieria Nochistlan Zacatecas
Across the street from L Fish Tacos, we saw the intriguing sign for a Birrieria, so we decided to stop by and try it.
It turns out this is the new incarnation of Flor Del Rio, which apparently was famous for its Birria years ago. They moved to this current location and renamed it Birrieria Nochistlan Zacatecas.
Per its name, there is no menu and they literally serve 1 dish:
Birria de Chivo, Zacatecas style:
Taking a sip, it is gamey, funky and a touch salty, but a pretty tasty Goat Birria, one of the better ones we’ve tried recently.
Make sure to add some of their condiments:
And their Handmade Tortillas:
And you end up with some delicious Goat Tacos. You could request specific parts of the Goat if you wanted. We ordered:
Costilla Birria Taco - Roasted Goat Ribs Taco:
We really liked their Chile de Arbol Salsa as well, which was extremely spicy, it had an incendiary heat that hit your mouth immediately! 
The actual Roasted Goat Rib meat was tender, but also had some of the silver skin (but cooked down to a tender consistency).
Maciza Birria Taco - Roasted Goat Shoulder / Leg Meat Taco:
This was slightly leaner, but still quite tasty, heavy spiced and tasting like it was long-roasted.
Overall, Birrieria Nochistlan Zacatecas was a tasty local spot to try Birria de Chivo (Roasted Goat) if you were in the neighborhood. It was nuanced and pretty tasty, but a touch on the salty side for my tastes (but just a touch). I think my favorite version is still at Barbacoa de Borrego y Birria Estilo Guerrero, but this was solid version.
(CASH ONLY)
Birrieria Nochistlan Zacatecas
3201 E. 4th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90063
Tel: (323) 268-0319
Sidecar Doughnuts (Santa Monica)
We were finished for the day, but just when I thought we were going to relax, our friend insisted we make a quick stop at Sidecar Doughnuts on the way back…
I remember first hearing about Sidecar a while back, when @Porthos or was it @OCSteve @A5KOBE(?) had been raving about Sidecar in Costa Mesa. When they finally opened up in Santa Monica (so close!), I was at first really eager to try it, but then I remember reading reports from @bulavinaka and others, complaining that Sidecar wasn’t always great (too oily?), so I’ve been avoiding Sidecar ever since.
Well we finally went, and settled on…
Buttermilk Old Fashioned Donut (Nutmeg & Cinnamon Cake, Vanilla Bean Glaze):
This was a new batch just out of the fryer and finished up. So it was piping hot, and really fresh. That automatically increased its attractiveness by double, 
because freshly fried sugary dough… how can you hate that?
It tasted pretty amazing (note I only ate 1/3 of the Donut), it was sweet, but freshly fried and just balanced, with the Cinnamon and Nutmeg coming through.
Huckleberry Donut (Huckleberry Cake, Huckleberry Glaze):
Our server said this was their most famous Donut, and it had a really distinct, tart-sweet Berry flavor. It was pretty unique compared to standard Donuts you might expect. We liked it.
Butter & Salt Donut (Brown Butter & Vanilla Bean Cake, Brown Butter Glaze, Fleur de Sel):
This was pretty tasty as well, but a touch oily. I could see why some of our FTC’ers complained about Sidecar’s oiliness.
Caveat: I don’t eat Donuts, so I’m not really an expert for this sort of thing. I also only ate 1/3 of each Donut, so it might’ve been way too much (and I might’ve noticed more oiliness) if I had to eat the entire Donut for each flavor. So your mileage may vary.
I’m glad I tried Sidecar, and they seemed to have some interesting flavors. Compared to my first visit to Blue Star, I think I like Sidecar more, but I’ll leave it up to the Donut Expert FTC’ers to hash it out.
Sidecar Doughnuts
631 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica, CA 90401
Tel: (310) 587-0022
6 Likes
My long-gone favorite Shanghai place in Albany, CA called that dish “honey ham hog.”
Looking back I believe it was. I can’t wait to try the battera at Osawa and Morinoya!
Can’t believe I’ve gone so long without having this style of sushi. It’s oily, pickled, hint of sweet, savory, fresh, vinegary all rolled in one.
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Another not-donut person, I thought I was the only one! Sidecar is the only place I’ve ever eaten almost an entire donut. But I wait for a rack of donuts to come out, then order a plain cake, because I’m that annoying customer. 
Although the staff is always nice! Maybe a bit befuddled, but nice.
I drop by here with donut people, or to pick up a box for friends, and everyone is surprised at how very good the donuts are. I’ve never noticed an issue with oiliness.
The coffee is good, and they make an excellent Vietnamese iced coffee
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I actually like Sidecar - very well executed. It was Blue Star that had donuts soaked with oil. Sorry if I mixed up the two.
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Sidecar Donuts is as consistent as Popeyes Biscuits and Chicken
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This one’s my favorite by a long shot. If you ever take one to go, try refrigerating it before you eat. I know it seems counterintuitive – who wants a cold donut? – but there’s something magical about the little cold bursts of berry. I also think cake of all kinds tastes better cold but I’m weird that way.
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Agreed. I was excited when Blue Star opened in my neighborhood, but probably half the donuts I tried there were unpleasantly oily and I haven’t been back in ages. (And I’m curious to see how long the Abbot Kinney location lasts as it never seems busy, even on weekend mornings.) Otoh I love Sidecar and have to ration my visits there. @Chowseeker1999 hit my two favorites, huckleberry and butter & salt. They also had a seasonal special gingerbread donut that I will be seeking out again this December.
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This pretty much holds true for me, too. But I have not tried Blue Star, so…
The donut holes are the way to go.
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From what I’ve seen, the Abbot Kinney location seems to get a fair amount of large orders. I often see individuals carrying out multiple boxes stacked on top of each other - production assistant-types? If it weren’t for that, I think the place would’ve shuttered already.
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Only donut I’ve tried that I enjoyed at Blue Star was the lemon poppy seed. Everything else has been meh to bad. The apple fritter was particularly awful. Hard and oily – blech.
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Hi @bulavinaka,
That might’ve been me mixing it up. Good to know you like Sidecar over Blue Star. 
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