Fusion Fail.

     I know it seems as though a lot of the food I eat is just scrumptiously delicious. The truth is, well it usually is but I think it's also important to acknowledge on my blog when things FAIL. Well, technically the high-end restaurant failed. This is Rock Sugar located in Santa Monica. They call themselves an amazing Pan-Asian dining experience that incorporates the best of Chinese, Malaysian, Singaporean, Japanese, Vietnamese, etc. delights. Well Rock Sugar-you can suck it  because you seriously suck.

Here's some of the sauces they brought out as our appetizer to go along with our rice cakes. 

Oh look, rice cakes? You mean the things you get in a bag for $2 at Vietnamese markets? My grandma makes it better than this. Sigh...

Crispy Chicken Samosas

They gave this a really exotic name- imperial rolls  but when it came out turns out it was just cha gio aka Vietnamese eggrolls less deliciously made by white people. Where's a Pho999 when you need it?

Dungeness Crab with Cellophane Noodles apparently meant dry noodles stuck together sprinkled with a touch of crab here and there. 

Here was their famous princess chicken. Oh gosh. It was good I guess but seriously they can do way better in San Gabriel for $5? This dish was $14!

For the record this  banana custard cake was what saved the meal. This was amazing!!! Wow so good!

Overall though I won't be back. The decor was really nice. They had buddhas all over the restaurant. For those familiar with Vegas, it's like the restaurant version of the TAO club there. This place just didn't do it for me. It's for those typical Westerners who want to try "exotic" foods and go to a place to be transported to an "Asian" country. This is as Asian as Panda Express. Do yourself and your wallet a favor and hit up San Gabriel and thank me later.

Happy Eatings. 

Chiu Chow/Teochew Goodness. A Hong Kong Post

I'm dying in grad school right now so I haven't been updating as regularly as I should. There's still quite a lot of Hong Kong posts I haven't gotten around to yet so I'll be alternating between places in L.A. and HK. Today's post: Chiu Chow food.

I love Hong Kong street markets. I just like randomly going into new places that I've never been to based on how dirty the places looks like and trying the food. FYI, my scale of yummy, deliciousness puts dirty places at the top of my list. This was my mini Chiu chow lunch I had with the mother.

 Let me just say how amazing this dish was. I'm drooling just thinking about it. I'm glad my sister wasn't here for this because she would think it's gross. This is the awesome Chiu Chow marinate. Chiu Chowers (lol) are known for their 老水tofu and duck. This did not disappoint. The tofu melted in your mouth and was piled under all these oranges of goodness. Yes that's intestine and kidney! The best part was topping it all off with their amazing vinegar. Sure, the meal makes you thirsty as hell when you are done but you won't regret it! 

  And meat balls. Yes, a chiu chow specialty. Yum, yum, yum. But nothing close to the tofu and intestines. 

Fear not, there are decent Chiu Chow places in L.A. too but man, that sauce was amazing. 

Happy Eatings!

The Pho Real Challenge

(holding up their white flags to surrender to the mighty Pho god) 

Oh food challenges. How I love them. This time though I was smart enough to sit out. Some brilliant friends of mine decided it would be a good idea to take the Pho Real Challenge at Bamboo Cafe in Simi Valley. The bowl was enough to scare me away considering it was bigger than my head. I could have bathed my whole body in it.


Point number 2 why I would never do this challenge is what it was. Pho is something that cannot be eaten when its cold or when it has been sitting for a long time. Pho makes you thirsty. The rice noodles also absorb a lot of soup and make you more full each additional second you spend not eating it. The friendly MSG also inside makes you thirsty so that you are drinking more water to make the noodles already in your stomach expand even more.


Basically it's a fail, fail situation. But of course someone has to do it right?  We chose 4 lovely guys to try the contest. They were eating the whole hour they were allowed and never stopped. It looked completely gross. In fact, they vowed never to touch pho again for a very, very long time after what they went through.


Of the 4 that tried it, we actually did have a winner! It was amazing. He got a T-shirt to show that her conquered the challenge, his bowl of pho for free, and of course most importantly, his picture on the wall. But don't worry there's also a wall for all the losers who were not able to complete the challenge. And best of all-I got a short video to show how it all went down!



 Bamboo Cafe is located at 2792 Cochran St Simi Valley , CA 93065. Just remember, if you don't finish that bowl is going to cost you $22 and your dignity if you don't finish! 2 pounds of beef and 2 pounds of noodles!


Happy Eatings!

Sneak Peek Of My Next Post

'Nuff said. The picture says it all. Pho Real Challenge. Stick around for my next post!

Happy Eatings!

Food Trucks For Dogs

By now, I'm sure you all have figured out that I'm no longer in Asia. Actually, I'm just behind on my posts. So I figured now that I finished my posts on Singapore, I would now go back and forth between L.A. posts and other posts I haven't had time to finish yet.

Click here for the full article.
Happy Eatings!

Last Singapore Post!

Unfortunately, our trip in Singapore was coming to an end. We opted to spend out last few hours at Isethan at their food court. Food courts are THE place to go in Singapore. It's quite awesome. 

Fried Chicken Wings. They were just sitting in a machine going round and round. I knew I had to get some! Instead of lemon, they gave us calamasi instead.

Mee Siam. Yummy. Pho what? This way way better!

My mother's family favorite-bok bia aka what I call them "Fujianese tortillas. "

Radish cakes. Yum. This wasn't the kind you find at dim sum places though. In Singapore you pick your sauce white or black. Personally we like the spiciest of the black!

Here we got another order of the Rojak, Malaysian goodness. It was good but unfortunately not as good as the one we had the day before at the Old Airport. 

You'd think I'd be sick of shaved ice by now. Nope....

More soursop juice! At this point, I decided that this was my new favorite fruit. I had to pack in as much as I could before I left.

More dessert please! 

Thank you Singapore. I love you. Please let me come back soon. 

Happy Eatings!