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Latest Adventures

California Noodle and Grill

Comments (0) | Saturday, October 12, 2013

A sudden hunger attack prompted a Vietnamese food craving tonight, so Boogs came to my rescue. He went to California Noodle and Grill, located in the Chino Spectrum shopping plaza. 


All I really wanted was a pork banh mi sandwich, but he upped the ante by also bringing me cha gio, Vietnamese fried egg rolls. 

The banh mi was delicious, stuffed with charbroiled, marinated pork and filled with julienned carrots and cucumbers. It was enough to satisfy any hunger for sure, and for $3.95 a sandwich, it was definitely worth every penny. The egg rolls were still crispy when they got home, and were quite savory when dipped in the sweet sauce that accompanied them. 




Overall, a satisfying late dinner/early midnight snack. 


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President Thai

Comments (0) | Monday, September 23, 2013

We wanted to satisfy a Thai food craving, so it was off to something new, something adventurous (really, something new). So it was off to President Thai, located in the Diamond Plaza of bustling Rowland Heights.

 Pad Seew: flat rice noodles served with chicken, egg and veggies. 

 Beef Satay: Boogs' staple Thai food order. Marinated beef skewers served with peanut sauce. 

 Panang Chicken Curry: Tender chicken stewed and simmered in a Thai curry sauce (for lack of a better description). Not bad, but I've had better.

 Tom Kha Kai: My favorite Thai soup, it contains chicken, shrimp, straw mushrooms, lemongrass, kaffir lime, and coconut milk. Probably my favorite part of the meal.

 
 Our little food adventure was somewhat of a disappointment, given we weren't totally impressed with the food at President Thai. Would I recommend it? Meh.






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Carmela Ice Cream

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Last Christmas, we visited Carmela Ice Cream in Pasadena. It is an artisan creamery that specializes in making seasonal ice creams, using fresh and seasonal ingredients, as well as organic dairy products. The result is an elevated ice cream experience because fresh and seasonal really does taste better.


 Menu board that includes their signature flavors such as Salted Caramel, as well as seasonal flavors like Cardamom and the Cranberry Orange Thyme Sorbet. 

In case you ever wondered what a half-eaten bowl of ice cream looks like at night, while standing under some drizzling rain. This was a scoop of Salted Caramel and the Candied Pecan ice creams. Both were outstanding, although I prefer the Salted Caramel. It isn't their signature flavor for nothing. 

Carmela Ice Cream Artisan Creamery
2495 E Washington Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91104


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Seoul Sausage

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A friend and fellow foodie was kind enough to take us to Seoul Sausage, located in West LA (and if you know me, I hardly venture into that part of town). I'm always down for good food; seeing it on TV makes me crave it more. The Seoul Sausage boys were the rightful winners of Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race" (Season 3), and so I was doubly excited to go check out the food.

Sorry for the poor pics...I really tried to take good pictures of the food, but was overcome by hunger, thus rushing the process. Yeah, that's it.

 Galbi Poutine: French fries topped with braised short ribs, cheese, pickled onion and avocado lime crema. Super good, but eat this while it's hot. Colder temps will affect your enjoyment. 

 Da KFC: Korean Fried Chicken served glazed with a sweet and spicy sauce, with pickled daikon radish and a gianormous piece of cornbread. Loved the cornbread, but not a fan of the glaze. I bet the fried chicken served dry would be outstanding.

 Rice Balls: One is the Flaming Ball, a cheesy, kimchi fried rice ball served with what's called DMZ (an aioli made with sriracha, garlic, kimchi and jalapeno). The other is a Lil Osaka Ball, whose name pays homage to the community. It is a Japanese curry rice ball that contains beef and potatoes, and served with a ginger and sriracha mayo. Final verdict: Must.Consume.More.Than.One.Of.Each. Yes, they're that good - and this probably isn't the time to share.

 Galbi/Beef Sausage: Korean BBQ beef sausage served on a toasted roll and served with garlic jalapeno aioli and kimchi relish. So unique. So good. 

Spicy Pork Sausage: Korean BBQ pork sausage served with apple cabbage cole slaw. Equally good. 

Simply said, you must try Seoul Sausage at least once. I plan on going back, as soon as I can get over the agony of driving to the Westside. It is definitely worth the hassle of LA traffic. 

Seoul Sausage
11313 Mississippi Avenue
Los Angeles, California


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Gyu-Kaku

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For my birthday, we decided to go to Gyu-Kaku in Rancho Cucamonga. Having never tried it, the novelty of cooking your own Japanese style BBQ appealed to me. Overall, it was a good choice, albeit slightly overpriced. So my advice is to only go when their Happy Hour menu is in effect. I promise, you (and your wallet) will be better for it.

We ordered the Happy Hour course for 2 people ($39.95), which includes:

  • Gyu-Kaku salad (fancier name for their version of House Salad)
  • Miso soup for two
  • California Roll
  • Fried Calamari
  • Sukiyaki Bibimbap
  • Bistro Hangar Steak Miso
  • New York Steak Miso
  • Kalbi Chuck Garlic
  • Chicken Tenders
  • Toro Beef Tare
  • Yaki Shabu Miso
  • Spinach Garlic

 Fried Calamari - average, run of the mill fried squid. 

 We also ordered some Fried Tofu, which was tasty, but nothing extraordinary. 

 California Roll - also tasty, but nothing to write home about. 

 Chicken Karaage - quite good; enjoyed by both adults and children. 

 Garlic shrimp and spinach with garlic up in our grill. 

Assorted meats waiting to be cooked, then devoured.

Gyu-Kaku, Rancho Cucamonga
7893 Monet Ave.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91739


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