Over the weekend, I was meeting up with a few friends for dinner, and I suggested we go there. First of all, parking in front of the restaurant is very limited (about 6 spaces) and tight. I was running incredibly late and was ever so grateful that I was able to just pull right up to the front of the restaurant and park literally 7 feet from the door. Although it’s impossible to not notice the yellowness of the building, but if you missed it, let me reassure you that it’s just as yellow inside. We were immediately seated and figured out rather quickly what we wanted to order.

I find that I am very picky when it comes to pad thai. I like pad thai, but I rarely order it because most Thai restaurants can’t make it the way I like it. (I do go along with ordering it when I’m with friends if we are all sharing. It is, afterall, a favorite.) So here’s what Spice Basil did right. The flavor in general was right on. There was enough crushed peanuts and the lime juice really brought out a nice tang to each bite. There was also a good amount of chicken throughout the noodles. So what was wrong? Definitely not enough shrimp. I think there were only 3 pieces at most. While every Thai restaurant I have ever gone tend to be stingy when it comes to shrimp in the pad thai, usually there is still about 6-piece minimum. The worst offense, however, was the texture of the noodles. I understand that Pad Thai noodles are supposed to be soft, but theirs was a little too much so. For me personally, this is a huge no-no. Nevertheless, if I had to choose between the right noodle texture or the right flavor, I will choose flavor every time.

We also ordered a couple of Spice Basil’s specialty dishes, the garlic clams and the spicy fish. Some time between the cooking and plating process, some of the clams escaped from their shells. I scooped up three clams to my plate and as I eagerly picked up my fork to taste them, I found out that only one of the three on my plate had clam meat in them. This didn’t happen to any of my friends. I did eventually get to taste more of this dish. Even though I enjoyed the garlic clams, I tasted more garlic than clams. I couldn’t really tell the quality of the clams because the garlic and sauce were very strong, but I thought it was delicious. Also, it wasn’t really spicy, but there was a slight kick to it. The fish was also a very good dish. It was deep fried first, so the outside was nice and crispy while the inside was soft and moist. The pineapples went very well with the sweet and sour sauce. I did not find this dish to be spicy at all, but it was still enjoyable. As this is a whole fish, be forewarned that there are fishbones. People who are not used to eating fish that has not been deboned should proceed slowly.

While you can order steamed rice with your dinner, I recommend skipping that and going for one of their garlic rice in clay pot dishes. There are only three choices: pork ribs, beef, or shrimp. We chose beef. (We had ruled out shrimp because there was shrimp included in the pad thai, but had we known that we would only get 3 shrimps in our pad thai, maybe we would have ordered that one instead.) I was not too impressed with this one at first. Overall it was good, but I didn’t feel like there was much garlic flavor with the rice, despite the fact that I could see some minced garlic on top of the rice. As we ate more of the rice, I found the garlic flavor to be quite potent. I suspect that since I had the garlic clams right before my first bowl of the rice, the garlic taste in the rice was just more subtle in comparison. After a while, I came to really appreciate the flavor of the garlic rice with beef and was reaching for a second bowl.

I usually give exact prices for what I order, but unfortunately, I left the receipt back at the restaurant, so I don’t recall exactly how much each dish is. Roughly, the pad thai and rice were $7 each, and the fish and clams were $14 each. Thai iced tea is $1.75, and a smoothie is $2.50. Spice Basil is not the best Thai restaurant in L.A., and definitely not my favorite Thai restaurant in town. It is, however, good food at a reasonable price. You can’t miss it. It’s the yellow building.

Spice Basil
25 W. Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 282-3200
Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-midnight, Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-1 a.m.

We began our adventure with the Naraya Radish Crowns. The texture was intriguing; both crunchy and soft. The sweet, nutty flavor was a smart contrast with the crispy garlic garnish. Each crown perched on one pristine spinach leaf, and surrounded a cabbage slaw dressed with creamy chili sauce.

We devoured a second appetizer (and over ate just to give our fellow foodies a better blog report.) Golden Pouches arrived, artistically presented on circular banana leaves. The crispy wontons enveloped succulent rock shrimp and were tied together with ribbons of green onion; pure pleasure for the mouth.

One of their specialties, Duck Salad, truly lived up to its simple name. Elsewhere when I’ve ordered duck salad, there has been a miniscule portion of duck. At first glance, we were worried but then discovered a plentiful amount of smoky, peppery duck layered beneath mixed greens, which were perfectly coated with chili-lime dressing. Candied walnuts (menu reads pistachios) mingled with grape tomatoes and I enjoyed le canard (the duck) in almost every bite!

Last, we tried steamed Chilean Sea Bass. Now, maybe it was and maybe it wasn’t of true Chilean ilk, but I haven’t seen Chilean Bass for $18.00 in a long, long time. In any case, Chilean Sea Bass is really just Patagonian toothfish, but that name didn’t go over well commercially. (It’s known as Mero in Japan and Merluza Negra in South America.) The white fish was tender, but slightly undercooked and we were pulling bones. The emerald city of vegetables built around the fish however, was a delicate garden of freshness. Chinese celery, Japanese shitakes and baby bok choy were perfectly cooked with a touch of fresh ginger; simple but satisfying.

I look forward to another meal at Naraya. The menu is creative and priced fairly for the quality of food, ranging from $4-$21 for Australian Lamb Chop with Thai panang curry sauce, kaffir lime leaf, and green tea rice. The service is excellent and very personal. On my first visit, I inquired about their Pad Thai and was told they use real tamarind which is expensive and most restaurants replace it with sugar and peanut sauce. My server actually brought out some tamarind to show me. Maybe that’s why their Pad Thai a little more expensive. You get what you pay for. I love restaurants like this; Small, family run, with a focus on high quality food and friendly customer service. Naraya also offers great lunch specials.

THE BOTTOM LINE: A creative fusion of traditional Thai food and modern flavors, served in a casual, but stylish atmosphere. See my rating for Naraya on my blog, Foodflirt90210.

NARAYA

310-858-7738
1128 S. Robertson Blvd. LA, Ca 90035

Celadon is a beautiful restaurant and bar/lounge that offers a unique experience. This is definitely the kind of romantic venue you could take someone special to, though the menu is actually skewed towards shared plates, hence ideal for groups of 4-5 or more.

Adjacent to the main bar are a few lounge rooms, where anyone underestimating the kick of the various sake or soju-based and other Asian cocktails can recover on one of the comfy-looking antique daybeds.

The dining room is large and glamorous (without feeling at all stuffy) and its walls are lined with dozens of flickering crimson votive candles. Along the walls, the booths are comfortable, though a little more brightly lit than the four-top tables set within the muted dining room.

Executive Chef Danny Elmaleh apparently hand selected the many South East Asian artifacts that decorate the little alcoves and nooks of his gorgeous restaurant. This same attention to detail can be found in his distinctive cuisine, offering a selection of small plates that meld traditional Asian tastes with ingredients from Europe and the Middle East.

The main thing to note here is his tendency to serve fairly generous portions. In this era of “small plates� dining, many establishments are taking advantage of this trend to offer minuscule portions with hefty entree prices.

Not so Celadon.

Two must-try appetisers are the Tuna Tartare Lollipop(s) and the citrus Hamachi starter. A long glass platter arrives bearing five substantial-looking portions per $15 (or so) plate, which is fantastic.

[Eight-18 in Toluca Lake – I’m thinking of sending you a photo of Celadon’s plated fare. $9 for two lousy shrimp with pomegranate reduction just doesn’t cut it.]

Poised on slender bamboo skewers, the ‘lollipops’ are tasty cubes of spicy tuna tartare and rice, layered with tempura seaweed, adding a satisfyingly oily crunch.

The fresh and nicely substantial cuts of hamachi are paired with citrus salsa, minced jalapeno, ponzu gelée and citrus dust. Funnily enough, the citrus powder sent me on an (ascorbic) acid flashback; this sweet and tangy dust tasted exactly like crushed orange froot loops!! I swear!

Almost every dish arrives garnished with micro greens, pansy petals or flowers and a brush of sauce reduction. The crispy shrimp toast fingers are crammed with a layer of black and white sesame seeds.

There was a fantastic toasted pepita and microgreen salad to accompany perfectly pink and perfectly cooked plump slices of Maple leaf Roasted Duck ($18 - from memory), on a bed of pureed purple potato which nicely contains a puddle of the duck juices.

We didn’t like the Grilled Octopus dish ($16 - from memory), though. But it is important to note, this is not baby octopus (a pertinent fact that eluded us at the time), therefore these slices are well-cooked but extremely chewy and, to my mind, indigestible. Flavourful but quite rich, with pesto and paired with a rather greasy sweet potato fritter. The only ‘miss’ among so many hits.

We skipped dessert, though the choices looked promising.

One thing we have to come back for is the “Saraudon� sizzling crispy noodles and rice ($18) – spied at the next table. A large, rustic stone pot (like an oversized mortar) comes to the table then sizzles as they serve the noodles and seafood (shrimp, scallops and bok choy) in front of you. Dramatic and impressive!

We enjoyed a delightful sake, the Daishichi Kimoto Honjozo, which arrived in a gorgeous bamboo carafe ($30).

Total for two was $108.00 (before tip). Dining at Celadon is sure to put a smile on your face.

Celadon
7910 W 3rd St., just West of Fairfax
Los Angeles, CA 90048

Tel: 323-658-8028

Dinner, Tuesday – Sunday

For over a year I have driven past a nice-looking venue (at 11334 Moorpark, just east of Tujunga) where a posted sign promised “ZenChi – Coming 05.â€? Eventually the sign was changed to read “Ok….2006.â€?

Funny! At least these restaurateurs have a sense of humour.

Well at long last ZenChi Cafe has opened its doors, just making its 2006 date by the skin of its teeth.

The first thing you notice about ZenChi is the massive and serene stone Buddha statue that greets you as enter their main doorway. The decor has a decidedly Asian influence, featuring dark stained and glossy wooden tables and chairs, stylishly unadorned. A bustling open kitchen dominates the wide front room, while there is a more intimate dining room off to the left hand side. Patio dining is also available.

Chef Manuel Castro (formerly of the Parkway Grill) concentrates on Asian-fusion dishes at this full-service restaurant. The black napkins indicate they have their eye on the business lunch crowd. Indeed, the lunch menu is well chosen for swift one-hour dining, while the dinner menu seems a bit more leisurely.

The starters range from $8 to $12, with offerings such as Thai pork spare ribs ($8), sesame kobe beef satay sticks with asian slaw – very tender and delicious – ($9) and sufficiently meaty blue crab cakes with citrus aioli ($12). At lunchtime you can partake of the ZenChi Sampler and get a little taste of vegetable dumplings, baby crab cakes and crunchy calamari.

On the lunch menu, the $10-11.00 sandwiches and burgers come with a choice of fries, curry sweet potato fries or asian slaw, and while the curry sweet potato fries were shoestring thin and delicious, but there was no discernable curry present. The usual suspects are here; albacore tuna burger, bbq pork rib sandwich, turkey burger with avocado and caramelized onions.

The salads are substantial and tasty, arriving as a mountain of multicolored greens and vegetables on a square white plate. I especially liked the insalata misto (mixed green salad) which at lunchtime ($7.95) came with powerful nuggets of blue cheese, little cubes of tomato, sliced shiitake mushrooms and water chestnuts that add a satisfying crunch. The so-called “shaved� red onions in the salad were actually sliced, and a bit too pungent for my liking. I’d remembered how much I’d liked the raspberry vinaigrette during a previous dinner visit and the kitchen very obligingly substituted it for their usual balsamic vinaigrette, so I was all smiles. You can also get chinese chicken or shrimp salad ($11.95 and $13.95, respectively), classic caesar with rosemary croutons and wild salmon, seafood or wood-fired sirloin salads.

The only sticker shock was experienced at dinner, when my foodie companion opted for the Thai-glazed Lamb Chops entree with rosemary pesto and mashed potatoes. These were very good, but seriously priced at $25.00.

From their full bar they feature martinis and cocktails made with Korean Soju as well as mojitos and margaritas ($8.50). There are typical martinis such as apple, lemon drop and even a few daring ones such as lychee and pomegranate.

A crisp Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio was reasonably priced at $8 while the mellow St Jean Pinot Noir was $9.00. In fact, none of the wines by the glass cost more than $10 and – best of all – all come in a voluminous wine glass with a generous pour. For bottled wines, the prices are as conservative (we’re talking Ralph’s-level boring) as the selection.

I hardly ever notice service, whether it’s bad or good. I sometimes get annoyed if the check seems to take forever to arrive. That’s because when I’ve decided it’s time to leave, I don’t like to mess around. But this wasn’t the case with ZenChi. Above all, the service was really attentive without being intrusive.

At ZenChi they offer valet parking, but unless you’re teetering in stiletto heels, you should be able to find a parking place on the local streets nearby.

Bottom line – while ZenChi is a welcome addition of decent yet not exciting cuisine to my ’hood, its low-key ambience left me craving more of a vibey scene.

ZenChi Cafe
11334 Moorpark St.
(Tujunga Ave.)
North Hollywood, CA
818-760-3890

Open Tues – Sun, 11.30am–9pm

Funny, a fly just landed on my computer screen - right on top of the Red Corner Asia food photos. Does this place have flies? Or is it super hungry? haha.

Anyway, we perused the nicely layed-out menus and knew exactly what to order. I noticed that there were some pseudo-Thai dishes like Tempura, Kung Pao Pasta and Bangkok Calamari which we steered away from. It’s a possible sign that RCA caters to the majority and offers watered-down Thai food. But you should try it for yourself. Here’s what we had:

We started out with Angel Wings, which were stuffed with ground pork, vermicelli and veggies. Although they only give you two pieces, you can seriously make a meal out of this because they are gigantic. Talk about force-feeding a chicken to buff up their muscle mass. The chicken was crisp and fried beautifully and the pork mixture was flavorful. This comes with sweet n’ sour sauce, but I prefer to use fish sauce. This can easily work as an appetizer for 4 people. $6.95

Next came the Fish Cake On Sticks. These consisted of fish paste, red curry paste, fish sauce and green beans impaled on a piece of lemongrass. Again, it was served with sweet n’ sour sauce. I liked this dish a lot but prefer the version I make at home. It wasn’t spicy enough. J didn’t care much for this dish because of the chewy texture. $6.95 for 5-6 pieces.

Pad Kee Mow is a favorite of mine. Basically it’s chinese Beef Chow Fun but with chile, basil and garlic. The beef was a bit burnt from the wok cooking but still had taste. Overall, this had nice flavor but definitely wasn’t the best I’ve eaten. Try it out though. This dish convinced J that there are better tasting noodles in addition to her favorite, Pad See Eew. $5.95

Now for the dish I yearn for in any Thai restaurant. This is basically like Thai pho, only with beef, liver, tripe, beef balls in a hearty brown soup. You can’t find this on the menu, so just ask the waitress for it. Compared to Yai’s Thai Boat Noodles, this is lighter in the beef flavor and more watery. I appreciate the amount of veggies they give you but is still somewhat bland. For Thai Boat Noodles, give Yai’s and Sapp Coffee Shops a shot. $5.95

I’ve only eaten at 5 places in Thaitown, and Yai, so far, has been reigning. I’ll be reviewing Sapp, Palms, Ruen Pair, Ord and Sanamluang soon. I have yet to try the dishes Jonathan Gold has recommended, but as of now, I won’t be back to RCA for a while.Thanks for reading.

Red Corner Asia
5267 Hollywood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 466-6RCA
www.redcornerasia.com

Yai Thai Cuisine is tucked in a 3-store strip mall just east of the 101 freeway. As stated by many other patrons, it’s really not a place to absorb the interior. You walk in, eat, pay and walk out… a standard customer-and-asian-restaurant transition. I walked in and immediately found my table. The walls surrounding me were adorned with photos of Thai food and two fans oscillated in the center of the restaurant. Fish-tank wallpaper of tropical fish was posted near the bathroom door. I admire the attempt of creating a Chinese-like restaurant ambiance… where the fishtank is ubiquitously placed by the front entrance.

The waitress swung by and we placed our orders. We already knew what we’re having: Thai Boat noodles, Roasted Duck Noodles and a spicy-tangy papaya salad. For any future reviews of Thai noodles, these will be the benchmark for my restaurant reviews. Anything else I order is simply because my eyes are larger than my stomach.

Overall, Yai served up some great food and I’ll be back for more.

Yai Thai Cuisine
5757 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 462-0292

It’s taken a lot longer than I thought it would, to test and photograph about 20 recipes from my sisters, my Mum, her brother (Uncle Ray) and a couple of my cousins.

The sensational recipes I have obtained will include:

Prawn Risotto, Beef Rendang, Crab Cakes, Relish, Chicken Soup, Fish Pie as well as salads and various cakes.

I’ll be posting in full detail soon, but here’s an idea of the cover page:

It’s not the variety or anything, it’s the pronunciation. I know that waitstaff don’t expect perfect pronunciation from their diners, but I like to make sure they understand me. (And I understand them.) And I certainly don’t want to insult anyone.

I saw a link to this today: the Talking Menu.

Pick a category of dishes (soup, salad, noodles, etc.) and you can hear a woman say that phrase. And there are a lot of them on the list, lots more than I’ve seen at the few Thai places I visit (mostly Rambutan and Leela).

I wish this was in my neighborhood, I’d go there all the time. It’s a good, simple Thai place, in an unlikely, and very central location.

Thai Patio
6332 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-525-0460

As some of my fellow LAfoodbloggers are already aware, I am compiling a family cookbook of treasured favourite recipes. I intend to post about it upon completion, which hopefully will be by the end of this month. 

In the meantime, I have to share this incredible recipe from my younger sister Justine. In fact, it was my silent craving for its secrets that gave me the impetus to put this cookbook together.

A quick note on rendang curry. This traditional Malaysian curry is similar to Thai curries, but has its own characteristics. The various spices found in the pre-packaged paste include: Coriander Seed, Onion, Cumin Seed, Garlic, Fennel Seed, Ginger, Chilli, Galangal, Turmeric, Cinnamon Quills, Cloves, Black Pepper, Green Cardamom and Lemon Myrtle.

Also, as someone who is a wimp when it comes to fiery foods – I never go near peppers of ANY kind – I find this dish complex and tasty without the unpleasant tongue-burning heat. By the way, if you want to sample it first, Singapore’s Banana Leaf at the Third/Fairfax Farmer’s Market does a really authentic, ‘dry’ one.

But I have to boast; this recipe is even better!

Background:

Writes Jussie – “Rendang is made either ‘wet’ or ‘dry’. I bring you a wet version, taught to me by a Chinese-Malay lady, Sania, on Christmas Island when I went over there to have a look at a murder in 1998. [ed – Justine is a Forensic evidence investigator with the Australian Federal Police Force]. Sania made it for me using mutton, which I would not recommend as so many better cuts of meat are generally available to us.

This curry has remained a favourite of mine ever since, delighting my guests in Australia, Kosovo, Netherlands, East Timor and Cyprus, to name a few places.

I recommend making this curry with either lamb or beef, because chicken just doesn’t withstand the strength of the flavour.�

This actually is quite a simple recipe to prepare. The biggest challenge, in fact, was locating the authentic ingredients, namely the kaffir lime leaves, fresh lemon grass and rendang curry paste. These sorts of things can be found in practically any Australian (city) supermarket *sigh*

So, a quick SOS to the chowhounds gained some incredibly detailed and useful responses. (see below)

All three of those main ingredients were obtained at the Bangluck Market (locations listed below)

 

 

Ingredients:

sesame oil, about a tablespoon
peanut oil, two or three tablespoons
decent dollop of crushed garlic (let’s say, minimum of a golf ball size) [ed – which is probably almost a whole head of garlic cloves]
1 lb lamb or beef, cubed [ed – fillet is fantastic, but tougher cuts of meats will work well for this dish]
½ a small (6oz) can [i.e. 3oz] of unflavoured/unsalted tomato paste
INDOFOOD Rendang Curry Paste – one 2oz sachet or, if you are using a jar, about two tablespoons (Well, any brand of this curry paste will do, but indofood is purportedly the best)
14 oz can coconut cream
2 x decent sized fresh lemon grass stems, don’t cut off the ends, but bruise (split) the bulbs. And they have to be fresh. You don’t need the tops. If they are tiny, use more than two.
Kaffir lime leaves about 12 (minimum 6). Again, these should be fresh, but you can sometimes buy freeze dried ones at the Asian grocer where you got your paste from.

TIP: There is no substitute for the kaffir lime leaves nor lemon grass flavours, and it just isn’t a Rendang without them.

Optional / highly recommended ingredients:

Additional fresh red chillies to bump up the spice volume [ed – not at all necessary, IMHO]
Button mushrooms, quartered
Red bell peppers, thinly sliced into sticks [ed – for ease of removal from my bowl!]

Method:

Heat your oils in heavy based pan on high until loose. Add garlic and immediately move it about for about 30 seconds so it doesn’t burn. Remove garlic and set aside. Brown the cubed meat (keep it moving about).

Turn heat down to simmer then add the tomato and curry pastes. Mix it really well and, when the temperature is down, add the coconut cream. Mix all that together.
By now there should be a light ripple on the surface of the simmering contents, and it should be relatively more liquid than chunky. It should be a reddish-brown colour.

Add the lemon grass and the kaffir and poke them down so they are under the surface of the liquid. You do not need to split the leaves, as the flavour will emerge naturally. [ed -- Thai chefs insist you tear, not cut, the leaves to release their flavour.]
Let it simmer and after 10 mins or so, have a taste and decide if there is enough after-burn or if you need more chillies. Add more to taste.
Note: if you go a bit overboard, you can cool it down by adding a bit more coconut cream, but not a whole can, unless it’s a smaller one.

It’s best to let it bubble and toil for a minimum of 40 mins. Even with a good cut of meat, you really need to simmer for about two hours. You can partially cover with a lid to cut down on splatter mess, but be sure to lower the heat and keep it at a very slow simmer.

About 10 mins before you serve it, add the bell peppers and mushrooms so that they don’t go completely soggy. And the pièce de résistance is if you serve it with warmed authentic roti or naan. Shown served with steamed brown rice.

JUSSIE’S TIP: Don’t eat the foliage!

 

Hope you enjoy this incredible curry!

max

p.s. Chowhound’s advice –

rabo encendido recommended the –
BANGLUCK MARKET, 5170 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA, 90027 (323) 660-8000.
Located next to Sanamluang in Thai Town. He warned that parking is a bit of a nightmare.

das ubergeek advised me that – Bangluck has a branch on Sherman Way just west of Coldwater Canyon, as well (with a Sanamluang Cafe and similar horrendous parking)
12980 Sherman Way North Hollywood, CA 91605.

– This is where I found all three ingredients –

hailyn cautioned that –
You should be aware that many of the Asian supermarkets have an Indonesian/Malaysian section that is completely separate from the general sauces section, where you’d find the Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce, the tianmianjiang, and the Mae Ploy curry pastes that other people have mentioned. The Indo/Malaysian section will usually have candlenuts, belacan (the stinky shrimp paste), shrimp chips, and various Indonesian and Malaysian spice mixes. I imagine the rendang paste might be found there.

– She was right! –