ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
It takes only one sip to judge soup broth. Any more, then it hasn't made a good enough impression. It took me a single one to become wowed. My friend who sat across from me and who ordered the same hủ tiếu hoặc mì dặc biệt at Green Leaf Bellevue Vietnamese Restaurant had the same sentiment. The broth was that good. Green Leaf... Continue Reading →
If you know anything about Peruvian cuisine, you'll know that guinea pig (called cuy; pronounced coo-ey) is considered a delicacy. Peruvians don't eat it regularly, but consider it a rare treat. My wife and I saw it on many restaurant menus and we knew that no culinary adventure in Peru would be complete without feasting on one. It's remarkable... Continue Reading →
I've been seeing pollo a la brasa on many menus during my travels in Peru. The problem was that these restaurants did not have rotisseries. The chicken would be adaptations for the oven and would most certainly not have the wood-roasted flavor that has become one of the dish's hallmarks. Its preparation is most famous in Lima, but... Continue Reading →
After the superb paella at Tarsan i Jane recently, I was bowled over by another world-class rice dish, this one originating from Hyderabad in India. The city is known for its special kind of biryani. Dum biryani involves a painstaking process of layering basmati rice and meat (usually goat or chicken) that has been marinated in a complex blend of... Continue Reading →
When I lived in Los Angeles more years ago than I care to count, I had paella for the first time at a Spanish restaurant in West Hollywood called La Masia (now long gone). I had it there maybe three times. My great fondness for it could very well have been embellished by the passage of time. It was... Continue Reading →
From the outside, you would never guess what the inside is like. Curtains are perpetually drawn over windows on the storefront that's half sheathed in plywood, half in brick, milk chocolate in color. There is likewise no indication that a restaurant occupies the space, let alone a Thai one. A small sign written in Thai and two elephant statues on the... Continue Reading →
I think it's fair to say that the ramen craze in the Seattle area started not in Seattle, but on the Eastside, on the other side of Lake Washington. Sure, there were several restaurants that served ramen before Kukai (now Kizuki) opened its doors in Bellevue, preceding the arrival of Jinya and Santouka within months of each other,... Continue Reading →
It was a year ago almost to the day that my wife declared the fish and chips served by Nosh as the best ever she's had in the States. When I sampled the fish, I couldn't have agreed more. The thing is, Nosh is a food truck and the venue was the Crossroads Food Truck Snackdown. Since... Continue Reading →
Nestled against the hills of Lincoln Heights, my wife's old stomping grounds, is Mom's Tamales, considered one of the best tamalerias in Los Angeles. Recipe handed down from grandmother, to mother and and now to current owner, the tamales are so popular that any of the six on the menu may be unavailable at any time because customers may have... Continue Reading →
One of the best—if not the best—reasons for eating in Los Angeles' sizable Koreatown is the opportunity to taste specialties not on standard Korean menus. For instance, take kalgooksoo (or kalguksu), a noodle soup similar to Japanese udon with its thick wheat-based noodles in a rich broth. Hangari Bajirak Kalgooksoo specializes in it, so highly regarded that a wait... Continue Reading →
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