Luc Dinh Ky - Westminster, CA

Spicy Duck Egg Noodles.

Beef Stew Egg Noodles.

Luc Dinh Ky Restaurant Tap 2
9600 Bolsa Ave
Westminster, CA 92683

Soon Dubu After Vegas

Extra Spicy Kimchi Beef

Eat the fish heads.

She scooped the whole thing!

Myung-Ga Tofu House
16511 S. Pioneer Blvd. Suite 101
Norwalk, CA 90650

Cheers!

Double fisting.

Abbott and Costello.

Her first White Russian. And previously, her first Cranberry Vodka.

O'Malley's

140 Main St.

Seal Beach, CA 90740

Late Nite Happy Hour

Beer and Burgers.

Every plate comes with fries, so don't order more than two items. Also, those Mahi Mahi sliders were a mistake - fish should be fresh.

McCormick & Schmick's
321 Katella Ave.
Anaheim, CA 92802

This guy...

The Crabby Girl

I sold this sketch to one of the guys at Upper Playground. I'm glad that people gave me positive feedback for it on Facebook, because it's rare for me to draw something so explicit in content.

Congregation Ale House

To William and Kate - God bless you!

In celebration of the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, my friends and I traveled to the Congregation Ale House because there weren't any specifically British pubs near Long Beach. While the Congregation features a delicious menu and fine selection of unique beers, it is most known for its theme decor revolving around the old Catholic Church. Patrons are encouraged to drink the "holy water", tithe (tip), and attend mass (happy hour). Plus, the waitresses were dressed as Catholic school girls. Oh my!

It wasn't mass hour. But this place was packed!

Pepperoni and sausage on flatbread.

Lovebirds.

English beers chuff me to bits.

Congregation Ale House
201 E. Broadway Ave.
Long Beach, CA 90802

Santouka Ramen

The lines are still there.

Forgot to itadakimasu. Too hungry.

While Mitsuwa's food court has been dying a slow death over the past couple of years, Santouka continues to hold the fort down. Many customers say the ramen quality is declining here. But I really hope Santouka doesn't go out of business. Very few places offer ramen and natto.

Santouka Ramen
665 Paularino Ave.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Eva's Soul Food

Never mind the smothered chicken; I could eat collared greens and cornbread all day...

Eva's Soul Food
2450 Carson St.
Lakewood, CA 90712

Half & Half Tea House

Koreans expect their sweet potato fries to be sweet, not savory. Get it right...

No one goes to Half & Half for the food. They go for the brain-freeze.

Half & Half Tea House
120 N. San Gabriel Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91775

ART FOR JAPAN Fundraiser

Last night, I finished my art submission for the Art For Japan Fundraiser at Gallery Nucleus. Auction starts April 20th and ends April 25th. All donated artwork will be exhibited exclusively online. 100% of the proceeds will go towards Give2Asia's Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Fund. For more information about the fundraiser, click here.

Fried Seafood at California Fish Grill

High quality seafood should never be fried. But that doesn't mean fried seafood isn't good.

Last weekend, I felt like eating a textured meal. So I ordered the fish and scallop fryer combo at California Fish Grill. In terms of flavor, I found them to be essentially tasteless without the tartar and cocktail sauce. And I wished the batter had been seasoned with a secret blend of herbs and spices like KFC's original recipe. But I did enjoy the flakiness of the fish and the soft-yet-chewy texture of the scallops. Not bad for $9.

Let it be known that California Fish Grill offers much more than just fried food. Next time, I'm getting the charbroiled fish, shrimp tacos, and clam chowder.

California Fish Grill
10569 Valley View St.
Cypress, CA 90630

Valhalla Table: Gourmet Sausages

Wild Boar Balinese & Belgian Fries.

I am king.

I don't care much for Pink's Hot Dogs. The novelty of waiting in-line for a bologna hot dog all the way in Los Angeles has gone.

I do, however, enjoy gourmet finger foods. When my friend referred me to Valhalla Table in Costa Mesa, I thought I'd come out of beer retirement for the full experience.

Valhalla Table boasts a unique assortment of gourmet sausages such as Spicy Cajun Andouillle, Chimichurri Lamb & Feta, and Wild Boar Balinese. You can also grab a burger or customize a salad, but sadly, you'd be missing the point of coming here.

Valhalla Table
2981 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

AYCE Sushi in Stanton

I forget what the hell this was called. Let's just say fucking flamboyant.

Ever since I went to San Francisco, I've avoided most sushi joints, knowing that quality fish won't be found. However, at my friend's insistence, I begrudgingly had AYCE sushi in Stanton. As I predicted, I didn't care much for the taste, but I had fun trying to match our plates with what we ordered. It was a total mystery.

Sushi House
7015 Katella Ave.
Stanton, CA 90680

French Dip Sandwich Part 2: The Hat

How do you make a sloppy sandwich look sexy? I tried my best, but somethings are just fubar.

With locations throughout the Greater L.A. region, The Hat is an established chain of deli sandwich eateries. Well-known for their "World Famous Pastrami", The Hat always has a line of hungry customers waiting to order up. But if I remember correctly, I never cared much for The Hat. The food seemed bland.

Growing up in Simi Valley, I occasionally went to The Hat for their chili cheese fries, but not much else. As a kid with immature taste buds, I never really appreciated a hot sandwich until I was older. So tonight, I decided to give The Hat another try.

After waiting in line, outside, on a dark corner in Alhambra, I ordered a French Dip sandwich with au jus; and it came immediately. Very convenient. However, I found the sandwich to be very lackluster. Its construction was sloppy, and it lacked the heaping mounds of roast beef that you would expect in a hearty sandwich. For $7.50, it was disappointing. But with that said, I ate the whole thing. +1 for au jus.

Next time, I'll just remember to order the chili cheese fries instead.

The Hat
1 W. Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91801

Frostbites Crepes & Frozen Delights

Jamba Juice, Robeks, Pinkberry, Yogurtland... Let the crepes and Italian ice/custard craze begin...

Out of focus. Dang it.

Out of focus. Again?

Frostbites Crepes & Frozen Delights
9111 Valley View St. Suite 103
Cypress, CA 90630

Playboy Bunny Artwork

Last week, I was testing out my new Canon S95. I'm pretty happy with how the video turned out; and I look forward to making more of these videos in the future.


Making of Playboy Bunny from Dan Lam on Vimeo.

Jim Lee's ICONS Art Book

When I was 9 years old, I noticed that kids would come to school with binders full of comic cards. I would watch them make deals with each other before, during, and after school; and I had to get in on the action. Usually, a kid would call dibs on his favorite comic character, and you knew you couldn't trade for certain cards in a kid's collection. All the kids liked Wolverine and Spiderman, but my favorite character (and still is today) was Gambit. It was easier for me to get what I wanted.

A year later, my school banned comic cards; and the kids moved onto comicbooks. So I ventured deeper into the comicbook store, and bought my first comicbook - X-Men #21. Gambit looked grittier than his usual suave appearance, so I became more curious about back issues that the animated cartoon was based off of. Next, I bought X-Men #8 with Bishop, Gambit, and Rogue on the cover, drawn by none other than Jim Lee himself. I was so impressed with art that I had to buy all of the other Jim Lee issues.

For the next few years, I bought X-Men, WildC.A.T.s, Stormwatch, and other comicbooks. Whatever Jim Lee was drawing at the time, I was reading it. But once I reached high school, I grew tired of collecting.

During my senior year of high school, I got serious about drawing, and referred to all my old comic books as supplement. Since then, I've been buying comicbooks here and there, trying to become a more versatile artist.

With the release of ICONS: The DC and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee, I can die happy. This is a collected anthology of Jim Lee's work from 1992 to 2010, after drawing for Marvel Comics. The book contains many of Lee's pencil drawings and sketches; and it's divided by the various book titles that Lee had worked on. I only wished it had dived deeper into Lee's drawing process. Enjoy the images...

More Ramen

Chashu ramen with spicy miso.

Stamina ramen.

Typical Dennis.

Girls with designer bags eating ramen. Ohyoufancyhuh?

Kohryu
891 Baker St. Suite B-21
Costa Mesa, CA 9212

My 'Illustrated' Beef Tataki Recipe

Happy Thanksgiving! To kick off the holidays, I'm excited to share my submitted illustration to They Draw and Cook. Let's hope the 'W!'

The final version.

The original illustration.

Sanrio 50th Anniversary

Last Saturday, I finally caught the Small Gift L.A. extravaganza to celebrate Sanrio's 50th Anniversary. Now that everyone and their mom has posted pictures of the event throughout the week... it's my turn with captioned commentary. Ahem!

The most literal form of idolatry. Also, the most gaudy P.O.S. I've ever seen.

Kozyndan's contribution was easily the most creative. Audrey Kawasaki's was typical.

Kawaii-girl portrait x Sanrio theme x 2 = Easy money. I can't knock it. Sanrio made millions off a simple cat drawing.

Eric Joyner is my hero. His compositions are so iconic. And he still managed to included the signature donut.

Fun event, but much smaller than I expected. I was way too old for the ferris wheel, anyway.

Carmen and Trisha enjoying hot bowls of ramen after a long weekend of festivities.

Kinchans Ramen

2119 Sawtelle Blvd.

Santa Monica, CA 90025