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

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...

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

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

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

Hot Pastrami Pink

Ravaged.

It's like a fantasy. It's like a beautiful woman that you can't stop thinking about. She calls you in the middle of work, tells you how lonely she is, and describes to you what she's wearing. You hang up the phone dumbfounded. You try desperately to focus on your work, but mental glimpses of her keep invading your thoughts. Your throat dries and you grow slightly feverish. Weakly, you struggle to finish your work and you hurry home. And when you finally find her sprawled out, you assertively grab her and drag her to the most private of spaces. Then you violently rip off the layers, and proceed to have your way with her like an insatiable fiend...

... So is the same with Hot Pastrami Dip. Very hot, indeed.

Brent's Delicatessen & Restaurant
19565 Parthenia St. Northridge, CA 91324
2799 Townsgate Rd. Westlake, CA 91361

Korean-Chinese Noodle House

Jajangmyeon.

Jampong.

Om nom nom nom nom...

Last night, my friend - Jason said that he felt like Korean-Chinese noodles. I had a confused look on my face while I performed the Yelp search. And after a bit of scouting, my party ended up at yet another hole-in-the-wall called Young Pung. One-dollar signs will do that to you.

Anyway, the small 10-booth restaurant was filled with hungry Koreans who were unapologetically packing their faces into their bowls and slurping their sauce-covered noodles. It was a good sign of things to come, but it was a bit agonizing to watch others eat for 15 minutes. As the whole restaurant cleared out at the same time, we took the largest booth available for the elbow room.

Not to go against the grain, my friends ordered the black bean jajangmyeon, and I ordered the spicy seafood jampong. My noodles were soft and chewy without being soggy. The hot, spicy broth was light without being too watery. All the while, I enjoyed my assortment of shrimp, scallop, sea cucumber, mushrooms, and cabbage. On a cold night such as this one, these noodles are a good alternative to soon dubu.

I assume that Korean-Chinese eateries such as these take influence from more northern regions of China, where wheat noodles are more common. As someone with southern roots, I'll admit to not eating wheat noodles much. But I'll be sure to widen my noodle palette.

Young Pung

9922 Garden Grove Blvd.

Garden Grove, CA 92842

My Beef Tataki Recipe

These days, I don't cook much. But I'm gonna be illustrating my old beef tataki recipe from college for They Draw and Cook. Wish me luck.

Ingredients

1 lb. of sirloin steak about 1-inch thick

chopped green onion

sesame seeds

soy sauce

lemon juice

olive oil

pepper

Steps

rub olive oil onto steak.

rub pepper and sesame seeds onto steak.

heat pan on medium-high heat and add olive oil.

sear each side of steak for 2.5 minutes for medium-rare.

rest steak on cutting board for 5 minutes.

cut steak into thin slices and plate.

drizzle soy sauce and lemon juice.

top with green onion.

Frugal Feast

Random late-night banquet. Not the best, but still godsend.

Quan Hen aka "Pinklight"

14092 Magnolia St.

Westminster, CA 92683

French Dip Sandwich Part 1: Brent's Deli

Plenty of thin-sliced roast beef layers.

Often, you hear about Philippe's, Cole's, and Langer's, all of which are located in Los Angeles, for having the best deli sandwiches in California. While I don't dispute claims that they make fine sandwiches, I would argue that location plays a large part in how these restaurants have earned their reputation.

For those of us who can't make the trip to L.A. just for a nice sandwich, we make due with our own cities' modest attractions. Anyone from the 818 Valley should know about Brent's Delicatessen. Started in 1967, Brent's is a family-run restaurant that offers a fine selection of sandwiches, smoked fish, baked goods, and soups. The kosher and non-kosher meats satisfy hundreds of hungry customers daily, especially those within the large Jewish community.

After work, I stopped by Brent's in Westlake for a French dip sandwich with au jus on the side. While Brent's is most known for their pastrami, I had no doubt that their roast beef would be just as good. In fact, I would recommend that whenever one orders a sandwich from Brent's, you eat the sandwich alone like a meat-lusting carnivore. Disregard the dinosaur-sized French fries and coleslaw until you finish the sandwich. They're good, but unimportant.

Brent's Delicatessen & Restaurant
19565 Parthenia St. Northridge, CA 91324
2799 Townsgate Rd. Westlake, CA 91361