Fourth Post For Rock Sugar

Since my first visit in 2009, I've been enamored with Rock Sugar. (For those of you who missed my previous posts, here are #1, #2, and #3) I wrote my first back to back posts on Rock Sugar because I just couldn't wait to go back to eat more and share the beautiful space and excellent food.  

It's always comforting to go back to a favorite and find that it is still a favorite; as I found with A Food Affair recently :) Even though the Westfield Century City Mall was literally torn to the ground and rebuilt into a completely modern chic mecca of food and shopping (Eataly is now here), some of the older restaurants and stores remain in the same place and still draw their loyal clientele.

This water wall on the patio was a soothing sight on a busy week-end.

The most soothing of all is eating comfort food like Singaporean noodles with shrimp, done so perfectly that you have no desire to even attempt to recreate it at home. The balance of spices, textures, and seasoning was so completely satisfying that somehow we finished the plate even though we said we were full halfway through it.

The short rib banh mi was a nice counterpoint to the noodles, with slightly sweet beef, crunchy pickled vegetables, and a side salad with crispy taro strips.

 Even the bathrooms are every bit as delightful as the food :)

The saddest part is leaving, but we must leave in order to return again :)

Rui Ji From Best to Worst

After reading glowing reviews of Rui Ji, I made it a point to try it. On my first trip, I tried a spicy numbing soup that had such complex, spicy and numbing flavors that I couldn't wait to go back. This spotless, calm, and very hospitable restaurant is a good choice for anyone who wants a nice ambiance with their authentic food. I may not be an authentic Asian, since I never drink tea with my meal....

I enjoyed the beef tendon dry pot very much. It had the perfect amount of heat and a melody of flavors that infused the dried tofu, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots with a savory satisfying melange of textures and spices that intoxicated me.

The roasted duck was a perfect crispy delight of sweet and moist duck on one occasion, and a mediocre barely warmed flaccid plate of poultry, on another. I think the chef de cuisine on Sundays needs a refresher course, or perhaps they lost their great chef from Saturday :(

 The baby bok choy and mushroom dish was superb.

The spicy shrimp hot pot was both delicious and uneven. The shrimp were slightly overcooked, and the seasoning was uneven, with very salty wood ear mushrooms, and perfectly seasoned vegetables.

The heavy handed salt addition wasn't a distraction in the spicy beef noodles, which had excellent hand cut rice noodles and bok choy. The very salted beef eaten with the noodles and vegetables was a balanced dish.

The hot and sour noodles were so overly salted that we sent it back. The bits we ate, we had to eat sparingly as if it was a salty condiment instead of a dish.

All in all, I was happy with the flavors and the complexity of the condiments, but depending on the day and the chef, you could either be ecstatic or disappointed by the simple crime off too much salt or not enough heat to make the duck skin crispy.

Santa Monica A Drink, A Snack, and Two Donuts

I live near the coastline again, but much further south, so when I am in the vicinity of my old neighborhood, I stop by for some of the local places that are now a trek (24 miles=1+ hour in traffic) from Palos Verdes.

The Independence is just a short block away from the beach, and they have a great Happy Hour. This is where I had my first Paloma, and I must say none I've had since have even come close to the perfectly balanced tart tequila and grapefruit drink I had here. The Happy hour half off price of $6 made it even better :)

I had the oysters, but I would order something else, like the mussels or meatballs at this gastropub next time.

Every so often I crave a great donut....Sidecar is my favorite in Los Angeles, and their gingerbread during the holiday season with powdered sugar stars (which I messed up, sorry) is as beautiful as it is delicious. I'm glad it is seasonal or I might devour one a day (ginger is good for you after all)!

The most dangerous donut is their bacon donut, especially when it is warm....I am not responsible if you eat more than one :)

Asian Soup

February is the height of cold and flu season, so for me that means it is soup season :) While I love making my own, there are times when soup is just better when someone else makes it for you! Aside from their phenomenal Hainan Chicken, the roasted chicken soup at Side Chick is an excellent alternative; it combines the crispy skin of a roasted chicken with chicken bone broth, noodles, and tender greens all in one hearty, healthy bowl. As with many of the soups in today's post, this is a great take out option for a sick friend or yourself if you are not feeling well.

I've been wanting to try Killer Noodle since they opened, and when a friend on the Westside was running several hours late, I decided to stop in for a 'snack". Tsujita now has THREE storefronts all in the same area, including the original, where I ate right after they first opened in 2011. This latest outpost is radically chic, from the moment you walk in, the black backdrop and colorful containers let you know that this is not your hole in the wall ramen shop.

 For newbies to noodles and soups, every condiment is labeled.

I got the medium spice, which was perfectly hot to be able to finish the entire bowl

 of delicious rich broth with ground pork

 while using about five napkins to blow my nose and dab my eyes :)

For a much less intense soup, but hearty complex flavors, a Vietnamese Oxtail pho is a great choice. Pho Ha Noi (get it?) serves a very large portion for their version. Easily enough to share, I took half of this home and had two more meals with the leftovers! As you can probably tell from the photo, the oxtails were not really warm, but since they were going into the soup, they were fine, especially since they had great flavor and were very tender.

 The broth was very good, with enough flavor to infuse the beef.

 The usual side accompanied the soup.

One of the times I went to HMart hungry I got their kimchee soup which perfectly hit the spot on a rainy gray day, delivering a spicy bubbly tonic to brighten the day.

The last soup in today's post is from Ruiji, the Sichuan place that came highly recommended; I found it worthy of all the recommendations after just one taste of their food. I ordered the Mao Sih Wong, a melange of blood sausage, intestines, and a plethora of vegetables. This immense, intense bowl is definitely not everyone's cup of tea, and although I enjoyed it, I'm not sure I would order it again, but it was so complex, so intense, and so unique, it made me want to go back for more dishes.

This is the bowl after I mixed it a bit....the amount of blood cake was overwhelming to me, especially since I found I love French and Spanish blood sausage, but not Chinese. I loved all the vegetables, and the chewy intestines and tripe :)

Does anyone have any South Bay ramen favorites to recommend?