Star Leaf

Star Leaf is a beautiful place that hits all the perfect notes of service, flavor, decor, and location to create a truly wonderful melody that not only makes me smile, but has me humming the tune until I can experience it again! They have 43 locations worldwide, but this one is the first in the US!

Walking in the entry is a harbinger of the delights to come with a tiled walkway, pond, and greenery that transports diners to a Southeast Asian "railway" with plants and stars (lights) that are as unique as the fusion of Asian cuisines on the menu.

They had only been open 4 weeks when I dined before a show at the Pasadena Playhouse, 1 block away on a Sunday evening. This location is perfect pre-show evening at the theatre, and I highly suggest allowing 2 hours before curtain to truly savor the delights of your meal with plenty of time to enjoy your drinks and coffee. Come even earlier to enjoy happy hour between 3-5pm Sunday-Thursday. There is a public lot at 44 Madison Ave, Pasadena, CA 91101

I chose a nice dry Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand for $16 a glass and then ended with a Bali Mary for $17 that was ridiculously beautiful and sublimely spicy. My dinner companion drank a nice rich coffee after dinner for $6.

Trying to balance out a bit of everything, my dinner companion and I chose the vegetarian Saigon Summer Spring rolls with a mango habanero sauce that was slightly sweet and very mildly spicy. If you want a "salad" this is an option you might want to try instead, carrots, cucumbers, avocado and mango filled rice paper for $20. It was a large enough portion to share with at least 1 or 2 other people.

After hearing the description of the Thai Royal Curry, we opted for the shrimp version for $38 and the slow roasted sambal rempah coconut cream, duck eggs and mashed potatoes was a divinely flavored rendition of fusion curry that was savory and hearty without being too spicy hot for those with a low tolerance for heat (personally I would have liked heat but this was perfect for my dining companion's tolerance).

We also chose the grilled New Zealand Lamb chops with cauliflower purée with minted chimichurri and roasted cherry tomatoes for $42 grilled medium rare, which were done to our preference and the minted chimichurri was a fantastic bright addition to the rich lamb chops.

We had plenty of time for dessert, so we split the tropical panna cotta coconut bowl made with coconut cream and fresh seasonal fruits of mango and strawberries with a few chopped cashews for $15 that was easily enough to share for a table of 4!

Can't wait to go back and try happy hour and more things on the menu!

Bar Chelou

Bar Chelou is not only a great place to eat before a show at the Pasadena Playhouse, but a great place to eat whenever you are in Pasadena. Many wines by the glass and bottle that are well curated and meant to accompany the dishes that you can combine into a meal or just to have a tapas size bite or two as you sip.

The Clam Toast for $13 was so good, we ended up ordering 2 orders! If you are not a fan of clams, but love great toast, just order the pan de cristal for $7 so you can use it to soak up any sauces from the other dishes you will want to order.

The Bloomsdale spinach for $14 is one of the dishes you will want to use the toast for to soak up the roasted garlic broth, or you can simply slurp the spinach "juice" as a delicious broth.

The lamb merguez for $25 is underneath all the green bean tabbouleh and although very savory, this portion was not very hearty nor generous and I would not order it again.

The Iberico pork chop for $36 with cabbage was perfectly cooked with plenty of meat on the bone as well as a good size thick chop, so this was the highlight of the meal.

Jitlada Revisted

It was a dark and stormy night when I headed out to Hollywood on an errand, so as a reward I introduced Jitlada to someone who had never been. The last time I went was before Covid hit, so it was a wonderful reunion for me! I was thrilled to find that there was no line and no wait at 5:30pm because of the rain and the early bird dinner time! I even found a spot in the parking lot! I started off with a spicy papaya smoothie for $6 that was probably the only spicy thing on the menu that did not make my nose run! It was made with very ripe papaya and was a great dessert like drink.

Since it was a rainy night, the first order was of course soup! The spicy red crab and egg (#38) for $23.95 was the perfect thick, comforting soup to warm the chill of the weather outside. The lowest spice level was just at the tolerance level for my dining partner, especially since the spice helped warm us up on a chilly night.

I love rice noodles and because my dining partner can not tolerate spice, I ordered everything with no or very little spice. The Pad See Ew (#181) for $18.95 with beef was full of tender beef, chinese broccoli, and tender noodles.

I had to order my favorite Thai oxtail curry (#98) for $22.95, featuring falling off the bone oxtails, a complex medley of spices, and veggies to add different textures to the curry. One of my favorite oxtail dishes in Los Angeles!

I had to add some asparagus to the table (#165) for $19.95. Every piece was tender and the flavor of the stir fry was so good even a non vegetable lover would eat this dish!

The kitchen fell behind in the orders as the crowd began to gather around 6pm (line was around the shopping center even in the rain), so even though we had ordered Bangkok fried rice (#214) for $19.95, we asked for it to go since we were already full. It wasn't until I opened up the container the next day that I realized what a great "mistake" the kitchen had made with a fried egg on top of shrimp paste fried rice and a container of sweet pork nuggets, this dish had fresh mango, string beans, and very hot sliced peppers (that look very similar to the string beans). I wish I had ordered more food to go because the flavors of Thailand keep beckoning me to go back for more now that I know the perfect time to go!