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Tag Archives: Pork

Luu New Tung Kee Noodle vs TK Noodle

13 Thursday Aug 2015

Posted by yummcha in Chinese food, Food

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Tags

chicken strips, Combination noodle, meatballs, Pork, TK noodle

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Whenever we visit families in Milpitas, my son would never fail to request to go to Luu New Tung Kee Noodle. In fact, it is probably one of only restaurant that he would ever ask for by name, and the only one that he really has a desire to eat at.

After a few years of not having been to Milpitas, he still remembered that it is #6, the combination rice stick and noodle, that he likes. After looking at the menu this time, he decided that he would like to have the #8 instead, the combination with just noodles. I chose the #6.

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The 2 bowls of noodles arrived in no time. The toppings on the noodles included the freshest chicken stripes, slices of tender pork, the crunchiest prawns, and my son’s favorite beef balls. I must say that all the meat looked and tasted even better than some of the finest restaurants, and it was around $6.75 for the large, and $6.25 for the regular size.

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My son and I could not stop marveling at how great everything was inside the bowl. We devoured the entire bowl while praising how good they were the whole time. This was true satisfaction at its best –  delicious and inexpensive.

Upon telling my mom about how much we enjoyed the noodles at Tung Kee, she proceeded to tell us that there was another noodle place called TK Noodle that is much cheaper and the serving size is bigger.

I remembered that we had been to TK a few years earlier. So we decided to visit TK two days later. The place looked a bit dingy, but being that it is past lunch time, at least it was not crowded. We both ordered the combination with just noodles, I think it was #8 as well in this place.

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The size of the bowl was indeed bigger than NewTung Kee, and the textures of the noodles were slightly different as well. Otherwise, all the meat stuff were pretty similar, same freshness – we were relishing every bit. And best of all, the price for each bowl was $1.25 cheaper than the other place!

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On the morning that we were departing for LA, my son asked if we could go and have the noodle one more time. It was 8am, so I looked up the 2 places online to see what time they were opened at. New Tung Kee opens at 8:30am and TK opens 9:00am. So we picked New Tung Kee.

My son was savoring every drop of soup as I hurried him out for our long drive home. He seemed so content as he walked back to the car to embark on our journey.

Luu New Tung Kee Noodle: 481 E. Calaveras Blvd. Milpitas, CA 95035  Phone: 408-263-8288

TK Noodles: 1792 N. Milpitas Blvd. Milpitas, CA 95035  Phone: 408-935-9888

 

 

 

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Sue’s Kitchen – like an old friend

01 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by yummcha in Chinese food, Food, Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Beef noodle soup, Home, Noodle, Pickled cucumber, Pork, Soy sauce, Torrance California, Xiaolongbao

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After not having been to Sue’s Kitchen for about a year, the feeling was like seeing an old friend again. There was a new waiter that I had not seen before, some of the cold side dishes at the counter had changed.

I don’t really know why it took so long to come back here, I used to eat here at least a couple times a week, this was like my regular go-to-place for a casual meal.

The restaurant is small, around ten tables, so the place is usually packed during meal hours.

Most of the patrons here order the Stew Beef Noodle Soup, which is what this restaurant is known for. Thick chunks of tender beef and tendon atop a bed of chewy noodles in a dark red robust spicy broth. I, however, not being a big meat eater, usually opt for either the Minced Pork Noodle, or Vegetables with Noodle.

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This evening, a friend and I ordered the Xiao Long Bao (Steamed pork dumpling), which came only four to an order for around $3. I actually prefer the smaller portion size of the XLB here rather than the usual eight that most places offer. The skin was medium thickness, not too thin, the way I like it. The pork filling was moist and juicy.

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We also had the Minced Pork Noodle, long chewy noodles with a mixture of minced tofu and pork, julienne cucumber and 2 halves of an soy sauce egg. The Onion Pancakes that my friend ordered was soft, yet a tad crispy at the same time. She had no problem finishing most of the pancakes.

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One of the reason that patrons like me come here is probably because of the very fresh selections of cold side dishes that one can pick and choose from at the counter area. There are usually around ten items to pick from. We chose the Pickled Cucumbers, Spicy Sliced Beef Stomach, and the Bean Curd Skin. Each selection had its own distinct flavor and complimented our meal well.

Sue’s Kitchen: 23918 Crenshaw Blvd. Torrance, CA 90505  Phone: 310-539-1992

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Jun Won – Bold Flavors

15 Monday Jul 2013

Posted by yummcha in Food, Korean Food

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Tags

Banchan, Braising, Cook, Kimchi, Korean cuisine, Los Angeles, Pork

Destination: Eun Daegu Jorim (Braised Black Cod). Rumor has it that Jun Won offers one of the best of this beloved dish of mine, surely I cannot bypass this temptation to try.

If I had not done my research and looked up a photo of the restaurant, it would have be easy to miss the place, since the sign is only in Korean. Rarely had I encountered so much available parking spaces for a Korean restaurant in that area, I was thankfully relieved not to have to deal with valet.

The place is small, intimate and felt very welcoming and homey. The waiting staff were exceptionally jovial. Famished from having played for over 2 1/2 hours of badminton, I hurriedly ordered the two dishes I came here for: Spicy Pork with Kimchee, Brasied Black Cod.

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After a few bites of the pork with kimchee, I realized that I  have just found my all time 2nd favorite Korean dish after the Braised Black Cod. The flavors of this pork dish were outrageously deep, robust, pungent. The Kimchee was nothing less than remarkable – reminiscent somehow of a full bodied, well-aged wine. One could almost taste the amount of time that the fermentation took to achieve such an unparalleled depth of richness in flavor.

Almost every table had ordered the braised cod. I would say that the dish had met my expectation. Actually, the black cod itself is such a succulent, luscious fish that it would be difficult to mess it up. The velvety, buttery texture of the fish, went well with the mildly piquant, savory sauce – wish there were more than just the three pieces on the plate.

While the presentation of both of the dishes looked similar, piles of nondescript goodness under an abundance of green onions and covered with a dark orangey, brownish sauce, the tastes were distinct from each other.

A small bowl of cold seaweed soup was suddenly presented in front of me. While I had plenty of warm seaweed soup before, this was the first time having a cold one. The faintly vinegary coolness of the broth along with heaps of soft silky seaweed was incredibly refreshing after the aggressive, bold flavors – it was like that of a sea breeze on a humid, muggy afternoon.

Beyond stuffed, after finishing off the outstanding assortment of banchan, and everything else from the plates, with two bowls of rice,  I was ready for my next conquest.

Jun Won: 3100 W. 8th St. Ste 101, Los Angeles, CA 90005  Phone: 213-383-8833

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Santouka Ramen – Is it that good?

05 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by yummcha in Food, Japanese Food

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Los Angeles, Mifune, Mitsuwa Marketplace, Pork, Ramen, Santouka, Torrance, Torrance California

One day, a friend and I were talking about ramen, and I was advised that this ramen shop inside the Mitsuwa Marketplace food court is rated number one by who knows what. I was skeptical, a ramen at some food court is at the top amongst all the ramen in Los IMG_1874Angeles?

Not a stranger at all to this food court in Torrance, I have been going there regularly for many years for the udon at Mifune. Having never paid much attention to the ramen there, I decided to grab a friend to try out this infamous noodle shop. I was surprised to see a line in front of this tiny store front. As I waited, I noticed to my right side, were the realistic looking plastic displays of all the different ramen sets one could choose from, along with the prices.

One could choose from salt ramen, soy sauce ramen, miso or spicy miso ramen. There were three sizes: small, medium or large. The different combo sets included one of the following over a small bowl of rice: ikura (salmon roe), or natto (fermented soy bean), or chopped green onions, or pork and chopped green onions. Two halves of a marinated boiled egg also came with the set.

I decided on the Combo set of salt ramen with the Ikura don, medium size. There were plenty of ikura on top of the rice. The saltiness of the salmon roe mixed well with the ever so slight sweetness of the Japanese rice. The different toppings on the ramen looked aesthetically pleasing and well thought out. There were the two slices of fatty pork, some bamboo shoots, bits of cloud ear, a piece of fish cake, some chopped green onions, and a umeboshi (pickled plum).

The pork had a good ratio of fat to meat, about half and half, was tender and well flavored. All the other ingredients tasted in harmony with each other. I especially liked the crunchiness and the unique taste of the bamboo shoots. The umeboshi was a nice touch to help balance out the saltiness of the broth. While not a connoisseur of ramen, I would say the Santouka offers a tasty, solid ramen that is well crafted and of top quality.  I would, however, prefer the broth to be much less salty, so that one can consume more of it without worrying about the high salt content.

Santouka Ramen: 21515 Western Ave. Torrance, CA 90501  Phone: 310-212-1101
(Inside the Mitsuwa Marketplace)

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Kobawoo – Always good

02 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by yummcha in Food, Korean Food

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Tags

Banchan, Bossam, Bulgogi, Kalbi, Korean cuisine, Los Angeles, Pork, Vermont

IMG_5936I was looking for a pork dish that I had tried at another Korean restaurant that had gone out of business, so I searched the handy internet trying to locate a place that might serve that particular dish. After much efforts, it was to no avail. I did, however, found another dish that sounded somewhat remotely similar, so I decided to give that a try.

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Located inside a small strip mall at the corner of Vermont and 7th, Kobawoo was easy to find. There is valet parking for about $1.50 or so, though not too expensive, but if one gets there early enough before the restaurant opens for lunch, sometimes the valet people are not there yet.

The specialty here is Bossam –  steamed pork belly slices that are served with fermented shrimp paste, pickled jalapeños peppers, marinated radishes, and can be wrapped either with the slightly pinkish pickled radish or napa cabbage leaves. The meat, fatty, rich and moist, is cooked to a perfect state of tenderness. Though the pork is not especially flavorful by itself, when wrapped and devoured with all the pungent accompaniments, it transforms into a symphony of spicy, salty, vinegary, and crunchy goodness, and becomes surprisingly and pleasurably addicting.

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As good as the bossam is, my favorite here is the Eun dae gu jorim, a braised black cod with daikon. There are about four fillets of fish with big rounds of white radishes. The price for this dish is probably the lowest compared to others in town. The fish has a distinct delicate flavor, and is exceptionally tender and flaky. The daikon can be a tad salty after having soaked up the sauce.

The Kalbi (marinated short ribs) and Bulgogi (marinated beef) are grilled in the kitchen and brought out to the table. For this restaurant, I actually prefer the Kalbi over the bulgogi of which I found to be uncommonly sweet.

Jangban Guksu is a huge platter of  buckwheat noodles with assorted shredded vegetables such as cucumber, lettuce, carrots, onions, red bell peppers. After all the ingredients were mixed together with the reddish sauce, the result is a crisp, refreshing mix of zestiness and chewiness that I would happily slurped down with a cup of tea.

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Banchan (small side sides) here is usually limited to about four assortments, but always looked and tasted fresh. There would be a little button at the table to push for service when needed, and the waiters would always respond right away. I really appreciate the attention to details at this restaurant, there would always be a fresh and different pot of miniature orchid on each table every time I go. The beautifully crafted heavy dark wooden tables and benches evoke in me almost a sense of regalness, a sense of tradition, and quality.

Kobawoo House: 698 S. Vermont Ave. Ste 109, Los Angeles, CA 90005  Phone: 213-389-7300

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