Good Egg Plush

Meet the new Good Egg Plush, now available in the shop!

Hot Tub

It's been really hot in LA. In case you haven't heard, we're in a horrible drought! Spring is here and it feels like Summer! The weather has been in the 90s for the past week or so and it sucks. The heat has been influencing my work. Here's a little piece I worked on this week.

Egg Camp

This is probably the weirdest thing I've painted to date, but sometimes it's good to get this kind of stuff out of your system.

The Best Thing I Ate: République

On Sunday, I finally got a chance to try République after weeks of seeing everyone's gorgeous photos on Instagram. And I can honestly say, the food tastes just as amazing as it looks.

Behold the Croque Madame, which is a Croque Monsieur with an egg on top. To some, a Croque Monsieur is just a glorified grilled ham & cheese sandwich. But I would argue that when it's done right, it's so much more. Being a lover of sandwiches, I'll order a Croque Monsieur or Croque Madame every chance I get. Luckily, in LA I've been able to get one at a handful of places.

Croque Madame

At République, the Croque Madame is served open-faced. The bread, perfect with crunchy crust and soft, chewy insides. The ham was something from another world. It was thinly sliced with an almost shredded appearance. It was tender and had the right balance of flavor. I never thought I could ever describe ham as being "melt-in-your-mouth". Prior to this experience, I associated ham with being tough and briny. Now I just want to hunt down that ham and make all sorts of sandwiches with it!

I love black sesame things and I think there's never enough goodies being made with black sesame. Like black sesame ice cream—YUM! But not a lot of places make/serve it. So when I saw a black sesame croissant, I HAD to have it! I couldn't even wait until after I took the photo to take a bite out of it.

Black Sesame Croissant

République had plenty more delicious pastries where that came from, but silly me; I was too in awe to bother to take a photo of their pastry case. And that's what second trips are for! I was hanging out with Keiko of Small Adventure, and she let me have a bite of her canelé and it was perfection. I have a feeling I'll be making another trip there soon, and this time I'll take a tip from Keiko and take home a whole box of pastries for myself!

What I Ate: Fusion Burgers

On York Blvd. in Highland Park, there's an unassuming little burger joint serving up some mighty tasty burgers. Some have referred to it as an Umami Burger knock-off, but I would say Fusion Burgers has its own character. For starters, most of their burgers are $2-3 cheaper than Umami. Second, at least half of the burgers on the menu are "fusion" in that they don't use a traditional hamburger patty. They have burgers with patties made of al pastor, turkey, pork…just to name a few.

Cheese Tosos

Dan's Inferno - Turkey Patty, Dan’s Inferno Sauce, 1000 island, pepper cheese, roasted peppers, and onion ringlets

So if you're ever in Highland Park and craving burgers, head over to Fusion Burgers. And if you just go a little further down York Blvd., you can stop by Donut Friend or Scoops for dessert.

Food Envy: White Castle Chicken & Waffle Sandwich

If you've been following along, then you know that I LOVE sandwiches. My favorite being fried chicken sandwiches. White Castle just announced that they will be serving this Chicken & Waffle sandwich as part of their breakfast menu.

Chicken & Waffle Sandwich with Gravy (image from LA Times)

We don't have White Castle in LA, so the only time I've been able to get some is when I'm in Minneapolis visiting my brother. Otherwise, the only way we can get our hands on them is in the grocer's freezer. Too bad, I'll just have to keep imagining that it's as good as it looks. For those of you lucky enough to live in a state with White Castle, tell me how it goes!

What I Ate: Chan Darae Hollywood

Last week, after watching The Grand Budapest Hotel, Kevin and I decided to stop by local Thai restaurant Chan Darae for a late lunch/early dinner. About a year ago, my best friend Nisa left her job at American Apparel's web department to take over management at Chan Darae. The restaurant had been in the family for over 35 years, and she had a vision of revamping it with a fresh new look and curated menu. Last year, I had worked on the branding and menu redesign of their family's other restaurant Bamboo Thai Bistro in Redondo Beach and never had the chance to try out this one.

We started off with the Shrimp Toast which I totally forgot to take a picture of. We then realized when the Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad came out that we might have accidentally ordered too much fried food. (The Shrimp Toast was fried!) Luckily, the Shrimp Toast was served with a light & refreshing cucumber salad that help balance out the heaviness of the toast.

Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad

The Deep-Fried Green Papaya Salad was a dish that Nisa was experimenting with that currently isn't on the menu. There's a possibility it might be added in the future.

The main dish, which we were splitting, was the Spicy Boat Noodles. The broth was a flavorful beef broth with a kick of spice. All the meat was tender and it had my favorite: beef meatballs (bò viên in Vietnamese). The best way I could describe this soup is that it's a good, solid Southeast Asian noodle soup. If you like Vietnamese phở, you'll most likely like this. In comparison to Vietnamese noodle soups, I would say this was like a mix of phở and bún bò huế.

Spicy Boat Noodles

During our meal, Nisa's sister Alisa came by and asked what we had for appetizers. She asked if we had gotten the "Spicy Fries" and we said we debated about it but ended up not getting it. She then replied, "You gotta have the Spicy Fries! They're so good! You gotta do it!" And next thing we knew, they magically appeared on our table.

Spicy Fries – tossed with Serrano peppers & fish sauce, served with Sriracha Ketchup (half order)

When it came time for dessert, we were really full but I just couldn't say "No" because I really love their Coconut Ice Cream & Banana Samosas. It's the same dessert they serve at their other restaurant and it's just so perfect! The coconut ice cream is non-dairy so it's great for lactose intolerant peeps AND it doesn't feel super heavy. Together with the fried banana samosas, it's a nice balance of creamy and crunchy.

Coconut Ice Cream & Banana Samosas

So if you're ever around the ArcLight or Amoeba in Hollywood and have a Thai food craving, I definitely recommend giving Chan Darae a try. They also have the best Happy Hour prices in the area!

Bite of the Week: Tokyo Fried Chicken Co.

Over a month ago, Tokyo Fried Chicken Co. opened up in Monterey Park in the space that was once Open Door. The new restaurant (as the name implies) offers up a full menu of Japanese-Southern fusion. We've been avoiding it for the first month after hearing that there was consistently a long wait. So on Wednesday, we felt like it was a good random weekday to go. When we got there, the wait was still 30 minutes to seat a party of three. The food is served family style and includes a bunch of sides. The number of sides is determined by how many people are in your party.

Fried Chicken Dinner for 3

The chicken is flavored with soy, ginger, and garlic and served with their specially formulated ponzu sauces.

Chicken Rice

Honestly, the Chicken Rice was the best of the sides. It's extremely flavorful and comforting. There's just so much about it that just reminds you of a good home cooked meal.

Shishito Peppers

Creamy Potato Salad

Mac & Cheese

They recently started featuring desserts from other businesses, like a collaboration of sorts. They're currently featuring desserts from Quenelle in Burbank. I had to get the Strawberry Shortcake Bon Bons because I love the Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake bars. And this was definitely a much better version of them! They had less of that artificial strawberry taste and a nice crisp layer of white chocolate coating each bon bon.

Strawberry Shortcake Bon Bons

They also have a great beer selection from local breweries (Eagle Rock and Bootleggers, to name a few) to accompany your dinner.

So if you love fried chicken AND Japanese food, this is definitely give this place a try. But if you hate waiting, avoid this place on the weekends.

Udon I Can't Shut Up About

Recently, a new udon restaurant by the name of Marugame Monzo opened up in the Little Tokyo district of Downtown LA. It's conveniently located on 1st St. just a couple doors down from Daikokuya (some of you know this as the ramen place with the super long line). So if you're feeling like noodles but tired of ramen or waiting, GO HERE. I've been hearing buzz about this place for months, but Kevin and I just haven't had the chance to try it. We tried to go a couple of weeks ago after an opening at Q Pop, but we got so caught up with talking to friends that by the time we got there it was 15 minutes before closing and there were already two more parties waiting to be seated. So we decided to wait to try it on a weeknight when it's less crowded and it's easier to find free street parking. Yesterday, (as Thursday is like the new Friday) we finally treated ourselves to some yummy udon.

First of all, their udon noodles are PERFECT. Why? Because they're handmade on the premises and you can taste the huge difference between them and your typical supermarket stuff. They're just the perfect balance of chewy and doughy.

I got the Mentai Squid Butter Udon which had generous portions of tender pieces of squid (not the chewy, rubbery stuff you get from cheaper places). And the mentai (cod roe) didn't make it too salty either! Kevin ordered the Uni (sea urchin) Cream Udon which was AMAZING. What I got was already really good, but I kept picking at his dish because it was even better!

Mentai Squid Butter Udon

The only disappointment in my first trip to Marugame Monzo was in myself…somehow I totally forgot to order a tempura soft-boiled egg. YES, you read that correct! They offer tempura fried soft-boiled eggs! Here's the proof:

But FYI, it is a little pricier than ramen/pho/other noodle dish of choice, but it's totally worth it! What I ordered ran about $13 and I left feeling full & satisfied, but not too full to the point where I felt gross. So if you're ever in Downtown LA, I HIGHLY recommend going here.

If you want to read a real food critic's opinion, here's Jonathan Gold's review of the place. 

Happy National Cheeseburger Day!

I stopped by DogHaus today to get a Little Mule burger and they were giving out these cute little mini cheeseburgers for free in honor of National Cheeseburger Day. They even had the folks at King's Hawaiian make custom size buns for them. I hope everyone's having a delicious day!

Hello August!

I've been spending the past few days relaxing since returning from San Francisco. This was our first time doing summer shows and it's definitely a different pace compared to winter. Doing back-to-back Renegade shows was definitely tiring. But when it was all over, we treated ourselves to lots of great food. Here's a few of my favorite things consumed on my trip.

Pastrami Sandwich from Tartine

Lavender Honey + Mint Chip Ice Cream from Bi-Rite

Potato Puffs from Gregoire

Now that the summer shows are over, I have about five months to get ready for Holiday. I'm starting on some new projects this month; one of which is Discontinued Youth. I'm trying to take this time to focus more on my illustration work so I can properly launch my other shop.

Sandwich of the Day: Pulled Pork

After going bungee jumping for his early birthday present to himself, Kevin and his friends went to pig out on some BBQ. He brought me back this pulled pork sandwich.

 Half way through, it became apparent how dry it was and so, I sauced it up a bit.

Monday Munch: Koko Churro from Cafe Dulce

I finally made a trip over to Cafe Dulce after hearing many good things about it. Instead of going for the ever popular bacon donuts (and donutholes), I got one of the koko churros. They look nothing like the churros most of us are used to. They're big, round, and stout…they kinda look like potatoes.

The dough is made from tapioca flour and the inside is hollow. The texture is like the sesame balls you can get at dim sum. They're crunchy and chewy.

I also got a jasmine tea latte with soy milk that went perfectly with the koko churro.

Bread Pudding Time!

Tonight we're heading over to our friend's place for a Friendsmas Party. It's been a long time since I've made anything for a potluck dinner, so I decided to make Nutella Bread Pudding using King's Hawaiian rolls. The last time I made this delicious dessert was about 3 or 4 years ago for the Nucleus Christmas Party. As you can see below, my iPad mini is my new favorite companion EVERYWHERE. It makes looking at recipes while baking super easy. Target was all out of the classic King's Hawaiian rolls so I just got the mini sub sandwich buns and split them in half.

This bread pudding is actually really easy to make. Just lightly toast some King's Hawaiian rolls, slather some nutella on them, layer a baking dish with them, pour on a custard mixture, then pop them in the oven.

Then it comes out of the oven looking mighty delicious.

You can find the recipe here on CHOW. I just substituted their bread of choice with King's Hawaiian.

What I Ate: Hot Red Bus

Yesterday, Kevin took me to Hot Red Bus for the first time for lunch. Hot Red Bus is a new British & Indian eatery that opened up a block away from Gallery Nucleus. I had their samosas and a wrap a couple of weeks ago when Kevin brought them with us to the Hollywood Bowl. But this is my first time actually going to the restaurant. They have just softly opened a couple of weeks ago. It's a very casual kind of eatery; a bit like a fast food joint. All the people who work there are super nice and extremely sociable. I ordered the Doner & Chips. If you've never had doner before, it's a mixture of beef and lamb spun on a vertical rotisserie that is then shaved. It came with a side of curry for the chips (you could also ask for it already poured on). They also gave me a side of their yogurt & mint sauce and their tamarind sauce that went perfectly with the meat.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the decor. All the tables are decorated with tabloids and newspaper clippings. The particular table we were at had clippings of Kate Moss and club football (soccer). So if you're ever in the area, I recommend stopping by. I have yet to have something disappointing from their menu.

Eating Simple

This past week I got to stay home from work while the entire office was in Vegas for Capsule and Project. One of my big complaints about the location of the office (aside from the distance) is that there aren't a lot of food choices in the area. There are literally only four places we always go to for lunch…and they're all pretty overpriced for being less-than-stellar food. So it was really nice to be able to stay home and make lunch for myself for a change.

After three days, I really wish I could stay home and be a full-time freelancer. I loved every minute of making lunch for myself (something I never have time for anymore) and getting to spend more time with Sebastian. You should see just how much happier he is when I'm at home.

Sandwich Weekend

On Friday, I went to Daily Dose for the first time for lunch with Nisa. I got The Butcher which is Sopressata (salami), house pickle, midnight moon goat cheese on a baguette with some grain mustard. The Sopressata was really thinly sliced and practically melted in my mouth. I love a good salami!

Then on Saturday, I met up with the lovely Beverly E. We went to Honey Badger Cafe, mostly because it's cheap but also because it's consistently good for the price. When they first opened they had serious issues with their service, but they have since hired better staff (and also the help of those table buzzers that some Asian restaurants employ) to provide better service.

I ordered my usual, the Cuban Roast Pork sandwich with a side of potato salad. All their sandwiches come with a side of potato chips but you can choose to upgrade to one of their "premium sides" for an extra $0.95.

Then when Sunday rolled around, I was still in a sandwich mood. I was heading over to Old Town Pasadena but couldn't think of where to eat. I'm not a fan of most of the sandwich choices in the area, but I decided to give Euro Pane a try. I have been to their first/original location in the past and their sandwiches were mediocre. I usually just go there for French macarons. But this time we went to the second/newer location across from Paseo Colorado since I've only had their macarons but never their food. I was pleasantly surprised by their better menu and overall better look & feel. I had a hard time choosing between a Croque Monsieur, French Toast, or Eggs Benedict, but I eventually decided on the Croque Monsieur.

I love Croque Monsieurs! But this isn't a normal Croque Monsieur…it's with BACON! (Instead of the usual ham). I'm usually not a fan of bacon, but I'll have it every once in a while. And after this experience, I would definitely say I like it better with bacon. But if you want an amazing (but normal) Croque Monsieur, head over to Abricott.

Weekend Food Recap

After seeing many of my friends' delicious photos, I finally made a trip over to UMAMIcatessan. Compared to the regular UMAMI Burger restaurants, the menu is way more extensive and way more adventurous. I wasn't really feeling like red meat on Thursday, so I got the Ahi Tuna Burger. It was perfect because it satisfied my burger and sushi craving at the same time! It was a quarter pound of hand-chopped Ahi tuna that was lightly seared with crushed avocado, pickled ginger, sprouts, and wasabi flake.

We got the mini potato knishes as a side. They had a nice cinnamon-y sweetness that went well with the tangy grain mustard. I'm always about warm potato-y goodness.

Then for dessert, since the State of California is banning foie gras starting July 1st, we got the FG&J donut.

That's right, it's a foie gras & jelly donut! It wasn't my favorite but it wasn't horrible. It definitely looked like a PB&J donut on the inside and it kinda tasted like one except a little more game-y. I've had foie gras before, but in a cold-pressed paté like state and I don't mind it. I grew up eating duck paté with a baguette as a mid-day snack so it's no big deal. But this donut was definitely a bit overwhelming for me.

On Saturday after paying a visit to the new Poketo store, I stopped by The Pie Hole. Me being a totally sucker for both curry and puff pastry, I had to have the curry puff. It was a veggie/potato curry (kinda similar to a potato samosa) served with a homemade cherry tomato chutney.

On Saturday, we celebrated my friend Janet's birthday with a beach bbq. I made some simple hot dogs in some toasted King's Hawaiian rolls. I've been in the habit of using them instead of regular hot dog buns mostly because they're not dry like generic cheap buns and they're totally delicious! I got the idea after many trips to DogHaus where they only use King's Hawaiian rolls as burger and hot dog buns.

On Sunday, I picked up my bff who was home for the week from Berkeley. When I asked her what she was craving and missed, her response was "Tacos!!!" LA definitely has the best tacos ranging from super cheap to more artisan/gourmet variety. We took a trip to Guisados where most of their tacos are stewed meats. I got the Mole Poblano and the Chuleta en Salsa Verde.

Their tortillas are handmade and are made as you order. I love them because they have the perfect amount of doughy chewiness. The Chuleta was my favorite of the two. They have a sampler available that comes with 6 mini tacos for anyone who doesn't know what to order. I had the sampler once and it was totally delicious but I couldn't remember which ones I liked because they don't list which ones it comes with. Also, size-wise, I prefer the sampler because a full-size taco of some of their meats can become too much. And they definitely don't skimp on the meat regardless of whether you get the sampler or the regular size tacos.

Summer brings one of my favorite things: Fosselman's Fresh Peach Ice Cream! I've been going there since high school and I love that they do seasonal flavors along with the flavors that are available all year round. Peach is typically available from the first day of June til the last day of August. Their ice cream contains 60% butter fat which makes it really creamery yet airy.

Sunday Pie Party

For Sunday brunch, I took a trip over to The Pie Hole with Kevin and Steve. I've been meaning to go back since my last time there was on my last day at American Apparel, which was back in December. And typical me chose to drink Dr. Pepper while everyone else drank coffee.

We got a slice of the Thai Tea pie which was the special they had for Pie Day (March 14th). I didn't expect that they would still be making it, since it was supposed to be a special. It's a layer of Thai tea filling and coconut on a chocolate rice krispie crust. The Thai tea flavor of the filling was pretty light but it was delicious nonetheless.

The special pie of the day was the Mexican Hot Chocolate and it was really rich and decadent. The vanilla bean whip cream was totally necessary to balance out the richness of the chocolate fudge filling. The crust was like a salty graham cracker crust that went perfectly with the sweetness of the fudge.

Then for our actual meal, we had the brisket hand pie and the chicken pot pie.

 Between the two meat pies, the brisket was definitely the best. They also have a mac & cheese hand pie which is also delicious but it would be amazing if they just mashed it together with the brisket.