Sanamluang: I Make Bad Life Decisions

(Good noodles at 1am = Bad life decision)

I’ve been eating continuously throughout the day, I’ve been doing pretty much ZERO exercise, it’s 1am. What do I decide to do? Oh, that’s right…I decide to devour a big fat bowl of Yen Ta Foo noodles in Thai Town. Well done Dorothy, well done.

Blegh, I DO make bad life decisions. We talk about the double consciousness in class all the time and I totally buy into that. Only, for me, I think the double consciousness thing plays into my stomach – there’s the one part of me that eats because I’m hungry. And then there’s that other part of me that’s effin’ full but just eats for kicks but KNOWS that it shouldn’t be eating but still does anyway. Welcome to the stomach of le Dorothy. It’s a disgusting place.

After catching “Once Upon a Time in China” at the New Bev with B, we headed out to Sanamluang Café in Thai Town. I had a myriad of excuses to eat at hand:

1) I had finished a final and therefore I deserved to pig out
2) I had just caught one of my favorite movies of all times and so I should go on and continue with the fantasticness of the day by pigging out
3) I was up in the projection booth at the New Bev and that was super cool and, to celebrate, I thought I should pig out
4) I always manage to find an excuse to pig out

So I did…pig out, that is. Sanamluang does not exactly serve “the best noodles in town” as their canopy suggests. BUT…they DO serve noodles until 4am for dirt cheap prices. $6.75 for a bowl so big I could literally fit my whole head into the bowl. And it was JAM-PACKED with ingredients. On top of the never-ending noodles, the bowl was brimming with slice upon slice of fish cake, fishballs, cuttlefish, veggies, tofu, and a fried wonton to boot. I tried my hardest (believe me, I don’t lie) and still couldn’t finish everything in the bowl. The tofu was a bit bland (one of the things I didn’t finish) and the fishcakes were a bit too mushy for my taste but, at that price and at that hour, I really wasn’t expecting to be blown away by the food. I have to say though, the broth is pretty kickass. A mix of salty, sour and a bit of spiciness – Asian flavors at its best. Plus, it was chock full of chopped garlic. My breath stunk afterwards but it was all for a good cause.

But now, it’s 3.22am. And I REALLY regret eating that bowl of noodles. I am way past full and, even though I say I’m going to eat a lettuce leaf for the next day, I know I’m going to eat three square meals and snack in between. What the hell is wrong with me?

FOOD: 3/5
SERVICE: 3/5
ATMOSPHERE: 2/5

SANAMLUANG CAFÉ ($)
5170 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 660-8006

Bhan Kanom Thai: Crisp the Fluff and Sweet the Thai (Tasting Thai Town Pt. 2)

After our meal at Jitlada, we headed out to grab the necessity of life – the after-dinner sweets. Pressure was definitely on since this would be Alyssa’s first encounter with Southeast Asian desserts. We swooped down to Hollywood Blvd. towards Bhan Kanom Thai – the famous Thai bakery and candy shop.

The store was filled with packaged Asian snacks and candies but my eyes were naturally diverted to a single point of interest – the Thai sweets counter. Colorful blobs of rice flour concoctions and tapioca-esque sweets lined the shelves. I perused the labels and knew I was in my own personal heaven when I saw them marked with words like “coconut,” “taro,” and “pumpkin.” Choosing would be quite difficult.

Luckily (or, rather, unluckily) for me, choosing wasn’t AS difficult as I thought since a lot of stuff was already sold out by the time we got there. Boo. I was dying to try the kanom tom (coconut balls), sai sai (coconut stuffed in cream) and, most of all, the kanom krok (which, as you can probably guess, also contains coconut). Oh well, next time.

(Coconut and Pandan Pudding)

I was deeply attracted to the Panchi ($2.50/6) – a small sweet round of taro, corn and shredded coconut. Just hearing the ingredients alone, I was tempted to order 4 crates of that stuff. But before I did, the guy at the counter offered us a sample and while I loved the soft chewy texture, I wasn’t feeling the fact that it was warm. It threw me off completely and I didn’t end up getting any. Now, thinking about it though, I probably will next time and just leave it out to cool. What I DID get though, was a bag of crispy pancakes filled with foi thong/egg yolk ($3.00/8) and a small box of coconut and pandan puddings ($3.00/6). The pudding was alright** – it tried to combine two flavors in one small bite and what ended up happening was that neither flavor really shone through. But the smell and the silky texture made up for it and it reminded me of home :)

But let me get to the good stuff – the crispy pancakes. Oooo…I had purchased a bag of goodness. A thin and crispy “shell” is spread with a sweet and fluffy, marshmallowy-like layer and then sprinkled with shreds of yellow “foi thong” – a sweet made from egg yolk. It’s soooo good…and tastes so light that I could easily picture myself popping them into my mouth like peanuts. I only got the yellow/sweet stuffing ones but I know they also have a salty/orange stuffing which I am determined to try (I LOVE sweet + salty flavor combos!)

(Crispy Pancakes: Good Bites)

Alyssa got the coconut milk ice cream ($2.50/a scoop bigger than my fist) which was amazing and redeemed Thai cuisine significantly in her eyes. There were chunks of young coconut and that’s definitely a happy thing. On top of that, they threw in a random piece of sweet butter toast in my bag of pancakes. I was really confused at first but my confusion quickly melted into happiness when I broke off a small piece to try. It was pretty damn good – crispy and crunchy with a teasing hint of addictive sweetness. I guess good things DO happen when you don’t expect it!

(Sweet Butter Toast: Surprisingly good surprise)

Oh right, and I LOVE how cheap this place is :D

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4.5/5
ATMOSPHERE: 2.75/5

BHAN KANOM THAI ($)
5271 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
(323) 871-8030
http://www.bhankanomthai.com

**UPDATE**

I had another one of the coconut puddings this morning after sticking them in the fridge to chill up overnight. Mannnn...a little bit o' refrigeration and the tiny pudding got 5 times better!! The coconut flavor really came through. I officially retract my "the pudding was alright" statement - it ROCKED!

The Bowery: Impatience is a Virtue

I love New York fare. Simple comfort food like a fatty slice of thin-crust pizza or a giant cup of thin crunchy fries put a smile on my stomach. But my favorite is the NY take on Bistro fare which turns elegant French cooking into a laid-back weeknight dinner.

My stomach’s been pretty impatient lately and, even though I’m jetting off to NYC next month, it’s been craving said Bistro food. So, when Janet let me pick the dinner spot for tonight, I suggested heading out to the Bowery on Sunset. Plus, the weather in LA has been cold, rainy and gloomy lately and isn’t that the best kind of time for Bistro comfort food?

The Bowery is sandwiched between Magnolia and Fabiolus Café and, like its neighbors, is a to-go spot for a lot of Angelinos “in the industry.” And by “in the industry,” I mean people who apparently don’t have to go to work – the place was PACKED when we arrived at 7pm (on a Wednesday!) We were brought to the one single empty table and, though we tried to catch up, we soon gave up trying to fight the battlefield of conversation around us. Having said that though, the Bowery is cute as hell. It definitely looks like some small neighborhood Bistro in Manhattan. Leather sofas and dark wooden tables dot the low-key dining area and a giant chalkboard with the restaurant’s wine selection hangs next to the long bar. Absolutely beautiful. On a side note, the restaurant was extremely dim though and, while I like that atmosphere, it does no good for the photos, especially since I am always too embarrassed to use flash in a restaurant. Oh, life is so difficult.

After a lengthy period of menu-perusal, Nancy and Janet both decided on the Bowery Burger ($9.00) while I opted for the Moules Frites ($12.50), subbing the regular fries for Sweet Potato Fries. My order appeared in the form of a (very) generous serving of steamed mussels, glistening happily in a spicy tomato broth. The broth was great, especially with the large slices of garlic and onions. The mussels were well-cooked – not mushy at all and every mussel was sand-free :) ! The star of the show was the fries though. Even though they weren’t as “sweet” as I would’ve liked (I’ve been spoilt by the sweet potato fries from Barney’s Gourmet Hamburgers), they were right on the mark texture-wise. It was really quite amazing – perfectly crunchy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. The best thing was that they kept their crunchiness right to the end of the meal! I polished off my whole plate of fries. Damn straight, I’m a champion – Nancy and Janet got an order of fries to split and they still had some left over…or maybe I’m just gross. Overall, the moules frites were enjoyable but not absolutely amazing. But considering that it’s only $12.50 for a big fatty bowl of mussels and fries, it’s probably one of best deals in Hollywood.

(Moules - sweet potato - Frites)

Service was spot on. The burger arrived a little too rare for Janet’s taste and the waitress had no problem asking the kitchen to up the fire on her burger. Our server was really attentive and friendly – there’s definitely none of that “I’m-an-aspiring-actor” attitude at the Bowery.

I enjoyed the Bowery and my stomach is happy from the New York-ification. While the Bowery doesn’t make it to my “must-go” list, it’s definitely high up on my “go-to” list.

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4.5/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4.5/5

Bowery ($$)
6268 Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 465-3400
http://www.theboweryhollywood.com

The Waffle: The Difficulty of Procuring a Plate of Eggs and a Hot Chocolate

After a night of watching Phantom of the Opera (the production) and falling in love with the Phantom of the Opera (the character), I pulled out my list of late-night eateries for Sunny to GPS. Given that I was still freshly-depressed from the injustices done to the Phantom, an endorphin-rich vanilla custard-soaked berry French toast didn’t exactly seem like a bad idea.

(If-only-there-was-more-bread French Toast)

The three of us arrived at the half-full/empty Waffle. There were plenty of waitstaff around but it took about a minute before one of them acknowledged us and guided us to a table. Fine, whatever, I didn’t think too much about it. The three of us were handed two menus and our waitress promised she’d be back with another menu. She lied. But again, whatevs, I already knew that I would be ordering the French toast so, no biggie. Plus, all I had to do was ask another server for a menu. We ordered, waited and then what? They got Deb’s order of eggs with corned beef wrong. They took forever to bring Sunny’s hot chocolate (seriously, how long does it take to make a hot chocolate?)

Having said that though, the waiters/waitresses were really friendly. They kept apologizing for getting the order wrong. They were super incompetent (and the restaurant wasn’t even busy!) but, at the very least, they were all super nice and friendly. The French toast was pretty good but I still prefer Asian ones. It’s the bread – the Waffle FT has massive potential but they should switch to Challah bread or some other thicker variety so it can REALLY soak up the custardy goodness. Plus, a thicker bread will also probably better justify it being at $9.00 a pop. The waffle sure ain’t cheap.

FOOD: 3/5
SERVICE: 2/5
ATMOSPHERE: 3.5/5

THE WAFFLE ($)
6255 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028 (323) 465-6901
http://www.thewaffle.us