SAAM at The Bazaar by José Andrés: A gastronomical experience

"The Bazaar offers a magical dining experience from James Beard Award-winning Chef José."

The Bazaar was named on the the Top 10 hotel restaurants in the United States. I would recommend splurging on a dinner at the SAAM once if you ever set food in Los Angeles. The SAAM is a high-end tasting room, where you order tapas and it is recommended that you order at least 4 items to actually start to feel full and so that you don't look like you're unwilling to pay for dinner. 

We started off with ordering drinks because we would be charged for water anyway. Although the menu only offers a list of alcoholic drinks, they were able to give us non-alcoholic ones since the legal drinking age in the United States is 21 years old. Our mocktails were also cheaper than the price listed on the menu as well. My friend ordered a Passion Fruit Up! while I had the Magic Mojito. The waitress drizzled the drink from a shaker onto the cotton candy in front of us. Bonus points to service! (I guess it is called Magic Mojito because the cotton candy dissolves as the liquid is poured over it.)

Magic Mojito ($12)

Passion Fruit Up! + Magic Mojito

I came to the restaurant prepared. I had been eyeing on this restaurant for a couple of weeks, and I had read many reviews on the place and identified their signature dishes. I came to try their famed Philly cheesesteak, cotton candy foie gras and caviar cone.

Cotton Candy Foie Gras + Caviar Cone + Passion Fruit Up!

My friend decided to try their mussels thinking they would be the huge ones with the shell. I guess it was rather disappointing because it looked like canned food. The sauce was also kind of sour and spicy, which further made it seem like canned food. But I was surprised there were so many pieces in that little tin tray.

Mediterranean Mussels ($9)

Philly Cheesesteak: Air bread, cheddar, wagyu beef

It looks nothing like the average Philly Cheesesteak, and it was only about the length of my palm. Although it didn't look impressive, I fell in love with it after taking my first bite. The air bread was basically a hollow and thin soft shell that enclosed a thick, creamy cheddar cheese filling. It was heavenly. It was also topped with tender semi-raw wagyu beef, which made eating it an amazing experience. I thought I wasn't going to be full, but there was a generous portion of cheddar inside the air bread which kept me satisfied.

Philly Cheesesteak ($11 each)

Cotton Candy Foie Gras:

I'll have to admit that it was tinier than I had imagined, because the foie gras was only a tiny cube on the skewer. I was slightly disappointed by the size when it was presented. However, I guess it was to also balance out the ratio of cotton candy to foie gras, so that a perfect mix of the 2 can be tasted. The cotton candy was also bite sized, which was helpful. Nevertheless, the combination was impeccable and the foie gras was so creamy and soft that it melted in my mouth. It was a salty and sweet indulgence.

Cotton Candy Foie Gras ($8)

American Sturgeon Caviar Cone:

Bonus points to service and providing us with a gastronomical experience, because the cone was made in front of us. A push cart that resembled a classy version of the ice cream carts came to our table, and the server pumped the cauliflower cream into the cones, and then scooped the caviar onto the top of the cone. I appreciated that extra personal touch. It made the cones special.

American Sturgeon Caviar Cone ($9)

Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks: Mojo Rojo

I ordered a meat dish because I knew my other orders were going to be tiny. I picked the braised wagyu beef cheeks because it was only $15 on the menu, which I thought was a steak for wagyu beef. I'm not familiar with the prices so I guess my instinct was to to compare it to the average price for steak. I was expecting it to just be a few thin slices like how pork cheeks are served at Santouka Ramen, but I was wrong. The portion was much larger than I had expected, and my friend ended up ordering the same item after seeing how successful I was with my order.

It was very tender and well executed, although I hoped that they didn't use the spanish chili because the taste was pretty weird to me. It reminded me of hot sauce that was not spicy.

Braised Wagyu Beef Cheeks ($15)

When the bathroom is also an experience of its own...

Now on to desserts. There is a separate dining area that is much more like a high-tea kind of setting for desserts. It was worth every dollar spent. 

The Sphere ($15)

 Vanilla mousse 

Please do not repost or re-use my photos without my permission.

Syrup: Dessert in Downtown

Syrup is a popular dessert cafe in downtown LA. Apparently they make their own ice cream, but unlike such cafes in Singapore, they dont display their ice cream nor the flavours of the ice cream. It's kind of annoying especially when they run out of a certain flavour that you wanted and you don't really know what you're getting into when you join the line. 

They are mainly known for their waffles, ice cream and milkshakes. It's a pretty comfortable cafe as well, although I would recommend non-locals to avoid sitting outdoors. Downtown LA is full of homeless people, and some of them would "harrass" you by asking for food. Locals deal with it fine, but I think non-locals would feel extremely uncomfortable about it. To be honest, they are pretty harmless and if they do come up to you, onlookers will help you to chase them away for you. Americans aren't exclusive at all. But I mean, you wouldn't want to be in that situation anyway.

Florentine ($7)

Strawberry and Banana Waffles

Please do not reuse or re-post my pictures without permission.

Bacaro LA

This was my last meal before leaving LA. I had 2 "knights" who were so kind as to help to house my luggages before my flight (because I was kicked out of my dorm) and to even treat me to dinner and boba (milk tea). I'm ever so grateful for these 2 guys.

This place is pretty cool, and it's a popular hangout among USC students because it's pretty near school. They serve decent food at decent prices. 3 of these tapas only come up to USD$21. It's a pretty good deal for a variety of food choices that are tasty and appetising.

Baked/fried eggplant

Mac & Cheese

Crab Salad Brioche

Mushroom and shrimp toast

Please do not reuse or re-post my pictures without permission.

Cafe Gratitude, Arts District: Delicious Vegan Food

As far as I know, there are 2 branches in the Los Angeles region: Melrose Avenue and the Arts District. I've only been to the one at the Arts District, and I was pretty impressed by the cleanliness and elegance. I absolutely love it. In contrast, I heard that the branch in Melrose is less grand because it is an older branch.

Interior of the cafe

Apart from serving vegan and healthy food, the cafe also aims to create positivity among its patrons. Its probably a marketing strategy but I really liked how their menu brings out this whole idea of being grateful and appreciative of people and things around us. Each item on the menu is named after a value, principle or a positive and motivating word. The servers will also present you with a question of the day to give customers a topic to talk about while waiting for the food to arrive. Impressive, although slightly forced in my opinion. But in return, they do expect a higher than average gratituity a.k.a. tip. Talk about being grateful towards your waiters. They recommend a minimum of 18% for tipping.

I really enjoyed their vegan bowls. It was super healthy and natural tasting, and I do applaud them for being creative about it as well. Chewy seaweed, azuki beans, quinoa and all sorts of healthy goodness in a bowl. It was pretty delicious because they knew how to add natural ingredients to enhance the flavour of other items in the bowl.

They also had super healthy flax seed chips with guacamole which was slightly too healthy tasting in my opinion. The chips were hard to chew and tasted like card board. But it's not too bad. Just not something that I enjoyed much because of the texture of the biscuit.

We also ordered a tostada which was topped with avocado and mushrooms. Delicious.

All the food that we ordered

Girls being girls, a meal is not complete without dessert. We got a flourless chocolate banana cake which was really smooth and creamy. I also really liked how they reflect their theme on the plates too.

Flourless chocolate banana cake

Please do not reuse or re-post my pictures without permission.

Yellow House Cafe: Themed Cafe in LA

I think pictures can speak for itself. It has a really sweet and calming atmosphere. Food isn't particularly expensive either, but they mainly serve korean fusion food.

I didn't really order much because we weren't hungry enough to demolish their large portions for main orders. We ended up ordering potato string fries and korean dumplings.

Potato string fries

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

8 Korean BBQ: 8 different flavours

I had limited opportunities to get KBBQ because it requires a lot of time to dine, and most of my floormates were always preoccupied with studying. Perhaps I'm a bad student lol but then again, freshman year is a breeze compared to being in Hwachong. I just wanted to travel and try all sorts of food and things when I was still in LA.

Thanks to a certain "prince" who got us a fancy ride, I got to try 8 Korean BBQ. It was interesting cuz the ahjumma who served us lifted the top of our stools and asked us to put our belongings in it. That will prevent our bags from smelling like kbbq and from spills and stains. This restaurant also offered an 8% discount if we paid by cash. Oh, but best part was that the person who drove us around even paid for my meal. Gentleman much. (Now go grab Taiwanese guys everyone.)

We ordered Combo 1 (USD$49.99), which came with 8 different flavours of pork belly, kimchi, beansprouts, seafood soup and kimchi fried rice (made with leftover soup like at Gamja Gol). We also ordered steamed egg to share as well for $2-3. I thought everything was pretty well done. We also had minimal cooking to do, because the waiters would help us to grill and cut the strips of pork belly as well. Bonus points for service. 

The 8 Flavours of Pork Belly: were cooked in the order that was recommended by the them as follows:

1. Wine: Wine (in moderation), lowers the risk of heart disease, and opens blood vessels for better circulation.
2. Original: All natural with no additives. Unveiling pork’s natural flavonoids, rich in Vitamin B1.
3. Ginseng: Ginseng stimulates the metabolism and promotes general wellness of health.
4. Garlic: Garlic lowers cholesterol and high blood pressure, and helps the body’s natural flow.
5. Herb: Natural herbs alleviate stress and depression.
6. Curry: Curry’s complex components prevent Alzheimer’s disease, as well as certain cancers.
7. Miso Paste: Miso Paste is rich in flavonoids and beneficial in circulating the body’s natural biochemistry.
8. Red Pepper Paste: Gochujang contains protein, healthy fats, Vitamins B2, Vitamin C and carotene.

I've also seen 8 Korean BBQ in The Central at Clarke Quay in Singapore, But the prices here are so much higher than in Los Angeles. I believe it is priced at SGD$98++ here.

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

Chichen Itza Restaurant: Excellent Chichen cuisine

I was brought here by my mentor. He mentioned that Chichen cuisine wasn't common, and many people travel all the way to this place because it was good. However, this place is hidden and so not many people know about it. I believe the food must be pretty authentic as well, because everyone else there looked Mexican, and almost everybody at this food court like place ordered food from this particular stall.

I ordered grilled pork neck, which was a huge steak-like portion. It was really tender and I was really full by the end of the meal. It came with a generous amount of avocado, and I also got to try the Habanero pepper (the orange thing there). I think he thought I was insane to even touch it hahaah and yes I did regret cutting it open and putting a piece of it in my mouth. I felt a strong burning sensation from it that was more intense than the Thai chili padi that we have in Singapore.

The set also came with a bowl of gravy made from black beans, which I had used to dip my tortilla. They also served a variety of Mexican drinks, and one of it was their version of the soursop juice which I really liked. I didn't like horchata at all, although some people claim to love it. Perhaps it's because I was never a fan of cinnamon.

I wish I got to know about this place, and had the opportunity to try good Mexican food much earlier. I guess the dining halls on campus ruined my impression of Mexican food so much that I refused to even pay for Mexican food. I ended up heading to Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese food establishments for most of the times that I dined outside school. But I guess I don't regret it too much, because Korean and Vietnamese food in LA is way better than those in Singapore.

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

Isaan Station: Best Thai food in downtown LA

It's almost impossible to find Singaporean food when you're out of Singapore. Or at least Singaporean food that actually tastes like Singaporean food. There used to be a Papparich branch in Ktown, but it moved to the San Gabriel's area (where a lot of awesome and authentic Chinese food can be found).

I was brought here by my fellow Singaporeans who raved about this restaurant. I guess everyone had insatiable cravings for Southeast Asian food and the spice that we are used to. Jalepenos. sriracha chili sauce and hot sauce isn't really our thing. This restaurant also served authentic Thai food from the Isaan area, which is where all the spicy dishes originate from. You could even place your order in Thai (which is what one of my friends did). 

Menu

So we ended up ordering Cha Yen (Thai tea), Tom Kha (chicken coconut soup), Kor Mu Yang (grilled pork neck), Crying Tiger (grilled beef) and sticky rice. We ended off with honey toast, which their version of the Shibuya thick honey toast. We ended up paying USD$20 per person after splitting it 4 ways, inclusive of tax and tip.

Thai Tea ($2.50) and Sticky Rice ($1.50)

After coming here, I dare say that many Thai restaurants in Singapore do not serve authentic Thai food. Its a shame because we are so much nearer Thailand than Los Angeles is. Same for Korean food. Anyway, I fell in love with their grilled pork neck. It is one of the most amazing dishes ever, and it has a similar effect on me as how char siew makes me crave for it all the time. I think the pork neck was grilled with honey, and it was extremely tender. Their grilled beef was not as amazing as their grilled pork neck, but it was tender and it was pretty good as well. The tom kha was flavourful and there was also a generous amount of ingredients unlike some places in Singapore.

Tom Kha and Kor Mu Yang

We ended the meal with the honey toast, which came with 2 huge scoops of ice cream. The thick toast was fluffy and not to sweet. However, it was impossible to finish even though we shared among 4 people. Or maybe we were just really full from our meal.

Honey Toast

I returned again shortly after with my other friends before spring break. This time, we ordered Kor Mu Yang, Tom Yum soup, pad thai and sticky rice.

This place is also very interesting, because they offer spicy levels on a scale of 1 to 10 for their soups. We decided to try level 6 because my other Singaporean friends said they couldn't handle level 7. It was a lot spicier than any tom yum soup that I had in Singapore. However, the other table which were all from Hong Kong were not asked to choose their level of spiciness, and their soup wasn't as strong. Not sure if they bother asking all their customers. Perhaps they would only ask if people sound or looked like they were used to taking spicy food (from their appearance and accents).

Pad Thai, Tom Yum soup and Kor Mu Yang

I returned here on another occasion for desserts after having kbbq at 8 Korean BBQ. The Taiwanese love coming here for their iced grass jelly. My friend would always want to come here to get it.

Mango Sticky Rice

The iced grass jelly was slightly underwhelming because I was expecting it to taste a bit more like chendol. However, it was just ice, grass jelly and brown sugar. But it was still pretty good. Their mango sticky rice was great and they do it better than a lot of places in Singapore.

Iced Grass Jelly

While I would consider Isaan Station to be the best Thai food place in Los Angeles, some people would argue that this other restaurant with a red signboard near BCD Tofu House is the best. I have never tried it because I've not heard anyone rave about it in USC, but I did see a crazy long line when I passed by it once. However, it could be just really popular among their Americans. There is also a Thai Town near Hollywood, and some of my Thai friends have said that the best Thai food can be found there. If you are able to travel all the way out, you can ask the Thais for the name of the restaurant that they believe has the best Thai food in LA. 

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

Honey Mee: Honeycomb Milk Soft Serve

Chanced upon this when I was done with dinner at BCD one day. My friend said that this was highly raved in Los Angeles, and so I decided to get one to try. I believe this was about USD$4.50. This is just a small stall in front of Boiling Crab. It resembled an old school ticket both for movies that is often depicted in cartoons.

Milk soft serve with honeycomb

This thing was really sweet, although I think the one with honey drizzled is even sweeter. Anyway, I don't know if I got it wrong, or that it is almost impossible to eat the honeycomb without taking bits of plastic-like things. They weren't exactly chewy so I had to take them out after chewing the honey away. Nevertheless, the milk soft serve was really good. It was also interesting to try the honeycomb. It was a pretty good way to end the night. It was satisfying even though this small cup was shared between 2 people.

I know there are similar stores in Singapore like Honey Creme and all that sort of things, and I'm looking forward to trying them here. Hopefully things are cheaper in Singapore, while the quality remains the same.

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

Sushi Gen: best Japanese lunch deal

My first visit here was actually for dinner. This was also the first Japanese restaurant that I've been to in LA, and I was impressed by their chirashi until I visited Sushi Go 55. I could get a much better deal at the same price there.

The fresh oysters were tiny and did not impress. I would prefer to go to EMC Seafood for their $1 oyster happy hour.

Fresh Oysters ($15)

Their chirashi bowl did not really impress me. The portion wasn't big either. It's not worth it's price for dinner, but this is only USD$17 for lunch.

Chirashi Deluxe ($24)

I came back again for their lunch deals. It was a lot more worth the money. Their sashimi set lunch came with a large plate of a variety of sashimi, a side (Japanese tofu), miso soup and rice. There was too much sashimi compared the rice, which is pretty uncommon. However, I wouldn't recommend this for picky eaters who only want specific types of sashimi. One of the things I really enjoyed was the shredded chicken that was so flavourful. It managed to help cleanse my palate from the rawness of the sashimi.

Sashimi Combination ($17)

My friend ordered the uni set lunch, which came with a box of sea urchin, assorted sashimi, miso soup, a side (Japanese tofu), nori sheets and rice.  Anyway, because the uni is so soft and creamy, sheets of seaweed were provided for us to wrap the uni with rice. I think this is super worth it. I don't think we will ever find this much good quality uni with sashimi for SGD$60 in Singapore.

Uni with Sashimi ($42)

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

Pho87: Huge, Satisfying Pho

Not sure if it's because it's Asian food, but I think a bowl of pho or wanton noodles or even beef brisket noodles are almost always USD$8.95 or USD$9.95 in Los Angeles. Although it is more pricey than in Singapore, I think the portion of food here makes it more value-for-money. Pho in Singapore isn't particularly cheap, and the portion is about half of what LA offers.

Was supposed to go to some lantern festival in Chinatown with some of my friends, but they were ill-prepared and did not know how to get there. I guess we gave up and decided to get pho in the area.

I don't remember what I ordered, but this was a huge bowl of noodles. The bowl is much larger than my face. There was also a generous serving of beef and all sorts of other things because I ordered the combination. The soup was really good as well, although I have a pretty bad habit of throwing in a lot of seafood sauce (hoisin), srirachi chili sauce and the other kind of chili sauce if available. 

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.

Sprinkles

I never knew that cupcakes could be so expensive until I saw the price of Sprinkles cupcakes in Los Angeles. But then again, cupcakes from other famed establishments such as Georgetown cupcakes are priced similarly. Singaporeans are probably familiar with Twelve Cupcakes, with their price at SGD$3-$3.50 per cupcake. It is probably considered pretty exorbitant although I guess the packaging is pretty and so youngsters will pay for it. Anyway, Sprinkles cupcakes are USD$3.75 each without tax. That is nearly twice a price of a red velvet from Twelve Cupcakes...

Sprinkles Cupcakes at Fig@7th near USC

The first ever Sprinkles that I had was thanks to my roommate who just entered a sorority and was gifted a dozen of these cupcakes by her Big. I thought the price was justified initially based on the size of the cupcake, but I guess I had second thoughts about it after cutting it open.

Black and White

Belgian dark chocolate cake with creamy vanilla frosting

I guess most of the mass was actually frosting instead of cupcake. I was kind of horrified at first, and it just reinforced the American stereotype because of all that unnecessary sugar. Even their red velvet cakes here have cream cheese frosting most of the time instead of the creamy and smooth yellow cream that we are used to. I would say I prefer our take on cream cheese because it has a stronger cheese taste as well.

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to have also tried Sprinkles ice cream for free at an end of year event with WBB. The red velvet ice cream was delicious, although it tasted like frosting that was turned into ice cream with some red velvet cake. However, I don't think I've seen ice cream being sold at The Grove nor at Fig@7th. I think the only place which I have seen Sprinkles ice cream being sold was at Glendale, around the Americana, which also had Cupcake ATM.

Red Velvet Sprinkles ice cream

Please do not repost or re-use my pictures without permission.