Good Eats

It is rainy, I am hungry, and it is barely 9am in the morning. Driving back from Irvine after a late night of birthday celebrating, Xiao Long Baos (juicy Shanghainese soup dumplings) sounded divine. I was definitely not about to drive another 50 miles elsewhere, so I resorted to good ol' Yelp for a good place to start off a good, rainy Saturday... and thank goodness for it because Ding's Garden was such a great find.

Ding's Garden is a legit, small-time Shanghainese-Chinese restaurant. Their menu is written only in Chinese (unless you shamefully request for the English version like me - ABC, what what?). There are so many different dishes but most are the familiar classics. The food comes amazingly fast - within 5 minutes - so you won't be kept in much anticipation.

I know I said I came to satiate my craving of Xiao Long Baos but my wondering eyes got the best of me and I feasted like it was Chinese New Year again. Here is the play by play:

APPETIZER / MAIN:
+ Jiao He Jiao He (mixed cold-cut appetizer) - Simple, herby, addictive (not overly sensational to kick off your pallete)

+ XLBs - Excellent! Meaty, soupy, and flavorful. The vinegar and ginger is not even necessary because it's that good. I honestly wished I had ordered 2 crates.
+ Zha Zhang Mian - Tasty with a hint of sweetness. The noodles had a good elasticity and chewiness to it. It still is not comparable to the best-I've-ever-eaten in Hong Kong but I mean, you can't really beat the motherland.+ Pork Chop Fried Rice - Huge pork chop, well crusted, good meat to breading ratio, comforting fried rice
- Spicy Beef Noodles - Great lean cuts of meat without much tendon (my personal preference), but the soup lacked the herbiness that makes this dish - maybe it's the Shanghainese recipe vs. the Taiwanese flavors I am used to, at no fault of the dish if so
- Dan Dan Mian - Very peanuty if you are into that but it tasted too close to a peanut butter sandwich to me; I would have enjoyed more meat flavor in it. As an FYI, I do love PB in every form but this just seemed too much, even for me
- Stir Fried Rice Cakes (Nian Gao) - Ordinary, could have used more salt

DRINKS / DESSERT
+ Winter Melon Drink - Fragrant and sweet
+ Boba Milk Tea - Boba is smaller, which made it easier to swallow without much necessary chew time --> more time to eat everything else! :)
+ Sesame Rice Balls in Sweet Soup - Fantastic! I could not stop eating it for the life of me! You can tell it is freshly made from the delicateness of the rice balls. The sweet soup perfectly complements the balls, and I love the hint of fragrant Osmanthus flowers sprinkled on top. This is definitely worth getting if you can appreciate traditional Chinese desserts, which is especially perfect for a rainy day.
All in all, this meal was excellent - taste, value, and service rocked (the servers are busy folks but they will gladly stop and explain what's what on the menu and what the other table ordered). All the dishes were inexpensive, averaging $6/dish.

My mom said it best in that you know the owners of Ding's Garden are good cooks who care about their food as it clearly shows in the dishes. I can't wait til I come back for my 2 crates of Xiao Long Baos and sesame rice balls!

18922 Gale Ave, Ste A
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

534 E Valley Blvd, Ste 10
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Toe Jam, Blue Jam?

It seems old age comes with burnt taste buds and the re-generation of new ones. I can't really complain but I wish some fat was burnt in the process of chewing as well. With that said, brunch seems to be making its way on the top of my craving list. Eggs and bacon... can you really not like either? Melt some cheese on top and serve it with a side of crisp, thin hash and say my name because I am there.

Blue Jam Cafe
Situation: I won't lie, I'm still a brunch-noob so I let my friend do the researching. She picked a place near Melrose area of West Hollywood called Blue Jam Cafe. It sounded like a hoot and their comprehensive menu had me wearing sweat pants to the place.

Food: I like sweets for bfast, but it can't ever be my only dish. Luckily, I coerced a friend to split a sweet and savory with me! First up, the Gourmet Eggs Benedict. This bougie dish consists of smoked lox instead of the traditional canadian ham, croissant instead of the english muffin and a nice touch of chives. Definitely a notch up and tasted yumm! One of my biggest peeves with benedicts is when chefs go overboard with the Hollandaise sauce. Blue Jam poured just the right amount and allowed the egg yolk to do more of the toast coverage. It's not as heavy as traditional benedicts, so it left me with enough room to eat my next dish. The only thing I would change is for the croissant to be lightly toasted to get a bit of crispness to it. Next up, the Blue Jam French Toast--stuffed with cream cheese and surrounded by fruit (the bacon rule applies to cream cheese too where it makes everything better). It sure looked like a decadent dish, but after I bit into it... Ehh. Ok. Why isn't the cream cheese warm? Why isn't it a bit sweeter? Where's my damn jam to balance the CC? It was pretty disappointing. So b*tch, give me back my couch!

Verdict: Blue Jam Cafe is ok. Mind you, the wait on the weekend is 1hour terrible. You can occupy yourself with shopping on Melrose, but I don't know about you, I am damn cranky when I am hungry. My critique might also be a bit harsh. I am spoiled. I had the best brunch experiences in San Francisco at Canteen and Toast. Everything was perfect up there. So LA... show me something good and hopefully not over-priced!

Well it isn't all bad, here are some quick recommendations of good brunch places in LA:

• Amandine - Best Almond Croissant (very crispy, non-traditional buttery pastry)
  
• 26 Beach - Order the Polar Bear which is a crazy french toasted croissant with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, plethora of fruit and caramel and fruit sauce drizzled on top, and the Monte Cristo which is a french toasted ham and blackberry jam sandwich (dabble in the sweet & savory in one bite)
• Griddle Cafe - Their Chili Omelette My Soul inspired me to make bfast again, and their Nutella French Toast is simply heaven (their portions are extremely large so order half sizes!)

7371 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046