Take a Bao

If cute, creative AND tasty was its concept, then Take a Bao got it right.
The newest addition to Century City Westfield Shopping Center's food court, Take a Bao puts a modern and unique twist to the classic Chinese steamed and filled bun. The bao dough is rolled flat, steamed then stuffed with asian-inspired fillings including pomegranate steak, miso beef, citrus chicken, bbq pork, panko crusted fish and chili glazed tofu with complementing vegetables. They also offer rice bowls, noodles, salads, and sides. The menu is health conscious, replacing white buns and rice with whole wheat or even lettuce for the carb watchers.But if you're feeling indulgent then try the Take a S'more, an interesting but yummy version of the classic s'more, or the asian ice cream sanwhich and mochi ice cream.http://takeabao.com/

RED HOT @Red Seven

As a preview to the American Wine and Food Festival, Wolfgang Puck hosted an event right outside his LA restaurant Red Seven in the courtyard of the Pacific Design Center on September 26, 2008. Restaurants all over Los Angeles including Cut, 8 Oz., Lawry's and La Brea Bakery showed off their best. Guests were able to taste samples from the different restaurants featured and sip on cocktails and wine while mingling and enjoying the live music under the stars.


Beef was the big star at Red Hot. Fresh off the grills set up in the courtyard, chefs were busy garnishing and putting together the patties with their buns and condiments and steak with heirloom tomatoes and goat cheese. There was the more traditional Lawry's prime rib with creamed corn and potato chips but there were also new tastes from Craft and Cut.


My favorite part of the evening was lounging with LA foodies, nibbling on mini potatoes with truffle salt and getting my much needed beef fix. Yumm I'm looking forward to next year's event already!

Korea Town Foodie Adventures #2

Recently, on another trip to Korea Town for some shopping and errands, I was hit with the craving for meat. But not the usual Korean barbecue, I wanted Brazilian churrrasco. M Grill, located on Wilshire Blvd., is a korean owned Brazilian barbecue restaurant. Their meat rotation includes an impressive 13 kinds of meat at dinner. My favorites are top sirloin cap, chicken thigh and garlic steak. The meat is rotated on spits with various seasonings then brought out to diners by waiters equipped with a knife for table-side carving. Throughout the meal, these servers bring out hot new meats to your table. To complement the meat heavy menu, M Grill offers the salad bar and hot foods section. Garlic rice, pasta, salad complete the meal. Although dinner for two will cost you over 80 dollars with tip, M Grill is a great place to introduce yourself to Brazilian churrasco!

The next stop was one of countless Korea town cafes: Heyri Cafe.
I ordered a smoothie that was nothing special except its huge size. But the monster cup came with a price. All of Heyri Cafe's drinks are very overpriced and the only thing great about this cafe was its atmosphere. What used to be a house, the two story cafe is very cozy with a cute outside patio. But if what you're looking for is smoothies or coffee without the ambiance, just try Jamba Juice or Starbucks.

Frida Mexican Cuisine

All I can say about this new restaurant is that it's mediocre. I totally agree with the 2 stars on yelp. Maybe it's because the restaurant is just starting out at the Americana and it needs time to improve? I'll just leave you with photos:

Jewel City Diner

It was the opening weekend for the Americana on Brand in Glendale and I was so excited. Developed by Caruso, the Americana was a modified version of the Grove. Complete with shopping, fine dining, eateries and movie theater, the Americana is located right next to the Glendale Galleria and Marketplace. My friend and I braved the crowds of people bustling about, but we were hungry. Not willing to spend the money for Katsuya or to wait in line for Cheesecake Factory, we chose the Jewel City Diner. Although it was also very crowded, we managed to snag two chairs at the counter.

Our tuna melt and burger took too long to arrive because of the huge amount of customers in line for take out and seated in. Cooks were frantically putting orders together, but were running out of ingredients. Luckily, we received our food before the diner had to close due to the lack of burger patties and veggies. The burger and tuna melt were average but the fries were yummy. Hopefully, the diner improves to make up for its weak start.

Pizzeria Mozza

The place for brick oven pizza! I had their popular fennel sausage with panna pizza and it was perfect. The crust was chewy, crunchy and thin like the authentic Italian style. The sausage was flavorful and meaty. YUMM! My friend ordered a panini and that was fantastic too. Although there's a wait and the food is pricey, its worth it to see what makes the man in the orange crocs so famous. Plus, it doesn't hurt that they serve you those tasty long and skinny bread sticks at the beginning of the meal.

Korea Town Foodie Adventures #1

Feeling the urge to eat something spicy, I decided to head to Korea Town. One of my favorite places to eat is the trendy and fun Caffe Village. Introduced by a friend, I go here to enjoy big portions of my favorite casual Asian foods. They serve specialty sushi rolls, udon, jjajjangmyun (black bean noodle), donkatsu and other fusion Asian dishes. But my favorite at Caffe Village is their mega ddukpokki (spicy rice cake) and sesame chicken.

Unlike the more traditional street food, Caffe Village's mega ddukpokki has udon noodles, mozzarella cheese, and sausage. You might be intimidated by this combo, but trust me, once you try it, you'll fall in love. The cheese counters the spiciness and creates a perfect and very filling dish. The sesame chicken is also very tasty. Quickly fried in a light batter, these chicken pieces are perfectly paired with a sesame dipping sauce. YUM!

But I wasn't done with Korea Town just yet. I wanted bingsoo (korean shaved ice) from Ice Kiss for dessert. This joint is where K-towners go to cool down, chat, play board games and enjoy the shaved ice treat. They offer the choice of coffee, green tea, red bean or fruit toppings and ice cream. I opted for pat bingsoo (red bean shaved ice), my favorite. The mix of fruit syrup, red bean, mochi, fruit, strawberry ice cream, and ice was perfect to cool down my taste buds. Although Ice Kiss isn't the cleanest of Korea Town, its definitely worth the try.