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A Party for Japan's Emperor

 
What a beautiful party for the Emperor of Japan's birthday. People dressed in their finest, and that included kimonos with gorgeous obis.

There was samisen music. And sake. And good California wines such as Acacia and Laetitia Chardonnays with which to offer a toast to Emperor Akihito.

The official birthday is December 23, but the party took place a month earlier to avoid the holiday rush and also to greet the new consul general of Japan in Los Angeles, Jun Niimi.

The Los Angeles consulate oversees the second largest community of Japanese-Americans in the United States, extending from Southern California into Arizona and numbering some 270,000 people. The largest is in Hawaii.

Hundreds thronged into the gardens of the consular residence for socializing, an official program and nonstop food, from Katsu-ya.

Tray after tray of sushi appeared, along with delicious miso-marinated cod on lettuce leaves (at right), cups of Japanese sweet potato, spoonfuls of marinated fish and fish layered on top of hot rice.

Waiters circulated with drinks to make sure everyone had a glass for the toast. And the feast continued even when the party began to thin out. It was royal hospitality, on a royal occasion.

 

Eat Your Greens at CBS Seafood

CBS Seafood concentrates on guess what, seafood. And those eat often in Chinatown say it does the best job there.

But the other night something humble got more enthusiastic comments than the crab, squid and shrimp--a simple green, ong choy (above), cooked to perfection.

If you've eaten in Thailand, you may know this vegetable as pak boong--in English morning glory vine, or water spinach. I've eaten a lot of it over there, but never as good as that at CBS, which was very young, fresh and tender. I've bought ong choy at farmers markets in Los Angeles, and even that was not as good. The coarse stems always had to be cut off.

We had plenty of seafood that night too, and it was fine--crab, deep-fried squid, shrimp with XO sauce (at right), a seafood casserole with tofu, crabmeat and corn soup--but the ong choy stole the show.

So hurry down and try it, although who knows how long the restaurant will be able to get such premium quality. Perhaps it's a seasonal thing.

On the menu you won't see it listed as ong choy. Instead, look for water convolvulus with garlic sauce, which is number 191 on a very long list of dishes.

 CBS Seafood Restaurant, 700 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Tel: (213) 617-2323.

Silver Lake's Mongolian BBQ

"There were two men in a sort of cage doing the barbecue, and there were plenty of flames, and it looked like they were in hell."

That was food columnist Faye Levy's first look at Mongolian barbecue--in Taiwan.

At Gobi Mongolian BBQ House in Silver Lake, there aren't any flames. And no cage. But there are two guys in black who circle a giant grill in a sort of infernal dance as the food sends up clouds of steam.

The craze for Mongolian barbecue may have dwindled, but it has never died out. It has the same timeless appeal as a buffet--endless choices that you cram into a bowl, then turn over to the grillers.

Gobi updates the idea by offering natural, antibiotic-free meats, farmers market vegetables, artisanal beers, trendy soju cocktails and deliciously gooey dessets, some provided by Pazzo Gelato on Sunset. 

For example, Pazzo's vanilla and espresso gelati fill the ice cream sandwiches, and vanilla bean gelato comes with the brownie sundae, which you might not want to miss.

Beer and dessert can be the same thing, if you get a scoop of espresso stout gelato or a beer float. Here's a tip--the floats are half price on Tuesdays.

Curiously, one of the best dishes may be an appetizer, pan-seared sesame-crusted ahi tuna (at right) with creamy sesame dressing and the house red pepper sauce.

But barbecue is the point, and what's not to like, when you can stuff in so much food at so little cost, that is, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, when all-you-can-eat dinners are $13.95.

Then you're allowed to go back endless times, creating new combinations of vegetables, meat and/or tofu with sauces such as Asian pesto, Korean barbecue, green curry and others, all made there.

The vegetable bar might have fresh asparagus along with spinach, red chard, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, zucchini, bean sprouts, cilantro, even butternut squash.

To these you can add extras such as garlic oil, pineapple chunks, water chestnuts and bits of baby corn.

Your bowl may be so full by the time you reach the last stop--noodles--that you will probably wish you had left more space. But pile some on anyway.  

Because when your creation hits the grill and the guys swirl it around, dance about, dash on some water and finally send it in a dramatic sweep onto a plate, it will have dwindled to much less than you put in.

If you've chosen poorly, you can go back for another try. But don't overdo it. You'll be cut off after 80 minutes, and if you leave too much on your plate, you're faced with a $3 excessive leftover fine.

Gobi Mongolian BBQ House, 2827 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90026. Tel: (213) 989-0711.

 

 

 

Give Thanks for Peking Duck

It's turkey month, but when the Plum Tree Inn staged a pre-Thanksgiving dinner, there wasn't a turkey in sight.

The main course was just what you would expect from a Chinatown restaurant--Beijing (Peking) duck (above), followed by soup made from the duck bones.

Then came two-flavored shrimp, one version orange and spicy and the other translucent and delicate, then giant lion's head meatballs; sweet crispy beef, kon pao that combined shrimp, fish and scallops and asparagus covered with fat black mushrooms.

Oh yes, and minced chicken in lettuce cups (below) for a first course, nice if you're not a turkey fan.

Dessert was quintessentially Chinese, a hot clear soup with tiny dumplings lightly flavored with sesame and barely sweet--a much better dessert after a gluttonous feast than the usual pumpkin pie.

Plum Tree Inn, 913 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Tel: (213) 613-1819.

MINCED CHICKEN IN LETTUCE CUPS
From Elaine Ting, owner of Plum Tree Inn 

Plum Sauce:

3/4 (16-ounce) jar plum jam
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Chicken and Lettuce:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves 
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup minced water chestnuts
2/3 cup minced green and red bell peppers
3 tablespoons minced onion
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
4 to 5 leaves of iceberg lettuce

To make the plum sauce, combine the jam, vinegar, brown sugar, dried onion, red pepper flakes, garlic and ginger in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring. Remove from the heat and set aside.

To prepare the chicken, coat the chicken breasts evenly with the cornstarch and salt.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool, then mince. 

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the wok over high heat. Add the water chestnuts, peppers and minced onion and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Add the chicken to the wok, then stir in the sugar, soy sauce and white pepper and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. 

Spoon the chicken mixture into the lettuce cups, adding some of the plum sauce.

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

 

Genwa--Korean Food with Class

Genwa Korean BBQ is so close to home that it has become part of the neighborhood scenery, like another Subway or KFC.

I'd forgotten how good it is until I went in the other night. The menu is so user friendly that if you don't know anything about Korean food, all you have to do is choose a set "course," which is a complete meal. These start at $45 and $50, and that's for two people.

The only difference is that the $50 dinner subtitutes galbi (rib meat) for cha dol (unseasoned prime brisket).

Servers grill the meat in front of you, adding garlic cloves, jalapeño slices, mushrooms and even sliced banana to the  grill.

There are so many side dishes--banchan--that they circle the grill more than once. I counted 23 plus plates of rice wrappers and daikon sliced paper thin in which to wrap the meat along with lettuce and spicy sauces.

Banchan the other night included egg slices that were sweet and chewy--I'd never seen that before--spindly Korean fern brake (gosari), hot marinated beef cubes, various fishy things, sweet pureed potato salad, lotus root, raw broccoli, marinated celery, slices of Korean pancake and the usual bean sprouts and spinach. 

Soon tofu--soft tofu in spicy sauce--is part of the dinner along with a bowl of salad and a sizzling hot pot of custardy eggs.

Still another dish is  japchae, transparent noodles with vegetables and egg strands (above). 

The servers are genuinely friendly, not bored with explaining each dish, and ready to provide more banchan without being asked.  The room itself is darkly handsome, even elegant. It is L-shaped, with booths on one side, tables on the other and smoke-free, despite the grilling.

At the end, you're given a glass of the Korean rice drink sikhye and a tray holding two tiny white circles that look like mints until the waiter pours hot water on them and they curl and twist like angry creatures. These are hot towels for your fingers. Be glad you didn't eat them.

And there's more--a graceful, long-stemmed lollipop comes with the receipt after you pay to thank you for being there. 

Genwa Korean BBQ, 5115 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036. Tel: (323) 549-0760.

 

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