April 7, 2010

• Song of the Day
  

  Meals On Wheels – Recently, there have been a proliferation of food trucks serving take out meals all over the city. I suppose this has something to do with the current economy. People are less likely to spend much, so ordering food from a mobile truck would be easier on the wallet. One Friday evening, we just happened to spot the Nom Nom Truck parked along Sawtelle . We heard a lot of good reviews about this mobile kitchen, serving “Banh Mi” or Vietnamese Sandwiches, and other Vietnamese-inspired tacos. Wasting no time, we queued up and ordered a sandwich and a few tacos. I found out a couple of items on their menu were sold out already. Darn!

  The truck with animated graphics and its simple menu…..
  

  Sandwich with lots of meat and condiments…..
  

  Grilled pork taco…..
  

  Chicken taco…..
  

  The tacos have lots of meat but kind of dry, it would be perfect with a little more sauce. The sandwiches are smaller than the average sizes and we ended up paying a little bit more than average. I have nothing to complain since I’m just happy to have freshly made Banh Mi in West L.A.! Overall, the meal is realtively filling and way more delicious than Subway or other mediocre sandwiches being served in delis around town. I hope Nom Nom would make this their regular spot from now on.

  I also noticed they always have quite gorgeous half-Asian (Eurasian) girls working inside the Nom Nom truck. No wonder there were so many guys queing up!

  While walking out of a restaurant one evening, we spotted another food truck, the “Worldfare bustaurant” , parked at the same spot where Nom Nom was a few days ago. “Worldfare” is a restaurant on a vintage double-decker bus, with a full kitchen on the bottom level and an upstairs deck that can accomodate a bus load of diners. The bus is more like a traveling restaurant than a typical food truck. The chef, Andi Van Willigan was in for 2 seasons as Gordon Ramsay’s sous chef on Hell’s Kitchen, who is also a partner in the business. Their signature dish is the “bunnys” — hollowed-out bread filled with a variety of savory ingredients such as braised short ribs with horseradish creme fraiche; the dishes are some sort of South African street food.

  

  The menu items are more gourmet sounding than the typical food truck menu…..
  

  A peek inside the kitchen found the chef in action. Strawberry basil lemonade (right), Orange lavender tea (left)…..
  

  Butterscotch bread pudding, so delicious. / View on the upper deck…..roof-deck dining sure does beat eating on the street curb…..
  

  Few diners would expect to find a western style restaurant serving small plates global cuisine in the Little Tokyo district of Los Angeles. We heard the Lazy Ox Canteen is buzzing with rave reviews, so we went for an early dinner around 6pm. The place was packed. I wondered what motivated all these Angelenos going for the early bird dinner? The restaurant serves a regular menu, which changes frequently, plus a chalkboard of specials two columns wide. It’s apparent that the chef is comfortable cooking in many cuisines, and his menu moves from Mexico to North Africa, the Middle East, France, Italy, Japan, Southeast Asia and the States. Sounds interesting!
  

  First up is the Pickled Beet and Eggplant salad, with market greens, blood oranges, marcona almonds & cucumber-dill dressing….
  

  Marinated and fried anchovies with capers. Anchovies fried in a light, puffy batter and drizzled with a filigree of honey water, tasted so briney and sweet at the same time…..
  

  Pig Ear Chicaron – Crispy pigs’ ears cut thick like steak fries, served with some pungent aioli for dipping…..
  

  Brick-roasted mussels in house-made sriracha (Thai chili sauce) with French feta crumbled over the top…..
  

  Lazy Ox Burger – Made from a mix of sirloin, filet tips and enough fat to hold it all together and keep it moist, the patty is thick and saturated with a deep beefy flavor. The bun is house-baked, not too soft. The fries come with the pico de gallo aioli and homemade stone-ground mustard…..
  

  Chocolate sundae – flourless chocolate cake and dark chocolate ice-cream…..
  

  It was a satisfying dinner (especially the chocolate cake) and I would certainly go back again to try the other items on the chalkboard. The tab came out to US$40 per person, including service charge.

  Home cooking – It has been a long while since we did some home cooking. Our regular dinning spot was Santoka ramen. It’s just a short drive away and also quite inexpensive. I could barely resist the temptation of a delicious bowl of hot soupy ramen. So, instead of ramen Sunday, it was pork-rib Sunday.

  First of all, wash and clean the pork ribs, and then marinate with salt and pepper. Here, W’s favourite “All Purpose Greek Seasoning”…..
  

  Prepare the side dish, we have Brussel Sprouts and pancetta.Hang dry after boiling the Brussel sprouts / On a larger frying pan, lightly pan fried the pancetta…..
  

  Mix the Brussel sprouts and pancetta together. Then, add in a cup of chicken broth under medium heat…..
  

  The ribs turned out nicely done after fifteen minutes of oven boiling…..
  

  

  The pork ribs and side dish of Brussel sprouts with pancetta were very tasty and needed no additional sauces. That was a quick and simple dinner, and we paired it with a bottle of chardonnay. And a big Thank you to W for the crisp photography on the crispy pig ears and cooking up the entire dinner, they were so delicious!

  • 4:06 am
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