5 posts tagged “curry”

I missed out on ordering "Mother's Frog" at Yun Chuang Garden the other day, so I got a frog curry at Jitlada.  I didn't realize how bony frog is, plus being stewed seems to have made it a little tough. Next time I'll get the deep fried frog.

Frog

Pho

I go through phases in my eating. Right now I seem to be in a Southeast Asian phase. 

The other day I went to Westminster for pho. It's a cool place, but I feel a little sad for some of the people there because they are holding onto memories of a lost homeland. There are flags of South Vietnam everywhere. When I was in high school I remember some of the other kids talking about their homeland, the "Republic of China." I guess the Taiwanese people are at an advantage -- their country basically still exists.

In any case, the pho was good. The place I went to had really high ceilings and the walls were painted orange. I think they were really trying to look upscale. The back wall was composed of pebbles that had a stream of water flowing down them. Visually it was pretty cool.  The pho was OK; I got the one with rare steak and well-done flank. I forgot to tell them not to add the nasty cilantro to it. I always forget and every time I go "fuck!" Oh well, I scraped as much of it out of the bowl as I could.

It wasn't bad, and much better than any of the places I've tried in LA. In LA there are only places that cater to regular old Americans or ones owned by Koreans. I refused to go to "What the Pho" or "Phoshizzle." It just sounds wrong (but I have to admit, I did once go to Absolutely Phobulous -- it wasn't BTW).   

 Today I went to Little Phnom Penh in Long Beach. I ate at New Paradise and got a fish curry soup (with no fish, apparently) that included rice noodles and an interesting assortment of goodies. It had two chilies, lime, bean sprouts, cucumbers, and something that looked suspiciously like julienned pig ear. It turned out to be banana blossom (whew).

Curry soup

Loc lac

This is loc lac, a grilled beef served with jasmine rice. There's a Vietnamese version too -- don't know where it came from originally. I like the Cambodian version better. 

Mayura is a really unique Indian restaurant. It's right next to a small Indian vegetarian place I used to buy food from when I was in grad school and had no money at the corner of Motor and Venice, right by the check cashing place.

Mayura, on the other hand, is quite a different place.  It has all of the standard curries and breads, but there are some really special items as well. I was there the other night and got seekh kabob, nice spicy lamby kabobs served with onions. I could have used a little more spice, but they were hot and very good. 

My entree was something you don't see too often in LA, appams.  OK, appams aren't technically the entree. They are coconutty, lacy, spongy things that are used to mop up South Indian and Sri Lankan curries.  My Alford and Duguid cookbook says the English name is "hoppers" which makes them sound like bugs. 

Anyway, the appams were a little too sticky, but they had nice flavor that went well with the subtle curry. It had salmon in it, a fish I normally only like raw.

Appam

Bahrain 074

Bahrain 073

The three sacks are full of dried limes. I generally prefer the black ones over the brown ones because they have a stronger taste. They're good in biryanis and in mechbous (basically that's Arab biryani for lack of a better word). I guess you make them by burying limes in the ground until they dry out. It sounds kind of gross. 

Bahrain 016

I think the pyramid of spices is really cool, although I suspect it's more for visual impact than for taste.

Annapurna Gardens

15651 Hawthorne Blvd.

Lawndale, CA

www.annapurnagarden.us

 Ah...dosas.  There's something really satisfying about them...

I first had South Indian food in Artesia years ago at Udipi Palace. Then I tried Woodlands. Then I've gone to four different Annapurnas.  Of all of them, the best one seems to be the one in Lawndale, a place you'd never think would have good Indian food.

The other night we got a couple of things: Andhra Masala Dosa and a Andhra Chicken Curry (with naan). 

Annapurna2

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Annapurna1