Kristy Kwak

#Foodie #Economics #Cal #AvailableforHire

[kristykwak]

I’ve moved!

I’ve moved to my wordpress site, so please visit me there! 

kristyskwak.wordpress.com

Excited to see you there!

[kristykwak]

Review: Eight Korean BBQ (Palsaik)

TLDR: I originally discovered this gem when it was named Palsaik (8 colors), when it first opened. The eight or Palsaid refers to the 8 different marinades the pork belly is flavored with. No brainer - it’s a great place to eat if you are a pork belly lover! I love the flavor combinations of the different sauces and pork belly and finishing off with the fried rice is must in Korean BBQ! The combo comes out to around $50, for 3-4 people, so I think it’s a pretty good deal for some BBQ! 

Food:

Some side dishes - slices of radish to wrap the pork belly in and some picked jalapeños and radish. 

The seafood soup! 

The pork belly! - On the grill there’s the mushrooms, the spicy bean sprouts and kimchi. The servers grill the more mild tasting meats first, Wine, Original, Ginseng and Garlic. Then comes the Herb, Curry, Miso Paste and Red Pepper Paste. My favorites were the garlic, herb and miso paste! Also, something interesting to note is that grill is tilted so that all the fat drains to the bottom. 

The Korean BBQ must have - Kimichi fried rice at the end of the meal! 

Address: 863 S Western Ave Los Angeles, CA

[kristykwak]

Review: Taberna Arros y Vi

Review: Taberna Arros y Vi

TLDR: Recently found out that is place closed! :( It was a great place to grab some sangria, tapas or dinner. Servers were really great, with tons of great recommendations. 

Food: 

The menu! I would definitely go for some tapas and a dinner dish and share everything! The some items on the menu does rotate, so be on the look out!

The meatballs - Probably not my favorite dish of the night. :(

Croquettas - Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. What’s not to love about fried foods!

Black Squid Ink Pasta - This dish was surprising large and I loved how the pasta had a great savoriness to it without being too salty, which is my experience with other black squid ink pastas. Definitely check out your teeth before you leave the restaurant!

Paprika Shrimp - Super juicy and garlicky. The acid that the squeeze of lemon brings to the richness of the shrimp is delicious!

Crispy Pig Ears - Hard to find a place that serves pig ears or cooks it correctly! These are extra crispy and go perfectly with the aioli.

Address: 1403 2nd St, Santa Monica, CA 90401

[kristykwak]

Something different - Thoughts of an Old New Grad

After 1 year of graduating, I visited some friends, went to graduation, a wedding and pigged out with my besties. It was great going back to campus and enjoying the sights I used to see everyday. Everyone looked younger and I thought back to the stressful but happy event that was my graduation.  It also made me reflect on my time after graduation and difficulties I faced while looking for a job.  Below are my two cents for the new class of new grads!

1. Don’t worry (too much) if you don’t get a job. Find some time to invest in yourself. I really regret not traveling or doing something else while job hunting as that’s the only time I would have completely free and had my last summer vacation.  I’m also very grateful to my parents who allowed me to go to college and also support me until I was able to support myself. Jumping for the first but wrong opportunity might not be the best choice. 2. Do try to help out financially. I did take on a part-time job while I was job-hunting to help with my own expenses and have a bit of allowance to go out. It allows you to have some cushion and I also added to my emergency fund for unexpected expenses. 3. Do have fun. Job hunting and interviewing is a very stressful situation especially when you don’t know what you’re doing or what you want to do. So maybe you can’t afford to go out everyday with your friends, but make time and join them once a week or every other week. It can lead to making new friends in a new city or even an opportunity to find other jobs.

[kristykwak]

Review: Apple Fritter

Review: Apple Fritter

TLDR:

What can I say. I cannot pass up a great brunch place and my friend delivered! She’s been dying to try this place around the corner and boy it was good! We went in at around 10am and the place was full and some fritters were sold out! Make sure you don’t leave this place without trying out their fritter and they have some bomb brunch dishes. One con - no mimosas. :( 

Simple instructions to get your food!

Food:

The place is called apple fritter, so I had to go for it! The pastry itself so good! It was slightly crunchy on the outside, like a wonderful shell with a really fluffy inside with small chunks of apple in it. Really the best apple fritter I had so far and am not surprised by the 6 per person maximum. Disappointed that I wasn’t able to come in earlier to try their other flavors. 

Bird’s Nest - Fresh ground beef scrambled w/ hash browns, grilled yellow onions, and topped w/ melted american cheese, two sunny side up eggs, sour cream, & chives. Served w/ choice of toast.

This is bomb and everything I would want in a brunch dish. You had your side of toast, eggs, and hash browns topped with 2 eggs. Topped with some ketchup and tapatio, and you are ready to go! You can cut into the yolk and really mix everything up to get a beautiful bite of food. Amazing! 

TOOTHFAIRY - Three slices of thick egg bread dipped in our house made cinnamon vanilla batter. Served w/ 3pcs hardwood smoked bacon, & 2 farm fresh eggs.

My roommate got this dish and it was the best of both worlds! Sweet and savory. I tried her french toast and they were pretty good! Perfectly grilled and moist on the inside. Just dip in some syrup and you’re ready to go!

Our plates. A bit too early for face photos. 

Address: 1901 S Norfolk St San Mateo, CA 94403

[kristykwak]

Review: China Chilcano

Review: China Chilcano

TLDR: I can’t pass up on a chance to eat good Peruvian food, so I had to have lunch at China Chilcano when I was at the nation’s capital. This is one of José Andrés’s newest restaurants and focuses on Peruvian-Chinese (Chifa) & Japanese (Nikkei) Fusion food. Everything is presented in a modern way, while capturing the essence of each dish. But def took a hit on the wallet & might be a bit hungry after. 

Store Sign: Very Peruvian! It incorporates the hummingbird figure of the Nazca lines in the Ica Region, which is cool. 

Menu - It separates the variety of dishes in Appetizers, Mains and by influence: Chinese or Japanese. Major disappointments were that they did not offer the anticuchos in cow heart, which is the ORIGINAL nor the yuca. 

The interior with hints of Peruvian design elements. 

Food:

 - It was a super cold day, so ordered some green tea to warm up! It came with a really cute timer!

- Lomo Saltado - Marinate coulotte steak, tomato, soy sauce, shishito pepper, ginger, shoestring potatoes, rice. This is a super classic dish that’s jazzed up with some Japanese influence with the shishito pepper and presented in a pretty way. 

- California Causagiris - Potato causa, jumbo lump crab, tobiko, spicy mayo, cucumber, avocado, huancaína sauce. This was the dish that was I probably most interested in trying as I’ve never seen something like this in Peru. It takes a normal dish, causa, and gives it a Japanese twist - making it look like sushi. It definitely had the California influenced flavors. 

- Ceviche Clásico La Mar - Daily-selected market fresh fish, leche de tigre, sweet potato, red onion, cancha, cilantro. This is a ceviche, I think they got it from Gastón Acurio, who is a famous Peruvian chef that owns a restaurant called La Mar. My ceviche wasn’t as cold as I expected it to be on top of all that ice. It was a really small portion, but delicious!

- Pisco Sour de Maracuya (Passionfruit) - I couldn’t pass up on having one of these! They infuse fruits into their piscos, so I asked them to make a pisco sour from the passionfruit one that they offered. 

Address: 418 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20004

[kristykwak]

Review: Seasalt Fish Grill

Review: Seasalt Fish Grill

TLDR: Looking for a healthy, affordable and filling lunch spot in Santa Monica? This is your place! Seasalt offers a variety of fresh seafood dishes such as ceviche and grilled fish at a great price! 

Food: I usually get the Daily Catch of the Day, which is cheaper and comes with a drink. This time, I got the Grilled You have great choices of grilled fish with 3 sauces: creamy garlic butter, spicy cajun and soy ginger glaze. My favorite is the spicy cajun, which goes great with the salmon. The plate itself comes with two large pieces of grilled salmon, brown rice and sautéed vegetables. 

Address: 508 Santa Monica Blvd Santa Monica, CA 90401

[kristykwak]

Review: Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan

Review: Wicked Spoon at The Cosmopolitan

TLDR: You obviously have to go to a buffet once when you are in Vegas! I've been to Caesar's Bacchanal before, but I was happy with Wicked Spoon's quality and service. It was smaller but offered a great variety and better food quality! It's a great place to go have a late lunch at brunch prices (~$40/person) and be full for dinner! 

The Cashier: After paying, we had to wait about another hour before we were seated 

First plate! Some ham, fried chicken wings, made to order mac and cheese and a pear (for later). I could not risk just passing by those cute baskets with chicken wings! They were pretty good, but my favorite was the made to order mac and cheese! I got some veggies, jalapeños for the extra kick and breadcrumbs on top. Great dish! 

Second Plate! Just trying a bunch of their offerings! That endive, blue cheese and pear salad was just not tasty, their spicy tuna roll had a too much rice, and their lemon risotto was to be forgotten. I did get some kale salad, which was decent and bone marrow which was interesting! The prime rib and chimichurri was the best from my 2nd round.   

Tacos: I would have to say that this was the best dish I had there! The carnitas were really juicy and flavorful and I topped it off with some salsa and guac. Best thing I had there and glad my friends suggested it or I would have missed out!

Desserts! I tried to not get too crazy here, but they have a great selection that are all mini-sized and also offered some gluten-free options! They had a decent gelato selection that were served in mini waffle bowls! However, nothing that was awesome, which was a great disappointment as I am a dessert person!

Everything I had!  + Dish of Crab Legs the whole table shared

Address: The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas 3708 Las Vegas Blvd S Las Vegas, NV 89109

[kristykwak]

Review: Jean Philippe Patisserie

Review: Jean Philippe Patisserie

TLDR: Great chocolate display for show but like all things in Vegas, overhyped and over priced! The line to get pastries or food was confusing and it's not the best quality for price. But it makes for good pictures! 

The Chocolate Fountain Display

The view of the Ceiling

The Sandwiches

Croissants do look delicious!

The Roast Beef Sandwich: It was an okay sandwich with tons of roast beef that lacked seasoning. However, it was an okay snack to have right after arriving to the hotel. 

Raspberry Macaron: Yes, this is probably the only reason why I went here! A gigantic macaron filled with custard and fresh raspberries. The macaron was sweet with a slight hint of rose flavor. Honestly, worth to eat once but not twice. I would rather go for a smaller macaron from another store that's bursting with flavors! 

Address: Bellagio Las Vegas 3600 S Las Vegas Blvd Las Vegas, NV 89109

[kristykwak]

Review: Sugarfish By Sushi Nozawa (Santa Monica)

Review: Sugarfish By Sushi Nozawa (Santa Monica)

TLDR: A small Japanese place, that's always packed! Apparently, the rice is super good here, but I thought it was too vinegary. The fish was fresh, but sometimes the sauce they put over the fish wasn't the best, as I wanted to taste the freshness of it. The wait was about 20 minutes and overall a pleasant experience and no need to tip as a 16% charge is already included. Also, was I the only one kind of weirded out by the fact everyone, the servers and chefs were white? I was at least expecting one Asian looking person in there!

Parking: You can park on 2nd street and get 90 minutes free! Food: With the recommendations from my coworkers, I got what they got and it looked like a lot of food, but I found myself at the optimal level of fullness. Also, you can't ask for any extras here, so don't expect any additional sauce, rice, etc!

Nozawa Trust Me $35.00

- Organice Edamame - Tuna Sashimi - Albacore Sushi - Salmon Sushi - Yellowtail Sushi - Halibut Sushi - Toro Handroll - Blue Crab Hand Roll - Daily Special -> Salmon Sashimi

The first three courses:

The edamame were extremely over salted, so I had to chug down tons of green tea. The Tuna Sashimi wasn't what I expected as there was sauce on it. More of a Tataki feel. 

The second half of the meal:

Again, the salmon "sashimi" was a let down. The hand rolls are suggested to eat right away to keep the seaweed crisp. I thought they were pretty good, but was thrown off by the shape. The hand rolls I usually eat were conical in shape, but these were completely cylindrical. 

Organic Edamame- too salty!

Tuna Sashimi

Albacore & Salmon

Yellowtail & Halibut

"Daily Special" Salmon Sashimi

Blue Crab Hand Roll

Blue Toro Hand Roll

Address: 1345 2nd St Santa Monica, CA 90401

[kristykwak]

Review: Salt & Straw

Review: Salt and Straw

TLDR: Dealing with 95+ degree weather in LA in late Sept, I needed an ice cream fix. Salt and Straw has already made its mark in the Portland scene and I was excited that they just had opened shop near my house. Artisanal, tons of funky flavors and house-made waffle cones! Price is a bit steep, $5 for 1 scoop of ice cream in a waffle cone, but the portion was huge and I loved every bite! 

This is the store front. No space inside for seating, except a counter top. 

This is probably one of the most extensive menus I've seen at artisanal ice cream shops. Tons of funky flavors like Tomato Water Ojai Olive Oil Sherbet, Black Olive Brittle and Goat Cheese and Summer Sweet Corn Buttermilk. The people here are super nice, patient, and let you try tons of flavors. I think I tried 4 different ones before choosing!

I got a Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons in a waffle cone. It was really good and waffle cones were made in house. The ice cream itself was salty but it balanced well with the sweetness of the caramel. This is their best selling flavor. I also tried the Black Olive Brittle and Goat Cheese which was really interesting and a sweet and savory combination. Probably my favorite out of funky flavors I've tried. 

Of course, I had to get a pint to share with the family! 1 pint goes for $9.95, so not too bad for some artisanal ice cream. 

Address: 240 N Larchmont Blvd Los Angeles, CA

[kristykwak]

Review: Get Bbul (Seafood BBQ)

Review: Get Bbul (갯벌 Seafood BBQ)

TLDR: I found this place. Tucked in the corner of the plaza on Olympic and Serrano. I've tried tons of Korean meat bbq before, so it was refreshing to get some seafood bbq. Also, never having been to Busan before, this is the closest I've been to Korean seafood bbq. Make sure for the small platter, take 3 people as for 2 people, it was too much food! 

Food:

Side Dishes were varied with pieces of this seafood salad in a "soup,"  corn cheese, bossam (pork) and steamed egg. 

Platter- This platter is the small. It had tons of seafood on it such as shrimp, clams, mussels, spicy octopus, a basket of veggies, and spicy rice cake. This is the small and runs about $45. 

On the Grill:

Things can get a bit hot, so wear this glove to protect yourself!

Noodles- The meal is complete with some kalgooksoo (칼국수), which are noodles in a seafood broth. It was a nice finish to the meal with a clean and spicy broth. 

Address: 3189 1/2 W Olympic Blvd Los Angeles, CA

[kristykwak]

Review: Wako Donkasu

Review: Wako Donkasu

TLDR: This is hands down my favorite donkasu place ever! I've never seen any other place that can get the meat juicy and crispy on the outside. I swear this place is the bomb and has been my favorite place for the past 10 years!

Food:

Sauce- I think this is what differentiates Wako from other places. You get to grind your own sesame seeds for that savory flavor paired with their excellent bbq sauce!

Grind your sesame seeds! 

With the bbq sauce!

The New York Steak Donkasu- This time, I got the New York Steak Donaksu. The meal comes with miso, bowl of rice, some side dishes and the katsu and salad. I love the dressing that they have here! It's light and mustardy. I also recommend getting the combo if you want to get it with udon or soba noodles. The katsu itself is delicious! Crispy on the outside and not oily at all and juicy on the inside.

Address: 3377 Wilshire Blvd Ste 112 Los Angeles, CA 

[kristykwak]

Review: Cafe Korobokgur

Review: Cafe Korobokgur

TLDR: I was a bit sad to find that Caffe Village had closed and I would not have to eat their ddokbokgi (spicy rice cake). However, I was really happy to find out that Cafe Korobokgur (I know it's a mouthful!) had opened up in its place with the Village Ddokbokgi still on the menu! This cafe has high ceilings, has reliable Wi-Fiand has good food and coffee!

The plates- The cup with their mascot, the gnome. Apparently, these are so pretty that people have stolen them! It says on their menu to remind customers that these are Cafe Korobokgur property and that you are on camera! Who knew people would steal these things!

Food:

Fried Chicken Salad- This is an extremely simple salad, with fried chicken on top of a bed of lettuce. The dressing is a bit on the heavier side and tastes kind of like a honey mustard. I would get the dressing on the side next time but this is a great salad with lots of chicken!

Village Ddokbokgi- This is probably my favorite dish here and their most popular! They use thin rice cakes used to soup, sausage and veggies such as cabbage and bean sprouts with this slightly spicy but not too sweet sauce with cheese! It is a great combination and probably one of the best ddokbokgi's I've had ever!

This is the creamy bacon pasta served with two slices of garlic bread. It is a bit on the heavier side by the end of the meal but had a great taste! The pasta wasn't overcooked and there was a good ratio between noodles, bacon and veggies such as onion and garlic. 

Address: 3464 W 8th St Los Angeles

[kristykwak]

Stop 3 in San Diego! Phil's BBQ!

Stop 3 in San Diego! Phil's BBQ!

Of course I had to make a stop at Phil's BBQ while in San Diego! Hearing that dinner time waits are potentially 2 hours, I scheduled it so I could have lunch here. I arrived about 15 minutes before it opened, but people were already there lined up outside! 

I was amazed at the efficiency of the staff to get orders in and out. The food overall was very good and I loved the BBQ sauce!

The Store

Look at the menu while waiting!

Sauces + Device (wait until it vibrates and rings to get your meal!)

Barbecue, Bar-B-Que, BBQ, etc!

Food:

Onion Rings- These onion rings were indeed colossal and were very crispy. The ranch dressing was creamy and light at the same time. The perfect side!

Full Rib Dinner with 10-12 bones with some cole slaw and potato salad. The sides weren't that good. The ribs were drenched in the delicious BBQ sauce and were slightly charred. The meat was very soft and came off the bone easily. I do think meat was a bit lacking as my SO was still hungry after sharing this plate with me. 

This led him to order the Beefy Rib Tickler, which is beef not pork. The delicious bbq sauce was the same and the tickler comes with fries. onion rings and cole slaw. The beef was falling off the bone and delicious!

Address: 3750 Sports Arena Blvd San Diego, CA

[kristykwak]

Stop 2 in San Diego! Gaslamp! Taco Tuesday!

Stop 2 in San Diego! Gaslamp! Taco Tuesday!

My second stop in San Diego takes me to Gaslamp District. This area is filled with great bars and everything is within a 4 block radius. Great place to go bar hopping all within walking distance. 

TLDR: I was here on a Tuesday night, so that means Taco Tuesday! Great happy hour and $2 Taco deals all over the place! Great way to eat on the cheap and explore Gaslamp area!

So, I hit two Mexican places right next to each other. La Puerta's wait time was approximately 60-75 minutes and Las Hadas was 30-40 minutes, so we decided to explore Gaslamp and build up an appetite first. There were a great variety of bars that served all kinds of food: Mexican, American, Italian, etc. A couple of blocks down was the Convention Center and Gaslamp District sign if you want to take some pictures. :)

Food:

Las Hadas

The Menu!

The Tacos- I ordered 2 fish and 2 homemade carnitas. These tacos were one of the biggest tacos I've seen offered for a Taco Tuesday. The thin tortillas were overfilling with meat and veggies that I actually had to use a fork to scoop some up! I liked the fish taco better with the fillings! 

La Puerta

The interior (Sorry about the orange hue of the pictures, but the lighting inside made it difficult to take good photos)

Bark at the Moon margarita- This is one of their house specials with muddled serrano pepper that adds that extra kick. It was delicious and went well with the tacos. It also just won Travel + Leisure’s America’s Best Margaritas!

The Tacos! We got carne asada, cochinita (achiote pork) and ranchero shrimp. All for $2 per taco! I would say my favorite of the three was the shrimp with the grilled onions & poblano, lettuce and crema. It was a great combination! The cochinita was also something I've never had before, which was a spicier pork with picked onions. Great tacos! 

Address:

Las Hadas  558 4th Ave, San Diego, CA

La Puerta 560 4th Ave, San Diego, CA

[kristykwak]

Stop 1 in San Diego!

Stop 1 in San Diego! 

Recently, I was able to make a trip down to beautiful San Diego. The weather is amazing with sunny and with a slight breeze. I could totally get used to this.

TLDR: This is the first of my food stops in La Jolla! Hake is a restaurant near the ocean. They offer a variety of fresh seafood and is a great place to have a light lunch near the ocean!

Food:

Tuna Chicharrón- I was a bit confused by this dish. Usually a chicharrón is fried and offers a bite size piece of meat. However, this was more of a ground up tuna with onions and you wrapped them in a taco shell to eat. Nevertheless, it was still delicious!

Avocado Fries- These weren't as crispy as I would have wanted them to be but still delicious! The lemon juice helps cut through the richness of the avocado and the siracha mayo added the slightest kick. 

Hamachi Tartare- The tartare was very good. The yuzu added a sweet and citrusy taste to the dish. The thin cut radishes also provided an extra crunch when eating this dish. 

Tuna Tostada- First let me say that I was surprised with they handed only ONE tostada on the plate. The combination of fried leek, avocado, soy marinade, tuna and crunchy tostada was great though! There was enough tuna in each bite and I loved the combination of all these different types of textures. 

Address:  1250 Prospect St B10, La Jolla, CA