California, Los Angeles: 2014 West Coast Road Trip

Been having much wanderlust these past few days and thought I would go look at some old photos to reminisce good ol’ times. For a start, here are some snaps of California, Los Angeles, from our 2014 West Coast USA Trip.

One of our first meals was to try the much lauded In-N-Out Burger. It’s good but to be honest, nothing to shout about. 

The next day we had breakfast in the Farmers Market.

Our most memorable was this Mediterranean dish from Moishe’s.

Then we headed off to Santa Monica Beach to have a look-see.

After having Kogi for dinner (see previous post), we popped by Sweet Rose Creamery for some dessert.

Next morning, we headed to Downtown LA Grand Central Market for breakfast before driving off to Vegas.

Of course, we had to have THE Legendary EggSlut. Boy, was it pretty damn awesome.

Tacos and more tacos from different Mexican joints with the market. We also dapao-ed a huge arse burrito for the road (not pictured).

Not forgetting this luscious, sinful, and hands-down-best-ever grilled cheese sandwich from DTLA Cheese, another shop in the market.

California, Los Angeles: Kogi Food Truck

I had this mapped out as a meal option but didn’t have high hopes that we would have the time to pop by. Kogi has apparently a fleet of five food trucks that go around LA serving up their delicious tacos and burritos. The one that looked closest to where we stayed still looked like quite a distance away to be honest.

In any case, things worked out and we found ourselves standing in line for some of that famous Kogi Mexican Fusion goodness. In fact, we were the last few people in line who got lucky. Staffers came out and had to turn away some people in the queue behind us. Phew! I strongly suggest you check out where they are going to park themselves and head down early if you don’t want to leave empty-handed.

We had the Short Rib Tacos, Kimchi Quesadillas, Blackjack quesadillas and the Spicy Pork Burrito. ALL of which were so flavourful – especially the Kimchi Quesadilla (who would have thought??).

I highly recommend this if you’re headed to LA. There’s absolutely nothing like this in all of sunny SG!

Bangkok, Thailand: Soul Food Mahanakorn

Bangkok is becoming a yearly quick trip for us. Last year, we managed to hit Or Tor Kor Market, Let Them Eat Cake, Som Tum Nua and more but Soul Food Mahanakorn eluded us. First it was fully booked out and on another night, it was closed for a private function.

This time around, determined not to give it a miss again, I made an email reservation a week in advance. When we arrived, I could see why reservations were hard to score on a weekend night at this small cosy establishment.

Beijing, China: Yu Shi Fu, 鱼师傅

Getting a private driver to drive us to the Great Wall was probably the best decision we made during our Beijing trip. Honestly, it made the trip so much more enjoyable. Without having to squeeze with hordes of unruly tourists was a big plus, but what was also wonderful was that we could interact with a local who gave us insights on how living in Beijing was like. The best part? He brought us to Yu Shi Fu 鱼师傅 for lunch on the way back to the city – a restaurant we would probably have never found on our own.

Beijing, China: Yi Zuo Yi Wang 一坐一忘丽江主题餐厅

We were actually headed for a random Italian restaurant called Assaggi after drinks at Apothecary. As chance would have it, Assaggi was right next to Yi Zuo Yi Wang 一坐一忘 which I recalled being listed on our host’s friend’s compiled list of recommended eats in the city. Have I ever mentioned I have a knack for remembering restaurant names after reading about them once or twice but hardly ever can remember names of characters in movies?

Forsaking Assaggi, I pulled the hubbs along to try Yunnan cuisine at Yi Zuo Yi Wang – something both of us have never had. To be honest, we have not had a chance to eat another Yunnanese meal yet. The hubbs, while hesitant, was kind enough to let me have my way.

Navigating Yi Zuo Yi Wang’s  menu was thankfully easy. There were English translations and accompanying images to help us along. I also always fall back on the recommendations of wait staff who would usually at the very least be able to tell you what the popular or signature dishes are.

We ordered the lemongrass roasted tilapia 香茅草烤罗非鱼 which was hands down one of the best grilled fish I’ve had. Why is there a lack of good grilled fish in Singapore? We wiped this one clean (just like the one we did at James’ Kitchen) like any cat worth its whiskers.

Singapore: Pho 99

I think we definitely found our favorite Vietnamese pho at Pho 99 in Singapore. It was first introduced to me by my boss and it was so good I knew I had to bring the hubby over the same weekend to try it. Why is good Vietnamese fare so hard to find in Singapore?

Taipei, Taiwan: Yong Kang Beef Noodles 永康牛肉麵

Beef noodles is one of Taipei’s signature eats. A quick Google will no doubt land you on reviews of Yong Kang Beef Noodles 永康牛肉麵. We made it a point to come by this time around even though we were both already pretty stuffed when we arrived.

We got there at about 8pm and there was a short queue in front of the store. The store is unmissable with a huge yellow sign board right atop the entrance.

Taipei, Taiwan: James Kitchen 大隱酒食

Tucked at the furthest end of Yong Kang street 永康街, James Kitchen 大隱酒食is a restaurant serving hearty home-cooked Taiwanese fare. If you’ve been to Taipei countless times and have had your fair share of XXXL Ji Pa (Chicken Chop), enough dumplings at Ding Tai Feng and oodles of Beef Noodles and you’re hoping to discover another facet of Taiwanese cuisine, James Kitchen will satisfy.

We had a hard time looking for the place at about 8pm. 65 Yong Kang street eluded us the entire Yong Kang stretch and we almost gave up until we decided to venture even further into not-so-brightly-lit territory right at the very very end of the road.

Main branch at 65 Yong Kang Street

Rustic store front with a collage of newspaper clippings

Bangkok, Thailand: Som Tam Nua, Siam Square

Some friends I know have restaurants they return to time and again be it in Singapore or other nearby cities they visit. So do I and Som Tam Nua in Bangkok’s very central Siam Square Soi 5 is one of the restaurants on my repeat visit list. I discovered this Isaan food gem together with my sisters early last year when they flew into Bangkok to visit me during an extended work trip.

For the uninitiated, Isaan is the northeastern region of Thailand and its food is largely influenced by the nearby Laos. Sticky rice accompanies every meal and dishes are usually spicy and pungent (in a good way!).

We came by on a Sunday, 15 minutes before Som Tam Nua’s opening time at 11am and there was already a queue starting to form. By 11.10am, the restaurant was almost full. Staff speak little to no English but no fear, sit yourselves, ask for the English menu, look out for all the items marked with a star and do the universal pointing language when you order.

If you’re a fan of fried chicken wings, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE order them here. These are really the bomb and there’s a fairly long waiting time for it as well so just go ahead and order the larger portion. No regrets, I promise.

The other outstanding dishes we always order are the fried fish, spicy minced pork salad (laab moo), tom yum soup, sticky rice and of course Som Tum! I’m salivating just thinking about the dishes. My sister also swears by the iced coffee which reminds us of just the way our first nanny made it for herself when she was with us two decades ago. We know only because she always snuck us some of it.

These fried chicken wings are honestly one of the best I’ve had! Must-must-order.

Another must-order. Fried fish doused in a fish sauce laced tangy lime dressing, topped with loads of raw onions, spring onions, mint leaves and chilli.

Laab Moo – a spicy minced pork salad. I can’t recall what it was called on the menu, but I just told the wait staff “laab-moo” and they got it.

Isaan sticky rice that come in little straw canisters.

Tom Yum soup with some fish slices and straw mushrooms. The Hubbs insisted on ordering a second helping.

Som Tum – a green papaya salad! A salad of rice vermicelli, shrimp, tomatoes, long beans, slices of green papaya and a sprinkling of toasted nuts.

Our nostalgic iced coffee 🙂

Som Tam Nua
392-14 Siam Square Soi 5 (Just keep walking along Soi 5; it’s a relatively short lane so you won’t miss it)
Open daily from 11am to 9pm

Bangkok, Thailand: Or Tor Kor Market

I’m not sure how many of you already know about Or Tor Kor Market also known as Aw Taw Kaw Market in Bangkok. Because if I’m really the last one to know, how come no one was sharing this with me before?? So this post is for the benefit of those who don’t have a clue what/where that is and like me, didn’t know what we were missing out on at Or Tor Kor Market.

A colleague had casually mentioned Or Tor Kor Market to me when she knew I was headed for Bangkok. Truth be told, when she said the word “market”, all I could think of was unsanitised, wet, grimy markets with narrow lanes. Clearly, I’m scarred by the wet markets in Singapore in the 90s. After reassurances that Or Tor Kor Market was nothing like that, I decided to give it a go.

Honestly, it made so much sense heading there for breakfast anyway because guess where Or Tor Kor is located? Diagonally opposite the famous Jatujak Market in Bangkok. Yes, so close to the Jatujak Market which most of us head for when we’re in the city! How could I have missed out on this gem for so many years?

Or Tor Kor Market is housed in a super clean airy complex. It is, like my colleague reassured, extremely clean. In fact, it might put some of our markets to shame. One half of the Market sells Bangkok’s highest quality produce like mangoes, durians, dried goods and snacks, where I ended up buying hae kor (prawn paste), tapioca chips and dried longans. The other half houses the cooked food area where we gravitated towards immediately. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves but everything we had was delicious, fresh and from stalls’ which had more than decent hygiene standards. This is any foodie’s haven and its proximity to my favourite Jatujak market places Or Tor Kor Market firmly on my must-go places in Bangkok.

Getting there:

Or Tor Kor Market is also known as Aw Taw Kaw Market (to help you pronounce it, every word rhymes with the word ‘raw’)

MRT: Kampheng Phet Station, take the exit marked Marketing Association of Farmers. You should exit and see the entrance of the market.

Alternatively, just take a cab.