California YoungDong - Korean BBQ & Tofu

Dear readers,
I sincerely apologize for my hiatus, which I understand had been way too long. Sorry to keep everyone in the dark. 
I don't know if anyone remembers but I mentioned in my last blog of my trip back to Ipoh, Malaysia (my root) for 3 weeks in August to take care of some family matters. I'm excited to say I managed to, as the saying goes 'kill 2 birds with 1 stone'; took care of my family matter and been to quite a number of excellent eateries in and around Ipoh.
I've just started to put together all my Ipoh food rendezvous' photos and notes. My next posting and beyond will be all about foods of Ipoh. Very excited la. My camera and my notebook were my most prized possession on my flight back to Los Angeles, much more so than my passport. Lose passport can replace but I'll be damn if I lose my camera and notebook.
In the meantime, there is this Korean BBQ & Tofu joint in Chino Hills, California which I've always wanted to blog. I frequent this restaurant quite regularly and have nothing but good things to say.

YoungDong in Chino Hills, is one of the 3 branches spread across Southern California, the other 2 are in Arcadia and San Gabriel. This one opened some 3 years ago and more often than not the place is crowded during both lunch and dinner hours. In the last 4-5 years, Chino Hills have seen a spike in it's population, most notably Asians. A vast majority of the Asians settling down in Chino Hills mostly are from Korea, China, and Taiwan. Compare to other Asian restaurants, especially Malaysian, Koreans restaurateur is meticulous in their food's  authenticity and place a premium on it's quality.

YoungDong's interior is not fancy in any sense of the word. The first thing that engulfs me when I walked in each time, besides the aroma of kimchi and barbecue is the spaciousness and cleanliness of the restaurant. Once seated, I quickly leaned back and feel real comfortable. The ambiance is not it's drawing point, the food is

YoungDong does not have built-in grills nor portable stoves on their tables like you find in most Korean restaurants. Instead they do all their grilling in the kitchen. I don't mind this setup at all. This way I don't smell like grilled meat when I leave the restaurant.

One of the first things served is a small salad of lettuce and a few strands of radicchio follow by the signature side dishes of condiments called 'banchan'. The salad  dressing is the best I've had anywhere. I've always prefer salad dressing with an Asian twist. They call their dressing 'black pepper ponzu vinaigrette'

Ahhh....Kimchi, a must have in a Korean meal. Fermented napa cabbage seasoned with the unmistakable red chili Kimchi spices. Some Kimchi are stuffed with tiny fresh raw oysters like those in YoungDong. This is the only condiment I ask for a second helping without fail

Cucumber kimchi (Oi Sobaegi)
The sliced cucumber is crunchy, snappy and full of flavor. It is lather with a sour, sweet and spicy sauce all in one and is a good kick start to any taste buds and a perfect accompaniment to a traditional Korean meal. 

Seaweed salad
A taste of the sea. Seaweed salad with some julienne carrot and cucumber in a vinegar, ponzu and sesame oil mix. This side dish is very refreshing

The bottom left condiment is pickled squid and julienne radish (Ojinguh Jut). It is packed with flavor and quite spicy. On the bottom right is one of the more popular side dishes, bean sprout salad or Sookju Namul. 

Beef and seafood tofu
A pipping hot bowl of stewed tofu with beef and seafood. YoungDong has other variations of tofu, such as dumplings, kimchi and mushroom. A raw egg comes with this dish and is added into the bubbling tofu at the table. The ceramic hot bowl is able to retain the heat of the stew for quite some time. This tofu stew with shrimp, 'la la', egg and a few thin slices of beef is both hearty and very healthy. The stew tofu here is very consistent, always have the right amount of broth to tofu and the rest of the ingredients. 'Spicy' is my preference on the level of hotness. I had them 'medium spicy' before and it's just better spicy

Beef stew soup with udon
This Korean soup noodle warms you from the moment it touches your lips all the way down to your toes. The soup is light, a tad herby and the chunks of beef very tender and delicious

 

Grilled short-ribs (Galbi) 
The grilled short-ribs comes on a bed of white sliced onions in a hot platter. I usually let the dish sit for a few minutes before I dig in. The reason is I want the hot platter to cook the sliced onions half-way through until they get soft and sweet. The short-ribs are incredibly tender, sweet and full of the flavors of garlic and soy sauce.

The finished product! 
The reason I include this photo is to share with you my own personal way of eating short-ribs. Notice how clean each rib is without any evidence of meat sticking on it? Well, the ribs are not wrap with the meat but a thick, chewy layer of ligaments. Separate the ribs from the meat by tearing off the ligament. Where the meat is tender, the ligament is chewy and full of robust flavor

 

Last but not least is the soft and sweet Korean white rice that is cooked in a hot bowl here in YoungDong. I'm a sucker for Korean white rice. Sometimes I wonder weather the reason I come here is partly for the rice. Notice from the photo the layer of rice hardened by the heat of the hot bowl? Koreans never leave any stone unturned, in this case 'rice unturned'. A traditional way of finishing off the hardened layer of rice is by pouring hot tea into it to soften them up again.

Curry and most anything spicy is my kind of foods. I live and die for curry. I've lived in Southern California for more than 7 years now and the last time I went to a Malaysian restaurant here was 4 years ago. The reason being not authentic enough for my standards. I felt the total opposite during my 15 years in New York. Never once there did I miss Malaysian food. Malaysian food rules in New York. Anyway, what has this got to do with this posting of Korean food, you might be asking? Because of the sub-standard Malaysian food here, I've to adapt to other kinds and I know Korean food is very high in their authentic standards. I know because I've been to a few Korean restaurants where all their patrons were Koreans. Korean cuisine is very healthy. From the side dish to the main and from fresh to fermented, vegetables like cabbages, bean sprouts and spinach are generously used. Garlic and ginger, two main ingredients in Korean cooking has a history of being a health booster.


YoungDong Korean BBQ & Tofu
3233 Grand Ave., #H
Chino Hills, CA 91709 
(909) 613-1888

Vietnamese - Bo Ky Pho Chinatown, New York

Bo Ky Pho in New York's Chinatown is hands down one of my all-time favs. It was on my list of 'must-go' restaurants during my visit in April. There are a few items on their menu (also my favorite dishes) which you don't usually find in other Pho restaurants such as 'Loe Soi Ngap' (soy sauce braised duck), 'Suen Choi Dai Cheong' (chitterlings) and curry soup noodles. Their chili oil is the best, haven't had anything that's even close to theirs. The chili's 2 main ingredients are 'Ha Mai' (dry tiny shrimp) and groundnuts. They're more like a 'Chu Chow' Vietnamese restaurant and have been around for some time. The founder's sons are now running the place. 
We arrived a little bit before the lunch rush period and managed to find a table without too long of a wait. They've a different group of waiters now from a few years ago but the son is still doing the same things after all these years; directing people traffic, pointing instructions to the wait staff, occasionally taking food orders from customers and also dropping checks (bill in Malai). You almost never have to wait too long for your food. Their efficiency can sometimes be misinterpreted as 'sit you down and get you out the door in as little time as possible'. On the other hand, because of it's lack of ambiance, most customers usually come here to 'sit, order, eat and leave' anyways. 
At a Chinese dinner table, silence is golden. Silence is a way of saying the food is so good it can't be any better. We eat while every dish is nice and warm and the soup is pipping hot. We chat after, over a hot cup of malau meat (type of Chinese tea) or during a card game of chor dai dee. This is how we do it. No pretense, certainly no political correctness conversations.

Bo Ky Pho
A place frozen in time; still in the same location, still the same signboard and still crowded after all these years. It's smack in the middle of Chinatown, a few shop lots to the right of one of the largest shops selling replica watches, handbags, Ralph Lauren polo's etc in the whole of the United States. You get a chance to put on a replica Rolex and walk around Chinatown like a 'tauge'. Seriously, on my first ever visit to Chinatown, Bo Ky Pho was the first restaurant I ate at, and I also bought my first replica Rolex here. Wallet empty never mind, gotta walk around in style

'Loe Soi Ngap'

Bo Ky's signature dish. The first thing you notice when you walk into the restaurant is this dish is practically on every table. It's braised duck in soy sauce and their own secret blend of herbs. The meat is amazingly tender and braising draws out most of the fat below the skin. The braised herby soy sauce is so tasty my favorite thing to do is have it with a side order of fluffy white rice. Where roast duck can be a tad gamey sometimes, especially the lean thigh meat, loe soi ngap is not. Where roasting keeps the meat moist and the taste inside which explains the sometimes gamey taste of roast duck, in braising, the meat looses some of it's taste and quite a bit of it's fat but tend to absorb the liquid it's being cooked in. The thin slices of daikon (white carrot) and carrot pickles is not just for presentation. I find them able to draw out the full potential taste of the duck

'Suen Choi Dai Cheong'

The name of this dish says it all, a prefect combo. Dai Cheong in America is also known as chitterlings. Chitterlings has a 'big acquired' taste which sometimes can be overpowering, depending on how it's cooked. At Bo Ky, their chitterlings are also braised but in their own juices. The preserved mustard, because of it's sourness are able to pare down that 'big acquired' taste of the chitterlings. It's soft, at the same time slightly chewy when you bite into it. Each mouthful of this glorious dish is eaten with a teaspoonful of the restaurant's unique blend of chili oil. I usually goes through 3-4 side dishes of their chili oil on this dish alone. I'm rubbing my hands together in glee now just writing about this

Fried shrimp roll
Fantastico, deliciouso, a plate of crispy wonders! They look like Malai's ja sar kot liew but the taste's not anything close although it has a similar ingredient in it. The main ingredient of this dish is shrimp, complimented well with diced jicama (sar kot). The diced sar kot gave the rolls a fresh taste. They were nicely crisp on the outside and moist inside. Coupled with the sweet and spicy chili dip, we sapu out this dish in a matter of minutes. Waiter, one more order please, with extra chili dip! Had a feeling for sure when we leave, we've to hold up our stomachs with all these good food

All my favs

I wish I've a picture of just the curry noddles but what the heck, I'll just make do with what I have. In my opinion, the curry soup at Bo Ky is better than all the Malai restaurants out here in southern California. Just like most curry soup back home in Malai, Bo Ky's curry is also coconut milk based. It's spicy but not to the point of lighting a fire to your tongue. One thing different from our curry soup is Bo Ky's come with a small handful of sliced raw white onions, also a big cut of fresh lemon minus the nga choi. Don't neglect the piece of lemon, it adds a touch of sour goodness to the curry soup. My favorite ingredient for my curry is 'curry sliced beef soup mai fun, add suen choi dai cheong' 

Stew pig's feet over white rice
I wasn't too interested with this dish when it arrived at our table. It just looked way too much pork on one dish. But I've been taught that looks alone can sometimes be deceiving, so I cut a small piece to try. The feet were just not tender enough and the taste too bland. Because it's not tender enough, I automatically formed an opinion that it's also too dry. Another thing is, if I order stew pig's feet over rice, I'd prefer my rice soaked with the stewed sauce.

 Chu Chow 'kap dai' hor fun soup
Glorified pig's innards. Livers, kidneys, sai cheong, stomach...you name it, you got it. One or two slices of every imaginable innards of a pig, served in a bowl of tasty and sweet broth with hor fun is a typical Asian fare. The soup is clear, flavorful and just sweet enough to accompany the innards mix. From the picture, you might wonder what's a piece of shrimp doing so out of place in a bowl of innards galore? What I know is Vietnamese has a habit of adding a piece of shrimp into their soup or dry noodles.

 'Kon loe cho mein' (wide egg noddles) with shrimp balls
The kon loe version from other South East Asia countries is vastly different from our Malai version. Where dark soy sauce is the main ingredient in ours, theirs is regular soy sauce and if you're lucky one or two dashes of white pepper or sesame oil. I always order this dry version to be shared with my friends. What we do to spice it up is add 2-4 spoonful of my favorite chili oil, toss the noodles around a few times and we got ourselves a spicy bowl of cho mein. Their egg noodles is always cooked to perfection, with a slight chewiness to it. The shrimp balls are shrimpy tasty, moist, and with the right amount of tenderness and firmness to them. The minced pork and scallions adds to the goodness

Watcha looking at? Never die before ar (mei sae kor ar)?

I've always like Vietnamese food, especially pho (noodles). Different soup noodles are served with different kinds of fresh herbs and vegetables. How can one go wrong nutrition wise with a bowl of tasty broth, with pho, meats and fresh herbs and vegetables. Usually I'm stuffed by the time I'm done with a bowl of pho as I never leave the broth alone. To make it easier on my conscience, I always tell myself it's a 'nutritious liquid full'. Gotta cheat once in a while...in this case, 'no pain, everything to gain'. I've never before left here unsatisfied, if you know what I mean. I used to walk from my college campus, 2-3 miles away (many years ago) all by myself just to have lunch and take care of my 'curry sliced beef soup mai fun add suen choi dai cheong' cravings. I remembered vividly there were days when I chose to 'ponteng' class without a second thought, just so to satisfy my cravings.
Another dish that comes to mind when one talk about Vietnamese food is the grilled meat on rice dishes, especially the grilled pork and chicken slices. I did not mention any of these in this post because on a personal note I very much dislike the type of rice that Vietnamese restaurants uses. Each grain of rice is usually broken up into a few smaller pieces, and most of the time only 3/4 cooked. I shouldn't because of this reason alone not write about these rice dishes, right? Next opportunity, I promise.

Bo Ky Pho Restaurant
80 Bayard St.
New York, NY 10013
Tel: (212) 406-2292

Food Campur Campur California

This is my sixth posting, and frankly speaking I'm having a swell time doing this. It's a challenge writing out my thoughts, more so knowing that what it comes down to is using words and pictures to capture the interests of my readers. Words are a powerful tool, and couple with pictures to further illustrate a thought, it becomes a beautiful tool. I'm going to try something different this time. I'm incorporating three different places, on three types of food into this post, namely Italian, American and Chinese (street food). I'm well versed with Italian cuisine, having worked many years as a waiter in Italian restaurants in New York City. American is American, straightforward and dull; I mean the food. No, I'm just kidding. Finding good street food is a joy to behold and brings out the beautiful side of me (do I have one?). Please enjoy. 

House Insalada from the Olive Garden 

The Olive Garden is a chain restaurant serving mainly Italian cuisine with locations throughout the United States. The house salad here is served unlimited. See the croutons in the above picture? On a personal level, I think croutons only goes well with Caesar salads. My perspective on this joint is...too artificial, prices does not match quality of food, and the fad has passed it by

Shrimp and scallops fettuccine Alfredo (Olive Garden)

The Alfredo sauce came out too thick and the pasta not al dente (too cooked). Pasta should have a slight crunch when you bite into them. A staple of Italian restaurants is their pasta is always served al dente unless requested otherwise. A good Alfredo sauce texture will drip slightly off the pasta when the pasta's forked from the plate

Eggplant parmigiana with spaghetti (Olive Garden)

The 'Parmigiana' way of cooking is, from this dish for e.g., the eggplant is first breaded, pan seared and finally oven finished with cheese and tomato sauce on top. My first reaction when I tried to slice off a piece of the eggplant parmigiana was 'You have got to be kidding me! It was 'highway robbery' considering how THIN the 2 slices of eggplant were! I understand the business perspective of 'profit maximization', but do not take me for a fool. When this happens, my motto is 'One and Done'. Believe me, I tried to dig deep down into my soul to be diplomatic and objective in my criticism but to no avail.   

At the Magic Lamp Inn

Grilled sirloin and stuffed chicken breast served with double-baked mashed potato and organic vegetables in a mushroom demi glaze. The two pieces of sirloin and the piece of chicken were quite tender and the double-baked potato was creamy and tasty. The food is not too bad here but thank god I only have to be here once a year (office annual dinner) as I call this joint 'granny's place'. I don't mean to degrade all the grandmothers out there, just using it as a description.

New York cheesecake (Magic Lamp)

Best cheesecake I've had for a long time. It's how cheesecake is suppose to be...cheesy, creamy, smooth and melts in your mouth. Downing it with a hot cup of aromatic coffee is 'deserting' in it's most complete form. Anyone had 'frozen' cheesecake before? It's a 2-in1 treat...cheesecake that taste like ice cream. Next time anyone of you have cheesecake, throw a few slices into your freezer. I guarantee you'll not be disappointed

 The Magic Lamp Inn

Third year in a row my boss had picked this joint for our year-end dinner. Notice the outdated wall paneling and the hideous antique chair? I'm desperately crying out in silent for a change of venue this year. Change is needed, change is good, change is refreshing, change is maintaining my sanity

Sweet and sour whitefish Cantonese style (street food)

One day my ex-girlfriend and I had a craving for inexpensive Chinese food and ended up in the food court I frequent often. In terms of presentation, this is not the best dish for it but the cubes of deep fried whitefish were delicious. That's what deep frying does, keeping the moisture inside. This sweet and sour version is far from our version of sweet and sour in Malaysia but it hit the spots and satisfied our cravings

 Suen choy chitterlings (street food)

Chitterlings, also known as 'dai cheong', are not everyone's favorite kind of food, especially chicks (lang looi) but I'm a sucker for this. I just love how they taste and coupled with the sourness of the suen choy, it is delightfulness (my own word) in each mouthful. How about the deep fried 'dai cheong' you find in your bowl of 'jue jhap juk'? Shiok right, when biting into them? Talking about chitterlings, there's a Vietnamese restaurant in New York's Chinatown that has the best chitterlings. I'll write about this restaurant and it's chitterlings in a later post.

Taiwan spinach sauteed with 'ha' and salted fish 'wat dhan' style (street food)

Tried this for the first time and really enjoyed it, even though the eggs (wat dhan) was a tad too cooked. My mom cooks something similar to this. She uses 'sing gua' instead of spinach, minus the salted fish. I miss this dish of my mom's. Better make a notation to have her cook this the next time I'm home

Picture of satisfaction after good lunch

Food, no matter what kind, if done the right way and most importantly the authentic way will bask in it's glory most often than not. It ticks me off when I come across food not done right from chefs and owners trying to cut corners, for example the 'Olive Garden'. The recession and topping that off with inflation is putting a lot of pressure on the restaurant business to come up with new ideas to stay afloat. From what I experienced at the Olive Garden, I think they have gone overboard with prices that does not match the quality of the food, or quantity for that matter. Charging paying customers US$13.95 for two very thin slices of eggplant parmigiana with spaghetti marinara is so ridiculous it's not even funny. I can easily guess the profit margin on this absurd dish easily tops 70%. On the other hand, charging US$17.25 for the seafood fettuccine Alfredo I've nothing to write about if the Alfredo sauce wasn't that thick and pasta so over cooked. Feeling violated from paying for something you thought you're going to get but turn out otherwise is a tough pill to swallow.

On a brighter note, finding inexpensive street food that taste like it's suppose to taste is a joy to behold. Ever wonder why street food has carved such a good name and following, especially in Malaysia? Is it because they're not taking their existence for granted (most probably), or the big chained restaurants think they're invincible or too 'big to fail' (no doubt in my mind)?

The moral of the story here is paying customers nowadays are more savvy and very knowledgeable on what they're paying for. It's a fine line, if crossed, can certainly affect business.  

Olive Garden:
http://www.olivegarden.com

The Magic Lamp Inn is located at:
8189 Foothill Blvd.,
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
(909) 981-8659

Food Court:
Rowland Heights, CA 91748

Excellent Thai, Flushing, New York

'Lai Yau Ha'

This was an excellent dish in every sense of the word. Too bad they served this towards the very end and we were all quite full by then. Never mind full or not full, the 'ha' were perfectly done, succulent and bouncy and that abundance of fried red onions compliments the 'ha' really well. A perfect '10' on the presentation

The infamous curry 'Yue Tao'

The 'yue tao' was fresh but coconut milk was a little on the heavy side

I've one word to describe this dish...'WOW'

The name given for this dish is '4 dai thein wong' and it has gathered quite a following. It's a belacan chili dish sauteed with ladies fingers, string beans, ngai kuar (eggplant) and ikan bilis. Some restaurants are more creative by adding 'chow dau'. I received some feedback from my dear sister that the Malaysian version does not have ikan bilis

'Bak Chit Gai'
Just so so...I guess Ipoh's 'bak chit gai' will always be king

'Thit Phan Tofu'

I love to order this tofu dish whenever I can as I've never been disappointed before with how silky smooth the inside of the fried tofu is

'Larb' a Thai dish

Ground pork sauteed with onions, basil, chili, lime juice and fish sauce. I find this dish a nice appetizer to start with as the aroma of the basil and the sourness of the lime juice and fish sauce always kick start my taste buds

Blady Heineken beer is getting free exposure. Never mind la, cannot 'kira' everything

 Lynda and Vivian

Yummy Bliss! 
Notice the very white, silky smooth hand in the foreground? It belongs to a special friend and I miss her some...'Savadee'

Flushing, New York is predominantly Asian, mostly Chinese and the city is vibrant and almost bursting out of it's seams. The streets are always 'yan sang yan hoy' but this is where you go if you're on a food mission. 

There are a handful of Malaysian restaurants here and 'Excellent Thai Inc.' is one of the newer ones, one that you get the best of both worlds at one location (MalaiThai food). I noticed the ambiance right off the bat, very cozy and comfortable. The next thing I noticed while I was going through the menu was the list of rice dishes with affordable prices. We weren't going to order any rice dish that evening so being a busy-body, I got up and took a slow stroll to the toilet and glanced at all the occupied surrounding tables. Sure enough I saw rice dishes on a few tables and they sure look appetizing. I saw 'jarp farn', 'siew ngap farn', curry chicken rice and nasi lemak. Isn't these four dishes the favorites among the lunch crowd in Malaysia? From this, I know this restaurant is doing something right.

Competition is a major issue among all the restaurants in Flushing. Not only does the food has to be authentic, the price must be to the customer's liking too. I even saw a banner outside a Cantonese restaurant with huge letters of free lobster with dinner above US$30.00; not a gimmick and no 'catch'. 

Thank you Vivian, for a lovely dinner to celebrate your mom's birthday.

The restaurant is located at:
3650 Main St.
Flushing, NY 11354
Tel: (718) 886 8972

 

East Ocean Restaurant - Chinatown, New York

Looks like a whole 'ja gai' but wait...there's an added layer of minced fish fillet underneath the very crispy chicken skin. An excellent dish

What's in a clay pot of spicy goodness with a head, eggplant, long beans, ladies fingers and foo bok?

'Jeong Jing' tilapia. The traditional bean sauce that goes so well with any steam fish dish, this one with a light hint of tamarind sourness.

I'm not a big fan of crabs as I find it too incredibly time consuming to separate the flesh but this plate of dry curry crabs was a winner

Belacan kang kung

'Areo Shiraz'

This red wine is a perfect compliment to any curry dish. Believe me or not? I know you sense that I was 'blowing water' (choi soi)

A gathering without a bottle of HARD liquor is like sex without foreplay...very unsatisfying

NYC's malai seh thien 'secret' get-together
Underground 'code-names' from top left: ET, Yum-Sai, GH, Cunjado, Mr. Lai, 'Jue Yuk' Weng, and Tattoo Rick

I took a short break in April and spent it with my close friends in New York. You might not believe me but I practically had Malaysian Chinese food everyday there. The reason being the lack of a good Malaysian restaurant that serve good, authentic food in California. Having lived in New York for close to 15 years, I've the privilege and more importantly the right to compare, and Malaysian Chinese food in California sucks! If I can't find a place whose curry looks and taste better than my home cooked, then they don't belong and is wasting my time. I've a proposal and business plan to change this if anyone is interested.

New York's Chinatown has it's own 'East Ocean' (Tung Hoi) eatery just like the ones in Menglembu and Ipoh in Malaysia (I don't know if KL has one). Just like the ones in Malaysia, this one we went to in New York's Chinatown serves excellent authentic Malaysian Chinese cuisine.

This post is about good food and great friendship which I was lucky to have both during my short stay in New York and it gives me great pleasure to share it with my readers which I don't have many at the moment. Hopefully it'll change. It was memorable and heart-warming to see all my friends on this visit and I look forward to go back again soon.

"Although we're miles apart, each and everyone of you will always be in my heart".