Night + Market: exceptional pork-ilicious Thai street food

After returning from Bangkok a few months ago and experiencing some amazing street food, I was excited to check out Night + Market, the Thai restaurant specializing in street food and was opened by Chef Chris Yenbamroong, the chef-son of the owners of next door Talesai. The restaurant is located on Sunset Blvd, just down the street from Key Club and The Roxy.

The restaurant has vibrant orange colored walls, brown paper lining the tables, simple artwork, and a Woody Allen film projected on the wall.

We made it in time for happy hour which ends at 8pm (all night happy hour on Wednesday) which included small plates for around $5 and drink specials.

Pig ear with chile and garlic
I've had a lot of crispy pigs ears around town but this preparation was stir fried instead of deep fried. It still had a crunch to it but with a more gelatinous texture. I really enjoyed chewing through the pieces. The pigs ear was boldly cooked with spicy peppers, lime and basil. Lots of amazing flavors here.

Pork Toro
The fatty hog collar looked like simple pieces of meat but upon biting it, your teeth sunk into a very tender and fatty piece of meat. It almost reminded me of a very buttery kalbi. The pork toro was seasoned with BBQ flavoring and fish sauce.

Fried Pig Tail

Here's a cross section of the meat. The pigs tail was tender with chunks of fat (my favorite part!). The meat really came off the bone easily and there were quite a lot of bones which reminded me of an oxtail bone. It was a lot of fun to chew around the bones. The breading was well seasoned and was crunchy but not greasy. The sharpness of vinegar based sauce helped to cut the fattiness of the pork tail.

Prawn Satay
Four prawns were skewered and grilled. We could smell the lovely strong fishy and smokey scent. Such as simple preparation but lots of flavors here. Our favorite part was chewing up the shrimp heads just like you are supposed to do if you ate this on the street.

Nam Prik Gapi
We didn't realize that this dish was very similar to the last one. Once again, we got the prawn satay but this dish also included battered fried eggplant with a shrimp paste sauce. The eggplant was soft and paired well with the tangy sweet and spicy sauce.

Kar Moo Parlow
I love whole braised pork hock which is a familiar dish in Cantonese cuisine, except that the sauce here was on the sweeter side. The hock was slow cooked with 5 spice, dark soy sauce, and many other ingredients including pepper, sugar, lime and garlic. The pork hock was such a delight to eat with fall-off-the-bone meat, fatty sticky skin (heart attack!), and gelatinous tendon. We ate all the meat and chewed off all the tendon and cartilage, which I think is rather impressive. I also enjoyed the side of soft braised cabbage.

Pad Kee Mao
The flat noodles were fried with a spicy chile, garlic and basil sauce. Pretty standard Thai flavors which packed a punch. The pieces of short rib were fatty and really tender.

Dinner at Night + Market was really such a treat. I just love how Chef Yenbamroong utilized different parts of the pig (hock, tail, collar, ears). The food is unique, it's delicious, it's bold, and is not something you'll find at your usual Thai joint. I just cannot get over how flavorful and aromatic the food was. The prices were very reasonable too. We only touched upon the surface of the menu, and there are definitely a lot more dishes that I cannot wait to try next, but I will not be able to refrain from ordering some of the same dishes here.

Night + Market
9041 W Sunset Blvd.,
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 275-9724
www.nightmarketla.com

Beer Belly: A gem of bar tucked away in Ktown

Just a street away from the Wiltern Theatre on Western Street, is the half-year-old gastropub Beer Belly. It may be located in Koreatown, but the food and drinks are not Korean. Here you'll find a nice selection of craft beers. The food menu is not expansive but they do serve up some interesting dishes.

The bar is tucked away on Western Ave and is a bit hard to find. But once you're there, you'll be elated to know that they offer valet - something that is very important in this scarce parking area of Koreatown.

Beer Belly is snug and was rather empty at 6.30pm when we got there. However the hipster crowd started packing in at 8pm. You have to order your food and drinks from the bar, and the waiter will bring the food to your table.

For our beer sampler, the bartender helped us choose a balanced selection of Taps Cream Ale, Stone Vertical Epic Ale, Bootlegger's Chocolate Mint Porter and The Bruery Mischief.

Duck fat fries ~ Smoked Salt, Sweet Onion Sugar, Duck Skin Cracklins, Raspberry Mustard
They also had an option to add duck confit for an extra $2. The fries were pretty darn good. They were crispy and a tad airy. I really enjoyed the crumbles of crunchy duck skin cracklins which tasted fatty and salty. The fries were served with a sweet fruity sauce which wasn't spicy. I thought the sweet sauce was an interesting and nice pairing to the fries.

Brussels Sprouts, Apple, Pancetta, Onions
The slightly charred Brussels sprouts were dressed with a sweet and tangy apple sauce. The sprouts got its smokey and salty flavoring from the large chunk of lardons.

Duck Stewed Navy Beans, Duck Confit, Ground Lamb, Fried Pork Belly, Cassoulet
We were lucky to score the last cassoulet of the night. The cassoulet actually looked like baked polenta. The cassoulet was salty and somewhat creamy. The beans were a mixture of textures: some were mashed and some were firmer. I enjoyed the crispy fried skin and shredded pork belly that topped the dish. Overall a rich and satisfying dish with lots of meaty flavors.

Beer Belly is a great addition to the area. Don't get me wrong, I do like Korean BBQ and Soon Du Bu, but a cool bar serving good food and beer a couple blocks from the Wiltern is truly priceless. Their Sunday brunch menu sounds spectacular with dishes such as duck confit benedict and snickers pancakes. My only issue that night was that the bar area got real crowded, and since you have to head up to the bar for another round of drinks, the hassle of waiting behind a hoard of people while flagging down the one bartender was too much of a hassle on a weeknight. I ended up heading home for my last drink of the night.

Beer Belly
532 S. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 387-2337
http://www.beerbellyla.com/

City Tavern: Another much-welcomed watering holein Culver City

City Tavern is one of many new bars in Culver City that opened in the past year. The area is really becoming a great spot for a night out. The bar is owned by the same owners of neighbouring bar Rush Street, and you can tell the similarities in decor. High ceilings, dark wood furnishing, and a casual yet modern feel to the space.

City Tavern has a great selection of craft beers. If you are lucky, you can grab seats in the booths that are hooked up to your own beer tap.

The menu is your typical gastropubby comfort fare, with selections such as charcuterie, oysters, poutine, burgers and shrimp & grits.

Brussels sprouts with bacon and preserved lemon
The side of Brussels sprouts was delicious. The slightly charred vegetables gave off a sweetness, and were mixed with citrus and smoked bacon. It was a good combination of flavors.

I never order salads but the waiter recommended this. The pear salad was from the specials menu. I liked the salad because it was simple, fresh yet tasty. The sliced pear was sweet and soft. You could tell that they used real fresh fruit here. The dressed salad was topped with mild blue cheese crumbles and buttered fried pretzel crouton which was a nice touch. Wish I could buy a bag of those croutons.

Brew burger with pub cheese, mustard aioli, ale battered onion ring served on a pretzel bread
The burger sounded great on the menu but stumbled a bit on the execution. The patty was juicy but lacking in seasoning. Thanks to the cheese which added some saltiness to the burger. The onion rings also lacked seasoning but I did like the breading which was airy and not oily.

Buttermilk fried chicken with fried green tomatoes, succotash
The fried chicken was nicely cooked with crispy skin and juicy interior. It was definitely a restaurant quality fried chicken that was not dry or greasy. I am not a big fan of tomatoes but my dining companions enjoyed the large slice of breaded fried green tomatoes. I did however enjoy the side of corn succatash which was plated with a side of sweet chutney marmalade.

City Tavern is a good addition to the neighborhood. Love the decor and beer selection. The prices are also reasonable, with entrees hovering in the low teens. Even though there were some misses (under seasoned patty and onion rings), the place has a lot of potential. There were so many items on the menu that I'd like to try - and that's a great sign.

City Tavern
9739 Culver Blvd.,
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 838-9739
www.citytavernculvercity.com

DineLA: Petrossian

This post is late but it was too delicious a meal not to post about.
DineLA Restaurant Week is a 2 week dining event that runs twice a year. I usually try to schedule a couple dinner reservations but since I had just returned from a food-indulgent Southeast Asian trip, I decided to trim it down to one dinner.

After surveying the participating restaurants' menu, we decided on Petrossian. Two words completely sold me. Foie Carbonara. Petrossian, the gourmet shop specializing in caviar, spells decadence.

Caviar Salad ~ butter lettuce, shaved egg, shallot chives, parsley, lemon, dill, creme fraiche
I don't usually care for salads in a restaurant, but this dish was a great blend of simplicity and elegance. The butter lettuce was fresh and light, and the caviar added a right amount of saltiness.

Egg Royale ~ Scrambled egg, whipped cream, caviar
The egg mixture was smooth and nicely seasoned. It was such a fun and delicate dish to eat.

Butternut squash soup ~ brown butter, sage, creme fraiche
I was completely pleased with my soup selection. The soup was poured table side into a bowl that contained a interesting mix of spice and crispy walnut. It really worked, and the crunchy texture was nice. The soup was rich and bursting in flavor.

Foie Gras carbonara ~ home made fettucine, bacon, parmesan
The foie carbonara was everything I had hoped for. I was very impressed with the amount of foie in the dish. The al dente strands of fettucine were mixed up with a foie based sauce, and furthermore, the pasta was topped with a slab of foie. There were bits of bacon incorporated into the dish which added a saltiness and smokiness. The dish was extremely rich and decadent, but worth every single bite. I just didn't want it to end.

Scottish Salmon ~ mushroom, leeks, farro, serrano ham, honey mustard
My friend ordered the salmon cooked on the rare side in a mild flavored mustard sauce. The skin on the fish was crispy but the center was still pink and tender. I really enjoyed the accompaniments which included a nicely textured farro, and crispy serrano ham and leeks.

Caviar gelee ~ vodka, white chocolate mousse
The creamy mousse had a very strong alcoholic flavor. There was a crunchy walnut crumble at bottom of the glass which was mixed with caviar. The salty tones in the dessert really worked.

Vanilla panna cotta ~ espresso pearls, cardamon shortbread cookies
The panna cotta was much thicker than what I was used to but it tasted great.

Almond creme brulee~ russian tea cookie
Pretty standard dessert but still good.

I really enjoyed my meal at Petrossian. The foie carbonara was such a treat - when do you ever get such a serving of foie. I was expecting have only enjoyed the foie carbonara, but I thought all the appetizers were strong. Standout meal.

Petrossian
321 N. Robertson Blvd.,
West Hollywood, CA 90048
(310) 271-6300

Fat Spoon: An Uni-licious lunch

Soon after I returned from my Southeast Asian trip, I started my new job. My new offices are in Downtown LA, so it was a perfect opportunity to check out the lunch dining scene in the area. My friend and I decide to check out Japanese curry house, Fat Spoon, located in Little Tokyo. I am not very familiar with the area, but already knew I wanted to come back to check out Kagaya, Spice Table, Daikokuya, Orochan and Shin-Sen-Gumi.

Fat Spoon is owned by Michael Cardenas of nearby Lazy Ox Canteen and Toranoko, and is known for their curries and pastas. The prices are reasonable at about $10 an entree. There were so many items on the menu that sounded appealing such as pork cutlet curry, pasta with salted cod roe, but I knew I had to order the uni pasta from the Specials menu.
Uni croquette was also available on the Specials menu.
The croquette had a nice panko breading that wasn't greasy. The mashed potato and uni filling was creamy and rich. I love the strong taste of uni, so I thought that the uni flavor here wasn't strong enough. I wonder if they diluted the flavor a bit to cater to more palates, or perhaps there was more potato than uni. Still a tasty dish but I longed for more of that distinct uni taste.
Uni pasta with mushrooms made up in the uni flavor department. I really enjoyed the al dente pasta that was coated with creamy sauce and mixed with earthy mushrooms and chunks of rich orange sea urchin. It was glorious! I wanted to slurp up every last drop of sauce. I loved the amount of sea urchin in the dish. Even their selection of mushrooms was spot on.

Fat Spoon is a great addition to the area. The restaurant is quaint and homey. I liked the simple menu and how comforting the dishes felt. Sure I wanted more uni flavor in the croquette, but that's a personal preference. I enjoyed my pasta and there are many other items that I'd like to try.

Hits: uni, pasta, prices
Misses: like most restaurants in the area, there is no parking
Rating: ***1/2

Fat Spoon
329 E 1st St.,
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 621-7890
www.fatspoonfood.com