Benu - I'm Back and Yes, I Do Pay Top Dollars For Asian Food (San Francisco, CA)

Benu

One of the things that I cringe the most has always been paying for overpriced Asian food, especially if it's Asian Fusion. PF Chang's? Ugh. Lukshon? Still not interested. Red Medicine? After that mediocre meal at Test Kitchen, my interest in trying Jordan Kahn's menu is at a nil. (That's besides the fact of what happened to SIV, which I found unprofessional to be frank). However, Benu has been a restaurant I've had my eye on ever since Corey Lee, the former chef de cuisine at The French Laundry moved on to helm his very own restaurant in San Francisco. Call me a hypocrite, but if Chef Lee was good enough for Thomas Keller, he's good enough for me. After given the green light from my buddies up North, I booked a tasting at Benu this past weekend.

19 Course Tasting Menu at Benu

Upon entering the restaurant, I looked at the space. Clean, and modern, just what a restaurant should be these days.

Buckwheat Sesame Crisps

Instead of a bread course, we were given a "basket" of buckwheat crisps. The flavors were subtle, but tasty. Think soba in a cracker form, but better.

1. Thousand Year Old Quail Egg, Lily Bulb, Ginger

We were started off with a thousand year old egg made with a quail egg. This was something I'm familiar with as it's a common ingredient for us Taiwanese. The presentation reminded me of "Pi Dan Sou Rou Zhou," or a thousand year old egg and minced meat porridge and surprisingly the taste did too. For those that knows the porridge I'm speaking of, think of this as a deconstructed version.

2. Oyster, Pork Belly, Kimchi

An one biter, I quite enjoyed this bite. Pork belly, oyster encased in a crispy kimchi shell, similar to a sugar shell. The flavors of all three main ingredients were quite apparent.

3. Monkfish Liver, Salmon Roe, Buckwheat, Daikon

Monkfish liver, or ankimo in Japanese and Salmon Roe are two of my favorite ingredients. Combining the two can't go wrong, right? Right. The liver was presented looking similar to an egg yolk was rich, fatty, and delicious. The salmon roe was fresh and had a nice snap to each bite. This was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The buckwheat added a nice texture contrast to this dish.

4. Apple, Cucumber, Poppy Seed, Nasturtium, Lemon

Next up, a palate cleanser of sort. Refreshing, tasty, but nothing special.

5. Eel,Feuille de Brick, Creme Fraiche, Lime

Think of this as an eel egg roll. It was pretty good, but I wish there was more to this than eel inside a fried pastry dough. Yes, yes, I don't like fried dough, though I wished there was just something more than a creme fraiche dip. Good dish nevertheless.

6. Risotto, Sea Urchin, Corn, Lovage, Black Truffle

I was told about this dish by Alex, whom I met on a recent dinner at Wolvesmouth and I'm glad I made the substition. This was one of the best things I've ate this year. Sea urchin, black truffles, corn risotto. Come on, tell me that doesn't sound good! I think I would have added some nice sweet crab meat to this, but maybe I'm just being greedy here. I would have been happy eating 19 courses of this that night, though I might die of some sort of a cholesterol attack. If you do the tasting menu at Benu, make sure you ask for the sea urchin risotto!

7. Conch, Tomato, Green Orange, Dashi

Compared to the risotto dish, the conch was quite light and refreshing. It's almost a conch ceviche, without all the ingredients. The presentation of the conch was a nice touch as well.

8. Salt And Pepper Squid

This dish is a playful take on a popular dish found in many Chinese seafood restaurants. In this case, A crispy squid chip (I think, or it could be shrimp) is presented with chopped jalapeno peppers, green onions, and little pieces of squid. I'm almost tempted to try this at home with some store bought chips.

9. Jasmine Chicken With Dates

I was slightly weary of this dish after seeing it on the menu. I was worried the jasmine tea flavors would overpower the chicken. Thankfully, I was wrong. The jasmine tea flavors was spot on, with a hint of sweetness. The chicken itself was done beautifully. It came out moist and sweet, it was definitely money!

10. Foie Gras Xiao Long Bao

I was looking forward to this course, but I was left slightly disappointed. While the skin was done quite nicely, in fact, a lot better than I had expected, I was hoping the foie gras be more dominant in this dish. While I tasted bits of foie gras, the filling and the juice lacked the strong rich flavors of the foie.

11. Abalone, Potato, Caper, Lettuce

As the table pointed out this being one of their favorite courses of the night, I can't help but agree, it was quite tasty. The abalone was fried, similar to a Taiwanese chicken cutlet and was served on a bed of potato puree. The abalone was very nice, I would never have thought to fry an abalone. I wonder how this would taste if it was on a bed of minced meat rice Taiwanese style with some sour mustard.

12. Fresh Noodles, Shrimp Roe, Tarragon, Chicken Jus

At first I was a bit surprised the noodles came nary of ingredients, but the flavors of the shrimp roe was quite apparent once you take the first bite. Rich, succulent, and all in all, one of my favorites of the night.

13. "Shark Fin" Soup, Dungeness Crab, Jinhua Ham, Black Truffle Custard

Like with the foie gras xiao long bao, this too I was waiting for, but with much better results. Although the star was supposed to be the faux shark fins, I loved the broth made from the Jinhua ham and the crab and truffle custard were bordering on insane. It's almost as good as the Chinese version you get at banquets. I'm biased, sue me.

14. Duck, Celery, Cherry, Shaoxing Wine

Another winning dish, in fact, probably my second favorite course of the night after the risotto. The duck was cooked perfectly, and tasted like a beautifully roasted duck. The duck itself was stuffed with a duck mousse, make its flavors and texture even more intense. Very, very nice!

15. Beef Braised in Pear with Sunflower and Mushroom

The beef, short ribs I believe was cooked fork tender. The flavors were spot on and I enjoyed the accompanied mushrooms. While it's not as good as the duck, I thoroughly enjoyed the last savory course of the night.

16. Malted Rice Tea, Pine Nut, Pine Needle Honey

This first dessert reminded me of shik hae, a Korean sweet malted rice drink, but the version at Benu added this silky panna cotta on the bottom which was quite nice.

17. Fig, White Chcolate, Balsamic Vinegar, Sake Lees

I found this to be quite light and the balsamic vinegar was used very nicely here. The white chocolate ice cream wasn't overpowering and countered the fig quite well.

18. Lychee, Red Bean, Matcha Custard

This was richer than I had expected, but tasty nevertheless. My favorite part of this particular dessert was the lychee ice cream and the matcha custard. This was definitely an Asian influenced dessert, trending towards Japanese.

19. Chocolates

Finally, we finished our meal off with some chocolates. My favorite piece of the night was the passion fruit white chocolate. That was quite tasty!

All in all, Benu either met or slightly exceeded my expectations. I was expecting a good deal of Asian flavors and I got it. Chef Corey Lee's skills was apparent. The flavors, the presentation were top notch. The wines we had paired during our meal were strong and I especially liked that Riesling we had to start the meal. The questions everybody wanted to know was did I like it and would I return? The answer would be Yes to both, but with the abundance of fine dining around the San Francisco Bay Area, I'm keen on trying the other places first. Comparing a place like Benu to Lukshon would be a disservice to Benu as it's on an entirely different level. While I still wouldn't pay to dine at Lukshon, I would happily pay to eat at Benu. The quality, the skills of the chef, the dining atmosphere are just different. If you're in the San Francisco area, I'd highly recommend dining at Benu. Just remember, make sure the duck and the uni risotto are on the menu. Cheers!

Benu
22 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
(415) 685-4860

Wolvesmouth @ Beer Belly - Pop Up! (Los Angeles)

Wolvesmouth @ Beer Belly

After trying Chef Craig Thornton's (aka Wolvesmouth) cooking on two previous occasions, I jumped at the chance when I heard there was going to be a special one night pop-up dinner at Beer Belly, a newly opened Beer House in the Koreatown district of Los Angeles. Although getting a reservation was tough, I managed to snag two seats at the 9pm seating that night. Since beer was available during dinner, I bypassed the wine option and went with various selection of beer offered at Beer Belly.

Top: Bread from Bread Lounge. Bottom: Barley Malt Butter

I thought the bread at bread lounge was pretty standard fare, but the barley malt butter made it shine. I really loved the flavors of this butter, but I limited myself to the 2 pieces of bread given. I had to make sure I had room for the rest of the meal.

Corn Soup - crab, corn fritter, jalapeno, cilantro, buttermilk, lime

I've had a corn soup made by Craig before and loved it, so I eagerly awaited for this course to start. I mean, as a lover of corn and soup, this dish was calling my name. I loved the sweet flavors from the crab, the tart flavors from the lime, the slight heat from the jalapeno, and that fried corn fritter was very nice. Underneath all of that was the creamy corn soup, which was really good. I'd have to say, if I had 6 bowls of this corn soup, I'd leave a very happy man (Panda).

Black Truffle Risotto - chive, parmesan

Although there wasn't an abundant of truffles as I had hoped (Though the meal was $50 for 6 courses, I was surprised we even had truffles on the menu), this was quite tasty. The truffle flavor was subtle, but the rice was cooked perfectly, with a nice bite, and the dish as a whole was creamy and flavorful.

Blue Lake Beans - yellow wax beans, summer squash, peach, cider, salted yogurt, granola

When I saw the menu, this dish was probably the least interesting to me, though that's probably because I rarely would find vegetarian dishes to be of any interest. This dish however, was surprisingly memorable for me. I enjoyed the vegetables, but that peach to me was the star of the dish. The fruit itself was compressed and the flavor of it was just fantastic. The vegetables and the peach worked quite well together.

Lamb - potato puree, dill, horseradish, lingonberry

Now, lamb was the promised protein we've been told of prior to booking the meal and as a fan of lamb, I was definitely happy with the selection. Although my piece was fattier than I would have liked, I still cleaned my plate. The lamb was cooked just the way I like it, rare and bloody. The potato puree reminded me of sour cream and chives potato chips, which I liked. I thought the lingonberry was an important element of this dish as it helped cut down on the fattier parts of the lamb. I wish I had seconds of this one.

Corn Bread Ice Cream - fig, brown butter short bread

One thing I've realized about eating a meal cooked by Craig was that his ice cream and desserts are really good. In fact, I think he should do a dessert tasting one of these days. I was really looking forward to the corn bread ice cream, which definitely did not disappoint. I was happy with the flavors of the ice cream and the addition of the brown butter short bread added a nice flavor and texture to this dish. This was my favorite dessert of the night.

Creme Fraiche Vanilla Panna Cotta - strawberry, vanilla pound cake

Panna cotta was a great way to end of the meal. It's refreshing, light, and the accompanied strawberries and pound cake added nice flavors to the dessert. I really like the addition of the pop rocks as well, though when can you have too much pop rocks?

I would say the first Wolvesmouth pop up was a success. The food was great, and was probably even better than I had expected going in, and I have pretty high expectations. I was slightly worried that there wouldn't be enough food, since this was more of an abbreviated Wolvesmouth dinner, but I left stuffed and happy. As a fan of both Beer Belly and Wolvemouth, I'm glad this was the location chosen for this dinner, and I hope if Wolvesmouth decides to do this pop up again, Beer Belly would still be the location of choice. After going through the pictures and this post, I'm ready for a return trip to Wolvesmouth Dining!

Beer Belly
532 S. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90020

Sushi Nozomi - Part Two: The Return (Torrance)

Sushi Nozomi

As I had mentioned on my previous post, since my meal at Nozomi last year, I've been trying to find a opportunity to make a return visit. With Hong's (of The Ravenous Couple) birthday coming up, I figured this was a good place to have a birthday dinner. After speaking with Mark, the Manager of Nozomi, whom I met last year, we set up another omakase dinner.

Yasu-San

After having such a good experience with Yasu-San, I requested to have him once again prepare our omakase dinner. On a more recent visit to Nozomi (Yes, I went back again), I found out Yasu-San was from Tokyo, but has been living here in the United States for the past 21 years. Just a little FYI to the readers out there.

Kirin Draft

Cold beer is a must order. Always.

Smoked Giant Clams

We were first served a small bowl of smoked clams topped with Japanese mayo and seaweed. I enjoyed the smoky flavors of the clams and while I'm not a huge fan of mayo, I did enjoy the addition of the cream flavors of the mayo.

Sashimi Platter (Amaebi, Isaki, Maguro, Aji, Toro)

The combination of toro, amaebi (sweet shrimp), aji, and other fresh fishes can't really go wrong as the first three fishes I listed are amongst my favorites. The pieces were cut well, the fish were fish. This was quite a nice start to the meal for me. Yasu-San collected those shrimp heads for later use.

Kohada Bone (Bone of Japanese Shad)

While we waited for the sushi course to start, Yasu gave us each a kohada bone. Think of shrimp chips, but a lot better. I could have easily ate a bag of this while downing some beer.

Rock Bream with Lemon, Yuzu, and Himalayan Sea Salt

This was actually one of my favorite piece of the evening. I loved the combination of yuzu and lemon. The citrus flavors meshed well with the rock bream, which was a fairly light fish.

Ishidai (Snapper with Yuzu)

Next we were served the Ishidai, which Yasu said it was a "Rock Posey." The yuzu on top may have looked quite abundant, but it actually worked. The flavors of the fish and yuzu went well together.

Chawanmushi with Uni, Sea Cucumber, Shrimp and Ginko Nut

Next we were served one of my favorite things to eat: Chawanmushi (steamed eggs). The chawanmushi was topped was fresh uni, the chawanmushi itself contained more uni, sea cucumber, shrimp and ginko nut. I've had many chawanmushi in the past few years, I can safely say this was probably the best chawanmushi I've had.

Isaki (Striped Pigfish with Kombu and Japanese Ginger Root)

I really enjoyed the use of kombu (seaweed) and a Japanese ginger root on top of the striped pigfish. The flavors were a bit strange at first, but a few seconds later, it just made sense. I really liked the use of kombu here.

Madai (Red Snapper with Sesame Paste)

I usually enjoy red snapper sushi and this was no exception. Though I do have to say the sesame paste was slightly overpowering, it almost overpowered the snapper.

Kibinago (Sprat)

This was something I've never had before. The fish itself reminds me of sayori (needlefish), but it was quite light. Topped with some green onions, it was quite delicious.

Katsuo (Bonito Fish)

Bonito is something I'm used to in a dried flake form, but not in a sushi form.

Aji (Japanese Mackerel)

I absolutely love Aji and this was no exception. Delicious, and as usual, the accompanied green onions and ginger worked great with aji.

Namako Uni (Sea Cucumber and Uni)

Mark told us his sea urchin operation has recently expanded by adding sea cucumbers as one of products that it imports. This above combination of sea cucumber and uni was served for the first time ever to us. The uni itself was creamy and delicious, but the sea cucumber was something new for me. Now, I've had sea cucumber many times in a braised form during Chinese banquets, but having it raw was something else. I loved the texture of the sea cucumber, but the flavors were fairly subtle. The flavors of the uni and the texture of the sea cucumber made this sushi work. I enjoyed it.

Sake (Salmon with White Kelp)

This salmon and white kelp sushi was something I've had on each of my three visits to Nozomi. It's simple, fresh. No complaints from me.

Buri Toro (Seared Yellowtail Stomach)

Yellowtail is one of my favorite things to eat at a sushi restaurant, now a seared yellowtail belly? Yes, please! I loved the fatty flavors of the yellowtail stomach, and the seared flavors made it even better. This was very nice.

Shima Aji (Striped Jack)

This striped jack was nice. Buttery and quite flavorful. What's not to like?

Toro (Fatty Blue Fin Tuna Belly)

This piece of toro was really, really good. I mean, it's definitely better than what I had last time at Nozomi. It just literally melted in my mouth. It was probably one of the fattiest piece of toro I've ever had. I think I had dreams about this toro after my meal.

Maguro (Tuna Marinated in Ginger Soy)

After all the unique selection of fishes served during this meal, tuna almost seemed pedestrian. The tuna was delicious, but sadly, it was a bit forgettable after all the other amazing pieces of sushi served.

Uni (Sea Urchin Roe)

The uni is the star ingredient at Nozomi. As I mentioned in my last post, Mark, is the son in law of one of the biggest sea urchin distributors in the United States, thus, Nozomi probably has the best uni in town. So uni lovers, if you want to eat good uni, just come to Nozomi. Again, the flavors of the uni was rich, creamy, and was simply fantastic. I could have ate a few more pieces of this stuff.

Ikura (Salmon Roe)

Ikura (salmon roe) is another one of my personal favorites. I absolutely just love the salty flavors of the roe.

Toro Handroll

Our last piece of sushi, and by this time, we were absolutely stuffed. With that said, I'll never turn down toro, especially in a handroll form. Again, I absolutely love the toro used at Nozomi. So buttery, so rich, so delicious.

Miso Soup with Shrimp Head

Remember that shrimp head from the sashimi course? Well, it returns inside my bowl of miso soup. The broth was so nice, and I loved eating the shrimp head as the roe and meat were quite abundant. What a great way to end this meal!

Sushi Nozomi

With all of the sushi restaurants around Los Angeles, Nozomi sometimes will get lost in the shuffle. Hidden inside the Musha plaza in Torrance, I can personally say Nozomi has become one of my top 3 sushi destinations in the city. In fact, the only sushi meal I've liked better was at Urasawa, though it's also 5 times the cost compared to a meal at Nozomi. Yasu and Mark again took great care of us during the meal. While the meal itself was slightly different than my first meal there, it was great in its own way. So the next time you're stuck in Torrance looking for good sushi, give Sushi Nozomi a try. Be sure to ask for Yasu!

Sushi Nozomi
1757 W Carson St # L
Torrance, CA 90501-2828
(310) 320-5511
Website