We know it’s only Tuesday, but there is something to look forward to this weekend!

I’ve been browsing through the new Lomography store in West Hollywood, and was impressed by the sheer size of the space. Two floors of ultimate lomo experience. Not only do they have every product imaginable, but they also hold really creative workshops that are intimate enough for you to make new friends and highly engaged with the city of Los Angeles.

All photos via Lomography

One event to look forward to is their Diana Mini workshop this Saturday from 1-3 pm. Already own a Diana mini camera? Free entry. Or, get a loaner with a free roll of film and shoot your Saturday afternoon away in the streets of Los Angeles.

They will also be throwing a Light Painting Workshop on March 23rd where they will be teaching you how to create stunning, highly saturated images of light streaks from one of their loaner lomo cameras.

Then I would suggest a restaurant for lunch that is down the street from the store called Hugo’s. I saw it on the Food Network’s, “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” and it was a special breakfast episode. This place is packed, but the wait wasn’t too bad (around ten minutes?)

I had the “Pasta Mama” dish for brunch which consisted of fresh pasta scrambled with eggs, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese and Hugo’s special seasoning. It’s a simple dish that originated as a last minute hearty breakfast of delicious leftovers. And lots and lots of garlic! Here’s a pic of the “Pasta Papa” dish which is basically the Pasta Mama + Bacon, chicken italian sausage, and scallions.

We were at Poketo are all hugeeeee Top Chef/ Top Chef Masters fans. So you can only imagine our reaction when we discovered that Top Chef MASTER winner, Rick Bayless will be opening up his first restaurant outside of Chicago in the City of Angels! Woo hoo!

Set to open some time in April, “Red O” will take the place of what used to be Moustache Cafe restaurant on Melrose Avenue. I’m sure many people will be skeptical about his take on Mexican food, especially in a city that prides itself on its wonderful Mexican cuisine that’s affordable and pretty much as real as it gets before Mexico itself. He is planning on making his menu lighter, catering to the diversified palettes of Californians with a very hand-picked tequila selection. (Very important.) He was my favorite on the show more so because of the passion he had whenever he was being interviewed on his food.

I loved watching his show on PBS: Mexico- One Plate At A Time

He’s def. legit in my book. Can’t wait!

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz around San Gabriel’s food scene, and knew I had to contact my old roommate from college to show me around the area. In the past few weeks, I’ve discovered so many hidden gems: dim sum, pho, banh mi, warm and gooey red bean desserts…My newest discovery?? All you can eat HOT POT @ Amrose Restaurant. I was unable to take pictures when I went, but these pics taken from their Yelp page pretty accurately represents my experience there:

It’s basically like the Chinese version of Shabu Shabu. Supposedly the dual broth they serve you is more of “Szechuan”-style with their bold seasoning and spicy broth. And for 15 dollars, you can eat all you want–even seafood and meat!

Lots of different variation of sauces. We had the garlic oil one.

All topped off with some good ol’ Taiwan beer.

Highly recommended for anyone willing to track out into the valley.

Amrose Hot Pot
529 E Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776

I am obsessed with two cooking shows featured on YouTube: Cooking with Dog, which focuses on Japanese cooking, and Maangchi, who focuses on Korean cooking.

There are a couple of dishes that I dream of eating. Why not make it? Simple. I suck at cooking. So, I wonder if anyone located in Los Angeles can recommend any awesome places they know of that specialize in the following dishes:

Where can I find a restaurant that serves Sanma Takikomi Gohan (Japanese Mixed Rice with Pacific Saury)??? It’s been beautifully made in this video,I hope someone can spare me the misery of actually having to cook this myself!

Does anyone know where to get awesome Ichigo Daifuku?!?!?!

I wonder if they have this in other fruits too…

It’s interesting to compare both Cooking with Dog and Maangchi’s cooking styles. Cooking with Dog, whose dishes have been showcased on this blog post is very refined, always magically done in perfect portions for 1 person, and have intricate cuts that require tiny tiny fingers. Maangchi’s style is very hands on, uses a lot of sesame oil, and requires more intuition than calculation.

Check them out!

With the holidays soon approaching, many of you will be going to Las Vegas. And while the lure of the black jack tables, Cirque du Soleil shows, and world class nightlife have an overbearing power over our spending habits, there is yet another purchase that transcends all spending logic. The Sweet Surrender Cupcake and Candy Shop which recently opened at the Palazzo may look like just another dessert shop jumping the cupcake bandwagon. But it is their “Decadence D’or” cupcake, worth $750 that reminds you you aren’t in any city–you’re in Vegas. And in Vegas you go big, or you go home.

(Photo via imagesofvegas.com/isphotography)

Is it a diamond encrusted cupcake with ruby sprinkles on top? Is their powdered sugar make of gold leaf? Taken from LAist, the lucky few who were able to taste this cupcake has described it as:

… A sumptuous cupcake, handcrafted from the most exclusive, rich, and enterprising ingredients around the globe. One main ingredient in Decadence D’Or is Palmira Single Estate Chocolate. This special chocolate varietal is derived from the rare and fragile Porcelana Criollo bean and cultivated to its fullest state of richness exclusively at the Valrhona plantation in Venezuela. Complementary to the Palmira Single Estate Chocolate is Tahitian Gold Vanilla Caviar- the world’s most labor-intensive agricultural crop. This fruit, after it is ripened for nine months, then hand-harvested, cured, sweat, dried, and hand-split, is obtained only by tedious manual extraction; it is truly a delicacy, both in taste and exclusivity. Topping the Decadence D’Or is the masterfully smooth Louis XIII de Remy Martin Cognac, 100 years in the making, and edible, metallic gold flakes, each painstakingly hand-placed. Finally, once baked to perfection, this grand dessert is encased in a stately, hand blown sugar Fleur-de-Lis and presented on a handmade exclusive elegant crackled-gold glass curved plate and bowl.
(Quote courtesy of LAist.com)

The shop which is headed by Chef Long Nguyen and Johann Springfield is on the casino level of the Palazzo!

It’s pretty much the best discovery since the artificial sweetener. The “Miracle Fruit” or in its more proper form, “Synsepalum dulcificum” is a highly perishable berry native to West Africa which after consumption, makes even the most bitter flavors taste sweet. For centuries it has been around,but has just recently made it’s way back onto the culinary radar. A single berry which costs roughly 2 dollars + has lured trendy foodies to tasting parties like this one the New York Times covered in Queens, New York in 2008:

Guinness beer transforms into sorbet? Brussel sprouts–now an “oddly textured fruit”? This could definitely be a revolutionary way of feeding your kids vegetables. Anyone can purchase these berries at the MiracleFruitMan.com

For those of you who follow “Top Chef: Las Vegas“, I’m sure it was a wonderfully delicious hour leading up to the much anticipated finale! How many of you were Bryan fans? Or perhaps you preferred the youthfulness of Michael. Whomever you rooted for, you can’t deny that this season was exceptionally exciting with the tension caused by the Voltaggio brothers!

We don’t want to ruin the conclusion for those of you who haven’t checked your Tivo yet, so instead of recapping the finale, here’s a fun look into the most famous sibling rivalries of all!

Cain and Abel, as portrayed by Marc Chagall

Michael and Fredo Coreleone

Ross and Monica Gellar

And the classic favorite…..Bart and Lisa!

Who are your favorite siblings? Whether they’re friends or foe, they definitely make for great entertainment!

Have you recovered from Thanksgiving food coma yet? I’m actually still working on it! If you’re like me, you might not have had a traditional turkey with stuffing, or cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes, but we’re not holding it against you! In fact, we admire those who ventured into trying something new, or maybe reinvented an old recipe to make it your own.

One Poketo friend, Kate, was so sweet as to share a recipe with a dash of cute personal sentiment! She also mentioned that for Thanksgiving, they had Croque Monsieur, Quiche Lorraine, Cinnamon and Nutmeg Crepes, and Cubed Potates. Are you drooling yet?

Here’s the recipe for the authentic crepes that she learned how to make from her host mother during her stay in France.

Ingredients:

-2 cups of flour
-3 eggs
-1/2 liter milk
-a dash of salt (if you like)

Instructions:

* Combine salt and flour. Beat eggs and add to the milk. Mix this, bit by bit to the flour. The mixture should be thinner than cake batter. If it’s too thick, add water.
* Heat a skillet on high. Coat it lightly with oil (the best way to do this is to dip a paper towel in oil and lightly run it over the surface). Make sure the pan is hot before adding crepe batter.
* Pour in a small amount of crepe batter into the center of the pan. Lifting it above the stove, move the batter in a circular motion, to achieve a perfect circular crepe. when the edges begin to lift from the pan, it’s time to flip!
* Remove when second side is lightly browned. brush lightly with butter (if you like) and sprinkle with a mix of nutmeg, cinnamon, and sugar, to taste.

Bon Appetit!

Just to make your day, Kate was kind enough to share the handwritten instructions her host mother wrote out for her. How sweet and personal!