Dylan's Candy Bar

"I felt like  kid in a candy store" ....ohhh wait.... I was in a candy store, though not a kid.  I have heard of Dylan's before but I had no idea where it was. Last week while walking along the many stores at "The Grove", in Los Angeles, I discovered Dylan's.

Wow, all sorts of candies, chocolates, toys, and anything you can imagine that has something to do with candies. They even had cute t-shirts and cut out leggings, and for dog lovers, dog accessories. What caught my attention were the chocolate covered gummy bears which I have purchased numerous times in a store nearby my house. What I got all excited about were the WHITE chocolate gummy bears. I have never seen that in my lifetime!

I also purchased a chocolate bar made by Galler Chocolatier from Belgium. This was no ordinary chocolate bar. This was White Chocolate Coffee; I have never encountered such a species! This little species cost $6.00. I must say that it was worth $6.00. The strong coffee flavor inside the sweet white chocolate was a nice combination. This one is not for you, Sandi. (she hates anything coffee-quite odd)

Dylan's Candy Bar originated in New York, with other locations in Miami Beach, East Hampton, Houston, and Los Angeles.  It is owned by Dylan Lauren who was fascinated and inspired by the movie Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory since she was 5 years old. She also happens to be Ralph Lauren's daughter.

My only regret is I wanted to buy one of the cute little candy jars that had your name on it like: "Cindy's Candies" They had a lot of male and female names but they didn't have my nickname which is Candy. So no Candy's candy......not even Karina. They will have to work on that.

Cream Puffs ala L'Amande

This past weekend was the debut of L'Amande's Cream Puffs.  I bought 6 of them and served them for dessert for my dinner guests. My dinner was only the trailer of the evening. The dessert was the main event.

These cream puffs were different as the custard was not overpowering.  When I eat a pastry with a custard filling, I usually discard 1/2 the custard as it  is usually too heavy or too sweet.  I am happy to report that I was able to consume all of the custard in the cream puff. The dark chocolate topping cracked as you bit into it or cut into it with a fork. (I tried both ways)

The secret to the success of these cream puffs....quality of all the ingredients they use. You don't have to be a pastry chef to recognize that the best quality equals the best pastries.

Below is a picture of my niece Aimee, her husband Elliot and my husband Otto; all looking very happy.

L'Amande Bakery is located at the Rolling Hills Plaza in Torrnace, California.

VIP TASTING EVENT AT THE GROVE

I attended a VIP Tasting Event at the Grove in Los Angeles today. This event featured the finest Cantonese cuisine by 3 Hong Kong Michelin-starred chefs accompanied by fine wines. My brother Gary was my chaperon. We got there early so as soon as we were registered and received our admission bracelet which entitled us to 2 alcoholic beverages each, we planted ourselves by the shade.  All the tables were in the sun which was fine if you wanted a large dose of Vitamin D plus some harmful UV rays.

The set up was nice and seemed well organized. I had a Sterling Cabernet and Gary had the Pinot Noir.  A photographer came by and asked if he could take our picture and since it was a VIP event, we happily agreed.  Each table had the menu and the name of the chefs responsible for each dish. In about 10 minutes, the servers came out with plates with a good portion of several dishes.  We were impressed by the looks of it.

Some were better than others and could have used a little sauce. The very best one was the Baked Bun with BBQ Pork.  It was light and crunchy with the most delicious pork with  a sweet and salty sauce oozing out as you bit into it.  The Siu Mai (Pork Dumplings) were also very good.

It turns out that our favorites were all made by Chef Mak from Tim Ho Wan Restaurant in Hong Kong. He was former chef at the 4 Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong.
The other chefs were Chef Cheng, Celebrity Cuisine and Chef Tsang form Ming Court, Langham Place in Hong Kong.  These 3 chefs were flown in from Hong Kong for this event.  I asked one of the servers if I could speak with Chef Mak. He said he would check with the people inside. A minute passed and a door opened with 2 chefs staring at me. I didn't know which one Chef Mak was so I called his name and he approached me . I started talking to him and he smiled and got a lady to translate for him. I just told him how his baked bun was truly outstanding and though the other dishes were good, his were the best; he really lived up to his title "Dim Sum Specialist". He gave me his card and I also gave him my card. I asked if I could have a picture taken so he asked me to come inside the booth. The lady took our picture; another humble and gracious chef. 

What a fun day...and yet it was sad since I don't know when I will be able to have his Buns again.

Live Lobsters

A friend of ours sent us two 2lb. live lobsters in the mail.  I was excited to cook them for dinner.  I was going to serve them with baked potatoes. I intended to boil them.

The lobsters came in a box packed with ice packs and some kelp.  I guess, that is so they will feel at home while in transit. An old acquaintance once told me you can sort of anesthetize them before you cook them. I have tried it before and it seemed to work.  This time, I tried my luck and rubbed the back of the neck as they get quite active when you take them out of the box.  After a about 15 seconds, the lobster calmed down and sort of went to sleep. It was easier dunking it in the boiling water.
That was the easy part. I cooked them according to the directions that came with it.

Prepping the lobster for dinner was another story. My husband, the retired anesthesiologist, wore a pair of surgical gloves.  The lobster was too hot to handle with such thin gloves and had a lot of very sharp edges, so he added a pair of rubber gloves. I got out my little shoe hammer which is a real hammer made of cast iron, since we didn't have the proper paraphernalia.

The little hammer was a joke! So we had to get the big guns. There we were whacking and pounding away.  I felt like a member of the Gambino family.  The meat from the tail didn't look like the way you see it in a restaurant. It came out in pieces but since this was not a restaurant, I didn't care, as long as it was edible.  By the time we finished part 1, the lobster was cold.  I squeezed fresh lemons on them and dipped the numerous dismembered parts in warm butter. All of a sudden, the whole ordeal seemed worth it, delcious and succulent lobster. I guess the experience is comparable to childbirth; after the labor pains, you forget all the pain (though that's not entirely true-speaking from experience)

Part 2 was back to the sink to finish the job. The claws were the best part; very sweet and tender.

Part 3 was the clean up; what a big mess!  I now will never complain about the price of lobster in a restaurant. Amen.

We Olive Classes

Last month I talked about the experience we had at We Olive store in Long Beach.  See previous blog
http://solittlethyme.blogspot.com/2013/05/we-olive.html

Last night, 3 of us signed up for one of their classes; Salad Dressings. It was a nice intimate size class of five. The set up was interesting and exciting. Each of us had a bunch of little containers of several olive oils, balsamic vinegar, pieces of bread & cheese and some unknown mystery items. There was also an empty bowl and a miniature mixer.

The head master, Chef Gregg and his sous chef, Monica introduced us to olive oil tasting; from warming them, sniffing, and sipping with a slurp much like wine tasting except not much of a slurp when drinking wine.  We tasted buttery, grassy, peppery oils. When mixed with the various vinegar they really came into being.

We later mixed some emulsions to another one of our creations (we had a total of 3). They had some honey mustard, garlic puree, agave, honey, and salt.  They also had a bunch of cut fresh herbs if we wanted to add to our dressings. Basil, dill, thyme, chives were available. It was a lot of fun mixing the various ingredients.

They offered wine to those who wanted. I was the only one that accepted the offer. It was interesting that it looked like we were to do our tasting lessons standing up.  I asked for a stool which they did bring out though the other students declined. In the end I was the only one relaxed and sitting pretty on my stool.  Both Debra and Sandi later confessed that they should have asked for a stool.

We Olive offers different classes on Wednesdays from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Check out their website for the schedule. They also offer 10% discount on anything in the store you buy that evening so naturally, we bought more stuff.  We Olive have several locations all over California. The one we went to was on 4725 E. 2nd St., Suite C in Long Beach (Belmont Shore area).

9 Bean Ham Bone Soup Mix

Last Easter, I bought a ham from Bristol Farms.  I got a bigger size than called for since I wanted to have left overs.  I froze the bone in a zip lock with a lot of meat on it.

Last week, I thought it would be good to resurrect the bone and cook some soup.  I went to the neighborhood Honey Baked Ham and purchased the 9 Bean Ham Bone Mix. (less than $5.00)

It called for soaking the beans for a several hours.  It also suggested (optional of course) to add carrots, celery or any vegetable.  I added both carrots and celery. The beans were so pretty, you almost wanted to play with them....which I did while washing them.

I just threw everything in a big pot as instructed.   Since I added vegetables, I also added a lot more water than the 4-6 cups suggested. The hard part was waiting for it to cook as you smelled the nice aroma. 

A soup this good called for equally good bread which I got from L'Amande Bakery and needless to say a good Cabernet.

I almost want to buy another ham just so I can make the soup again!

Thai Original BBQ & Restaurant

Last month, we were invited to the Thai Original BBQ Restaurant in Culver City.  The people we were with were not new to this place; in fact, they have been to the other locations numerous times.  They were experts in ordering as between the 4 of them, I am not surprised if they have had everything on the menu.

It was just fitting for us, the invited, to have the invitees order for everyone. They ordered Dearest Crab with Shrimp Fried Rice and served with Deep Fried Pork. The rice had succulent crab, shrimps, chicken and pork. The deep fried pork was crispy and delicious. The Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce came with Shrimp Fried Rice. You may think this was a lot of rice.  We were all Filipinos, and for us, we never have too much rice especially if it's fried!

The  Shrimp Phad Thai was the best I have ever had. It had the right amount of sweetness; not too sweet and well balanced. We of course had to have the Original Thai BBQ Chicken which was ever so good.  They also ordered the Thai Beef Salad which was my kind of salad, more beef than greens.

Thai Original BBQ and Restaurant have numerous locations: Hollywood (2 locations), Glendale, Covina, Culver City, Union City, and Carson. This is good news to me since Carson is close to where I live.  They also have a location in San Francisco and in Las Vegas.   Check out their menu and locations; http://thaibbqculver.com/menu.html