Silog

I am thankful that this Filipino restaurant is not in downtown L.A. but in Torrance which is close to home. We finally got to celebrate Nako's birthday. Both he and his wife Amy have never been to a Filipino restaurant and were not familiar with Filipino food other than Pancit or Adobo.

I took the liberty of ordering the food. We started with 3 appetizers. Lumpia (Filipino eggrolls) with a sweet and sour sauce, Calamari with vinegar and crushed garlic sauce and Spicy Chicken Wings which were spicy but tolerable. We all enjoyed everything.

For our entrées I ordered Sisig which is braised pork belly and shoulder topped with chicharon and garlic creme aioli. This was served over garlic fried rice and a soft boiled egg.  Sandi and I always love this dish. Nako and Amy are now fans of Sisig.

We were all full but I had to have them taste the Turon; fried banana served with Langka ice cream (jackfruit). It's the perfect dessert to end a Filipino meal.

Lemuel, chef and owner took care of us and made sure we all were enjoying our meal. Silog is located at 1555 Sepulveda Blvd. in Torrance, California.

Forma

I've been dying to go to Forma ever since I heard about their excellent pasta dishes that are finished by placing them in a big wheel of a specific cheese.  A bunch of us had planned going over to Santa Monica but because of the different schedules only Sandi and I ended up going. One of our friends just started a diet, one had a yoga class, one couldn't have cheese. So,so sorry for them..."the show must go on" as they say. We got there just as they opened. We could see the wheels of cheeses lined up with a dish towel covering them to keep them reasonably moist.

We were intrigued to see on the menu: Crispy Artichokes; baby artichokes, mache, snow peas, walnuts and goat cheese. Whole fried artichokes we had numerous times in Rome came to mind. Though not whole artichokes, these were wonderful. Sandi and I were so excited and just felt blessed! The artichokes were cut in slivers, fried till crispy. If you've never had them and chances are not too many people have; this alone is reason to go to Forma.

When it was time for the Chitarra Cacio E Pepe to bond with the Pecorino cheese, I went up to the stage to watch the show.  The master of ceremony first scraped some cheese inside the wheel and then dumped the cooked cacio e pepe from the pan, He mixed the pasta and carefully placed them on plates and grated more Pecorino cheese to top the masterpiece. The result was super delizioso! I particularly loved the chitarra as it had more substance than spaghetti.

I later spoke with Mario, the owner who told me he had plans of opening another restaurant. Unfortunately, it will not be in the South Bay. How I wish he would reconsider as there isn't a good Italian restaurant nearby.

Forma is located at 1610 Montana Ave. in Santa Monica, California.

Meet In Paris

It's been at least 4 years, possibly 5 that I've been to this restaurant in Culver City. Sandi and I were coming from the valley and we tried to think of where we could stop for an early dinner last Saturday. I have been craving mussels lately and what better place than this restaurant that specializes in all sorts of mussels.  Sandi does not care for them but I knew they had really good Steak Frites.

We got there in time for Happy Hour. The drinks were discounted but more importantly; the mussels and hors d'oeuvres were also discounted. We ordered the Tarte Flambeé; French Flatbread with caramelized onion,blue cheese, lardons and crème fraiche.  These were delicious though I would have preferred more blue cheese.

There were 8 kinds of Mussels to choose from for the Happy Hour; all for $13.00. The regular menu has about 17 sauces to choose from. I chose the Dijonnaise with garlic, shallots, tomato confit, Dijon mustard, tarragon and cream. I had to order the Truffle Frites with aged Parmesan, truffle oil and aioli to go with my mussels. I was in heaven. When I finished all the mussels, I dumped the remaining fries into the cream sauce. The flavors of the mustard, tarragon, shallots and garlic were evident and when the fries soaked up the sauce it was like I was starting my meal over. What an experience.

Sandi was happy with her Le Steak Frites. Steak was cooked to perfection; this came with maitre d' hotel butter which melted onto the flavorful steak. The French fries didn't hurt the steak. I had a piece of the steak and loved it.

Meet in Paris not only has Happy Hour everyday from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm, they also have All You Can Eat Mussels on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesdays from 5:00 pm to  8:45 pm. They are located at 9727 Culver Blvd. in Culver City, California.

Oscar Party 2017

My brother and I were lucky to have been invited to the Elton John Oscar Viewing Party last year. This year we didn't get any invitations but it's just as well since the Oscars are now more of a democratic convention than just awards for acting.

We had our own party at my house. The venue was supposed to be at Sandi's house but she ended up getting sick and didn't want to spread her germs. We started with the usual hors d' oeuvres of cheeses, chips and dips with some La Montina Champagne. We then graduated to Chinese Chicken Salad, Teriyaki Chicken, Potato Macaroni Salad, and even some Veggies. These were all from Island Hut which is always good. Sujata brought the best Samosas. It came with 2 sauces, mint and a sweet sauce that had a bit of a kick. We all preferred that one. The mint was too spicy but not for Sujata.

Sujata also brought a huge box of Blue Star Donuts. There were different flavors; Lemon Meyer Key Lime, Bacon Maple, Tiramisu, Hard Apple Cider Fritter, Chocolate Almond Ganache, Green Tea. We all loved the lemon Meyer keylime. It was a bit tart. The bacon maple was good but not as good as Cafe Dulce's. The chocolate almond ganache was great except for the almonds on top ( I don't like almonds). After the donuts, we had mango, chocolate and green tea mochis form Trader Joe's which were delicious.

Though last year was a lot of fun, dressing up and going on a limo and having dinner catered by Gordon Ramsey, this year was just as fun and a lot more comfortable and cozy. Nothing can beat good champagne, food and comfy pajamas with the best of friends.

A Feast at Lawry's The Prime Rib

I had friends from Boston this past week and when I suggested Lawry's for dinner, there were no objections because where else can you find the best prime rib and creamed corn but Lawry's. We got there early as usual to take advantage of the meatballs but more important to me are their homemade potato chips. This time I was prepared and brought along some salt since it isn't salty enough for my taste.

There were 9 of us. Not everyone ordered prime rib though most of us did. Ross ordered the Rib-eye which looked wonderful with the fried onion rings. Alma had the Trout, David had the Salmon which people have raved about and Trinity had the Lobster Tails which I love since it is always cooked to perfection. Our server Kim Kurek was delightful. She's worked there for more than 20 years. Most servers have worked there a long time. Lawry's must do something right because you can tell that the employees love what they do. 

I've spoken to the General Manager Mr. Aniel Chopra before but never met him in person. I finally had the pleasure of meeting him; a very pleasant and charming man. He came to our table and told us he would send something to the table for dessert. The something turned out to be an array of delicious desserts and champagne. I was not even aware they had so many desserts in the menu. Now I know! They were all quite edible, even the one on a diet ended up attacking them. 

Everyone had a great time. I thank Mr. Chopra for his generosity. We were all too full and pleasantly stuffed. 

Lawry's  The Prime Rib is located at 100 N. La Cienega in Beverly Hills, California.

Kagura

We went to Kagura for dinner last night. We were there at 5:30 p.m. when they had just opened so it was quite empty at that time. 

I read about this restaurant but I couldn't remember what their specialty was so I asked our server as she pointed to the Millefeuille Katsu Gozen and the Millefeuille Shiso Cheese Katsu Gozen. The only Mille-feuille I know of is a Napoleon, the French dessert made with multiple layers of thin and flaky puff pastry with custard in between them. I am familiar with Tonkatsu which is a breaded deep fried pork cutlet which is often dry. 

Sandi ordered the Millefeuille Katsu Gozen and I had the Millefeuille Shiso Cheese Katsu Gozen. Piero wanted to be good and not order anything fried so he ordered the Grilled Salmon marinated in natural salt. Before our entrees arrived, we had some Edamame which we all enjoyed. The cabbage salad that they served looked a bit sad but the dressing was very good.

Piero's Grilled Salmon was not grilled. It was smoked even if the menu stated "grilled". The salmon had to go back. If my entree wasn't humongous, I would have eaten the salmon. He ended up ordering the Millefeuille Katsu.  I loved my Millefeuille Shiso Cheese Katsu. It had multiple slices of black pork loin cutlet with shiso leaf and cheese. The pork was tender and juicy and the melted cheese made it even taste better with the crunchy and very light shell. I have never had anything like it. I dipped each slice in the katsu sauce with a bit of the spicy mustard. 

I did not know what black pork loin was so I looked it up. Another name for this is Kurobuta which is a black hog which comes from the famed Berkshire pig. This smaller hog has more fat than the regular pig therefore juicier. Why is it that fat is almost always good?

Kagura is located at 1652 Cabrillo Ave. in Torrance, California. They are open for lunch and dinner everyday.