ThePinoyPanda

A Food Blogger's Lunch at Pondahan

How can I call myself a Pinoy Panda without doing a post of Filipino food? So here we go! 

Within the last two years, I've met an incredible group of new friends. Friends from the Los Angeles blogging scene. Before I met them all, I thought I ate pretty well. Geez was I wrong. They've exposed me to some of the best and eclectic cusine that L.A. has to offer, let alone some of the hardest reservations that one can get or even just hope for. I consider myself exremely lucky because of this.

Since I'm the lone Filipino in our group aka The Panda Clan & Team Fatass, they urged me to take them to a Filipino restaurant. It's rare in the Los Angeles area to have a Filipino restaurant that's not a "turo-turo" (where you point at items on a steam table). Luckily there was a one in West Covina run by a couple from my hometown of Malabon, a city just north of Manila back in the Philippines.  

We started our meal with a refreshing glass of Calamansi juice. Calamansi has a distinctive tart and sweet citrusy taste. This is so perfect on a hot summer day. 

Lumpia Shanghai. These are mini egg rolls filled with pork and shrimp that's been fried to a lovely crispness. Daing na Bangus (Fried Boneless Milkfish). This is usually typical breakfast fare back home in the Philippines and we've taken that tradition here. I grew up eating this every Saturday morning. Lechon Kawali (Fried Pork Belly). This is one of our favorites. What's better than taking hot oil to a slab of pork belly...it's just magic. Sinangag (Garlic Fried Rice). A Filipino meal is not complete without rice. It seems that every Filipino dish was especially created to be eaten with rice. Pinakbet (Vegetable with shrimp paste). This was my attemt to get some vegetables in our meal. But as you can see, there are huge chucks of fried pork in it too. Sizzling Sisig. Sisig literally means "to snack on something sour." A mixture of meat taken from a pig's head and mixed liver and flavored with calamansi and chilis. As a final garnish, an egg is cracked over the top. This is typical fare that you'ld have when drinking San Miguel or Red Horse beer with your buddies back home. Crispy Pata (Deep Fried Pork Knuckles). This is our other favorite dish. I'm at a loss for words. It's just that fantastic. Kare-Kare (Oxtail & Tripe stew in peanut sauce). Another classic Pinoy dish that's seems to be everyone's favorite.

We ended our meal with Turon (Banana egg rolls). Here it's served with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel. Delicious!

And of course a Halo-Halo. The name literally means to mix and mix. It's the Philipines' version of shaved ice. This version included gulaman, sweet young coconut, sweet white beans, sweet red beans and topped with Ube ice cream.

This was an enjoyable lunch for all of us and I know we'll be back for more. Having a Filipino meal brings happiness to my heart. And sharing a Filipino meal with wonderful new friends just makes my heart that much happier.

Pondahan Fusion Restuarant Cafe & Bar - 535 South California Avenue, West Covina, CA 91790 - (626) 856-0416 

 

 

 

My First Omakase at Nozomi Sushi

Tomorrow will mark my second omakase-style dinner at Nozomi Sushi in Torrance. I thought I'd get this post out before my highly awaited return.

I was invited to this special dinner not knowing what to expect. I've never even heard of Nozomi, let alone eaten omakase-style. One thing was for sure, I was absolutely blown away.

We occupied practically the entire bar with the exception of two seats. The sushi chefs were very personable and friendly which eased by unwarranted trepidation of what I was about to experience. Once we sat down and had a couple of glasses of Sapporo, everything went uphill from there.

We were first served crackers topped with uni, marinated squid & cream cheese. A tasty bite to start off our meal.

Next was a sunomono salad that was quite refreshing. This surely helped enhance my appetite. Alfonsino (Tasmanian Snapper) with Yuzu and topped with Himalayan sea salt. Black Seabream with ponzu jelly. Red Snapper topped with sesame soy sauce.

It was at this point that I realized...where the heck's the soy sauce and wasabi. Immediately then realizing that I would have done myself a horrible disservice by ruining the perfect flavors of the fresh seafood that Chef Yasu was carfefully and intricately preparing for us.

Here is Chef Yasu holding up a flying fish that he just finished carving up. Make sure you ask for him when you go and also make sure that you invite me. LOL Here is that Tobiko (Flying Fish).  Hiramasu (a relative of the Yellowtail) with soy sauce. We took a nice break from all the wonderful fish when they brought out a plate of fried Calamari. It was topped with some seaweed powder that added an extra kick to it.    Hamachi (Japanese amberjack). A delicious serving of Chawanmushi. Another welcomed break from our meal.

This was thee best tasting Uni I have ever had. Look at how they just piled them on. I love it! These babies were freshly sourced from Santa Barbara and were treated without any preservatives.

Ikura with quail yolk. A perfect pairing of sea and sky. The definite surprise of the evening was this Cod Milt. I remember it being slightly warm and creamy. Mixed with the ikura, I knew I was gonna lay a bunch of little fishes by morning. Okay that was a joke. Anago (Sea Eel) with teriyaki sauce and lemon zest. Marinated Tuna with Avocado.

A torched Barracuda that was topped with yamaimo, a kind of mountain potato or yam.

Toro (a fatty cut of Tuna). This just melted in my mouf. 

Finally a refreshing pinapple to end our fabulous meal.

Wow! Writing this post is making me even more excited about tomorrow's dinner. Hopefully I will have much better pictures for you than these from my phone. This is only my second blog post and I think I'm getting the hang of things. Hopefully you approve.

 

Nozomi Sushi - 1757 West Carson Street, Torrance, CA 90501 - (310) 320-5511

 

 

 

 

 



 

Blood Orange Cocktail

This cocktail has long been a favorite among my friends. But since the blood orange season is very short, I try to make it as often as possible when they begin to appear in the markets. It's a very refreshing cocktail with that unique blood orange flavor. Hope you enjoy it. Cheers!

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces Charbay Blood Orange vodka
• 3 ounces blood orange juice
• 2 ounces Cointreau
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• ice cubes
• 2 blood orange slices

Directions: