Alibi- Culver City, CA

Ok, so I lied. I looked at my "list of places I'd like to try" and I managed to accomplish getting to at least one of them (again, wasn't able to take photos, and 2 drinks in...). And you could argue that it wasn't authentic, since I ate the Korean-Mexican tacos at Alibi (a bar) instead of standing in line for an hour to receive my tacos out of the Kogi truck. But come on..I think part of what makes the food taste better is the anticipation of receiving them after an hour wait. At least knowing that I received my food ASAP gives me a more objective view not tainted by anticipation and extreme hunger. AND you know that food tends to taste better with beer anyways..so there.

Point being, it was a little salty. I think Korean food AND Mexican food in general is quite flavorful, and when mixed together, it's tasty, and salty. But it makes for good bar food, so I can't say it was terrible with my beer. Let's just say, I'd eat it if I was at Alibi, or if the Kogi truck had a less-than-20-min wait time, but I won't go craving it like I crave CCC (just saying).

If you go, try the Tacos (obvs) and the Breakfast Burrito (not as breakfasty as it sounds, I promise). Avoid the Kimchee Quesadilla at all costs.

New Trains of Thought

I know I haven't been updating much, but my hiatus does come with an excuse- I've been frequenting business outtings and haven't had the opportunity to take a photo of the food without looking like an ass. Plus usually by the time the food comes, I'm at least 2 drinks in and I just forget. My bad.

So with that, I'll start blogging again, but maybe not just about food. Actually, I've decided to test out the world's most expensive skin and face products so you know what not to buy, and what's worth the $150.

And I'll use this opportunity to brag that I went to a Beauty event, sponsored by Hearst, and with it came a hefty gift card and a HUGE cosmetic bag full of rich-people products, the cheapest being Kiehls, if that says anything about the value of the swag. So each time I try a new product, I will try my best to transpose my thoughts of each.

Stay tuned..

Din Tai Fung- Arcadia, CA

I'll start with the story of how I was initially introduced to juicy pork dumplings (aka Shao Long Bao). BFFF's dad, the ultimate food nazi, so kindly treated us out to dinner for her birthday, so of course we go asian. Now, I've never really seen the fuss about them before because most of the time when you order SLB at dim sum restaurants, it's just a regular steamed pork dumpling with nothing special about it. SLB are dumplings where the soup is supposed to be cooked INSIDE the dumpling for maximum juiciness when eating. I typically take a quick nip at the end of dumplings to let the steam all out so I don't kill any tastebuds, but Mr. Food Nazi was quick to point out that if we didn't want to waste any of the soup inside the dumplings, it had to be eaten in one swift bite. Great. So I was yelled at for wasting the dumpling soup. Now you know how to eat one!

Mostly I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves. This place has got THE juiciest pork dumplings, among other tasty asian foods. Also on the menu that is quite good: Shanghai rice cakes (the oval-looking noodles pictured below), steamed sesame bun (black paste in white bun), spicy beef noodle soup (not pictured), and the pork fried noodles (not pictured). Also to note- the crab dumplings contain REAL crab meat. I personally wasn't a fan since the texture is crabbier than expected, but it's nice to know they spend the time digging the meat out of the shells.