Interview with a Fellow Foodie // 02

I reached out to Nancy of exquisitely.me quite a while back about my new foodie series, and got a wonderful interview out of her! As a fellow foodie, I was excited to see what she had for me and she did not disappoint. Every time I visit her blog, she always has the most amazing food photos and they make me hungry every time ?

I usually hate when people ask me this question and basically tell them to eff off, mainly because it’s such a hard question! But I’m gonna ask you anyway – what’s your favourite dish/cuisine?

With Los Angeles being so diverse with its food options, this is a hard question! Even though I love all sorts of foods, Asian cuisine resonates with me the most.

I get a kick out of reading your posts about your foodie adventures and they always make me super hungry! What’s your favourite spot to go to for lunch or dinner in LA?

I don’t have one favorite spot but rather have a few!

• Jazz Cat Shabu: Even though some people don’t like cooking their own food “at a restaurant”, I get a kick out of shabu where I can dip the thinly sliced beef into the soup and cook it however I want. I’m also a huge soup person, so it’s a two-in-one!
• Ootoro: Ootoro serves very high quality-grade sushi. You can’t go wrong with their thickly sliced salmon and tuna sashimi. On top of that, their chirashi bowls are out of the world! Even though the dinner chirashi bowl was $42, it was worth every bite.
• Urban Plates: Cafeteria-style eateries have climbed up in my list in the recent years. Even though Lemonade has been my favorite for years, Urban Plates climbed up in my list due to their kombucha and wine availability. Though, you can never beat the truffle mac and cheese from Lemonade. The plates option from Urban Plates is my go-to choice, with steak or ahi tuna, depending on my mood.
• Lamplight Lounge: In Disney California Adventure, there is a lounge right next to Paradise Pier. My boyfriend and I go so much to the point where we remember some of the staff there. I LOVE their “Overbudget” drink, which is basically a Moscow Mule. Pair that with their burger or lobster nachos and you’re good to go!

If you were to fuse two cuisines together and make classic dishes, what would you choose?

I’m not going to be original with this because I’ve had Korean-Mexican fusion where I’ve eaten bulgogi tacos. This is basically thinly-sliced beef briskets over a tortilla with thinly sliced pickled Korean radishes.

You travel quite a lot for work, but have you ever travelled anywhere just/mainly for the food?

At most, I’ve driven 50 miles/80 kilometers each way out for cute macarons a few times. I have no regrets and would do it again!

What’s the strangest dish you’ve ever tried?

My boyfriend and I were eating at a rotating sushi bar a couple of years ago. We saw a nigiri plate passing by that looked appealing with a foreign name we never heard of before. We grabbed the plate and ate it out of curiosity. Surprisingly, the texture was crunchy like an octopus and tasted pretty good. It wasn’t until we got home that I Google’d the name and it turned out to be sea snail. Whoops. Lesson learned: Look up names, even if you’re not in doubt.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Even though I try to avoid food and drink with a lot of sugar and carbs, here are my guilty pleasures:

• Croissants
• Pizza
• Milk tea
• Macarons

Another hard question, I think, but what’s the best meal you’ve ever had?

I’ve had a lot of great meals but have a hard time picking out the best meal. Though, one of the best meals tend to happen at Ootoro whenever I order their premium chirashi bowl. You can really taste the difference in quality between these high-end fishes to a cheap sushi joint (nothing wrong with that). In cases like this, you really get what you paid for (in a good way).

What has been your best foodie experience?

Not going to lie, I really liked going to the 626 Night Market. Not only do you get a taste of Asian street-style food, it’s all in one centralized location, which is pretty rare for LA considering how spread out the delicious food places are.

My list of restaurants to visit keeps grown exponentially – what are some restaurants/foods that you are dying to try?

I don’t exactly have a running list of restaurants I am dying to try out but I do have a couple of brunch spots in my “wishlist”. I like to be “Brunch Queen” when I can, hehe.

• Fig & Olive – Melrose Place
• Le Petit Marché
• n/naka

How often do you eat out?

It really depends on the week, where I would probably eat out about twice a week or every other day if I’m feeling extra social. It can range from 2-4 times a week, spreading between lunch and dinner. Otherwise, I usually eat something meal prepped from home during the weekdays and Sundays. If you were to ask me about my preference, I prefer home cooking.