For lunch, we went to:
La Lune Restaurant
1438 Atlantic Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90813
Beef skewers
Watercress soup
Lemongrass chicken with onion and bellpepper
Weird eggplant/cucumber, fishy curry, porky curry
Cambodian food is a bit like vietnamese/thai food but much more flavorful! In my book, that is not always a good thing though; the fish dish was super fishy! The lemongrass chicken was super tangy! I didn't mind b/c I've had super flavorful foods before, plus I ate a bunch of white rice to help balance the strong flavors. Anyhoo, I think it is an acquired taste; them cambodians are used to not-bland dishes. Another thing I noticed was a lot of frog legs and pig intestines on the menu. We didn't eat those though! But the watercress soup had some cow tummy lining in it. And no, there were no crickets on the menu. :D I don't doubt that they eat 'em in Cambodia though!
I think overall the food was good, but I don't think I'd eat it that often. I'd recommend everyone to try Cambodian food at least once, and then decide for themselves. Just head over to Long Beach!
For dinner, we went to:
Cha Cha Chicken
1906 Ocean Ave (Cross Street: Pico Boulevard)
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Ropa Nueva: Simmering shredded chicken tossed with garden veggies
Ropa Vieja: Simmering shredded beef served with dirty rice & black beans, plantains and 2 corn tortillas
I guess I have had Caribbean food before b/c I've eaten at Versailles. Isn't Cuba part of the Caribbean? *note* must start on "How to improve my knowledge of US/World geography"
Anyhoo, it was pretty delicious! The chicken was very tender, and the jerk sauce was the perfect mix of hot and tangy. Too bad it was sooooo dark that I couldn't tell what I was eating until I would pop forkfuls into my mouth! I think I had bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and potatoes mixed with the chicken. The black bean rice was yummy, but my favorite was the plantains. It was the right texture and amount of sweetness. I think it would taste so yummy with vanilla bean ice cream! Too bad it was really cold, but I definitely want to go back when it's warmer. I also wasn't able to finish my plate off, I was so full! You guys know how much I hate wasting food though. :(
Funny food convos from tonight:
"Have you had plantains before?"
"You mean fried bananas?"
"No, plantains."
"Yeah, they are bananas...and fried?"
"No, a plantain is like a banana...but fatter and less sweet. And they fry it."
"Oh. Doh. Yes I have." (I was feeling like such a dork! I thought "plantain" was fancy moniker for "fried banana.")
"So on the menu they had frog! Have you had fish legs before?!"
"Yeaaaah....huh? No? Wait a minute, fish legs?"
"Yeah! Fish le....oh shit I meant frog legs."
2 comments:
That's thai eggplant!! Cambodian food reminds of Thai food. Have you ever had Burmese food before? That's tasty too! Ooooh, a friend of ours told us to make ropa vieja now that we have a pressure cooker. I don't eat much meat nowadays so I feel like it'd be a waste unless I had a bunch of ppl eat it with me.
I think that dishes were made especially flavorful (mainly salty) during times when food was scarce, that way you'd be forced to eat more rice (and therefore get fuller faster).
I had Cuban on Saturday so I had the plantains, rice, & beans... I was thinking of getting the ropa vieja but I got the lomo saltado instead. & I've had frog legs before. They're much better fried. Makes them much more chicken-like. I had Cambodian once. It reminded me of a mix of Viet & Thai. Not really memorable. I haven't been to Cha Cha Chicken but I like Cha Cha Cha in NorCal. They have one in SM too. Wow you really do blog a lot about food. But I guess so do I. :P
Post a Comment