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LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 4

LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 4
A fancy brunch or should I say lunch since they didn't serve brunch on a Tuesday was saved for our last day in Los Angeles at Bottega Louie.

We ordered from the small plate section and got the portobello fries, ceviche, and harvest risotto. The fries and ceviche were each $13. The risotto is $9.

This was my first time trying out the Portobello fries and my first thoughts were: this is much healthier than regular french fries. The aioli sauce, I assume, that served alongside the portobello fries adds a nice touch to the overall taste factor. This is a must try appetizer if you ever venture in to this Italian restaurant.

Portobello Fries

Next up was the ceviche, there were bits of seafood served with a tangy sauce. I'm always a fan of ceviche.

Ceviche

The risotto was a bit bland for me but after taking a couple more bites and adjusting to the delicate taste, the risotto is actually flavorful. This is a light touch to the meal, similar to a salad. The presentation, itself, deserves an applause.

Harvest Risotto

The clam linguini had Manilla clams and cockles. It was seasoned with white wine, shallots, garlic, red chili pepper, fleur de sel, lemon and extra olive oil. It was a delightful entree.

Clam Linguini

We decided on our pizza choice: the Napoli. Its got white mushrooms, olives, and red onions topped with mozzarella, Grana parmesan, tomoto sauce, and oregano. The pizza was definitely baked in a brick oven by the uneven burnt bottom.

Although this pizza was a joy to be served, I'm not accustomed to one of the ingredients that was added, either one of the cheese or the olives, leaving a bitter ending.

Napoli Pizza

Dessert is just around the corner --- actually not even, it's just a few steps away. Bottega Louie is known for their exquisite desserts.

Many gift-sets to buy

Mmm dessert

More dessert

All the choices!

We bought some more macarons back home. Yes, more macarons to add to my collection.

I had macarons from Bottega before, which is why I wanted to buy again. Unfortunately, the macarons I purchased this time were hard in texture and almost seem like they were leftover macarons that didn't sellout.I guess you have to buy them at the right time.

Left to Right: Earl Grey, Pistachio, Grand Cru, Espresso, Vanilla

Since we still have plenty of time to spare, we drove up to the Griffith Observatory to look at some day stars. They even had a grand view of the sign Hollywood. And of course, to enjoy some science.

In front of the observatory

What is everyone looking at?

The Foucault Pendulum displaying earth's rotation

Stars & Galaxy

A piece of the moon

Albert Einstein

Periodic Table with real elements

Tesla Coils

After the tesla coils, we decided to take a pit-stop at Porto's bakery to grab some snacks before we head for our departure flight.

Porto's Bakery

So much pastries

I'm generally not a big fan for pastries but this place has blown my mind. If you are ever near a Porto's, I highly recommend buying a pastry. I also normally don't like cheese and even hesitated to buy one of their infamous cheese rolls, turned out to be worth the surprise.

I also grab one of their chicken croquette, potato ball, and meat pie. They were all really good. I can now understand why people are obsessed with this place.

My Porto's Bakery Purchase

Cheese Roll

Meat pie, chicken croquette, and potato ball

LA has been a heck of an adventure for me. I'll be back to try more!

Highlights of Day 4:

• Bottega Louie
• Griffith Observatory
• Porto's Bakery

Check out:
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 1
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 2
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 3

Happy Pi Day!

The 27th annual Pi Day was held at the Exploratorium today. The celebration of the 3.14159… and also Einstein's Birthday. Not to mention that admission was absolutely free, sponsor by Uniqlo. Big shout-out for the entry-free event, volunteers even served lemonades for everyone that was waiting in line for admission.

Exploratorium

Waiting in line to get in

Giant Fog Machine

The schedule of events was packed from 1:00pm to 2:30pm, filled with activities and procession of Pi, ending the day off with pie serving and pizza tossing.

It took about an hour wait in long before I got my admission-free ticket. After that, I had a great time nerding out and exploring all the educational activities that the Exploratorium had to offer. A wonderful place for people of all ages.

The tourist-filled Pier 39 was just around the corner. This is also a must-visit if you're ever around the Embarcadero side of San Francisco. There's a lot of small shops, restaurants, and yes...sea lions that makes the experience worth it.

Fisherman's Wharf

Pier 39

The famous original sourdough bakery, Boudin, is also something tourists enjoy. I had one of their clam chowder on sour dough bread. If you ask me, I had better clam chowder but their sour dough bread was delicious.

Clam Chowder Strip

Boudin Bakery

Clam Chowder Bowl

Mobile Food Trucks Unite

Today was a nice sunny day for eating lunch out in the sun.

Off the Grid in Alameda is open every Saturday from 11am to 3pm.

If you don't know what Off the Grid is, it's basically an organized gathering of various food vendors (mobile trucks) in one location. Many trucks are self-sufficient that doesn't rely on public utilities, which is why they travel from location-to-location bringing their uniqueness and delicious foods from many different places. This is also a great way to try out different types of food, wide-ranges from Peruvian to Vietnamese, many which are experimental fusion that came out right. If you were ever wondering where you can find a particular truck, many vendors have adapt to social medias to notify us of their whereabouts.

Today's street vendors at Off the Grid were: The Chairman, Cupkates, Koja Kitchen, Sanguchon, An the Go, Bacon Bacon, Sajj, The Waffle Roost, Smothered Fries

I got myself a bacon fried chicken at the Bacon Bacon truck. I mean, who can say no to bacon. The burger contained a giant panko encrusted chicken breast, bacon, spicy slaw and bacon mayo sauce.

It was quite delicious and I had a shock looking at the giant crispy chicken breast when I opened my food box. I do have to suggest a thinner slice of bread for the bun and some more of that bacon mayo sauce. Chicken breast is the dry part of the chicken and if you're like me, I like my meat dark. 

Bacon Fried Chicken

I also bought a side of Kamikaze fries from the Koja Kitchen truck. They are my absolute go-to fries. These are not your average french fries, these are the Kamikaze fries and they are made of criss-cut fries. I know it may not be the best types of fries, but the criss-cut is drizzled in red hot sauce and Japanese mayo topped with minced Korean BBQ beef, kimchi, sauteed onions, and some green onions.

It's a shame that I didn't take a picture. I highly recommend trying this, especially if you're a potato lover like me.

Can't get enough. More Off the Grid.

LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 3

LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 3
It was such a nice day to head to the beaches today.

We stopped by Coco Ichibanya to grab some lunch. They serve Japanese style curry.

Large logo

Interior decoration

I ordered the pork cutlet for $8.99 and a garlic nan for $1.50 as appetizer. The pork cutlet was moist and tender. The cutlets does get a bit dry if you eat it plain without the curry sauce. To me, the curry sauce tasted like something you can buy from a curry box, nothing out of the ordinary. The plate comes with enough rice to full you up and extras. I couldn't finish the rice at all but I managed to eat all of the cutlets and most of the curry sauce.

If you want a hearty lunch or something like a comfort meal, this is the dish.

Currylicious

This is my first time trying out a Japanese nan, I never knew such thing exists. This is rather disappointing, not crispy or flavorful. The nan fits as a side more than an appetizer.

Garlic Nan

We took a strove along Venice Beach. There were lots of street vendors selling their talented art work and even street performers tempting their audiences for a few change $. Let's not forget about the ocean view which was very mesmerizing. I could stare at it all day if I had the time.

Arriving at the scene
No LA smog!

Tropical talking parrots

Picture with the snake...costs too much

You need talent for this! Finger painting street art

Along the shoreline

Lovely view

Hi there, stranger

Next destination was the Santa Monica Beach. It was even more entertaining. A group of street performers gathered up quite a crowd asking for different ethics of people for volunteers and in the end it was a long jump that the audiences was waiting for. I didn't stick around too long to see it to the end. I'm pretty sure it was quite a scene to see.

We headed toward the beach for a bit of quiet reading and napping. I doze off after that and it was the best nap ever.

Beach time

Sunset over the horizon

We planned to head to Milk for some ice cream macaron but passed by Lemonade. We decided to head in since it was one of the places we wanted to try out.

Their food is served similar to a salad bar. Portion size and the number of items you want per container determines the cost.

I had the 4 portion for $9.50. I got the Israeli couscous that comes with wild mushroom, lemon truffle, and parmesan. My next choice was the red quinoa with argula, fuji apple, sunflower  and pistachio seeds. My last two choices was the kale, mushroom, kumquat and the arugla with asian pear topped with blue cheese drizzled in sherry vinaigrette.

If I had to describe this meal, it was light, flavorful, and healthy. This is perfect for those that are on a diet or aiming for lower calories. Some of my favorites were the red quinoa entree and the blood orange lemonade.

Bon Appetit

Milk was located at Beverly blvd. by the corner. Milk is an American cafe but known for their dessert of ice cream, cakes, and shakes.

I came here for the crave of ice cream macaron. These are already pre-made freezed in their refrigerator. They had an array of flavors: thai tea, coffee toffee, red velvet, salted caramel, vanilla, blueberry, cookies and cream, banana dulce de leche, pistachio, and grasshopper (mint/chocolate). If I could, I would buy a dozen of these.

Left to right: Pistachio and coffee toffee

The day ended with all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ for dinner. If you were wondering, yes, we did eat dessert before we ate dinner.

It took longer than expected to eat dinner since most restaurants were closing up. We ended up at Road to Seoul which closes at midnight. I believe the buffet styled selection was around $20 a person. Any items that you want to eat are selected on the all-you-can-eat menu.The waiter was attentive and even helped cook our meat while we munch on.

Brisket and pork belly

Our veggies

Next stop: the bright lights of LACMA. While we were busy taking some pictures, an engaged couple was taking their wedding shots. I was quite surprise at how small the area was but it was beautiful when photographed.

LACMA area

Highlights of Day 3:

• Coco Ichibanya
• Venice Beach
• Santa Monica Beach
• Lemonade
• Milk
• Road to Seoul
• LACMA 

Check out:
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 1
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 2
LA Bound: Mini Trip Day 4