Best of LA II: Fun day at the Beaches topped with a BBQ Ribs special

The LA leg to our US tour ended as soon as it started and we were left with half a day before heading for our 4 hour long drive to Las Vegas (Exciting!!!).

Our last destination was the famous Santa Monica Pier and for lunch (after days of Amusement park food and In-and-out Burgers), we decided to have a go at the famous Californian Ribs.

Santa Monica Pier

This 100-year old landmark is one of the most iconic (other than the Hollywood Sign) symbols of Californian beaches. This place is built for families and youths, with (even more) amusement park rides and a huge load of beach activities happening around. 

View from Atop

Unfortunately, this place is a nightmare to drive into during the weekends. The jam that led to the pier effectively cut our time there into half. All we could do (to make it before sunset into Las Vegas) was to get to the end of the pier, take a few photographs, chill for a while before the ribs called out for us (our lunch).

Family-Themed Pacific Park

Despite the short time, this place still left a pretty deep impression on me. I can't exactly put my finger to why, but I simply feel that this is how all beaches should be like. The clean sandy beach, the beautiful sea view of the pacific, the nicely filled pier and the absence of irritating tourist touters made this one of the best beaches I have been too. Obviously, the hollywood movies made this place even more glamourous, adding more glitter to an already beautiful place.

Simple Nice Beach Fun

Boardwalk to the Santa Monica Pier

Read on to check out our fantastic meaty lunch...




Mofia's Ribs & Pies

Our last meal in Los Angeles (for now) - Mofia's Ribs and Pies. Basically, it was only the ribs. Throughout the LA leg, we were all hankering for good ol' American ribs, but all we had were fast food and Asian food (we had Korean and Japanese food consecutively). So it was (how ironical) a good change to have good American food instead.

Mofia's Ribs & Pies

 First of all, I have to admit that this place doesn't look like a place any tourist will stop for a meal. In fact, you would probably miss it (we missed it--twice!), given the inconspicuous location and the "run-down" look of the place itself (its signage is simply a banner pasted over an original signboard). But trust me, this place is at least 10x better than it looks.

Simple Decor

Obviously, we had the ribs. As the portions were pretty huge, sharing was a good idea. When the ribs came, it was evident that we made the right choice. The thick juicy sauce was dripping from the bones of the ribs and the meat was chunky and looked delicious. It was time to get our hands dirty!

Oohhhhh-La-La

The ribs was as good as it looked! It was good ol' heavenly BBQ ribs. It was really unhealthy but the 'good kind' of unhealthy sort - the kind where after the first bite, you won't even mind if that were to be your last meal on earth. Lovely stuff! Another testament to the wonderful ribs - our plates were ALL wiped clean and we left satisfied.

Proof of Good Ribs

I feel that I'm not doing the place justice if I only introduce the ribs because the sides were equally amazing. Sadly, (for some reason still unknown to me) I didn't take any picture or note on the sides that we ordered. All I can remember is that their greens was fabulous (I ordered an extra bowl) and their potato-based sides were pretty awesome too. Check them out at 4077 Lincoln Blvd Marina Del Rey, CA 90292 (around Venice Beach).

Food Trails

As I mentioned above, other than fast foods and amusement park food, we also went to two Asian restaurants for our dinner. However, I won't dwell on it too much as neither was really impressive and I'm sure there are better ones around the neighborhood.

Korean BBQ Soowan Galbi

This was better of the two. The ala carte styled Korean BBQ (yes, there is no buffet) located right in the heart of Korean town is a good place to go if you have a hankering for Korean food in LA. In fact, there is a large Korean population in LA, so finding good Korean food will definitely be easier than locating good Chinese food. 

Soowon Galbi Korean BBQ

Our Dishes

Our Dinner Cooked at Our Table

Nobu 

One of the more posh restaurants in Los Angles, this place is well known for the chef that opened it - Chef Nobu Matsuhisa. We headed there for Hannah's birthday celebration and went for a specially "tailored" menu recommended by our server. 

That turned out to be the mistake of the night as it turned out the choice of dishes presented was the most unsatisfying part of the meal. The quality of the food and the skills of chefs is unquestionably good (they do have a standard to upkeep), but the server somehow thought that we never had Yuzu before and decided to spam all the Yuzu dishes. So it was basically Yuzu this and Yuza that, such that at the end of the meal, we were pretty much sick of that word. Still, this place is really good for a upscale japanese meal and I wouldn't mind giving it another shot (I'll do my research beforehand this time).

Ending words

Well, this concludes the first city of the West Coast. Apart from the glam and glitter, Los Angeles has been pretty monotonous and laid back. It doesn't have the excitement New York brings or historical roots that both Washington DC and Boston provide. However, this is a good place for one to take a step back and just chill out. For someone who doesn't like to party, Los Angeles pretty much ends after nightfall. If I'm ever back here (though highly unlikely), I wouldn't mind a stroll down Venice/Santa Monica beach or to go up the Griffith Observatory to see the City of Angels lighted up at night.

Santa Monica & our group

Oh and last but not least - A great HAPPY BIRTHDAY to our dearest Hannah :). Hope you had fun on your special day in LA (especially with the all-day K-pop) with us!

Happy Birthday!

Fresh Sashimi at Sakuraya

Entrance to the Fish Mart

Sakuraya Fish is one of the few places in Singapore that I regularly go to for my sashimi fix. They serve up on of the freshest sashimi in this city and its price is reasonable for someone on a student budget. They were once located in the Village Center off South Buona Vista Road but have since moved to its current location in West Coast Plaza. I went down with my family to have another go at my regular haunt for sashimi and japanese food.

Wide selection of sashimi to choose from

This restaurant works slightly differently from the typical japanese restaurant here. Instead of ordering from the menu, all their sashimi are displayed in the refrigerated corner and customers just have to simply pick up the ones that they want. The sashimi is flown straight from Japan and the stocks come in every Tuesday and Friday. They have a high turnover rate for their sashimi, so you can be assured that the sashimi that you are picking up is definitely fresh. So after handing over our sashimi selections, we went back to our seats to pick out the cooked food for the rest of our meal.

Sashimi Sashimi Sashimi

Our Sashimi Platter

After picking out the food for the rest of our meal, we were served our sashimi platter. The platter consisted of my all time favorites for this place: the Scallop, Ika, Salmon, Tako and Swordfish sashimi. The sashimi are all cut up in nice thin slices, so there is no big chunks of fish that would have left us with overwhelmed by the taste of the raw sashimi. On top of that, there isn't a tinge of the typical "fishy" taste that the sashimi haters usually complain about. My personal favorite from the platter is the Scallop sashimi. Its a little bit expensive (2 whole scallops for $8) but its texture, freshness and juiciness is worth every dollar.

(L-R) Scallop, Ika, Salmon, Swordfish & Tako

Next up was our appetizers. The Goma Wakame is so fantastic that we decided to order two portion for the four of us. The other appetizers were so-so, therefore I shall not dwell on it.

Appetizers

We decided to order Cha Soba, Hot Soba, Tempura Maki, Soft Shell Crab Maki and Shioyaki Saba for our main dish. Both Soba dishes were forgettable (except that the Hot Soba soup was quite tasty but their miso soup is of much better quality) and not really worth a try. However their makis are quite exceptional. The rice is packed nicely and doesn't fall out when being handled (a sign of a good sushi). They are quite generous with their ebi and soft shell crab servings and the sauce inside the maki blends well with the sushi. The Shioyaki Saba is also one of the must try for this restaurant. The freshness of the meat makes it nice and soft and its salted just enough to make it tasty but not overwhelming. It is also very value-for-money.

Hot Soba

Cha Soba

Tempura Maki 

Soft Shell Crab Maki

Saba Shioyaki

Last stop for the meal is into the mini-mart where they sell Japanese condiments, confectionary and snacks - like a mini version of Medi-ya in Liang Court. Pop by here after a good meal to see if there's anything that you can get to bring the beauty of Japanese Cuisine into the comfort of your own home

Putting the "Mart" in Sakuraya Fish Mart

All in all, this place serves up one of the freshest Sashimi in Singapore. Its price is also reasonable (still on a high side) and the service is decent. The few must-try dishes are sashimi platter (they are all good, so just pick the ones that you personally like), goma wakame, saba shioyaki and their makis (they are all good). My personal favorite sashimi is the Scallop sashimi and my favorite maki is their Salmon Avacado Maki. There is usually a crowd during dinner time but the turnover rate here is quite high, so do not be put off by the crowd. I assure you the quality of food there is worth a short wait for the table.

Name: Sakuraya Fish Mart

Address West Coast Plaza #B1-50

Opening Hours: 11 a.m. - 9.30 p.m.

Cost: $$$ (out of a total of 5x$)

Ratings

Food Quality: 90/100

Service: 75/100

Value-for-Money: 80/100

Overall: 83.33/100

Must try dishes: Sashimi Platter, Goma Wakame, Saba Shioyaki, Salmon Avocado Maki

Express Sushi for 1.50++

Ready, Get Set..GO!!!

I happened to chance upon this place while walking through City Link Mall. I was walking past this corner unit and was just curious what new shop has just opened (this corner has changed tenants for the umpteen times) and the "$1.50 per plate" sign caught my mind. So I decided to take my girlfriend and give Sushi Express a try.

Starting with the usual

Here is how this place works: Basically, this place has no menu and ordering is not a norm. All the food is on the sushi belt and what is available is determined by the chefs that is located all over the restaurant. If you need a reference list, a few pictorial guide can be found on the walls and on the belt itself. Other than that, everything is 1.50++ including the drinks (free flow hot green tea) and you are good to go.

A little different but not overwhelming

My advice for the place - be daring! Skip the usual sushi and dive straight into those weird looking ones.  The unusual ones are different but not over-whelming, so just give a shot. The usual sushi quality are definitely not top-notched, comparable to the lower end chains like Sakae sushi and Ichiban Boshi. The sashimi are pretty thick and pretty decent in terms of freshness. So don't have too high expectation for the usual sushi and sashimi in this place.

Our first few plates

This restaurant also offers the cheapest Salmon Roe sushi and Sea Urchin sushi. These dishes usually cost quite a bit, but at $1.50++ its a steal. If you do not see them, don't be afraid to ask. The Sea Urchin that we tasted was a little too bitter for our liking but the Salmon Roe was pretty good. The latter was really common on the belt so we had quite a big share of Salmon Roe sushi.

Salmon Salmon Salmon

Oyster with Nice Sauce

This place is a fuss-free and easy way to sample a good variety of sushi. Though its only $1.50++ per plate, it can still amount to quite a bit if you don't take not of the rising number of plates. This place is perfect for couples with both a big and small eater. The cheap price is good for those who wants a quick and small meal. Check out this new Taiwan sushi train at least once before its too late.

Something to start the meal

Sea Urchin Sushi

Miso Soup

Name: Sushi Express
Address: City Link Mall #B1-23 (Corner shop before the Marina Square Exit)
Opening Hours: 11.00 a.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Cost: $1.50++ per plate
Ratings
Food Quality: 60/100
Service: 65/100
Value for Money: 78/100
Overall: 68/100
Must try dishes: Salmon Roe Sushi
Tip: Skip the regular and try those that you have never seen.

Satisfying Dinner