Grand Opening! Crackin' Kitchen - Pasadena

Crackin' Kitchen is now open in Pasadena. I was here for pre-opening tasting. The menu was developed by Michelin-starred chef Takeshi Omae. Unique and playful, this Hawaiian-Cajun concept brings dining to a whole new level. Using locally sourced ingredients for its signature sauces.

Drink menu

menu

Here's the tasting menu I had

Housemade sodas, watermelon / ginger / guava.

I also tried passion fruit but ginger was the best. 

Seafood platter - Oysters / ahi poke / shrimp cocktails / lomi lomi salmon / crab

Everything was really tasty, but crab was super good!

Guava soy chicken wings

Chowder fries 

Hawaiian beers!

Portobello mussel pots - I like this pot better than Thai pot.

Thai mussel pots

Ultimate combo - A must try signature dish

From left to right:

Red - crackin' kitchen cajun, using Hawaiian chili

White - Maui onion based, lemon butter

Black - Hawaiian cacao and cracked black pepper

I liked red but I think I like white the best.

And here's the signature Sweet Art dessert

The server will draw at the table

Michelin-starred chef Takeshi Omae

Crackin' Kitchen
115 E Colorado Blvd,
Pasadena, CA 91105

 (626) 714-7227

Lunch:Mon-Fri:11:30AM-2:30PM
Dinner:Sun-Thur:4:30PM-10:00PM
Fri-Sat: 4:30OM-11:00PM
Sat-Sun Brunch: 11:00AM-4:00PM

http://crackinkitchen.com/

https://www.yelp.com/biz/crackin-kitchen-pasadena-2

Foodie Con 4/7-4/8 Los Angeles

Yes, Foodie Con is back again this year! CLICK HERE for pics from last year!

Foodie Con - Los Angeles: This second annual, two-day shopping and educational event is a gathering of LA’s most faithful culinary enthusiasts. It offers attendees the chance to interact with tastemakers, discover and purchase the newest food trends, and experience cuisines from hand-selected vendors featuring food, beer, wine and cocktails. Attendees will get the rare chance to meet, buy and learn from various food purveyors, take hands-on cooking classes, explore various retail booths, sit-in on food and product demonstrations, and more.

WHEN: Saturday, April 7, 2018 : 11 am - 5 pm Sunday, April 8, 2018 : 11 am - 4 pm

WHERE: MAGIC BOX @ THE REEF (aka LA MART)1933 S Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90007

TICKETS:
General Admission: $10
Weekend Pass: $15
Alcohol Sampling: $20
VIP: $40
Children 12 and under are free

https://www.foodiecon.org/

Tosai sushi - Century City mall

Tosai sushi recently opened at the food court inside Century city mall. They serve fresh sushi, if you have any special requests, such as soy paper, avocado only, etc, you can just tell them and they'll make it for you.

They use only the best, all-natural seafood from companies that emphasize sustainability and responsible environmental stewardship. Tuna is hand-selected daily and they never sell a day old sushi! Everything is made fresh on the same day.

They do have varieties of sushi, including some of the very unique sushi using mango, strawberry, chili, black rice, etc.

Tosai Sushi 
10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90067

Mon-Thurs:10:00 am - 9:00 pm
Fri-Sat:10:00 am - 10:00 pm
Sun:Closed

http://tosaisushi.com/

https://www.yelp.com/biz/tosai-sushi-los-angeles

Sushi Yoshi - Torrance

Sushi Yoshi is a mom and pop sushi restaurant in Torrance. Their English is not very good, but they are nice if you speak Japanese.  Their sushi is very reasonable, nothing fancy, you can have very basic Japanese sushi here.  They do have 3 American sushi rolls such as California roll, spicy tuna roll and spicy yellowtail roll, but that's about it. So if you want fancy Americanized sushi such as Dragon roll, caterpillar roll, or crispy rice, go somewhere else. And there's no server. Just a chef and his wife (I think).

Everything was simply delicious. Perfect lunch spot. I don't mind coming here alone.
My recommendation is No.5 and No. 7. But regular nigiri sushi is also good, too.

Menu as of Feb, 2018

Battera (No.7) and Futomaki and Inari combo (no.5)

Battera $8.50

Inari (left) and Futo maki (right) $6.50

Chirashi (No.6) $11

Special sushi combo (No.8) $13.50

Sushi Yoshi 
2140 Artesia Blvd H,
Torrance, CA 90504

(310) 538-2018

Mon-Fri:11:30AM–2:30PM, 4:30–8:30PM
Sat-Sun:11:30AM–8PM

https://www.yelp.com/biz/sushi-yoshi-torrance

mumu bakerycafe - Koreatown

Mumu bakery opened about 3 months ago. Castella, soft cheesecakes, and croissant taiyaki are very popular in Korea and you can get all of that at mumu bakery in Koreatown.

Free parking is always a plus specially in Koreatown, and you get small castella if you do yelp check-in!

I tried cheesecake, castella, taiyaki, and strawberry shortcake and my favorite was shortcake. I didn't try brioche bread but it looked pretty good, too. Would love to try that next time! But yeah, definitely I'll stop by sometimes for croissant taiyaki to go!

Strawberry shortcake was really delicious.  The layers of signature castella, sliced strawberries, and whipped cream. Cream was rich and not too sweet which I like. 

Small castella. It was good but I wish it was little more moist.

Sweet rice cake (mochi) croissant taiyaki.

It's hard to tell but there's white mochi inside. Yummy

Cheesecake was good, too. I actually liked cheesecake better than castella. But I'd recommended to eat it on the same day. Because I couldn't eat all, I put it in the fridge and ate next day and 3rd day, and outside the cheesecake was getting dry and harder. 

mumu bakerycafe 
3109 W Olympic Blvd. Ste D
Los Angeles, CA 90006

(213) 660-6776

Mon-Sat: 9am - 8pm
Sun: 10am - 5pm

https://www.yelp.com/biz/mumu-bakerycafe-los-angeles