Lukshon Review: Upscale Asian That's Actually Worth It

Edit: review updated on 5/27/11
Last night, we tried the newly opened Lukshon (as of Feb 1) in the Helms Bakery complex in Culver City.  Lukshon is the creation of owner chef, Sang Yoon, of Father's Office fame.  I believe it's his first venture outside of the two Father's Office locations in Los Angeles, and his first formal full service restaurant.  I've been excited about this opening for awhile; I love the burgers and interesting side dishes at Father's Office, so I've been interested to see what Sang Yoon would do with a more expanded menu, especially with an Asian focus, given that he is Korean, after all.  Few, if any, of the Father's Office menu items have any Asian influence to them, so it's definitely a very different direction for the chef.  He is particularly meticulous with his cooking, carefully selecting and balancing every ingredient, as evidenced by his notorious refusal for any substitions or add-ins to his dishes (ie ketchup for burgers).  Many people refuse to go to Father's Office for this reason; luckily I like his food as is.

The space is gorgeous; cleanly modern and cool with high ceilings, lots of smooth woods, cool lighting, textured glass, leather seating, gleaming white marble floors, a long bar with backlit wine bottles, semi-covered patio with open fire place and lucite chairs, and my favorite part, a soaring white open kitchen with white tiled walls and a white bar where diners can eat facing the kitchen.  It looks like quite an expensive build-out.  It's not a very big restaurant; the patio seats about as many people as the main dining area which are mainly booths, and then there are additional bar height seats at the bar, kitchen bar, and communal table in the bar area.  We were initially seated outdoors.  Despite plenty of overhead heat lamps, I still found it cold when the wind blew so I requested to be moved indoors, where we sat at the communal table in the middle of the bar, which was much better.  It was also nice to be able to see all the action, which I find particularly interesting at a newly opened restaurant.

My only regret is that it was only the two of us, so we didn't get to try everything that we wanted off the menu.  I think we ordered very well though, because I loved everything:

Duck Popiah with hoisin

Chicken dumpling soup with 63 degree egg and fresh pea sprouts

Roti Canai with lamb sausage, corn, mint and pickled cauliflower

Okra and potato side with sambal

Dan Dan Noodles with Kurobuta pork and szechuan peppercorns

Ice cream in pineapple soup, salted chocolate, fortune cookie

Full disclaimer: I usually don't like modern / fancy Asian cuisine; generally I don't think it's better than the real deal that I can get either at home or at half the price or less in San Gabriel Valley.  I just usually find that it's not worth the money and often toned down to be geared towards a wider audience.  However, I found Lukshon to be entirely worth the relatively high prices.  There was a certain elegance, polish and refinement to the food with interesting combinations that actually enhanced the ingredients and the dish, as opposed to dumbing it down.  It was something new, and rather exciting.  Maybe even better than the original (shhh..don't tell my mom).  All the dishes were really well balanced, with clear interesting flavors that were very harmonious.  As an example, the duck popiah was delicious.  I liked the soft wrapper; sometimes the cheap wrapper at Asian restaurants can be dry or doughy, but this wrapper perfectly enveloped the moist, flavorful duck.  The cilantro and jicama added just the right amount of freshness to the dish and it was actually perfectly sauced (I hate it when places oversauce stuff).  I thought the ingredients were relatively simple, but it was executed perfectly.  He didn't try to do too much with the dishes or overcomplicate things, which can sometimes be a pitfall of modernizing cuisine.  The roti canai was another favorite; the dough was perfectly fried, crispy yet flaky-light, like a really good "cong you bing," or scallion pancake, a popular Taiwanese breakfast item.  I loved the lamb sausage with just the right amount of heat, which was tempered by the yogurt / cream sauce, mint and corn.  The pickled cauliflower was the perfect palate cleanser.  It's different from the roti canai that I'm used to, which is more like a soft pancake that you dip in curry, but I like this version too.  The chicken dumpling soup was really nice, with good clear and clean broth and delicate dumplings, although it's probably not a dish I would generally order.  K. has been under the weather, so it was the perfect dish for him.  I've heard a lot about the Dan Dan noodles, so I was excited to try it out.  It was really good; again the meat sauce was perfectly in harmony all mixed together with the soft noodles.  It was rich and decadent with a nice heat that I really liked and you could feel/taste the crunch of the szechuan peppercorns with every bite. A really fun and rather exhilarating dish (not sure of the last time I used that adjective to describe food).  I also really like the okra and potatoes; I really like the slippery okra whose seeds had a nice pop, with the soft potatoes, and a really interesting sauce, that was slightly tangy, almost like a bbq sauce. A really nice touch was the complementary sparkling (or still) water and desserts.  The desserts were the perfect ending to a really great meal; the ice cream and pineapple soup was the perfect palate cleanser after all that fiery heat and bold flavors, and the sweetness from the chocolate and fortune cookie was the perfect sweet finishing touch.  I am not a huge dessert fan, so just a taste was perfect finish for me.  We were totally stuffed.  We didn't order anything off of the "big" menu; I was more intrigued by the small plates and noodles.  The stuff from the "big" section was definitely pricey, generally $30+.  We had some Gruner Veltliner and Riesling which was the perfect complement to the food (the Riesling a little more so, as it was really able to stand up to and cut through the big flavors a bit more than the Gruner Veltliner, which was lighter) and some tea.  I believe all their wines were either white wines, with one rose, which I think is the right way to go; I've had very few red wines that pair well with Asian food.  They had an interesting cocktail list that I'm looking forward to trying.

Service was pretty good; nothing to complain about.  Each dish came out one at a time, served family style. All in all, the bill wasn't that bad, probably because we didn't order any real entrees, at $100 including tax and tip for the two of us.  I enjoyed it more than the first incarnation of the now notorious Red Medicine at Test Kitchen (see here for the story, I think it makes the restaurant look dumb)  I just found the flavors to be even more exciting and everything to be cooked a little better, much more consistent.  I'm really looking forward to returning to Lukshon and trying more menu items.

Lukshon (reservations can be made on the website)
3239 Helms Avenue
Culver City, CA
(310) 202-6808

Yogis Anonymous - New Favorite Teacher

So after a year of trying lots of teachers and studios on the Westside, South Bay and West Hollywood, I finally found another teacher and class that I really like: Brock Cahill's Intro to Flight Club class at Yogis Anonymous in Santa Monica, just off of the 3rd Street Promenade.  J. and I have tried several of his classes and they've all been really great.  There are several thing that I really like about his class: 1) it's really challenging, so that there's plenty of poses that I can't currently do, but it's great to have a bunch of things to work on so that you feel like you are continually progressing.  However, it's not too challenging such that I sit around all class with nothing to do if everything is too hard. 2) He changes it up every class; each class that we've been to has been really different.  There's nothing more boring than the same series of poses for every class. If I wanted that, I could just do that at home! 3) He has really good energy.  I think that's super important for a yoga teacher, to have good, positive, fun and encouraging energy that really pushes you to go deeper and longer, even when you feel like you are about to collapse.  I've had so many teachers that make me want to go to sleep, or have jarring, uncomfortable energy.  4) He actually corrects you and helps you out with poses.  It's surprising how many teachers don't ever do adjustments and corrections.  I've improved some very basic poses thanks to that.  It's good to have a teacher that actually pays attention to the students; I feel like I'm actually improving a lot. 5) He plays awesome, upbeat music, pretty much throughout the whole class.  I really like music in my yoga practice; it really inspires me to keep on going and pushing hard, even if I'm getting tired.  My mind sometimes starts to wander in silence.  That's why I really like YogaHop, and in particular, Kourtney's class at YogaHop.  I have an existing series at YogaHop that I've had for awhile but haven't used much of, since I've been trying all sorts of new studios and exercise regimes.  I think I will eventually purchase a series at Yogis Anonymous (they were previously donation only) to continue to be able to take Brock's class; it'll be the first series I purchase at any of these new studios that we've been trying.

Yogis Anonymous
1221 Second Street
Santa Monica, CA  90401

Delivering Happiness

I haven't bought a book in a few years, thanks to the wonderful Santa Monica library system.  I'm a pretty avid reader and I've been reading a lot lately, more than ever before.  While I've read a quite a few good books, I've never felt the need to go out and buy a book that I borrowed...until now.  I just finished "Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose" by Tony Hsieh, the CEO of Zappos.  It might sound like a boring business book (and I've read lots of those), but I found it funny, insightful and inspiring.  It's a book I actually want to read again, with many sections that I will constantly refer back to.   It's about his successes and failures as an entrepreneur since childhood, culminating with the story of how he built Zappos to be what it is today: a market-leading, uniquely customer-centric online retailer.  It's very different from the usual business book; perhaps it's a generational / cultural thing, but I can really identify with and relate to Tony.   His childhood, brought up by Taiwanese parents in California, is very familiar to me; I remember the dot-com era boom and bust like it was yesterday, and I love entrepreneurial stories.  He shares lots of funny, quirky and interesting anecdotes in a very open and honest way.  He's very inspirational: incredibly smart and entrepreneurial, but still comes off as a normal guy, always remaining true to himself.  You definitely don't have to be a business person to read the book; I think the life lessons in the book are interesting to everyone.

Superbowl Sunday Eats

Superbowl Sunday is a great excuse to eat lots of my favorite comfort food.  This year, we kept it pretty simple; I made a hot spinach and artichoke dip, white bean hummus, chicken and white bean chili and lemon yogurt cake and our friends brought guacamole and cupcakes from Yummy Cupcakes (including bacon pancake and honey bbq, very interesting....).  Everything I made was actually relatively healthy; I used organic ingredients, fresh vegetables, and low fat versions of ingredients when possible.  It was my first time making hot spinach and artichoke dip and it was definitely a hit! As for drinks, of course the drink of choice was lots of beer (and a little bit of Blanton's)

Lemon Yogurt Cake

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip Recipe:

• Drain 1 16 oz bag of organic frozen spinach and 1 14 oz can of artichoke hearts, chopped (both from Trader Joes). *Note: frozen spinach is actually better than regular spinach, because you have to blanche regular spinach, meaning more time + 1 more pot and strainer to clean
• Grate 1 cup of reduced fat Irish cheddar (also from Trader Joes) and 1 cup of parmigiano reggiano
• Mince 1 clove of garlic.  Optional: a couple of TB of chopped onions
• Over medium heat in a 2 quart Le Creuset round french oven (I rarely use this size, but it's perfect for this dish), heat 1/2 - 1 TB of butter, then saute onions until soft and garlic for the last minute
• Add 1/2 cup of low fat sour cream, 1/2 cup of low fat mayonnaise (I even used vegan mayonnaise as that was all that was in my fridge), 3 TB of low fat cream cheese, 1 tsp of worcestershire sauce, squeeze of lemon juice, the parmigiano reggiano, and stir it all together
• Add the spinach, artichokes, and half the cheddar and stir until well-combined.  If it's too dense, add a little more sour cream or mayonnaise.  You can also add heavy cream or whole milk, which I didn't have.  Season with freshly ground pepper, 1 tsp of chili flakes (to taste), 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.  Top with the remaining cheddar cheese
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  I did the first half covered, second half uncovered, until it is nice and bubbly
• Serve with tortilla chips

Chicken and White Bean Chili (adapted from Ina Garten's recipe):

• Chop up 3 onions and saute over medium low heat in a 5 quart Le Creuset oval oven for about 15 minutes
• Meanwhile, chop 4 bell peppers and mince 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Add the garlic to the pot for a minute and then add the bell peppers and saute for about 3 minutes
• Season with 1 TB of chili powder, 2 tsp of cumin, 2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of red chili flakes, 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper and saute for another 2 minutes
• Add 1 can of rinsed cannellini beans, 2 28 oz cans of tomatoes, 2 chipotle peppers in adobo with a few tsp of adobo sauce, and 1/4 cup of chopped basil
• Bring to a boil and simmer for at least half an hour
• I cheat and use all the white meat, cubed, from a rotisserie chicken for the chicken part of this recipe.  You can also bake some chicken to add into the chili
• Add the chicken and simmer for at least half an hour.  I think the chili is even better if you can let it chill overnight
• Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips and more shredded cheese

DineLA 2011 Review - La Sandia - Beautiful Restaurant and Food

I've generally had better lunch rather than dinner restaurant week / DineLA experiences, and it was no exception at La Sandia.  Overall, it was a significantly better meal than my recent DineLA dinner experience at Hostaria Del Piccolo, plus it was $10 cheaper per person and a definite steal at $16 per person overall.  La Sandia is in the new Santa Monica Place mall on the third floor with most of the restaurants.  I think the restaurant is really gorgeous with a great indoor / outdoor feel: an inviting patio facing the mall, a lovely dining room / bar area lined with blue and white mexican tiles and pottery, antique bronze lattice and iron work, comfortable worn leather furniture,  cool light fixtures, and open and airy back dining room with hanging lights and fountains.  I really like the space, much better than Red O, which goes for a similar modern mexican look.  Food and service is also better than Red O!

Bar

We ordered off the DineLA menu:

Complimentary chips and salsa

Handmade guacamole, not part of the DineLA menu; we were upsold

Shrimp Hurache: bean puree, oaxacan cheese, avocado, chipotle aioli

Duck Sopes: slow roasted duck, mexican corn slaw, huitlacoche vinaigrette

Chipotle BBQ ribs (amazing): slow roasted baby back ribs, smoked chipotle bbq sauce, charro beans, sweet corn tamal, mexican slaw

Chile Ancho Tuna: grilled ahi tuna, ancho chile rub, watermelon orange salsa, boniato mash, blood orange habanero glaze

Mexican churros and ice cream sundae

The food was beautifully presented and in most cases, tasted as good as it looked.  I really can't remember the last time I had such pretty, well-composed plates.  I particularly loved the chipotle bbq ribs; the meat was incredibly tender and falling off the bone and the chipotle bbq sauce was wonderfully tangy and slightly sweet.  The mexican slaw was refreshing and the corn tamal was delicious and sweet.  I also really loved the duck sopes; the duck had a bit of the texture and flavor of pulled pork, and was perfectly balanced with the salty cheese and fresh slaw against the dense corn cake base.  I thought the shrimp hurache was really good too; more light and straightforward of all the dishes we had.  The ahi tuna had a lot of really interesting and new flavor combinations (at least to me), particularly with the watermelon and orange garnish. The ancho chile rub taste wasn't particularly discernible so the tuna was a little lost in the whole dish.  It was definitely very pretty though.  The guacamole was good and fresh; probably could have used a little more salt.  We were definitely upsold to order it while perusing the menu; I don't like when restaurants do that, especially when we had way too much food.  The complimentary chips and salsa would have been plenty; the salsa was really good with a nice subtle heat, although I wish they used more of the homestyle thicker tortilla chips.  By the time we got to the desserts, we were stuffed.  The churros were good, although a tad on the dense side, as were the chocolate brownies in the sundae.  All in all, a really enjoyable meal at a great price!  It's the best restaurant week meal that I've had, and I actually even want to go back.  I've only been to Pizzeria Antica and Sonoma Kitchen and Wine Bar (and Pinches Tacos, which is much more casual), but La Sandia is my favorite restaurant by far in the new Santa Monica Place.

La Sandia Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar
395 Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica, CA  90401
(310) 393-3300

Happy Lunar New Year

We celebrated new years eve last night with a big feast with lots of food to bring us luck and prosperity in the coming year and beyond.  Must haves on new years eve include: whole fish, noodles, snap peas, turnip cakes, daikon, nian gao, ba gao, special greens.  We also had roast duck, chicken, bbq pork and hot pot with shrimp, beef, pork, mushrooms and veggies.  Thanks to S&J for bringing a delicious berry tart from Almandine for dessert.  Happy Year of the Rabbit!

Some of the "lucky" food from upper left, clockwise: turnip cake, ba gao, whole fish, nian gao

Special lucky greens and snap peas

Appetizers

Hot Pot

We also went through four bottles of wine in our celebration, starting wih the De Chanceny Cremant de Loire, 2005 Macon-Villages White Burgundy, 2008 Belle Pente Willamette Valley Pinor Noir, 2007 Casa Lapostolle "Clos Apalta" (Bordeaux blend)

I was not a fan of the Cremant de Loire; it had a rather heavy, clumsy finish that I did not enjoy.  I like my bubblies to be effervescent and fun.  The Macon-Villages was really good, very complex.  I like white burgundies a lot; they are so different from our usual whites which are generally more fruit forward and crisp, like Sauvignon Blancs and Rieslings.  This had very little sweetness and very little fruit; it was quite interesting.  I really enjoyed the 2008 Belle Pente.  This wine has gotten a lot of attention thanks to Eric Asimov's article a few weeks ago.  It had a rather subtle and light nose, but the taste and finish were delicious.  It was on the nimble and lighter side, really tasty, with some cherry fruit, but not too fruity or jammy or acidic.  Overall, a very balanced and drinkable wine.  The Clos Apalta was a little too heavy and dark after the Belle Pente, as well as after a huge meal and lots of wine.  It was definitely very bordeaux / Cabernet Sauvignon-tasting.  We decanted both the Belle Pente and Clos Apalta, but I think the Clos Apalta could use a few more years of aging to develop a little more depth and complexity.

Groundhogs Day Farmer's Market

I'll try some romanesco next week, looks so cool!

Punxsatawney Phil did not see his shadow today, meaning spring will come early this year. I certainly hope so; hopefully the fresh spring produce is around the corner as well.  Today's farmer's market was more of the same, although I did notice that some vendors had more produce than the last few weeks, particularly the citrus vendors and the carrot / potato / beet guy.  I bought some salad greens, butter lettuce, beets, avocadoes, basil, onions and an oro blanco grapefruit. 

The varieties of avocado that are in season now are different from the summer Haas avocadoes: pinkerton, bacon, fuentes and stewart.  I bought some fuentes to try out this week.