Lady Cupcake | Fashion, Food, Fun! | The Sweet Life by Ange

Ago, West Hollywood

 

I wanted to try something new before running errands a few days ago. Since the last time I had authentic Italian was in Manila (at my favorite place, L'Opera), I needed my tartufo fix! Besides beautiful shoes, I consider truffle oil or truffle shavings to be one of my ultimate indulgences. Ago in West Hollywood thankfully quelled those cravings. On a nice day, a nice table in their patio and an ice cold glass of lemonade make for a perfect relaxing lunch. Besides a great, relaxed yet luxe ambience, another notable thing about Ago is their impeccable service. The waiters (some are Italian I think) are extremely alert and accommodating to your every need. I was in for a treat that day, since Wolfgang Puck was sitting a few tables away from us! I'm a huge Wolfang Puck fan. Huge. But that's another post.

Their focaccia bread was fantastic. It was perfect paired with their olive oil.

 
Since I didn't see anything with truffles in the menu, I asked the waiter what he could suggest. His first suggestion was this dish above; fresh Pappardelle noodles with a mushroom sauce and topped with black truffle shavings. I honestly don't remember the second option, the way he described the Pappardelle stole my heart in an instant.

And it did not disappoint! The noodles tasted so fresh and al dente. I just love when restaurants make their own pasta noodles, it definitely makes a huge difference. The mushroom sauce was extremely flavorful, and the truffles.. what a show-stopping dish. A few sprinklings of Parmesan and I was in a little pasta euphoria.
 
   
The Vongole pasta was great, too. I was too busy with my dish to focus on this one, though!

Tiramisu for dessert. Not my favorite rendition of this classic dessert, but it was a nice end to a satisfying meal.

Ago Restaurant
8478 Melrose Ave
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(from yelp.com)

RockSugar

 
 If you have reservations about pan-Asian or Asian fusion cuisine, I recommend you put those aside for a while just to try RockSugar. Not only is the decor fabulous, the food is pretty great as well. Try to get a seat in their semi-outdoor fire pit tables. It's the perfect ambience for a nice Sunday night dinner.

 
Black sesame crackers 
 
 
Place settings

Thai iced tea, a MUST try!

My family and I ADORE this appetizer. It's a savory coconut chicken soup with shiitake mushrooms. Order whatever you want when you come here, but I strongly encourage you to get this as a starter.

Princess chicken, a tempura chicken dish with a great palm sugar glaze. This was popular with us! Another must-try.

 
Caramel shrimp, another hit!
 
 
This hardly ever happens to me but I honestly don't remember what this dish was! It wasn't my favorite so I guess it just slipped my mind.

On another visit this is what we had..
 
 
Crispy vegetable spring rolls. This was good!
 
 
Pad Thai. Not my absolute favorite Pad Thai, but this was alright. 

RockSugar
Century City Mall
10250 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90067
Neighborhood: West Los Angeles
 

@kogibbq

You know its the 21st century when you're getting food truck updates via Twitter! Who would have thought that would be possible say, 10 years ago?

 I love the food trucks that go all around LA. They're fun, fast, and ultra convenient. Kogi is one of the popular ones. Judging from their menu, they fuse Mexican/American favorites with Korean twists. The picture above is their famous Kogi hotdog and a Korean BBQ taco. Both were great!

Follow them twitter.com/kogibbq

 

Umami Burger!

 

After hearing so much about this burger joint from friends, we finally found out what all the fuss was about.  The origin of the word Umami is Japanese; it means "a pleasant savoury taste..which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products", which is exactly what you'll find in their burgers. Contrary to it's title, however, the burgers they serve don't seem to have much of a Japanese spin on them. Umami Burger is pretty popular in LA, so be prepared to wait a little if you plan to get a table at one of their branches. I promise that any wait will be well-worth it. Umami Burger definitely ranks high on my list of best burgers in the US.
 

I love that they serve Coke in these old-fashioned bottles! Try their lemonade as well. So refreshing!

The SoCal Burger - butter lettuce, oven-dried tomato, spread, house-made american cheese, caramelized onions. I had this one and enjoyed it immensely! Don't be fooled by the smaller portion- these burgers are packed with flavor and are ultra-satisfying. You'll hardly need any condiments since the patty and fillings pretty much provide all the flavor you'll want in every bite.

  

The Original Umami Burger. All their burgers are cooked medium rare. I usually like my burgers well-done, but having these medium rare made for the ideal Umami experience.

 
Tempura-battered onion rings, sweet potato fries, Umami ketchup, and garlic aioli. I wasn't a big fan of the onion rings because I felt they were on the greasy side, but the sweet potato fries were downright awesome! They were a nice, crunchy blend of sweet and salty; possibly the best sweet potato fries I've tasted so far. I normally like aioli with burgers and fries, but with all the flavor Umami Burger's menu items have, I hardly needed it.

 
 
Our order took quite a while so our gracious server gave us dessert to-go. I've yet to try this one but the sight of chocolate, caramel and nuts in one cookie is enough to make any dessert lover weak.

"Yo-Hos" - I'm guessing these are inspired by the infamous Ho Hos. A moist cake with a buttercream filling, all encased in a rich layer of ganache. Yum!

Umami Burger
Check out their info + locations in their website, http://www.umamiburger.com/
 
 

Road to Seoul

I've been really fortunate to have met friends in LA who share the same passion for food that I have. Recently, I was introduced to a really awesome place in Koreatown with a great all-you-can-eat selection. We were supposed to go to a popular crab place but after almost two hours of waiting, hunger took over and we dashed to Road to Seoul.

 
The salad my friend and I were so addicted to! And some of the side dishes they give.

I love that the food is cooked right in front of you.
 
 
You can order three kinds of meat/seafood at a time. I personally loved the Bulgogi beef. 
 
Road to Seoul is definitely a must-try. It's now my go-to place when I'm craving for good Korean food!

Road to Seoul
1230 S Western Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(323) 731-9292
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/623716
 

 

AOC

 

I happened to come across a show in the food network called "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and saw one of the hosts raving about the lamb kebabs at AOC. AOC is a wine and tapas bar in West 3rd St in LA. My family is big on lamb so we decided to check it out. Sadly, they ran out of that dish the day before. Hearing all the raves about the food here, we just opted for other things. We didn't realize that we were in for quite an experience! Having all the dishes in smaller sharing-friendly portions is great because we got to try a large assortment of their menu items. Great service, lovely ambience, and an exquisite menu + wine list.. overall, it was a nice dinner! Definitely coming back here soon.

Bread

Jamon Serrano. This was a perfect pairing for the cheese plate and the fruity Merlot we had. 
 
  
3 Cheese Assortment: Sharp cheddar, goat cheese, and a Manchego-like hard cheese. Each one had its own distinct character and intense flavor. My favorite would definitely have to be the sharp cheddar.

Bacon-wrapped dates. Before you judge this, you MUST try it first. We had some skeptics in the table and it ended up being love at first bite. 
 
 
Clams in Sherry 

Hanger Steak - 
 
  
Market Fish - seabass

Brioche with prosciutto, egg, and gruyere cheese 

Harris Ranch

 

It's a yearly tradition for my cousin, my mom, my niece and I to drive to LA from the Bay Area and back. And almost every time, we make a stop for some delicious beef at Harris Ranch. If you do the same drive, chances are you've seen the giant Harris Ranch sign on the freeway. It's that or you've sniffed the cow ranch odor, haha! I'm serious about that one. Going back to Harris Ranch, what I like about this restaurant is that not only are you assured that their meats are fresh, they also bake their own bread and other baked goodies. I'm a huge bread fan, so that's definitely a plus for me.
 

Caesar Salad

 
Prime Rib - this was really good.

Breakfast for dinner - ham & eggs
 
  
Really good biscuits. I may be wrong but there could have been a bit of yeast tossed into the batter. The biscuits were so fluffy!

 
I LOVED this. Gorgonzola burger with caramelized onions, red peppers and bacon. The bread bun was really good, the burger patty cooked just right.. and the additional toppings made this superb!

Had my favorite sweet potato fries with the burger
 
 
Couldn't get enough of their fresh bread!

Harris Ranch Inn & Restaurant
24505 West Dorris Avenue
Coalinga, CA. 93210
1.800.942.2333
[email protected] 

Pizzeria Mozza - more + better shots!

Went back to have the absolutely amazing pizza @ Mozza. I finally have better photos this time!

 
Meatball Appetizer

Pizza with bell peppers, ricotta cheese (not sure about this one), olives
 
 
Goat cheese pizza

Pizzeria Mozza
 6602 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 297-0100
 

 

Katsuya

 

Sexy ultra-mod ambience (expect nothing less from the master himself, Philippe Starck), and LA's trendy food staple: sushi. How much more Hollywood can you get? Whether or not it's your type of scene, Katsuya is definitely worth checking out for the food. 

 I love all the little details like this. Attention to detail is one of the things I look for in a restaurant. 

 
My Japanese dinner pre-requisite: Miso Soup. I read somewhere that Miso Soup is a good starter for a Japanese meal because it will fill you up before the actual food arrives (which in turn prevents overeating). With less than a hundred calories per bowl, how can you go wrong with that? I'm an advocate of eating what you want when you want it, but in controlled portions. Having a clear/broth-based soup before a meal is a great way to do that without feeling deprived.

 
Rock Shrimp Tempura Roll

So yummy! Will definitely order this next time. 
 
 
Lobster Dynamite - half lobster sauteed with mushrooms and tossed in Chef's creamy dynamite sauce and baked to perfection

 
This was FANTASTIC. I could not not stop raving about this to all my friends. 

Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna. I hear they're famous for this. The rice was toasty and addictive, and I loved the spicy tuna!
 
 
Panko crusted chicken with stir fried vegetables. 
 
 
Great presentation! This was good, but it wasn't my favorite dish.

Totally forgot to order the Black Cod they're famous for. Guess that's an excuse to come back!

Katsuya
6300 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

(323) 871-8777

www.sbe.com/katsuya

Mouthgasmic Pizza

I've never had an authentic, eyes-roll-to-the-back-of-your-head pizza in Italy yet, but I'm guessing this is a pretty good glimpse of that pizza delirium sensation. If you do research on a place called Pizzeria Mozza, you'll find it listed in top LA restaurant lists. My fellow foodie friend (who knows the ins and outs of dining and food in LA) recommended this place for my birthday last Feb 12. Vday weekend made it virtually impossible to get a table at Il Cielo, an Italian place I've been wanting to try for some time now. That's why we made a detour for Mozza. From the moment we walked in, it was superb service all throughout. Then came the food. We had their meatball appetizer, a white anchovy pizza and the one pictured above, their goat cheese pizza.

 If you're eating this with a bunch of noisy friends, don't be surprised if there's a moment of silence right after everyone takes their first bite. That's exactly what happened to me and my friends. Their pizzas are thin crust and extremely light, but oozing with tremendous, heart-stopping flavor. Take a sip of wine after a bite and you'll be in a parallel universe. In French Women Don't Get Fat, the author recommends fresh ingredients with robust flavors in order for you not to overeat. Somehow savoring food at the peak of their freshness/flavor lessens the chances of eating more to compensate for lack of flavor/satisfaction. At Pizzeria Mozza, the pizzas are made so wonderfully that it's hard not to savor each bite slowly. I did just that and found myself full after 2 relatively small slices. While that might not be the case for everyone, what I'm trying to stress here is that their Pizzas are definitely guaranteed to bring you mouthgasmic pleasure with every bite. 

I wanted to respect their no photo policy so I just snapped a quick shot of their goat cheese pizza. Do make it a point to go there if you're ever in LA. It's one of the places that'll go down in my holy grail of restaurants list.

Before I end this, just wanted to share what the super nice waiters doodled at the back of my receipt.

 

6602 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 297-0100