Garlic Soy Chicken Wings Recipe

Garlic Soy Chicken Recipe- Inspired by Kyochon

My great cravings for Kyochon's soy garlic wings inspired me to try and create the dish. It came out pretty good.

Ingredients
8 chicken wings
1 cup tempura flour
3 teaspoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of garlic chili paste
4 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar
3 teaspoons of soy sauce
6 cloves of minced garlic

Cooking instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash wings and pat them dry. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Lightly coat wings in tempura flour or rice flour. Place the coated wings an inch apart on the tray. Spray wings with additioanl cooking spray and bake for 30 minutes or until wings are cooked through.

Glaze:
In a small bowl mix together soy sauce, vinegar, garlic chili paste, minced garlic and sugar.

Once the chicken wings are cooked, place them in a non-stick pot/pan. Turn to medium heat and slowly pour in the glaze. Stir the chicken slowly until all the glaze has been used and there is a caramelized consistency.

Enjoy!

The final result =)

Tantalum Restaurant - The Kobe Burger

After attending a food tasting event called "Decadence" in Orange County, I discovered a restaurant called Tantalum in Long Beach, CA. The atmosphere of the restaurant is very nice, with dim lighting (just how I like it), ocean front and an exotic decor. You can access this restaurant via car, boat, or kayak! How many places can say that?

This is a great spot for happy hour, but the normal priced dinners just aren't worth the $$$. It was good, but not exactly mind blowing...

However one thing WAS mind blowing: The Kobe burger. Forget the frozen burger patties and Albertsons brand buns here, the Kobe burger is made with a soft and warm brioche bun and a thick freshly ground beef patty. This is probably one of the most delicious, juiciest, and flavorful burgers I've ever had (in Long Beach at least). It was a giant stack of crunchy onion strings, avocado, fontina cheese, garlic aioli sauce oh yes and let's not forget the perfectly cooked beef patty.

The best part: only $8 during happy hour =)




Tantalum Restaurant

6272 Pacific Coast Hwy
Long Beach, CA 90803

(562) 431-1414

www.tantalumrestaurant.com

Panvimarn Thai

I live in southern California where Thai restaurants sprinkle our local streets. One Thai place in particular blew me away, Panvimarn. Panvimarn is a Thai restaurant nestled in the little town of Lakewood, California. Now don't get me wrong, there are many good Thai restaurants in socal, but this one took the gold.

When I first stepped into Panvimarn I was amazed at the very modern and elegant feel of the restaurant. The place seemed like it should have been placed somewhere in Newport Beach or downtown LA. This would be a great place to take your date to.

The menu was very affordable and had many traditional Thai food items as well as what seemed like asian fusion items, What made this menu stand out were the descriptions. For a moment I thought the owner had given their teenage daughter or son permission to write all the descriptions. They were very fun and extremely appetizing.

The first thought that came to my mind when the food came out was that the chef and/or owner must have graduated from culinary school. The food was well presented on simple but beautiful white plates, not typical of the Thai places I use to frequent. The taste did not disappoint either. I have yet to try an item on Panvimarn's menu that I do not like. Everything was cooked perfectly. The meats were not overly done, flavors were well balanced, and best of all it wasn't excessively greasy.

What I've tried so far:

Naked Shrimp salad- a simple yet refreshing salad. You can kiss your typical Denny's fatty ranch dressing salad goodbye because the salads here are amazing. They split and grill the shrimp to perfection and place it over a bed of shredded cabbage, herbs, and lettuce. The dressing is a light lemon fish sauce dressing (typical of Thai style cooking). There is a hint of spice in the salad which I find very addicting.

Fried Fish in Mango Salad- fried filets over a bed of shredded mango and cabbage. Enough said. One of my favorite dishes here.

Money Bags- yes this sounds funny, and it looks funny too! These are basically really cute shrimp and pork wontons. They're moist and the wrappers are light and crunchy. They are made to look like bags of money, hence the name "Money bags". The dipping sauce is superb. A sweet and spicy blend to compliment the money bags.

BBQ Pork- this dish is so flavorful. I didn't know Thai bbq could taste so good. It reminds me of Vietnamese bbq. Slightly sweet grilled pork strips over a bed of vegetables. Tastes great with rice.

Filet Mignon Panang Curry- while the Panang curries at other Thai restaurants are very thick and flavorful, this one is cooked to perfection. A bit on the lighter side it boasts the sweet succulent taste of coconut.

Scallops Black Bean Pepper Sauce- moist and juicy scallops cooked to perfection. The flavors of the pepper sauce are so rich and pungent in this dish.

Spicy Jungle Noodle- I am not sure how to describe this. Similar to pad-se-ew it is less saucy and has a hint of spicy flavor. Very good.

This list can go on forever...But why waste time writing it out when I can show you where to go:

Panvimarn

4101 N Bellflower Blvd Long Beach, CA 90808

(562) 425-2601

www.panvimarn.com

Wine Bar Also Open

Sweet Potato Fries

I love sweet potato fries! I had a few delicious encounters with sweet potato fries recently and thought I'd blog about it.

Every time my friends and I go drinking we find ourselves stuffing our faces with sweet potato fries. This is because they are so amazing, especially with ranch. On a random night while my loves and I were in Tustin, California having some good ol' happy hour, we ended up at this place called JT Schmid's Restaurant and Brewery in an area called "The District". After one too many drinks I thought the sweet potato fries here were amazing. I believe its all in the batter they used to fry the sweet potatoes. It was so rich in flavor and not to mention the ranch was a light heavenly blend.

JT Schmid's Restaurant and Brewery

The District at Tustin Legacy

2415 Park Ave Tustin, CA 92782

(714) 258-0333

www.jtschmids.com

To continue my drunken sweet potato madness, last night after bar hopping in downtown Fullerton, California I found myself once again ordering sweet potato fries at a place called Joe's on Commonwealth. These were crunchy on the outside and had seasoning on them. The best part was that the portions were huge.

Joe's

124 W. Commonwealth Ave. Fullerton, CA 92832

(714) 879-2600

Vietnamese people do it right

Shrimp goes really well with sweet potato fries. Yes ladies and gents, shrimp! If many of you don't know yet, Vietnamese people often make this to garnish their rice paper dishes. They are basically deep fried shaved sweet potatoes and shrimp cakes. One of my favorite places to get this is at Banh Cuon Tay Ho in Westminster, California. This dish is very popular. It comes with a rice paper entree or you can order it as an appetizer.

Banh Cuon Tay Ho

9629 Bolsa Ave. Westminster, CA 92684

(714) 839-1389

www.tayho.com

Anderson's Santa Barbara- High Tea madness

Definition of High-Tea: High tea is an English meal that gained popularity in the 1600s, especially among laborers. It was often substantial, contrasted with other types of tea where a few cakes might be served. High tea was often called meat tea because hearty dishes were served, perhaps meat sandwiches, or hot cooked food like meat pies, and Welsh rarebit. Cold meats, bread, cheese, crackers and a variety of desserts like cakes could make up part of the menu. (Wisegeek.com)

Ever since my first high tea experience in Aussie I have become quite the fan. With my intense love for tea and sweets, high tea appears to be the perfect marriage of both. Although some people might find it insane to eat a ton of sweets and tea for lunch,I find it very delightful.

While visiting my friends in my beloved city of Santa Barbara, California where I went to college, I discovered that the local bakery there offers high tea...and low tea too =)

The place was called Anderson's Danish Bakery. It is a Danish bakery and cafe that serves amazing food and best of all, high tea! Hidden between the many restaurants in downtown Santa Barbara on State street, Anderson's is just down the street from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The decor was very warm an inviting. They offer high tea all morning and afternoon. If you plan to come with a large party make sure to make reservations first, it isn't a huge cafe. I will also warn you, unlike the rest of the world, who serve petite sized pastries, they serve full size sweets with your high tea here. Be ready for a delicious sugar rush and some amazing tea sandwiches.

Here is some useful information:

Anderson's Danish Bakery

1106 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101-2713
(805) 962-5085

http://www.andersenssantabarbara.com/

Cost of High Tea: $21.95

Cost of Low Tea: $13.95

Seating: Patio, inside, upstairs (if you have a large party)