Visit to LA: Banh xeo and Kee Wah Bakery

Some tidbits from our recent visit to LA. Mom made banh xeo again (yay!) and, this time, sent some batter home with me. I don't know why she wouldn't just tell me how to make the stuff, but maybe this is a test to see if I can fry the suckers up correctly. Now, these pictures are from Mom's, but I will post on how mine turned out after I've had a chance to make them.

The key to a perfect crust, she insists, is using a few drops of oil on a very hot pan. Too much makes the banh xeo greasy, too little probably would lead to an overly brittle shell that would break upon folding.

Another highlight of our visit was Kee Wah Bakery in Monterey Park. I love this little Hong Kong-style bakery and its selection of buns and cakes. During the Moon Festival, they make mooncakes, too. Yum.

The bun cases:


My favorite buns, custard and the "piggy buns" (pictured), although Kee Wah's have a milk powder custard instead of coconut.

If only we had bakeries like these in San Diego.

Kee Wah Bakery
729 W. Garvey Ave.
Monterey Park, CA 91755

Wah-dings: Gardens, Caterers, and DIY

I'm running a little low on material, so I thought I'd write a post about wah-ding planning. I'm using "wah-ding" because my original post about planning was picked up by blog scrapers and posted on bot-run blogs. Ick.

We've settled on a site, the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park. Venue selection wasn't too bad. We visited, we chatted with site coordinators, we took pictures, and we griped about how every site we saw didn't match up to the JFG. Other places had time restrictions (many said the party had to end by 9pm or 10pm, due to their location in a residential area) that we weren't sure we could work with. What do we do? Chase people out at 9pm? Oy. We were suckers for the JFG's gorgeous mix of outdoorsy and elegant, so we're very happy to finalize a site.

Other venues we loved:

The Darlington House

Water Conservation Garden

Caterer selection, on the other hand, was frustrating. Some don't return calls or emails. They're only available during weekday business hours, which is understandable because many events occur during the weekend. Everything, from phone calls to emails to meetings, have to be done during the workday. Hey, we happen to have full-time jobs, too. It still continues, as we're starting our tastings.

I'll post more about catering when the tastings are over, but for now, a recap of the most appalling conversation in this whole search:

One rep actually had the bloody gall to imply that we were out for a free meal when I inquired about pre-signing tastings. After I incredulously asked her how she could expect us to even consider her company without tasting the food, she confidently (or delusionally) told me that they are so good and their events are so exclusively customized that tastings are unnecessary and they only take place at the end of the timeframe. That is, you taste your wedding meal not long before your guests do. Then, she haughtily told me that that's the way it's done.

No, ma'am, people research before they buy things. If you tell me that I have to blindly sign a contract without any inkling of how the product will turn out, I'm running in the other direction. She was also rudely condescending of our decent-sized budget, basically telling me there was no way we could have a wedding on that amount.

I was also asked by another rep who was financing the party, us or the parental units. What?! What bearing does it have on anything?

Rant over. Now, we're headed to the fun stuff...

Budget-wise, we're putting the huge majority of our budget into food and drink. The way we're looking at it, people are going to be traveling quite a distance to celebrate with us and there is absolutely no question that we will provide a delicious meal and some good booze.

To save money, we're doing a lot on our own, like invitations, flowers, and centerpieces. The JFG was already pretty booked up for 2009 when we contacted them, so our choices were May, early June, or August. In the end, we chose August, which gives us 15 months to plan this sucker. We're hoping to lock in our major contracts (venue, catering, photographer) ASAP, then focus on smaller things. In other words, I will indulge my wannabe-crafty self with lots of DIY projects.

Some ideas:

These trees are great, but instead of place cards, I was hoping to display photos of friends and family like this couple did. For us, however, it won't be limited to married people only.

I can't wait to cobble this guestbook together post-wahding. We're hoping to put cameras with the cards, so hopefully we will have photos of most of our guests to go with the messages. Taking it one step further, everything will be pasted into a scrapbook.

I'd have to say that this wedding is inspiring. It's outdoorsy and elegant in its simplicity, which is what we really want. I love the dress. My mom does, too, and it's a shame she doesn't know Oscar de la Renta (like the bride's mom) so he could design something similar for me. Hehe.

All right, all right, I'm gushing a bit. Hey, while I'm offended by the broad assumption that every engaged female wants to be a princess bride, it doesn't mean that I don't appreciate elegant details. I'm hoping that those DIY projects turn out as lovely as they look on the blogs.

Punjabi Tandoor

Punjabi Tandoor is, arguably, one of the best lunch spots in San Diego. Despite being one of the best Indian restaurants in town, it is located in an industrial strip mall a block off of Miramar Rd. I was really excited to find this place, because it's like having a Vik's in San Diego.

Upon walking into the small restaurant (4 small tables, 1 large, ample seating outside), one is greeted by two dry-erase boards listing menu items and possible combinations. The day's offerings are on the steam table in front. From the mixture of meat and vegetarian items, a combination is formed, topped off with naan.

I've been sticking to the vegetarian combos, but I have to give a big thumbs-up to their chicken makhni. Whew, that stuff is amazing! Tandoori chicken cooked in butter, yogurt, and tomato gravy. Kim ordered that at a recent lunch and it tasted fantastic.

My first visit, I ordered alu mater (potato pea curry) and my favorite saag (mustard greens and spinach) to go with basmati rice and naan.

That same meal came with a vegetable samosa (fried dumpling), which sat in a bed of mint-coriander chutney (the green) and a tamarind sauce (the reddish brown).

The sauces are good. Really, unforgettably good. I say this because the flavors are strong and cling to the palate for hours to come.

My most recent visit was with Kim and I was able to take a few more photographs. Many thanks to Kim for putting up with my wedding-planning-addled rambling. I'd literally spent a week mired in wedding bureaucracy (emails, vendor proposals, meetings, etc.) and was slowly losing my mind. Our fabulous lunch was a much-needed break. The naan:

My meal, although I should have opted for that delicious chicken makhni:

Same combination with my beloved saag, but I had mushroom masala instead of the alu mater. Upon hearing that I was a wimp when it came to spicy foods, the kind woman behind the counter snuck in a spoonful of channa masala (chickpeas) for me to try. It wasn't too spicy, but it was one of those dishes where the heat would build. It was delicious and I would definitely brave the mouth-burn for it.

I am going to start branching out and ordering different combos. What I really love is that they serve kheer (rice cooked to a porridge with evaporated milk and served cold) with the combinations. Either kheer or raita, a savory yogurt dipping sauce, but I prefer the sweet.

Punjabi Tandoor
9235 Activity Road, Suite 111

San Diego, CA 92126

Tel: (858) 695-0956