I love Japanese candy. I love the unique flavors and the cuteness of it. So when a friend from Japan recently gave me these Japanese Kit Kats, I was overjoyed! Now, I know strawberry and green tea aren’t that exotic, but the red bean toast (toast!) flavor was definitely something new…and I’m not sure I liked it. I love red (azuki) bean, but the toast component just made it taste a little burned, which isn’t my cup of tea, so to speak. I also didn’t love the green tea flavor — too matcha-y for me. I did really like the strawberry, though. I know, that’s so boring! But it had a perfect strawberries-and-cream flavor. I believe you can find some of these flavored Kit Kats at Japanese supermarkets in the United States, such as Mitsuwa. I wonder if you could find some of the weirder flavors, such as grilled corn, Royal Milk Tea or soy sauce (yes, soy sauce!). Have you tried any of these flavors before?

Further reading:

Japan’s Strangest Kit Kat Flavors by Weird Asia News

Kit Kat Kaleidoscope: Far-Out Flavors from Japan by NPR

Valerie Confections SUPER CHOC-O-FOOD

Still scrambling for holiday gifts? If you’re shopping for people who like food, or should like good food, then look no further than these L.A. options:

Valerie Confections: While Valerie Gordon is know for her toffees and cute-as-a-button petit fours, an interesting gift would be the SUPER CHOCO-O-FOOD, a huge block of milk chocolate with a hint of caramel loaded with dried pears, apricots, golden raisins, macadamia nuts, cashews, almonds, sunflower seeds and peanuts. The packaging comes from Commune Design, and each color (pink, violet, aqua) corresponds to part of a triptych image found under the label. Valerie now also has teas blended by the American Tea Room just for the shop, including the Black & Blue, which was inspired by her Black & Blue jam and contains black tea from Nilgiri, blackberries, black currants, blueberries and blackberry leaves.

Kiss My Bundt Baking Academy: Chef Chrysta Wilson of Kiss My Bundt, formerly on West Third Street, is now teaching baking classes at Surfas in Culver City. The first class will be on January 15 and will focus on baking with winter citrus. And if you purchase a spot in this class before December 24, you’ll get 20 percent off. If you’ve ever had Wilson’s bundt cakes, you know they’re a treat.

Monsieur Marcel at the Original Farmers Market at Third and Fairfax: This gourmet foods store has all kinds of delicious treats, including European chocolates, fancy vinegars and oils, flavored salts, cheeses, wine and all kinds of fun stuff. This place will have lots of variety, so you’re sure to find something for the gourmand on your lift.

Milkshake in an Alice cup at Max Brenner

Yes, I’m writing this post a month and a half late. But I wanted to document my bachelorette party on this blog in some way, so I’m going to tell you about my meal at chocolate heaven-on-earth Max Brenner in The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace. This may not have been the best meal in terms of food, but it was definitely the most fun.

The best part of the menu was the variety of drinks. My friends and I ordered the Mexican Spicy Hot Chocolate (red chili, cinnamon, nutmeg and pepper), the Melting Marshmallow Hot Chocolate (hot chocolate with tons of mini marshmallows on top), what I think was the Hazelnut Cream Chocolate Milkshake (vanilla bourbon ice cream, dark chocolate truffle and whipped cream) and the Chocolate Chai (chai spice blend infused with white chocolate). All were very good, but my favorite was the chai, which was enhanced by the white chocolate, not overpowered as I had feared. The presentation of the drinks is noteworthy, too, as Max Brenner has created his own cups for different drinks (the Hug Mug for hot chocolates, the Alice for milkshakes, a tea pot that dispenses when you place it on top of your cup).

Melting Marshamallow Hot Chocolate (left), Mexican Spicy Hot Chocolate (right)

Chocolate Chai

As for the food, there are sweet and savory items on the menu. We had a mixture of both. My favorite dish was the Cinnamon Apple & White Chocolate Truffle Cream French Toast with brown sugar spiced pecans and warm toffee sauce. I’m not usually a French toast fan, but this one was delightfully sweet without being over the top, and the texture was nice, too.

Cinnamon Apple & White Chocolate Truffle Cream French Toast

On the savory side, the Well Mannered Omelet with creamy spinach and goat cheese is a good option. The sugar-dusted buttermilk biscuit and the spice home fries that came with it were also satisfying, but the melted white and milk chocolate that came with it were confusing. I know everything is supposed to have chocolate with it, but what the heck were we supposed to do with melted white and milk chocolate? I sure as hell wasn’t going to dip my omelet in it. Needless to say, it just sat there.

Well Mannered Omelet

Molly’s White Corn Croquettes (white corn and manchego cheese balls dusted in panko bread crumbs and fried) were delicious. A great option for an appetizer, and it didn’t have any chocolate in it (as far as I could tell).

Molly’s White Corn Croquette

The After Party Belgian Waffle with strawberries, whipped cream, strawberry honey and melted white chocolate was a disappointment. The waffle was too heavy, and I’m not sure it was fully cooked, to be honest.

This is a great place to come with your girlfriends for some fun, especially for drinks. There are a slew of alcoholic drinks on the brunch menu, too, so I would be interested to try some of those the next time I’m in Sin City!

Junior Drake Shina bag

Junior Drake warehouse sale: The purveyor of handbags is at it again. Seems like JD has this sale every other week, but no matter. From Dec. 17 through Dec. 19, get bags at prices as low as $14.95 and even a three pack of leather bags for $99. Can’t make it to the sample sale? Get 60 percent off online purchases plus a free leather coin purse (discount is taken at checkout).

740 E. 60th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90001
Dec. 17 and 18: 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Dec. 19: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Oliverio‘s Choco-Sutra: Avalon Hotel’s tasty restaurant just got tastier: now there’s an unlimited chocolate buffet. Every Friday and Saturday, indulge in everything from triple chocolate truffle pizzettas made with Nutella, dark and milk chocolate, and topped with white chocolate shavings, to a dark chocolate, cinnamon and red chili pot de crème.

9400 W. Olympic Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
Fridays and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
$28 per person ($17 with dinner) or $50 per couple

Hilton HHonors Any weekend, Anywhere sale: Hilton HHonors members who book stays between now and Jan. 31, 2011, at the Hilton family of hotels can save from 20 percent to 50 percent on a future weekend stay any weekend in 2011. Current HHonors members will also receive double base points on completion of their stay.

Like ice cream? Keep strictly kosher? Then Chozen All Natural Ice Cream may just be the dessert for you.

Now, I’m not Jewish, but I do love ice cream and I enjoy the food of the chosen (get it?) people, so when I was offered samples of ice cream with flavors such as Rugelach, Chocolate Babka, and Apples and Honey, I said, “Sign me up!”

I was sent two pints: one of Coconut Macaroon made with almond ice cream and toasted coconut flakes mixed in, and one of Matzoh Crunch made with vanilla ice cream and chocolate- and caramel-coated matzoh crackers. The Coconut Macaroon got me right away since I’m a sucker for anything with almond and coconut. The Matzoh Crunch didn’t wow me at first, but it grew on me as I found the texture of the chocolate- and caramel-covered matzoh nice to munch on. My only real complaint is the texture of the ice cream itself — it’s a bit icy for my taste. You can see in this photo how it doesn’t really stick together when you’re scooping it and gets melt-y quickly:

Coconut Macaroon (left), Matzoh Crunch (right)

The ice cream is all-natural, though not certified organic, per its website, which means it’s made without chemical gums or stabilizers. That probably explains its texture. Its kosherness comes from being “100% kosher certified by experience rabbis,” though it’s not kosher for Passover.

Chozen is sold in stores in New York and New Jersey, so if you want some here on the West Coast, you’ll have to order it online. Don’t worry — the dry ice and insulated package keeps the ice cream nice and frosty. However, it looks like the only flavors available for shipping are Coconut Macaroon and Matzoh Crunch, which explains why I got those two. Overall, I enjoyed the flavors of the ice cream but didn’t love the texture. Rugelach and Chocolate Babka sound good, though…

I had been meaning to try FIG Restaurant in the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica since it opened early last year, so when I was invited to dinner there, I jumped at the chance. The restaurant’s seasonal, farm-to-table concept sounded good — how could a place that places its emphasis on fresh local ingredients not sound good? The good news is this philosophy isn’t just lip service: Chef Ray Garcia knows his ingredients, and his kitchen can really cook.

The meal started out on the right foot with mini baguettes served with arugula butter, something I had never seen or heard of before. It was light and flavorful — I kind of wanted to take a spoon to it and eat it straight out of the container.

Arugula butter topped with cracked black pepper and sea salt

If you like cheese and charcuterie, I highly recommend getting the charcuterie sampling ($25) and Eric’s Stash ($25) cheese plates. They’re not cheap, for sure, but they’re worth every penny. The selections were well-balanced and complementary to each other.

Charcuterie sampling and Eric's Stash cheese plates

This is where the cheese comes from -- the bar.

The corn-stuffed squash blossoms, relatively new to the menu, were also a nice way to start off the meal. Though the flowers were breaded and fried, the overall effect wasn’t as heavy as their appearance may lead you to think. The sauce was also surprisingly light yet creamy.

Corn stuffed squash flowers

The cocktail menu also follows the farm-fresh philosophy, and it pays off here, especially in the Blackberry & Sage made with Mitcher’s bourbon, muddled blackberries, green chartreuse, crème de cassis, fresh lime juice and fresh sage.

Blackberry & Sage

The appetizers at Fig are strong, including the Pacific mussels, the grilled artichoke with Meyer lemon aioli, and — my favorite — the snap peas with mint and parsley. The artichoke was grilled to perfection, and the mussels cooked in Chablis wine and tarragon served with a grilled baguette could easily and happily feed two to three people. But the fresh snap peas, still delightfully crisp, were a revelation, considering how simply they were prepared.

Pacific mussels

Snap peas

The standout main dish for me was the carrot pappardelle with braised rabbit, peas and mint. Actually the description is a little misleading as I thought the pasta was made with carrot, but really the carrots are just another component in the dish. No matter; this was amazing, especially with a rich sauce made from chicken and rabbit broth.

Carrot pappardelle

Another dish that I enjoyed was the short rib and pancetta meatloaf served with mashed potatoes, carrots and broccoli di cecco. After the very disappointing meatloaf I had a week before this meal, this hearty dish was more than welcome. It stuck to the basics and didn’t try to do too much in reinventing the dish.

Short rib meatloaf

The weakest part of the meal was dessert. Though nothing was bad, most of what we tried that night tasted either too rich or not rich enough. However, there was one item that hit the spot: the chocolate pot au crème. This chocolate custard is not too thick or heavy and has just enough of the chocolate flavor to satisfy.

Chocolate pot au crème

Note: This meal was hosted.

I attended a wine and chocolate tasting event at the store, my first such tasting. I had heard about these pairings but they never really interested me because I’m not a big wine person. But given Madame Chocolat’s proximity to my apartment and the fact that I had never been there before, I thought I would give it a whirl.

The store itself is decked out in classical French decor with lots of inviting pastel colors, which lend themselves nicely to all the Easter products currently displayed in the store. Check out what Torres has done to the place:

Chocolate animals for Easter

It kind of looks like the Easter Bunny exploded all over the store, right? But I couldn’t really find fault with the decorations because Torres seemed to really enjoy the holiday and had such passion for her work.

Owner Hasty Torres

Anyway, we had five chocolate and wine pairings. My favorite pairing was a white chocolate bonbon with a pinot grigio. It was interesting to see which pairings other people liked that I didn’t like (for example, some people really enjoyed the milk chocolate raspberry bonbon paired with a merlot, but it was definitely not for me).

Starting from upper left, going clockwise: milk chocolate raspberry; white chocolate; dark chocolate mendiant with almond, pistachio and apricot; milk chocolate caramel; and dark chocolate truffle (center)

While the bonbons were nice, my favorite items from Madame Chocolat were the cookie and chocolate-covered snacks. The chocolate chip cookie has those delightful layers of chocolate rather than chunks that I like so much.

Chocolate chip cookies

We were sent home with samples of the chocolate-covered Cheerios and the Chocolate Krispy Coconut Delight, a Rice Krispies treat made with chocolate Rice Krispies and marshmallow dipped in white chocolate and rolled in coconut flakes. The chocolate-covered Cheerios were simple yet very satisfying — I could have eaten a million of these. And Chocolate Krispy Coconut Delight was chewy and just sweet enough (I thought it would be overly sweet, but it wasn’t). I would go back for these two items alone. (I should have taken photos of these out of the plastic bags, but once I started eating them, there was no going back!)

Chocolate-covered Cheerios

Chocolate Krispy Coconut Delight

Valerie Confections Pour Elle box

Valerie Confections: This L.A. chocolatier has themed boxes for Valentine’s Day, with intense flavors in both. The Pour Elle 11-piece box comes with white chocolate and rose petal hearts, and dark chocolate and passion fruit ganache hearts. The Pour Homme boxes come with semi-sweet chocolate hearts made with toffee pieces and fleur de sel, and dark chocolate hearts filled with liquid caramel. I actually prefer the Pour Homme sweets — the liquid caramels are to die for — though the passion fruit ganache is really nice, too. (Full disclosure: Valerie Confections’ owners are my neighbors, and I received these chocolates as a gift.) Check out the Web site for more options, including a Pour Homme gift set with single malt scotch truffles!

Wanda Gale Design: This Falling Heart necklace ($69) made from either gold or silver and semi-precious stones (shown below in gold and citrine) is a cute and fashionable way to say “I love you” — or “I like you a lot.” Whatever. Or buy it for yourself because you love yourself!

Wanda Gale Falling Heart necklace

Charmed Circle: For the guys, there are these Nut and Bolt cuff links ($165 for silver) that are super cool and chic. There are also cool gifts for gals on here, too, including really unique and playful charms. The envelope, bird in a cage, and chandelier charms are ingenious.

Charmed Circle Nut and Bolt cuff links

]]> http://shopeatsleep.com/2010/02/06/for-him-and-her-valentines-day-gifts/feed/ 1 http://shopeatsleep.com/2009/11/17/longest-meal-ever-in-a-good-way-fraiche-santa-monica/ http://shopeatsleep.com/2009/11/17/longest-meal-ever-in-a-good-way-fraiche-santa-monica/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:47:17 +0000 Maya Meinert http://shopeatsleep.com/?p=1677
I have never been to the original Fraiche in Culver City, though I had heard good things. So when Marshal and Will of FoodDigger invited me and other foodies to a “mini” tasting event at the new Santa Monica location, which recently replaced Riva, a small-plates concept that shared owners, it sounded like a great way to compare the old Riva to the new Fraiche.

I’ve been to Riva once, but it was right before the announcement was made to convert the space into Fraiche, so I didn’t blog about it. I enjoyed my meal there, though I did feel it was a bit overpriced, which may have contributed to the restaurant’s demise. No matter; the new Fraiche under Chef de Cuisine Sydney Hunter (who was also with Riva) is elegant yet accessible, a great combination.

This tasting was special; crafted by Chef Hunter, the “mini” tasting was really a seven-course, three-hour meal complete with wine pairings that was just for us. So while what we had isn’t necessarily on the menu, it definitely showcased Hunter’s abilities and offers a look into the kind of cooking you can expect while dining at Fraiche.

Since this was an epic meal that left me full for the entire next day, I’ll give you the highlights.

We started with Japanese scallops with braised pearl onion, lobster glace, lemon oil, orange and sage, which was a nice light way to start a meal. You could tell that each ingredient was put there for a reason, and I especially enjoyed the onion with the scallop.

Japanese scallop

Next up was hands-down my favorite part of the meal: foie gras terrine layered with prosciutto and fig puree served with orange gelee, Campari gastrique and arugula. Once again, each ingredient had its place and purpose, and eating a little bit of everything on pieces of toast was definitely the best way to enjoy it, just as Hunter intended. I admit I’m not a foie gras connoisseur, but this piece had so much flavor from being cured and the inclusion of prosciutto and fig that it would have been impossible not to like it.

Foie gras (bottom), orange gelee, Campari gastrique, arugula (top)

I also liked the John Dory served with baby root vegetables pearl onions, turnips and carrots, and topped with toasted brioche crumbs. The fish was cooked on low in the oven in brown butter, making it tender and juicy.

John Dory

There was another fish dish, this one halibut, also roasted in the oven in brown butter, and served with cauliflower puree with nutmeg, caviar of cauliflower (the top part of the vegetable), paddlefish caviar, almonds, parsley, chanterelles, red currants and English peas. This one was also executed well, but the currants were too sweet for my taste.

Halibut

The kurobuta pork was served two ways, one was a bone-in chop with baby turnips, brussels sprouts, butternut squash puree and pumpkin seeds, and the other was a braised loin with lentils, carrot sauce and ginger-honey emulsion that was like a stew. I preferred the braised pork in the stew, which was more flavorful, though the other plate was beautiful.

Kurobuta chop

Braised pork

There was also rabbit three ways, with a confit, saddle and rack served up with a rich sauce made with the animal’s offal. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but I’m not a big rabbit person.  The mini rack was kind of cute, though.

Rabbit confit (top), saddle (center), rack (bottom)

The milk chocolate cremeux for dessert was a dish I had when the place was still Riva; it was good then, and it was good this time around, too. Once again each ingredient was integral to the overall experience, and the combination of the chocolate, candied pecans, brown butter ganache and coconut sorbet is perfect, but the candied pecans really make this dish with its crunchy texture. I just wish the brown butter ganache wasn’t presented like silly string.

Milk chocolate cremeux

Sommelier Iain Walling needs a shout out here; his choices to go with our food were somewhat bold, I’m told, but those risks paid off. I’ve said it before, but I’m not a big wine person so I can’t expound on the qualities of the wine we had. But I can say that everything Walling chose paired very nicely with each of our dishes. He even went with a beer cocktail of Framboise and Allagash White for dessert, which I liked a lot.

Framboise and Allagash beer cocktail

Though I enjoyed this meal, I would have liked to have tried some of the pastas on the regular menu, too, as they looked very tasty on other diners’ tables. Fraiche Santa Monica’s menu isn’t online, but Fraiche Culver City‘s is, so take a look to see what you can probably expect. Also take a look at the posts of my fellow diners Kevin of Kevin Eats, Will of FoodDigger and Esther of e*starLA.

Tuesday, Oct. 27: Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake and Blum’s Lemon Crunch Cake

This cake, which is Valerie’s recreation of the famous San Francisco bakery’s, is outstanding. The two layers of sponge cake and whipped cream frosting are topped with crunchy coffee-flavored candies, much like honeycomb. The interplay between the different textures makes this fun to eat, too. After being featured in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, the response was so positive that the cake became part of Valerie’s regular offerings. Lucky us!

Wednesday, Oct. 28: Everyday Indulgences

This new line of “casual” treats includes almond fleur de sel toffee treats, peanut toffee treats, chocolate-dipped almond shortbread, and dark chocolate candied-citrus bark. The toffees, for which Valerie Confections is best known, are light and airy, making them easy to bite into. The peanut toffees, for example, are more salty than they are sweet, despite being dipped in chocolate, which makes them easier to eat…one after another…

Peanut toffee treats (left), chocolate-dipped almond shortbread (top), almond fleur de sel toffee treats (right), dark chocolate candied-citrus bark (bottom)

Thursday, Oct. 29: Petit Fours

These cute little chocolate-covered cakes come in lemon, orange, ginger and rose petal flavors. The rose petal petit four is made with vanilla bean cake layered with rose and passion fruit ganache covered in white chocolate. Though Blum’s cake was made as a wedding cake for the L.A. Times story, I think these little guys would make great wedding favors.

Rose petal (left), ginger (center), lemon (right)

Check out the candied rose petal!

Friday, Oct. 30: Valerie at the Market

This farmers market-inspired line includes the one savory item from Valerie Confections — thyme shortbread, which pairs nicely with chevre, by the way. There’s also candied citrus pieces (blanco oro grapefruit, meyer lemon, valencia orange and kumquat), chocolate truffle torte with fresh cream and strawberries, apple caramel hand pies, and various jams (white fig and fuji apple, strawberry and vanilla bean). A friend of mine, who has a big sweet tooth, took one bite of the apple caramel hand pie and was nearly brought to tears — no joke — because she thought it was so good. Just sayin’.

Strawberry and vanilla bean jam

Chocolate truffle torte

Saturday, Oct. 31: Chocolates, Toffees and Truffles (ends at 5:00 p.m.)

Sample from the sweets that got the company its start. All manner of toffees (almond, orange, ginger, mint, LAMill coffee), truffles (fleur de sel, black pepper), liquid caramels and rocher will be available for tasting. Try the holiday nougat, with almonds, oranges, topped with gold leaf, and the mint mendiants, made by topping a disk of bittersweet chocolate with a candied mint leaf.

Black pepper truffle

Ginger toffee

Mint mendiants (front), holiday nougat (rear)

In addition to its storefront on 1st Street on the edge of Koreatown, Valerie Confections can be found in specialty food stores, including Joan’s on Third, Bottega Louie and Dean and Deluca, as well as at local farmers markets, including Century City Farmers Market on Thursdays and Gigi’s Farmers Market at Americana at Brand in Glendale on Saturdays. Valerie is working on chocolate bars next, including a salt and pepper version; the company hopes to have them out in time for the holidays.

Hey, look at that awning! Is it new? I believe it is!

[Full disclosure: Co-owners Valerie Gordon and Stan Weightman Jr. are my neighbors.]