For 15 years, chef and owner Tanya Petrovna has been cooking up organic / vegan cuisine at Native Foods. Five locations in Southern California list slightly different menus to ensure freshness of ingredients.
(notice inside that this restaurant is powered by helicopter blades...)

Aside from The Veggie Grill, vegetarian / vegan restaurants aren't top on my dining list. On this rare occasion I visit with Trujillo and the fam to grab some night time eats.

Trujillo's self-dubbed "Mango Boner Salad":

I love the presentation on this corn chowder. It tasted bland though. The nachos (not pictured) were also bland.

For dessert: awkward moments served by the queen of said moments, Snard, as she snares the friendly busser slash accountant for a chat.

These babies, however, stayed in the display/anti-swine flu case:

Native Foods
2937 Bristol St.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 751-2151
Hours:
Monday-Sunday
11AM - 10PM

Adding bacon to something I already love?: Genius! You don't have to decide between breakfast and a Big Mac anymore. And count them--THREE meat patties! Let the Mega Tamago (egg) up your cholesterol in one fell swoop. Why would they make this only available in Japan???

Albeit not as bold as KFC's Double Down, the Mega Tamago still gets my vote.

My only comfort is knowing McDonald's food is as poorly prepared as it is in the States. Google Images:Mega Tamago.

Please bear with this guy's excessive swearing to describe the burger:

"My, that's mediocre." LOL.

There was an Autumn Food Fair at Mitsuwa last weekend! Parking here is already hectic on regular days. I found out later they have free valet here?! bah. This was a true, Asian, elbow-rubbing event.

Ohh yes. MORE pork belly. "Okonomiyaki" of "Otafuku". Mituswa encourages us to "Enjoy its special tasty juicy sauce!!"

And here it is fully assembled, ready to munch:

What is it? or what's in it you ask?:

This lady was very happy to be photographed. haha. This looks like a vegetarian carrot/mushroom/tofu dish my great grandma ate. $1.95 a plate.

Everyone has their own version of thit kho / braised meat and hard-boiled egg don't they?! Add Japan to the list. More fatty belly meat. I'm game.

Fish cakes of “Murakawa kamaboko” using Aji (horse mackerel).

“Ijinkan Maki” of “Kobe-Fugetsudo”. These little fellas run almost $2 each and are thin pancakes filled with soft mochi and red bean paste. I wish I had some tea (other than the little sample a vendor gave me)!.

Oh, hai!

They are also cutting a 400lb. bluefin tuna here this weekend! SAMURAI STYLE!

Mitsuwa Marketplace
665 Paularino Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-6699

Ok my first attempt at the Filipino Lechon Kawali (pan fried pork belly) did not turn out as expected... haha. I figured since the pork was already cooked, this final pan-frying was just to brown it and puff the skin in hot oil. I placed it in the pan to fry and seriously started to worry for my safety. Oil was flying EVERYWHERE. I had a lid-shield nearby but the oil was still splattering all over the stove.

I'm not really sure where it went wrong. The skin didn't blister/puff before it got burned. Again I'm still trying to figure out why.

This second time around I chose some pieces with less meat and baked it instead of trying to fry it. Frying also left the house smelling like oil for a few days.

I prepped the meat the same way as I did in step 1, but this time I rubbed in kosher salt on the top and bottom of each piece of pork. It was probably 1 tablespoon for each 0.7lbs of meat.

Bake at 300F for about 30 minutes.

Then broil the pieces until the skin blisters. You'll hear some nice hissing. And I actually saw the skin puffing! It was like little puffy clouds given off of active yeast.

At this point, the skin was puffed but I could tell it still had a good amount of moisture in it. I set it to bake again at 350F for maybe 15-20 more minutes.

It came out beautifully!

I still haven't given up on the frying method though. I'm also exploring some methods learned from the GF's mom to infuse some more herbage. There are so many variations on this dish. I cant wait!

However, this one came out delicious and is some pretty hefty junk food/comfort food. Serve with a ton of rice if you know what's good for you.

I've been wanting to take a whack lechon kawali for a long time now. The first one I tried was made by the GF's mom about 18 months ago and it was soo addicting. Lechon kawali is a Filipino dish literally meaning pan-fried pork. Technically, it is first braised, then pan-fried pork belly.

I've looked around for recipes and finally decided on one. For the most part, im trying to follow (and try to quantify) Market Manila's lechon kawali recipe.

What you need:
-2.2lbs. (1 kg.) liempo (pork belly)
I've only had ones with a very low meat to fat ratio so I'm trying to make one with a ton more meat.

-1/2 medium onion
-15 peppercorns
-5 garlic cloves
-2 bay leaves

Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 25 minutes

First, boil enough water in a pot to cover the liempo (pork belly), about 2-3 quarts.

Split the belly in two. I split it for easier frying. If you want to leave it whole, by all means leave it.

After the water hits a boil, add the belly for about 1-2 minutes just to clean it. Pour out the water and rise the pot and pork well.

Add the onion, peppercorns, garlic, and bay leaves.

Bring to a boil then reduce to heat to about 60% or enough to keep the water at a simmer. I kept adding water to keep the level slightly above the meat. This smells amazing while it cooks!

We're supposed to let it dry, and I also do not want to try to do that in the oven. I have noticed a lot of lechon kawali I'ved had has the meat part dried out. Maybe it's because over drying before frying, or because it was over fried... But I'm going to just follow the recipe and find out .

I lightly wrapped it in paper towel and put it in the fridge overnight. This will get deep fried tomorrow. Check back soon for the finished lechon kawali.