That’s right SASOON CHICKEN. Even the posted newspaper inside doesn’t get the name right.

Sasoon dishes out consistently delicious Armenian food. They have tummy busting quantities at a very fair price. Over the years I have noticed the prices have slowly crept up, but it’s still decent.

I believe this is a family run business and the workers here are VERY friendly. They’re always happy to see a return customer.

I first visited yearsss ago when my diet consisted of nachos and.. nachos. Why would anyone come here when Taco Mesa was across the street?

What convinced me to visit Sasoon Chicken was PCH Hotdogs next door failing to hit the spot. Now I often find myself drooling for some Sasoon.

First, you need to be aware of the garlic. The paste you see below in the little plastic ramekins? Yes, that stuff!

This seemingly innocuous little plop of garlic is almost my reason for visiting. It has the consistency of butter. Melt-in-your-mouth smooth with a spicy kick of the garlic. The owners swear its just pure garlic, but I swear there’s crack in it.

The shish kabob sandwich:

Shish tavouk (chicken) plate:

Combo plates come with slightly sour potato, hummus, rice, pita, and your choice of grilled meat. If you’re a first timer I would recommend the super-juicy chicken plate. Hummus and pita go well with the meat.

Since the shish tavouk is so good, I would not get the beef again. There’s some sort of tomato paste on the beef which which hits me the wrong way and it just isn’t as flavorful.

Beef and chicken shawerma are also nice options to try. They are pitas stuffed with meat and either garlic paste or tahini and diced tomatoes.

I finally got to try the sujuk–an Armenian sausage. It was really dried out, and garlic paste barely saved it. This is really the only thing I haven’t liked here.

I would still be going here once a week if I lived nearby. I miss you Sasoon Chicken!

Sasoon Chicken
3440 E Chapman Ave
Orange, CA 92869
(714) 516-9600

We were heading back from an awesome concert for my birthday (!!) and were looking for some new good eats. The Hollywood area was jammed–no way we were going to endure traffic that bad to grab a bite. A Trusty a trusty mobile Yelp search for pizza lead us home towards Newport Beach.

There’s Pizza open at 1AM in Newport Beach! Near the bars, of course. So obviously we ran across a good amount of drunk, sweaty, thirty somethings using their friends as crutches. However, those drunks eat well.

This Audi owner sacrificing the hood of his car as a dining table can attest. He also didn’t want to be in my photo–haha, sorry dude.

Here’s the menu:

We scored a large 3-topping pie with a full side of garlic bread for under $20 after tip. Ours came with a very light tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni, canadian bacon and onion. A meal of champions. The crust was delightfully light and chewy, yet still crispy.

A full order of garlic bread came PACKED with fresh garlic and cheese on something like sandwich roll halves. I love it when there’s so much garlic it’ll make you breathe fire.

Great bang for the buck. I think these guys deliver too, so the next time I’m too lazy to drive for late night Thanh My, Laventina’s it is!

Laventina’s Big Cheese Pie
2819 Newport Blvd
Newport Beach, CA 92663
(949) 675-1980
www.laventinasbigcheese.com

Upon arriving at Sushi Murasaki, I was a bit confused. It was strange to see this restaurant on the bottom floor of a two story office building, like some low-rent extra space up for grabs. It wasn’t its own unit, it was just like a hollowed out office turned into a restaurant. However, this seems like a great way to grab a lunch or even a dinner crowd from the surrounding offices.

From every aspect, this restaurant screamed refinement. From the chosen decor materials, restaurant color theme, the sushi cooler, worker attire, dinnerware, presentation of the food, and even right down to the menu (and website)–everything was beautiful.

It was very much like Ikko in its decor style and layout, except Murasaki was warming. Murasaki’s style is elegance without ostentation.

Here’s a shot from their website:

We were seated next to a married couple who were clearly unhappy having us next to them. A massive celebratory bottle on ice separated our tables. They asked the waitress if other seats were open and scooted their table over once they were shot down.

Being unaware I understood Vietnamese, they started to complain about the seating arrangements. The nerve! This made us feel even more uncomfortable, but I tried to just ignore it.

Luckily we talked to them and they turned out to be really friendly. We later found out they were just peeved because they were waiting on friends and there were other tables open. They come to Sushi Murasaki often and only for the omakase. The husband persisted that I let him buy me a beer, but given my tolerance, the rest of the night would have been shot.

Murasaki’s chefs and owners, Tsutomo and Dai, aim for a simple style cuisine using the best ingredients.

As you know from my frequent visits to Oki Doki, I’m programmed to love albacore with garlic chips.

The play on this dish is a lot more subtle here. I could barely taste the garlic or other garnishes, but I did enjoy the fish though.

Again, Murasaki hits us with beautiful presentation and one of the best salmon sushi I’ve had.

I usually don’t think twice about rainbow rolls, but I was shocked at the presentation of this one. The fish was fresh and they went light on the mayo (major plus).

This is a new dish for me–a baked seafood dish of salmon, scallops, and mushrooms in a broth. It was nicely cooked, had nice presentation, and balanced the rest of the dinner’s cold orders.

I love sushi and feel that you usually get what you pay for. When I pulled up and saw a bunch of Beamers, Benzs and some convertibles I knew Sushi Murasaki was going to leave a dent. We made out with a bill of $40 before tip though, which was very reasonable.

I was more impressed by Sushi Murasaki’s decor than the food. Don’t get me wrong though, the food was good. There were a ton more creative dishes on the menu and attractive items I saw on other tables. I MUST return to try more and the omakase.

Sushi Murasaki
2901 W MacArthur Blvd Suite 108
Santa Ana, CA 92704
(714) 241-1000
www.sushi-murasaki.com

In Vietnam, there are no drive-thrus nor take-out. Coffee is brewed and served either at home or in restaurants at leisure. Hot coffee (cafe nong) is preferred in the morning, while iced coffee (cafe sua da) is saved for the heat later in the day.

I was talking to my Dad about coffee and he was reminiscing about cups from the past. This man loves his cup of joe.

He’s completely happy here in the States, but has an incredibly fond memory of his life in Vietnam. “There was nothing like escaping from the rain–running into a coffee shop with a lightly damp raincoat. I can immensely enjoy a cup in that kind of atmosphere.”

Although we Vietnamese “owe” the availability of ingredients for this coffee to French colonization, this creation is Vietnamese. Vietnamese coffee is uniquely characterized by a combination of French roast coffee dripped through a Vietnamese coffee filter mixed with condensed milk.

French roast pairs exceptionally well with condensed milk. The Vietnamese coffee filter gives a stronger brew than that of an American drip machine and different than that of a French press.

Any French roast can be used, but the most popular brands for Vietnamese coffee I’ve seen are Cafe Du Monde, Cafe’de Paris, and Trung Nguyen. For this recipe, we’re going to stick with Cafe Du Monde.

Notice that Cafe Du Monde isn’t pure coffee! This grind is laced with the ground root of the chicory herb. This mixture originated in Europe during WWII when money was tight and expensive foods like coffee needed to last. Chicory root was used to stretch the coffee supply. After the war, the preference for the chicory flavor became a trend and exists even today!

What you need:
-1 heaping tablespoon (about 4 teaspoons) of Cafe Du Monde grind
-1-2 teaspoons condensed milk to fit your taste

-a Vietnamese coffee filter
-a glass for the brew
-a glass filled with ice

Prep time: 1 minute
Cook time: 3-5 minutes

Start by boiling some water. An electric kettle makes it a lot faster. I’m lucky my tea-loving roommate left it behind when she went back to Australia. I would have never thought to purchase one, but it I’m glad I have it!

Remove the metal filter and pour in 1 heaping tablespoon of Cafe Du Monde (about 4 teaspoons). I love the smell of coffee!

Twist the filter on gently until it just starts to stop. Then turn it little more, a bit less than 1/8 a turn.

If you wanted to drink this hot instead, you can put the brewing cup in a bowl and fill the bowl with hot water. For this recipe, we’re going to stick with the iced version.

Ideally you want to add the condensed milk to the cup before brewing because the boiling water actually cooks it. It does have a slight affect on the flavor. For this recipe we’ll add it after since most readers probably don’t know how much condensed milk they want.

To brew, pour a tiny bit of water in the filter just to wet the grind and to let the grind expand a bit. Also this will help rid of some small grinds that happen to make it through the filter. You can toss it out if you see any.

Then go ahead and fill the filter all the way and let it drip. Ideal brewing time comes to about 3 to 5 minutes so adjust the filter accordingly. Too loose and you’ll just have runny brown water. Too tight and nothing will drip through. The filter will be hot, so use a fork or another utensil to adjust the filter. Place the cap on and watch the coffee drip!

For condensed milk, I prefer Longevity Brand – Sua Ong Tho, because of the sweet graphic.

Personally, I like it a little bitter. About 1 teaspoon of condensed milk does it for me. If you like it sweeter add 2 or 3 teaspoons.

Pour the brew into a glass filled with ice and serve. Now make some for your coffee loving buddies!

This Goi Cuon recipe or Traditional Vietnamese Spring Roll recipe took a lot longer than I expected, but I learned a lot during making the rolls. These healthy rolls are full of fresh vegetables and lean meat, so eat up!

Made from just rice and water, the neutral banh trang (rice paper) could be easily used in a variety of ways. At one Vietnamese market, I found no less than five brands of banh trang (rice paper) with multi-lingual packaging: Vietnamese, Chinese, English, and French.

Banh trang gets around. Cambodians have a similar roll also using the same rice paper called nime chow–made without meat and dipped in a vinegar based sauce instead of hoisin. The Chinese have a version with duck and cucumber with a hoisin based dipping sauce. Japanese restaurants are also commonly using regular and dyed versions of rice paper for rolls too.

For the meat you can really use any cut of pork you wish, but leaner works better. The shrimp can also be any size but a medium one helps make rolling easier.

At the bottom of this post you’ll find a Vietnamese Nuoc Cham / Spring Roll Sauce recipe too.

This recipe makes about 10 Spring Rolls.

What you need:
-1/2 lb. shrimp (36/40 size) (453g)
-1/2 lb. pork leg (453g)

-1 head red or green leaf lettuce
-a few sprigs of mint
-chives

-banh trang (rice paper / Spring Roll wrapper)
-bun (rice vermicelli, the starchless variety)

-1 1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 teaspoon sugar

Nuoc cham recipe (Vietnamese dipping sauce recipe, Spring Roll sauce)
-1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
-2 tablespoons water

Prep time: 25-40 minutes
Cook time: 50 minutes
Assembly time: 10-20 minutes

If your shrimp is frozen, thaw it in a bowl of water until it is defrosted so you can cut into them.

Split and devein the shrimp. It helps to have a sharp knife
and a steady hand. I had to pull up a chair to get the hang of this. I also found it helpful to have a bowl of water to dip the nasties into.

Cook the pork: fill a small pot with water about 1.5 inches above the pork, add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Bring to a boil on high heat then lower to 60% for about 30 minutes. It is done when it floats or when it is no longer pink in the middle.

Cook the shrimp: fill a small pot with about 2 inches of water (just enough to cover the shrimp). Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and bring to a boil. Add the shrimp. Boil for about 1.5-2.5 minutes on 70% heat until the shrimp is no longer translucent in the middle. It will be quick so don’t go anywhere!

Remove the shells and tails and clean off any remaining shrimp intestine. Split the shrimp in half along the body. Try to picture how you want to layer the pork inside the roll so you know how to cut it. Slice as thinly as porkly possible so rolling will be easier.

Tortuna brand bun (rice vermicelli), and Flying Horse brand banh trang (Spring Roll wrapper, rice paper).

Get 1 gallon of water boiling. Add 1/3 of the rice vermicelli package and boil for 8 minutes (following the instructions on the packet).

Drain and cool the noodles under cold running water to stop it from cooking.

Wash and dry your veggies! I used an OXO Salad Spinner.

Add some warm water to a plate to dip the banh trang (rice paper).

Dip only before making each roll. It took me about 5-10 seconds of soak. Make sure to remove it before it gets to the desired softness so it’s easier to handle.

Rolling technique is entirely up to you. Do whatever looks good or makes you happy. Put less than what you think you need so the rolls aren’t exploding. Generally it will look better to show lettuce instead of noodles on the bottom. A tighter roll will look nicer and showcasing the meat on top makes it more appealing. Here’s what I did:

Add some lettuce near the bottom and leave about 1″ to 1.5″ space on the sides. Layer with some mint and some chives.

Add shrimp near the middle, color side down.

Add pork on top of the shrimp and some bun (rice noodle) on top of the vegetables. Make sure the rice noodle is spread evenly across.

Fold the sides in so its snug and add some more chives. Then fold the bottom up to cover the rice noodles. You want to keep the roll tight, so lightly squeeze it together as you roll. Once you reach the meat, ease up on the tightness so it doesn’t tear.

Nuoc cham recipe (Vietnamese dipping sauce recipe):
Add 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce and 2 tablespoons water to a small pan and bring to a boil. Pour into a bowl and cool. Add chopped nuts and some hot sauce. I used Koon Chun hoisin sauce, and Sambal Oelek chili paste (the one without garlic!).

Serve!