I've Been Meaning to Post These for a While

Here are some food pics I've been meaning to share for some time, representing two of our best discoveries during our time in L.A. First up is Kuala Lumpur, a Malaysian restaurant in Pasadena. It's located in the trendy shopping area, yet it's as unassuming as most places in Monterey Park. The cuisine is hard to describe, representing a mix of influences. There is a mix of soy sauces, coconut-milk curries, and tangy fruit flavors. This dish is the roti, chewy, flaky pancakes, served with a mango chutney and a vegetarian curry. Other notable dishes we have had here: delicious rice noodles with spicy soy-based sauce, egg noodles with a tangy sweet and sour sauce, and tofu stuffed with veggies.















Next up is Mama's Hot Tamales, located across from MacArthur Park on the outskirts of L.A.'s downtown. The specialty is obvious, but what's great about this restaurant is the variety of tamales they offer. They really explore the full array of traditional tamale cooking! For example, they offer not one but two Oaxacan-style tamales: one that represents "Coast of Oaxaca" (with cheese and roasted jalapenos) and another from "Valley of Oaxaca" (with pumpkin infused into the batter and stuffed with black beans). They have a sweet dessert tamale, and of course a variety of meat stuffings. Even more surprising, they offer perhaps the best cup of coffee in L.A., individually dripped into each cup. Best of all, it is a non-profit restaurant: they also train street vendors in the art of making tamales. This a tamale plate, with two pumpkin tamales, rice, and mild melt-in-your-mouth pinto beans. After a lunch like this, I almost didn't need dinner (but then abour 4 hours later I somehow ate a chile relleno plate and a pupusa before the Dodger game).