Galanga - West Hollywood

Galanga
7440 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 851-4355
Type: Thai / fusion
Map



It's been so long since I've been to this spot that I had to cheat a little and look on Yelp to get some ideas on what to talk about. Yeah I took notes, but as many of you know, they suck!



Whenever I go to LA or Hollywood or just somewhere out of my area, I'll usually do a little research on Chowhound to find some recommended eateries. I don't really remember why we went to Hollywood this time around, but I didn't do any reconnaissance ahead of time. Instead, we just drove around knowing we would find a spot. I mean it's LA/Hollywood. There's something around every corner and hip thrift store. I guess we were being picky cuz we passed on a bunch of stuff. After maybe a half hour of driving, we finally see this little spot with an interesting name. Aight. That's it.



Galanga Thai Fusion was the place. It's a small place near Fatburger with an equally small parking lot. We got there just after lunch so I'm assuming the drones had to get back to work at the hive. Luckily I wasn't them at the moment. From what I remember there were no booths. There's a patio dining area in the back if you want to enjoy your Thai burrito outside.

Speaking of which, I personally love fusions of any kind. All I remember from this place was the Thai/Mexican fusion in the form of the tofu burrito. We added shrimp to it. I don't remember what the cost was but my notes tell me it was sweet but good. I kind of remember that personally.

tofu burrito and a salad and a square plate. fusion at its best.


To go back a little, we ordered the crab roll appetizer ($6.95). Now that was really good. I don't know if that's considered fusion with the egg roll wrapper and stuff. Nonetheless, it was bomb. Usually my only complaints when something is good is 1) it costs too much 2) they don't give you enough. My complaint was mainly about #2, but seven dollars for an appetizer is treading around #1. But then again, it is called an appetizer and not a meal. Still. I'm cheap and I eat a lot.





I ordered the Spicy Crispy Basil Fish ($8.95). I think it might have been a lunch special. I got mine with white rice. I'm personally tired of brown rice because we used to cook it at my house all the time and I've associated it with dry.... just dry. The fish was good as well. Was it spicy? I think a little. Was it crispy? I believe so. If not I would've complained in my notes of knowledge.





Good. Fresh. Pretty light. That's Galanga for me. The cost is actually ok. If you've been around, it's obviously not the cheapest. The portions ain't huge like at Banana Bay or some other spots, but add an order of an appetizer and you're good. I definitely wouldn't mind coming back here if I'm in the area. Of course, I would like to try other things first, but you won't see me throwing a fit if we had to go here. Especially if somebody paid for me! Thank you kindly.

The Stinking Rose

The Stinking Rose
55 N La Cienega Blvd
Beverly Hills, CA 90211
(310) 652-7673
Type: Californa-Italian / garlic
Website
Map



Being my girl's bday (back in March), she wanted to try something different from the normal special-occasion-spot of sushi, sushi, and sushi. I don't think it took long for her to decide on The Stinking Rose in Beverly Hills. When I first heard of the spot and passed by it a long time ago, I thought it was an upscale restaurant. Fortunately it wasn't as upscale as I thought.

The Stinking Rose, like Garlic Jo's is known for their garlic themed dishes. The term "stinking rose" is universally known as garlic as the website claims-- hence the name. I read that they use about 3000 lbs. of garlic a month at their San Francisco location.

Ironically the decor inside reminded me of vampires and how they would decorate their castle. There's different themed dining rooms throughout the place.

I have to make a quick confession. The notes I took about this place are almost non-existent. All I put down in my phone is "there's a separate bar area." That's it. I don't really remember what dishes are what and if it was really good or not. All I can provide for you are the professional quality pictures I took of the food:

here's one looking from the beer goggle lens


this one's a scenic pic. notice how I got the table with the lights reflecting off the glass and the silverware. The bread and that other stuff couldn't have been in better spots. Art just sometimes happens.


Ok. The next one was mine so I had a good view of it. I think it was the sea bass ($25.95). It had some kind of small pasta balls for the carbs. I think it tasted good. I don't think I got full from this one though. It's possible I'd get it again.

the sea bass in its habitat


So my girl's friends came and my friends came and we had like 20 heads in the place. Bad thing when it's your bday. You know why? Every single person is gonna try to get you a drink. What's wrong with people buying you a drink? Nothing-- when it's 1 or 2, or 3. But maybe 7 or more mixed drinks spells disaster. My girl was throwing up in the bathroom by the end of the meal. But she recovered and we went clubbing soon after.

Again I apologize for the horribler-than-usual review. The Stinking Rose is a good spot to take out-of-town visitors (unless they come from Frisco) who want something cool and different. I consider these kinds of places the go-to spots when you wanna impress visitors and make it seem like you're hip and know what's up in your city. The prices are a little high especially if you're treating. The food is good (that I vaguely remember). I'd go here again for another special occasion. I'll take notes next time.

Toi On Sunset - Hollywood (Los Angeles)

Toi On Sunset
7505 W Sunset Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 874-8062
Type: Thai food
Website
Map

My girl and I were in Hollywood on a late weekday night. We went to a bar/lounge to watch her friends' band perform in remembrance of their friend that passed away recently (R.I.P. Mike). It was late when the show ended, so I had to go on my other blog (Club N' Grub-- which I haven't been updating lately) to find out what was open nearby. There's a lot of things to choose from, but we decided on a trendy Thai place called Toi (on Sunset) on Sunset Blvd.

It was maybe around 1am or 2am when we got there, so there wasn't much people. There isn't a parking lot that we saw, so we had to park at a nearby street. That's Hollywood for you. Inside, the place has a music theme, with rock memorabilia on the walls, loud rock music playing, a psychadelic wall on one side, and a lounge on the side. You know, your typical Thai joint.



Their menu wasn't extensive, but there was a good amount of deciding to do. They have a decent amount of vegetarian items because again, that's Hollywood for you. And good for me! I ordered the tofu, pumpkin, and eggplant dish ($10.95). I don't remember if you had to order rice separately, but I know you can choose from white rice or brown rice. We got half and half. My girl got the shrimp pad see ew ($11.95). Yeah, this place isn't cheap.

My tofu, pumpkin, and eggplant was good. The sauce or sautee was good. It came with bell peppers and mushrooms too. Everything was good except the pumpkins. Ironically, that's what attracted me to ordering it cuz it sounded interesting. We both agreed it was the wackest part of the dish. Not sure if I'd order it again.

my camera phone says this is the tofu, pumpkin, eggplant dish


The pad see ew was pretty hefty, although it only had 5 shrimps on the whole thing. Well, atleast they were good-sized suckers. It had a lot of garlic in it which we liked. We ended up taking some home cuz it was more than enough.

no, I'm not gonna use a real camera next time


Toi is surely a good go-to place on a late Hollywood night. Even though it was good, I would just go here at night cuz there's so many other places to try. I'd take out-of-town guests here if we went to a club before. It'll make it seem like I'm cool cuz I know "the spots."