#starry kitchen

Celestial kitchen. Is it too dank, do you think?

Starry Kitchen is a pop up restaurant that will throw in the towel FOREVER if they don’t meet their Kickstarter goal in three days. They started out of their apartment kitchen in 2009 and since then, have been jumping from location to location trying to stay afloat. For the past year or so, they’ve been sharing space with Grand Star in Chinatown. 

If you don’t have the time to check it out before they (will most likely ) close, or can’t contribute to the Kickstarter, it’s worth the read for Nguyen Tran's prizes banana suit and food photography. If you pledge $10,000, he will get a unicorn tattoo on his arm with YOUR FACE ON IT. If you contribute $35, you will get all of the recipes for the dishes on the menu. $50 and you get an invitation to a party catered by Starry Kitchen where luchadores might grace you with their presence. 

STARRY KITCHEN KICKSTARTER

#SAVEOURBALLS

Good mornin’ y’all. So this #SaveOurBalls week I’m going to try something w/ lotsa @fiverr’s, schedule this @reddit AMA, plan some events for the last 2 wks, releasing more rewards (most updates are going to be more frequent on our Facebook page btw :D) and oh yeah… TRY to get to the $500k mark in the process. That’s kinda sorta important too. ^_^

Here’s another article, this one sells the drama the most! I feel like I’m watching myself in a soap opera reading this one because: a) I’m not the head chef; b) that pic is NOT a dish we make (I ate that in k-town over Xmas LOL); c) as you may already know.. I WANT that #unicorntattoo

Do I have more confidence that this isn't that crazy?

NO! haha  It's STILL crazy.  I'm not delusional, I KNOW.. but as I've been telling everyone via social media, I'm gonna give it my ALL.

What other stuff do we have planned?

Even I'm not sure because that's changing by the minute.  We'll definitely take ideas because this is CLEARLY going to be a hustle until the VERY end to see how far we can take this and I'm NOT QUITTING until that VERY LAST SECOND (and then I'll probably kickback and drink a slurpee because.. that's the RIGHT thing to do ^_^)

A photo posted by Starry Kitchen (@starrykitchen) on May 5, 2014 at 3:12pm PDT

With that said, we got a SHITLOAD of fun press yesterday (thanks y'all.. seriously, we REALLY appreciate it all):

LOS ANGELES MAGAZINE <- best way to describe WHY we're going after so much $$ vs a much lower #: "Band-Aids and duct tape"

EATER LA <- if Kim Kardasian can "break the internet", maybe we can "BREAK Kickstarter!"

LA WEEKLY <- while this article generated the SNARKIEST (and most hilarious IMO) responses, it also strangely generated the most pledges according to Kickstarter's backend too... CRAZY!  I'm learning a LOT here

TIMEOUT LA <- BEST close to an article re: the infamous unicorn tattoo reward

THE LA BEAT <- honestly one of my favorite eaters as of late too :)

FIRST WE FEAST <- probably the only article focused SOLELY on this unicorn tattoo reward as well LOL  I especially love the unicorn pooping out cupcakes image... and that's totally a THING!

Alrighty kids, I gotta get back to the grind.  This ain't getting any easier by the minute so I gotta push this MUTHA as far as I can.  Oh yeah, here's some SK food porn... just because!

  Xoxo

TEAM SK

What is food porn? Pulitzer prize winning L.A. Times photographer Kirk McKoy posed this question to the audience at the Visual Communications' Food Porn Laboratory event last week. An enthusiastic audience member responded, simply, "Pictures of food that turn you on". Well this event purported to be a feast for the senses, offering "multiple foodgasms". Between that promise and the adorable photo on their site of the colorful cereal bowl with strawberries, it was hard to resist.

Community Potluck - Mochi cereal pops and cake

I read a blurb in the L.A. Times about this August 11 event organized by this organization that connects Asian Americans with the media arts, featuring Kirk McKoy and L.A. Times Photo Editor and Photo Journalist Ken Kwok. It was sponsored by Starry Kitchen. As you may know from a prior post, which you can find here, I am a longtime and loyal Starry Kitchen customer/fan, and know that any event they take part in will be full of energy and F-U-N!

Community Potluck in courtyard

Part 1: Community Potluck The event consisted of three parts, beginning with the Community Potluck and recipe swap. Admission to the event consisted of bringing a dish to share. Because this component began at 5:00 p.m. while I was still at work, I notified the organizer that I would come during the tail end of that portion of the event.

Four Leaf's Matcha Milk Tea with Boba

Even though I was running late, I got off the train and stopped to fortify myself with some Matcha Milk Tea from Four Leaf in Little Tokyo, about 2 1/2 blocks from the event location. They claim to have the best boba in town, and it was indeed pretty good. Despite being so late, organizer and summer intern Alexis Kim, who I'd emailed earlier, came to greet me warmly. Not knowing what to expect, it was nice to feel welcomed in. I didn't get a chance to capture too many food shots or taste many things, although the adorable mochi cereal pops were hard to resist trying just one.

Courtyard - Community Potluck; Press in the background

The crowd looked enthusiastic and friendly. People were still mingling and eating. I met a few fellow bloggers and fellow foodies. Somehow I thought there might be some serious photographers present, but the group seemed to vary in experience. Pressure off, as I am a novice to photography also. All visitors were given a name tag with a number in the order in which they arrived, and that determined one's spot in the competition. Part 2: Workshop Soon afterwards, the group moved indoors to begin the food photography and styling workshop. A couple of members of the Visual Communications family welcomed us and introduced themselves.

Starry Kitchen's Nguyen Tran

Nguyen Tran, owner of Starry Kitchen, gave some background about his involvement with the organization, the illegal underground start of Starry Kitchen to where they are today. Notorious for his, shall we say "colorful" language, he did not dial it down for this crowd.

Workshop Introduction

We then moved into the workshop, with Kirk and Ken tag-teaming the discussion, as well as answering audience questions.

Kirk McKoy

This imaginative plate of food could not be any more perfect for Food Porn talk. What a great opener.

Kirk McKoy

As he spoke more examples of his work displayed on screen, such as this lively salad shot.

Kirk McKoy

With this behind the scenes view of the setup. One of the main themes of the presentation was working in a restaurant type setting with dim lighting. The overarching theme was to always find the natural light and/or shoot in daylight as much as possible. If there isn't any, use whatever you have to reflect the light - compacts, cell phone light, anything is fair game. If you must use flash it should point off center from the subject. They also mentioned rotating the dish until you find the right angles to focus on and bringing in light from a complementary direction.

Using lighting

There were a few audience questions about current trends in food photography, and the answer was natural, white, light, bright and airy. Kirk also answered questions about equipment.

He demonstrated strobes and other lighting sources he uses as well as silver and white reflective materials to brighten or diffuse the lighting.

Photo by Steven Lam | www.dusome.net | Du Some Productions

Many members of the audience furiously captured notes. That's me on the second row on the left, scribbling in my notebook. It was engaging and useful information.

Kirk and Ken demonstrating photographing liquids

Kirk demonstrated the setup he'd use for different photos, in terms of lighting, camera angle and placement of the subject. He suggested holding the camera a 30-60 degree angle to the food, the idea being that you want it to look like it does when you look down at it right before eating. That's a useful tip for me because I tend to get really close into detail and get down to the food and plate level quite a bit. Part 3: Competition Alexis came back up to go over the competition rules, before we went back to the courtyard to wait for our assigned time slots.

Alexis Kim - explaining the rules

In general, there was NO touching the food since all groups would shoot the same dishes. DSLRs will be judged separately from Point and Shoots, but any equipment and props brought in is fair game. There were tables with props provided as well. No post processing such as Photoshop is allowed, which greatly reduced my chances, as I rely heavily on Photoshop with most photos (although the ones posted here are not retouched). And there are prizes! The winning photo will be displayed at Starry Kitchen restaurant, on the menu and on the website. The Grand Prize Winner gets 2 All-Access festival passes for the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. The dishes were donated by Starry Kitchen.  Nguyen and Thi Tran will judge and select the winning photos.

The Competition Rules - handout

Handouts were provided with the rules, time slots by participant groups/numbers, a map of the layout of the competition area, etc. Categories consisted of:

Most (Food) Pornographic

Best Composition

Best Color

Best Ambiance/Mood

Group waiting to enter competition area

Each group had 10 people in it, who were admitted one by one and got to choose their first dish to shoot based on order of entry. I was last in my group (of course!) so it was a bit of musical chairs to find a spot. From one's starting point, you shoot that dish and the next 4 consecutively numbered dishes. So instead of focusing on the first dish, it would have been wiser to look down the road at the other 4. But we had 30 seconds to arrive at a station and 2 minutes to shoot each dish, so there wasn't a lot of time to get picky.

Kirk assisting competitors with setup

Kirk stuck around to assist contestants with setup of one of their shoots, which helped a lot. Two minutes go by fast, making it difficult to decide on whether to focus on lighting, staging , angles, manual camera settings, etc. I didn't stop to look at photos after taking them, just hoping there would be a good shot in the bunch during the 2-minute period. Lighting was bright so absolutely no need to use the flash, but holding the camera steady was another challenge. This race to take photos gave me an inkling of what a reality show contestant might feel like. In our case though, we were not being filmed, we were not sleep deprived or sequestered and thankfully, there was no drama!

Using a prop

This dish sort of halted me in my tracks. I didn't expect black tablecloth. If I'd brought a prop, a white napkin would have been desirable. I opted not to use props, but to focus more closely on the food detail. Kirk came to my rescue, as if reading my mind, and helped me stage this napkin (a provided prop) to frame the star of the dish, as well as point to the right angle. Overall, this wasn't a hit with me due to proportions of the napkin to the food.

Tasty chicken wings

Even though the chicken wings was the first station I chose, from only 2-3 open spots when I walked in, I was worried about how to make it look crunchy, warm, etc. Besides the fresh garnish and sauce, we are dealing with one color too. On another note, I ate these wings before and wanted so much to make them look as great as they taste. This shot also didn't please me because of the focus on the center of the plate. Kirk is the second instructor I met who mentioned the law of thirds, and not focusing right at the center for the subject of the shot.

Salad at eye level

The salad provided a lot of texture and color, which is also why I eyed the noodle dish that I never got to shoot. I tried to tilt the camera a bit to add drama, though I should have tilted it more.

Salad from above

With this shot I like that the dressing glistens on the plate and the corners of the plate echo the height and pyramid shape of the salad.

Seared tuna

Having this much color definitely helps, and I got a few good shots from this vivid plate of tuna. Some were close up showing the texture and colors of the fish and some were of the whole plate with a narrow depth of field. This isn't the one I submitted, which got lost in the shuffle of my camera, once I got home.

Pandan Donut Holes

This plate excited me. Great rounded shapes, multiple elements and colors. In a couple of the shots the sauce looked neon green, and in some mint green. I tried shooting the plate from afar and as a whole, then preferred getting closer for the shot. This composition above appealed to me, but the photo lacks the sharpness I wanted.

Pandan Donut Holes - detail

Once again, I'm not certain that this was what I submitted, but I submitted one similar to this in two categories.

Waiting to upload the photos

After the photo shoot time flew by, we caught our breath and waited for access to the computers to review our photos and upload the final choice for each category. With all the bright lights, it got warm in the room. While waiting we took the time to delete the definitely bad shots. For me I had a couple of blurry ones that had to go right away. Nguyen hung out and chatted with people as we waited.

Photo uploading stations

Both Mac and PC stations were set up and we had 10 minutes to upload, review and drop our submission choices into folders. The team helped out those with technical issues, and really let us take our time if needed. I had to dig through a lot of photos of the event itself to find the food shots, so I must have exceeded the time. However, I only spent about 5 minutes on food photo selection, to be fair.

Choosing photos to submit

Looking over this gentleman's shoulder while waiting for a station, I decided my salad shots would not fly! He had a very good lens and obviously a good eye. Some people brought tripods also. Overall, people were not too competitive. Many like me were just looking for tips, practice and fun. After uploading our choices we were free to go. Results and winners will be announced on August 26th. Stay tuned for an update to this post after that date. Based on Starry Kitchen's unorthodox candidate selection process, which you can read about here, I can't wait to view their final selections! In fact, I briefly met a Starry Kitchen job applicant also participated in this event, a savvy move on his part.

Nisei Week and Tanabata Festival decorations

On my short walk back to the train station, as I was reflecting on this exciting evening, I saw these lovely festival decorations against the almost full moon. The event proved to be a smashing success. It was so lovely to meet the whole team and I must give a special shout out to Alexis for being so well-organized, creative and generally sweet. She gave everyone goodbye hugs. We have since become online friends and I'm sure she has done the same with many participants. Thanks to event organizer Daina Solomon for excellent follow up as well. The whole team really connects effectively and I look forward to future events with this organization. Update: 8/26/2011 Congratulations to the winners! You can see their winning photos at this link.

This past Monday I attended one of the 2 soft openings nights of an unusual Pop Up event with acclaimed French Chef Laurent Quenioux at Starry Kitchen in downtown L.A.

Chef Laurent Quenioux in kitchen

The event description indicated that the amuse bouche (first mini-appetizer) of the meal would contain imported escamoles, a Mexican delicacy also known as "insect caviar" (ant eggs). So that set the tone for this thoroughly amusing meal. This unlikely collaboration, as Chef Quenioux wrote on his broadcast email, resulted in the love child, a new signature LQ dish. But more about that later. Having tried both LQ's modern French fine dining and inventive SK Chef Thi Tran's bold Asian dishes a number of times, I took a trip down taste bud memory lane to think about each entity before tasting the fusion of the two. So before we get to the meal at hand, some brief background. LQ My first taste of LQ fare was last year's 2nd Annual Gold Standard event, where Bistro LQ (Chef Quenioux's former restaurant, recently closed) served up multiple dishes.

Bistro LQ table at the Gold Standard event 2010

Upon tasting their savory uni tapioca dish (on top tier of table in the photo), it was love at first bite, and I knew a visit to Bistro LQ was imminent. In my opinion, it was the best dish of the whole event.

Bistro LQ - uni tapioca

Inevitably it was on to Bistro LQ where I savored their famous, heavenly uni tapioca pudding with kumamoto oysters, lobster gelee and yuzu. It's the best of seafood all in a symphony of a couple of perfect bites.

Bistro LQ - cheese cart

Our whole table gawked at the monumental cheese cart. Another work of art. I've also dined at Vertical Wine Bistro where LQ is Executive Chef, which presents a blending of their previous menu with LQ's additions. SK As Starry Kitchen owner Nguyen Tran pointed out to me on Monday, I've been to every incarnation of Starry Kitchen, from their word of mouth underground setup at their North Hollywood home to the LA Street Food Festival (and other events) to their stint at Test Kitchen and to their current location. While the food is delicious, their infectious energy (like showing up in the infamous banana suit) adds to the experience. The first time I met Nguyen he already knew my name since I had been following SK on Twitter. Very impressive. My first dish at underground SK was the Malay Ayam, a comforting Malaysian chicken curry banh mi.

Starry Kitchen at Test Kitchen - Crispy Tofu Balls and Pandan Chicken

But my favorite is the Crispy Tofu Balls (aka Game Changer 2), where you do not miss the meat.

Starry Kitchen (downtown) - Spice "crack" crab cakes

And the spicy crab ("krab") cakes which Nguyen refers to as "crack-tacular". I agree. LQ@SK This union definitely piqued lots of peoples' interest and curiosity. Upon being seated I recognized the familiar silver and glass pitchers from Bistro LQ containing citrus water. For the soft opening, they offered bread by Bread Lounge and inclusive paired wines by Domaine LA - a Croatian white, Spanish Cava, California/French/Spanish roses, reds, sparkling and a white port wine after dessert. I've left off the details on the wines since they are not offered during the pop-up's regular run. However, they will offer free corkage. On to the meal.... Amuse bouche: Escamoles

Amuse Bouche - Escamoles

Insect caviar (ant eggs) was not high on my list of things to try, but I am willing to try almost everything at least once. Since this is a Mexican delicacy, and were "smuggled" in from Tijuana, all the more reason to honor their efforts and try it.

Escamoles - detail

Escamoles are actually ant larvae harvested by hand from the roots of the agave or maguey plants, from which tequila and mezcal are made. The taste once they were sauteed and placed in a taco was surprisingly mild, slightly nutty and buttery. I definitely couldn't place the taste if nobody explained what they were. The outer wrap of nasturtium leaf, from the chef's own garden, added a peppery, fresh component. The mini glass of spiced, lime Sapporo beer contained the flower blossom. All of it was edible except the stem. 1st course: Oxtail Compote, pickled spring vegetables, mustard tapioca

Oxtail compote, pickled spring vegtables, mustard tapioca

The mustard tapioca brought back wonderful memories, and served as a great condiment. The tapioca with the slightly sweet, tender oxtail and sour pickles balanced well with the fresh tarragon, although I would have preferred a stronger mustard taste. The mustard tapioca also will make an appearance in the LQ Boudin Noir Starry Kitchen lunch special. 2nd course: Tai snapper, citruses, zucchini, tomatoes, kohlrabi, smoked black sea salts

Tai snapper, citruses, zucchini, tomatoes, kohlrabi, smoked black sea salts

The pea pod with attached peas was the star of this presentation. I loved how the shape of the citrus segments and even of the fish mirrored its shape. The New Zealand Tai snapper, also known as red sea bream or porgies, was moist and peppery. Everything tasted good on its own but it didn't all come together for me mixing the components together. A solid but perhaps too mildly flavored course.

Event Organizer Allison Reynolds, pouring the wine pairings and greeting guests

3rd course: Teriyaki rabbit albondigas, teriyaki foie gras, miso, green garlic tempura

Teriyaki rabbit albondigas, teriyaki foie gras, miso, green Garlic tempura

A tableside pouring of the miso broth added even more excitement to this dish.

Teriyaki rabbit albondigas, teriyaki foie gras, miso, green Garlic tempura

Normally the mere mention of foie gras and green garlic tempura would be enough to know this dish would be a hit. But teriyaki is so strong and sweet, not something I usually go for even on chicken.

No worries when the dish arrived, as the teriyaki sauce was delicately applied and did not overpower the succulent foie. The rabbit meatball with teriyaki had a much more intense flavor which I was able to perfect by wrapping a shiso leaf around it before eating. The meatball's crispy outer and juicy inner textures really worked.

The miso broth added an unexpected touch. The tempura stayed crispy even while submerged in broth. 

Overall this dish was the unanimous favorite among the diners and it automatically emerged as the test run's signature dish (the previously described "love child").

4th course: Veal sweatbreads, morels, chanterelles, shisito peppers, yuzu kosho

Veal sweatbreads, morels, chanterelles, shisito peppers, yuzu kosho

This delightful course also was a riff on Starry Kitchen's Chicken Karaage (Japanese fried chicken), but in this case the crispy nuggets were sweetbreads. 

Another harmonious dish with the sauce, bed of creamy Chinese black rice, herbs and contrasting shisito peppers. My plate seemed to be missing the mushrooms, but the dish still held up, as my second favorite of the night.

5th course, dessert: Chocolate chipotle mousse, lime serrano gel, cinnamon soil

Chocolate chipotle mousse, lime serrano gel, cinnamon soil

I never expected dessert to be my 3rd favorite dish, but what an impressive offering. The mouse packed a punch of chipotle. If you click on the photo to enlarge, you can see the specks of red chipotle pepper.

The brilliant touch is that the basil seeds immersed in the serrano lime gel, if mixed with the mouse, added both texture and a cooling component. So did the cinnamon soil, the cinnamon sugar from the churro. Cilantro flowers added a fresh and savory component.

I saved my churro for the end and the sweet crunch helped cleanse my palate from the chipotle. Although the dessert was served with a sweet sparkling wine, the bubbles were a bit tough on the palate after the heat.

Starry Kitchen Owner Nguyen Tran 

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable evening. If you'd like to reserve your own spot, here are the details:

LOCATION: Starry Kitchen, located @ 350 S. Grand Ave, Downtown LA        

DATES: Jun 5-7, 13-14, 19, 20 (more dates to be added later)    

TIME: 2 seating ranges available per night 1st – 6:30p-8:30pm / 2nd – 8:30pm-9:30pm                                                                                             

RESERVATIONS: can ONLY be made through the LQ reservation form and will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is VERY limited. Reservations are not set UNTIL an email confirmation with parking information is sent to customers.

For MOST of LQ@SK, we will be sticking to a $45 Prix Fixe Menu which you can supplement with your own choice of beverages.