Rocksugar rocked my Soul!!

            While I was thinking I had seen everything exciting and eaten everything enticing in LA, we discovered a new place that sky rocketed to my top favorite restaurants list as soon as I sipped my drink!! That is what prompted me to open my blog again after months!! Rocksugar is a Pan Asian Kitchen ( as they call themselves), that offers enormous variety in their food and drinks and probably the most captivating ambience you can find in a restaurant. The first few minutes after I entered, I couldn’t lay my eye on one single wall without saying Wow!!! It’s the most inviting, interesting and invigorating feelings you get when you step into a restaurant famished!! Yes, we were extremely hungry on that day. The place I am sure is packed for dinner, cause the waiting area was huge!! Beyond are 6 booths with coal to keep you warm and then comes the hostesses’ desk. The Asian theme is evident from the entry, with wood carvings, antique stuff, lanterns, whoever did this place deserves compliments. They do have indoor and patio seating.

Entry of the restaurant, Picture coutesy www.enlightermagazine.com

A look at their menu online got us both confused and intrigued. Being Pan Asian, they do have all kinds of Asian cuisines included in their menu but the first glance may not give you a taste of what you are going to experience. The genius here is that all the ingredients are a mixture of Asian cuisines, but the flavors, ooohhh the flavors are absolutely fleeting, taking you to places you wouldn’t imagine! I mean, even though you may not be familiar with all the ingredients, the flavors are a little familiar, but also a little fresh and new! The price range for this place on Yelp is $$$, so we were prepared for the slight prick, but nothing told us how good we would feel when we finally left the place.

                So coming to what we had. I apologize I wasn’t able to get great pictures for you cause one, we didn’t have our DSLR with us, and two, our table was not exactly in the best lighting for the food.

Lime-Mint Squash

                So the complimentary inviting snack was saggu biyyam vadiyalu! Well you would know what I just said if you are Telugu, but to translate, it’s basically Tapioca crackers, also called Saabu daana in Hindi. Its was served with a sweet and spicy tomato based sauce, that really surpized us considering the way we ate these crackers as kids, just plain or with rice and dal! We tried their non-alcoholic drinks that gave us a sample of the uniqueness of this place. Pineapple Tamarindo is a crushed ice drink Made to cool you down thoroughly! A good balance of the sweet and tangy with a dash of lime is always the best way to relax. Lime-mint Squash, which is basically lime juice with mint is flavored with Calamansi limes, was made to perfection. Even though it was just a virgin form of Mojito, I would pick this glass up instead of my fav drink!! Looking at these perfectly made drinks, we were pretty sure we would like what we ordered next, the Crispy Imperial Rolls.

                The rolls come with minced pork or chicken. We went with chicken. They are again basically spring rolls, but with a twist. The meat is minced, has Indian flavor, and is combined with cellophane noodles and shiitake mushrooms! Add to this a smash hit sauce to dip into and leaves of basil, cilantro and lettuce to wrap and/dip with. I must say, each ingredient gives you a unique ride. Just the rolls, very good!, dipped in sauce, spicy/sweet and great!! Wrap roll in basil and lettuce and dip them, superb!!! Do it again with cilantro, and you have a completely different feeling!! Now I really cant explain enough. You need to try it to believe me.

Crispy Imperial Rolls

                Our main course included Festive rice and Thai Basil Cashew Chicken. So the waiter arrives, with the chicken on one plate looking almost burnt! And an inverted cone of, I think a banana leaf covering yellow rice! Now, by first glance, this meal portrays nothing unusual. But one morsel of the rice with a piece of chicken, proves to you again, its well worth it!! Festive rice is Jasmine rice with coconut, lemongrass and cashews. It’s the perfect balance really. Just a hint of the coconut and lemongrass and jasmine rice is like pulao! Now the Chicken, it was special because of its sauce that contained caramelized onion, and a wonderful combination of Red chillies and garlic. Caramelizing is not easy to do. And to find it done so well is amazing! We were full to the neck. Not that the portions were too much also. But some how, we did get quite stuffed. The flavors did everything I guess…

Caramelized Banana Custard Cake

                For dessert we tried their famous Caramelized Banana Custard Cake. They give you 2 slices of banana cake with a layer of Malted Crème Anglaise (custard caramelized on the surface) and milk chocolate ice cream. Also sprinkled on top was Nut Brittle. I must confess, the Brittle was my favorite!! I just can’t describe Brittle to you. Its basically ‘Chikki’ as we call it in India, made with all kind of nuts including pistachios. It was yummy! I found the dessert too overratedthough. Firstly the combo of milk chocolate ice cream and banana cake didn’t strike me as the best. The cake itself seemed a little dry, probably to compensate for the custard on top, but still it needed more moisture. Custard on its own was good enough. I would rate it a 2.5/5.

Overall our lunch was a 4.5/5. Ambience was a hit and the food was absolute bliss! Looking forward to visit them for dinner some time!

Check them out at: http://www.rocksugarpanasiankitchen.com/
Westfield Century City
10250 Santa Monica Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA-90067