3655 S. Grand Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
www.mo-chica.com
Mo-chica has been on our radar for a very long time. The restaurant is situated on the outskirts of the USC main campus. In fact, I think some of us have even parked in their lot a couple of times for the SC football games! Mo-chica is tucked away in the Mercado La Paloma, a large indoor space with various stalls selling ethnic food and crafts. Ray has been to Mo-Chica on one other occasion for their regular menu but we had our eyes on their Tasting Menu event, held on the last Thursday of every month. It was very peculiar to me how a tasting menu would fit into their normal business. I had to repeatly ask Ray, "Are you SURE it's in a food court?" while wondering if we'd have to bus our own plates.
For some reason, I had the impression that simply responding to their Facebook invitation was enough to secure reservations. It wasn't until we arrived, a party of six, right in the middle of dinner service, that we found out our Facebook posts of "Party of two, please!" didn't quite make it to their reservations book. However, within 10 minutes, despite a full house, the Mo-chica staff whipped out a folding table, grabbed chairs from the nearby communal food court table and expanded their dining perimeter to seat us. THAT'S why it works to have a tasting menu here in a food court -a limitless floor plan. Quite genius if you ask me.
The price of the meal was increased from $35 to $45 - with $10 of each meal donated to Direct Relief International for Japan. There was also live music for this event, hosted by the trio, Cachaca Nova.
1. YUQUITAS CON POLLO - Stuffed yuccas, manchego cheese, crispy chicken, rocoto sauce. There were 3 notable things about this starter. My favorite was the stuffed yucca balls with manchego cheese - hot and crispy with long strings of melted cheese following each bite, landing on everyone's chins and lips. The crispy chicken, however, felt like a lesser version of the Tapioca Express chicken - sans the chile powder and thai basil. I would have gladly traded my chicken in for more yucca balls. The key to this dish was the rocoto pepper sauce. I don't know what was in there but it was super yummy.
2. TIRADITO - scallops strips, spicy lemon dressing, salsa criolla. This scallop was a nice refresher after the fried chicken and yucca. I love the crudo combination - raw fish and citrus are always a winner in my book.
3. CHILCANO - Peruvian cocktail, ginger juice, ginger ale, pisco brandy. We had 2 non-alcoholics at the table and the staff was nice enough to bring over an alcohol-free version. The general concensus was it tasted like ginger ale. The alcoholic version was light and refreshing - but no one was too impressed with it.
4. SUDADO - sea bass, tomato stew, crab meat, roasted tomatoes, garbanzos. The star of the dinner - perfectly prepared seabass topped with a very crispy skin. The tomato stew had a slight heat and was reminiscent of a seafood bouillabaisse. The crab meat on top was sweet and creamy - pairing well with the acidity of the stew. A fantastic dish - hats off to Chef Zarate.
5.CHICHARRON - Peruvian-style crispy pork belly, black mint sauce. We like pork belly in any which way but crisped is always the best! Some of our pieces were slightly overcooked but the flavors were good and the pico de gallo-like topping added a necessary level of acidity to cut the richness of the fatty meat. We couldn't quite figure out where the black mint sauce was- we didn't see anything black nor did we taste anything minty.
6. ALFAJOR - Classic Peruvian dessert made of dulce de leche and short bread. Alfajores are quite the yummy dessert. I tried making them before using Martha's recipe. The cookie turned out cake-like, reminding me of a whoopie pie. Other versions I've tried use a shortbread or sugar cookie type of crust, similiar to what was served here at Mo-Chica - most likely using all-purpose flour as the base. My favorite alfajor still resides as Empanada Mama which uses cornstarch (no flour), and surprises you with a crisp cookie that crumbles in your mouth, versus a shortbread cookie that packs in the crunch. Regardless, Chef Zarate's interpretation of this dish was deliciously executed. The lemon cream on top had a hint of salt and balanced out the sweetness of the dulce de leche nicely.
Overall, a surprisingly yummy meal paired with great friends and conversation - a nice welcomed break to a long work week. The atmosphere was loud and charged - reminding me of an outdoor dinner or wedding even, with the loud music from the band but also maintaining a level of intimacy despite the food court arrangement. The darkness from all the other closed stalls made it feel like we were sitting in an actual private restaurant. The crowd that night was very diverse, in age, ethnicity and culture - a prime example that good food is a universal language. I will definitely be visiting the Mo-chica tasting menu again. Hopefully, this event will continue at Mo-chica, even when Chef Zarate opens his new restaurant, Picca, in West LA.
Los Angeles, CA 90007
www.mo-chica.com
Mo-chica has been on our radar for a very long time. The restaurant is situated on the outskirts of the USC main campus. In fact, I think some of us have even parked in their lot a couple of times for the SC football games! Mo-chica is tucked away in the Mercado La Paloma, a large indoor space with various stalls selling ethnic food and crafts. Ray has been to Mo-Chica on one other occasion for their regular menu but we had our eyes on their Tasting Menu event, held on the last Thursday of every month. It was very peculiar to me how a tasting menu would fit into their normal business. I had to repeatly ask Ray, "Are you SURE it's in a food court?" while wondering if we'd have to bus our own plates.
For some reason, I had the impression that simply responding to their Facebook invitation was enough to secure reservations. It wasn't until we arrived, a party of six, right in the middle of dinner service, that we found out our Facebook posts of "Party of two, please!" didn't quite make it to their reservations book. However, within 10 minutes, despite a full house, the Mo-chica staff whipped out a folding table, grabbed chairs from the nearby communal food court table and expanded their dining perimeter to seat us. THAT'S why it works to have a tasting menu here in a food court -a limitless floor plan. Quite genius if you ask me.
The price of the meal was increased from $35 to $45 - with $10 of each meal donated to Direct Relief International for Japan. There was also live music for this event, hosted by the trio, Cachaca Nova.
1. YUQUITAS CON POLLO - Stuffed yuccas, manchego cheese, crispy chicken, rocoto sauce. There were 3 notable things about this starter. My favorite was the stuffed yucca balls with manchego cheese - hot and crispy with long strings of melted cheese following each bite, landing on everyone's chins and lips. The crispy chicken, however, felt like a lesser version of the Tapioca Express chicken - sans the chile powder and thai basil. I would have gladly traded my chicken in for more yucca balls. The key to this dish was the rocoto pepper sauce. I don't know what was in there but it was super yummy.
2. TIRADITO - scallops strips, spicy lemon dressing, salsa criolla. This scallop was a nice refresher after the fried chicken and yucca. I love the crudo combination - raw fish and citrus are always a winner in my book.
3. CHILCANO - Peruvian cocktail, ginger juice, ginger ale, pisco brandy. We had 2 non-alcoholics at the table and the staff was nice enough to bring over an alcohol-free version. The general concensus was it tasted like ginger ale. The alcoholic version was light and refreshing - but no one was too impressed with it.
4. SUDADO - sea bass, tomato stew, crab meat, roasted tomatoes, garbanzos. The star of the dinner - perfectly prepared seabass topped with a very crispy skin. The tomato stew had a slight heat and was reminiscent of a seafood bouillabaisse. The crab meat on top was sweet and creamy - pairing well with the acidity of the stew. A fantastic dish - hats off to Chef Zarate.
5.CHICHARRON - Peruvian-style crispy pork belly, black mint sauce. We like pork belly in any which way but crisped is always the best! Some of our pieces were slightly overcooked but the flavors were good and the pico de gallo-like topping added a necessary level of acidity to cut the richness of the fatty meat. We couldn't quite figure out where the black mint sauce was- we didn't see anything black nor did we taste anything minty.
6. ALFAJOR - Classic Peruvian dessert made of dulce de leche and short bread. Alfajores are quite the yummy dessert. I tried making them before using Martha's recipe. The cookie turned out cake-like, reminding me of a whoopie pie. Other versions I've tried use a shortbread or sugar cookie type of crust, similiar to what was served here at Mo-Chica - most likely using all-purpose flour as the base. My favorite alfajor still resides as Empanada Mama which uses cornstarch (no flour), and surprises you with a crisp cookie that crumbles in your mouth, versus a shortbread cookie that packs in the crunch. Regardless, Chef Zarate's interpretation of this dish was deliciously executed. The lemon cream on top had a hint of salt and balanced out the sweetness of the dulce de leche nicely.
Overall, a surprisingly yummy meal paired with great friends and conversation - a nice welcomed break to a long work week. The atmosphere was loud and charged - reminding me of an outdoor dinner or wedding even, with the loud music from the band but also maintaining a level of intimacy despite the food court arrangement. The darkness from all the other closed stalls made it feel like we were sitting in an actual private restaurant. The crowd that night was very diverse, in age, ethnicity and culture - a prime example that good food is a universal language. I will definitely be visiting the Mo-chica tasting menu again. Hopefully, this event will continue at Mo-chica, even when Chef Zarate opens his new restaurant, Picca, in West LA.
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