The Militant Avoids Trap!

The Militant, ever low-key, has taken pleasure in anonymously enjoying, and writing about, this city -- incognito, but on Saturday night there was a very real, potentially serious threat to his anonymity.

It all started last week when a local artist emailed the Militant a press release of an art event he and a partner were staging in Echo Park on Saturday. Neither the actual concept nor the location was exactly clear, but from what the Militant understood, there would be an oversized cardboard box on display in the park, disposable cameras would be handed out and visitors would interactively partake in the display, and musical entertainment in the form of a DJ and live band would be provided. Sounded interesting, and the Militant wanted to support some local non-gentrohipster artists in doing something unique not only in the community, but for the community, and coming away with something nice and unique to write about. But when the Militant arrived, he saw nothing. No box, or anything even related to cardboard. There was a family birthday party on the picnic tables of the park and locals taking a stroll around the lake (by the way, two weeks after the Lotus Festival, still no progress on the growth of the lotus bed). The Militant even scoured all corners of the park but still found nothing.

The Militant, who relies on his instincts, suddenly sensed a moment of Ackbarian warning and came to the following conclusion: this art event was a staged trap organized by a larger conspiratorial force to get the Militant to a public event and somehow uncover his identity (assumingly through kidnapping, extortion, torture or all of the above). There was probably some van parked on the street with a mobile control center inside, monitoring the Militant's every move with the aid of piezo-electric bugs and night-vision cameras. But the Militant was able to rapidly flee the scene, unharmed, before they even had a chance to capture me.

The Militant will, from now on, have to be even more cautious and vigilant when he goes out in public. Short of wearing masks (the Militant will under no circumstances submit to cosmetic surgery, just in case you were wondering...I mean, that's just sooo un-Militant), perhaps he should double the number of operative decoys in his militia who he assigns to attend public events. Either way, whoever you are, you couldn't catch me this time, fools!!! =P

OMG, THE MILITANT TOUCHED AN iPHONE TODAY!
While visiting Farmer's Market to conduct Militant research on his Iced Dessert report, he passed by The Apple Store at The Grove and saw a table full of people, all clamoring to get their dirtly little hands on the iPhone. The Militant was able to hold one himself (pictured, left - no the Militant doesn't have some bizzare skin condition, he just pixelated his fingers so that whoever is trying to get him cannot make out the Militant's fingerprints from the picture). The instant access of GoogleMaps and YouTube were impressive, though a little confusing in terms of zooming on the former, but the Militant also noticed that one can easily wear out their fingers by constantly touching and sliding on the iPhone's touchscreen, not to mention getting one's sweat and oils all over it. And as an iPod user, this thing is gonna get scratched, you just know it. Is the iPhone cool? Hellyeah. Is the iPhone awesome? Hellyeah. Does the Militant need one? Hellno. At least the Militant won't get iPhowned, like one Dallas woman did.

If the 'Pod is any indication, the Militant believes that five years from now the iPhone (not to mention the inevitable iPhone Mini and iPhone Nano) will be affordable enough that they'll be just as ubiquitous as iPods today.

Final Thoughts - The Grove
Much has been talked about the artificial urban environment of The Grove, as well as Universal Citywalk and perhaps LA Live! - the Militant saw throngs of people either shopping, eating, heading to the movies or just chilling on a Saturday afternoon, the kind of thing you'd want your tourist relatives to see. The Militant does believe though that this might all just be a dress rehearsal for the real deal we've yet to see in the future Los Angeles. Remember, just 20 years ago we were confined to indoor malls. Things happen quickly here. Perhaps places like Grand Avenue Park and the Militant's favorite project, the Hollywood Freeway Central Park will prove our worth in the years to come.

Ethnic Iced Dessert Quest - Part 2: Ice Kachang...ka-CHING!

Relax, the Militant Angeleno has not suddenly turned all food blog on you. This is just the second installment in a series to explore ethnic iced desserts found in restaurants around Los Angeles. It's summer, after all. Today the Militant was willing to suffer brain freeze, for you, the reader, in order to present to you ice kachang from Singapore...

The island nation of Singapore (which, as the Militant mentioned recently, can fit inside the San Fernando Valley) is often misunderstood by most Americans. More famous for banning chewing gum and caning spoiled American teenagers, the greatest cultural exposure to Singapore by Americans has probably been the recent flick, Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End. But in addition to being a Militant Angeleno, the Militant is a Militant Traveler as well, busting stereotypes and preconceived notions to seek what's real. The Singapore he found was high-tech, full of lush tropical greenery, has a few kick-ass shopping malls with nothing but computer/electronics stores, is freaking hot and humid all year long and the biggest discovery of all: has the most awesomest food in the world.

Speaking of the latter two, the country boasts several ice desserts, most of them derived from the traditions of the country's next-door neighbor, Malaysia (which the Militant has actually walked to from Singapore). The most well-known one is ice kachang.

Meaning "ice beans," ice kachang in its most basic form consists of shaved ice and sweet red beans. But different versions found around the island also contain (and come in various combinations thereof) sweet corn, jelly cubes, slices of Southeast Asian fruits like jackfruit or durian and sweetened evaporated milk. Like its Korean cousin binsgu, it's a shaved ice treat enjoyed in the hot weather months. But unlike Korea, Singapore, located just miles north of the equator, has about 12 of them, so ice kachang is enjoyed year-round.

Modern Singapore has fancy restaurants just like any cosmopolitan city. But the real food is found in hawker centres (also known as "hawker stalls"). To the American eye, they just look like busy, steamy, semi-outdoor food courts, but this is truly where it's at in The Lion City. The quality of the food (Singapore's health ministry also employs Los Angeles County-like restaurant letter grades) defies its amazingly inexpensive price, which is the main reason the Militant has visited Singapore more than once.

Because of Singapore's first-world economy and the level of English fluency (it is one of the four official languages of the country, along with Mandarin, Malay and Tamil), there is no Singaporean enclave in Los Angeles (mainly because there's like 14 Singaporeans living in the entire United States), but locally, ice kachang can be best found at Singapore's Banana Leaf, located in our legendary Farmer's Market in the Fairfax District. But the Militant believes SBL couldn't be at a more appropriate place, as Farmer's Market is basically the Los Angeles version of a hawker centre, still lending an authentic feel to the place. Located towards the 3rd street side of the market, SBL also has amazingly awesome Singaporean dishes like roti paratha, nasi goreng, mee goreng, rojak salad, beef rendang...Whoa! Stop! Wait! Hold on! The Militant must take a moment to cease salivating...

...Okay, the Militant is back. Where was I? Oh yeah, ice kachang. Singapore's Banana Leaf describes their version of the icy dessert as, "Crushed ice, jackfruit, sweet beans, evaporated milk and rose syrup." But the Militant noticed some chewy green jelly cubes mixed in as well. The Militant had his ice kachang on a warm, Saturday evening just coming out of work. But his glorious dish of ice kachang was starting to melt faster than a polar ice cap, so he quickly picked up the slices of jackfruit, dug into the ice, (AAAARGH! BRAINFREEZE!!) revealing the red beans (AAAARGH! BRAINFREEZE AGAIN!!) embedded underneath like buried treasure. The jackfruit slices were a bold declaration of the dish's Southeast Asian origin, which set it apart from the earlier-featured Korean bingsu of the northern latitudes.

Not unlike other stalls in Farmer's Market, the place has a counter with a menu display. But it does have its own set of tables, or rather one table row, which is nicely decorated with a batik pattern tablecloth, accompanied by rattan chairs.

Perhaps the young lady sitting on the other side of the table should have had some ice kachang, as she briefly prior to suffering a heat-related fainting spell (she was okay later on with a little help from the SBL staff and her friend). Just like in Singapore, on a hot summer's day, the rule of law is that this has to be eaten ASAP and on the spot. If not, you'll get caned (actually, you won't, but you'll just end up with a watery slush).

Other sources of ice kachang can be found in the area's Malaysian restaurants, like Yazmin in Alhambra and West Covina's Penang. The Militant also welcomes reader-submitted suggestions on where to find ice kachang.

Ice Kachang (Singapore)

Singapore's Banana Leaf in Farmer's Market
6333 W. 3rd St.
Fairfax District

Item: Ice Kachang, $4.55