Century City: RockSugar's RockTail Menu

I'm going to admit hesitation when I first received an invitation to sample RockSugar's so-called "RockTail" Happy Hour menu. Now this was sort of a stubborn hesitancy as I had never actually eaten at RockSugar, but something told me I would not like it. "An Asian restaurant from The Cheesecake Factory owners? No thanks." But, as I thought about it, I realized I often find myself in the Century City vicinity around the late afternoon/early evening, and, like every other time of day, I always find myself hungry. For an area packed with offices, there really aren't a ton of solid Happy Hour options around. And if you think Pink Taco is a solid option, please stop reading my blog. With this in mind, I graciously accepted RockSugar's proposal and made my way down to the restaurant to give their Happy Hour menu a whirl...

Every meal at RockSugar comes with complimentary black sesame rice crackers with a spicy tomato chutney. A fresh alternative from the typical bread and butter.

I started with the Chicken Samosas. Packed with curry flavor, I rather enjoyed the ground chicken and veggie samosas, especially in combination with the cooling cilantro yogurt dipping sauce.

Next up was the Indian Stuffed Flatbread w/ Beef, which was a sort of naan-like quesadilla. Although the actual "flatbread" didn't blow me away, the chili-ketchup dipping sauce was tasty. This item actually reminded of that canceled NBC show, "America's Next Great Restaurant." One of the contestants attempted to open a fast casual Indian food chain and the judges were pushing an "Indian taco" on him. I imagine this would be the result.

Third up were the Chicken Imperial Rolls. Chef Mohan Ismail encouraged me to make little lettuce wraps with these - and while I love lettuce wraps, due to the bulk of the (even halved) Imperial Rolls, it made it a little difficult to eat. Nonetheless, the lettuce wrap of Imperial Roll, cilantro, vermicelli rice noodles and the sweet, yet spicy nuoc cham sauce really pleased.  

I followed the Imperial Rolls with Chicken Potstickers. They were large and quite tasty for chicken potstickers (which often are blander than other meat fillings). 

My final course was Thai Chicken Wings, which I really enjoyed. This despite the fact that the wings were clearly incredibly fresh out of the deep fryer, making them almost too hot to handle and eat for a good five minutes after I received them. When they finally did cool down though, I found them to be sticky and spicy like they should be.

The menu:

The RockTail menu also features a decent cocktail menu for the very reasonable $6. Well drinks go for $5, wine for $5 and beer for $4. 

Overall, I would say RockSugar didn't overwhelm me, but did impress me a tad. I went in with very low expectations, but after sampling five of their RockTail items, I definitely would recommend it to people searching for a decent Happy Hour in Century City. Every item comes with a unique dipping sauce - and the presentation in little Staub cast-irons is a classy touch. While it certainly is not the pinnacle of LA Asian cooking, the restaurant (and Happy Hour) offers one of the city's most diverse and massive Pan-Asian menus. In doing so, RockSugar enables couples and families with discerning members the ability to please everyone. You don't like Indian, but your girlfriend does? You like Thai, but she doesn't? RockSugar is your place.

----------------

ROCKSUGAR

Westfield Century City Mall

Rocktail Menu - Daily 4-6:30 pm.