Christmas in LA is all about the kids, but still manages to offer some grown up pleasures

I come from a small family, the maternal side of which has dwindled to just a pair of progeny: my cousin's 8- and 3-year-old boys. Given my mother's fragile health, a big family Christmas was at the top of the priority list.

This has never happened before. The family is closer than some, more distant than others, but for a variety of reasons Christmas has generally been a quiet holiday spent with just me and my mother in Florida, England or St. Louis. This year, however, it was LA. As I walked out of LAX into the brilliant sunshine, contemplated the rotten weather in London and succumbed to the temptation to upgrade to a convertible. I had to admit: this was nice.

Obviously, with two kids in the prime Santa zone, Christmas was all about them. We spent a festive Christmas Eve making gingerbread houses. (An art form at which I, clearly, do not excel. At least I had local colour; my house looked like an earthquake victim.) We then feasted on my mother's home made pizza, with dough, cheese and pepperoni all carried from specialty shops in St. Louis. Christmas day was about mounds of presents for the little guys and the admiration of my cousin's impressive Christmas displays. Boxing Day saw us at Disney on Ice, where I was perhaps more fascinated by marketing that could get parents to pay $12 for a snow cone (in a specialty cup, of course) than I was by show itself.

Fast forward to New Year's day and we found ourselves at the Rose Bowl parade. This, of course, was in theory for the kids ... but the adults lapped up every minute. Like most Americans, I have watched this annual event on television since early childhood, marveling at the amazing mobile displays covered entirely with flowers and organic materials. As it's broadcast nationally from the West Coast, this meant an early start: On a bus at 5:30 to travel to Pasadena, wind through the crowds and get settled before the 8am kick off. But it was worth it. Floats of beauty, complexity and humour glided by, separated by excellent marching bands and showy contingents of equestrians in themed costumes. Pirate ships, airplanes, stadium models, Chinese warriors and more drifted by. My favourite float, without doubt, was Natural Balance pet food's ski jumping bulldogs. Yes, real, live dogs, standing on snowboards, sliding down an artificial slope along the entirety of the parade route. Priceless. I didn't manage to get a great photo, but you can check out someone else's video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeuAmYpCjoI.

My most guilty childish pleasure of the trip? My introduction to Balboa Bars. Balboa Island is a strip of shockingly expensive real estate lying off the coast of Orange County. You take a small, traditional car ferry over and are greeted with shopping and dining streets of great charm, almost New England-like, interspersed between streets of "beach cottages" that go for millions. And in the midst of this well heeled luxury you will find two humble ice cream stands battling for the coveted title of best Balboa Bar. And what is this delight? A rectangle of vanilla ice cream on a stick, dipped in hot molten chocolate that hardens just after it's dredged through the topping of your choice. My cousin favours Dad's Donuts rather than Sugar and Spice in this war, and though I didn't comparison taste, I find it hard to believe much of anything could be better than Dad's combo bar, encrusted with a mix of nuts, oreos, butter brickle and chocolate sprinkles. Thank God I live 5,000 miles away from this place, because this was too delicious for restraint.

We left the kids at home for a few grown up foodie pleasures, of course. On the more humble end, I indulged my Mexican cravings at El Burrito Junior, still my all-time favourite taco stand and better than the majority of "proper" Mexican restaurants anywhere. We made several visits to Captain Kidd's fresh seafood market, where they'll cook up anything they sell while you wait.

While we nibbled on sushi throughout the visit, Yamashiro served it up in the most spectacular setting. It's a Japanese palace, built in 1911 by some early Hollywood moguls to house their Asian art collection. In the '20s it became a social club for the greats of the early film industry. It fell into disrepair after WWII, when all things Japanese were shunned, and has been lovingly restored over the past 30 years. It is a magnificent building, with teak beams, gilt accents, sliding panels, tile roofs, an interior courtyard with Japanese gardens and more gardens surrounding the outside. The walls facing Hollywood, LA and the ocean are almost entirely glass, providing a magical view. And the sushi? Excellent, though you're without doubt paying a premium for the setting. As with most Californian sushi spots, they have an array of gorgeous, complex and ingredient-loaded rolls. My favourite was the Darth Vader: spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado, black rice and spicy mayo. Though the Californication (spicy tuna, california roll, soy roasted shishito pepper, eel sauce) and the wacky Hawaii Five-O (spicy yellowtail, mango, macadamia nuts, toasted coconut, soy paper) were in tight competition. I'd definitely come back here, preferably during the day so I could explore the gardens.

My favourite evening out, however, was New Year's Eve at Baleen at the Portofino Inn; an exquisite conjunction of setting, food, wine and beloved company. The dining room sits in a separate building on the King Harbor Marina, thus avoiding the institutional feel that some hotel restaurants have. You climb a flight of stairs to arrive in a waterfront pavilion, a surprisingly dark, luxurious and cosy interior despite the expanse of windows and the watery view. Even though it was a cool night, the windows to the Marina were thrown open, the chill kept at bay by a roaring fire. Clearly, best to go for a layered look when visiting at this time of year, however, because the room temperature varied considerably between fire (blazing) and window seat (a bit chilly).

A set menu was the only option for the holiday, but this wasn't a problem as the options looked fantastic and the price ($50 per person, $65 with wine) was fair. Though I would happily have paid a little more for the wine flight in order to get bigger glasses; it was truly just a taster.

I started with the pan friend foie gras with scallop, though I was mightily tempted by the lump crab wrapped in marinated cucumber with winter vegetables. The man gave me a bite of the latter, which was excellent ... but not as celebratory as my foie gras. The chef had paired this course with an Australian viognier that was crisp enough to complement the crab, yet had enough sweet notes to work well with the the liver. For the main, I went with the lobster tail while the man opted for the rib eye, which they did manage to get almost as rare as he likes it. Both dishes were both packed with flavour and beautifully presented. Oddly, however, the chef had decided on a blend of malbec, cabernet and syrah (Justin - Savant) to pair both dishes. Fantastic with the beef but it overpowered the delicate lobster terribly. I topped up the man's glass with mine, then ordered more of the previous course's viognier, which worked beautifully. Dessert was a trio of chocolate delicacies, beautifully served and melt-in-the-mouth tasty.

This was fine dining on a level I hadn't previously found in the laid back, casual world that is the South Bay of Los Angeles. On par with any fine restaurant in London, it gets my highest foodie recommendation for anyone visiting the area. And it was a fine way to celebrate the turn of the year.