Last post of 2010! Why not make it about one of my favorite places in LA, Little Tokyo! Last post was about Honda-Ya, which is probably one of my go-to spots in Lil Tokyo but this year I was able to try out a few spots that I've been wanting to try for awhile or an accidental discovery :]
Far Bar LA
347 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Far Bar is actually located in an alleyway. Very cool spot to check out. It's actually now one of my favorite spots in LA now. Mostly Asian fusion on the menu but they do it well. Hipster alert though!
It was Monday night so they had Monday Night Football on projection. Perfect.
Of course, always gotta start off with a Sapporo.
Braised beef tacos. Yes, another fusion item born from the Kogi movement but wow the beef was extremely tender and uhhh just straight up delicious. Seriously. I need to braise my beef in beer now too.
Italian Samurai Burger, which is apparently our waitress's favorite. It is topped with tempura onion rings and the Italian proponent of it is that they add prosciutto! With the prosciutto, it definitely adds a whole different level of flavor. The burger had such great textural contrasts as you bite through it. (Sorry for the horrible pic :[ Hard to have stable hands in low light :P)
Oh man, its a beaut.
I ended up getting the Shiitake Burger which had sauteed shiitake mushrooms, grilled onion, and a red pepper aioli. I love mushroom burgers and when it is shiitake, it's even better! The brioche bread is a nice touch. Not as eggy as other places but still good.
Beautiful medium rare on the patty.
For the wing lovers, they have Ming's wings, which is essentially wings fried with dried chili and other aromatics & seasonings you would find from a Chinese restaurant. Good flavors with a little bit of kick. The thing that impressed me the most was the size of the wings! None of that tiny tiny wings you get from most places.
Wasabi fries? If you love wasabi, then this is the perfect thing for you. I'm not the biggest fan of it but it is something new and unique. They combine garlic with this wasabi dressing over the fries.
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123 Japanese Village Plz Mall
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Four Leaf Tea & Crepes
Yamazaki's definitely one of the most popular Japanese bakery in LA. Not the typical Yamazaki in Asia, the bakery focuses more on pastries, cakes, and buns rather than the bread you see in Taiwan, China, or other Asian countries.
Not much left since we went around 6pm.
Ended up getting an apple turnover for dessert after Far Bar. Fresh apple filling that's not too sweet.
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318 E 2nd StSte 8
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Recently I've been frequenting this milk tea spot called Four Leaf. Nothing beats a milk tea to wash down whatever you ate after dinner!
They pride themselves in fresh brewing every single order, thus the higher price point. They used to have free upgrade to larges on Mondays but no more :[
Cupcakes & sweets if you crave any.
Matcha milk tea. Leonard's favorite. Definitely get it with half sugar or else it will be sugar overload!
Osmanthus oolong milk tea. My favorite. Osmanthus has a really unique flavor when brewed and it goes so well with oolong tea. As usual I get my drink with half sugar so I can taste more of the tea!
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Ludo Truck
All over LA
So with the truck revolution that's sweeping LA, it only makes sense that a fried chicken truck would appear soon, which is exactly what Ludo Truck is all about! It actually started from the Ludo Bites that chef Ludo Lefbvre (named top 50 chef in the world & James Beard award winner) started around LA and eventually moved to truck form.
From the facebook page: "Chef Ludo Lefebvre with cleaver in hand brings his cutting-edge gastronomic cuisine to the streets"
Leonard and I actually accidentally stumbled upon the truck as we were on our way to Daikokuya.
Menu.
Ordered the provencial pepitte aka chicken ball. Absolutely MUST GET. Boneless thighs infused with rosemary and herb de provence. Amazing flavors just having a party in your mouth.
Yum yum.
The chicken tenders. Buttermilk, flour, and chicken breast. As common as it gets but seasoned so well. For the combo it's over $10. Definitely not cheap for food trucks but gotta at least try once since I never seem to catch the pop-up Ludo Bites :[
There's still so many places in Little Tokyo that I want to visit or revisit, take pictures, and just eat, like Daikokuya, Orochon, Oomasa, Sushi Go 55, etc, so hopefully more to come!
Happy New Years and be safe ringing in the new year!
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1 comments:
Yamazaki's cream puffs are actually pretty decent. I actually prefer it over Beard Papa's cuz the crust is a lil bit more crisp, and Papa's is sometimes too soft and overloaded with cream.
Far Bar is bomb! There are a few Taiwanese bartenders/servers that are pretty cool too. The fries are awesome, but the wasabi is way too strong. Far Bar is on our LT tour.
Can't believe you ate all of that. Crazy, fool!
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