LA!

[oyceter]

In LA! So far, I have had some really good 떡볶이 (ddeokboggi). I am not exactly sure what it was called, since the entire menu was in English, but the 떡 were cut into quarters and then glazed with a sweet and spicy sauce, along with slivers of sweet potato. So good! I have also had an excellent dinner with rachelmanija, my sister, coraa, and Cora's SO at Street, in which the highlights included its famous version of kaya toast: sandwiches of coconut jam that you dip into an intensely salty soy sauce and egg yolk and eat with a bit of egg. The coconut jam is almost too sweet and the sauce is almost too salty, but together, they are perfect. All the sauces at Street were in fact amazing; Susan Feniger is really good at blending a variety of tastes that I don't necessarily think will go well together but do. The little snacks in the beginning were bits of puffed grain, and the progression of flavor from salty and a bit spicy to fruity reminded me a lot of Chinese salted plums.

I have also been watching lots of kdramas with both my sister and Rachel (Secret Garden with my sister, Capital Scandal with Rachel), along with the previously mentioned Peking Opera Blues.

Rachel and I also went to Hole in the Wall, a tiny burger place nested behind a random suburban-style strip mall. The burgers were so juicy my hands were drenched by the end, and they served homemade ketchup and ranch sauce. We also had Chego's for dinner, which is a tiny take-out place randomly located in yet another strip mall opened by the guy who did the Kogi taco truck. As with Kogi, the menu is a great fusion of Korean and Mexican, with items such as "kochujang-lacquered kurobuta with fried egg, pickled watermelon radishes, water spinach, cilantro, cotija, and peanuts." Also, the tres leches cake with tapioca pudding is to die for!

Comments

[anoel]

Ooh thanks for the LA restaurant recs! I am looking for some places to try.

[trinker]

Yay, L.A. Korean!

I'm sure your time is very booked, and I have no car, or I would love to try to arrange to meet in person. Have fun!

[seraphcelene]

YAY! You're here just in time to take advantage of the awesome weather. I suppose I should thank you for the fact that I got to take a walk today in only jeans, a wife beater and some flip flops.

I hope that you continue to have an awesome time!

[torachan]

Oh wow, that all sounds so good. Definitely going on my list to try. (Hole in the Wall is the closest, but the other two aren't totally inaccessible.)

I've never been to the Kogi truck, but there are other Korean/Mexican fusion trucks as well and I've been to one of those. Had a bulgogi burrito that was very awesome.

[onthehill]

Mmmmm... kaya toast sounds like something I need to try

[glass_icarus]

\o/ for fooding! (and foodporn!) :D

[coraa]

It was lovely to meet you! And the kaya toast was freakin' amazing.

[oracne]

Foooooooooooooood.