Mikawaya

It was the third night before my intern departed for home, Turkey, and when I found out that she has never had a mochi, I knew I had to take her Mikawaya in Little Tokyo. It recently turned a100 years old and is more known for their pastries, but I always go there for their $1.00 mochi ice cream. It’s the perfect dessert –cheap and guiltless unless you eat ten of them…for those who don’t know what a mochi is like my intern, it’s a round Japanese rice cake dessert stuffed with red beans, fruit, or ice cream.

You can’t help but smile when you enter Mikawaya. They have two kinds of frozen mochis- mochi ice cream and mochi-lato (gelato). I am still trying to figure out the difference between ice cream and gelato. Obviously gelato looks different but my taste buds can’t differentiate.

We shared a strawberry, green tea, vanilla, chocolate and mango mochi ice creams (from best to ok). The staff let us tried a green tea mochi-lato, which was less sweet and the green tea flavor was stronger. It didn’t taste creamier than the green tea ice cream...

If you’re in Little Tokyo stop by Mikaway, you can’t go wrong.

Address: 118 Japanese Village Plaza Mall, LA, CA 90012
Phone#: (213) 624-1681
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The Prince

My friend Kat recently moved to Koreatown, so Banana Wonder and I decided to explore in her hood. Actually I used to live there when I was missing NYC, but there so many restaurants in Los Angeles and so little time. My Turkish intern joined us too –I have to make sure she explored as much of LA as possible before she leaves on Tuesday. We picked the Prince, the most recognizable and easiest to pronounce restaurant in K-town. If you love history and Los Angeles, the Prince is a must. It has been there since the 1940s -50s and the interior remains the same. It’s a bit of culture clash, eating Korean food in an American/Italian style restaurant. They have a full bar.

We got a free pajeon. It was greasy but that’s what the Prince is known for –good bar food.

I was worried when Banana Wonder wanted to order the Kimchi fried rice because spicy food upsets my stomach, but I managed to squeeze in a few bites.

Kat picked the next dish, the super greasy Pajeon in green bell peppers. I could only handle two.

I picked the winning dish, a whole fried chicken. It was finger licking good!



Service was a bit spotty. We sat at a booth where there wasn’t a service button. I think the next time I go to the Prince, I’ll be sure to have a few drinks beforehand.

Address: 3198 1/2 W 7th St., LA, CA 90005
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Osteria Mamma

There’s nothing better than having a meal made by mamma after a shitty day. I just wanted to drown myself in good food after spending an entire day with whiny colleagues. My friend, her husband and sister, and I headed to Osteria Mamma because that’s where mamma is now. It was disheartening to hear that Mamma and her family were forced out of Osteria La Buca, which I will no longer step foot in. I guess that’s why I don’t really want to know too much of the owners or the chefs because if there’s bad news, I will lose my appetite. Ignorance is bliss but then again if Hitler opened a restaurant everyone should know not to eat there. Mean people suck.

Enough of my rant, Osteria Mamma is right next to Larchmont Grill. There’s valet but I found parking on the side streets. It’s spacious and simple.

It's not as nice as Osteria La Buca but you don’t really care because the food is good and better. Mamma makes her own pasta. I wished I can make my own pasta. I bought a pasta roller once, but got paranoid that I didn’t wipe off all the grease, and returned it. The hippo can’t cook or clean, but she can it eat and drink! Unfortunately there’s no alcohol, and it’s not BYOB because someone complained about it. They’re in the process of getting their liquor license. Mean people suck.

We started off with the Quattro Stagioni pizza (“tomato sauce/black olives/artichokes/ham
mushrooms/mozzarella cheese”). I really should ask the waiter what the items are when it’s in another language…I had thought the pizza had all ingredients throughout the pie…clearly I was wrong.

I love Mamma’s pizza! The crust is thin, crispy, and not greasy.
Our next appetizer was the Crostini di Burrata (“Burrata crostini with black truffle and prosciutto”). This dish was on the pricy side; it’s $17.25 but so worth it! The burrata was fresh and just melts in your mouth.





I advised my friends that I was allergic to crustacean and octopus, so that’s what they ordered…argh. Note to self, only eat at restaurants with them if they don’t serve crustacean.

The sister ordered the Polipolata (“grilled Octopus, fresh celery, lemon, extra virgin olive oil and potatoes”).

She also ordered the special side dish: white asparagus. It was ok.

My friend had the Gemelli alla Vodka (“pink sauce, shrimp, vodka and peperoncino”). The shrimps are hidden under the pasta.

Her husband had the Trenette Nere alla Bottarga (“black squid ink trenette, organic cherry tomatoes, shrimp and bottarga”).

They loved their dishes. I had the Gnocchi del Boscaiolo (“cream sauce, baby green peas, ham andwhite mushrooms”). Oh. My. Gosh. Mamma’s gnocchi is AMAZING. The best and softest gnocchi I have had.

We managed to make room for the tiramisu. Delicious. Mamma gave us an extra tiramisu on the house. The cocoa is not dark chocolate. It was perfect.



I’ll definitely have to go back and try the Linguine alla Carbonara, Pappardelle al Fumo.

Thanks to Mamma for the wonderful meal and to Black Board Eats for saving me some buckaroos!

Address: 5732 Melrose Ave, LA, CA 90004
Phone#: (323) 284-7060
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Chego!

My friend Bubble Gum buzzed to see who wanted to go to Chego, and I of course could not resist. Neither could our friend AP who buzzed, “I’ll see you guys there! I am the Chegos!!!” He lives in NoCal, and I he was just as eager trying Chego too. Actually he was telling us that he was Chegos; Chego means “best” in Korean.

Chego has given life to a small strip mall in Palms. The parking lot is small so you might struggle to find parking, and the restaurant is smaller. I felt bad for the other empty restaurants but hopefully some customers might be discourage of the wait at Chego and dine there. You order the food at the corner, grab a number and a table—if there’s an empty seat…

My living room is probably the same size of the restaurant...

The wait for a table can be longer than standing in the line of the Kogi truck. Luckily Bubble Gum and I beat the rush.

Chego offers a variety of Korean drinks. I went for the Rice Punch, which is the Korean horchata that you get when you finish your meal. I’m all about having the desserts first.

We started off with the 3PM Meatballs (“Korean-fried, shaved green onions, sesame, polenta patty”). I think it’s called 3PM because you only get 3 meatballs. We loved it. I wished it was 6PM Meatballs.

Another satisfying appetizer is their Kogi Fries. It tastes like Belgian fries.

Bubble Gum ordered the Buttered Kimchi Chow with “hot and buttered with fried egg, gaenip, red tofu, chicharrones.” I’m not much of a fan of kimchi since my stomach can’t handle spicy food but the Kimchi bowl was manageable.

My Sour Cream Hen House with “grilled with fried egg, Chinese broccoli, sour cream, sambal sauce” was better than the Kimchi Chow.

I like the sour cream touch, it’s just too bad it didn’t cool of the spiciness -- I ate my leftovers in two parts. Overall both bowls were greasy and heavy. They were ok, nothing to rave about. You do definitely get your moneys worth. The bowls range from $7-9 and the portions are huge. It’s good food after a night of drinking but then again they close at midnight. They close on Sundays and Mondays. Sorry Chego is not Chego.

Address: 3300 Overland Ave, LA, CA 90034
Phone#:(310) 287-0337
www.eatchego.com
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World Fare

I was planning on going to Red Hot Kitchen’s tasting after the Brewery Art Walk this past Saturday but then out the left corner, I spotted it, the World Fare Bus. Why drive further east when I have food in front of me?

The World Fare Bus is relatively a new twittering food-on-wheels. They called the World Fare a “bustaurant” since it’s a Double-Decker bus, allowing customers to chillax on the 2nd level and chow…but there are no seats—you chew and stand. As you can figure out from its name, Chef Andi Van Williagan offers global cuisines, but the main attraction is their Bunny Chows, “originally a South African street worker food; a hollowed out loaf of bread with filled” with four meat options (curry chicken, Worcestershire braised short rib, braised pork butt, and meatballs) and one vegetarian (chili). The bread is not vegan. Unfortunately I only had enough cash for a short rib bunny, truffle mac and cheese balls, and strawberry basil lemonade--$10.

The staff let me tried their special drink of the day: a lychee lemongrass mint tea (I think it was tea), and it was awful. They should substitute lemongrass for honey instead. I switched to the strawberry basil lemonade, and loved it! Basil is like ketchup; it makes everything taste better.

The truffle mac and cheese balls were disappointing. I was shocked that I paid $2.75 for three tiny balls. I lined up the balls to a plastic fork just to show you how ridiculously small they are.

The worst part was that they were bland. Where’s the cheese? Maybe the cheese balls were to represent Ireland?

You know that saying, “good things come in small package?” Well that’s the Short Rib Bunny Chow.

The tender and juicy meat was jam-packed in the well-engineered soft bread topped with horseradish crème frache.

I’ll have to come back and try their other Bunny Chows and Andi’s Black Board Specials.

For those who missed out on the Brewery Art Walk, be sure to check out Sean Sullivan’s art…

and Roni Feldman’s art…


For those who haven’t tried World Fare yet, don’t miss out and stalk ‘em here!
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LA FuXion

What make LA FuXion unique from the other KBBQ food trucks are their tuna tostados. They are addicting. The sauce is not spicy but sweet. I almost want to say there’s mango in the sauce? They're a little bit on the pricy side--$3 for one tuna tostado, so best to do the combo meal: 2 tostados, 1 side and a drink for $8.

For the sides, definitely do not order their Asian sweet potato fries. Like it says on the menu, the fries are “Asian,” and that means they’re not fried and crispy, but fried and soggy.

I’ve only had their short rib tacos, and they’re not bad. It just makes sense when the cooks are Korean. But you really come to LA FuXion for their tuna tostados.

Service was off last Friday. For some reason three other people, who ordered cooked food after me, got their food before I got my raw food...

On Friday, April 23rd they will have a permanent location in the evening at 4430 W. Pico Blvd., LA, CA 90019 so for now…

Stalk ‘em here!
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Tokyo Table

Last Wednesday my Bible study group decided to meet up with another group at Dave & Buster since that’s the G-rated thing to do... It was my first time being at the adult version of Chucky Cheese. The organizer wanted us to eat there since you get a $10 play card with an entrée…but their food did not looked appealing whatsoever. I wasn’t in the mood to eat that shit. A few of us decided to dine at Tokyo Table instead, which is in the same mall and close by to Dave & Buster. I’ve been meaning to go to Tokyo Table and when they shut down their Beverly Hills location, I didn’t think I would eat there. I guess there’s a good reason to go to Dave & Buster.

The restaurant is modern. The height of the booths is slightly higher than normal booths offering privacy but at the same time, it might take awhile to get service. You might have to stand up to get the waiter’s attention. The restaurant is slightly too dark for me. If I’m tired, I will easily fall asleep in dark restaurants/bars, but luckily I wasn’t because I was so preoccupied with their lengthy menu --17 pages! I focused in on their drinks first. The Aiko (strawberry & cream sakatini) was my first drink. Purdy. It’s not sickly sweet but still very sweet.

Katz had the tangerine mojito (alcohol is shochu). Meh. I prefer my mojitos with rum.

Natz’s friend had the Konatsu, which pretty much just sake.

I later switched to the Kikuka, the lychee saketini. It tasted like they just open a canned of lychee and pour the juice.

As sweet as the drinks are, you will still get a buzz. When we left the restaurant, I thought it was cheesy that they made the outside looked like an out-doorsy patio…oh wait…we were outside outside and not in the mall…cough. Rewinding to the part when we were ordering our food… Thankfully the waiter explained their menu and recommended a few dishes. He mentioned that they make tofu every 20 minutes. Wow! Natz had to order their tofu. They should spend more time making a better tofu instead of whipping out subpar tofu. It was no where close to Asanebo's tofu in Studio City.

Katz and I shared the spicy tuna on crispy rice sushi. It was ok, not to soggy or greasy.

For our entrée, we split the chicken katsu gozen. Gozen means “complete meal” so it came with miso soup, rice, cold udon, pickles, and mashed potatoes, and that was certainly a complete meal for us.

The chicken katsu was tasty. I personally think it’s really hard to mess up katsu.

Udon is udon –another easy dish to make.

Drinks were better than food but then again, it might be my fault since I ordered the “whitest” food; Katz is Caucasian. I have to try their sushi pizza and honey toast dessert next time, and I’ll be sure to come after 9:30pm—that’s when their happy hours start, ‘til closing. Drinks are $3 and selected dishes half off. If only I lived closer to Tokyo Table…

Address: 400 S Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
Phone#: (626) 445-4000
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