Koreatown Plaza Food(ie) Court

Here, Dear Reader, is a new feature: Guest Blogger! I want to thank Hiking Gourtmet T for writing this review:

Bon Vivant, Raven and I hit the Koreatown Plaza at Western and 9th Street at noon on a Sunday, ready to sample what its food court had to offer. Like those at most other malls, the food court was full of hustle and bustle and lacked much atmosphere. However, the food choices more than made up for it. Of the 10 or so food vendors in the food court, the primary dishes offered were Korean soups and stews, noodles and meat dishes.

After surveying the various choices, we each decided to get one dish and share. Bon Vivant had had her eye on Chew Young Roo’s dumplings since her last visit. Her order of the steamed dumplings, or mandu, consisted of four large dumplings, which resembled bao. Inside the warm, plump buns were a mixture of vegetables, including leeks and onions, sautéed in garlic, ginger and other flavors. The dough was fresh (you can watch them make the dumplings) and light, contrasting nicely with the flavorful vegetables and crunchy celery. The dish comes with a dipping sauce that tastes like soy sauce and vinegar. Four buns would be more than enough for a filling lunch.



At Gamja Bawi, which specializes in bibimbap, Raven ignored the cashier, who tried, yet again, to steer her toward the less interesting #1 bibimbap, and ordered the beef dolsot bibimbap. A mix of rice, vegetables, meat and a freshly cracked egg in a stone pot, the dish is filling and comforting. Like the dumplings, the mix of the soft rice and crunchy bean sprouts (with the bean) stood out. Richly flavored bits of beef add texture and flavor. It came with a variety of traditional Korean side dishes (panchan), as well as radish soup and seaweed soup, which are basically light broths.



I ordered cold noodles (neng myung) from Plaza. The thin noodles are served in a tin bowl, floating in a clear, thick, faintly sweet liquid, with cucumbers, a boiled egg and bean sprouts on top. The nest of noodles can be a little hard to untangle for the inexperienced. Both the noodles and the soup have a delicate flavor. While I enjoyed the noodles (I love noodles), the lack of a strong flavor in either the liquid or noodles left me feeling like something was missing. However, this was the third dish we sampled and thus the stronger flavors of the first two may have made noodles pale in contrast. I can also see how on a hot day, one would not want strong flavors drowning out the cool noodles.





Each dish was around $7, quite a bargain. I highly recommend a visit to Koreatown Plaza’s food court as well as a stroll around mall, especially some browsing time at The Plaza Market.

Editors Note: After Hiking Gourtmet T left, Raven and I went to get some pot bing soo:



Koreatown Plaza Food(ie) Court
928 S. Western Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90006
www.koreatownplaza.com

Beacon, an Asian Cafe

Below, two views of the luscious yaki udon: glistening strands of udon noodles stir fried with slivers of tender pork, green onions, cabbage, and kim chee. The kim chee is what makes this dish for me - it highlights the other flavors (mostly bland) plus the funkiness of the kim chee gives this everyday dish a little oomph.

Beacon, although officially located in the City of Los Angeles, is a big part of Culver City's dynamic dining scene. Situated in the southern corner of the Helms Bakery Complex (right across the street from The Jazz Bakery and my favorite cheap steak frites place, La Dijonnaise), Beacon became, right from the start, not only a destination restaurant but a favorite with the locals as well.

Below, iced green tea and pomegranate sake. In the past I've had the pleasure of sipping the lychee infused sake as well as pineapple.

Below, the Beacon Roll: no rice nor nori, just salmon, crab, and avocado wrapped in a thin layer of cucumber topped with the distinct ponzu gelee and sesame seeds. I feel like Violet Beauregarde, before she inflates, as I chew one of these delicious little morsels: each component's taste comes through yet they all blend so perfectly with one another.

Below, a beautiful sugar snap salad with radishes and goat cheese, diffused with daikon sprouts.

Below, the delicate and very elegant avocado salad with mixed greens, cilantro, Tokyo negi (a Japanese green onion which tastes kind of sweet - the flavor reminds me a bit of fennel), and kuro goma (black sesame seed) with a rice wine vinaigrette.

One of my other favorite salads, the stir fried mushroom salad. I hate to admit this, but I never knew that this salad existed until I saw a Rachel Ray show (this is so embarrassing!) several years ago and she was knoshing on this salad. The next time that I went I ordered it out of curiosity and it has been one of my standards since. I especially love the flavored almonds and the marinated carrots.

Below, a carnivore's delight: a half pound burger with carmelized onions, bacon, and a posh cheese, and the meat has a sweet soy glaze on it.

Below, Les Beaux Cheveux, Esq. ordered the upscale Ring Ding for dessert. I am not from back east so I didn't know that a Ring Ding is a Ding Dong; had I known, I would have ordered one too since I am a Ding Dong fanatic.

Beacon
3280 Helms Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90034
www.beacon-la.com

The Noodle Soup Series: Mami Soup at Asian Noodles

Below, the infamous Filipino dish Mami Soup. If you have a cold, head to Asian Noodles in Downtown and you will be assured a cure. Mami is an amalgam of Tagalog words for chicken ("manok") and egg noodles ("miki").

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict

I'm one of those people who dislikes Filipino food but every time that I eat it, I'm always moaning about how good it is; what is the cause of this dichotomy?

My Doppelganger had a "Soup's On!" event here a while back, and I was a little hesitant to attend considering that I don't like Filipino food. But I do love noodle soup and I figured, "how bad can it be?" It wasn't bad at all, and as a matter of fact is why quite great and I could eat at Asian Noodles daily especially now that the weather is getting cold again. (Ok, apparently it's not cold, it's like 80 degrees and above during the day but I'm in my office where I think someone might be aging beef it's so damn cold)

Below, a slight variation on the classic Mami Soup: this soup had wontons and a different type of noodle. I preferred the thicker, flatter noodle served in the classic version.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict

Below, some fried wontons. These looked really good but they were so-so and the dipping sauce was really boring.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict

But luckily, someone ordered Lumpia! These were excellent and came with a great sweet and spicy dipping sauce.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict

Below, my Bola Bola Siopao. A Siopao is similar to a Chinese Bao but three times bigger. There were many types of Siopao on the menu but I went all out and ordered the Bola Bola which was supposed to have chicken, pork, sausage, and a salted egg but mine was sans salted egg(though, I still enjoyed it.) I used three different sauces for dipping: the sweet spicy sauce from the Lumpia; some Sriracha sauce; and the all-purpose dipping sauce that they served which is made from soy sauce, sugar, water, and cornstarch.

Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/la_addict

Despite how good our food was, we were dying to take photos of the garlic fried rice and deep fried pork shank that the table of 20 somethings next to us ordered. However, when we saw their food and started oohing and aahing, they did what any 20 something worth his or her salt would do: they rolled their eyes and then glared at us with that perfect balance of disgust and contempt. Oh, how I weep for that generation! But I delight in shadenfreude thinking about how when they are "slightly" older they too will experience this.

Asian Noodles

643 North Spring Street

Los Angeles, CA 90012