Eat. Travel. Eat!

Opened at the start of 2020, Pearl River Deli (PRD) is a burgeoning Cantonese food concept operated by chef Johnny Lee , located next to Howlin Rays in Los Angeles' Chinatown's Far East Plaza. Extensive forum posts on Food Talk Central ( 1 , 2 ) and articles published by  Eater , Los Angeles Times , amongst other outlets, have highlighted the innovative cooking going on: a focused menu of Cantonese classics with the volume turned up alongside weekly specials featuring cuisines not limited to Thai, Vietnamese, Yunnan, and more. Hence, on a recent outing in Los Angeles, I had to make a stop here to experience PRD for myself. I phoned my order in via phone, and got an expected wait time of 20 minutes. The estimate was correct, with my order just about to be boxed up when I arrived. Notably, pickup was rather safe, with payment done at the doorway entrance (hand sanitizer available),  a vinyl shield protecting the employees from the outside, and all employees wearing masks. Outdoo...

Recently brought to my attention was thali. Literally, it describes a metal plate in which is used to serve food. But, it also be an eating experience--where food comes in an all-you-can-eat format. Unlike a buffet however, the employees at thali restaurants serve the food directly at your table, refilling your thali as you progress through your meal. A friend of mine noted Rajdhani Restaurant in Artesia, CA as a good example of such experience in the Los Angeles area. Known for its vegetarian thali, the restaurant is quite popular. Indeed, we waited for around 10 minutes before getting a seat.

Maccheroni Republic specializes in "artisan handmade fresh organic pasta" at an affordable price point, and is quite popular in the city, having long waits (now made more convenient, with a Yelp waitlist feature ). We decided to check it out for lunch during their DineLA week earlier this year. Stopping by at its opening time for lunch (11 AM), we didn't need to wait long for a table, as the waiters quickly brought a small queue of customers waiting outside to their seats both inside and outside of the restaurants. The interior was rather cozy with tables located quite close to each other, so we opted to sit outside, which was kept warm in a rather cool morning with several heaters.  Alongside each table was bottles of oil (both olive and chili) and vinegar to accompany the bread, which was crusty outside and soft inside.

Kobunga Korean Grill, a fast-casual Korean barbecue restaurant, is opening its first brick-and-mortar outlet at the USC Village, a multi-use residential, dining, and shopping complex located adjacent to the University of Southern California's University Park Campus. Funded by Kickstarter , Kobunga aims to make Korean barbecue accessible to the larger population. They recently soft-opened (this Wednesday) and will be having their grand opening this Saturday. Housed in a small storefront, no seating is available inside the restaurant, although ample outside seating is available. Ordering is done at the counter, and one can wait on the side for their order. Menu options include a "Build Your Own Plate" option as well as a salad driven option where two types of greens can be paired with a choice of dressing and protein. The Build Your Own Plate option includes a choice of protein (Short Ribs, Bulgogi, Pork Belly, Marinated Chicken, and Soft Tofu), base (brown rice, white...

Lao Xi Er Noodle House (老西兒面馆) is a recent entrant to the San Gabriel Valley noodle scene, specializing in Shanxi style noodles. Located in the southern part of Arcadia, Lao Xi Er adds a different perspective to a mélange of varied dining options located less than one block away from one another, not limited to Italian ( Alex Di Peppe's ), Vietnamese ( Pho-licious ), Japanese ( Mako Sushi ), Mexician ( Cabreras ), Taiwanese ( Cafe Fusion ), and Chinese ( Fishing Boat Chinese Cuisine ). After hearing about Lao Xi Er from Clarissa Wei's post on  Eater , we visited and since then, Lao Xi Er has become one of our go-to places for noodles. Within its small, humble surroundings (there are around 10 tables in the restaurant), the husband-wife duo and their team serves up a small selection of noodles, soups, dumplings, and a handful of appetizers and entrees that are quite well-executed.

State Bird Provisions is an "adventurous, inventive, delicious, thoughtful contemporary American restaurant"  that has received major praise , and happens to be one of the hottest spots for dinner in San Francisco. So when I found out we could secure a late night reservation here on a recent trip, I put it on our to-do list.

Having enjoyed vegan/vegetarian focused restaurants in the past ( Cafe Gratitude , Real Food Daily ), we started off a visit to Santa Barbara by visiting Mesa Verde for lunch. It had been positively reviewed on multiple websites, and its own website showcased beautifully crafted vegetarian cuisine. Housed in its own quaint grey and green building, parking is a tight, only having a few dedicated spots in the parking lot.  Although we arrived relatively late for lunch (around 2pm), we still had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table. The restaurant was near capacity, and employees were busy in the kitchen and serving customers seated indoors and outdoors. The environment was still relaxed, with locals enjoying a wide number of items from the menu. The owner happened to serve us that day, and apologized for the wait. After ordering and asking for his input on recommended lunch items-- the Patatas Bravas Tacos and Picadillo Empanadas came highly recommended--he provided u...

Established in 1986, Javan Restaurant is a Middle Eastern restaurant located on the Westside focusing on Persian food.    Inside, the environment was decidedly upscale, with a bar, a white grand piano, stone tables, wood accents, and plenty of pictures adorning the walls. All the waiters, moreover, were dressed quite formally with dress shirts and ties.

We've greatly enjoyed our past visits to Larchmont's Cafe Gratitude , and so we were glad to hear that Cafe Gratitude has also opened up in Downtown's Art District--making a for a shorter drive to enjoy their creative vegan and organic foods. The Arts District location takes more of a light colored approach (instead of an emphasis on turquoise), with white chairs and benches, grey walls, yellow chairs, green plants, and woods throughout the entire location. It's also much larger than the Larchmont location--we made reservations, given Cafe Gratitude's general popularity and dineLA, but found out that the restaurant was less than half full when we entered. Unlike some of the Yelp reviews about this location, service was great right from the moment we entered the restaurant. We were happily guided to our table, our waiters noted the dineLA menu and dinner specials, checked up on us to make sure we were ready to order (took a while given the many options!)...

Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, Lidia Bastianich , and Nancy Silverton's Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza have been extremely popular restaurants in Los Angeles, commanding queues that were hours long. So when we were recently in the area and found out on OpenTable that we could reserve seats for lunch at a time just less than a half an hour prior to arrival, we took the opportunity. Pizzeria Mozza is a relatively small restaurant, located adjacent to the larger Osteria Mozza (open for dinner only) and Mozza2Go. Inside, light toned woods and yellows set the tone--a skylight, which was filtered with a yellow skin, provided most of the lighting. A friendly vibe was immediately set with the upbeat employees, who immediately seated us and went through the menu in detail once we told them it was our first time dining here. We found out popular items, and also some notable differentiations--pizzetta meant a smaller pizza, and that any pizza that didn't list "tomato" on i...

I've recently gotten an interest in healthier foods and restaurants that specialize in healthy eating, such as Cafe Gratitude. Having greatly enjoyed Cafe Gratitude , I thought it wouldn't hurt to explore and try out a fellow restaurant chain also in the same organic, plant-based segment--Real Food Daily. While Cafe Gratitude likes to " provide inspired service, honest and transparent communication, and express gratitude for the richness of our lives ", Real Food Daily prides itself on being a destination where " community happens around education, connection and hospitality, over delicious, accessible food that’s real. " And indeed, there were parallels in both restaurants. The service was extremely friendly, the environment upbeat, natural, modern, and friendly, and people were enjoying a wide assortment of plant-based items--drinks and juices, appetizers, rice bowls, salads, and dessert.

A local Taiwanese restaurant chain specializing in breakfast and pastries, Yi Mei in recent years has also expanded to Monrovia, California, with a revamped, modern look. The Monrovia location takes on a modern, fast-casual concept, with the menu displayed on large television displays and ordering done at the counter. Condiments, like garlic soy sauce, chili oil, and vinegar, and utensils are located on a side table, and frozen items and pastries are located at another wall of the restaurant. Though breakfast is the main attraction--think a pastry, bread item, or rice item with soymilk--Yi Mei also offers a full lunch and dinner menu with various noodles, rice plates, and other Taiwanese specialties--that's the topic for today's post.

Trattoria Amici is a small, local, two location Italian restaurant chain (the other being in Brentwood ) focused on fresh ingredients, handmade pastas, and wine. On a recent visit to the Americana at Brand, we decided to visit it for lunch. . Inside, Trattoria Amici presents multiple seating areas and options, whether it be a covered patio or indoor seating with different setups. We were seated close to the main entrance, with plenty of sunlight flowing in from the windows. As we perused the regular menu and seasonal menu (spring) our waiter, who regularly checked up on us throughout our meal, brought us some warm, crust bread with fruity olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The soft interior and crusty exterior of the bread paired very well with the accompaniments, and were great to snack on while waiting for our main entrees. In curiosity of what handkerchief pasta would be like, I ordered the Fazzoletti Al Pesto, Gamberetti e Menta (19.95 USD) from the seasonal men...

A famous restaurant for Hainan Chicken Rice, Savoy Kitchen is a very small restaurant on Valley Boulevard that draws large crowds. But it isn't merely an Asian restaurant, but rather it serves both Asian and Italian options--you'll find pizza, pasta, bread, curry, and other options.

A growing 100% organic, plant-based restaurant chain, Cafe Gratitude offers healthful vegetarian foods in a positive, modern, and friendly ambiance. I was recommended to visit it by a friend, who lauded the positive atmosphere, and was pleasantly surprised by how tasty the vegetarian fare was. Inside, Cafe Gratitude is happy, positive, and clean, with natural tones and casual furnishings. The mood is set by the positive adjectives not only listed on the menus ("I am...") and boards, but also the employees, who are content and wear shirts that say "love" and other terms. Mindfulness, health, and wellness permeate the entire environment.

Part of the Waterside in Marina Del Rey, California, Sugarfish by Sushi Nozawa opened its first location here. A collaboration between Kazunori Nozawa, Jerry A. Greenberg, Tom Nozawa,  Lele Massimini ,  Cameron Broumand , and Clement Mok, Sugarfish aims to provide Sushi Nozawa style and quality sushi at a larger and more accessible scale. Such accessibility means that there are no sushi chefs or sushi bar viewable to the customers; rather, all the sushi is prepared in the kitchen and presented on tempo when one is ready to receive more food. Inside, it is sleek, and the menu is simplified -- although there are a la carte sushi, handroll, sashimi, and drink options, almost everyone, according to the menu and our server, orders one of the three Trust Me's: Trust Me Lite (17 USD), Trust Me (25 USD), and Nozawa Trust Me (35 USD). For simplicity's sake, we ordered one of each. As such, we began with plates of o rganic edamame (2.50 USD), which were also p...

Mercado La Paloma, a local community gathering place, is also home to a fine hodgepodge of quality restaurants--Thai, Ethiopian, American, Mexican, and Yucatecan cuisine can be found here. Chichen Itza, the restaurant that consistently has the longest queue of all the restaurants, specializes in Yucatecan cuisine (southeastern Mexican cuisine)-- the menu is filled with unique regional specialties . After ordering in person at Chichen Itza's counter, one receives a wooden stand with a number (for the employees to keep track of where to bring food to). Prior to the arrival of the food, an employee will bring over beverages as well as Chichen Itza's house Habanero Hot Sauce. It's a potent, fruity, extremely spicy, and slightly acidic hot sauce.

Widely known as a bibimbap specialist (their website is " bibimbap.webs.com ," if it wasn't already understood), Jeon Ju is a venerable place to visit for a Korean meal. Not only is their bibimbap well done, but so are lots of their other items.  As we perused the multi-paged menu, cups of smooth, weak barley tea were provided at the table. After ordering, we were presented with a wide array of banchan. There were six common items for the whole table--bean sprouts, marinated potatoes, sweetened, dried shrimp, daikon kimchi, a green pajeon, and napa cabbage kimchi. For each individual was a bowl of noodles in a lightly spicy broth and napa cabbage water kimchi. We found everything to be nicely done, and found the dried, crispy shrimp really fun to snack on. A condiment of green onions, sesame seeds, peppers and soy sauce was also provided for a larger haemul pajeon and yeong yang dolsot that we ordered.

After looking at Ma Dang Gook Soo's handmade noodles and acorn noodles featured on Gastronomy and Buzzfeed / The Actors Diet respectively, it didn't take much more to make our own visit to Ma Dang Gook Soo. When we visited on a Sunday evening, Ma Dang Gook Soo was operating at system capacity. The restaurant was full, but it didn't take much for us to wait in line before getting an open spot. Seated down, lots of people were enjoying the noodle options, seasoned spicy rice cake ( tteokbokki ), and bibimbap. Moreover, the friendly waitresses were eagerly serving the customers. When I wanted to learn more about some items which were only written in Korean on the wall (it was actually soy broth noodles), the waitress took her time to answer, and when I asked her about the soy broth, she even brought a small bowl for me to sample before deciding whether to order it.

  Having read Edwin Goei of Monster Munching's positive review of California Fish Grill and a recent feature on its poke on Stick a Fork In It of OC Weekly and being in the mood for poke and cooked fish while in Irvine, we finally visited California Fish Grill, a fast-casual seafood joint. During our weekday visit at lunchtime, it was packed, with local employees and families coming in for lunch. Both indoor and outdoor seating were packed except for the bar near the kitchen, people were ordering both take in and take out, and the kitchen's grill was completely filled with fish filets. Talk about good business! We began our meal with the New England Clam Chowder Bowl (4.49 USD) , a large bowl for a very reasonable price. It was not jam packed with clams, nor was it very heavy on the clam flavor (instead favoring the cream instead), but it was freshly made, with the potatoes cut into sharp cubes, and veggies cut into small pieces. We also liked that it came with oys...