Little Jewel
Their fun, hand-written menu on the wall:
Spicy Creole Jambalaya (Chicken, Shrimp, Andouille Sausage, and House Corn Bread):
This was zesty, a bit spicy, but not overwhelmingly so, with plenty of chunks of Chicken, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage.
Little Jewel Fish ‘N Shrimp Po’ Boy (Golden Fried Catfish, Shrimp and House Remoulade Sauce):
Their Fried Catfish had a nice subtle crunch, and their Bread was sturdy enough to stand up to all of the Remoulade, Catfish and Shrimp without disintegrating.
Their Fried Shrimp also had a bit of a crunch to it, and was pretty well seasoned. Overall a tasty Po’ Boy. 
I still need to go back and try their Red Beans and Rice next time.
The Little Jewel of New Orleans
207 Ord St.
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tel: (213) 620-0461
Boston Lobster
I remember @Sgee @Ns1 @chandavkl @J_L talking about Boston Lobster a while back and we’ve been meaning to try it once to see how it compared to Newport Seafood. As @chandavkl mentioned (and 2 different friends of ours from the SGV (one who knew some of the staff at Newport)), Boston Lobster is made up of some former Newport Seafood staff (chef and servers) that left and opened up this place.
As Newport’s wait time is still ridiculously long at most times of the day, we took a chance here. First, luckily we had reservations because when we showed up there was a line out the door (maybe 10 - 15 people waiting around).
Walking inside, it is as @Ns1 said: It’s a hole-in-the-wall, very simple white walls, and the overall decor is definitely below that of Newport Seafood.
Glancing at the menu, it looked really similar to Newport Seafood.
Braided Crab Meat and Fish Maw Soup:
This was fine, a slightly thicker Fish Maw Soup, and the Fish Maw and Crab Meat went well with a bit of the Red Vinegar they served with it. 
French Style Beef Cubes (Bo Luc Lac):
One of the most popular dishes from Newport Seafood, Boston Lobster’s version of Bo Luc Lac (French Style Beef Cubes) is tender, peppery and delicious.
This was definitely better than our last visit to Newport Seafood (which was so awful, we no longer want to return).
Boston House Special Lobster:
And here was Boston Lobster’s version of the famous Newport Seafood Live Lobster. They also have the ridiculously large Live Lobsters and will ask you how many pounds you want.
It looked just like Newport Seafood’s version. But there was something off about the taste: There was a strange mineral-y, weird aftertaste.
The meat itself tasted fresh, but perhaps this was due to their fish tank / water condition? Or that this Lobster might’ve been too old? Just guessing at this point.
The actual Sauce and flavors outside of that were pretty close to Newport, but Newport Seafood’s Lobster is definitely better on this night (even with our downhill / bad last experience there).
They give you an option for Noodles to soak up the Lobster Sauce, which sounded great, but ultimately it felt like an unnecessary addition for us.
Steamed Whole Fish:
This was fine. It was better than Newport Seafood’s version from our last visit, but nowhere near as good as the best HK / Cantonese versions at Sea Harbour (or Elite).
Sea Cucumber with Black Mushrooms:
This was also OK. Nothing too special, but the Sea Cucumbers were sufficiently soft while still having some body, with tender Bamboo Shoots and Mushrooms.
Sauteed Pea Shoots with Garlic:
This was nicely sauteed and delicious. I loved the Garlic and Spring-like flavors of these Pea Shoots. 
Yang Chow Fried Rice:
This was pretty mediocre. Especially in comparison to the strong breath of the wok from places like Dragon Beaux, and even our recent visit to Sam Woo BBQ.
Boston House Special Crab:
This was delicious!
The Live Crab had a natural sweetness to the meat, and the additional wok-fired flavors came through in each bite, nicely seasoned with Green Onions and Salt, without being too salty. This was better than our last visit to Newport Seafood.
One huge difference between the current iteration of Newport Seafood and Boston Lobster is that Boston Lobster’s staff (our SGV friends recognized a couple of the servers from Newport) is much more friendly. Our last visit to Newport Seafood was a major disappointment: The food was worse, the staff was almost all changed out (a few of our SGV friends pointed that out) and the new staff was downright rude to us, refusing even the most basic Tea refills or coming over when we needed something.
Boston Lobster really does seem like a toss-up in terms of food when compared to Newport Seafood, although we all thought Boston Lobster’s French Style Beef Cubes, House Special Live Crab and Steamed Fish were better than Newport Seafood’s version (from our last visit). Newport Seafood’s Lobster was better though, but perhaps it was a fluke (a bad Lobster) that we got on this visit.
But Newport Seafood still has the decor and ambiance (although with the new staff it was filthy in the dining room (floor was oily / slippery(!), chopsticks and napkins on the floor, etc.).
Also with 626 Lobster opened up (one of our friends said they also have former Newport Seafood staff), I’m curious if that’s even better?
At this point, if we’re in the mood for this type of food, we’d rather go visit the OC location of Newport Seafood, or try 626 Lobster once, or just go to Sea Harbour and enjoy HK / Cantonese style with much better execution.
Boston Lobster Seafood Restaurant
727 E. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Tel: (626) 288-4388
Jopok Topokki
Thanks to @selfish_shellfish for pointing out that Jopok Topokki served the Korean dish known as Jumeokbap, which is a “make your own Korean Rice Ball” dish.
Ever since having Jumeokbap at Majordomo (one of our favorite dishes there!), we’ve been obsessed with finding out where they might serve it around L.A. (it must’ve existed before Majordomo obviously).
So off we went to try Jopok.
Topokki:
The restaurant is named after this Korean dish, made up of cylindrical Rice Cakes cooked in a very spicy stew! This thing was spicy! Wow.
The heat grows on you and after a few bites, I couldn’t stop sweating and my mouth was on fire.
It had a bit of sweetness to the savory, super spicy Soup.
Jumeokbap (Hand-Crafted Rice Balls):
And then the dish we came here for: Jopok’s Jumeokbap arrives in a metal bowl just like what we experienced at Majordomo, except here it was much more simple, with it mainly being Steamed Rice, Seaweed, Sesame Seeds and Yellow Pickled Radishes.
You mix it all up with your hands(!) (they provide a plastic glove for you) and…
You form your own Rice Balls out of the mixture. It’s very tasty and fun.
I really liked the crunch from the Yellow Pickled Radishes and the Nori (Seaweed) provided a nice umami flavor as well.
But now that we’ve experienced a “normal” version at a place in K-Town, the version at Majordomo was much better. The ingredients, subtleties in flavor and the elevated execution helped (whereas it failed for Majordomo’s other offerings like their Galbijjim (Short Rib Stew) or their Bossam).
Jopok Topokki
3407 W. 6th Street
Los Angeles, CA 90020
Tel: (213) 908-5500
Quan De 7 Mon
Thanks to @ipsedixit for mentioning this place that served Vietnamese Goat dishes(!), we were curious and wanted to see what it was like.
If you’re craving Balut (
) there’s a store selling it in the same plaza:
Glancing over this menu, it definitely had some exotic menu items that would make Andrew Zimmern feel right at home with his “Bizarre Eats” TV show. There were items like Goat Testicle and Chinese Herbs and Goat Chitterlings, and Rooster Testicles.

De Xao Lan (Stir-Fried Goat Meat):
While the menu said “Stir Fried Goat Meat,” this was actually Goat in Curry Sauce. This tasted… OK. The Yellow Curry reminded us of a very basic Chinese Yellow Curry (mild, even, simple), which is OK. The Goat was very tender, but tasted a bit lukewarm for some reason.
Oc Huong Nuong Bo Toi (Grlled Snails with Butter and Garlic):
These were rather bland. They arrived on a sizzling metal plate and the Grilled Snails were lightly chewy, but really underseasoned. The bit of Garlic and Butter Crumbs on top helped, but there was no Salt.
Suon De Nuong (Grilled Goat Ribs):
This sounded great. Unfortunately the Grilled Goat Ribs were really chewy, with lots of sinew / connective tissue and they were just gristly. 
They were very well seasoned though, and if the Goat Ribs were more tender / the connective tissue cleaned / removed, this might’ve been very good.
I had no idea there was a whole sub-cuisine for Vietnamese Goat dishes.
@Ns1 @attran99 do you have any recommendations on places?
Quan De 7 Mon
9663 Garvey Ave., Suite 209
El Monte, CA 91733
Tel: (626) 401-9999