Thank you from those of us not in the know. 
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Wait what
Oh
The Chinatown Lien Hoa is different from the Little Saigon shops in the fact that they do Banh Mi’s with roast pork and char siu. It won’t be the best Banh Mi or Chinese bbq, but it’s a pretty damn good idea and something one can do themselves ie
Saigon Bakery x Lien Hoa
New Duong Son x Ba Le
Sam Woo/Ho Kee x Saigon Bakery
RUBY BBQ x Saigon Bakery
It might be the only Chinese bbq shop doing this
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Yeah sorry, fixed it. To this geographically-challenged Westsider, Chinatown and DTLA are one and the same 
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Unfortunately recent photos of Hing Lung Cafe’s porridge seems to be…off. Probably because of takeout, and the fact that they serve the congee in clay/ceramic mini pots dine in. Maybe still working the kinks…I’ll try congee takeout sometime once this heat wave thing dies off. The other dishes including stir fry are quite solid though.
Last time I had Ming Tai’s shui gow dine in, it wasn’t that great. They are doing takeout now, but the front door windows show labels of hot pot to go, so I wonder if their business is shrinking. Hard sell for me to go there, since Tak Kee Lee is a couple doors up.
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Yes, good eye! The raw Caledonia shrimp is utterly fresh, and frickin’ tasty!
The honmaguro akami zuke was wild, both in provenance and flavor. It was daaark in color (read: lots of iron), so it didn’t photograph so well (photographer fail)…
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Shin Sushi x Pizza Wagon x Fat Tuesday triple bang
Deluxe Bara Chirashi - first time eating anything from Shin, and what a great introduction! Everything was high quality and although it looked small at first, I was definitely full after. The ikura throughout was the best part.
Pepperoni pie and half pesto/half sausage pie (not pictured). I liked both pizzas but didn’t love them. Sergio was in the kitchen and took my order, so I think I got the full experience? The balance is just off for me - bland crust with too much cheese. So the first and last bite of each slice is bland/underseasoned, and then everything in between is too salty. The pesto in particular was overwhelmed by all the cheese.
Literally across the street from Pizza Wagon is Fat Tuesday, a New Orleans place I hadn’t seen mentioned here before. I love anything New Orleans, so I had to give it a try - and I liked the meal but didn’t love it. Everything here is cooked really nicely - even the chicken white meat was moist and tender in the gumbo. But they’re so heavy handed with certain seasoning. Both the jambalaya (pictured) and gumbo had some great flavors but were ultimately overwhelmed by excessive black pepper, so that’s all you taste after a while. I’d go back to scratch the itch though, and everyone’s super friendly there.
https://www.eatatfattuesday.com/
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Yes - I don’t really know anything about the place or the man, Yoshi
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Formerly of mori, SGO, and shin sushi. He has a pretty good following.
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If you don’t I really don’t!
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When my folks come to town we feast, often joking that our family motto is “I could eat”. We stuck with takeout this time, turning to some old favorites and trying some new spots they’ve not had during previous visits.
El Ruso x X’tiosu Kitchen
First up are two spots that we’ve been eyeing, but are first time visits for us.
El Ruso absolutely delivers on what we’ve heard/seen. We made sure to go on Friday to get their flour tortillas, which I feel are right up there with some of the best in town. The highlight was the adobada which charred and dripping with juice. We also did the mole and the asada to round it out.
X’tiosu Kitchen was a short drive away and we had been wanting to them after hearing about the chicken shawarma taco. The tacos were stuffed and the tortillas barely held up as we devoured them and the Oaxacan tabbouleh salad (where nopalitos stand in for the bulger) was bright and very parsley forward. This was definitely a memorable first impression as the interplay between the Lebanese and Oaxacan flavors was something we’re eager to revist (so we can try more), especially after better understanding the history behind Lebanese cooking’s influence on Mexican cuisine.
Porridge + Puffs
The five course takeout meal that Porridge + Puffs is offering for the month of August was something we knew we had to try. We love everything that Chef Phan and her team do (my parents rant about the restaurant not having any Michelin stars) but have only gone for Brunch. I’ve always missed her pinch dinners, but heard great things, and if this five course set was any indication of what she does on a weekly basis for those dinners, it’s something that I’ll need to work into my rotation more regularly. Everything from the pickles, to the perfectly cooked pork ribs hit the spot. The corn and bacon orzo was so rich and creamy my eyes were rolling back in my skull. The two standouts though were the baby corn cake with Chinese sausage (essentially a tamale with a delightful tomatillo sauce) and the pluot galette that closed out the meal.
Katsu Sando x Konbi egg salad showdown
We’d had Katsu Sando before at Smorgaburg, but thought it would be fun to check out the brick and mortar, focusing on their grab n’ go options. Everything here was good, about what we’d expect reading the menu. The slaw had a satisfying tang, but lost a bit of its crunch–not sure if it was from the trip back home or if it had just been prepared too far in advance. Pickles packed a punch and had a nice crunch, but leaned a bit salty for our tastes. Onigiri was spam and egg and was quite fun, but crumbled a bit as we bit into it. The egg salad sando (the reason for our visit) was creamy and satisfying, and very much reminded us of something we’d prepare at home.
Konbi is one of our favorites (my mom loves their egg salad sandwich) and we knew this was our baseline. Both the new dishes we ordered, the marinated yuba and the tomato salad, were pleasant treats. The marinated yuba came with thin strips of melon that stood out and gave the dish a sweetness that we really enjoyed, whereas the tomato salad really just let the tomatoes shine. The sake lees vinaigrette that came with the tomatoes was so tasty that we saved the rest to toss with a simple salad that evening. The layered omelette sandwich is a personal favorite and was every bit as soft and juicy as I’ve come to expect. Finally, the egg salad sandwich just pops. It’s a bit less creamy than Katsu Sando version, but its chefed up and the little details like the hint of rice vinegar and the scallion elevate it to something that we’re always happy to come back to. While we miss dining in at the little counter Konbi has, the pre-order and pick up situation is so efficient that it nearly makes up for missing out on that experience.
Spago x Fukuno
We’ve never had the opportunity to dine at Spago, but with the takeout situation we though it would be novel to try one of its signature dishes. We ordered the smoked salmon pizza kit ahead of time through Tock, but when we arrived at home realized they had actually given us the entire thing premade instead of letting us put it together at home. We quickly devoured it and even though it probably would have been even better before the drive home, it was still enjoyable.
We also headed out to get bento boxes and battera from Fukuno and loved every bite. The adorable couple that runs the operation really does something special in their tiny kitchen. Each piece in the bento was thoughtfully composed and reminded us of our trip to Japan a couple years ago with the variety of components that gave us little bites of everything. The battera was also great and something that we’ll order at every opportunity.
Mini Kabob
Despite the heat wave this weekend my folks wanted to head out to see gardens at the Huntington 
so I took the opportunity to take them to Mini Kabob. My mom quickly declared these the “best kabobs” she’s ever had in her life, and I wouldn’t necessarily fight her on it. The humble restaurant churns out some of the juiciest, most satisfying bites we had during their visit. Also, special shout out to Chef Armen, who was running the entire show by himself–juggling multiple orders–but still made time to make sure we felt personally taken care of.
Fat and Flour
If I have a vice, it’s whatever Chef Rucker is putting together weekly at Fat and Flour. This week it was her Peach Dumpling (!!!) that was equally cute and luscious, and the figgy frangipane, which is my favorite of the seasonal mini pies she’s been putting together each week.
We still feel like we could eat, but that’ll need to wait until next time.
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Picture of Yoshi-san (the shokunin on the right) helping out Take-san at Shin Sushi during the grand opening:
A master journeyman, plying his trade. The ronin of nigiri, the daimyo of deliciousness…
(gonna need Michael Buffer to finish this bio - lol)
Seriously, you’ve probably seen his face before. He’s easy-going, and enjoys serving great food to his customers, and cannot resist J_L’s famous potato salad.
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I recognize him. Gosh, isn’t it kind of amazing - and sad - that there were ever 3 sushi men behind the counter at Shin. Even post-Michelin I don’t think I saw more people than Take could handle alone.
From KevinEats blog, Mori Sushi 7/13/2013, featuring Take san on the right, and Yoshi san on the left with glasses!
The Three Omakaseteers
Must have been a legendary period in time. Kind of like The Cure 89 era with Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, Roger O’ Donnell, or Depeche Mode with Alan Wilder.
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One of the reasons why I think we get a lot of takeout is because we can’t beat our living room view.
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… or New Order with Peter Hook.
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Awesome rundown. So glad to hear that about mini kabob and that tamale, corn husk peeled back, was one of the beautiful dishes I’ve seen.
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