Catching up on some meals from a few months ago. Perhaps some ideas for Takeout.
Spoon By H
Spoon By H blew up in popularity thanks to Chef David Changâs (Momofuku, Majordomo) grandiose comment, proclaiming it his ârestaurant of the year.â That was high praise, but considering how mixed his menus are at his restaurants, we were cautiously optimistic.
Walking in, Spoon By H looks like a cheery Dessert Shop (its original focus), and it seems the owner has been adding savory Korean dishes to the menu over time.
Mango Ice Cream Float:
Visually, all of Spoon By Hâs Dessert / Drinks are gorgeous. It looks developed for Instagram.
Taking a sip: The dream is shattered. Itâs so sweet itâs saccharine. It tasted of Sprite, with more Sugar added, then the Mango and other fruity bits. And then you had Vanilla Ice Cream scooped on top. I gave up mainstream Soda a longtime ago, and after a couple of sips, I couldnât drink anymore.
Pork Belly Dumpling Soup:
The cashier strongly recommended their Pork Belly Dumpling Soup as the âmust tryâ item. First, this doesnât look very common. Taking a sip, the Soup is watery and thin, however it has good flavor, savory, peppery, and the Fried Shallots on top really enhanced the flavor.
The Mandu Dumplings were solid, fresh-tasting, but nothing mind-blowing. The Glass Noodles, Shredded Carrots, thin strips of Pork Belly (boiled) finished things off.
2nd Visit:
Kimchi Fried Rice:
This is clearly fusion territory, as their Kimchi Fried Rice came with some generic-tasting, mass produced Shredded Mozzarella Cheese on top(!).
Mixing it all up, it works. The generic pre-shredded Mozzarella Cheese is unremarkable, but adds a bit of creaminess to each bite. The Kimchi was mediocre (as @JeetKuneBao pointed out), and the Fried Rice had zero Wok Hei (Breath of the Wok). At $16 (+ tax & tip), this felt like poor QPR.
Blue Yuzu Limeade with Butterfly Pea Tea:
Another pretty-looking Drink, I love Yuzu normally, and couldnât wait to see what this was like. It was sadly, as sickly sweet as the previous visitâs Mango Drink. Itâs not a little sweet, itâs like this was made for little kids who can pound multiple cans of Coke or Sprite and down mass produced Candy Bars in a single sitting and feel happy about it. It reminds me of the Rain Drop Dessert that @PorkyBelly called out at Smorgasburg: Made for Instagram. Taste? Not so much.
Beef Short Rib Rice Cake Soup:
Their newer menu item, the Beef Short Rib Rice Cake Soup, reused the same watery Soup from their most popular menu item, the Pork Belly Dumpling Soup. As before, the Soup itself was nicely savory, if a bit thin, but it wouldâve been nice to see some variation / innovation, instead of reusing the same base.
The Beef Short Rib meat was a bit chewy, but tender enough. It couldâve been cooked down a bit more, to be more tender, but it works. The Rice Cakes were just carbs to fill out the dish, nothing more.
Spoon By H feels like a nice neighborhood spot for Instagram-friendly Desserts & Drinks (but with enough Sugar to give you diabetes), and nice Korean fusion dishes that put a different spin on what youâre used to. Nothing was mind-blowing or amazing, and it certainly wasnât even close to being what Chef David Chang calls ârestaurant of the year.â Not even close. Perhaps heâs hyping up a fellow Korean to help their business out.
Iâd agree with @AlwaysHungry and other FTCâers in saying Spoon By H is decent at best; nice for the neighborhood, but weâre in no hurry to return.
Spoon By H
7158 Beverly Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: (323) 930-0789
Jon & Vinnyâs (Fairfax) (Revisit)
Mafaldine (Six Hour Bolognese, Parmesan):
Mouth-wateringly delicious! Deeply savory, meaty, tasting like itâs been slow-cooked for hours. The Mafaldine Pasta was a nice al dente as well.
The one question is if you think this Pasta is worth $30 ($23.25 + tax + automatic 18% service charge)?
Sarah & Shiriâs Super Shroom Pizza (Mushroom, Garlic Rachera, Parmesan, Oregano):
Jon & Vinnyâs Pizzas might be off-putting to some. Itâs a thinner, sturdier crust, and many of the Pies are a bit too oily (you can see the Oil seeping through the crust above).
I love Mushrooms, and this was generally pretty tasty, with plenty of Mushrooms, funky Cheese and a tangy Tomato Sauce, but the Sauce and Pizza dough feel like they take away from the overall enjoyment. Itâs not âbadâ at all, but on a better Pizza Crust and a more balanced Red Sauce, this Pizza would be outstanding.
PSA: Jon & Vinnyâs charges an automatic 18% Service Charge to the final bill, but if you werenât paying attention to the line item, they also list a âTipâ line, with no mention of it being in addition to the Service Charge. At many restaurants they at least have the decency of either listing it as âAdditional Tipâ, or the servers will circle / tell you explicitly that thereâs an automatic 18% Service Charge added already, but Jon & Vinnyâs did neither on this visit.
Jon & Vinnyâs (Fairfax)
412 N. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: (323) 334-3369
Bhan Kanom Thai
Love this little mom & pop Thai Dessert specialist in the heart of Thai Town.
Kanom Bueng (Crispy Crepe):
Has anyone tried this Thai Dessert here? (@JeetKuneBao and others.) Just wondering if itâs worth a try. Thanks.
Pangchi (Taro, Corn, Coconut, Sugar, Flour):
My favorite Dessert at Bhan Kanom Thai is the Pangchi. If you love Taro, this Dessert is for you! Be sure to check if they are making a fresh batch (they make them throughout the day). It arrives piping hot, crisped, fragrant, tropical, lightly earthy, balanced, not too sweet but just delicious!
Bhan Kanom Thai
5271 Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
Tel: (323) 871-8030
Mountain
The partially overlooked restaurant next to the ever-popular Sun Nong Dan in Koreatown, we remembered a few FTCâers recommending this spot, so we finally remembered to stop by and give it a try.
(Complimentary) Banchan:
While their Banchan (Small Side Dishes) are a bit standard, they had a unique offering on our visit: Stewed Beef(!), which was pretty tasty.
Cow & Ox Foot in Soup with Rice (Marrow Bone Soup):
Like most Sul Lung Tang specialists, Mountainâs Cow & Ox Foot Soup arrives unadorned, and you can choose to add however much Salt and Green Onions as you like. Taking a sip: Nice, mellow beefiness. Solid, respectable. While it doesnât dethrone K-Townâs best, itâs great for a late night bite.
Whole Chicken, Ginseng, Garlic, Jujube, Pine Nuts, Ginger & Sweet Rice in Chicken Soup with Rice:
Mountainâs version of Samgye Tang (Ginseng Chicken Soup) has a nice Chicken broth base, was perfectly warming on the chilly evening when we visited, and lightly herbal and nutty. We preferred Buil Sam Gye Tang (@TheCookie), but since Mountain is open 24 hours a day(!), this is a good alternative when Buil is closed.
Mountain
3470 W. 6th St. #5
Los Angeles, CA 90020
Tel: (213) 487-7615
Western Doma Noodle
A big thanks to @skramzlife @JeetKuneBao for the recommendation, Western Doma Noodle is a quiet little mom & pop shop in a nondescript strip mall in Koreatown.
Loved the array of free Banchan!
(Complimentary) Banchan (Small Side Dishes):
Western Doma Noodleâs Banchan variety is nice. I really enjoyed quite a few of them, all very solid to great. I think Soban and Parkâs BBQâs Banchan are still our favorites in K-Town (so far), but Western Domaâs was quite good.
Dak Dori Tang (Tender Chicken Portions Served with Potatoes and Carrots, Mixed with Special Herbs and Sauce):
There was some nice heat (you can order it Spicy or Non-Spicy), beautiful aromatics, Garlic, Ginger, Green Onions, Sesame nuttiness, and a solid punch of Gochujang (Chili Paste). The slow-cooked Chicken morsels were tender, moist, and beautifully marinated in the Sauce. Delicious!
Dolsot Bibimbap (Hot Stone Pot Mixed Rice):
Western Domaâs version of Dolsot Bibimbap (Hot Stone Pot Mixed Rice) was quite enjoyable: The Rice gets nice and crispy on the edges, and then you mix everything together for a balanced bite of some Spinach, Carrots, Seaweed, Stewed Mushrooms, Squash, Radishes and an Egg that gets cooked as you mix it in with the blazing hot Stone Pot.
We canât wait to try more items at Western Doma Noodle in the future.
Western Doma Noodle
429 N. Western Ave. # 10
Los Angeles, CA 90004
Tel: (323) 871-1955