review forthcoming @moonboy403?
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Here now. First customer on first day is a firstborn.
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Going next wknd. Stoked!
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I won’t do a full pictorial essay, but I had a good time on the inaugural eve at Firstborn LA. Located in the old Pok Pok space, the front entrance to the host station is through the courtyard, and not the Broadway door. House was pretty packed. Food luminaries spotted: Liwei Liao (The Joint Seafood) with food writer Andy Wang.
The first customer at the first seating on the first night at Firstborn…
N/A Hojicha Orange Milk Punch: I tried all the non-alcoholic drinks on the menu. This was the winner by a landslide. Really nicely textured, restrained but rich.
California Vegetable Rice: I know the word “fried” isn’t in the description for this dish, but I really wish it had a bit more “umph” (call it wok hei, call it savoriness, call it oil, whatever) so that it could stand on its own. Whatever the case, it’s a nice carb to accompany the meal, though. And maybe that’s the goal here.
BBQ Cabbage: With leeks vinaigrette… Lots of acidity (maybe dialed up a bit too much). Good texture.
Beef Short Rib: With black pepper jus, braised daikon… Requisite big beef dish, perfectly cooked.
Fried Chongqing Chicken: Without a doubt, the Star of the Show. Huge bite!!! Juicy, crispy, full of flavor. Available in 4-piece or 8-piece portions. Do not forget to order this…
Chamomile Custard: Green apple, cucumber, kinako shortbread… Not bad at all. Harkens back to Jordan Kahn vibes at Red Medicine… Someone report back on the strawberry shortcake dessert which I did not order.
Snow Jasmine Tea: Was this $6 cup of tea worth the 20+ minute wait? (The manager was super nice and comp’ed this due to the delay). Actually the tea resounded with depth.
butterwaffles-fluenced…
Firstborn LA
978 Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Firstborn.LA
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Thank you very much for the report. Assuming you paid for the meal, do you remember the pricing range for the dishes?
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By appearance and title, looks like the Shanghainese mixed rice. Did this Firstborn lookalike have lard / salt pork? Maybe not if it’s “California.”
Whole meal looks grand. Stoked to try it.
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i aspire to one day have my own collection of some of the food and travel stories you share here
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I’m not OP, but I had the same question as you, and couldn’t find the exact numbers, so grabbed a janky screenshot from instagram 
janky but was helpful for me at least. Maybe it’s changed
Going there Sunday! Looking forward to it.
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I was there last night with my dining companion. We ate in the dining room - which was lively and busy. The music was at a low volume. My goodness!
No photos of the food however one photo of the glassware in case you’re as impressed as we were.
We ordered and ate
BBQ Cabbage - really liked this dish
Carrot Congee - small pieces of pork belly for richness and unexpected citrus acidity
Tofu gnudi with mushroom brudo and artichoke - my dining companion thought the gnudi was the best thing (meaning the tofu dumplings), he was not impressed by the artichoke or the mushrooms. I found the brudo to be absolutely delicious.
California fried rice - great mustard flavor however agree with J_L that it needed more to hang together.
Fried chicken (8 pieces) - way too much and I should have stuck with my original impulse at four pieces.
With the orange NA cocktail, including the 4% kitchen surcharge but before tip, it all came out to $155ish.
I’d be interested in going back and trying different things - ideally sitting at the bar. Fingers crossed for a Happy Hour menu.
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Ok, it turns out this menu picture is from friends and family night and the regular menu is a little more!
Everyone has much better pictures but here are a couple 
Got the eggplant, tofu gnudi, steak tartare, sweetbreads, almond tofu. Tried a bunch of stuff here and there. Re: the vegetable rice - it’s good, it’s just unseasoned… makes sense as a side, but it’s kind of dressed towards fried rice/schmaltzy rice territory, so a little confusing.
Faves included the tofu gnudi and sweetbreads. We were avoiding the large entrees to as to get to try more, but actually those were really rich and satisfying. The sweetbreads with pig trotter ragu reminded me a lot of a hongshaorou/pork belly braise but turned into a ragu. It’s an animal fat bomb, really rich mouthfeel. Reminds me of yanduxian not in the flavor profile or texture, but just the intensity and indulgence …
Overall really enjoyed it. I liked how they do the almond tofu with what I learned is the traditional way, with apricot kernels, and so actually on this they are hewing “traditional” while it is actually all the almond tofu I had growing up — even at the good authentic Chinese restaurants me — that is “fake” or adulterated at least.
I also really enjoyed their take on the cold dish paradigm, a more refined or California-natural take. I feel like cold dishes elsewhere really lean into the sugar-salt-MSG trio (maybe this is the Shanghainese style?) and can get a little cloying. (I don’t mind MSG, but I don’t love it when it can be tasted super prominently).
Also the steak tartare really speaks to me as a second-gen who has got into the habit of dumping random s*** onto silken tofu and calling it a meal, just like my parents did. And again, appreciate the silken tofu salad vibe without the processed ingredients (the pickled mustard, pi dan).
Overall really enjoyed it! The tea does take a while though. It’s brewed by cup and I guess they do it all in a row, in serial. (Maybe I will include that as an example when teaching process analysis). I made the mistake of getting enticed by tea while ordering dessert. I wanted to try the sobacha, apparently it’s intentionally cacao-forward because otherwise it wouldn’t taste like much.
Will be back! Probably at the bar. Also hopeful for a happy hour menu. Appreciative of the restaurant opening up the streetscape.
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Dinner here was great.
Highlights were the mapo tofu tartare, egg custard with peas/bay scallops/fried shiso, the chicken (were people getting half orders?! Is it just not advertised?) and cabbage.
Tofu gnudi was the only miss for me. A little toooooo soft and pretty bland. And maybe the carrot congee and that was too much mushy for us - wish the carrot congee had some heat or texture to it.
Desserts delish (the chamomile custard with green apple granita!) - something In the strawberry shortcake dessert tasted like fruit loops and I enjoyed that.
Baiju Negroni also lovely.
Space was very pretty.
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did not like dinner here at all. many many dishes were a miss and just bland and under seasoned: tomatoes, tartare, steamed custard, tofu gnudi, almond tofu.
the special, described as crustless pot pie short rib stew was thin and watery.
I was looking forward to the fried chicken the most, the skin had a great crunch but was also sadly flavorless.
duck sausage, lamb saddle and milk punch were good.
tried 88 club the night before and even though it wasn’t great i preferred it much more than firstborn.
review forthcoming @chrishei?
n/a hojicha orange milk punch, hojicha, orange cordial, dark chocolate, yogurt clarification
steak tartare - flavors of mapo tofu
cherry tomatoes, rhubarb, jasmine, fig leaf
steamed custard, roast scallops, english peas, sea lettuce vinaigrette
tofu gnudi, artichokes, shiitake, haricot vert
duck sausage, tofu skin, onion brodo
cumin lamb saddle, sichuan jus, shredded potato
short rib pot au feu
fried chongqing chicken
almond tofu, citrus, osmanthus, jujube
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Oh wow. I agree on the gnudi but the rest we did not have a similar experience at all and I usually like things pretty damn salted. Did you share your feedback with them?
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the chicken (were people getting half orders?! Is it just not advertised?)
The chicken half order wasn’t on the menu, and was verbally offered by the server. If memory serves, the half order was being offered at $22.
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Oh nice. We polished off the full order with a party of 4 but good to know if we ever wanna try more dishes
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i let them know about the short rib special when asked and they took it off the bill. other tables seemed to be enjoying the food so maybe i’m in the minority.
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I think it’s worth telling them about the inconsistencies, though! The chef seems pretty open to feedback on IG when he asked how our meal was.
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I only say this because I think the menu is quite different and exciting for LA and I’d like to see them succeed and the feedback could be helpful. I was pleasantly surprised by how many seasonal vegetables made their way into dishes across the menu, and I very much enjoyed the cocktail list.
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