Chicken Maison (Torrance) - Spicy lemon garlic chicken!!
Mashawi Grill (Torrance) - Good kebab plates. They also have the best garlic sauce out of all the South Bay Mediterranean places, imo.
La Zeez Pita Grill (Torrance) - They also have good plates, but I go there for the spicy potatoes side dish.
Curry House (Torrance and Gardena) - Some people talk shit about Curry House but it’ll always be my favorite. I like it better than CoCo Ichibanya.
Furaibo (Gardena) - My other favorite. Tebasaki chicken, Japanese sausage fried rice, age nasu, hanpen cheese, agedashi tofu…
Zam Zam Market (Hawthorne) - Lamb biriyani on Saturdays. Call ahead. Also very good seekh kebabs.
Kotosh (Lomita) - Very good Peruvian food. I particularly like the fried seafood dishes.
La Esperanza (Torrance) - Great Guatemalan and Salvadoran food. Also very good nachos.
Silog (Torrance) - Pretty good Filipino food. I like the longsilog plate.
Yuk Dae Jang (Gardena) - Nice hearty bowls of yuk gae jang.
O Young’s Rock Pot (Gardena) - Various types of spicy hotpot. I like it much better than Boiling Point.
Pho Hue Oi (Redondo Beach) - My new favorite South Bay pho place.
Wadatsumi (Torrance) - I’m addicted to the roast beef bowl and the tamago.
Ruiji Sichuan Cuisine (Lomita) - I’m so happy we have actual good Sichuan food here with a surprisingly great amount of Mala.
Honey Dress Fried Chicken (Torrance) - Korean fried chicken. I love the super spicy sauce, always crispy skin and juicy meat. Skip the sides, though.
TNT Aloha Cafe (Torrance) - My favorite Hawaiian restaurant in the South Bay. They used to own the Gardena Bowl cafe.
Cafe Cuba & Cakes (Hawthorne) - Really great Cuban pastries and sandwiches.
Inaba (Torrance) - Best tempura. Shiitakes are like crack.
JJ Bakery (Torrance) - Go in the morning for freshly baked chicken and beef curry hand pies. So good.
Phanny’s (Redondo Beach) - Good breakfast burritos.
Baja California Fish Tacos (Lawndale) - Very good fish tacos and spicy ceviche.
Nagomi Cake House (Gardena) - Excellent Japanese style cakes.
Patisserie Chantilly (Lomita) - Great desserts. Cream puffs in particular.
Continental Gourmet Market (Lomita) - Empanadas. The spicy beef ones are my favorite.
cafécafé (Wilmington) - Really good Mexican-style coffee drinks and snacks.
Little Shop of Mary (Torrance) - Love their grilled pork banh mi.
Shinsengumi Hakata Ramen (Gardena) - Forget the ramen, get the fried rice.
Hell yeah. I could live on that karaage alone.
I personally would skip these two. The chicken at Taishi was very rubbery the two times I tried it. I used to like Yellow Fever when they first opened, but I feel like their bowls got really bland after a while.