Los Angeles | The Plebeian Palate

Tatsu Ramen, Los Angeles

June 4, 2012 terenceleezy Leave a comment

Greeted by 3 ipads on the wall at the entrance of the ramen joint that opened 23 May by Ryu Isobe, a recent USC graduate, who walks around the restaurant and chat with customers. On the walls of the restaurant, there was a photo of him and a short paragraph that gives a brief introduction about his life. From what I could remember, Tokyo, Japan, son of actor, Hiroshi Isobe, Hawaii, USC, best entrepreneur program in Los Angeles, wanted ramen in US to be like that of Tokyo, learned from pro Jap chefs, Tatsu = Dragon. Pretty sure I missed some stuff but I think I got most of the main parts.

Naked Ramen and Tonkotsu Ramen

Anyway, the concept was pretty interesting with the ipads on the wall and ordering and payment was done right at the ipads. The app was clean with a white background and nice pictures. The ramen was fully customizable with only 2 types of ramen, tonkotsu ramen and naked ramen. Customization includes amount of garlic, green onions, spiciness, pork or chicken or tofu and egg (sweet corn, seaweed and garlic cloves are free). Apparently they have “holy water” for free too LOL. The ramen was kinda too oily for my liking but I have heard many mixed reviews from friends that visited. Suggestions to maybe include the amount of oil in ramen and strength of soup base like that of Shin Sen Gumi would be good. Other than that props for opening till the latest on Sawtelle.

Tatsu Ramen
2123 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 684-2889
Opening Hours:
Mon-Wed, Sun 11 am – 12 am
Thu-Sat 11 am – 3 am

Categories: Asian, California, Japanese, Los Angeles, Ramen

Nong La Cafe, Los Angeles

June 3, 2012 terenceleezy Leave a comment

Not having to drive in the traffic for hours to Westminster or SGV for some legit vietnamese food? Finally, some decent vietnamese food on Sawtelle, sandwiched between SushiStop and Tsujita LA! Nongla Cafe, family business owned by mother, Khanh Phan, brother and sister, Victor and Elaine Phuong.

Thit Nuong Bun (Grilled Pork)

Nem Nuong Cuon (Pork Rolls)

Thit Nuong Banh Mi (Grilled Pork)

Bo Bun Hue

They opened their doors on 20 May but never had a chance to try it till a week ago. This place is always super packed. Partially also because there was only 10-15 tables thus seating is really limited. The food and service was great and everyone was really friendly! On the plus side, you can call in and do take out orders.

Nong La Cafe
2055 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 268-1881
Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun 11:30 am – 10 pm

Categories: Asian, Los Angeles, Vietnamese

Bao Dim Sum House, Los Angeles

May 31, 2012 terenceleezy Leave a comment

All day dimsum? almost unheard of. The interior decor looks totally like PF Chang. Typical of asian fusion restaurants. Dimsum was alright to satisfy craving near the West Hollywood area. Not having to travel all the way to San Gabriel Valley was a huge plus. They have a bar area and eating dimsum at the bar does sound pretty cool. Dimsum with alcohol? (read: interesting)

Front: Pork and Shrimp Shumai
Back: Crystal Shrimp Dumpling (Ha Gow)

Front: Juicy Pork Dumpling (Xiao Long Bao)
Back: Crystal Shrimp Dumpling (Ha Gow)

Front: Radish Cake w/ Chinese Sausage
Back: Pork and Shrimp Shumai

Front: Hainan Chicken
Back: Steamed BBQ Pork Bun

If you wanted something really authentic and legit, go SGV. Otherwise this will be enough to satisfy your dimsum craving for a couple more bucks. Definitely with much better service than anywhere in SGV. By the way, they had quite a big vase of lilies at the entrance which made the waiting area smell really good.

Front: Egg Custard Tart
Back: Sticky Rice wrapped in Lotus Leaf

Bao Dim Sum House also recently created a new site that lets customers order online on both desktop and also a mobileapp. With a prep time of 25 mins and a section where you can addon special instructions for each order. Pretty cool interface.

Bao Dim Sum House
8256 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-6556
Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu 11 am – 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am – 10:30 pm
Sun 10:30 am – 9:30 pm

Categories: Asian, California, Chinese, Los Angeles

Father’s Office, Los Angeles

May 23, 2012 terenceleezy Leave a comment

An entry for burgers. People that know me probably knows I am not a big fan of burgers. So people around me have been telling me that this place is a must try before you leave LA… this place is so good… this place is better than Umami Burger… blah blah blah. So I decided to give in and gave it a shot.

The Office Burgers
caramelized onion, bacon, gruyere, maytag blue, arugula and frites

The office burgers are alright, maybe cause I had higher expectations of it from everything that I have heard. The office burgers reminded me of banh mi, vietnamese sandwich. The string fries was good but its kinda weird they didn’t have ketchup. From what I heard, the Office Burgers are not customizable (you can’t order it with no cheese or no bacon) and served as is.

Steak Frites
the bistro classic

If you can find yourself a seat… This place makes for a good friday night hangout spot with a wide selections of beer, decent choices of food and televisions on all walls broadcasting NFL and NBA. The beer selection is really impressive.

Father’s Office
3229 Helms Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 736-2224
Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu 5 pm – 1 am
Fri-Sat 12 pm – 2 am
Sun 12 pm – 12 am

Categories: Burgers, California, Los Angeles

Johnson House Boo Dae Jji Gae, Los Angeles

May 17, 2012 terenceleezy Leave a comment

Boo Dae Jji Gae

Special Hot & Spicy Assorted Soup Restaurant located in the Boiling Crab plaza in Ktown. They used to only have a korean menu but they also included an english menu. The staff don’t quite understand english though. Valet parking is available in the plaza for 2 bucks and they are open till 5am daily!

Anyway I was looking up Boo Dae Jji Gae and found out that it originated from a city called Uijeongbu in Seoul after Korean war. It is also commonly known as Johnson Tang. Apparently, Johnson being a common American last name and Tang meaning soup. People made use of remain food like spam and hot dogs from US Army and added it into their traditional spicy soup with gochujang and kimchi. Over the years, the recipe was modernized to include ramen, American cheese, ground beef, bacon, green onions, sliced sausages and mushrooms like the Boo Dae Jji Gae available at Johnson House.

Johnson House Boo Dae Jji Gae
3377 Wilshire Blvd
Ste 100
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Neighborhood: Koreatown
Tel: (213) 389-9946
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am – 5 am

Categories: Asian, Korean, Los Angeles, Ramen

Versailles Restaurant, Los Angeles

May 16, 2012 terenceleezy Leave a comment

Famoso Pollo Versailles – Versailles Famous Garlic Chicken

The famous house specialty – juicy roasted half chicken marinated in our delicious garlic sauce garnished with sliced onions.

Versailles Restaurant
10319 Venice Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Tel: (310) 558-3168
Opening Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am – 10 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am – 11 pm

Categories: Cuban, Los Angeles

Boiling Point

March 20, 2012 terenceleezy Leave a comment

A definite to go to whenever I drop by Los Angeles or Seattle for the weekend. If you like fermented tofu/ taiwanese hotpot, be sure to give this place a shot and you will not regret! Go with number 1 if you dont cant take/ dont like excessively spicy stuff. Go with number 8 if you love spicy stuff (be warned.. not for the faint-hearted!)