Ten-Raku
The menu at this K-Town Korean BBQ restaurant seemed promising. Premium cuts of meat, many cuts that mirrored Park’s or Gwang Yang BBQ; we were excited to find another KBBQ joint to add to the rotation. 
Dipping Sauces (Sesame Oil added afterwards):
Complimentary Banchan:
They offered 5 different types of Banchan (Small Side Dishes), and they tasted rather straightforward, nowhere near as good as Park’s BBQ’s amazing Banchan.
Preparing to grill.
Combo C:
Premium Boneless Short Ribs (Ggot Galbi Sal):
This looked great, well-marbled, and they pulled it off the grill for us fast enough to be medium. Sadly, it was slightly chewy, lightly fatty and just a long ways away from the great versions at Park’s BBQ and the even better one at Gwang Yang BBQ. 
Kobe Style Premium Boneless Short Ribs (Kobe Ggot Galbi Sal):
This was even more marbled and the waiter said it was their “best cut!” This was only a marginal improvement from the regular Premium Boneless Short Rib, still surprisingly chewy with some gristle and just nowhere near as tender as what we had at Park’s or Gwang Yang. 
Steamed Egg:
The C Combo came with a Steamed Egg side dish. This was tasty; nothing spectacular but just fine.
Prime Outside Skirt Steak (Ahn Chang Sal):
This was even chewier and full of gristle.
Prime Brisket (Cha Dol Bae Gi):
Filet Mignon (Ahn Shim):
I’m not quite sure how you screw up Filet Mignon, but if you were ever curious how Filet Mignon might taste overcooked and chewy, look no further than Ten-Raku.
Doenjang Jigae (Korean Soybean Paste Stew fused with Assorted Vegetables and Soft Tofu):
A decent version, but not as funky and soulful as the version at Soban.
Premium Rib Eye (Ggot Dueng Shim):
It is rather shocking to see how those amazing Korean BBQ Meat Scissors can be used to break down a Rib Eye Steak in seconds…
And while it looked great and had us salivating as we were waiting, sadly Ten-Raku’s Rib Eye Steak was surprisingly flavorless, tough and chewy. 
Park’s was better, but both were no comparison to Gwang Yang’s version (which actually had some beefy flavor, was tender and enjoyable).
Ramen (Korean Style Ramen):
For some reason Combo C also came with a free Ramen side… and while it might be a cultural thing to enjoy Instant Ramen (in the (in)famous Military Stew), seeing their “side of Ramen” arrive as a bowl of hot soup with a package of Instant Ramen was rather underwhelming. 
Beef Tongue (So Hyuh):
Sadly as bad as the version we had at Gwang Yang was (and one other place earlier this year). I’m thinking Lengua just doesn’t work well in a KBBQ preparation. Just tough, chewy and bland. Even though it’s sliced so thin.
Octopus (Nakji Chul Pan):
This was our favorite cut of the night. The Octopus was slightly chewy, but still tender enough and had a pleasant light brininess.
Beef Large Intestine (Dae Chang):
This was terrible: Extremely chewy, inedible. We tried it lightly grilled, grilled-to-super-crisped-edges, and inbetween, and every version of this dish ended in us spitting it out (so chewy it could not be eaten). (@Xochitl skip this version.)
In the end, Ten-Raku ostensibly has similar cuts of meat as the other top Korean BBQ restaurants around town. However, every single cut ended up overly chewy, flavorless (lacking any beefiness), and were nowhere as enjoyable as Park’s BBQ or Gwang Yang BBQ. Both Park’s and Gwang Yang BBQ remain our favorites (and both had better ventilation systems as well).
Ten-Raku
4177 W. 3rd St.
Los Angeles, CA 90020
Tel: (213) 380-8382
Sau Can Tho
We were really excited to try this place thanks to @ipsedixit who mentioned Sau Can Tho serving Vietnamese Baked Catfish, and it was much closer than Little Saigon from the Westside, so off we went.
Water Spinach Stir-Fried with Shrimp Paste:
Delicious! Funky, with a pleasing oceanic backnote from the Shrimp Paste, and tender Water Spinach.
Cha Gio (Vietnamese Crispy Pork Spring Rolls):
Pristine, clean greens accompanied the Vietnamese Egg Rolls. The Cha Gio arrived piping hot and slightly crispy (which was great). However, they weren’t as crispy and crunchy as Golden Deli’s version, nor as good as Vien Dong’s version (now shuttered).
Phong Dinh Baked Catfish (Ca Dut Lo Hau Giang):
This was a massive dish (more than enough for the 3 of us). Accompaniments:
Love this Fermented Shrimp Paste Sauce:
Rice Paper:
This was really convenient! We’re used to being given a wide bowl of warm-hot water, and we dip the edges of this Rice Paper to soften it, and then add the ingredients.
However at Sau Can Tho, they’ve built this contraption where you just slide a sheet of Rice Paper vertically(!) and can easily wet all the edges. 
(@Ns1 @attran99 is this common?) 
So you wet the Rice Paper to soften it, add some Baked Catfish, some Greens / Herbs that you like, and enjoy with that Fermented Shrimp Paste.
This was pretty tasty and we demolished the entire Baked Fish. It was nicely seasoned (not too salty), with only a barely there muddiness to some parts of it, but generally a clean tasting Baked Catfish.
However, compared to the 8 Courses of Fish (Nhu Y Ca 8 Mon) that a friend of mine took me to years ago in Little Saigon, Sau Can Tho pales by comparison. The one at Nhu Y Ca 8 Mon had crispy skin, and more flavor, and the interior meat was more tender. It looks like that place is closed now.
(If anyone has more suggestions for great Vietnamese Baked Fish restaurants, please let me know. Thanks.)
Sau Can Tho was a fun experience for us: Being able to build your own Spring Rolls with some tasty Baked Catfish and a dash of Fermented Shrimp Paste made for an enjoyable dinner. There was too much food for us to try anything else on the menu, but we might be back to try the Alligator and Kangaroo(!). Or not.
Sau Can Tho
8450 Garvey Ave., #103
Rosemead, CA 91770
Tel: (626) 307-8868
