Was it served to you like that??? I always get in a styrofoam container!
Holy sh*t, that looks really good.
From your mouth… (returning to food now)
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#Luv2eat
Hate2leave
jade noodles
kua gling fish
phuket style 
curry kanomjean
The curry that keeps on giving
mee pad hokkien - stir fried egg noodles with shrimp, squid, fish balls, and poached egg phuket-hokkien style
crying tiger beef
** Chinese sausage fried rice**
salted egg papaya salad
chicken pad thai
moo-ping
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Sotto for dual birthday dinners – my wife and I are 4 days apart. (Booked before the 4 star LA Weekly review.) Sotto is a local favorite of ours. Started with a Dream Within a Dream cocktail – Martin Miller’s Gin, Meletti Amaro, Scrappy’s grapefruit bitters, Dolin Dry, grapefruit essence (actually I think it was just the oil from the grapefruit rind twisted over the finished drink). Basically a spin on the basic gin Martini, with a citrus forward gin, a somewhat sweet Vermouth and pronounced grapefruit notes. A sold drink --perfectly balanced, not too boozy, but not too sweet. Over all, Sotto has a terrific cocktail program. I almost always find something new and interesting on their list.
We are kind of vegetable centric (though we have certainly had a pork chop or two at Sotto over the years) so we had a couple of salads (miixed greens and herbs with pistachio, beets, orange, and fennel, and grilled Little Gem with anchovy dressing basically a grilled Casear salad), along with an order of grilled broccolini with lemon zest and breadcrumbs, and some grilled Brussel Sprouts. Everything was delicious, as usual. Also had their Guanciale pizza, which was light and tasty, with a nice char. Good glass of Dolcetto went well with the pizza. (Always good wine by the glass and interesting things on wine list at a pretty good price.)
No photos from me – the place is fairly dark and I hate using a flash with other diners nearby, which combined with an older phone, means nothing would come out too well. But a great dinner, as always. Didn’t break the bank – $125, which included a generous tip – so I think that while it is not cheap, it is a very good value for the quality of the experience. It gets loud after 8 pm as it fills up, but we old folks are heading to the door by then. (Same tactic at Hatchet Hall, our other favorite, which it now occurs to me is somewhat similar, albeit a different type of cuisine - good cocktails, interesting wines and food with big flavors in a loud room.)
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The pad Thai looks incredible. Look how translucent the noodles are.
How was the crying tiger beef?
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After visiting the Japanese American Museum on Saturday, I stopped off for an iced cappuccino at Demitasse. They now have a raft of umbrellas on the patio for drizzly weather.
Demitasse
35 S. San Pedro Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012-3819 / map
(213) 613-9300
https://cafedemitasse.com/little-tokyo/
I always park in the upper levels of Little Tokyo Galleria when I visit Little Tokyo, and I do a bit of shopping to get parking validation. I ended up buying a matcha pumpkin pastry that was way too sweet at Bliss Bakery. It’s a bit hit or miss for me there.
Bliss Bakery
Little Tokyo Galleria
333 S Alameda St # 100
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 617-0022
https://www.yelp.com/biz/bliss-bakery-los-angeles
On our way to get lunch, I couldn’t resist taking a picture of this ornate lonchera emblazoned with images of San Judas Tadeo, the Virgen de Guadalupe, and the Templo de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe on 1st and Dickerson in East LA. I believe it’s called Santa Rita Jalisco, and it’s got solid reviews on Yelp, FWIW. Unfortunately, it’s really meat-centric, so I didn’t try anything. Perhaps I’ll get a quesadilla or see if they’ll make me a veggie torta sometime.
Santa Rita Jalisco
3900 E 1st St
Los Angeles, CA 90063
(323) 261-2738
https://www.yelp.com/biz/santa-rita-jalisco-taco-truck-los-angeles
My husband and I hadn’t been to Cook’s Tortas in years. I ordered the panela sandwich, which was as good as ever, but I realized that I’m really sick of cheese sandwiches at the moment. I should’ve ordered my other standby, the smoked salmon sandwich.
Cook’s Tortas
1944 S Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(323) 278-3536
http://www.cookstortas.com/Menu.html
I was craving Indian and Mexican food this morning, so I thought why not have both. I’ve been meaning to try 23rd Street Cafe by USC for months. The ordering system was pretty chaotic, and there were tons of USC students ordering gigantic burritos. It took forever to get my order, but they make everything but the tortillas from scratch it seems. I inhaled my spinach chole (chickpea) burrito, and I loved it with both the mint and tamarind chutneys. It was a little weird with the red and green salsas though. It was really comforting, slightly trashy student food - although those days are long gone for me.
23rd Street Cafe
36 W 23rd St
Los Angeles CA, 90007
(213) 749-1593
http://www.23rdstreetcafe.com/menu.html
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@PorkyBelly: What do you use to take your pictures, if you don’t mind me asking? They’re always so sharp and vibrant, and the white balance is perfect.
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Thanks @thechez5, I’m pointing and shooting with a samsung galaxy s6, good lighting goes a long way.
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Sounds very tasty. 
I would imagine that the usual red and green salsas would be… odd. 
Inspired by @thechez5’s photo of the mountain chicken, I finally tried Best Noodle House tonight (long weekends are a good time to cross the city). REALLY delicious. The dan dan mien was just a bit too sharp tasting for me (perhaps we didn’t mix the dish thoroughly enough?), but I still thought it was excellent. Boiled fish (so tender) and chives/pork dumplings (wonderful chew to the skin and just the slightest hint of sweet in the filling) were very good, and the mountain chicken is truly great. It’s (relatively) subtle compared to the spicier dishes, but the chicken isn’t overcooked, the crust is still crispy enough, and the heat is wonderfully subtle. It’s rather addicting.
My partner ended up dipping the chicken into the water/chili broth for the fish; I thought that the the chicken needed no such enhancement.
Youpo noodles were sold out. The son said, “They’re really delicious!” Thanks. 
I also probably should’ve ordered some cucumbers to help refresh the palate.
The word “deft” kept coming to mind as I ate. There’s a lightness and a vibracy to the dishes. Family running the place seem really friendly and sweet, and the son and mother (I think?) speak English well enough for those who don’t speak Mandarin (e.g., me). Thanks to @ipsedixit and @Chowseeker1999 for telling us about this place originally and for the first report!
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The crying tiger and moo ping were both highlights, tender and juicy, but their sauces put them over the top.
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The texture was “on point” but a little too sweet for my taste, i would stick with the jade noodles.
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Holy fuck, how many people did you have there???
Also, love how the jade noodles shot has no jade noodles in it lmao
Did you go for the Day of Remembrance event?
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Nice! 
Glad you liked Best Noodle House. Yah, for the Dan Dan Noodles, it doesn’t come pre-mixed, so we found ourselves mixing and stirring a few times to make sure all the ingredients got mixed up properly.
Hope you get to try the Youpo Noodles next time. And the Cold Steamed Chicken with Hot Sauce (Mouth Water Chicken).
there were three of us.
yeah, i realized after posting, that i could have used a better angle. but they were there and they were spectacular.
After dim sum at Sea Harbour (definitely more expensive than last time I went ~ $21pp before tip), went down the street to Sweet Lab for dessert. They are known for Dragon’s Breath (cereal balls infused with liquid nitrogen) and egg waffles. Their ice cream is also made to order à la nitrogen. The ice cream was nice and creamy like it should be, and the egg waffle was really good. They have a second location in the Westfield Santa Anita mall where the Mikawaya used to be.
Caramel ice cream with egg waffle.
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I’m sure it was delicious, but there is something a little subversive and creepy about the teddy bear… 
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Feeling rundown and hit with flu-like symptoms, it was off to Kitakata for ramen and fried chicken in Buena Park. At 5:30PM, the wait for 5 was about 25 minutes. We got the fried shishito peppers, and did not find a spicy one if our batch 
We also got the delightful fried chicken that was perfectly cooked and crispy, but did not feel greasy at all. And then to the star…the ramen. Tonight’s char su pork seemed a bit salty to me, but the noodles (a perfect al dente), the broth, the bamboo shoots…they were good…and my extra toppings of egg, corn, and Napa cabbage made for a solid bowl of ramen that’s less than 5 miles from my house.
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It’s all about kawaii these days!
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Must. Resist. Kawaii…
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