As another example, I think the tea leaf salad at Lukshon is very inferior to the tea leaf salad at the two Daw Yee Myanmar restaurants and Yoma.
Maru-san is wonderful, and his omakase is 2nd to none. Back a few years ago when they had Yoshi and Take working with him, all 3 of them were great. These days, he is training 2 new guys, but they are nowhere near the level. Every time we are at Mori I too worry that he might close his doors one day because there is just not that much traffic there.
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Lukshon is a fine restaurant, but now way it is top 20 in LA, forget #4. The level of food execution, ambiance, and service is just not there.
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I canāt think of a single item there thatās as good as the real deal. Dan dan noodles? Not near what youād get at, say, Chengdu Taste.
Tea leaf salad, butterfish, lobster roll, beef and broccoli, black rice with lap cheong, crispy rice cakes, cold sesame noodles; prefer Yoonās version of all of those to any other versions Iāve had in LA, except maybe the lobster roll, but itās still one of the most fascinating takes on the dish.
I find the use of high-quality ingredients adds something pretty magical to the dishes, as well as a precise cooking technique. Everyone Iāve ever taken there thoroughly enjoys it.
But it is possible I simply havenāt had the best versions of the "Real deal"s I guess.
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Buna update: been 3 times since finding it here. Going back tonight. Favorite spot lately. The owner really cares about the food and the place. Food is brighter and lighter than at other places weāve tried and the place is waaaay cleaner than the likes of Awash for example. Not that that has ever stopped us but itās still nice.
I get mad at myself every time I go there.
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Same. When I tried the curry noodles I was legit mad.
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What do you like at Buna? Iāve tried the veggie combo and the chicken and thought both were fine but nothing special. The veggies, in particular, were less varied and flavorful than either Awash or Meals by Genet (e.g., no horseradish lentils). Aside from the whole fish, which just isnāt my jam, I donāt get the appeal.
how am i supposed to talk to you?
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Hey youāre the guy picking these places by how clean they are. 
hahahaā¦ not at allā¦ dingy ass sticky table awash is still the favoriteā¦ we were there during an electric fire and blackout and kitchen smoke backed into the dining roomā¦ no fucksā¦ kept picking at the whole fish. but yea itās nice how clean buna is.