Asian Food and Cooking

Morihiro Onodera: The Chef Throws Pots

One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2013 issue. Check out our entire People 2013 issue here. For the first decade of the 21st century, people who loved sushi in Los Angeles made a pilgrimage to Mori Sushi, a minimalist restaurant on Pico Boulevard. There, owner and sus ... More >>

Now Open: Indian Gastropub Badmaash in Downtown L.A.

To get a sense of what new Indian gastropub Badmaash is all about, look no further than the three samosa options at the top of the menu -- each one encapsulating a characteristic of the restaurant. Owners Nakul Mahendro and his brother Arjun, along with their father (and executive chef) Pawan worked ... More >>

5 Best Dosas in Los Angeles

There are as many kinds of dosas as there are moms in South India -- which is to say, a lot. This Indian breakfast and snack food is a thin, crispy crepe made from a lightly fermented batter of ground rice and lentils. The batter is ladled onto a hot griddle and then quickly spread to paper thinness ... More >>

Now Open: Osawa Brings Otsumami, Shabu Shabu and Sushi To Old Town Pasadena

At 11 a.m. yesterday, Osawa opened to the public in Pasadena. The restaurant is owned by Sayuri Tachibe, who is the wife of corporate executive chef Shigefumi Tachibe of the Chaya Restaurant Group, though he isn't involved in this project, nor is Chaya. The chef at Osawa is Norio Yoshikawa.

A Dim Sum Crawl in Chinatown

Chinatown was a main hub for dim sum before San Gabriel Valley earned its destination status. Now, the Chinese Business Improvement District is about to reintroduce the neighborhood's eats with a crawl designed strictly for grownups. This Thursday, April 18, the non-profit organization will host a ... More >>

Jet Tila Appointed Thai Cuisine Ambassador

Jet Tila has been appointed the first Culinary Ambassador of Thai Cuisine by the Royal Thai Consul-General in Los Angeles, tasked with spreading awareness nationwide and making official his unofficial -- and longstanding -- role as a guide to the cuisine. Tila was tapped for the position after a m ... More >>

Q & A With Soul of a Banquet's Wayne Wang: Cecilia Chiang Why the Best Chinese Food in the World is in the SGV

Back in 2011, when it seemed like the entire Bay Area was seized with Chez Panisse 40th anniversary fever, Hong Kong-born, San Francisco-based filmmaker Wayne Wang (Chan Is Missing, Joy Luck Club, Smoke) asked Chez Panisse's founder, Alice Waters, if there was a role he could play. Waters suggested ... More >>

Happy Hour: Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori & Shabu Shabu in Monterey Park

Place: Shin-Sen-Gumi Yakitori & Shabu Shabu, 111 N. Atlantic Blvd., Monterey Park; (626) 943-7956. Hours: Beer special runs from Mon.-Thu., 6 p.m.-7 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. For the rest of March, yakitori specials are available Mon.-Thu., 6 p.m.-11 p.m. In April, the specials will only b ... More >>

The Korean Restaurant Guide: Los Angeles 40 Restaurants and Bilingual Text

If you love Korean food but aren't as conversant in the intricasies of either L.A.'s Koreatown neighborhood or, well, Korean, the folks at The Korean Food Foundation have engineered a terrific guidebook for you. Just published in a handy square cornflower blue paperback, the Korean Restaurant Guide: ... More >>

5 Essential Japanese Restaurants in Los Angeles

Our 99 Essential L.A. Restaurants issue came out recently, and we're highlighting a few categories drawing from the list. Today: Japanese restaurants. This is not a definitive list of the best Japanese restaurants in L.A., but it is a sampling of five that we think are each essential in their own w ... More >>

Kiyokawa: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Golden Deli: 99 Essential Restaurants 2013

Where The Chef's Eat: Rustic Canyon's Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan

Where the Chefs Eat is an ongoing series in which we ask a local chef to give us his or her favorite dining options. This week, we talk to Josh Loeb, co-chef/owner with his wife Zoe Nathan of Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry and Milo & Olive, about where the two eat out when they're not cooking, at home, ... More >>

Sperm is in Season: Hamasaku Has it Three Ways

There it sits on a plate, shiny and quivery and not unlike a pile of raw sweetbreads. Intertwining sacks, bound by sinew, filled with creamy sperm. Cod sperm, to be more exact. And I'm going to eat a lot of it. Without gagging. In fact, I'm going to enjoy it. Hamasaku, a Japanese restaurant tuc ... More >>

10 Best Eats in Thai Town: Neighborhood Grub Crawl

Some call it East Hollywood, but many more know it as Thai Town, a glowing, neon causeway of great late-night restaurants, karaoke bars and slingers of Chang beer towers. It's an area of town that not only welcomes after-hours consumption, but glorifes it --- filled with brimming bowls of pungent no ... More >>

Ha Tien Quan: Vietnamese Gumbo in the SGV

It begins innocently enough: You have your first taste of pho somewhere like Golden Deli, the noodle shop on the outer reaches of San Gabriel, where the fragrant, stunningly clear broth is as famous as the crunchy egg rolls. Like any proper gateway drug, you soon begin to run the gamut of chintzy p ... More >>

Night Market's Kris Yenbamroong: New Dishes A Trip to Thailand

In Bangkok and barely over jetlag, Night Market chef Kris Yenbamroong of helped his diminutive 81-year-old paternal grandmother, Vilai Yenbamroong, into the back of a white van for what he calls "an epic trip." Their game plan was to head out of the city up the Friendship Highway through Isaan ( ... More >>

10 Best Eats in Little Osaka: Neighborhood Grub Crawl

Just north of the intersection of Sawtelle and Olympic, in the neighborhood known as Little Osaka, there's a quadrant of Los Angeles with so much outstanding food crammed into a relatively small space that it makes you wonder why these neighborhood planners can't have a crack at other parts of town. ... More >>

Nobu Malibu Review

The oceanfront sushi restaurant has a beautiful new home – and the same classics that made Nobu Matsuhisa famous

18: Matsuhisa's Yellowtail Scallion Donburi

Celebrating this year's Best of L.A. issue -- now out in print and online -- we're counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 18: Matsuhisa's Yellowtail Scallion Donburi. You may be able to eat chef Nobu Matsuhisa's stunning Peruvian-influenced Japanese cuisine at one of hi ... More >>

U Sushi: Build Your Own Sushi In Beverly Hills A Sushi Video

The trend of personalized food has reached the realm of sushi. U Sushi, which opened on South Beverly Dr. last December, brings the make-your-own concept to one of L.A.'s favorite foods. U Sushi owner Jeremy Umland, who also owns Ozumo in Santa Monica Place, traces the idea for his restaurant to th ... More >>

In-Chan's Little Secret

This family restaurant in Van Nuys delights with northern Thai dishes — as long as you ask for the special menu

The 5 Things You Need To Know About In-Chan

In-Chan Thai Cuisine is the subject of this week's restaurant review. Here's a taste of what you can find in the review, as well as a few extra tidbits: Food: Make sure to ask for the special Northern Thai menu, which isn't given out to most patrons unless specifically asked for. Order of it and yo ... More >>

Men Oh Tokushima Ramen: Chashu, Pork Belly A Ramen Video!

The history of the San Francisco-Los Angeles rivalry is well-documented in many fields, whether it's the Giants and Dodgers contesting the NL West (we're all aware of how that turned out this season) or a frank debate on which city offers the biggest and best representation of West Coast cuisine. In ... More >>

29: Sashimi Special at Sushi Gen

Celebrating this year's Best of L.A. issue -- now out in print and online -- we're counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 29: Sashimi Special at Sushi Gen. In a perfect world, every visit to your favorite sushi bar would entail an omakase meal, an ever-changing elabora ... More >>

Men Oh Tokushima Ramen Opens Today in Little Tokyo

It's October on the calendar and thus theoretically great ramen weather. Alas, theory hasn't quite met thermometer just yet, but when it does, it might be a good time to welcome the belated fall season with a nice bowl of noodles from a new ramen joint (yes, another one): Japanese chain Men Oh Toku ... More >>

Culver City's Zam Zam Market Expands Hours Menu

Have you ever been to Zam Zam Market, a Pakistani restaurant down the street from King Fahad Mosque in Culver City? If not, there was probably good reason: The take-out shop was only open from Thursday to Sunday at irregular hours, and often only cooked a limited supply of dishes that ran out quickl ... More >>

Kula Sushi: Conveyor-Belt Sushi in Little Tokyo

Conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, or kaiten-zushi as they're known in Japan, are big business these days. You might not think so when plates of sushi are priced at just $2 each, as they are at Little Tokyo's Kula Sushi, the newest and most ambitious kaiten joint to hit the L.A. scene. But arrive on a ... More >>

Q & A with David R. Chan: 6,165 Chinese Restaurants, Googling Himself Flying Out To Springfield

Among the Chinese food community, David R. Chan is considered an expert. We've written about the accountant and attorney's herculean feat of eating at more than 6,000 Chinese restaurants (and that number keeps on growing each week). He's been on the radio, magazines, international newspaper and on T ... More >>

Nha Trang: Onward and Pho-ward

When San Gabriel's Nha Trang opened a larger shop in nearby Monterey Park earlier this year, it was cause for excitement. While the original location was celebrated for its deeply flavored, complex versions of Central Vietnamese soups, it measured about the size of a doctor's waiting room, could sea ... More >>

Top Chef Masters Recap: Un-Thaied

Curtis Stone is, in the words of Derek Zoolander, "really, really, ridiculously good-looking," so not the type, we'd imagine, to get tongue-tied around the ladies. But leave it to hometown girl Dita Von Teese, L.A.'s (and the world's) queen of burlesque to make TV's reigning pin-up boy blush. Von T ... More >>

Q & A With Yisrael Aharoni, Israeli Celebrity Chef: Chinese Food In Israel, Hollywood Being A DJ

Israel Aharoni keeps himself busy. He's a chef, television show developer and host, journalist and cookbook author. Credited with being Israel's first celebrity chef and bringing Chinese food to Israel, Aharoni studied cooking in Taiwan and has owned and operated several restaurants in Israel, inclu ... More >>

69: Yukhwe Bibimbap at Oo-Kook Korean BBQ

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 69: Yukhwe Bibimbap at Oo-Kook Korean BBQ It's been a week filled with those days when you glance around the kitchen, throw up your hands, and laments that's i ... More >>

Q & A with Ching-He Huang of Cooking Channel's Easy Chinese: Heritage Over Authenticity San Gabriel Valley's Tastes of Home

Ching-He Huang diplomatically avoids ranking U.S. cities when it comes to best Chinese eats, but will allow that San Gabriel Valley (and New York's Flushing) gives San Francisco serious competition for what she calls tastes of home. She'll even name examples available in the neighborhood: chou doufu ... More >>

Robert Danhi's Easy Thai Cooking A Recipe for Grilled Lemongrass Chicken

Feel like eating Thai food? Then cook it yourself -- which isn't as hard as it sounds, because there's a book to help. It's Easy Thai Cooking, by Robert Danhi (Tuttle: $16.95). Danhi knows the kind of Thai food you like, because he lives here and has eaten his way through Hollywood's Thai Town as w ... More >>

23rd Street Cafe: Indian-Mexican Tacos!

School's out for summer, which means you have a better chance of getting into the 23rd Street Café without a long wait. This USC hangout is a student magnet for two reasons: Low prices and food that's much more interesting than the same old burgers and fries. Yes, there are burgers on the menu, but ... More >>

80: Shu Mai at Elite Restaurant

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 80: Shu Mai at Elite Restaurant. Elite Restaurant in Monterey Park has a reputation for being one of the most civilized dim sum palaces in town -- if you're ac ... More >>

Eat This Now: Vegan Pho at Happy Veggie

Sure, the staff at your local Vietnamese restaurant might say they can make a veganized pho, but do you trust that a server at a restaurant who serves meat understands what it means not to eat beef, chicken or beef-chicken broth? Then, do you trust that the chef will understand? The answer, if you a ... More >>

Ramen Hayatemaru Beckons the Noodle-Obsessed to Torrance

The 4 Things You Need to Know About This Week's Review of Ramen Hayatemaru

This week's restaurant review is of Ramen Hayatemaru in Torrance. We encourage you to read the review, but offer this bullet point synopsis to whet your appetite.

Soba Sojibo: The Slick Noodle

Soba -- those delicate, earthy strands of pasta you find floating in a bowl of hot broth or piled onto flat bamboo trays -- is one of the most difficult creations in a Japanese noodle chef's repertoire. Since the ash-colored buckwheat flour from which they're made contains almost no gluten, soba noo ... More >>

U-Sushi Serves 1/2 Off Rolls for International Sushi Day

International Sushi Day? Never heard of it. Perhaps it's a ruse set up by the sushi industry to make us purchase extra sushi like greeting cards on Valentine's Day. Who are we kidding though? We love sushi -- and will gladly take advantage of a questionable holiday to satisfy a craving. Kanpai!

Meet David R. Chan: The Man Who Has Eaten At Over 6,000 Chinese Restaurants

David R. Chan can't use chopsticks. "I can't hold them properly," Chan said. "It hasn't really been a problem though. Chinese restaurants usually have forks available." 6,090 Chinese restaurants to be exact -- a number that just keeps on growing. An accountant and attorney by trade, Chan has been ... More >>

Nong Lá Café Brings Bun Bo Hue to West L.A.

Nong Lá Café, the latest addition to the strip of Sawtelle Boulevard often known as Little Osaka due to its concentration of Japanese eateries, is offering something a bit different than most of its neighbors -- instead of ramen and yakitori, diners will able able to get a taste of Vietnamese spec ... More >>

Spicy Food Fight: Fukuburger vs. Kalbi Burger

Though it may be more anecdotal than anything else, there is a popular theory that during South Korea's recession in the mid-to-late 2000's the country's young unemployed masses became especially enamored with a dish called buldak, or "fire chicken," a sauce-covered stir fry that was prepared so hot ... More >>

Sriracha Lollipops: Sucking on a Bottle of Hot Sauce

Wonder what would happen if you dipped this in a bowl of pho... From Lollyphile, the good people who brought us absinthe lollys: introducing Sriracha-flavored lollipops. We suppose it was just a matter of time before someone thought of making the famous sauce into a candy. The sriracha craze has be ... More >>

Top 5 Sushi Restaurants in the Valley

One of the hard truths reached while researching our 10 Best Sushi Restaurants list a few weeks ago was that Los Angeles has far too many superb sushi restaurants to ever be condensed into a single list. One area that felt particularly overlooked (with only one entry in the top ten) was the San Fern ... More >>

Roti-Go-Round: Southeast Asian Roti from Gindi Thai, Simpang Asia and Penang Malaysian Cuisine

Somehow, food always seems to taste better when it's shared. And not just as it's passed around a table, but also when it travels across borders. The South Asian Subcontinent has passed down its plates far and wide, providing the inspiration for new dishes through its native ingredients like pepp ... More >>

Sushi Restaurants in Los Angeles: Top 10

SushiBots are the Anti-Jiro, Create 3,600 Pieces Per Hour

There is chef Jiro Ono, in Jiro Dreams of Sushi, dedicating 75 years of his life to the art of sushi, making and serving only one piece at a time at his tiny restaurant in Japan, and then there is this: Sushi robots that churn out 300 medium-sized rolls per hour, or rice mounds for nigri at 3,600 m. ... More >>