Los Angeles home of Clippers, Lakers, Chargers & Rams. Couldn't wait to come to the city of angels and travel around. Traffic wasn't as bad as it was 6 months ago. We were able to get around fairly quickly from the last time I was here. My wife, sister in law and I got to spend 6 days out in California. Our itinerary included a day in Newport, 4 days out in downtown LA, 2 days in Porterville. Newport and Irvine is such a beautiful area to be out in. Orange County had lots of things going on, Garden Groves Little Saigon is a great mix of Asian cuisine. Anything you want from Pho, Banh Mi sandwiches, Asian Bakeries, Dim Sum, and Seafood. Any cravings you have, you can definitely find it here in Little Saigon. The Kickin' Crab, the Boiling Crab are some of the hottest spots in the area. My favorite choice of course is the Kickin' Crab.
We spend some time out at the beaches and one of my favorite beaches is Corona Del Mar Beach, not too much of a tourist attraction, Parking is fairly inexpensive for a day, not too crowded compared to the other beaches in the area. Nice area for pictures and lots of neat sea life on the rocks to check out. The sand is nice, beach is clean, water is cold, sun was out, and there is a little shack for food in case you get hungry.
Plenty of sides for you to eat, I really like the rice papers to wrap up everything into one bite. Great way to build as you wait for your meat to grill and also a good socializing meal.
The meat here is so delicious, you will want to just eat everything up! So many different meats and the customers around you will definitely give you ideas when you see things they are eating which will make you wanna try it too.
Desert are the ice cream macaroons! Amazingly worth every bite so save some room for these bad boys! If you are ever near one of these you have got to try it out and I bet you will love every bit of it.
I was watching a show on Netflix called Eat Your Words and its about bloggers who talk a lot of shit to these restaurants that cook. They had a chef on there that had a very popular ramen restaurant named Tatsu Ramen. He claimed he cooks his broth for over 16 hrs and I knew I had to go there. So I located one that was closest and made the trip to go there. Now the one thing I am going to say about LA is that almost everywhere has valet parking which is actually nice. We walked up to the restaurant and the cool thing about this restaurant is the ordering system. Instead of being greeted and seated, you walk up to the iPad and order what you want, pay for it and then the staff will call your name and seat you. You also get your food within five minutes, the wait is about 15 min during lunch time but that was alright as we walked around and took a look at all the restaraunts in the strip. Now we got our names called and it was quick, within minutes I had my Bold Ramen bowl and it was fantastic, the broth was full of flavors of all the ingredients, the garlic, fresh veggies, the pork belly melted in your mouth, the egg was cooked perfect, and I had it all to myself. The noodles were a little undercooked for me and the egg I wish was in half but other than that, great presentation, friendly staff, and great food. This may be a little pricey but well worth it. One of the best Ramens I have had!
My wife is a big fan of boba and tea shops so we visited quite a few in the area. Snow monster was an awesome place to go with really neat concepts of what they serve. The one thing I will say is that they all kind of have the same drinks but just their own twist and gimmicks that stand out from others. The Beau bar had nice cool place to just hang out with good coffee, the Oakobing had some really wonderful Korean deserts, Tan-Cha is an awesome hangout for people of all ages with great tea and boba drinks for anyone that has an imagination. My favorite out of all of them was the Milk +T which had a self serve boba bar with jelly and fruits. They sell their own icons on shirts, hats, and sweaters. The one thing I would say is they are very hard to find with the small sign near Little Tokyo. But once you find it, this is also a nice hangout and their jars are really different from any other I have seen. I thought Snow monster was different with their lightbulb glass but this one was different in how normal and useful it was. It wasn't something out of the norm but just a jar. They went for simple and not over the top.
Heading out late on the LA freeway to Porterville I thought I would beat the traffic by going late, but boy was I wrong. Coming out of San Fernando traffic was bumper to bumper. Once we got into the mountains, that was even more of a pain as drivers were braking and jumping into lanes cutting everyone off just to get a ahead. One of the worst drives for me, but once we got to the smaller highway to Porterville, it was perfect. No traffic and easy driving for another 40 minutes. We were on our way for my wife's cousin's wedding. Beautiful ceremony and beautiful ranch to have the wedding. We had a blast with the friends and family we hadn't seen for a while and new friends we got to meet because of the marriage. Booze came out fast and hard as we drank until the night went into the morning. I am too much of a drinker, one of these days thats going to catch up. It seem alcohol is never enough for me, but thats another topic.
Two days in Porterville and I am ready to head back to LA, we stop by to my wife cousin's house in San Fernando Valley to hang out for a BBQ. Got to talk to her boyfriend who was a tattoo artist and some of his friends who are into running a clothing line. Got to meet some great people at the BBQ but if you ever want to support locally for those that live in LA visit Wrekt Supply very cool group of people that are doing positive things in their community. Said our goodbyes and headed off for our hotel in Korea town. Got to our hotel, kind of a strange hotel with parking that is a little confusing at first. The nice thing about the hotel was we were very close to all the popular spots and places we wanted to go to.
Lots of things to do in Koreatown, in the day, it is not as lively as the night. People are out enjoying the town, the food, the bars and its so lively out. People are hanging out at tea and boba bars, waiting to eat at some of the best Korean restaurants in town. The Paris Baguette is an awesome bakery for breakfast, love the croissant ham & cheese there. My wife loves the almond bread there. Lots of great deserts or lunch items. The Cakehouse also was delicious with bakery goods. I got a jalapeño cheddar breakfast with ham croissant there. The sesame seed bread here is also very delicious, not too sweet. Really got to taste some things that I have never experienced here and it was really nice to be out in Koreatown. Every one here is so friendly and the customer service we received from all the places we went was awesome. People here know how to treat their customers and seem to enjoy doing their jobs, not very many cities I have been to have I seen this. I really like when people give service and enjoy what they do. We all live to make something of ourselves but I always believe we should have pride in what we do no matter what type of job it is.
Dongdaemoon is open 24 hrs and boy is this place awesome. Their customer service is great but one thing I hate is you have to pay for water here so beware bring your own drinks if you want. The fried chicken here is awesome, I highly recommend it. The orders are pretty big so make sure you bring a friend and if you are hungry after a night of drinking, great place to be. The honey mustard is full of flavor and this is what Korean chicken does taste like. Everything here looks good, the hot pots, and soups here are king.
For a day we headed out to Grand Central Station Market for a quick bite, but I felt like a little kid in a toy store, my eyes lit up and I just wanted to have everything there. The food there is superb and everything just catches your eye. The Eggslut was so good! we ordered the Fairfax sandwich which was a omelet with melted cheese and bacon on a brioche bun that was super soft. My favorite is the Slut! She is creamy with the puree potatoes with an egg cooked in a jar under water before serving, its silky smooth, goes really well with the toasted baguette you get. We also went to the Thai restaurant and ordered drunken noodles, sticky rice with papaya salad with roasted chicken. This stuff is so good, wish the papaya was hot but full of flavor from everything. My Thai Lobster roll next door at Prawn was spectacular! You can taste the curry flavor mixed in with the lobster broth and the lobster was nice and tender.
We took a little route out to Little Tokyo and its kind of weird because people are told with signs to not take pictures and even the stores there say no pictures. I didn't get much but I will tell you that there are some really neat things to look out for if you want to decorate your home with Asian culture. Teapot sets, statues, and more. Very small part of town but worth checking out. Lots of good restaurant eateries and Milk+T is here.
There was some time to kill so we headed off for the OUE Skyspace, really cool building! I was so glad to come and check this place out. There is a bar there and a little cafeteria to get food. You get a chance to get a little LA history, and lots of cool facts on LA. The views are awesome with you being up 70 stories, you can slide on a glass slide hanging from the side of the building from the 70th floor to the 69th floor if you are feeling adventurous.
One of the final destinations we went to was the Kickin' Crab. One of my favorite Asian/Cajun restaurants that packs a flavor for your seafood. The sauce is what I love here. What a great way to finish dinner my wife's aunt who was on her way to Bakersfield and we were ready to fly back home. The garlic noodles are what they are known for and when you mix your sauce with the noodles, its so good. Freaking filthy delicious, I like that the sauce is not too full of powder or gritty. The sauce is not also over powering but you just want to keep dipping your shrimp into it.
If you are ever in LA, find out what you wanna do and do it. I think for my trip there was a little bit more that I wanted to do, just didn't have enough time. I will be back LA, I promise and I will definitely get to the other areas I didn't. Venice beach and Santa Monica will be my next go to spots to check out. Also stay in Orange county a little longer as there is also lots to do there. All I can say is that whenever I am in California, I am never disappointed at the things you can do and the life I could live. Now I just need a sponsor.
Use below to book your next travel hotels! I used it for mine and discounts are always available.
We spend some time out at the beaches and one of my favorite beaches is Corona Del Mar Beach, not too much of a tourist attraction, Parking is fairly inexpensive for a day, not too crowded compared to the other beaches in the area. Nice area for pictures and lots of neat sea life on the rocks to check out. The sand is nice, beach is clean, water is cold, sun was out, and there is a little shack for food in case you get hungry.
That night we got to enjoy a really good meal at Gen Korean BBQ, this may be a franchise, but its one of the best all you can eats out with some of the best choice cut meats. We ordered the premium beef that was tender, smoked garlic pork belly, spicy pork belly, spicy octopus, pork cheek, beef short ribs, galbibi, pork bulgogi, and more! There was so much by the time we were done, my stomach exploded. All the sides were there and some rules to know when you go. There is a 2 hr max of eating, with a charge of $5 extra and you can order up to 3 times per sitting. Any extra food left over cannot be taken and you will be charged an extra $5. That said, please be careful to what you order and try not to stuff yourself. This is pretty tricky as you get the meats and it looks very small in amounts but it gets you filled quick. The customer service is great here, the staff is friendly and they make sure you are taken care of for sure.
The meat here is so delicious, you will want to just eat everything up! So many different meats and the customers around you will definitely give you ideas when you see things they are eating which will make you wanna try it too.
Desert are the ice cream macaroons! Amazingly worth every bite so save some room for these bad boys! If you are ever near one of these you have got to try it out and I bet you will love every bit of it.
I was watching a show on Netflix called Eat Your Words and its about bloggers who talk a lot of shit to these restaurants that cook. They had a chef on there that had a very popular ramen restaurant named Tatsu Ramen. He claimed he cooks his broth for over 16 hrs and I knew I had to go there. So I located one that was closest and made the trip to go there. Now the one thing I am going to say about LA is that almost everywhere has valet parking which is actually nice. We walked up to the restaurant and the cool thing about this restaurant is the ordering system. Instead of being greeted and seated, you walk up to the iPad and order what you want, pay for it and then the staff will call your name and seat you. You also get your food within five minutes, the wait is about 15 min during lunch time but that was alright as we walked around and took a look at all the restaraunts in the strip. Now we got our names called and it was quick, within minutes I had my Bold Ramen bowl and it was fantastic, the broth was full of flavors of all the ingredients, the garlic, fresh veggies, the pork belly melted in your mouth, the egg was cooked perfect, and I had it all to myself. The noodles were a little undercooked for me and the egg I wish was in half but other than that, great presentation, friendly staff, and great food. This may be a little pricey but well worth it. One of the best Ramens I have had!
My wife is a big fan of boba and tea shops so we visited quite a few in the area. Snow monster was an awesome place to go with really neat concepts of what they serve. The one thing I will say is that they all kind of have the same drinks but just their own twist and gimmicks that stand out from others. The Beau bar had nice cool place to just hang out with good coffee, the Oakobing had some really wonderful Korean deserts, Tan-Cha is an awesome hangout for people of all ages with great tea and boba drinks for anyone that has an imagination. My favorite out of all of them was the Milk +T which had a self serve boba bar with jelly and fruits. They sell their own icons on shirts, hats, and sweaters. The one thing I would say is they are very hard to find with the small sign near Little Tokyo. But once you find it, this is also a nice hangout and their jars are really different from any other I have seen. I thought Snow monster was different with their lightbulb glass but this one was different in how normal and useful it was. It wasn't something out of the norm but just a jar. They went for simple and not over the top.
Lots of things to do in Koreatown, in the day, it is not as lively as the night. People are out enjoying the town, the food, the bars and its so lively out. People are hanging out at tea and boba bars, waiting to eat at some of the best Korean restaurants in town. The Paris Baguette is an awesome bakery for breakfast, love the croissant ham & cheese there. My wife loves the almond bread there. Lots of great deserts or lunch items. The Cakehouse also was delicious with bakery goods. I got a jalapeño cheddar breakfast with ham croissant there. The sesame seed bread here is also very delicious, not too sweet. Really got to taste some things that I have never experienced here and it was really nice to be out in Koreatown. Every one here is so friendly and the customer service we received from all the places we went was awesome. People here know how to treat their customers and seem to enjoy doing their jobs, not very many cities I have been to have I seen this. I really like when people give service and enjoy what they do. We all live to make something of ourselves but I always believe we should have pride in what we do no matter what type of job it is.
Dongdaemoon is open 24 hrs and boy is this place awesome. Their customer service is great but one thing I hate is you have to pay for water here so beware bring your own drinks if you want. The fried chicken here is awesome, I highly recommend it. The orders are pretty big so make sure you bring a friend and if you are hungry after a night of drinking, great place to be. The honey mustard is full of flavor and this is what Korean chicken does taste like. Everything here looks good, the hot pots, and soups here are king.
For a day we headed out to Grand Central Station Market for a quick bite, but I felt like a little kid in a toy store, my eyes lit up and I just wanted to have everything there. The food there is superb and everything just catches your eye. The Eggslut was so good! we ordered the Fairfax sandwich which was a omelet with melted cheese and bacon on a brioche bun that was super soft. My favorite is the Slut! She is creamy with the puree potatoes with an egg cooked in a jar under water before serving, its silky smooth, goes really well with the toasted baguette you get. We also went to the Thai restaurant and ordered drunken noodles, sticky rice with papaya salad with roasted chicken. This stuff is so good, wish the papaya was hot but full of flavor from everything. My Thai Lobster roll next door at Prawn was spectacular! You can taste the curry flavor mixed in with the lobster broth and the lobster was nice and tender.
We took a little route out to Little Tokyo and its kind of weird because people are told with signs to not take pictures and even the stores there say no pictures. I didn't get much but I will tell you that there are some really neat things to look out for if you want to decorate your home with Asian culture. Teapot sets, statues, and more. Very small part of town but worth checking out. Lots of good restaurant eateries and Milk+T is here.
There was some time to kill so we headed off for the OUE Skyspace, really cool building! I was so glad to come and check this place out. There is a bar there and a little cafeteria to get food. You get a chance to get a little LA history, and lots of cool facts on LA. The views are awesome with you being up 70 stories, you can slide on a glass slide hanging from the side of the building from the 70th floor to the 69th floor if you are feeling adventurous.
One of the final destinations we went to was the Kickin' Crab. One of my favorite Asian/Cajun restaurants that packs a flavor for your seafood. The sauce is what I love here. What a great way to finish dinner my wife's aunt who was on her way to Bakersfield and we were ready to fly back home. The garlic noodles are what they are known for and when you mix your sauce with the noodles, its so good. Freaking filthy delicious, I like that the sauce is not too full of powder or gritty. The sauce is not also over powering but you just want to keep dipping your shrimp into it.
If you are ever in LA, find out what you wanna do and do it. I think for my trip there was a little bit more that I wanted to do, just didn't have enough time. I will be back LA, I promise and I will definitely get to the other areas I didn't. Venice beach and Santa Monica will be my next go to spots to check out. Also stay in Orange county a little longer as there is also lots to do there. All I can say is that whenever I am in California, I am never disappointed at the things you can do and the life I could live. Now I just need a sponsor.
Use below to book your next travel hotels! I used it for mine and discounts are always available.
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