My Last Days in LA

Making the leap to move to the Netherlands and got a chance to swing by LA for one last hurrah!

Had an amazing time catching up with good friends and eating good food!

Here's a quick summary:

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wednesday:

- Fly in

- Lunch @ Foo Foo Tei - local hole in the wall ramen shop that is not much of a hole in the wall anymore! Located very randomly in a residential neighborhood.

- ORDER : curry ramen

- CON: green tea calpicco!

- Dinner @ CaCao Mexicatessen - no trip to LA would be complete without mexican food. Loved that each person orders their food and had plenty of space for a big group. Also a great reason to run around Pasadena :)

- ORDER : mole fries, duck taco, chicharron taco, al pastor taco

- CON: pricey! so used to the $1 tacos from random street vendors...but oh so delicious!

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thursday:

- Lunch @ In-N-Out - similarly, no trip to LA would be complete without In-N-Out! stop at any one of them!

- ORDER : cheeseburger protein style + grilled onions, animal style fries, root beer float

- CON: N/A

- Snack @ Salt N Straw - Portland based ice cream shop, was excited to try a little of the PNW here! Larchmont Village is so quaint to walk around too! very LA

- ORDER : freckled woodblock chocolate + butternut squash and goat cheese

- CON: missed my rogue blue cheese and pear flavor, guess it's just a Portland thing

- Dinner @ Sushi Zo - delicious omakase that just kept coming! Be prepared for at least 20 dishes!

- ORDER : omakase

- CON: N/A

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friday:

- Lunch @ New Garden - If you've never heard of or tried Korean Chinese food, this is the place I've been going to since I was a little girl. Had to go for nostalgia

- ORDER : jjajangmyun, sweet and sour pork, kung pao chicken, honey walnut shrimp

- CON: parking is an Asian parking lot so the spots are tiny

- Dinner @ Honda Ya - japanese izakaya (japanese tapas - small dishes meant to be shared, usually over drinks). Multiple locations...all of them are busy so get there early to put your name on the list

- ORDER : yakitori, agedashi mochi, yakisoba, tako-wasa, ankimo, zaru tororo soba - really haven't gone wrong with any of the dishes

- CON: long wait!

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saturday:

- Brunch @ La Grande Orange Cafe - I'm obviously in love with Pasadena and can't help going back! Awesome place to eat outside on a nice day

- ORDER : deviled eggs, lemon ricotta pancakes, short rib hash

- CON: kale + quinoa salad didn't taste as good as the last time :(

- Snack @ Carmela Ice Cream - hole in the wall ice cream shop that I literally have dreams about. first artisanal ice cream I tried using fresh ingredients!

- ORDER : toasted almond + fresh mint cacao nib

- CON: N/A

- Dinner @ friend's wedding :D

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sunday:

- Lunch @ Elite Restaurant - my choice for dimsum! much easier when you have some Chinese friends in the group! (unfortunately don't know the proper names for most of these :P)

- ORDER : almond milk with puff pastry, egg tart, BBQ pork bun, shrimp dumpling, shrimp in dumpling roll, spareribs and taro, chicken feet, cola wings, pig ears, crispy mochi pork dumplings

- CON: long wait, small lot but plenty of street parking

- Snack @ Class 302 - taiwanese shop made popular by the interior decoration and shaved snow, If you don't know what that is, it's a must try!

- ORDER : mango with homemade mochi

- CON: busy on hot days, very limited seating

- Snack @ 85 degree bakery - popular chinese bakery chain.

- ORDER : taro bun

- CON: N/A

- Dinner @ Bornga KBBQ - As a Korean American, I couldn't leave LA without eating at a korean BBQ spot! This place has great quality meats (not AYCE though)

- ORDER : pork jowl, naengmyun, galbi jjim, set menu

- CON: N/A

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honorable mention:

- Tsujita Ramen : located in "real" japan town - sawtelle, close to airport and open late night, delicious tsukemen ramen

- Marugame Monzo : handmade udon and you can watch them make it! uni udon is my fave!

- Boiling Crab : cajun shellfish chain. the whole shebang! :D trust...order the shrimp over the crawfish! potatoes + corn + sausage

- Sugarfish : my fave place to destress after work with tip included so easy checkout. warm sushi rice, delicious fish, reasonable price, blue crab roll!

- Din Tai Fung : world famous chain for xiao long bao (XLB) - delicious soup dumplings

- Anaheim Packing District : Popbar and Crepe Coop and the Kroft - delicious popsicles dipped in chocolate + nuts, delicious crepe w fresh strawberries, bananas, nutella, almonds and whipped cream, delicious sandwiches...one cool location

GAH sooo much goood food! :D you can't go wrong with Yelp!