Help!

[jogoode]

Hi Everyone,

Sorry but I haven't had time to do a search. I'll be staying in Thai town when I visit LA next week and am in the market for some good Thai and Korean. I'm looking for authentic food only.

Is Renu Nakorn worth a trip to Norwalk?

Thanks!

[pim]

I'm not so up on the Thai restaurant scene anymore as I live in the Bay Area.

But, you will be staying in Thai Town for peace sake. Renu Nakorn or anything else is not worth the trip to Norwalk. There are plenty of good Thai restaurants in the Hollywood/Thai town area.

Old favorites are Jitlada on Sunset, Sanam Luang for noodle and street food dishes, and even some vendors in the Thailand Plaza building have good stuff.

I also remember another place that specializes in Thai desserts, don't remember the name, but it's in the same strip mall as Ruen Pair I think. From Sanam Luang, turn left on Hollywood and it's only about a block to the right, right before you get to Thailand Plaza. This shop is at the far left corner of the strip mall. Plenty of Thai dessert items that will be fun to try.

Oh I miss LA, but only for the food.

Edited June 29, 2004 by pim (log)

[FoodZealot]

jogoode,

there are lots of references to those two styles throughout, but the most relevant thread for Thai is LA Thai Restaurant Tasting Tour. We never really arrived at a champion or anything, but there are lot's of good restaurants included there. I believe the sweet shop that pim is referring to is called BhankanomThai. I haven't been to Renu Nakorn myself, so I won't comment on that part of your question.

For Korean, check out the Korean BBQ thread and mongo jones' some meals in la thread.

I hope you enjoy your stay.

~Tad

edit: to remove extra werds

Edited June 29, 2004 by FoodZealot (log)

[tissue]

I recommend Dae Sung Oak on Olympic for korean bbq and hot pot.

[jschyun]

IMHO, I would say don't bother with Renu Nakorn. Meat quality is marginal, in my recent experiences there, and nothing was as good as the reviews led me to believe, though maybe I didn't have the correct secret password. Also, it's quite a drive.

Yeah, that Thai sweets shop is probably one of my favorite places in L.A. No definitely.

Yeah, check out that Korean thread. Also, mongo ate at a bunch of places and took some pics which are mouthwatering.

If you have a couple of days, I would try a little of everything, a barbecue place, soft tofu, some noodles here, a bakery there, sweet shop there.

I'm in OC, so I don't get out to L.A. everyday, but here's my $.02. Maybe others will chime in with their experiences. Depending on how experienced you are with Korean cuisine, I would go here:

Barbecue:

Soot Bull Jeep (8th street)

I'm not a big barbecue eater, so actually, i don't like this place, but this is the standard place to go if you want your pores to smell like garlicky smoke (smoky garlic?) for 3 days.

'yangban' cuisine:

Yongsusan

The only outpost outside of Korea. Features a menu where you pick from a bunch of set courses. Can be expensive but I like it as a change of pace. After dinner, you can try Hwa Sun Ji(3960 Wilshire Boulevard (213)382-5302). as I've said before, it is a tea house that will take take you through a tea drinking course. reservations needed for the tea course.

Korean Chinese:

For the standard black bean noodles in L.A. (chiachiangmyun) our family likes this place right off Olympic on Vermont, actually only a couple doors down from Yongsusan. I forget the name though. Honestly, if I close my eyes, I can't tell the difference between the noodles at most Korean Chinese places, as long as they are run by Chinese. I personally prefer the ones run by Chinese people, because the noodles seem to be chewier and the sauce somehow richer, more flavorful, but maybe there are exceptions. Ditto for jjampong, tangsooyuk and the other stuff. If you're feeling adventurous, order the sea cucumber in brown sauce, one of my favorites but it's sort of, uh, slippery.

Soft Tofu:

BCD Soft Tofu

People are going to yell at me for recommending this one but it's easy to find, easy parking, nice atmosphere, standard soft tofu. Most people I know usually get the kimchi soft tofu, seafood soft tofu (haemul soondubu), or the seafood and beef soft tofu (sukkuh soondubu). My favorite is the sukkuh soondubu.

Noodles:

Since I'm not going to drive an hour for noodles, I stick with Miho and Hangari noodle house in OC. my cousin just told me about a plce called dan mi oh (sp?) for konggooksoo (uh, cold soy milk noodles, better than it sounds). If I were you, and you haven't had konggooksoo, I would stick with the kalgooksoo (knife cut noodles) with say clams, kimchi, or whatever suits your fancy. I like the kimchi or clams one. Madang Gooksoo on Western is decent.

Bar:

rslee told me about Dan sung sa and I went here once I think this or last year. This place has gotten good reviews from several english newspapers despite the fact that this is probably the only restaurant I'm going to mention where you will probably need a korean translator. Absolutely nothing is in English. Mostly you go here to drink and have snacks that go with your drinks, called "anju". There's one in Oakland too, but haven't been. Go with a Korean friend.

Malls:

Galleria on Western. The cafe on the top floor allegedly has good patbingsu, but I've only been once, and they were out of dduk (grr). But since most Korean cafes in L.A. have a lot of smokers, I will try it again. Lots of other stores, expensive but interesting if you like malls. We don't have these sorts of Korean malls in OC.

Bakeries:

I personally can't think of any bakeries I like anymore. I dislike Manna and another famous one whose name escapes me. Why? Nobody does hobak bang (pumpkin bread) with the little pieces of pumpkin in it anymore. It's just that smooth orange sludge inside. If anyone knows of a place that does it, PM me immediately.

I'm sure I or someone else will add a bunch more, these were just off the top of my head.

PM me if you want more details. I'm out of time here.

[tissue]

Jin Sang on Olympic has good hot pot and Tahoe Galbi has been a recent fave for bbq.

[jogoode]

Thanks, everyone, for your help!

  pim said:

But, you will be staying in Thai Town for peace sake.  Renu Nakorn or anything else is not worth the trip to Norwalk.  There are plenty of good Thai restaurants in the Hollywood/Thai town area. 

That is great to hear, pim, especially because I have only limited time in LA. In NYC, there is only one Thai restaurant that I think is worth visiting and it's a trek, so I thought the same rule might apply in LA.

Tell me, do you (or anyone else) find that Jon Gold's take on Asian food to be accurate?

[pim]

  jogoode said:

Tell me, do you (or anyone else) find that Jon Gold's take on Asian food to be accurate?

Jon who? What's his take on Thai food?

pardon my ignorance..

[jogoode]

  pim said:

  jogoode said:

Tell me, do you (or anyone else) find that Jon Gold's take on Asian food to be accurate?

Jon who? What's his take on Thai food?

pardon my ignorance..

Mr. Gold is the critic for LA Weekly who seeks out inexpensive and -- for the most part -- ethnic food.

Here's a link to LA Weekly's restaurant database.

[pim]

  jogoode said:

Mr. Gold is the critic for LA Weekly who seeks out inexpensive and -- for the most part -- ethnic food.

Here's a link to LA Weekly's restaurant database.

His reviews sound good. But I wouldn't know, as I said, I am so out of touch with LA that I don't really know any more.

[jogoode]

It's too bad you're no longer in LA and up on the Thai scene. Finding good Thai food is very important to me. I hope to try both of the places you recommended, plus a few from Mr. Gold.

[bvus]

Jogoode:

There's actually a discussion of Jonathan Gold Korean issues here:

Gold-Korea

[jogoode]

Thanks, bvus!