Located at:
123 Onizuka St
Ste 203
Los Angeles,
CA 90012
Date of Visit: 9/13/13
I stumbled upon this place by mostly by accident. My cousins, friends and I originally wanted Korean BBQ at Little Tokyo. But being that it was Friday night it was a suicide mission. Upon arrival we saw that the place was packed and there was a ton of people waiting outside. And my friend isn't very keen on waiting. So we wanted to eat somewhere else in the same vicinity. But no one really wanted anything else since they were in the AYCE mood. After we left we ended up at a sushi joint that did AYCE sushi but there wasn't any available seats. We said we would wait. But once again, they weren't down for waiting. So we left to wander around Little Tokyo to see what else was open and didn't have a line. We walked a few blocks and passed a lot of restaurants but no one could make up their minds. We walked by a few places I would have liked to try but doubt they would have served us since my companions looked like a bunch of urchins. Then there we were, at the edge of Little Tokyo, hungry and out of breath. We looked to see what was around and settled for this place. Once again there was a wait. And my restless and anxious companions were ready to bounce. I wasn't going anywhere else. And so glad that we ended up here because this place was awesome!
I've been meaning to try out a Yakitori joint for a while now. And now, i can't stop thinking about it. Now for those of you who don't know what Yakitori is... it's basically skewered food. Any that's on a stick is usually fine by me. :P Before entering we saw that they had their menu outside and noticed that each skewer averaged out to 3 to 4 dollars each. Since i have such a gargantuan appetite (and so does my cousins & friends) this is not going to end up well for my wallet. Logically i should have said... "bad idea..too expensive.. should walk away". However my stomach screamed "GO FOR IT!" and so i did. And so glad i did.
The service here felt kind of brash. They were quick to take our orders right off the bat. We had to send her away because we were no where near ready. And when they dropped off the food (which came out rather quick) they were nice enough to let us know which skewer was which since some of them came in groups. Throughout the entire time the servers were rushing around constantly. Granted the place was packed when we got there we were going to take it easy on them. However towards the end when there was only 4 parties left (ourselves included) they still had this urgency to them. They're consistent I'll give them that but that kind of made me a little uneasy... just a little. But other than that it's fine. They were still nice and came by to make sure our water glasses were full and if we needed anything else.
They gave us a complimentary snack to keep our hunger at bay. Totally awesome because given another minute i would have just gone head-hunter status on my company and devour their entrails from hunger. But also for revenge since they hauled me all across Little Tokyo. Anyways, this whatchamacallit consists of a piece of carrot, celery and a chunk of cabbage with an AMAZING dipping sauce. The sauce itself tasted like a blend of miso and horseradish (though i could be wrong). We were all in agreement about how we could have just sat there and kept eating a bigger portion of that all night. I may just try to learn to make that and eat that as a snack from now on since it seems healthier and tastes fresh and light!
Takoyaki. OCTO BALLS! This dish was amazing. There were so many flavors and textures going on. It just blew my mind. You have the chewiness from the octopus bits and then softer creamier to contrast it... heaven. But be careful, they're very hot. Burned my weenie tongue twice while jamming these suckers into my gullet.
I forgot which one that is in the foreground closest to us. But it wasn't mine and i didn't try it. So I'm not going to write about it. But the one next to that is the "Duck" skewer. I felt the meat was a little over done and it felt like it could have used a bit more seasoning. The one after that was the "porkbelly wrapped asparagus". That one was amazing. The asparagus was cooked properly and very flavorful. Then to add to that, the pork-belly was very crispy and added additional flavor. A must try.
"Scallops" I'm a sucker for scallops. When i saw how promising they looked i was rather excited. But i may have set my excitement level too high. The flavor is definitely good. They seasoning didn't overpower the scallops flavor. But the only thing is that it was overdone. Very rubbery and hard.
"Tori Karaage" Another one of my Japanese favorites. They're fried chicken! I looked really good when i saw it being served to another patron while i was still waiting to be seated. So i was really looking forward to this. So much so that i had no intentions of sharing this with anyone else and they had to get another one (as you can tell from the photo). But it looked better than it tasted. It was overdone and dry. And i feared the fried batter would cut up my mouth something fierce. But glad it didn't. The flavor though was pretty good. But it was a tad bit on the salty side.
"Beef Tongue" (not mine),"Salmon" and "Shiitake Mushroom" The salmon was cooked and seasoned nicely. It was still moist. I was afraid it would have ended up overdone but it wasn't. Phew. The mushroom was very juicy oddly and enjoyable. But the sauce that they used was very acidic. I still can't decide if i was a fan of that or not...
"Lamb Chop" My cousin ordered this and it was so... pretty. He claims it was a bit overcooked. But tasted "Ok".
I'm glad i got to try this place out. I've been coming to this plaza for years now. Mostly for the bookstore or the curry house next door and had always wondered about this place. I didn't know what kind of good food i was missing out on. Though there were some issues with the temperature of the meat the flavors were still there and still really good. Heck, there's so much more here that i would want to try! Though i would have to wait a bit. It would be kind steep if i pigged out here too often. But it wasn't as bad as i thought. If i just had one appetizer and say 3-4 skewers i would be at a good place and not "stuffed". I'd would most definitely be back.
For this place I'd give it a thumbs up... on a stick!
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