Shojin (Little Tokyo, LA, CA)

Located at:
333 S Alameda St Ste 310
 Los Angeles, CA 90013

Date of visit: 10/12/13


      I'm going to be honest. I had some reservations about this place. Mainly because of the fact that I'm a die-hard meat guzzler so I'm not sure how well i would hold up in a Vegan establishment. I've gotten to a way of thinking that most vegan places were just too high-brow for me. Or i may walk out of there feeling jipped for paying an arm and a leg for something that my food would have eaten. And in a worse case scenario my body would have just rejected the food much like how Smeagol (from Lord of the Rings) would reject regular food exclaiming "It burns us!". But after my first time here a while back it, I felt like I grew a bit after the meal. I just never knew vegan food could have ever reached this level of "awesome-sauce" and have me singing a different tune about vegan food.

      Shojin could be a hard place to find considering it's on the top floor inside a mall. And what's funny is that an all you can-you-can-eat meats Manna Korean BBQ has opened up about a year ago directly across from this restaurant.

      Once you go behind the curtains and set foot inside you may just be amazed by how the mood instantly changes. Shojin's interior does a really good job of separating itself from the rest of the mall. It's become very intimate, chill and definitely very "pinky out".
     On this visit I noticed it was just a single waiter taking care of five parties (us included). So i became a bit wary. But this guy was amazing. He was really nice, knowledgeable, totally composed and was on top of things. We didn't feel rushed at all and he was always there to make sure we were doing alright. Kudos to him.
     Once in a while they will introduce a new dish may it be using an ingredient that is in season or something that matches the closest holidays. Or once in a while they would only do a set menu for a particular holiday. But when i went they had prematurely printed out some Halloween items which were pumpkin based that we were unable to try. What a bunch of teases. So we just went with a few old favorites.

      Spicy "Tuna" on Crispy Rice. "Spicy tofu, avocado and chili on fried brown rice crackers."

      Dynamite Roll. "Spicy 'Tuna' and avocado roll, with spicy 'mayo' and green onion on top served with spicy dynamite sauce."

      Yellow Magic Orchestra. "Pumpkin tempura and curry spiced tempeh on green vegetable roll served with sweet soy sauce and Japanese 'Karashi" mustard sauce."

      Baked "Scallop" Roll. "Spicy 'tuna' and avocado roll topped with sauteed onions and 'scallop' mushrooms. Served with miso mayonnaise and sweet soy sauce. Slightly torched at your table."

      Pirates of the Crunchy. "Fried tempeh, green onion and crunchy tempura batter mixed with spicy 'mayo' on a green vegetable roll served with spicy dynamite sauce."

     Green Dynamite Roll. "Our popular dynamite roll made with a summer twist. The cool  flavors of quinoa, avocado and a green vegetable roll mix well with the spicy flavors of spicy mayo and green chili sauce. Lightly torched."
     All the items we had gotten were absolutely delicious. They each had such a different unique texture and none of it was outputting. The flavors of each item were amazing. They were all had such fresh and clean flavors. These rolls could definitely hold their own and does not require any soy sauce or wasabi to pair with like any normal roll. However, their baked scallop had a heavy taste of the butane gas from the torch. But despite that I would still order a couple of those. We have ordered another item however the picture didn't turn out too well (I'm still a noob). But I am a total fan of their mushroom dishes here, like their "Rocky Mountain Roll", "Stuffed Shiitake Mushrooms" and the "Spicy Rock Shiitake Tempura" are a must try. God I love mushrooms...
     Shojin has undeniably found their niche and pulling it off wonderfully. This lone restaurant has shown me just how amazing vegan food could be. And since then I've been more open to trying more vegan places. Though Shojin is holding the top vegan spot for me.