Chaya Brasserie@Beverly Hills ★★★

Fantastic Japanese Fusion Food. Great drinks. 30 years in business. The Chaya Moscow Mule is served in a copper mug, which makes it very fun to drink from. Wagyu Beef Roll was one-of-a-kind. Lobster was Asian-infused and flavorful with Cilantro. Love the grilled vegetables on the side. Black & White Uni Pasta was great. Got a discounted Travel Zoo dining voucher. Valet parking is $6.50.

The Chaya Moscow Mule $14
soyombo vodka, fresh ginger nectar, cinnamon clove tea, fresh squeezed lime juice, ginger beer – served in a copper mug

Market Cocktail $13

Uni Toast $13
santa barbara uni, toasted crostini, duxelle de champignon, hollandaise

Inside of Uni Toast

Wagyu Beef Roll $18
spicy shrimp, asparagus, avocado, fresh tuna

Paella Valencia $31
langoustine, shrimp, calamari, mussels, chorizo, olives, english peas

Spiced Roasted Lobster $29 (half)
seasonal market vegetables, spicy lobster sauce, grilled lemon

Banana Banana Banana $9
chaya classic– banana tart, banana ice cream, frozen chocolate banana

Chaya Brasserie

8741 Alden Dr

Los Angeles, CA 90048

(310) 859-8833

thechaya.com

DK's Donuts@Santa Monica ★★★

Cronuts in LA. Simply delicious. The donut shop is 24/7 and has plenty of cronuts, which means that they will never run out. You can fix your Cronut cravings anytime now. Dessert anytime. No line too.

Nutella Strawberry Cronut $3.95

Don't worry - Cronut is carefully placed in a sturdy togo box.

DK's Donuts
1614 Santa Monica Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 829-2512
dksdonuts.com

Cheng Can Cook: Salmon Bowl ★★★

Easy Home "Cooking". No actual cooking required. Not even chopping. Simply delicious.

Seasoned Salmon Flakes

Ingredients:
Shredded Seaweed
Ikura (Salmon Roe)
Shiso Leaf
Seasoned Salmon Flakes (can be bought at Japanese supermarkets)
Japanese Sushi Rice

Cooking instructions:
In a serving rice bowl, Sprinkle Shredded Salmon on a bed of rice. Add Shiso Leaf with Salmon Roe on top and Seaweed on the side. Enjoy.

P.S. No Soy Sauce needed, since the Canned Salmon is salty itself already.

Cheng Can Cook: A Million Dollar Appetizer ★★★

Heavenly Sushi Appetizer. Envisioned making this for a while. Finally made it and loved it.

Ingredients: (from top to bottom)
Spring Onions for Garnish
Ikura (Salmon Roe)
Uni (Sea Urchin)
Aka Ebi (Red Sweet Shrimp)
Hand Grated Otoro (Premium Fatty Tuna)
Japanese Sushi Rice
A Slice of Lemon
Sesame Leaf

Stack the ingredients from bottom to top skillfully, then you will have this. It's worth the work and craftsmanship to enjoy.

P.S. The Uni is actually very slippery and hard to work with.

Quality Seafood@Redondo Beach ★★★

Fresh Live Seafood. My goto place for fresh Uni. Its spines were still moving. Usually sold out later in the day on Sundays. BTW, Cherrystone Clams are the new Oysters (at least for me). Blue Crab is inexpensive - nice, sweet, and small. You can borrow a wooden hammer from the counter to crack open the crab with a $3 refundable deposit.

Live Uni about $35

Live Cherrystone Clams $3

Uni

Tua Tua Clams $3@, Cherrystone Oysters $3@, Fanny Bay Oysters $3.05@, Kushi Oysters $3.65@

Lobster about $45, Blue Crab about $4

Sapporo Beer $6

Fish & Chips $15

Busy Table

The guy let me feel the live Uni with my bare hand...

My poked bare hand after holding the Uni...

Quality Seafood
130 S International Boardwalk
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
(310) 372-6408
qualityseafood.net

Nha Trang@Alhambra ★★★

Limited Items on the Menu. It usually means they are very focused and good at their specialty. Clean Vietnamese restaurant and tasty noodles. Fast service. 2 hours parking in rear.

4. Bun Bo Xao $6.50
stir-fried beef in lemongrass over rice vermicelli

2. Bun Rieu $6.50
crabmeat, tomato soup with rice vermicelli

Nha Trang
417 W Main St
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 588-2833

Hinoki and the Bird@Century City ★★★

Great Service. Superb Quality. A must-try New American restaurant.

Lobster Roll $19 (MP)
green curry, thai basil

Crispy Lotus Root $7

Pepper Toast $12

BBQ Pork $21

Spiced Okra $9

Flan $9

Mango “Snow Cone,” $9
macadamia nuts, lime cayenne jelly

Miso Donuts, Honey Caramel $9

Burnt "H" for Hinoki

Picture with Nick, the super nice Assistant General Manager

Hinoki & The Bird
10 Century Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 552-1200
www.HinokiandTheBird.com