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Cook With Dana

Must-Try Asian Restaurants in LA

March 8, 2022


Since there’s so much delicious food in southern California, you will need a few days to try all of them! I lived in Santa Monica when I graduated college and was lucky to try all the delicious food for a year! As you may know, the asian food in Los Angeles (Koreatown), San Gabriel Valley, and Orange County is comparable to their native countries. I’m Cantonese and I think the Chinese food here is very comparable to Hong Kong and Guangzhou.

If you’re ever in southern California, you need to check out some of these asian restaurants:

chinese food in LA top island

Top Island Seafood

Authentic Chinese dining has lots of large dishes (meat, vegetables, and more!) that are meant for sharing with your family and friends. We call this eating ‘family style’ and we rotate the lazy susan to try all the different dishes. Top Island Seafood serves mainly Cantonese dishes such as sauteed pea shoots, Cantonese peking duck, and steamed lobster (pictured above). We love ordering peking duck, fried crab or lobster with garlic, and a plate of vegetables.

Park’s BBQ

Parks BBQ - Koreatown - Los Angeles - The Infatuation
credit photo to Infactuation

The meat at Park’s BBQ is super high quality and the marinade for the meats is delicious! However, what makes Park’s BBQ better than all the other spots in K-Town, is their ban-chan (korean side dishes). The side dishes have a modernized flavor and there’s a huge variety of them (spicy raw marinated crab, beef stew, and more!) too. When we asked for a re-fill of side dishes, they gave us different ones instead of refilling the same ones. If that’s not good service, I don’t know what is! Must try meats: brisket, galbi and short rib.

Sul & Beans

korean shaved ice mango
mango and strawberry bingsoo

After a delicious meal in koreatown, you need to get a yummy, light & not too sweet dessert! The one pictured is mango and strawberry shaved ice. I love eating korean shaved ice because the fruit is super sweet and the shaved ice has milk in it! The condensed milk added on top compliments the ripe fruit so well. If you haven’t tried korean shaved ice before, you need to get this!

Tsujita LA Noodles

dipping ramen
cha siu tsukemen

Lots of authentic Japanese ramen can be found in the Sawtelle area of Los Angeles. One of my favorite ramen places is called Tsujita! We love the Tsukemen (dipping ramen) at this location. The broth is super flavorful and you can choose your level of fat content for the broth. If you haven’t tried dipping ramen, you need to try it. The noodles are chewier and the broth is more savory. However, if you like normal ramen (without dipping), you can try the Tsujita across the street!

Soban

soy marinated crab

I tried raw korean marinated crab for the first time last year and I have to say that I love it! The texture of the raw crab tastes like raw scallop. The savory and sweet marinade is so delicious with hot rice (purple rice here is sooo good!). The downside of this place is that it is on the pricier side, $60 for 2 pieces of crab. However, if you’re willing to splurge, I highly recommend trying this place. The side dishes were amazing and tastes more homemade (kinda like grandma’s side dishes!).

Iki Ramen

handroll sushi set
handroll set

The name of this restaurant may be misleading and you may think that this place serves ramen only. In addition to delicious ramen, they have fresh sushi! I know what you’re thinking…’how can a place serve delicious sushi and ramen…’ Well Iki ramen does both super well. Its located in Ktown in a small strip mall and looks unassuming on the outside as well. Considering this is one of my favorite restaurants in LA, I recommend getting the handroll set here, which comes with seaweed from Japan. You wrap it up and you have a crunchy and soft bite. Honestly, I prefer their sushi sets more than their ramen.

garlic ramen

Traveling to other spots and unsure what to eat? Check out some of my faves here:

  • New York City
  • Brooklyn, New York
Delicious Food Tour in New York City

in Travel # food in LA, must eats, must try foods in LA, travel

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Hi there, I'm Dana and I create Asian recipes that are yummy and easy for everyone to make! I hope my food reminds you of a little taste of home.

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One Pot Oyakodon (Made in Rice Cooker)

udon noodles with chicken and pork broth, pork mince, green onions and spinach

Easy Tan Tan Udon (Tantanmen Recipe)

Latest ‘Grams

A little inside look of my food creation process! A little inside look of my food creation process! I try my best to create/write delicious foods so you can make them at home 💕🥹

As a food content creator, we taste test our recipes at least 2 times before we put it out on the internet. Why? Well some things just turn out tasting not so good or it doesn’t look too pretty. It’s important for us to create beautiful food content because we eat with our eyes first. This recipe tasting process is different for everyone but here’s a quick look on how I taste recipes to ensure they are tasty and easy to make. 

1. See what’s trending? Scroll google/tik tok/instagram to see what people want to eat.
2. I start drafting my recipe in @notion and I make a grocery list. I try to not buy random items (ok maybe one or two) LOL
3. Start cooking - I go off my draft recipe and start cooking! I love how notion keeps track of my recipes and groceries all in one go!
4. tasting testing - I taste and continue to tweak while i’m cooking, making sure i make notes along the way. 

I haven’t done this for all my recipes in the past, but I can say in 2022-2023, I’ve tried my best to make delicious recipes for y’all! Shoutout to Notion (notes app) for helping me organize all my recipe and video  ideas.  I used Notion when I was a corporate girlie so I highly recommend for those that want to keep your schedule and notes on track (not sponsored).

—

#deliciousfood #recipe #foodblogger #contentcreator #foodie
Did the chicken or egg come first? I dunno, but wh Did the chicken or egg come first? I dunno, but whoever invented this dish, oyakodon is a genius. Welcome to episode 5 of my recipes series where we cook delicious food using one pot only and using as little amount of dishes as possible. 

Find the full recipe by checking link in bio or google ‘one pot oyakodon dana’ 

I adapted the famous dish to be made in a rice cooker! Oyoakodon is known for it’s dashi shoyu sauce which tastes umami, savory and sweet. The combination of tender chicken, sweet onions, and the richness of the beaten eggs creates a delicious and satisfying meal.

If you make this, try to follow the instructions carefully to ensure you have tender chicken and not so mushy rice ◡̈
——
#easyrecipes #chicken #japanesefood #delicious #ricecooker
Sorry, I put the wrong address on the video 😅😅😅
Family owned restaurants alllll the way!! This Filipino family owned restaurant is called At My Place in Phoenix, Arizona. The address is 3450 W Chandler Blvd Ste 9 Chandler AZ 85226!

We had sisig (our friends favorite dish ever) and it was so flavorful, soft, crispy and just super yummy! TRUST. The lumpia and longanisia were also delicious but incomparable to the sisig 😂

Please check this place out if you’re ever in the area 🙏🏼💖 You won’t regret it and support local if you can ◡̈ 
——
#asianfood #filipinofood #sisig #delicious #foodie
The rice worth waiting for!! Welcome to episode 4 The rice worth waiting for!! Welcome to episode 4 of my recipes series where we cook delicious food using one pot only and using as little amount of dishes as possible. Today we’re making lo mai fan aka chinese sticky rice! 

Full recipe, google ‘Chinese Sticky Rice Dana’ or find it in my link in bio 🍚

The star of the show are these chinese cured meats that pack insane amount of savoriness and sweetness to your rice. These meats are a very common pantry item in Chinese households kinda similar to how you can find canned tuna in an American pantry. These meats are Lap Cheong, a type of Chinese sausage and lap yuk, chinese cured pork belly (my dad made ours at home!). The combination of all the delicious chinese cured meats brings a savory, rich flavor to the sticky rice. 

You may have seen this dish at dim sum restaurants. Traditionally, they steam the rice and then sautee all the ingredients together in a large wok. The stir fry process makes the grains more chewy and the preserved meats very fragrant. However, to make this process a lot quicker, we are throwing all the ingredients in a rice cooker to make an equally delicious chinese sticky rice.

Things to keep in mind 

- the perfect proportion of water is crucial to ensure that the rice is not overcooked and too mushy. remember that the mushrooms and meat will provide extra moisture to the rice when cooked.
- Don’t forget about the dried shrimp and shiitake mushroom as it provides a sweetness and umami flavor (both dried pantry items)
- I used the ‘white rice’ setting in my @zojirushiamerica rice cooker and it cooks the rice perfectly. You can use the regular cook setting as well for this recipe. 
—
#onepotmeal #rice #chinesefood #asianfood #easyrecipes #stickyrice #chinesesausage
Want to host a sushi dinner party? I gotchuuuuu 😘 this is what I get at @nijiya__market (Japanese grocery store). Not sponsored just showing you all my faves! 

grocery list (some not shown in video) for the best sushi night AT HOME: 
- salmon
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Find the full recipe by googling ‘tantanmen cook with Dana’ or find it in the link in bio 🍜

Long time no ASMR calming video…Honestly, I’ve been feeling kinda bleh and warm soup kinda cheers me up. I’ve also been busy with family lately that I haven’t been able to cook as often as I usually do 😞 

That’s where this tantanmen recipe comes in clutch. You can have a delicious & creamy broth without cooking it for forever. Tantanmen is a Chinese dish that has been popularized in Japan and has been adapted into a Japanese version known as Tan Tan Men. While the Chinese version is typically made with a spicy soup made from chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns, the Japanese version often has a milder broth made with miso, soy sauce, or both.

We are making the Japanese version that is less spicy than the Chinese version. This recipe takes less than 30 minutes to make and you can add a variety of different toppings based on your own preference such as soft boiled eggs, chasu (bbq pork), bean sprouts, corn and more! You can also replace the udon noodles with ramen noodles or whatever noodle you prefer!

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