We’ve finally arrived in Los Angeles to kick it with family before heading up to Mammoth for a wedding. This restaurant was suggested because it has modern Taiwanese American tastes to it that is seemingly becoming a trend in the Alhambra areas. Unlike NYC, I’ve always felt LA had better Asian food in the low/mid price ranges, so let’s see how it tastes. We were able to wait list on Yelp for about 5 minutes around 10:15 AM.
Ambiance & Service
The decor of this restaurant is very similar to many new age Alhambra restaurants. It has a lot of maple wood accents and white colors spread all over. The service was extremely fast, as expected, since Chinese/Taiwanese restaurants in LA try to turn over tables fast.
Food
The Strawberry Amazake ‘Smoothie’ ($7.50 for a 10 oz) came with Chavez Farms strawberries, amazake, almond milk, and lime zest. This essentially tasted like a very fresh strawberry smoothie that wakes you up a bit.
The Smoked Salmon Hash ($15) came with smoked salmon belly, preserved meyer lemon creme fraiche, wild trout roe, house made hash brown, dill, and chives. This was fantastic. The hash brown was exactly how I like it, which was super crispy on the outside and densely packed on the inside. The smoked salmon and citrus were all very complementary to each other.
The Grilled Prawns ($22) came with 5 Transparent Sea Farm prawns, Chinese bbq spice, and lemon. The entire head was edible though be careful of chewing some parts of the head where it’s spiky, and the flavors of the prawn were excellent. The prawn itself was not as meaty nor large as I had hoped.
The Cold Sesame Noodles ($15) came with Semolina organic spaghetti, house sesame sauce, organic Persian cucumbers, pickled carrots, crushed peanuts, cilantro, scallion, and a drizzle of house chili crisp. We also added chicken breast ($4). The cold noodles had an incredibly delicious bounce to it. The sesame sauce was a bit more liquid than how I would’ve liked, but it was still tasty.
The Breakfast Plate ($22) came with 2 farm fresh eggs, house-made hash brown, seasonal Farmers Market greens, pastured chicken thigh, and house made scallion ranch sauce. Everything about this plate screams fresh “farm to table”. The eggs were ordered scrambled, and they were very creamy, similar to Hong Kong style scrambled eggs. The greens were crispy and decadent. The thighs with the chimichurri-style sauce on top was absolutely delicious. I would definitely order this again.
The Chicken Liver Mousse ($16) came with Jidori chicken liver mousse, grilled Bub & Grandma’s sourdough sesame toast, house orange marmalade, Chavez Farms market pickles, and seasonal herbs. The mousse tasted great as expected. I was very impressed by the house orange marmalade because it tasted very rustic. There were large peels of orange skin it, and the glaze was absolutely phenomenal.
The Cornmeal Mochi Pancake ($15) came with Grist & Toll heirloom cornmeal, Koda Farms mochiko rice flour, organic whipped cream, and seasonal toppings. The pancake was pretty thin, but it tasted great. They really made the cornmeal fairly crispy, so it does give you a textural distinction to it. The toppings and whipped cream all tasted outstanding as well.
Final Verdict
This is a pretty good take on American breakfast with a Taiwanese spin on it. If I lived in LA, this would easily be a top choice to go to for breakfast/brunch.
Yelp Jabs
The pancake was soft, yet chewy. I loved the concept with the condensed milk, but it didn’t pair as well as I thought it would.
I thought it paired just fine.
If you’re looking for a solid brunch spot in the area, this is the place. Yes, it can get busy on weekends (took about 1.5 hours for a party of 3 on a Saturday early afternoon), but their Yelp Waitlist system is convenient and helps cut down on the amount of time that you actually have to stand around and wait.
My family that has been to this restaurant several times tends to go around when it opens. Otherwise, it’s going to be expected to have some sort of wait time. Also, if you go on weekdays, it tends to be less crowded than weekends of course.
Revisions
- Apr 16, 2023 - Initial revision.