Shinsengumi Ramen

I have tried many ramen restaurants here in LA. I best that I found is Shinsengumi. The place lets you customize your own ramen bowl. They let you choose the toppings, the level of hardness of the noodle, the stength of the taste of the soup, etc. Other than ramen, they also serve excellent gyoza, fried rice, takowasa (wasabi squid), and soboro (minced prok over rice), etc. Many of their dishes come in small portions and they taste good with their draft beer. By the way if you like natto (fermented soy beans) you should order Stamina Natto. It's natto with cut mountain potato, green onion, okra, and raw quail egg. Mix them with a little soy sause. Tastes great !

There are many branches, and the brand extents to other kinds of Japanese such as Shabu Shabu, Chanko Nabe, Yakitori, even Togos. Check out their website: Shinsengumiusa.com

Best Dim Sum: Sea Habour Seafood Restaurant

I did go to try the Dim Sum at the Sea Habour Seafood. It was, by far, the greatest. The Dim Sum at most places have very think outter/wrapping layer which makes them taste bad. But the Dim Sum at this place is really good -- the leyers were very thin and the inside is very rich. The beef stew was really good too. It isnt too oily so it doesnt give you too much of the sticky feeling in your mouth. I also had the Shark fin soup which was served in a papaya. It was alright, not so much of an outstanding plate. The chillie sause was the bottled kind that is popular in most Asian restaurants so it wasnt that good; I like the one at NBC better. Although some of the Dim Sum dishes at NBC taste better, Sea Habour has the upper hand overall in my opinion. The only down of this place is that the line is ridiculously long; you'll have to wait an hour so get there early....

Address: 3939 N. Rosemead Blvd., Rosemead Phone number: 626-288-3939

Dim Sum: NBC Seafood

The best Dim Sum I've had so far in LA is at NBC Seafood. They serve Dim Sum during lunch (I dont know from what time to what time but around noon to 2pm is the safest bet) and serve seafood for dinner (although their seafood isnt that good). Like other Dim Sum places, they serve Dim Sum from carts that their waitress pushed around the restaurant. The place is quite large but it is crowded everyday, you shouldnt go too late for lunch because many of the dishes will be finished. The price is moderate. It's a great place for Dim Sum overall.

Their address: 404 S Atlantic Blvd (Cross Street: Harding Avenue)Monterey Park, CA 91754. Phone number: (626) 282-2323

Tomorrow, I'm going to another Dim Sum place called Sea Horbor. Many argued that it is much better than NBC Seafood and it is, by far, the best Dim Sum in town. I will check it out.

Pizzaria: Mulberry and Lamonica's

There are tons and tons of pizza places in LA. But there are two that I like the best. One of them is on Canon drive in Beverly hills. Its called Mulberry Pizzaria. It's a small place that serves pizza by the slice and other dishes like spaghetti and salad. Their sause has known to be very good, and they have a few tables outside of their restaurants and they are great for chilling on a sunny evening. Another place is Lamonica's New York Pizza in Westwood. Their pizza has crunchy crust and the toppings are just about right, not too much. The decoration isnt that attractive -- inside is kinda dark. But their pizza make every visit worthwhile.

Mulberry Pizzaria: 347 N. Cañon Dr
Lamonica's NY Pizza: 1066 Gayley Ave

Ps. I just saw a pizzaria called Village Pizzaria on Larchmont. There were tons of people, and they have to have a waiting list for customers to sign their names on. Pizza seems pretty good. I'll taste it when I get the chance and I'll post some comments here.

French

I just went to Melisse the other day. Personally, I think it is the best French cuisine in LA. The chef continually creates new wonderful dishes every once in a while. Their appetizers are great. This time I went, the chef had a special menu of Kobe beef. There were several items, but unfortunately on the day I went, they only had the Kobe tartar. So I had that; it was really great. For entree, I had lamb loin, but I didnt like it that much because it is dominated by a sweet flavor. I remember, though, that last time I went, their lamb chop was certainly superb. Although it is a French-American restaurant, I think their pasta is one of the best I've had in LA. They have a special menu of truffles which are prepared with pastas -- absolutely divine. Another highlight was their desert plates. I ordered the Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate plate. It was a combination of Souffle, ice cream, and another chocolate which I forgot. Overall, I think this place is the best French I've had in LA.

Their address is 1104 Wilshire Blvd.(at 11th Street), Santa Monica. Phone number: 310-395-0881. And they are closed on Sunday and Monday.

Thai Food

Authentic Thai food are not hard to find in LA since there is a Thai town and all.....Thai food has been receiving a growing popularity, but unfortunately most of the commercialized Thai restaurants such as Thai Dishes and Chan Dara. Personally, I consider those restaurants disgraces. Thus, to find authentic good Thai food, you would have to go to Thai town. Although Thailand is a considerably small country, we do have different kinds of food in different regions. So each restaurants have their specialties. Ruen Pair, on Hollywood, is a famous place for porridge with other side dishes. If you want Duck noodle soup, a place to go is Rod Ded (on the corner of Hollywood and Gramercy). The Rad-Nah (noodle in sause shown on the right) is even better than most of the places in Thailand. Siam Sunset is famous for their Chicken Rice (although I dont think it's that good), their Pork Blood Soup, and their Kra-Pao Ped Yang (stir fried basil with duck), as well as their breakfast Pa-Tong-Koh (Fried bread). Their address: 5265 W Sunset Blvd. For an authentic taste of the northeastern food including the famous Som Tum (papaya salad, on the left), Larb (Minced pork), Tom-Sab (Spicy Soup, not Tom-Yum-Goong though), etc. you will have to go to Khun Dom: 4681 Melrose Ave.

Moving on to other food: Dai Ho

Dai Ho is a small Taiwanese food restaurant in Rosemead. From what I've heard (not sure myself), the restaurant only opens 3 hours a day from noon to 3 pm, and some of their food usually run out. Those information are enough evidences to prove that the place must be real good. So I went. I ordered one of their attraction menus, Spicy Beef Stew Noodles along with other appetizers. The noodle soup was simple and consists of stew beef, spinach, noodles, and spicy+oily soup made from certain kinds of herbs. It was the best I've had since I came to LA, but it was mediocre compared to what I've had in Taiwan or other places. Nonetheless, it was worth the trip. There are other menus in the restaurant that are famous as well. For example, I've heard the cold noodles and the dan dan noodles are pretty good too. I will definitely go back and try those.

Directions: Get off from the 10 freeway toward San Gabriel. Turn right on Las Tunas. It's a small place on the corner of a street (drive slow so you can notice). And there's parking spaces in the rear.