Han Bat Sul Lung Tang

 4163 W 5th St
Los Angeles, CA 90020
(213) 388-9499

it has a very plain & humble store front, that i could have easily passed by this place without knowing that it was a diamond in the rough.

for $9, you get a very simple yet amazing meal. fresh rice, two kinds of delicious kimchi (cabbage & radish), and a single-serving pot of beef broth soup called sul lung tang( wiki: http://en.wikipedia.or...) with a few pieces of meat & a ilttle bit of clear noodles inside. although subtle, t has incredible umami in the soup!!! add some salt, chopped up green onions, and if you'd like red bean paste or kimchi. i enjoyed my "mixed sul lung tang" except for the spleen, haha. maybe i'll just for the flank next time. the meat was suuuuuper soft. i could eat this all day long. i love soup.

Mishi's Strudel Bakery and Cafe

309 W 7th St
San Pedro, CA 90731
(310) 832-6474

www.mishisstrudel.com  

Tue-Wed 9 a.m. - 7 p.m.

Thu-Sat 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Sun 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

hungarian strudels, or rétes, as they call them, are these thin flaky pie crusted pastry, filled with wild blueberries, apples, cream cheese, apricot, peaches, or cherries, with powered sugar on top. YUM right?! there were savory rétes too, like cabbage or beef.

we got slices of the apple one ($3.85) & the blueberry one ($4.15), each were 4" long & 4" wide. the inside was nicely stuffed with ripe apples & sweet blueberries. both very easy to eat, and not too sweet. i loved the really thin flakey pastry crust. we could have gotten the entire 16" long réte for about $14, but maybe next time then!

as for the beverages, the shots from the espresso were pulling waaaaaaaaay too fast, which resulted tasting very bitter and watery. so i don't recommend their espresso drinks.

Emil's Swiss Pastry

11551 Santa Monica Blvd,
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310) 473-6999

i had an amazing princess cake today at the new location of emil's pastry. the green thick marzipan layer was fresh and topped with a cute flower made of packed sugar. the inside starting from the top was: marzipan, cream, sponge cake, raspberry jam, sponge cake, custard, sponge cake.
it was wonderfully made too. you know how some layered cakes fall off when you dig your fork in? well this one was so well-made that it stayed together ithe entire time. price was $4, which is standard for such a beautifully made slice of cake.

other things there were quiches, tarts, pies, mouse cakes, german chocolate cakes, croissants, cream cheese pastries, coffee cakes, cookies, coconut macaroons, and single serving cakes. coffee & espresso is served here too, which is lavazza.

location-wise, i love it. there's street parking on the sides of the street, the pavement for pedestrians in front of the store is wide, so even with the chairs & tables out, it's very spacious. the store inside has lots of seats too, and the bathroom's clean.

Ma Dang Gook Soo

869 S Western Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90005
(213) 487-6008
Mon - Sun 9am - 10pm

i had the biggest baddest bowl of hand made noodle soup for $8.50 at this very local korean noodle store. and when i say biggest, i really mean it. endless amounts of fresh hand made noodles, lots of cabbage kimchi, and there were two big slices of potatoes. you really gotta be super hungry to be able to finish it, or really just push yourself to finish it. hahaha. maybe next time i'm gonna share.

as for the sides, there were three sides: pickled cabbage, cabbage kimchi, & thinly sliced pickled radish.

i did come for the noodles, but i really felt overwhelmed by the portion, and hoped there was a better balance between the topping & noodles.

Saffron and Rose Ice Cream

1387 Westwood Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90024

(310) 477-5533

this is by far the BEST ice cream i had since i was... born.


i looooved these fresh tubs of white rose ice cream sold at the rose market on westwood blvd across the other side of santa monica blvd when it was still there, but i DIDN'T even know where these were made at until today!! i thought it may be another persian ice cream spots, so we went in. then i noticed in the far end where the fridge is, the tubs of ice cream with the picture of that signature man, and connected the dots right away! haha, i was super excited.

we were given so many different samples that aren't offered in tubs, and took the pecan raisin ice cream and then papaya & peach ice cream. ( one scoop $2.75, two scoops $4.25) both had that silky gelato texture and the fruity sweet aromatic flavor. MMMm, still my favorite ice cream place :D

Little Next Door

8142 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048

(323) 951-1010

www.thelittledoor.com

 Mon-Sun: 8 a.m. - 11 p.m.

do not think the little door is better than the little NEXT door. this cafe is great, despite its big brother that seems to be fancier! i had a really nice evening, and ate mussels 'n fries for dinner. the fries were shoe-lace  thin, and the mussels were pleeeenty. so delish!!!

they also sell pastries, from croissants, baguettes (which are tasty!!!), and then to tiramisu to macaroons. and then there were jars of dulce de leches to jam made fresh from the kitchen. of course the walls up above were FILLED with wine, as if it were a wine library!! loved it. and was much more afforable, but still cute & romantic if u will.

Cafe Buna

3105 Washington Blvd
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292
Neighborhood: Venice

(310) 823-2430

i've heard about your applewood bacon, and i've been thinking about it for weeks.

the eggs any style with the applewood bacon morning platter was just great, mainly BECAUSE of the bacon. i must say, 4 thick slabs of smokey flavorful juicy bacon is the reason ANY bacon-lover should come here. the fluffy scrambled eggs, fresh hashbrowns, whole wheat toast with smucker's jam also played incredible "supporting roles" to the bacon.

Frosted Cupcakery

1200 N Highland Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90038
(323) 467-1080
www.frostedcupcakery.com 
Tue-Sun: 11 a.m. - 7 p.m.

the cupcakes here are by far my favorite in L.A. presentation of each cupcake on the display was perfect. it looked so unreal!! the flavor of the month (march) was neopolitan, and it was super fluffy, the frosting on top was rich n chocolate-y. the pink sprinkles on top were strawberry flavored white chocolate. love the details! i have to try the icecream cupcake next time for sure.

this place has parking in front of the store.

Lemonade (Venice Beach)

1661 Abbot Kinney
Los Angeles, CA 90291
(310) 452-6200
Mon-Sun 11:30 a.m. - 8:30 p.m.

the design & how everything looks is very cute & trendy. you just want to buy lemonade (comes in one size & i think it's 16oz for $2.75) because of the cup, or at least that was the case for me, haha. they let me try the different flavors & the cantaloupe & lemon was the BEST.

also tried the lemon macaroon. i died when i ate it. so moist, lemony, sweet, filling, huge, and it was too good to be true.

on the deli side, for $7.50, you can get 2 items of fresh & healthy cold items, OOOOOOOR you can split it , and get 4 items instead. it's really filling, wholesome & so healthy. i really love it.

Ronnie's Diner

12740 Culver Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90066

(310) 578-9399

www.ronniesdiner.com/ 

Mon-Fri 7 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m. - 9 p.m.

Sat-Sun 7:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

this is a great local diner. it's very casual, open & airy.

i ate the breakfast special which had 3 thick slices of bacon which i would give 5 stars, 3 yummy eggs, toast, and potatoes. we also ordered blueberry pancakes. there were a bunch of fresh blueberries in the pancakes. yuuuuum!! also we got real maple syrup.
i also want to add that i  ordered coffee & they were so attentive i kept getting refills & water without even asking. that always a great feeling.