Bhan Kanom Thai Kanom Bueng Kem: Bhan Kanom Thai is a dessert shop located in a strip mall in the heart of LA's Thai Town. Immediately upon entering the store, you're struck by the wonderful smell of toasted coconut as multiple cooks prepare fresh traditional Thai treats. Along the walls are shelves of packaged snacks, from potato chips to dried seafood to wasabi peas, all from various asian countries and most of which I had never seen before. Many of their house-made pastries are pre-packaged in quantities of 6 or more,... (read more) 4.0/5.0
recommended la thai crepe bhankanomthai kanom bueng kem 4.0
Bhan Kanom Thai Sticky rice with taro: Wrapped in a banana leaf, this steamed dessert consists of long grain glutinous rice with a taro filling at the center. The quality of the rice is superb and quite possibly the best sticky rice I’ve had. It’s chewy but still has just enough bite. Perfumed with coconut water, the rice has a very faint sweet tropical flavor, while the taro adds additional richness and a contrasting soft and creamy texture. As far as classic desserts go, this traditional sticky rice was a revelation and at $1.5... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional la losangeles dessert stickyrice bhankanomthai sticky rice taro 4.5
Cedric Grolet & Dominique Ansel Bakery Le Citron, La Noisette, and La Fraise pastries: About 24 hours ago, I was waiting in line at Dominique Ansel Bakery at 7am, an hour before opening, in what would turn out to be a 2 hour await for a taste of French pastry chef Cedric Grolet's NYC debut. This chef is known for concocting fruit desserts whose outward appearance mimics the texture and color of the real fruit, a style many describe as works of art. When its thin shell is shattered, the desserts reveal a layer of cream and a molten filling of fruit compote. Winner of the 2018 W... (read more) 2.5/5.0
nyc pastry strawberry chocolate lemon mint dominiqueanselbakery cedricgrolet chef cedricgroletdominiqueanselbakery le citron la noisette fraise pastries 2.5
Chokai Kogen La France Pear Yogurt: A local grocery store offers this unique yogurt made in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. The 400g mini tubs of yogurt (offering around 3 servings) consists of two layers: a base layer of yogurt that is smooth and acidic, and a layer of fruit compote that sits on top. The first flavor I bought was the La France flavor, which is a type of pear from Yamagata I hadn't heard about before. Looking up more information on the pear, it looks a bit like a D'Anjou pear, but here it's been cooked down to ... (read more) 4.5/5.0
exceptional japanese naniwaya chokaikogen la france pear yogurt 4.5
Destroyer Tarragon chocolate chip cookie: A cookie that has mass appeal, with its gooey, 80% baked texture and generously sized (mostly melted) chocolate morsels. A dusting of tarragon powder adds a pleasant amount of bitterness, elevating it beyond a classic but extremely well done chocolate chip cookie. 4.0/5.0
recommended la destroyer tarragon chocolate chip cookie 4.0
Destroyer Lemon ginger tonic: At a restaurant where the menu is projected onto the wall and their business card is a tiny sliver with no actual information other than its name, Destroyer could be easily dismissed as pretentious style over substance. But this lemon ginger tonic was just a perfectly balanced, no frills version of that drink, with just the right levels of carbonation, sweetness, and sharpness. 4.0/5.0
recommended drinks la destroyer lemon ginger tonic 4.0