my tongue was assaulted at chego :(

it is rare for me to travel out to the westside when there's a plethora of still to be conquered eats east of the 10 freeway. but when i do find myself out there, you betcha i'm going to hit up some places that i've been itching to try....like chego. oh, chego. chego is roy choi's kogi meets korean rice bowl venture and is located in a strip mall in palms, a stone's throw away from culver city. if it wasn't for the sudden horrible parking in the middle of an apartment filled/strip mall street, you would have never known that the master behind the kogi truck has set up shop here.

restaurant front. imagine long lines out the door if you don't eat insanely early dinners like me.

the belly of this restaurant is rather small and cramped. a wall of mirrors tricks your mind into thinking there's a vast open space, but there really isn't. if you are not one of the lucky ones to nab a spot along the wall or the sides which allows you to sit and eat, then you stand up and chow along the long communal table located in the middle like a row of birds.

my friend and i started off with the charred asparagus ($5) which had extremely potent flavors cranked with a side of ADD. there was a super charge of acid and salt that i did not like and which made me pretty nervous about the food to follow.

because by then, i had already regretted my order of the buttered kimchi chow ($7) which was a heavy bowl of shlacked on kimchi piled on a mound of rice. i understand the salty nature of kimchi, but did not enjoy the sour, fattiness on top of that. seriously, if all i can taste from my main bowl of sustenance is salt, sour, and heat, then this belly is going to die a hungry death.

my friend ordered the one chubby pork belly bowl ($8) which tasted SLIGHTLY better, but still just as eww. i LOVE pork belly, but i don't love fucked up uncharred pork belly. it's like eating a blob of uncooked fat with a shlack of sauce on it. why do it? is your muffin top not billowy enough? bleh.

we also ordered a side of ooey gooey fries ($5) because i read good things about them but wish i didn't. there goes another five dollars. not only do these fries pale in comparison to the frysmith truck, they also belong in the category of overly salty and sour eats at chego. i ate a few bites and threw them away.

in general, i enjoy roy choi's intense culinary flavors in a taco because they are small, bite sized, but then you're done with it. however, once it's placed in a big ole rice bowl, the extremely salty, spicy, and oftentimes sour flavors attack your tongue in a most unpleasant way and you are eons and eons away from being "done with it" cuz the damn bowl is kinda big. even though i grew up respecting the rice bowl so i would always eat everything i was given even though i was full, i could not do it here at chego. i threw most of the food away and drove home thirsty and hungry. man, that sucked.

Chego
3300 Overland Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 287-0337

www.eatchego.com

price: $
verdict: hells no!

i don't "do" ugly

Ugly Roll Sushi
11128 Palms Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 837-8500

price: $
verdict: not worth my time

i was excited about ugly roll sushi because in the same breath of being told that it was a sushi place, my friend also used the word "cheap." hey, count me in! we are in a recession after all!

ugly roll is NOT a looker i tell yah. the decor is totally craptastic and the owner placed white butcher paper on the walls for you to draw on as you wait...or as a destractor from your present company. whatever you want. anyways, it reminds me of a public toilet stall where you can draw whatever you want on it....so i did.

i ordered a lot so i can puff out my empty belly. i got their ugly roll combo, tempura roll, spicy tuna, philly roll, and this sushi dish called "over 18" which turned out to be an albacore tuna/avacado roll with ponzu sauce. the food was MEH. so MEH. i can really appreciate a good price point, but time and time again, i've been reminded that you can't do good sushi for cheaps. like dirt cheap i mean (komasa still rules in the department of good and cheap but it's still not dirt cheap). the fish were thinly sliced and not the best quality at that. the rolls are also cut pretty thin which tricks you into thinking there are a lot of pieces when in fact, it's just thinner and smaller. suckas! i do think they have a good tempura batter, but that's about it.

other than the hot looking owner and the tasty tempura, there's really no reason to come back. so i'm not.

thinly sliced sushi makes me sad :( see, sad face.

chinese for the chinese

K & A Canton Restaurant
9840 National Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 202-7209

price: $
verdict: it's aight.

this restaurant has an unassuming exterior. it functions side by side with a laundromat and a dry cleaners in a strip mall. the first thing that greets you are the frosted glass doors and the health rating score of "A." score! that can mean a lot when you patronize places that have unassuming exteriors. :)

when you step in, the restaurant is small but clean. there are usually only a few customers during any one sitting so you can imagine it's pretty quiet. if you are intimidated by a quiet atmosphere, then this place probably isn't right for you. but if you're just a hungry mofo, the food is actually pretty standard and rivals any of the middle of the road restaurants you might find in chinatown or monterey park in it's price range. given that you are probably in the palms area, this restaurant makes a good alternative for a quick chinese food fix...unless you want to go into vons that's also located in the same strip mall and get yourself a pack of ramen instead. i've eaten their pan fried noodles, fried rice, and chinese broccoli dishes and have been satisfied with their cooking. in fact, i brought some to a potluck recently and their dishes were devoured.

nobody cooks better chinese than the woman that gave birth to me, but when i'm in the area and i MUST HAVE chinese, i would go to this place. the service is quick and i like the fact that i'm patronizing a mom and pop shop and a local business in my ex-neighborhood.