Pretty amazing that Fugetsu-Do has withstood the test of time, surviving through WWII, multiple…read morerecessions and riots, and even the pandemic. The oldest confectionery shop makes a variety of mochi and manju daily for about $2 a piece. Unfortunately, they don't make the best gifts as they must be eaten within a couple of days. They also carry some rare candy that can't even be found in Japan anymore. During my last visit, I got a few with strawberry, blueberry and chocolate flavored red bean filling as well as LA Dodgers imprinted pancakes. Chewy goodness! They can get pretty busy during the weekends, but weekdays are a quick in and out process. The staff are patient and helpful in explaining the treats. There's no seating. It's just a grab n go shop.

Fugetsu-Do is a true Little Tokyo institution and an absolute must-visit for anyone who appreciates…read moreauthentic Japanese wagashi. The historic shop has a charming old-fashioned feel, and the service was friendly, welcoming, and efficient. Every mochi tasted incredibly fresh, with a soft, pillowy texture that showcased the craftsmanship behind each handmade piece. **Sho-Mochi: 5/5** One of Fugetsu-Do's signature creations, the Sho-Mochi was a true standout. The vibrant blue mochi was incredibly soft and chewy, while the silky white chocolate ganache filling delivered a rich, creamy sweetness that melted effortlessly on the palate. **Strawberry Anko Mochi: 4/5** The strawberry anko mochi featured a soft, pillowy wrapper filled with a blend of strawberry and smooth white bean paste, then topped with a hazelnut chocolate ganache that added a rich, nutty sweetness. Unfortunately, the strawberry filling tasted somewhat artificial, lacking the fresh, vibrant fruit flavor I was hoping for. **Green Tea Mochi: 5/5** My love for matcha made this an easy standout. Filled with smooth white bean paste infused with matcha, it offered a pleasant balance of earthy, slightly bittersweet notes and subtle sweetness. **Mango Mochi: 5/5** Bursting with natural mango flavor, this mochi was wonderfully refreshing from the very first taste. Its springy chew created a pleasantly airy, satisfying texture, while the gentle sweetness rounded out the bright, fruity notes. Fugetsu-Do has earned its legendary reputation through generations of exceptional craftsmanship. From the incredibly fresh mochi to the diverse selection of handcrafted flavors, every piece reflects the care and tradition that have made this shop a beloved destination for decades. Whether you're visiting Little Tokyo for the first time or returning for a nostalgic treat, it's a timeless stop that's well worth experiencing.

Great food! One of my go to places in LA…read more I go there every other week. Fast service and easy going staff!

We were craving some Taiwanese food and decided to stop by Saturday morning. There was a short line…read moreas we arrived, because they were transitioning from their breakfast to lunch menu. We were greeted by a friendly hostess who took our order and told us to look for any spot we'd like. The Dan Dan noodles came out quick and was delicious. The noodles had a nice chewy texture and the thick peanut sauce and chili oil that coated it made it super scrumptious. The freshness of the cucumber and herbs cutting through the rich sauce balanced it out. The pan fried pork buns however were rather forgettable. The meat was juicy but I was left wanting more flavour in both the meat and the buns. I also wish the bottoms were a bit crispier. I'm definitely looking forward to coming back to try their breakfast menu and other items though. Because peeking at the other tables they offerings looked delicious.

Valeria's is AWESOME! I was coming to Chile Secos, but it was closed during the Covid-19 slump…read more Valeria's had even more choices of mole pastes, and they were priced lower. I got 7 lbs of different mole pastes for $6 each. Outstanding! They also have beans, dried chiles, rice, spices and some limited groceries. Friendly staff too! Last night, I fixed a pound of Mole con Ajonjoly Telolopan with a quart of chicken broth and some fresh blue corn tortillas to make enmoladas. Incredibly flavorful - a smidge spicy for my family, but I loved the deep flavor with some heat.

I don't do much cooking, but my friends Michael K. and Gino G. do. I accompanied Mike on a grocery…read moretrip to Grand Central Market when he was home for Thanksgiving. Gino had sent him with a shopping list of Mexican ingredients that are hard to find in Seattle, and Mike found most of them right here, at Valeria's Groceries. Valeria's is a vendor in the thick of the market, where you can buy spices, chilis, beans, moles, and a whole lot more, at what struck me as very reasonable prices. Most of the products were displayed in big bulk cases, clearly labeled for easy browsing. The man working the grocery was friendly, helpful, and efficient. He got Mike what he needed and bagged it up for him right away. I love Mexican food and fantasize about making moles at home now and then, but like, my lunch today was a soup that came out of a pantry bag and a frozen Tupperware of brown rice that my mom gave me in early 2018. If I ever get motivated, though, I know I can find what I need at Valeria's.

We had a wonderful dining experience! The food was absolutely delicious, and the ambience was warm…read moreand inviting. What really made our visit exceptional was our server, Grace. Her service was top-notch from beginning to end. She was friendly, attentive, and gave us an excellent recommendation--the Burrata Pizza. It was huge, incredibly delicious, and definitely one of the highlights of our meal. Thank you, Grace, for making our experience so enjoyable. We can't wait to come back!

The food was excellent and the service provided by our waitress Grace was top notch and elevated…read morethe overall experience greatly!

Excellent food and experience! The staff was super nice and we felt like it was a true hidden gem…read more They knew it was my friend's birthday so made a special effort to wish her a happy birthday and include a candle on top of one of the pastries. The food is really good and the tea choices are excellent. The mocktail was a nice add to help refresh ourselves on a hot day. Overall a nice place to celebrate any special occasion or gather with friends. The parking lot next to the hotel is super easy to park at. All day parking around $10, self park.

The DTLA Proper Hotel is beautifully designed by Kelly Wearstler, a former athletic faciliity…read more Although I've done several staycations here, tea at Dahlia remained on my bucket list of experiences, since it's only offered on weekends. I finally was able to check it off, thanks to a hotel offer with a dining credit. Dahlia is the gorgeous petite space behind the larger ground floor restaurant space now called Cabrillo (formerly Caldo Verde). Dahlia opened as a bespoke cocktail lounge, then began to offer tea. Now it's just tea. There are five 2-tops and two 4-top tables. All food and beverage venues at the Proper used to be under the auspices of famed chef Suzanne Goin and her business partner/sommelier Caroline Styne. They are no longer affiliated with the Proper, but many of their dishes/contributions remain. The last named vestige of them is on the tea menu, "Suzanne's Deviled-Egg Sandwich". The tea menu has several options: Classic, with a seasonal mocktail, or with different champagnes. I opted for the Classic experience, because the mocktail had mocha, not my fave. Server Lluvia was clearly a Dahlia veteran; she offered a tea-smelling of all the teas that interested me as well as crowd favourites. I ultimately chose one of these faves, Mad Hatter's Tea Party, which had passionfruit and vanilla. I declined milk/cream, but did get lemon. There were rock sugar sticks on the table. It seems the selection of tea sandwiches and sweet treats changes every so often, although the vanilla bean scone, dried currant scone, Devonshire cream and apricot orange jam seem like constants. The sandwich selection at my visit were: cucumber, crab/creme fraiche, beet hummus on pita, smoked salmon and Suzanne's deviled egg. All were delish, the beet, crab and deviled egg especially. The sweet treats were: orange fig butter cookie, spiced apple brown butter crumble, cranberry frangipane hand pie, chocolate mocha macaron, pumpkin madeleine, plus the 2 scones. All were excellent. There were no leftovers. A bit pricey, but a relaxing and lovely experience. The room was not crowded when I visited, adding to the calmness of my visit.

In town visiting my son and he suggested this spot that he'd been wanting to try. The menu looked…read moreenticing so off we went. Ordered the following: Baguette with delice de bourgogne & jam: this sounded so interesting and while it was delicious it's just butter and jam. Loved the bread, though - nice outer crunch and fresh from the oven. Melon with tuna crudo: the sweet/savory fusion was really refreshing on this one. Ricotta dumplings: by far my favorite. Light, pillowy dumplings in this wonderfully rich mushroom-based broth. I'd return here solely to eat this again. Fried wax peppers with yogurt-mint sauce: another hit. The peppers weren't heavily battered or too oily, the sauce was really flavorful, especially that pop of mint. Service was excellent. A really charming place with great shareable dishes.

Super cute and cozy bistro, with excellent service and food. Totally worth the trip from the…read morewestside! We had the baguette with chicken liver mousse, the ricotta dumplings, the fried green beans, and the short rib rigatoni, and everything was amazing. The chicken liver mousse was the most traditional of the bunch, but the rest all had some unusual or special flavor combination that made the dish unique. We finished with the baked alaska, which I enjoyed too, even though I typically prefer my desserts to involve chocolate. We brought a special bottle of wine from home to celebrate and paid the corkage fee, but they do have a nice selection of wine by the glass and bottle. I'm already wondering when we can come back!

The food here is the most repulsive stuff I've ever put in my mouth and that's saying a lot. The…read morechicken wings were like if you didn't thaw out a turkey leg, and threw it in an air fryer and wished for the best. No seasoning, wet and almost raw on the inside and the skin is rubber. The sauce that comes with it, Is like when you experiment with mixing condiments as a child and accidentally make vomit sauce. The pizza is frozen pizza, and not even the good stuff (couldn't even spring for digiorno?) whoever approved this food wants you guys to fail. Or just don't serve food, maybe just snacks- pretzels and popcorn, maybe a hot dog (if you can manage not to colossally mess that up too?)

I'm sad to say after our second visit the food continues to be just average at best with a very…read morelimited menu (at least on a concert night). For the price it should be so much more. The staff / team are great. The ambiance / setting is unique with easy access to the music venue.

Who says Filipino food can't be considered fine dining? Chef Josh Espinosa is showcasing how the…read moredishes we're accustomed to can be prepared with an elevated approach. Sampa is located in the Arts District near the intersection of S Hewitt St and E 5th right next to Urth Cafe. There's a parking lot directly across the street from the restaurant but you can also park around the corner by Arts District Park for $5. If it's your first time visiting Sampa, you have to be open minded towards the concept itself. Yes, the dishes here are smaller in portion and costs more than your typical fast casual spot. All the servers here are attentive and offer to help with what to order if you're unsure. For dinner, the Crispy Pasta is their take on crispy pata but served with spinach tagliatelle. The crab fat fried rice is a no brainer and depending on the night you come, I highly recommend the Sinigang xiaolongbao special. You don't have to be Filipino to appreciate what Sampa is doing for the culture, just come by and see for yourself.

The restaurant is Filipino food with an "upscale," aka fancy, spin…read more Ok - so, I was in the area with my son, saw the grill outside. I thought it was a taco stand. It was not. It's where they grill certain items, lobster, ribeye, skirt steak, the intestinal part of a chicken (?). So, not tacos but grilled meats so we stayed. twist. First of all, it's a lovely space. In a not very obvious area of DTLA, next to Urth Cafe but no other restaurants. We didn't have reservations so we had the option of sitting at the bar or following the waitress to a back room area instead of the front room that is visible to everyone. My son is a minor, so to the back we went! Seriously, the closer we got to the back room the more I felt I had been cast in "The Chef." Scary! Lol! The back room is black. Blackout black! Black tablecloths, walls, chairs, dark, low light. Very luxurious and open space. Which - because it wasn't full at the time - felt a bit like being in the film, The Menu." A bit too upscale and empty to feel comfortable. More guests arrived later, a large table, so that was more comforting. The food: Recommended *Kara Kara Tamales: braised oxtail with a peanut butter sauce. Wow! The taste was wonderful! Hard to explain but Filipino/African food meets Latin food. It was on the "shared plate" menu, which to me means it will be a lot. But the 2 tamales were not very big. Still, they were so rich that the 2 really were sufficient to share. Quite filling. I couldn't get enough of the sauce! *Crab fried rice: Very tasty and generous portion. Plenty share! Not recommended: The street eats menu. Now, this is what pulled us in - the sights and smells of the food being grilled outside the restaurant. Most of which was on this meme. Like a tasting menu. But for price to portion ratio, it simply isn't worth it. I ordered the skirt steak. 4 oz, cut in half. Cooked down to what looked like .5 oz! Each on a toothpick sitting in a paper plate (or maybe it was cupcake holder?) IDK. I just know it wasn't a good presentation and the taste wasn't memorable. Regular. More grill smell than taste. Not at all worth $8. Service: Really nice. And mostly good. Though they did fail short by (1) Using only small appetizer size plates and (2) Not bringing a fresh plate to eat the crab fried rice on after the peanut butter sauce laced tamale appetizer was eaten. The server brought the fried rice, but didn't bother to give us fresh plates (nor silverware). My son was mortified when I grabbed a plate from one of the empty tables! (Teenager energy on full effect). But after initial attentive service, the variety of different servers whizzing by didn't stop to ask if we needed anything. And I sat waiting at least 8 minutes staring at the rice. I assured my young man that the servers would be fine with me getting another plate to save them from having to. And once I did, he suddenly started eating from my plate of my peanut butter free fried rice. And of course, when a server did attend to us and I let her know, she was glad I took matters into my own hands instead of not eating for 15 minutes. Thoughts: Go for dinner, and order from the full dinner menu, skip the skimpy street eats menu. With reservations you can sit in the main restaurant area that has some view to the outdoors. Without it - back to the black room you go! Know that it will be expensive. And it will be original. Not sure I'll go back. It's very "special occasion" upscale dining. But If I do it'll be with reservations. The meal was memorable and worth experiencing.