Saturday, May 28, 2011

The Spice Table, Los Angeles

The Spice Table Restaurant, Los Angeles
The Spice Table in Downtown Los Angeles

My friend Susan and I went to The Spice Table for lunch. This Southeast Asian restaurant "celebrates the culinary heritage of Chef/owner Bryant Ng (Singapore) and his wife Kim (Vietnam)." Thus, banh mi for lunch.

The Spice Table Restaurant, Los Angeles
Located in a former Cuba restaurant in Little Tokyo (walking distance to the awesome Japanese American National Museum), across from the Japanese Village Plaza (get the imagawayaki) and next to the Yogurtland.

Spice Table collage 1
Next time, I want to get the chips! They have shrimp chips ($2) and spicy sweet-potato chips ($1.75)

The Spice Table Restaurant, Los Angeles
The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating. The menu is different for lunch and dinner - I will definitely want to come back for dinner and try the menu. They have an interesting way of saying no substitutions; the menu reads, "Changes and modifications are politely declined."

The Spice Table Restaurant, Los Angeles
At the Spice Table (at least for lunch), you order at the front, pay and get a number. Wait staff brings your order to your table. I got the guava juice ($2.50) and my friend Susan ordered the Vietnamese Coffee ($3.)

The Spice Table Restaurant, Los Angeles
Curried eggplant $7 - Pickled red onions and cilantro
 Although a little messy, this was really good. I'm pretty weak with the spices (I am Japanese American) so it was spicy to me.


The Spice Table Restaurant, Los Angeles
Chicken Sandwich $7 - Lemongrass, pickled shallots, watercress, garlic mayo, scallions, peanut sauce
My friend Susan got that and I tried a bit. I like it but would get it again without the mayo.

The Spice Table Restaurant, Los Angeles
Slaw $3 - napa cabbage, carrots, crushed peanuts, scallions, mint, fried shallots, pepper-lime dressing 
I really liked the slaw. I'm not a fan of regular cole slaw (too much mayo), but this was only lightly dressed and those peanuts just make it delicious.

The Flying Pig's restaurant in Little Tokyo
And guess what is coming directly across the street? The Flying Pig's food truck's brick and mortar restaurant. I just hope they don't do any filming there...

Restaurant:
114 S. Central Avenue (between 1st and 2nd Street in Little Tokyo)
Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 620-1840
Lunch menu - Dinner menu

5 comments:

  1. KatieMay 28, 2011 at 10:51 PM

    That eggplant sandwich looks divine. Never seen one like that before.

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  2. MarianneMay 29, 2011 at 2:02 AM

    I love the way the interior looks, and the fact that they have shrimp chips! I will definitely have to try this place out, especially because the sandwiches look packed with delicious ingredients. Yum!

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  3. briarroseMay 29, 2011 at 3:29 PM

    Still laughing over the no substitution phrase. ;) The food looks quite tasty and I would have been all over the sweet potato chips.

    ReplyDelete
  4. justJENNMay 30, 2011 at 2:07 PM

    Can't wait for the Flying Pig! Going to the Spice Table soon too..

    ReplyDelete
  5. EsiMay 30, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    Another place I need tong to. Sounds awesome.

    ReplyDelete