My Downtown LA Adventures of Yumminess

I decided that LA will always be my home-base and best fit for my diverse tastes. 

I never felt the need to live elsewhere because this city is pretty accomodating for a daring foodie that I am. 

Los Angeles has hidden gems illuminating from every crack like an underground mine, waiting to be discovered by adventurous locals such as myself.

Even throughout the long years, I have yet to try many of these amazing places to eat. Angeleneos sure have it good with the vast array of places to grab some delicious and unique grub; boredom is inexistent. 

The warm summer evening inspired me to crawl out of my den and enjoy the venturing of my neighborhood.

Here's where my adventure began…

Tucked in the corner of a plaza in Chinatown stands the infamous Chego! I'm a huge fan of fusion food and bold flavor, so there's no question that this place is my new addiction. 

If you're a pork fan, you must get their Chubby Pork Belly bowl because it will change your life. The food here is beyond words. I love that they use only fresh and local ingredients to make their food. 

On the right: Ooey Gooey fries

Chubby Pork Belly bowl

Afterwards, I particularly enjoyed our stroll around Chinatown at this late of night because it had a abandoned and creepy vibe going on that seemed to excite me. 

A few minutes away from Chinatown lies the trending area in Downtown known as the Arts District. Thus, Pizzanista! was our next spot.

A little birdie once told me that they serve their special Mac & Cheese Pizza exclusively on Sundays, so this was the perfect opportunity to finally try a slice.

Cool vibes

The Veggie Pizza was my favorite!! AWESOME 

Mac & Cheese Pizza
Was good, but not great. It came short on my expectations… :[

It just made sense to conclude my foodie adventure with something sweet.

This hole in the wall called Pie Hole had their hole in the wall crammed by a ton of hipsters.

I 'll honestly say that it didn't live up to all the hype that it has been getting. Because we got there late, I didn't get to try the pies I wished to get, and the portions were TINY….not worth $6. 

Oh well...I had to try to find out anyway

Don't get me wrong; it was still very good, but I wouldn't repeat going there.

Earl Grey Pie

Mexican Chocolate

Japanese Food Adventures in Torrance

Living only 20 measly minutes from Little Tokyo in Downtown LA, I only occasionally get my lazy bum up to drive to Torrance for Japanese grocery shopping. 

I was running low on my Japanese food stock at home, so this was the perfect reason to go shopping in one of the largest Japanese communities in Southern Cali. 

My first stop was Marukai Market on Artesia Blvd. where I was overwhelmed by the large space that the market occupied and their loads of goodies that all tempted me. 

Presenting to you my haul….

You must try the Country Mama's vanilla chocolate chip cookies because they're my favorite packaged cookies. 

Hokkaido milk bread with honey makes the best and simplest Honey Toast.

I don't care for American chicken nuggets, but karage is just something else.

It was then nearing lunch time, and I was feeling the Japanese cravings keep up with my Japanese vibes today, so I thought: what better place to eat than the Mitsuwa in Torrance? 

This Mistuwa Market has many places to eat inside their food court, and all of them have pretty darn good food. 

I hit the jackpot with my decision because Mitsuwa was having their annual Unaju (teriyaki eel rice bowl) sale for a limited for this month, and me…I'm the biggest fan of unagi <3 Scoreeee

Pretty good for a store-packaged unaju. I have yet to try the real deal in Japan though :(

We were still hungry, so we completed our Japanese lunch with a tonkotsu ramen, of course, from Santouka Ramen. Their pork broth is always perfect, and the chashu-don was just how I like it: light, not too oily or fatty, but flavorful.

Being the sweet tooth that I am, I read about this popular mochi place inside the Mitsuwa Market known as Mochi Cream. I was ecstatic to finally try it!

I picked out 4 different flavors to carry out my taste test…

The Review on These Little Gems

(starting from favorite to least)

#1

#2

#3

#4

I walked out of Mitsuwa feeling up in the clouds from eating such divine mochi desserts.

It didn't stop there…

I shopped at Daiso as well because it was in the same complex as Mitsuwa. This Daiso is, once again, a lot bigger and carries more products than the one in Koreatown that I usually go to. 

Also in the same complex, 85C Bakery & Cafe was the last stop; I unintentionally saved the best for last. 

I tried their most popular goods--as the yelp reviews say--such as the egg tart and sea salt iced coffee. 

Okay so I am a 85C egg tart-addict and proud.

This pastry is everything I dream about in one bite: the crust was flakey, buttery, warm, and fresh straight out of the oven. The custard filling was lightly sweet, creamy, light, and just delicious.

Strawberry Tiramisu
nothing fancy...

Sea Salt iced coffee was amazing!
I'm surprised why other coffee shops don't sell salted coffee!! 

Bathroom selfie HAHAHAHA, sorry!

I couldn't return home without buying more of these babies. I'll dream about these little egg tartlets. 

And the Rum Raisin Buttermilk bread pictured above was wonderful. I recommend getting it too! 

I love my eating adventures. 

~My Birthday~

I started off my lovely day with a cake run to my favorite bakery in LA known as Sweet Lady Jane.

Their cakes are extraordinary because it always has the perfect amount of sweetness, cream, and moistness. I couldn't get my cakes anywhere else.

I added some fresh flowers to my vase, and viola! My birthday decorations came together just as I had  visioned (I was going for a cute floral kind of vibe as this year's theme.)

top: Italian Rum Wedding cake
Right: the infamous Triple Berry Shortcake
Left: Coconut cake
beneath the "20"candle: Banana & Chocolate Icebox cake

My favorite part about birthdays is the gift-opening part…duh!

It made my day to see my grandmother's package from Japan make it here just in time.

Just as I expected…the packages from my grandma are always sardine-packed with Japanese snacks and cute stuff.

Since it was my birthday, I requested her to get me these Balance Up Genmai Biscuits by Asahi. Last year in Tokyo, I became obsessed with those cream crackers, so I desperately needed a supply here in LA. 

Now I have it, and I am a happy gal ^_^

Thanks Jim Shires for the cute birthday gifts of the Kutusita Nyanko cat that I adore.

Being the sparkle-lover and dollcult-obsessor that I am, I had to get some of my Nikki Lipstick pasties and clothing as gifts <3 

The rest of my day was simple amazing!!

I went to get my nails done, followed up by getting a full-body thai massage from Nuch Royal Thai Spa. 

Black-Dripped Chanel gel french tips

I spent the rest of my day at the Grove and had a wonderful dinner at Maggiano's, which is one of my favorite Italian restaurants. 

I ordered the Chicken Caprese Salad…and omg, one of the best salads I've ever had!!!
I also highly recommend ordering their Baked Ziti and Four-cheese Ravioli

My best friend Noella works at Top Shop, so I decided to pop in and surprise her at work since I was already at the Grove..…hehe

Love this babe.

My OOTD
TOP: Lip Service Cult
HEELS: Jeffrey Campbells

Thank you to all my friends and family for all the sweet birthday messages.

I feel so loved <3

This year was definitely one of the best birthdays!!!!