Vanshow Sushi & Bar - Torrance

Shhhhh don't act too excited. They undercharge for the quality, and you better not tip them off. 

Come for lunch if you can - the Vanshow Sushi Combo A is an absolute steal, and it's quite the sampler. These are the nigiri where they add their own pairings so get sushi with style. 

The medium fatty tuna needs no adornment, but mustard adds some earth to an already-robust bluefin. Salmon is sweet and tangy with a topping of tomato powder. Shio koji seasons a smooth kanpachi, and tamago is...an egg.  

You also get half a South Bay Roll, which is actually the best roll I've had in the South Bay. Don't be intimidated by the components - the construction is elaborate because so much thought went into every element. Albacore is meaty and umami, yellowtail is sweet and smooth. Cucumber cools, avocado adds green and cream, and crispy onion brings the crunch. From the serrano, there is fire, micro cilantro carries a fragrance, and the lake of ponzu and garlic oil packs a punch. 

There's a dine-in promo for free Miso Soup as well, and they serve it with some juicy little clams still in their shells. You're not supposed to eat the shell, but the visual is quite something. 

The combo is enough for a lighter lunch, but you'll want to try other offerings so bring friends to share. 

The Japanese Sea Bream & Pink Salt Roll is an exercise in restraint. A simple soy paper wrapper separates a gooey slice from the chopped stuff and rice. A sprinkle of salt seasons but steps back to allow the fish to shine. 

Land-caviar tops the Italian Salmon Finger Lime Roll, adding citrus to salmon over albacore. It's one of the more creative rolls I've seen, though I can't quite get behind the italian dressing and balsamic.

The Vanshow Roll is a straight-up splurge, but the price is fair for the fat feast of bluefin topped with uni and tobiko. It'd almost be too much together, but a clever chef chops crunchy bits of pickled daikon for contrast which amplifies the flavors. 

It doesn't have to be fancy - the regular nigiri is just as good. Salmon, Bluefin Tuna, Japanese Kanpachi, all recommended. 

Scallops, Japanese Sea Bream. There are no bad bites.

Carpaccio is easier if you're not consuming carbs. Yellowtail Ponzu with serrano pepper is buttery with a bite. 

Splurge again for a couple slices of Seared Wagyu Beef with salt sauce if you feel inclined. Beefy, super savory, but also super unnecessary...but in a good way. 

Good sushi needs no adornments, but don't worry about adding a little wasabi here. Theirs is real so the sinus sting is sweet.

Don't be fooled by the off-supermarket location, Vanshow is quality, and it just might be the South Bay's best, especially at this price point. Their menu is all-frills, no-fuss, one of few where every you order is a winner. 

Pho 45 - La Mirada

It's all a numbers game with pho, and the latest powerball number is La Mirada's 45. 

The broth here is super-savory and deeply flavorful, much meat with some of that signature sweet. The #1 has everything, soft rare steak, tender brisket and flank, tendon and tripe for texture. 

If you're hungry get the one with all the Beef Ribs. Same solid broth and it's fun to see those big bones sticking out of your soup, but I don't think I'd get it again - one of my ribs was mostly a sac of inedible fatty tissue, and just looking at it gave me nausea. 

Eggrolls are the best! Impossibly crunchy wrapper, juicy mincemeat within. Get more than one order because four is too few to share. Dip in fish sauce and wrap in lettuce for best result. 

It's all a numbers game when it comes to pho, but once you hit 79, all others pale in comparison. But you can't always have 79, and so far, Pho 45 is solidly in second place.

Pho Hue Oi - Torrance

Caught them on a soft opening, supposedly the South Bay's best broth for pho. 

Sad they didn't have banh beo yet, but happy with my P2 filet mignon. Pushing those slices of rare steak down until red turns to pink is becoming a favorite pastime, and this broth is hot and satisfying. I can say it's better than most random strip-mall stops, but I don't know if they have a lot of serious contenders anyway as the South Bay is more of a hub for ramen. 

Overall a good broth, a good bowl of pho, but for the local award of best, I think I'd rule for Pho Hong Long. 

Pork Belly Filipino Kitchen - Lawndale

The first thing 5 year-old me thought when my family moved to suburbia was, "How do I get out of here?" I've yearned for big-city life for as long as I can remember, and lazy little Lawndale is not where I thought I'd settle down. It's a curious place, both square miles of the smallest South Bay city, but it has a concentration of spectacular southeast Asian cuisine, the newest being Pork Belly right off Hawthorne Blvd. Brother-sister just might be the new mom-and-pop as these sweet siblings are among the South Bay's more formidable chefs. The food here is cafeteria-style, but don't be fooled by the glass-guarded kitchen trays. Everything is hot and fresh and even more delicious than it already looks. 

In a world incapacitated by inflation, it's refreshing to find that only $10 buys a bowl of rice with a hearty entree and 4 little lumpia. A good deal for a sensible lunch, and it's only $2-4 more for a 2-entree plate (without lumpia).

The food is so good it's impossible to pick just two, but make sure one is Pork Adobo. Tender chunks of browned meat melt in your mouth, with a just-right ratio of salt to fat to a dash of vinegar to make it lift, not sink in your stomach. Jam some rice into the puddle of leftover juice - don't waste a single drop. 

Jackfruit Curry, omg. Coconutty-milky all the way. Mild flavor, creamy with a lovely shredded-meat texture, slightly sour, faintly fruit. 

They comped us a bowl of what I fondly refer to as their "pork and sour soup", and it's a lovely, simple broth with a savory and sour finish. 

I think this was called "Sweet Pork" or something. The meat looks dry, and I expected basic barbecue. But it's tender right under, plenty juicy, and the sauce it's soaked up has a lovely balance of sweet with a sour surprise. 

There are moments when you’re just so proud of the person you married, and my husband got all my adoration as he ripped into the tail-half of his freshly Fried Pompano. With a spoon in one hand, a fork in the other, he severed every sliver of light white flesh from those spiky bones with all the precision of a surgeon and the casual enthusiasm of an Italian twirling pasta. I dare say he’s stripped it bare, a feat even I struggle to accomplish.  

I thought I was meh on Longanisa, but it turns out I've never had a good one, not until I had one here, at least. These are salty but also sweet, super savory, love how the casing pops. There's also simple strips of steak with onion that are so juicy, with that acidic uplift that makes you keep eating. 

Lechon literally pales in comparison next to the more colorful pork adobo. The skin is chewy and crisp, the meat is tender enough, but it's unseasoned so it relies on sauce. It's made well, but compared to all the other amazing things they make, this one can be skipped. 

Hello, Halo Halo, the best I've had. Big bits on the bottom range from red and white beans to chunks of jelly and jam. A sweet square of flan hides in the freshly blended, milky middle, and a  dense scoop of ube ice cream sits on top. I imagine there's an art to eating this, a critical speed of eating slowly enough not to get an ice headache but fast enough before it melts. I haven't found it yet, but I'm happy to keep eating this until I do. 

Their Flan is also the best flan I've ever had. It's a flying saucer of a perfect solid cream. 

The food is heavy, make no mistake. There will be a coma to come, and you're not coming here to eat a modest meal. A good chef can make a delicious and heavy meal, a great chef can fine-tune filling food to make it not so heavy. Here, the chefs are exceptional. I can eat so much of this stuff and feel full but never gross, and every bite is just pure joy.

Yu Cake - Costa Mesa

My first taste of mille-crepe cake.

Matcha doesn't miss, and I can't imagine how they make this. Layers of cardstock-thin spongy sheets softly soaked in matcha cream alternate with with a firmer matcha cream almost-frosting. The cake is so cohesive, but the feel of sinking teeth through so many silky layers creates an unparalleled feeling of luxury that no other cake can match. 

Rose-Lychee is the same, but the cream feels colder, the overall effect so much subtler with lychee like ice water and a lighter-than-air floral finish. 

A Mochi Mango Grapefruit Jar glows irresistibly, all orange and neon, a layers of so-soft cream contrasting stringy mochi and slippery chunks of mango that dance with grapefruit pulp. The circle of cake feels a bit dry in comparison, and the contrast, though welcome, could be a bit less stark. Dig deep to let a little of each layer on your spoon so they can dance in your mouth all at the same time. 

I've never met a cake I didn't like, and I like you, Yu Cake, maybe more than most. These cakes are crafty and not as sweet as the heavily-frosted works of western-style bakeries. They're a welcome break from luxury shopping but continue the theme of luxury that permeates this Costa Mesa mall. There's something to be said about a rich dessert that doesn't make you feel gross, and to that, I'm saying yes. 

El Otro Amigo - Torrance

Mexican food, the regular, recognizable kind. The kind that you think you can get anywhere, except here they do something to it to make it so good you can't stop eating. 

Stick to the staples, like Ricardo's brick of a Super Burrito. This one is teeming with chopped bits of tender pastor, brimming with bits of beans and rice. It comes wet but get it wetter and drag every bite through that mild tomato sauce with a few shreds of melted cheese. I have always loathed things that swim in sauce, but I thoroughly enjoy eating an entire one of these in a single sitting.

Bravo for the Quesadilla de Birria. The beef is tender, dripping with juice. Slurp before you start to chew. 

Even a plain crunchy taco is surprisingly good. The filling is a juicy shredded beef, which tastes like it’s been slowly stewed, and the shell is super-crisp for contrast. 

The Shrimp Ceviche is a starter I would skip. A generous portion with plenty of avocado atop a sea of firm, fresh-enough shrimp, it sits but doesn't hit. It's bland and lacks the tongue-sting of a lime well-squeezed.

The Flan is their only fail so far. Totally gelatinous in texture, it also has the aftertaste of artificial sweetener. Whatever it is is rather unpleasant. But if you pay $3 for something, you usually get something worth $3.  

The Torta Cubana is probably the best thing they make. A paper-thin milanesa hams it up with some pork - a salty slice of ham to enhance the savor, chopped bits of pastor to add more flavor. Just skip the side of fries - they're stale or soggy.

And then there are the Steak Fries. When even Mr. Fries Man failed to impress me, I lost all hope in the not-quite-nachos-but-equally-disappointing dish called loaded fries. This one changed my mind. It's not just that they add enough toppings to reach every fry, they also make this grill-kissed steak that tastes great with fresh onion and guacamole, and there's just the right amount of gooey cheese to glue a few toppings to every fry. Usually eating loaded fries means there's an untouched layer underneath, but with there there's nothing left. 

I know there's probably "better" Mexican food elsewhere, but I love El Otro Amigo. The food is no-fuss, no-frills, but it's sublime in its straightforwardness and simplicity. It's approachable, easy to eat, recognizable, and at the end of the day, it's just delicious. 

Starbird - Marina Del Rey

Cute little wings, sweet sandwiches, juicy meats, fresh and fried. Everything clicks at this fast-casual chicken counter with its clean aesthetic and cheery character. 

The Starbird 2.0 is SoCal in a sandwich, a noisily crispy cutlet covered in fresh slaw and a green glob of guac. A brioche-y bun is shiny and sweet, toasted inside to give firmness to the fluff. 

For best results, pair with Truffle Fries. 

I love a good wing, and they make those here. Garlic Parmesan is really good, plenty of punch between the pungence and the parm. 

Nashville Hot isn't hot, but the paste is a good one, with just enough pepper and paprika to add flavor with minimal heat. Any dipping sauce will do, just pick what you prefer. 

The food was good but my experience was literal sh*t. Because a bit of bird poop dropped directly on my head as I dined on their patio despite not seeing a single bird in sight. FFS this has happened at least 4-5 times in my life and I'm starting to think I may be the unluckiest person in the world or that I've somehow offended all of bird-kind. But still, I'd eat at Starbird again...because their napkins work well for wiping bird poop. In all seriousness, though, (and all sh*t jokes aside), this Cali chicken chain does serve some pretty good sh*t.