My Visit to LACMA

I spent the holiday in LA this past December visiting my new niece, and my mom and two other siblings joined me in visiting baby Alexandra and her parents. There were many great laid back days full of morning audiences with her after her breakfast milk and poop, and cuddles as she took her nap, and cheering her on during tummy time, and playing the co-op videogame Overcooked. We also did some cooking, and take-out. As much as I adore baby cheeks though and the brief outings to get food, I knew I would get stir crazy. So there was one afternoon I also spent a few hours visiting LACMA, aka The Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
Collaborative Art outside of LACMA from various people who had a visit to LACMA who left their admission ticket/sticker on various poles on Wilshire

I recommend this area for anyone and everyone. Even if you don’t pay admission to see the inside of the museum, there are lots of free sights in the park in the surrounding area – I went back to walk in the park several times staying in the free areas. Here are the details of my visit to LACMA and sights I recommend and which I saw during my visit to LACMA.

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Isaan Station in Los Angeles and Advice for ordering from a Thai menu

For today’s Travel Tuesday I am taking you to Los Angeles, California, and sharing you my strong recommendation when in LA to visit Thai Town. Have you heard of Thai Town? Located within central LA and centered generally on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards and Western Avenue, this area is the only Thai ethnic neighborhood in the US. It’s basically a Thai version of what many metropolitan cities have as a Chinatown. LA is the home to the largest Thai population besides Thailand itself – it seems Thais have been immigrating and living in this other City of Angels (Bangkok, capital of Thailand, also translates to City of Angels) since the 1960s.

Whenever I visit LA and my sister, there is always inevitably a stop in Thai Town. It’s the closest thing to eating food in the same exact flavor profiles of flying 16-17 hours to the other side of the world (or alternatively getting a Thai mom or auntie to make what specific dish she is known for while hearing how you may have gained weight or need to exercise while simultaneously getting unasked for food put on your plate and encouraged to eat more).

A few weeks ago, when I was in LA, that stop in Thai Town for my trip was at Isaan Station. Ok, their location of which is probably technically in the bordering Koreatown, but let’s move on from geography shall we.

Isaan means “Northeast” in Thai, so this Thai restaurant specialize in Northeast Thai cuisine (most Thai restaurants serve Central Region food, with the other popular region being Northern Thai food). Isaan food is less Chinese influenced then Central and Northern Thai food and leans more towards Laos and Cambodia. Sticky rice and being very spicy are particularly recognizable as a common hallmark of Isaan food.

So no surprise when you look at the big laminated menu of Isaan Station and see the words “All Dishes Good With Sticky Rice” and a warning of “Please let us know what style of level of spiciness you prefer” along with “If you have allergies or fear please ask for a list of ingredients”.

Seriously though, be careful how spicy you make the ingredients because they really do make it spicy – what Isaan Station calls medium is the hot spicy level of most Thai restaurants.

When reading a Thai menu, my advice is to first read through and see what items you see that you don’t normally see on other menus. Sure, Isaan Station has Pad Thai and Pad See Eew and Pad Kee Mao and Pad Kra Prao, those common Thai dishes. But, the menu has a whole section called Som Dtum (also commonly seen as Som Tum) that offers 7 versions of this spicy but sweet shredded papaya salad. The additions in the various dishes include salted egg, pickled blue crab, fermented fish- lots of funky fun. That’s a sign.
Som Dum or Som Tum Thai, a green papaya salad with peanuts and dried shrimps, both spicy and slightly sweet from Isaan Station in LA

Isaan Station also has a whole section called Larb Nham Dtok offering 7 kinds beef, pork, and chicken dishes, though most of it is pork. Larb is a spicy minced meat salad (pretty much all meat, despite the salad term which is what the Thai word Larb means). Nham Dtok means waterfall, referring to the the juices running like a waterfall from the meat.

You should also not expect a traditional salad of greens from Isaan Station’s other section Thai Salad (Yum), as these are also all boasting meat or Seafood. Yum here is not am adjective meaning delicious but a Thai word that refers to a type of Thai dish that has lots of lime and chili in so it’s a bit more sour with your spicy food.

Below, Larb Woon Sen of spicy glass noodle with minced pork, red onion, mint leaves, lime, rice powder, cilantro, coriander and green onion. Larb is the minced pork meat, and Woon Sen is the glass noodles. So good!
Larb Woon Sen at Isaan Station in LA, a dish of spicy glass noodle with minced pork, red onion, mint leaves, lime, rice powder, cilantro, coriander and green onion

An unexpected surprise at Isaan Station is that they also serve Thai Street Food. I’m always drawn to this section of a menu if I see it in any Thai restaurant. Here at Isaan Station this refers to a lot of charcoal and deep fried meat dishes you can find in the Grilled and Deep Fried section of their menu – you probably have not seen some of these dishes before listed. On Thailand these were grilled on the street, enticing you from many blocks away like those aroma hands that tickle your nose and float you towards them, like in Looney Toon cartoons. I was most thrilled about the Kohr Moo Yang, a charcoal grilled pork neck (we also had  the Crying Tiger charcoal grilled beef and the Khai Yang Ob Oong charcoal grilled tumeric marinated chicken).
Kohr Moo Yang, Charcoal grilled pork neck. From Isaan Station in LA Crying Tiger, Charcoal grilled beef tenderloin from Isaan Station in LA Khai Yang Ob Oong, a charcoal grilled tumeric marinated chicken at Isaan Station in LA

But we were all taken aback at the table by how delicious the Mhu Daad Diew, a marinated pork sirlion that is first air dried (almost like jerky in chewiness) and then deep fried to crispiness. We ended up ordering and finishing 2 dishes of it, no problem. Definitely must order again and again.
Nua Daahd Diew, a marinated sirloin dish air dried and deep fried from Isaan Station

When ordering the Khao Niew sticky rice accompaniment, you generally want 1 basket for every 1-2 person, depending on how much rice each person is planning to eat. The rice is going to usually come in a little steamer basket as shown below (behind the Sai Grok Isaan, a homemade sausage of fermented pork and glutinous rice – the sausage is not something I would order again as other dishes had more flavor). When you open the little basket, you’ll find all the sticky rice balled in a little plastic bag that you then squeeze out the portion of rice you want onto your plate.

I like eating sticky rice with my hands where almost like a combination of sushi, I smush the grilled meat of my choice with the morsel of sticky rice in my fingers and eat them together. Another option is to eat a forkful of meat, in your fingers with the rolled morsel of sticky rice dip it into the chili sauce the shared plate, and then pop that in after chewing the meat.
Sai Grok Isaan, deep fried sausages of fermented pork and glutinous rice eaten with a basket of sticky rice (behind) at Isaan Station in LA

For fun, consider the sweet Honey Toast dessert. You have to order it ahead of time as it takes 30 minutes to prepare in the kitchen, but it’s a mix of doughy softness inside the toast with crispness and sugar and honey along with cold ice cream (your choice of vanilla and or chocolate – we went with all vanilla). This is enough for 4 people.
Honey Toast dessert from Isaan Station in LA Honey Toast dessert from Isaan Station in LA

Isaan Station is unfortunately Cash Only – there is an ATM outside to use if you need it. There is a very small parking lot since they are in a strip mall, but that lot can get full (and it’s only valet in that lot, not self parking, but it’s free) so you might have to do street parking. They have dine in, take out, online ordering off their website and free delivery within a 2 mile radius.

One last tip: follow the crowds or particularly in LA Thai Town or any of its great ethnic neighborhoods what restaurants have people waiting and parking is full as that’s also usually a sign. Go where the locals are lining up!

Have you ever had any of these dishes or been to Thai Town in LA? What is generally the go to Thai dish you like to order, or the Thai dish you sometimes crave?

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A Bridal Shower in LA

I can’t believe in less than two weeks, my youngest sister Judy will be married! She is having two ceremonies, one in Los Angeles, CA that will be the civil ceremony and then one in Chicago which will be the Thai ceremony. As I’m writing this, I am just back a couple days (and still recovering) from her bachelorette party in Montreal. Before I go into Montreal though, I wanted to catch you up with what we did for her Bridal Shower in June.

I flew into LA and stayed in her apartment, and early that morning I accompanied her to watch her get her hair blown out at Drybar. Boy, I wish they had one of these in Portland! It was super cute with their hair dryer light fixtures. details like USB to charge phone, hook for purse, and the menu with accompanying photos of different hair styles that could be done. I believe J got the Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair.
The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair. The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair. The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair. The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair. The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair. The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair.

This was a very pampering, laid back experience and I would definitely recommend it whether you go alone or with a group of friends or make it a party! I tell you, if I had one near me I would be going at least once a month because I have NO skill in curling my hair but I love the look. No wonder that Drybar even offers memberships to get your monthly blowout fix!

The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair. The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair. The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair. The bride to be enjoys a mimosa and getting a blowout at adorables blowout salon Drybar in LA. She got the hairstyle option of Cosmo-Tai, a blend of the Cosmo of lots of loose curls and the Mai Tai that hints at messy beachy hair.

While waiting our ride pick-up, we browsed, oohing and ahhing, over the sweet confections next door at Magnolia Bakery. I resisted getting anything, but next month when I’m going to stay a few extra days after the LA ceremony, I totally plan on eating my way down this street in LA that also includes Son of a Gun and The Grove. I was only able to resist because I already knew her friend Angie was bringing her homemade delicious cupcakes.

Magnolia Bakery in LA on 3rd Street Magnolia Bakery Magnolia Bakery

For the bridal shower itself, we held it at Le Pain Quotidien in Larchmont Village. This was great for us because we did not have to pay a rental fee, and the manager there was so super flexible and accommodating. The ambiance was very light and airy and perfect for a shower! There was no time limit, no reservation fee or deposit, and we were allowed to bring in our own champagne (they will provide glasses and ice buckets) and desserts/cake.

We brought in some balloons and mason jars of flowers as decoration. One of the bridesmaids made sugar scrubs (as well as the floral arrangements you see) as a gift. Meanwhile I printed out little frames of icebreaker questions about memories of the bride, groom, and them as a couple but it turns out we didn’t even need them because everyone was so personable and friendly! For our games, we had a He Said She Said game and Guess the Bride’s Age game. We also had a Photo Hunt, but we ended up saving that to use at the Bachelorette Party instead!
The back table of Le Pain Quotidien The back table of Le Pain Quotidien Guess the Bride's Age game during the bridal shower Guess the Bride's Age game during the bridal shower Guess the Bride's Age game during the bridal shower He Said She Said Game is so cute for a Bridal Shower!

As guests came in, we took a photo of each guest with the bride that we would then put together later into a Bridal Shower Memory Book, along with a card that each guest wrote to the bride while at the party.
As guests came in, we took a photo of each guest with the bridge that we would then put together later into a Bridal Shower Memory Book, along with a card that each guest wrote to the bride while at the party. As guests came in, we took a photo of each guest with the bridge that we would then put together later into a Bridal Shower Memory Book, along with a card that each guest wrote to the bride while at the party.

The day before, I had glitterized the champagne bottles. I had pinned it as something cute on Pinterest and then saw that J liked it, so figured I guess I better do it for the bridal shower!
Glitterized champagne bottles

I loved the Tartines there, which are various kinds of breads topped with stuff. I wanted them all, but we narrowed it down to only almost all the tartine options, that’s all. Toppings varied from Curried Chicken Salad with diced tomatoes and scallions with harissa-cranberry chutney to Omega-3 of avocado, hemp seed, chickpeas, toasted seeds, baby greens and organic cold-pressed colza oil or Local Fromage Blanc with fresh herbs, scallions, radish and black pepper. We also rounded out those tartines with Organic Quinoa Taboulé with fresh mint, cucumber and tomato and Artisan Cheese Board and Mediterranean Crudité with hummus, babaganoush, tzatziki, and red pepper fromage with crudité.
Tartines from Le Pain Quotidien Le Pain Quotidien Organic Quinoa Taboulé with fresh mint, cucumber and tomato Le Pain Quotidien Artisan Cheese Board

Here are the wonderful cupcakes Angie made!
Cupcakes by Angie! Cupcakes by Angie! Cupcakes by Angie!

And you can never have too many desserts, so 3 of us brought even more sweets… Payal made the first two, and Lynn brought that plate from Susina Bakery I believe.

And you can never have too many desserts And you can never have too many desserts And you can never have too many desserts

My contribution was an assortment of macaroons from Caffe Concerto. They have a lot of flavors to choose from, varying from Mango to Milk to Salted Caramel, Espresso, Cassis, Matcha, Earl Grey and more!
Macaroons from Cafe Concerto Macaroons from Cafe Concerto

I would like to go to Caffe Concerto again… and eat everything. I really wanted to try the Milk macaroons but they were all gone by the time I came by!
Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto Caffe Concerto

What’s amazing about what you see before you is that the 3 main organizers, 2 were out of town (one in Chicago, I’m in Portland) and the one who was in LA was pregnant and just gave birth a few weeks before!! But I thought everything came together so well.

Have you thrown a bridal shower from afar before? What did you contribute, or what cute idea do you want to share from what you’ve seen from bridal showers you have attended before?

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