My favorite restaurant in LA
 

For about two years I went to LA one to two times a month on an expense account. When I ate alone I always went back to this place. Waters, this is also a great place to cop a peek at a celebrity.

http://cs.earthcomber.com/phone/comb...lientCode=C1TY

LOL. You are right about celebs. Waters wouldnt like it because the celebs dont get to invoke their right to privacy while eating out in a public restaurant.

It is a good place...asian fusion.

There was a less expensive version called EuroChow in Westwood, right near FUCLA. But it closed....didnt do as well as the big brother place in Bev.

Mr Chow is, as the locals say, a pap smear. Paps all over the place waiting to take a pic.

I love Asian food, and I bet this place invented Pan Asian (opened 1972, it says). I wish our legendary Pan Asian place Wild Ginger were half as good.

If you like fusion, then next time you are in LA, try either Asia de Cuba or Crustacean.

Both have great atmosphere (not as crammed in as Mr Chow. The one thing I do not like about Chow is that if you are sitting in that gigantic middle section, it is basically one long bench of people on both sides), great food, and interesting takes on pan-asian. Crustacean is more a vietnamese, while Asia de Cuba is, as the name implies, Cuban emphasis.

Asia de Cuba might be a little played out (there is also one in NYC) but worth the visit at least once.

Crustacean is always yummy.

Second vote for Crustacean. It is very good.

This speaks volumes. The article says they put the big fish in the spacious tables outside the middle section, and the plebians in the middle section.

I am fine sitting in the middle. I dont like to ingratiate myself with celebrities.

If you look at the pic in your link, you can see exactly what I am talking about.

imagine all those tables jammed with people, you are sitting on the black bench, and in the middle of the meal, someone needs to get up to go to the bathroom to snort coke or something....it is a huge hassle.

Plus, you are sitting about a foot away from the next person, so good luck having a good conversation there.

The bonus is that you meet interesting people.

Incidentally, Chow has an upstairs room for the VIPs, so you are actually correct. Many of the plebs sit down below, including moi.

Like I said, I've been there many times, usually alone. It's a good situation if you're alone. I like to sit there like I'm minding my own business, eating some of the best food on the planet, and quietly eaves drop.

Did you try the crunchy seaweed? Also the peking duck is delicious. and the wonton soup is also excellent.

I had the duck a number of times. I like the salt and pepper shrimp with that home made spicy dipping sauce. They're cooked really hot so the shell softens and you can eat it encrusted with spices, which keeps the shrimp tender inside. Pea vines. Steamed sea bass. There's a good beef dish. Steamed dumplings. That food matches up well with a nice dry bubbly.

I don't remember the sea weed. I'll have to try it.