I ate at 5 popular recommendations during a two-day LA trip.

I tried to hit everywhere I was eager to try in a 2 day period. Most of these places were highly recommended on this sub. For reference I ate every meal by myself. Here’s my thoughts:

Jitlada - Crying Tiger Pork: 8/10 - This was delicious. Very tender, flavorful marinade, and the dipping sauce was great but not spicy at all. - Lemongrass Steamed Green Mussels: 9/10 - The mussels were very fresh and large, the broth was amazing to eat with rice. I added some dried and fresh chili peppers because I ordered everything medium and it still wasn’t spicy enough for me. I only docked a point because it’s served with a live fire, the mussels get overcooked if you don’t eat it immediately. - Papaya Salad with Raw Blue Crab: 5/10 - I love papaya salad but this one wasn’t balanced, very sweet and sour but lacking in salt and spice. The blue crab was very fresh and delicious but the papaya salad tasted like it was made with pre-bottled lime juice and I don’t like that taste.

Sun Nong Dan - Oo Guh Ji Galbi Tang: 8/10 - This was a little spicy and lava hot temperature wise. It was so delicious but I was a little drunk so I don’t think I fully appreciated it. Kimchi was fresh without any fermented flavor, I assume they go through a lot of it daily. The green onion kimchi was top notch. Very busy even at 10PM.

Sonoratown - Carmelo with Asada: 10/10 - Delicious, very smoky and balanced. I added the poblano pepper and I would definitely suggest doing that. Salsa was great. - Chicken Chivichanga: 5/10 - I would probably skip this next time. It tastes very similar to a frozen burrito (of course much better quality) and that particular combination of ingredients didn’t speak to me. - Tortillas: 10/10 - Would eat forever until my heart clogs. Also they didn’t give me a green onion which was disappointing.

Yupp Duk - Yupp Duk (Level 3 Original Spicy): 7/10 - I love tteokbokki and this didn’t stand out to me in any way other than being a gigantic portion. I’m still eating this out of the fridge. I’m a spicy lover and after all I’ve heard I was expecting face melting but it was less spicy than Buldak noodles to me. I also don’t believe the rice cakes were fresh made, which I prefer.

Holbox - Smoked Kanpachi Tostada: 10/10 - I almost skipped Holbox and I’m so glad I didn’t. This tostada was so delicious. The tostada was fresh and crispy, the fish was smoky and savory, and the shrimp and raw scallops were so fresh and tasty. I would’ve eaten 5 of these. Also the roasted habanero sauce (white one) was amazing! - Baja Shrimp Taco: 6/10 - Perfectly fine shrimp taco but kind of boring, I probably wouldn’t order this again. - Taco de Pulpo (Octopus): 8/10 - This was the most tender octopus I’ve ever eaten by far, but it didn’t have much flavor itself. The squid ink sofrito was good but it was a little one note and the texture was quite soft. I would’ve liked a little extra acid and some crunchy texture but I’m being nit picky for sure.