Hau’s Best Of 2022
Best emotional food memories of the year.
For the second issue of Emotional Eater, I had planned on doing more of an essay on my relationship with food, but lo’ and behold, it’s nearly the end of the year and that post has been stuck in drafts hell for at least a few months.
Instead, and perhaps more helpfully, I thought it would be nice for me to not only reflect on the best food memories I’ve had this year, but also to share it out with you all. I will caveat though, that this list is highly subjective; there is no science behind what makes it here. In fact, I’d argue the opposite; as is the namesake of my newsletter, I pick these because they carried strong emotional, sometimes very personal memories with them. You might visit one of these places and be like, “Hau, I don’t know about this,” but I figured I’d warn you just in case.
Without further ado, in no particular order, my best of 2022.
Needle
Silver Lake • Los Angeles • $
Bite to eat: Pork chop bun
I’ve long followed the story of Needle—a casual, bbq-focused shop that used to serve up skewers and Hong Kong-style barbecued meats that since closed and re-opened with a more lunch-focused fare. The menu design is tight, and they only open for the afternoon Wednesday to Sunday, but every dish is thoughtfully executed and ridiculously delicious. My personal favorites are the pork chop bun (perfectly crispy and juicy, on a buttery soft brioche bun, with the perfectly savory but pickle-y relish), the egg sandwich (with luncheon meat, but you can definitely do without as the eggs and bread hold up very well), and the ridiculously crispy French toast with salted egg yolk filling.
Atoboy
NoMad • New York • $75/person
Bite to eat: Sea urchin with egg jjim, gim
While I haven’t been to Atoboy’s more studious and refined older sister, Atomix, I couldn’t help but feel at home here. It’s the kind of atmosphere that invites excitable catchup sessions with friends you haven’t seen in a minute, while still being very serious about its banchan-style food, offering a choose-your-own-adventure 4 course tasting menu (plus supplements) that you can have with rice. I went as a solo diner, and while I enjoyed every single item on this laser-focused menu, I really felt at home thanks to the incredibly friendly staff who made sure I was taken care of. And the egg jjim is honestly one of the top reasons to go here.
Banh Chung Collective
Los Angeles • Varies
Bite to eat: Banh chung
2022 was an incredibly transformative year for me, and this class (which was online for 2022, but will be in-person at the beautiful Alma Backyard Farms for 2023) was one of the catalysts for that. An increasingly complicated relationship with my parents and therefore my culture combined with a yearning to feel belonging, were the perfect ingredients to illustrate the need I felt in my soul for this class; a need I didn’t know I had until I participated. Watching Thao of Thao and the Get Down Stay Down perform the haunting “Temple,” having Diep Tran share her story about how this banh chung making ritual came to be, a story about reclaiming and redefining her cultural traditions from the clutches of less-than-ideal familial relationships, were much more than I could ever expect. Plus, the banh chung (insanely good pork belly marinated and prepared by Chef Uyen Le of Be U and sticky rice supplied by the incredible Koda Farms) itself is delicious and highly giftable. I strongly recommend attending if you’re local and are so inclined! (Vegan filling also available, and I’ll also be there for 2023!)
Pearl River Deli
Chinatown • Los Angeles • $$
Bite to eat: Hainan chicken
When you’re Asian and love to eat and live in LA, you eventually will hear the whispers of this mad genius named Johnny Lee who pursued the perfect Hainan chicken for years. Though much like other restaurants, PRD has had start and stops during the pandemic, they finally opened a dedicated space in the heart of Chinatown, slinging favorites like their beef chow fun and mapo tofu, and a case of rotating desserts by the incredible Laura Hoang. But the thing to write home is Johnny Lee’s freakin’ Hainan chicken. I’ve had many plates of chicken rice in Singapore, and am familiar with the various famous chicken rices in the greater LA region, but I daresay this is the best chicken I’ve ever had. It’s perfectly moist and juicy, packed with so much flavor it seems impossible that one bird could hold all that seasoning. The sauces and rice are debatable in terms of whether or not it’s the best (it’s pretty good, still), but the chicken is just unfair.
KinKan
Virgil Village • Los Angeles • Varies ($$$)
Bite to eat: Kaisen-don with fish sauce
The moment you enter this adorable Virgil Village restaurant, you feel an indescribable warmth wash over you. As you settle in, you realize it’s the sense of community and familiarity with which Nan Yimcharoen and her friendly staff operate the dining room that brings that spiritual warmth. You also quickly realize that the chef has a je nais se quois about her and her menu; underneath her cheerful, sociable exterior (she and her staff will more likely than not do rounds of sake with you) is a strong point of view and technical acumen that feels spectacularly limitless. She combines her Thai heritage and Japanese culinary training to make dishes that are whimsically and delightfully all her own, expressing her stories and love for her family in a myriad different menus. Just a warning for your wallet: Once you try one of her menus, you may be tempted to come back to try all of them, as I had been. You can try bites from the a la carte menu, or go for a tasting menu that averages around $150-$175 a person.
Genever
Silver Lake • Los Angeles • $$$
Drink to get: Datu Datu martini
I prefer cocktails over all other forms of libations (non-alcoholic drinks being a close second, though with the way my GI has been tracking, a first choice haha), but my pursuit is not anywhere near academic. I just know a good cocktail when I taste one, and as someone who’s always interested in exploring different flavors, the Datu Datu at gin bar Genever made me green with envy; essentially, a martini with fish sauce, tied neatly with a datu puti brine, a drink with a decidedly Filipino angle that tasted savory but balanced (also, if you know me, you know that there’s only one kind of martini in my book, and that’s the kind made with gin). The weekends prior, I’d spent an entire day experimenting ideas with a friend who fancies himself a hobbyist mixologist, trying to formulate the perfect fish sauce martini. We weren’t close, and Genever reminds me that I have a much more to learn about cocktails and flavor.
Kinn
Los Angeles • $$$
Bite to eat: Octopus
Kinn feels a little bit like a ship that sailed quietly into LA; one day, it’d simply appeared in Koreatown, offering an inspired modern Korean menu with Ki Kim’s whimsical point of view. Unsurprisingly, over a year later, Kinn earned a Bib Gourmand recognition. While I did enjoy this tasting menu and the veritable, masterfully crafted sauces that were used throughout the meal, the particular standout for me was this incredible octopus, one of the best I’ve ever had. Perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, it was worth the supplement and the latent guilt of eating a cephalopod.
Chef’s Choice Chinese Restaurant
Vancouver • $$
Bite to eat: Shrimp toast
One of the things I’d looked most forward to when planning my trip to Vancouver was eating the incredible Chinese food there, especially the dim sum. On recommendation by Lucas Sin, I went to check out Chef’s Choice, a traditional Cantonese restaurant that utilizes what he referred to as traditional techniques to create their dishes. This was one of the best dim sum I’ve ever had; the har gow (one of my personal litmus tests for good dim sum) was perfectly plump, crispy, juicy, flavorful, and the wrapping was just the right texture (not too soft or gummy); the shrimp toast was divine. Also recommend the egg yolk layered cake; excellent texture and a nice way to round out the meal.
Bar Sawa
Los Angeles • $170 per person, plus $45 for drink pairing
Bite to eat: Black cod hand roll, dashi martini
A birthday treat that I’d never expected, Bar Sawa is currently one of LA’s best kept secrets. Situated right next to sister restaurant Kaneyoshi with only 8 seats at a bar, it is Anthony Nguyen’s discrete edomae sushi home. The location itself is difficult to find in Little Tokyo, and there are instructions that help diners find their way to the actual entrance of the restaurant. Inside, it is intimate and sleek, the bar outfitted with spirits mostly supplied by Suntory, and an entire wall of lockers for guests to rent and store their preferred bottles of alcohol. Having worked under the master of edomae sushi Yoshiyuki Inoue, the chef runs a very tight and graceful ship with his omakase dinner.
But the thing that really stands out to me (aside from the beautiful cuts of fish and flavors of his sauces), is the cocktail menu here, and the fact that you can get a cocktail flight with your dinner. When I saw a dashi martini on the menu, I had to get it. Yes, I recognize only the one true form of martinis, but the dashi martini here is made with Haku vodka, and I did not mind it. The delicate but seafood-forward dashi does shine through in this drink; every sip, I’m left perplexed that I’ve drunk dashi, but I keep going back for more, until eventually I’ve drained my glass. Though I’ve written extensively about the martini, all the drinks here were quite nice; I can’t recommend Sawa for the cocktail and sushi lover enough.
Kato 2.0
Downtown • Los Angeles • $145-$225 per person
Bite to eat: A5 Strip Loin
I will be the first to be both critical of and grateful for the Michelin star system; critical of what it can do to a chef’s visions and motivations, of its obscure criteria, of its tendency to be woefully Eurocentric (not to mention that LA’s own distaste for the system), but grateful for the opportunities it can provide for chefs worldwide. As Kato was awarded its Michelin star and closed for expansion, I held my breath (in obnoxious hipster fashion) for the inevitable change to come for Jon Yao’s once humble restaurant.
But who am I to be critical of this move? I am ultimately happy for the chef and for the recognition that he wholly deserves; perhaps the tinge of nostalgia from eating at Kato 1.0 in the tiny strip mall and minimally decorated interior that could barely fit a kitchen was getting in the way of my acceptance. And, let’s face it; it’s entirely selfish.
I visited Kato 2.0 soon after it re-opened in its vastly more spacious ROW DTLA space. The price may have increased, and the menu items may have changed, but the spirit remains the same. I knew this with my heart as I bit into the A5 strip loin and experienced the Ratatouille moment all over again; this time, in the form of an A5 strip loin steak that became the essence of niu rou mian. I’m not even Taiwanese, but for a moment, I felt immensely nostalgic and had my breath taken away by this unassuming dish. Keep on keepin’ on, Kato.
Koke
Kyoto • 19,800 JPY
Bite to eat: Carrot
I honestly had no idea what to expect when I booked Koke, but this place exceeded all of the expectations. Yusaku Nakamura’s culinary background is grounded in Spanish cooking, and this restaurant is a thoughtful expression of his Japanese background and Spanish influences, without it being clumsy or lacking a strong point of view. The space itself is gorgeous, warm, and intimate; the bar seats 6 people with a full-on view of the open kitchen. The diners in company were dressed casually, which should tell you all you need to know about how relaxing of an atmosphere the restaurant was.
The chef tends a wood-burning grill in the back, and there is a fresh spring of water that the chef uses in his dish, truly a master of both fire and water. Every dish in this tasting menu was a home run; I often found myself hearing the description of the dish, formulating an idea of what it should taste like as I hear the description, and then becoming pleasantly surprised by the taste (case in point: the aforementioned roasted carrot. Tastes nothing like what the photo and description would suggest, and is savory and balanced). I left the restaurant feeling like I understood who the chef was a little bit better, and my soul nourished by his food. Koke has easily become one of my favorites of all time.
Dining by Chinese Restaurant Awards Vancouver - New Wave & Masters
Vancouver • 180 CAD
Bite to eat: Eva Chin’s Wild Rice Fun
When Lucas Sin posted that he’d be collaborating with Eva Chin and William Lew on a menu that celebrates the evolution of Chinese cuisine in Vancouver, I purchased a ticket without hesitation, and then realized I had to actually travel to Vancouver to eat this, making this possibly one of the more expensive meals I’ve had. But when else would I have the opportunity to try his cooking, in one of the major cities of Chinese cuisine outside of Asia?
The ideas they explored with this menu centered around paying homage to the essence and soul of the Chinese-based dishes they cooked, but using the beautiful local ingredients found in the region, crafting a narrative that really reflected these chef’s culinary stories. I was particularly struck by Chef Eva’s toothy wild rice fun; the wild rice lent a nutty flavor, expertly draped over the delicately steamed Dungeness crab. I had a moment where I felt like I’d peered into the soul of the chef, and I felt so honored to have that shared with me.
And there you have it. This is by no means exhaustive, nor is perfect, but as I scroll through my 2022 photos and posts, I relived each and every place listed here, and hope you’ll be able to experience it, too.
Thanks for reading, and here’s to more posts in 2023!