If you haven't been yet, you should really go to the
Murakami Exhibit at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. It's only here for a few more weeks!
I had the pleasure of visiting the exhibit with
weatherjen and
tater on Thursday night. Why Thursday night? MOCA is free from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursdays! What could be better than a viewing of Japanese pop art
gratis?
There is a
detailed eight-part interactive tour online, which takes you through the entire exhibit, if my fuzzy contraband shots all askew don't satiate your craving for the cute yet sometimes disturbing brilliance that is Takashi Murakami.
After being barred from the gift shop (it closes at 7:50), we hit the streets of Little Tokyo in search of tasty treats. Sadly,
Fugetsu-Do closes at 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. No fresh mochi for the Murakami-lovin' trio. Sad.
Then we tried
Daikokuya, where we put down our names on a loooooooooooooong list. We quickly discovered there were 18 parties before us. Strike two.
Disappointed but not defeated, we settled on San Sui Tei.
What a lovely discovery! If you ever find yourself standing on the sidewalk outside
Daikokuya, shivering and envious of the people inside slurping away, walk a few doors down to San Sui Tei and become one of those envied slurpers!
San Sui Tei is the perfect back-up plan for
Daikokuya rejects. The service is very friendly, albeit a tad slow when we went Thursday night. But these people know how to do business. The sweet and smiley sushi chef whipped up this free little sashimi sampler for us to nosh on while we waited. So much better than the crowded sidewalk outside of
Daikokuya, no?
While we dined on free sashimi,
tater made the cutest little stand for her chopsticks out of the wrapper.
All three of us chose the spicy tonkatsu ramen. Mmm. I love dining with people who can handle the heat! We also shared a deliciously lightly fried soft-shell crab with ponzu sauce.
The noodles were very good, and I enjoyed their consistency. They had a yummy "bounce-back" quality. I hope you get what that means. The pork was decent and the broth pleasantly spiced, although I wonder if there was a ton of MSG in it. It's no
Daikokuya, but San Sui Tei can hold its own. I would not be averse to eating there again.
Art + Ramen + Two Smart and Funny Friends = Awesome Thursday Night!
great times on a weeknight! "bounce back" = al dente of ramen. there is a word for one step beyond (too soggy-ish) in korean, but none for the word you're looking for. :(
ReplyDeletefree sashimi is much better than cold + charismatic homeless dude + standing on sidewalk. although the latter might make for a better story.
i totally said "wah waaaah" out loud at the "closed" sign. again.
ReplyDeletei MUST learn the cute chopstick stand from tater!
Amen to tater's comment! I had such a fun time with you two!! Glad to see the "contraband" photos made it onto the net! :)
ReplyDeleteso sad you couldn't get to fugetsudo! :(
ReplyDeletesara aka pinktrojan :)
This makes so much more sense now - I had to listen to Mr.Kate talking about Mumbojumbo art exhibit we must check out after he spoke with you.
ReplyDeleteThat exhibit looks great - I am going to check it out, thanks for the rec :)
ReplyDeleteO.M.G Power Gizz. That's so wrong.
ReplyDeleteAwesome bootleg shots!
ReplyDeleteah, tater's stand is cute!
ReplyDeletei really like all the floral stuff, but some of his other work is, um, different.
It does sound like a great Thursday night. :)
ReplyDelete