Chego — Restaurant in Los Angeles

To so many of us Asian American born's found rice, stale, boring, monotonous. Much of this almost cultural oppression and resentment pushed us to develop palates in other gastronomical area's. French, American, Mexican, Spanish, Italian, etc. it's not uncommon to have that 1 sibling prefer pizza over rice and fish so it's a bit of a surprise to see their tastes mature and them come back to the more sophisticated versions so centered around rice and so delicious it will make you won't why you ever went away from it.

Don't get me wrong, I am not one of them. I've been an OG foodie since Thundercats. Eating anything and everything that was good, never getting bored and staying inspired to mix it all and do it my way.

I like how the younger hip restaurant owners are making a statement with traditional flavor profiles. Places like Bauhaus, Pok Pok, Lazy Ox, Baco Mercat and Animal really showcase sides of cultural food, thought too traditional to be marketable.

Ooey Gooey Fries are a must, their best seller, apps or bowls alike. The Monterey jack and cotija smokiness pair well with the cilantro without the bite of acidity. Best eaten fresh as it's rich. $12 salad is a joke. Cranberries and candied pecans was soo never an in flavor combo.

King Pau Noodle bowl is great for vegetarians. Clean crisp profile, though not as filling. Kimchi spam bowl is amazing and that sesame oil is the kiss on the lips (ask for extra), frankly they should use this in the salad, tough I prefer my eggs over easy. Chubby bork pelly as I like to call it is rich, but the cotija doesn't mix with the sweetness of the pork and the peanuts are a bit of a surprise, not necessarily adding to the dish. Beefy T is bomb, a perfect blend of Japanese shoyu and traditional prime rib witht eh Tiny's prime rib plate giving it a good run for their money. They are kind of filling i guess if you get the ooey gooey fries, but stand alone each bowl to me could be bigger, at least along the lines of a bibimbap.

Décor is to me ok. I never went to the old Palms location. The whole tiny Taiwanese mall-esque set up does it no favors in preparing you for the bold flavor experience you will have. Service is ok, a little overlording and know it all and some items are a little overpriced, but it seems like he did what he wanted with the place and the menu, pulled no punches and is defancifying dishes of this caliber. It is busy and that can be a turn off as it's deep in this Asian strip mall. I love how they mix Salsa Verde with Chinese broccoli and cotija with prime rib. They are uncommon even for my "been mixing everything together since back in the day" palate. They work well. I wish I really understood the vision he was going for as many dishes it's clear, but some it's vague and missing just 1 or 2 ingredients or changes. With the popularity of the old spot I think many people aren't aware of the new location as it apparently was very popular, but hasn't quite received the applause people were expecting. I like mixing and matching my own dishes if I've done similar and see the downfalls, but places like this I have to trust their creativity for now.

It definitely sparked my imagination of what to work on and make at home and incorporate into...

I've heard good things about this place so when my friends and I were in the neighbourhood, I suggested that we come here for lunch. We were lucky and managed to find a spot pretty quickly in their underground lot (warning: the spots are pretty tight!). Chego provides validation for one hour free parking in this lot.

We waited in line to order at the counter. The lady taking my order was very nice; I ordered something with peanuts in it and asked that it be made without. She even noted on the receipt that I have an allergy to them, which I thought was very considerate. They have very limited indoor seating, as their restaurant is tiny, but there are a few long wooden tables outside that are available. We shared one such table with another couple... and then realised after a while that one of my friends knew the girl! What a small world :P

I tried the following: OOEY GOOEY FRIES: beer-battered with sour cream sambal, monterey jack and cheddar cheese, cotija, chillies, cilantro and pickled garlic -- These sound so good, but they were sadly disappointing. The fries were not very "ooey gooey" at all! The cheese had only slightly melted and had already coagulated when we got it. Don't they make these fresh? What was the wait time for? Why is this dish lukewarm and not ooey gooey? The fries themselves were not very appetising either so this whole dish was disappointing. CHUBBY PORK BELLY: kochujang-lacquered Kurobuta rice bowl with fried egg, pickled radishes, water spinach, Chinese broccoli, cotija and peanuts -- So obviously I got this without peanuts. I will say that this dish LOOKED really good, but it also failed to meet expectations. With a name like this, you would expect the pork belly to be the star of the dish. But the veggies overpowered everything. The pork belly itself was just okay. And again, despite taking even longer to come out of the kitchen, this dish was lukewarm. I do not understand this!

So once again I was let down by a Roy Choi kitchen. I'm glad I finally tried this place out, so now I know not to come back. The food wasn't bad, just not good. Two stars feels really low for this place but seriously, I feel so...

First, it's a Roy Choi restaurant so be prepared for a taste bud titillating Korean fusion food experience. Yes, TITILLATING.

It's BYOB. So bring your own beers/dranks/hardalch/whatever. You can even pop in the liquor store next door to buy a drink if you forgot to bring one. Space is pretty limited. There's 3 rows of seats: a picnic style long bench, a bar to stand at and a stool area with a long table.

Credit card payments only $8 and more.

And there's a cool bottle opener thing on the left of the cash register. I'm not going to ruin its SUPER COOL feature. So use it. It'll make you :o.

Anyways, to the food. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the OOEY GOOEY FRIES. They aren't that ooey gooey, which is good. The fries are fried to a very very VERY delectable crisp, the same as the kimchi fries at Alibi room. The roasted garlic they slip into this is AMAZING as well. The flavor isn't as scathing as a fresh garlic. Being roasted, it literally melts in your mouth.. with flavor that it leaves me with a big smile on my face.

I got the pork belly bowl. I asked for mild since I can't handle spicy food even though I LOVE how it tastes. I love the different flavors and ingredients put in there bibimbap style. Are we supposed to mix it together? Is that how you get the full experience? I don't know but I did it anyways. The gai lan + gochujang + fried egg really went well together, yin-yang style, with the rice. However, the pork belly wasn't as tender as it could be. And the dish is really heavy. And since I was going to go clubbing shortly after eating, I didn't dare finish it hahahha.

GO HERE!

Oh tip: Ask for a to-go order even if you're eating it there. They don't have any to-go lids for you otherwise. Only a deep dish thing + aluminum foil. And drinks + water is serve yourself...