ktowning w/ E
january 07, 2005
^ E sporting his new scarf ;)
call it my luck that the one day i have an appointment on the westside that i couldn't miss, the most stormiest of storms came roaring into los angeles - engulfing everything in a cloud of gray film. after struggling through a 2 hour drive in the pounding rain, i arrived at my destination and spent the next two hours making a huge commitment that i think will affect the rest of my life.
E knowing what i am going through right now offered his company and suggested that we spend the day hanging out after my appointment. i'm not sure what's better than hanging out with a funny, sweet and ultra cool guy who would drive you around LA, spend time with you at the mall and take you out to eat. he's such a great dai-lo.
after picking me up at our meeting point, he took me to grab a bite to eat at nandarang. nandarang is a korean cafe that serves drinks & food with an enclosed outdoor patio area for smokers. although we were separate by glass, i might as well be sucking on a cig as well. the decor is sparse, clean and modern. i wished we had cafes like this over on the eastside. it's been one of those weeks where my appetite has disintegrated to nil so nothing looked appetizing on the menu. but i ordered an iced green tea and an omelette rice.
E ordered the hamburger steak with teriyaki chicken (sorry, i took a shitty photo). we shared our dishes and just chatted about a lot of things. i'm so glad that E is so honest to tell me things without any bullshit padding. the last thing i need is someone who wants me to put on rose-colored glasses and tell me that things aren't so bad when they really are. his brutal frankness is really only out of concern and care for a friend - for this i know and appreciate him for.
oh yes, the food itself was really tasty and for the first time in like 5 days, i could taste something on my tongue.
after grabbing some food, we headed to westside pavilion to do some shopping. i came prepared with my christmas loot of gift cards but wouldn't you know that the day i had money to burn - i could barely find a thing that i liked. my mind also went blank when i was at nordstroms - it wasn't until i came home that i remembered what i really needed there. i'm so fuckin useless i tell you. i did however give in to pick up a new pair of jeans from gap. the ones i'm wearing now are getting so baggy and look so ghetto. so the only plus side of the week is that i now need to wear a smaller size. :p after doing some more shopping on the westside and refueling on starbucks, we headed to dinner in k-town.
E, knowing that my favorite style of korean barbecue is the chadolbaegi - grilled beef brisket wrapped in the dukbokksum rice noodle sheet with the marinated radish, took me to a (literally) hole in the wall place for dinner. the rainy & wet weather made having korean barbeque the best thing to have for dinner. we sat under a heatlamp as the waitress set up the dinner for us. on the oiled grill, she placed kimchi and a soup base in the trench as the meats grilled above it. the oils and juices of the meat trickled into the kimchi broth that was later used to mixed with white rice to make kimchi rice. it was the best food i've had in a LONG LONG time. aside from the beef brisket, he also ordered the samgubsal - korean style thick bacon to grill. it was my first time having that and it was SO good.
call me partial but i don't think anywhere else has good of korean food as koreatown in los angeles. i know, maybe one day when i visit korea, i'll say otherwise but for the time being, this is the best.
aside from the grilled meats, we were also served the traditional sides dishes
of panchan, an egg souffle (see above) came out bubbling hot, marinated
salad, garlic, jalapeno and a variety of dipping sauces. when the kimchi rice
was finally ready, they also served us the daenjang chigae - the korean
version of miso soup. E kept on piling my plate with more and more food and
was so kind to do the cooking in addition to keeping my glass constantly filled
with the 3 large bottles of Hite beer we ordered. i ate more in that one meal
than i have in the entire week.
i walked out of there not so sure if the jeans i bought that day would fit anymore or not. it was one of the best days i've had in a long long time. my stomach was full, my mind was drunk, my waistline a tad bit tighter and my heart a lot lighter than 8 hours before. thanks E for just...everything. it's amazing how a simple gesture from a friend could make all the difference in one's life.
and in case you're interested....
cafe nandarang
3811 w. 6th street
los angeles, ca 90020
323.938.7899
yang san bak
3601 w. 6th street
los angeles, ca 90020
213.365.9689
after spending a whole day in LA - i realized that i need to get out there more often and stop hanging around in this boring suburb.
i need to live again.
