I was born & raised in Los Angeles, California, granted at different pockets of this large county at different points in my Life. I was raised where many would call the “real Chinatown” or “Little Taiwan” in Hacienda Heights/Rowland Heights. I spent my college years outside of LA in Riverside where I found surprisingly much joy in the ‘simple life’. Post college were the years I really began to explore the heart of LA in West Hollywood, West LA, Downtown. My wanderlust gets me bored very easily. I pack my car up every weekend to a different city if I’m not able to fly across the globe.

I want to share with you my 10 reasons why I Love LA/Southern Cali. And roll out November (my birffday month) with more posts elaborating what, where, when, why, how to go. I dedicate this post to those friends from out of town needing a guide as I’ve found myself writing pages each time friends visit (with joy of course!). I dedicate this especially to the friends who have grown up here like me, but have taken for granted what a wonderful place So. Cal is on this huge earth that we share!

1. Diversity, Culture – You will find every ethnicity here possible. You will find virtually every type of individual with different goals and ambitions. It’s the ones who wondered, and then wandered to the big city so they could really break out of their shell, find themselves and make it big. Often in small towns, outlandish/unique behavior is not considered the norm. Come to LA, and it is a bare requirement, we encourage it. ‘Whats your niche? What’s your brand?’ is the most common question to your identity, even in the job setting. I don’t need a masters degree or read all the books to understand the different cultures. I can just ask my classmate, chef, co-worker, taxi-driver, neighbor or friend.

America is made up of different ethnicities. Even the whiteys, Anglo-Saxons, are  technically of European ethnicity, although assimilated today in our melting pot, have all formed to be “Americans”. My parents have migrated from Taiwan to America 30 years ago. My grandparents migrated to Taiwan from China 60 years ago. Today, millions of other Chinese reside in LA. Millions of other Asians, Hispanics, Africans, Middle-eastern have all come, and stayed for a better life. What they brought was their culture & history for us to learn & cherish, food, music, art and traditions that have contributed to what makes our society.

An Equal Opportunity - America’s founded on equal opportunity right? Well there are still some racism in smaller towns and more conservative states. There always will be discrimination – here, there, anywhere. Many minorities have come to LA and made it big. Some of our most successful CEO’s in LA/Real Estate & Business Investors are Jewish, Chinese, Indian, Hispanic. You can come here and start as a dishwasher, and make your way to management in a year. You can start Grassroot campaigns and find any type of grants that will support it. It’s that diverse & welcoming.

2. Ethnic Districts - I might have to name this my FAVORITE part of LA. I can’t eat the same type of food every day. I am constantly wanderlusting my taste bud from Italian to Indian one day, Japanese to Ethiopian the next. All I have to do is hop in my Prius for 20 minutes and I can find it at the ethnic district or even walking distance from my house. In the next post, I will give you insight to all the neighborhoods: The real China Town, J-town “Little Tokyo” (2), Korea Town, Little Ethiopia, Little Armenia, Thai Town, Little India, and more.

And trust me, I’ve been to other big cities like Chicago, SF & NY. They might have a few unique ethnic districts with restaurants tastier than ours, but LA still has the most. My friend in Chicago is thinking about moving here with the food being the driving force.

3. Nature - Southern California has got it all. Beautiful beaches, Lakes, Hikes and mountains to ski/snowboard. This isn’t just a matter of seasons. You can visit any time of the year within a half hour drive (without traffic, duh). I love spending a Saturday hiking in the Palisades, and then laying out in Malibu. Rollerblade from Santa Monica to Venice and shop at the boardwalk. Paddle board in the Marina, and make my way to lunch in Manhattan Beach.

4. Yoga, Green, Health – Yoga studios are popping up every corner like Starbucks. Not only because it’s become ‘trendy’ to partake in, but with our busy lives, it is important to find a way to relax. LA traffic is crazy, and our hustle-way-of-life needs some centering of the soul. Yoga was brought to America less than a century ago. Yogananda among other renown Yogi’s have started centers in LA like the Self-Realization Temple to teach us a different way of thinking that is healthier for us.

California is all about Green Green Green. Green transportation, Green living, Green Food, Green air. Eating organic is not a fad lifestyle for villagers or the Vegans anymore. In Santa Monica & Venice, Whole food’s, organic farms, Yoga studio’s, green buildings, Ayurvedic clinics are a dime a dozen. Come here for some healing & detoxing.

5. Restaurant & Nightlife - Just as #4 talked about all the healing and detoxing, I bring to you the extreme opposite – Gluttony of LA. I belong to both extreme ends. The most glamorous restaurants owned by world-famous Chefs & celebrities is worth checking out in West Hollywood, Hollywood, Downtown, Beverly Hills, and in the Valley. Any evening of the week is a good evening to go. In fact, Mondays or Tuesdays have better scenes than a Friday or Saturday. The nightlife in Hollywood is always vibrant & everything it’s hyped up to be. Downtown LA has opened up LA Live, and has many very eccentric bars in old bank vaults & warehouses. Although California is not allowed to serve Alcohol legally past 2am, you sure don’t feel that energy among the going-out crowds who are ready to party all night – find an after party in the Hollywood hills.

6. Awesome Museums – You don’t need to travel to France to see some of our world’s finest art. I have friends who visit for a week and spend it mainly exploring our museums. LACMA, Getty, Griffith Observatory, MOCA, just to name a few.

7.  The City of Dreams – Various cities have been named this.  But I still see LA as the place, especially if you’re in entertainment. The Hollywood glam may not be what it use to, but it’s still very alive. As I mentioned in #2, minorities that make it big, this one is more for the artists or entrepreneurs. From a small town and want to make it big? Unless you pursue that dream, a dream would be just a dream. Pack your bags & hitch a ride to LA like Hilary Swank or Britney Spears. Live in a trailer for a few months or years, waitress at a hot spot and your next big gig might just appear. Aspiring movie stars, singers, tattoo artists, Yoga teachers, Venture capitalists, students flock from across the state & across the world to come to LA to make it. Here you’ll find agencies, job opportunities, some of the best Universities.

8. It’s always sunny in LA – I love sunny weather. It makes me happy. It’s November, and its 80 degrees out. Occasionally it rains, and then it pours for 2 days and the Angelenos go a little loco. They tweet and facebook and don’t know how to go on, then the sun comes out & we forget it ever happened. Once a decade, El Nino or a flake of snow comes down and it’s all over breaking news. But other than that, it’s sunny and it makes us friendly.

9. Gorgeous people - I’m not going to rank LA as the smartest people in the World. Not because I don’t think they are, we’ll just keep it at that. But I’m going to say that LA & OC are cities filled with the best looking, best put-together, best bodies COLLECTIVELY compared to any other cities in the world. There are hot people everywhere, but as a population, they’re hot even compared to Miami & NY. The hot weather makes us want to wear little clothes and tan which makes us look more toned. All the Hollywood stars near by pressure us to always look grand. Its an alarmingly superficial statement, but it’s worth noting as a top 10 of LA. We work hard to stay in shape, even if we have no clue if Toronto is in east or west Canada.

10. Liberal, free-spirit, open-minded Energy – Conservatives are a minority here. Conservative issues won’t be your problem. California was very close in legalizing Marijuana & Same-sex Marriage. Pot dispensaries are everywhere. Our gay friends can be as open as they want. This acceptance says something about the free-spirit minds of our locals. And these liberals running our pot dispensaries in Venice & Marina del Rey aren’t just a bunch of hippies, they’re successful business owners, doctors, yogis, director/producers.

E-mail me, Facebook me, with what YOU Love about LA! I’d love to hear it

When I’m not globe-trotting, I’m always on the lookout for local trips around Southern California to get-away. Even for the day. Last week, I went paddle boarding in Marina del Rey. This week, I took a visiting friend in town to Long Beach to Kayak. It was less than a half hour commute without traffic from LA. For just $9/hour, we rented kayaks at Alamitos Bay, in the blistering sun and paddled down the bay through beautiful water-front properties & boats of all shapes and sizes. Paddle over to Naples island canals (you can stop for Starbucks or Jamba Juice!), Belmont Shores,  and eventually to one end to pet Jelly fish “moon-jellies” (that don’t sting) & Sting Rays!

This is a fun getaway for the day or for bringing friends from out of town. You can also bike around the beach, lay out, go shopping and enjoy varieties of restaurants in Belmont Shores! Heres the website to rent Kayaks & paddle boards for a low price! Life jackets included. I recommend you wear a bathing suit/board shorts because you will get wet! :: http://kayakrentals.net/

Stand-Up Paddleboarding aka “SUP” has become a popular trend these days, although it all originated back to the 1960′s from beach boys in Waikiki, Hawaii. SUP is a less demanding sport than surfing, fit for all ages and body types. All that’s required is a paddle board, very similar to a surf board but typically larger & sturdier (especially for beginners) and 1 paddle. You can practically paddle board on any type of water surface, most popular is lakes or beaches. Once you get on to the beach, the term turns into Stand-Up Paddle Surfing and is a lot more challenging (& fun!) as you ride the waves. SUP is an amazing way to get in shape, working out all your core through balance on the board, using your waist & back to turn the paddle as well as the arms. Way more fun than being at the gym!

I bought a few SUP lessons through Bloomspot with Wade – http://www.supwithwade.com. I got up earlier than normal this morning to paddle board in Marina del Rey at 7 am. For any other reason to be up that early, I’d be the grouchiest of the grouch, but this particular morning I was perky for this occasion. As a beginner, it’s recommended to start early before the sun hits the water, which causes temperature changes as the wakes become stronger. The weather in Marina del Rey was a bit gloomy and chilly, but nontheless, being up early on the water is a beauty of it’s own independent of the weather. I was with 3 other beginners and we learned the basics on the sand, and then paddled out around the Marina for 2 hours.

I really enjoyed the relaxing nature of SUP. I went surfing a few summers back but got discouraged after a few very uncomfortable tumbling experiences, feeling much like a fish being flushed in the bowl. I will try again soon, until then, paddle surfing will be my next venture.

Besides the water sport culture such as paddle boarding, boating, jet skiing in Marina del Rey, there is a surprisingly less inhabited beach there, just south of Venice. I’m a beach bum & river rat, probably a dolphin in my last life. As a resident of West LA, the thought of going to the beach on weekends get me grumpy thinking of the crowds at Santa Monica or Venice. I was in Marina del Rey 2 weekends ago at a friend’s condo and walked along the bike route from Marina to Venice. There was a major difference just an inch apart across the city-lines! A few families and individuals gracefully played volleyball and laid out in Marina. But as soon as you crossed over to Venice, massive crowds of Hippies, muscle-men, tourists, potheads, and gypsy psychic readers frolicked the scene.

Venice is great when you’re in the mood, but if you’re looking to relax on the beach with a book on a Saturday, Marina del Rey is a hidden gem worth noting.

The much awaited arrival of the Santa Monica Place has finally re-opened at a major splash! After decades of a less visited stagnant Santa Monica mall containing half-empty stores, the wait has been overly well worth it!

A futuristic, finely structured architecture that sits stern on this piece of land on 3rd street and Colorado in Santa Monica. An open space, wide-entrance welcomes you with the ever so popular posh Kitson store to the left, and a humongous Nike store to the right.

The Dining Deck

It’s leveled at 3 stories, with food selection to die for. A few fancy restaurants for those cozy date nights and weekday evening lounge experiences. The food court looks similar to that of the Century city mall, but wider. A few steps up from the main platform is a cabana sectioned off area which has glass exposure to beach front views of the Pacific Ocean. Friday evenings have been promoted for Live Music called “Sunsets” at 5-7 by KCRW.

La Sandia, Blue Stove, and Ozuma are fancier diverse restaurants just to name a few. Any fusion taste you’re craving, it’s there to be found: Chinese, Japanese, Italian and more.

Besides the impressive array of dining experience, the shopping experience is every girl’s dream come true. Retail Therapy? You’ve found your self-destructive palace. All the higher-end shopping you need from Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, The Disney Store, Tiffany’s, Michael Kors, 7 for Mankind, Angl, Hugo Boss, Kenneth Kole and so much more is all within a few steps reach.

I had a lovely experience today through this brief stroll, as I rushed out after an hour due to the claustrophobia from visitors of all walks of life. Santa Monica will continue to be a major tourist hub, but I foresee a generation of higher-end shopping shifted from Beverly Hills now to Santa Monica.

Find out more at http://www.santamonicaplace.com

395 Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Mon-Thurs: 10am-9pm
Fri-Sat: 10am-10pm
Sun: 10am-8pm

Food Trucks have always been around. From the early days of ice cream trucks floating around town, to the 25 cent Lemonade stand situated out by elementary school children to Hot dog stands. In the recent past 2 decades, there has been Food trucks among construction sites for city workers to grab a quick bite during lunch. There are hot dog/sandwich carts situated all over New York by federal/corporate buildings. Illegally-run bacon-wrapped hot dog trucks line the streets of Hollywood late night for intoxicated individuals to pay an overprice of 5$ for their gluttonous souls.

This past year, there has been a new trend of Food Trucks. Asian food trucks. Yes, the “Kogi Truck”, which started it all. Just within a year, hundreds of Asian food trucks have popped up all around Los Angeles. “Kogi Taco” is a Mexican-Korean fusion style meat mixed with cilantro, raw onions and Korean flavor sauce. Who would have thought stuffing Korean BBQ meat into tortilla would be such a hit?

The Uprise of Asian Food Trucks Brought a Demographic Shift — A Whole New Culture

This ‘Kogi-taco’ phenomenon has brought a whole new demographic & culture into the Food Truck Culture. It is no longer a pastime, quick-fix lunch habit for blue-collar workers, or corporate businessmen grabbing a quick bite before the next meeting. This new demographic consists of an age range of teens to mid-30′s. The genius who invented the Kogi Taco truck maximally utilized the most recent technology of Twitter to allow followers to track them down. Since this restaurant is on wheels, it brought all the more excitement for followers to log on, and chase them down. Downtown LA has a range of them, and even food truck festivals that have been put on. One day on the south of Wilshire and La Brea, the next north of Wilshire and 4th in Santa Monica. It became a trend for young hip friends to spontaneously skate on over at any time of the day for a cheap delicious bite.

A lot more Asian-Americans were appearing at the scene of Food trucks, which were merely rare to find in the past due to their conservative nature. Asians all over the internet started Yelping & Tweeting about their favorite food trucks, advertising for friends or friends of friends who had recently started one. Yelp has now a section just on Food Truck ratings.

Restaurants are losing business over the Food Trucks, perhaps a result of the Recession. Perhaps a result of something new. Now one is able to pay half or even a third of the price for something just as fresh, in a quicker time, while still being able to hang out. This trend has brought more people together, since there are no arranged table seating, individuals flock around the cart mixing and mingling during lunch time.

Imitations: Hundreds of Asian Food Trucks appear all over LA

After Kogi Trucks begun a year ago, imitation trucks like the ‘Calbi Truck’, ‘iKimchi BBQ’ have started serving very similar menus. Other Asian foods have popped up as well. There are now a range of trucks on Sawtelle Blvd in West LA such as the Vietnamese truck ‘Nom Nom’ serving sandwiches, ‘Yum Yum Bowls’ which serve Yoshinoya type bowls, sushi trucks, ramen trucks and more.

The most recently established to add to the family is the ‘Dumpling Station’ founded by Helen Pan which will open in March around Pasadena, the very first Dumpling Truck.

My Mission

I am taking a Documentary Film Making course at UCLA Extensions right now, and my 2nd project I wish to do on this subject. I wish to explore what it takes to start a Food Truck Business, and the future of the Asian Food Truck Business.

Indian

Electric Karma, West Hollywood
8222 W 3rd St, Los Angeles
Best Decor. Slightly upscale but price reasonable. Request to sit in the patio on the floor. Introduced in my Host Reel – under section: “reel”

Tantra, Silverlake
3705 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles
Dim lights, high ceiling, beautiful Decor. Open for dinners daily at 5:30. More Upscale, good for dates/birthdays (had my 25th there!), later dinners. Full bar, good place to hang out at night too.

East India Grill, West Hollywood
345 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles
Casual. Extraordinarily authentic with Indian Chefs.. cheap Lunch Specials.

Electric Lotus, Los Feliz
4656 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles
Indie trash/rock-ish, Beautiful, fun, trendy decor, with high ceilings, great for parties & get-togethers

Diamond Palace
1241 Grand Ave, Diamond Bar
Family Restaurant.

My favorite dishes: Chai Tea, Mango Lassi, or Diet Coke (to ease the spiciness),
They usually start you off with some Papadum & spicy mint chutney (green sauce), Lamb Vindaloo *death spicy*, or standard Chicken Curry. A side of Yogurt to mix with the curry.

For Vegetarians: Tofu Paneer, or Saag Masala.. anything with Tofu, Chickpeas, Spinach…

Sandwich Shops

Il Tramezzino
454 N. Canon Dr., Beverly Hills
(#1 Chicken Pesto Sandwich)

Succulent Steakhouses:

Mastro’s, Beverly Hills

Bandera’s, Brentwood
(same owner as Houston’s)

Morton’s, Beverly Hills

Ruth’s Chris
(juicy steaks to die for!)

Lawry’s Prime Rib, Beverly Hills & Irvine
(+ all the sides: the corn, creamed spinach, asparagus, baked potato, mashed potato… all delicious!)

Houston’s, Pasadena & Santa Monica
(My favorite as far as food & ambiance)

STK, West Hollywood
(Fun place to take on a date, good nightlife, hip bar; but the quality of food is mediocre)

Sushi:

Quality:
Sushi Gen, Little Tokyo
Most Authentic.

Crazy Fish, Beverly Hills
Extremely casual, sit at the bar kind of place. Large portions for great prices. Popular spot for locals for decades.

Trendy/Fun/Pricier:
Katana, West Hollywood
My favorite for ambiance.. esp. in the summertime on the patio!

Koi, Beverly Hills
Upscale

Nobu, Beverly Hills & Malibu
Upscale

Sushi Roku, West Hollywood & Santa Monica

Katsuya, Hollywood & Brentwood

Tapas:
Yatai, West Hollywood
(Very adorable place on Sunset)

Family:

Joey’s BBQ, Chino & Pomona
Started as a family restaurant over 30 years ago, many past presidents such as Nixon & celebrities have been in and out of this place. Low priced, AMAZING best-kept-secret BBQ place, better than Lucille’s. Go with a few friends & get the Family Feast!

Arabic / Mediterranean

Carousel Restaurant, Glendale
(Lebanese)

Carnival Restaurant, Sherman Oaks
(Lebanese)

Papa Cristos, Ktown
2771 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles
323-737-2970 – www.papacristos.com
(Live belly dancers “big fat greek” family-style restaurant with a Greek market attached for Greek wine, bread, meat and more. Also, a patio seating area too!!)