đ Hello everyone!
I SAW BTS IN CONCERT!!! đ Thatâs pretty much all I can think about at this point; Iâve been waiting for this for 2 1/2 years, and itâs finally happened, and it was even more amazing than I could have imagined. I donât even know how to summarize it allâthere were tens of thousands of other fans there, and because BTS is who they are, and because their message is one of love and positivity, everyone was SO friggin nice. There was no pushing, shoving, fighting, negativityâeveryone was respectful and wore their masks and helped each other and spread the love.
The concerts were insane, and at the last minute, we scored suite tickets for two nights, and floor seats for one night. We were SO CLOSE to themâitâs like, after all this time, I have proof that these seven guys from Korea are REAL. And they perform just as great live, and the songs are just as fantastic, and the dances look just as intricate and difficult, and the fanchants and screams are just as loud. Iâm not sure what to do with my life after this. Wait for the next concert, I suppose! Please enjoy this Insta Reel I made of what it felt like in the stadium that somehow has over 5,600 likes and over 40,000 views. WTF, Army. đ
Also, we ate so much in L.A. All I have for you in this update is food; I actually have a lot more to share, but believe it or not, Iâve hit the limit of what Gmail will send in one email! So below is a trip report/food diary of sorts from L.A. Hereâs my crazymap if youâre interested; the places we ended up visiting are labeled in black.
What have you been up to lately? Iâve beenâŠ
đŁ Eating + Drinking
There were plenty of meals and snacks I didnât photograph, including:
amazing late night pizza from Braazo
delicious whipped eggplant with puccia, gem lettuce with Caesar dressing and pistachio, cacio e pepe, and branzino at Ălephante (where we met up with my friend N. who had JUST moved to L.A. the day before!)
late night skewers (mushroom, pork, and pork belly) at Dan Sung Sa, the COOLEST street food spot with dark little wooden, graffiti-covered booths
the saddest hot dogs youâve ever seen at SoFi Stadium
the BEST cannabis-infused peanut butter cups; I ate half of one before leaving for each concert, which seriously helped me not freak out with the stress of traffic, getting there, and finding my way around the stadium; then it wore off in time for the concert so I could just be CRAZY EXCITED #thankscalifornia
Cinnamon-plum tea and lemonade situation at Document Coffee Bar that Iâll be attempting to replicate at home
We ordered lunch delivery from ZinquĂ© in our Uber from the airport because we were starving (one of us may have been hangry). It was SO good! We shared a pork banh mi, fries, âle bowlâ - brown rice, avocado, tomatoes, arugula, comtĂ©, parmesan, sriracha mayo, and grilled chicken, and the BEST Vert Provence iced tea.
We spent a LOT of time at Upstairs, the rooftop patio at Ace Hotel. The weather was just too lovely! This was their ceviche and chips and salsa, a perfect snack.
Late night delivery of KFC (Korean fried chicken), tteokbokki, and pickled radish from Kyochon. This is seriously the best late night setup.
Brunch at LOAM at the Ace - we shared charred romaine, a breakfast sandwich with kale and harissa, and brûléed grapefruit. Charred romaine is just so good.
We had a âtrust meâ lunch at Sugarfish (basically a small omakase setup), which was fantastic. For $30, we got edamame, tuna sashimi with ponzu and chives, albacore, salmon, yellowtail and hirame nigiri, a toro hand roll, and a blue and dungeoness crab hand roll. Everything was insanely fresh and delicious! The rice was warmer than we are used to, and it was so good. This was the tuna sashimi.
Albacore and salmon nigiri.
Toro hand roll. They recommended we eat the roll immediately so the nori stayed crispy!
Drinks and puzzles at Upstairs - I was super excited that they carried Plantation Pineapple Rum, so I could have my favorite daiquiri that I havenât had in ages.
Snacks that turned into dinner at Sibling Rival. We had fried calamari and kanpachi crudo with cucumber aguachile.
Korean-style shaved ice at Oakobing. I had the injeolmi (roasted soybean powder) bowl with mochi and sweetened condensed milk, and Justin and our friend A. had green tea. I could only finish half of it, because I had just stuffed myself with noodles, but now Iâm on the hunt for something similar in Austin!
After our last concert, we just couldnât fathom going to bed, so we headed to Sake House for late, late snacks. It was so fun to be at an izakaya-style spot with my Japanese friend, who knew what everything was and how to best enjoy it! We had beer and yuzu sake and lots of snacks. This was a super fun plate of yakitori with shrimp, karaage, beef, mushrooms, bacon-wrapped tteok, bacon-wrapped asparagus⊠I canât remember all the other things.
Also at Sake House, we had these honey-butter potato chips, hot and crispy and addictive.
Okay so we went to Hangari Kalguksu THREE times in one week. We just loved that space and the food so much! This is the milmyeon, which was noodles in a cold beef broth topped with spicy sauce, pickled radish, sliced beef, cucumber and egg. When the server dropped this off at the table, she used kitchen shears to just kind of chop up the toppings.
Same day (Justin is ladling up some milmyeon in the background)! This is the chicken kalguksu, which had a rich chicken broth, knife-cut noodles, chicken, kabocha, potato, onion, and jujube. I could eat this every day.
And so I nearly did⊠this is day two, with more chicken kalguksu and a side of mandu (pork and veggie dumplings) for good measure. These noodle bowls are definitely big enough for us to share.
Day four, and we opted for the bossam - pork belly with cabbage leaves, dried radish kimchi, jalapeño, garlic, and pickled radish. In the foreground is my newfound love, yeolmu kimchi. Iâm off to the Korean grocery this week to find some.
The BEST kouign amman, a ham and cheese croissant, and fruit from the coffeeshop downstairs at the Ace. The kouign amman on day two wasnât half as good as this one.
Okay these photos are dark, but this meal was SO GOOD at the coolest little wine bar and bistro, Good Clean Fun. We had oysters with hibiscus mole vinaigrette and pickled mustard seeds, plus a purple Brussels sprouts Caesar that was insane.
The âSuper Rad Roasted Carrots,â served with herbed yogurt, mole vinaigrette, almonds, and cilantro. How can carrots be this good?!
And my favorite, the yellow gold bucatini with roasted kabocha squash, salsa matcha, and pepitas. Holy moly. Also, we took home their âAmazing Awesome Apple Cake,â an apple brown butter almond cake with apple wine caramel, whipped crĂšme fraĂźche, and crushed almonds, and it was the best dessert Iâve had in ages.
After we visited The Broad museum (which was friggin awesome), we checked out Grand Central Market, which was such a cool indoor food hall! They had everything from currywurst to pie to ceviches to fried chicken. It was super hot in there, so we opted for the stall closest to the open doors, which was this cute poke and oyster place, The Oyster Gourmet. All they had was poke, oysters, shrimp cocktail, and like two wines. It was perfect.
While we strolled the market, Justin had this supercool michelada made with a pineapple guava beer and served with a chile-tamarind straw. Too fun!
Steak frites at Sibling Rival (part 2 of the snack that turned into dinner). These potato sticks were SO GOOD.
Late night bread and butter at the bar at LOAM at the Ace. We made new friends here, who gave us lots of fun food recommendations. Sitting at the bar is where itâs at.
Okay, hanchic. may have been our favorite restaurant in L.A. Itâs billed as a not-so-Korean restaurant, and everything is a fun play on Korean favorites. The vibe, design, decor⊠everything is just so much fun. We started with the tteok and cheese topped with Korean chives. Holy moly.
This is the dweji dubbapâumami rice topped with spicy ground pork, egg yolk, gim (seaweed), Korean chives, and jangajji (pickled veg). This is when I realized I need more Korean chives in my life.
Bolognese manduâdumplings with doenjang (soybean paste) bolognese, tofu, kimchi, scallion, and cheese. WTF.
The surprise favorite, kimchi tagliatelle. The sauce was made with kimchi, pork, and preserved lemon, and the simple lemon-boiled chicken was perfect mixed in with it. I nearly made myself sick because I couldnât stop eating it, and I had to basically beg the server to take it away from me.
Lunch at Myung In Dumplings. We shared some shumai and pork and kimchi mandu. I loved tasting each restaurantâs version of kimchi and jangajji!
Just a very pretty cocktail at the Lobby Bar at the Line Hotel, as we waited for my friend A. to arrive from Japan.
Lunch at at Sun Nong Dan: in the foreground is super flavorful galbi tang (beef short rib soup) with mushrooms, and in the background, an interestingly mild chadol sulung tang (oxtail bone soup). They gave you bowls of salt and pepper to add on your own to this. Both had noodles and beef, and came with the requisite cabbage kimchi, radish kimchi, and jangajji, but this time we also got pa kimchi (green onion), which was omg so good.
A sideways photo of a surprisingly delicious room service breakfast at The Line. They stack the dishes and wrap them up in this tablecloth like a present, which was so lovely.
đ Laughing
Thatâs it! Thank you for readingâhit reply and tell me what youâre up to.
--Crystal