Sunday Brunch at Escala

 Escala - Artistic Soul Food.

I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered Sunday Brunch at this place in Koreatown.  The Chapman Market Plaza looks like a mystery for any one who just drives past it down 6th street.  That's because all of the bars are facing inward so you don't have much of a store front.  But not any more with the entry of Escala.  The giant windows face the street and give patrons great ventilation and view.  I can hear in my head passerbys saying.. WHATS THAT!?!

The decor inside is very cool.  The DJ spinning tracks on Sunday adds to the vibe which I was soaking up all morning.  Some of the decorative elements are obviously added in, but some made me wonder if they were originally a part of the building.  There was a Spanish church/mission feel that I thought was very unique.

Eventually this place will be busy, but right now it's not on the radar and all the creatures-of-habit will continue go to their usual brunch spots and wait one hour for a seat.  While Escala smiles from across the street.

 Food was pretty good.  Portions are smaller than what I'm used to, but this is probably a good thing.  We should get away from the notorious American sizes.  #supersizeme.  Chilaquiles,  Eggs Benedict and Loco Moco interpretations get an A plus for plating... but nothing to travel out of the way for.  The venue and energy were the most delicious parts of the morning.

 Oh and this Mango Chili Mimosa... t  Though I wanted a better punch.  MORE Mango.  MORE Chili!  For that I should have ordered the Sancho Reyes.  But tequila in the morning.. i guess I've made worst decisions.

 Oh and the Cafe de Columbia is $.25.  No joke.  Get it.

Korean Festival

I found it very interesting that none of my Korean friends knew about the annual Korean Festival in LA.  Nor did they have any interest in checking it out.  I guess because we live next to the giant that is Ktown - everyday we drive through it's like a Korean Festival.

But I was glad to check that off the list.  (Still need to celebrate Holi - Indian Festival of Colors and the Brazilian Festival that I missed earlier in the year.

Never seen Kim Chi in bulk like this before.  There were so many Kim Chi samples!  Lots of other foods too, but I couldn't read the signs... those circles and lines... is it the food item or price?  It's like hieroglyphic binary code.

Old man planning beer pong, free clay pot (the line was too long), floral crafts and a B-BOI competition.

Check out this giant white person. "ME WANT EXOTIC FOOD."

We continued our explore heading toward Northern Ktown where we found Zion Market nested in the middle of korean shopping mall.  I concluded that as you get more north, Ktown becomes nicer and expensive.  South of Wilshire Ktown is more hood - where Koreans and Mexicans fight for parking space.

We sampled this duk bok gi, loved it, and made it that night by adding ramen.  YUM!

Oh... Koreatown Pho is always suspicious.  Pho 24 also offers authentic Vietnamese gyoja and chow fun.  STFU.

Somaekcol

Urban Dictionary says Somaekcol is:

A portmanteau of the words Soju, Maekju, Cola. You will need 2 shot glasses, a regular beer glass, and the ingredients below.

Soju - Korea's famous liquor
Maekju - beer (a glass of it, any brand will do)
Cola - Coca Cola

Pour the Coke into half a shot glass. Stack the 2nd shot glass on top, and fill this one to the brim with soju. Now fill the glass about 3/4 full of beer. Pick up the glass with your dominant hand, and the stack of shot glasses (still stacked) with your other hand. In one swift motion, drop the shots into the glass of beer (hopefully they stay stacked and upright), and immediate start chugging. If you do it right, the 2 shot glasses will separate past a certain tilt angle, releasing the Coke. You'll basically consume a pile of spiked beer, with a sweet cola finish at the very end.

This got me messed up pretty quick with my coworkers the other day, but she called it yongju.  We called it a Korean Car Bomb and we also prepared it differently (less messy.)

It made things a little more fun during AYCE KBBQ with Szeto last night.  You put the first shot glass carefully in the beer glass - put half coke.  Put the second shot glass inside - fill second shot glass with soju.  Pour a bunch of beer into it to your liking.  GANBEI!!  And chug. Use your index finger to tip the top shot glass to release the coke if it doesn't happen naturally. Smooth and delicious.  I wanna buy a ton of these Korean beer glasses so I can do this at home.  The American pint glasses are ridiculously to big for any sort of consumption.  In moderation, you will not know how much you had.

A Tea for Every Need

Sa-Rang Tang (Lover's Tea) - Recommended for couples, potential couples or those looking

Hwa Sun Ji Tea & Coffee had a tea for every need.  Too much pubic hair? There's a tea.  Need a raise?  There's a tea.  Allergic to tea?  There's a tea for that too.

The tea came with these little treats.  We opted to sit in the traditional section which was a bit of a challenge for my western legs because sitting "indian" wasn't very comfortable.  I kept moving around as if I had a nightmare during midsleep.  There's Sam enjoying his tea like the old Chinese lady that he is.

How does that dessert look?  Want a closer look?

Yelp says this place is one $, but really it's $$.  Come on.  It's hot water with leaves.  But this voodoo tea must have been imported because suddenly I had a better sense of direction after having a cup of 6 dollar tea.