Now, owner Sang Yoon has opened Lukshon, near Father's Office in the Helm's building. His southeast asian menu draws Portuguese, French and Dutch influences. I went last night with Stacey, Tom and Ryan after making an 8:30 rez the day before. We were seated 45 min late but didn't mind because we had cocktails ;) Clearly they are super busy and have only been open for a week so there are some kinks to work out. Cocktails were good, especially the gimlet, but the others seemed to taste like each other. Beer list focuses on craft beers and cocktail list includes some hard to find asian liquors. Wine list is really well priced with a focus on rieslings that work so well with the spicy food. We were starving when we sat and pretty much ordered one of everything on the menu. Now, I got a bit tipsy having nothing in my stomach and waiting for a table. When it did arrive, food was gobbled so quickly pictures weren't even an option. The chicken pops were small but super flavorful and really spicy, my fav chicken "wing" ever. The malapeque oysters were sweet and fresh and even eaten by a non oyster eater. Chiang Mai noodles with pork belly were good but not Chang Mai noodles. I have been to CM and can honestly say that one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth is Khao Soi, northern Thailand's curry noodle dish. I was so excited to eat this as I have not been able to find it in Los Angeles. The dish was good but didn't take me back to Thailand. It just didn't have the same soul or the expected shallots, lime and pickled cabbage on the side. Had I not ever had the real deal, I would've thought it was a damn good bowl of curried noodles. The scallop sashimi was so so good. I swear, that water chestnut, cucumber relish should be its own side dish. The shrimp toast "balls" were little bites of fried shrimp heaven. The spanish mackerel was really small and kind of forgettable. Of the two meat dishes, the short ribs fell short . Buuuut the crispy coconut rice cakes it came with did taste like Thailand. So ridiculously good. The skirt steak with shisito peppers was something I would totally order again, really flavorful, especially compared to the bland short ribs. Definitely the better meat dish. We also had a side of the black rice with a fried egg on top. I'm a sucker for fried eggs on top of anything but it was just ok.The squid (pictured above mostly eaten ;) was delicious and tender stuffed with sausage, mint and the tentacle-y bits fried and crispy. We were warned by our server about the dandan noodles. They would come dead last as the sichuan peppercorns in it are known to numb your mouth. Sounded fun to us.
They were a good note to end on. Kurobuta pork, peanuts and mustard greens...it was the perfect bowl of noodles and I actually did pause long enough to get a picture. Oh and the numbing factor? It was a pleasant mild numbing, not "I -just-got-home-from-the-dentist" kind of numbing.
Dessert comes out to every table on the house which was a nice bonus. After the dandan, the flavors of the kiwi soup was off the charts amazing. It filled my mouth with so much flavor, the numbing of the dandan instantly went away. I wanted more kiwi soup, something I never thought I would say. Overall, I am for sure going back. I can't wait to try the dishes I did miss...mussles, whole steamed fish, pork ribs. Yang Soon is kind of a genius.
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