During this past spring break, I spent an afternoon visiting Chinatown and was anxiously waiting to try one of the most hyped, “Yelped-about” restaurants in Los Angeles. In fact, there is a good reason it does deserve all the rave reviews it’s been receiving, because the food is spectacular! The name may sound familiar if you’ve heard of it and/or tried it: Chego.
This restaurant is known for its various rice bowls, which are a blend of Korean and Mexican ingredients. They also serve their renowned beer-battered fries called Ooey Gooey Fries, that are served in portions so large that it would be enough to share with two other people. The rice bowl combos are a tad pricey, but nonetheless more on the value side since fries are included with each one. Chego’s interior is very compact, leaving a minimal amount of space to eat, so it is more suitable to just sit at a picnic table outside.
Here is the Kung Pau Noodle Bowl: a mind-blowingly delicious rice bowl comprised of rice noodles, baby bok choy (Chinese cabbage), chopped red chilies, lemongrass, Thai basil, and topped with a scrumptious fried egg. It’s plain delicious and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan and can tolerate spicy food. FYI, make sure to keep a large bottle of water at hand when eating this because the savory flavor gets extremely intense.
If you don’t have a car or would prefer to limit your car’s gas fees, take the Riverside Amtrak to Union Station (the student discount price for a one way ticket is $11) and you are then within walking distance of Chinatown and other sightseeing venues. It is much cheaper than owning a car and well worth the trip if merely to try a heavenly bowl of Chego.
So long for now!
* Stay tuned for new food adventures to appear in [Part 3].
– Sincerely your HCUCR food critic,
Anna
{The featured food dish was photographed and edited by the writer via iPhone 5c}