Jan 27, 2015 Starry Kitchen and other underdogs of Chinatown
Starry Kitchen’s “Tofu Balls in Your Mouth” are famous among food writers and bloggers, and Nguyen and Thi Tran’s origin as underground and illegal restauranteurs in a Valley apartment is as well-known as their Singaporean Chili Crab that must be ordered 24 hours in advance–and often is by regulars. Yet the culinary duo are still underdogs, as is evidenced by their $500,000 Kickstarter campaign to relocate their vagabond operation into a proper (not pop-up) location in Chinatown.
Indeed, there are plenty of blog-topping new-school eateries in the neighborhood–namely Chego and Scoops, which opened before and after Starry Kitchen (and its banh mi pop-up). More recent additions include Pok Pok from Portland and the Eggslut creators’ Ramen Champ. And Nguyen knows all of them well, but in spirit if not in menus Starry Kitchen is as much part of the immigrant Vietnamese and Chinese cultures as it is the mutations and tributes. So on a sunny afternoon on the cusp of his Kickstarter’s home stretch, I ask him to show me some his favorite local underdogs.
I’m partial to the the idea of going on a dessert binge, but Nguyen says that he needs real food and directs us to Golden Lake Eatery by Lyly. You can’t see the family-owned-and-operated Cambodian restaurant from the street and have to enter it from a hidden parking lot behind a Vietnamese supermarket. There are no frills but the food is solid. For about $6.50 you get a generous entree plus a bowl of broth with a gigantic, meaty bone sticking out of it. Since I’m a vegetarian, I order the fried rice without meat and give the soup to our friend Bill who lives in the neighborhood and has joined us. Tasty food food, nice people, good prices, and next time I’m going to check out the veggie banh mi for three bucks. Nguyen says the location has been a real restaurant killer, and that this one has been around for three months. We hope it sticks around.
After lunch we walk down Broadway to the Far East Plaza, not to grab a second lunch at Chego, Pok Pok, or Ramen Champ but to survey today’s ice cream flavors at Scoops and say hi to our friend Chris behind the counter. Afterward, Nguyen points out Qin West Chinese Cuisine. Chinatown has always had a load of Chinese American and Hong Kong style food, but this spot specializes in dishes from the Mainland. Nguyen says that most everyone orders the specials but the Original Taste Series is where it’s at, especially the Chinese Mo (beef sandwich).
We walk back up Broadway and Nguyen stops at Trieu-Vinh, a Vietnamese cafe that he kinda likes but happens to be gated up. They have weird hours, my friend explains, saying nothing about the pho, the fish, or the noodles. But they do have interesting ice cream flavors like hot pepper!
Nguyen asks, “Can we only talk about restaurants?” And then we head over to the claustrophobic-but-brightly-lit Chungking Express-style mall where we visit a downstairs stall that sells everything including kitchenware. With Starry Kitching moving soon, he and Thi don’t want to buy complete sets of anything, so they’ve been coming here when they need something. Who needs IKEA? Buy local!
We exit the catacomb-like maze, emerge on Spring Street, and walk to Family Pastry for some egg tarts. The 70-cent treats are hearty and deep–not like the miniature versions that are served in triplicate at dimsum these days. Nguyen hands one to me and says that these aren’t quite as flaky and yummy as Golden Gate Bakery in San Francisco, but says they’re the best in Chinatown. The crumb-covered tables mobbed by senior citizens drinking tea out Styrofoam cups validate that opinion.
Practically next door is the Na Hoa Fish Market. This is where Starry Kitchen purchases all of its seafood, from the striped bass to the crab. And if Thi ever decides to add frogs to the menu, Nguyen can scoop them out of the half-filled aquarium right in front. There are a handful of popos in the shop today picking specific fish out of the tanks to cut and gut on the spot. Starry Kitchen is stocked with seafood at the moment, so we press on.
We walk around the corner to buy some takeaway for Nguyen’s wife from the very first Phoenix Inn–not an underdog but an institution in the neighborhood that has spun off restaurants and snack shops across the San Gabriel Valley. It happens to be right down the street from a new-school success story: Little Jewel of New Orleans. Their veggie po’ boy (french fries, mushroom gravy, and cheddar) is intense!
In our short walk around Chinatown, we’ve seen plenty of success stories and no shortage of underdogs. They are not mutually exclusive and in my estimation Starry Kitchen can be both. Indeed, the best success stories are those that entail underdogs. Read about Nguyen and Thi’s campaign at bit.ly/saveourballs.com, visit them at their current restaurant location for the remainder of month, and maybe even back their cause. I look forward to seeing you at the new restaurant in a month or two…
In addition to the Kickstarter page, there’s starrykitchen.com. And then there’s Imprint on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.