Hi! Welcome To/Back To Big Sigh🌀
It seems to me that in Los Angeles, precious things are put on a high shelf. Glass houses sit on mountains far above the marine layer, protected by the Mills Act, and sheer inaccessibility. Information is presented on billboards so lofty they’ll put a crick in your neck, planes write in cursive in the sky, movie screens encourage a lifted gaze, and churches rest on holy hilltops. Unlike its common compatriot New York, (a place that seems to worship the literal and figurative underground) everybody wants to get high in LA. This being said, my favorite things about the city so far are at ground level, and often times they look you right in the eye.
Some of LA’s most delicious chicken comes from the back of a grocery store, in fact almost all of the most delicious things I’ve eaten here have come out of one story buildings. Often strip malls, and often eaten off Styrofoam or with plastic. Not to like wallow in my similarity to my fellow man or anything but LA really is, in my opinion the best eating city in the US, New York being the best dining city. Does this make sense? New York is cloth napkins and micro shiso and shit, and in LA someones grandma changes your life in the back of a parking lot.
All this being said, I would like to invite you, Los Angeles, to the first ~official installment of Taste Buds, a traveling supper club of sorts, here is the gist:
🌱🫘🎷Taste Buds 🪷🥒🤸
Each week I’ll be sending out a newsletter with a different restaurant, come if you’d like, solo or with friends, just be sure to RSVP by responding to the newsletter and tell me how many people total in your party. Some weeks will have a reservation cut off, others will not.
Heng Heng Chicken Rice
Location: Heng Heng Chicken Rice, 5420 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 92103
Time: Sunday, July 30th 7pm
RSVP: by Saturday evening
“Few dishes blur the sharp, self-conscious line between comforting and luxurious. Most, in fact, declare themselves solidly on one side or the other: demure and straightforward or rich and complicated in the manner of a high school literary club chair.” San Francisco Chronicle
Hainanese chicken rice is a southern Chinese dish comprised of chicken poached in a flavorful broth, garlicky rice (cooked in that same broth along with chicken fat) crispy cucumbers, and sauce packed with aromatics. Often served with a cup of the chicken broth on the side for sipping. Like all great dishes, there is contention over its origin.
The dish is supremely Singaporean but Malaysia also lays claim to its creation which you can read more about here.
Regardless of its roots, a slew of Southeast Asian countries have their own twist on the classic, its variations become particularly evident in the dipping sauce composition. In Vietnam, the depth of the dressing has fish sauce to thank, in Singapore fresh chilis and ginger add punch to dark soy, while in Thailand the sauce is thickened by yellow soybean paste, and ample garlic & vinegar.
Heng Heng specializes in Thai style Hainan chicken also known as khao man gai, which, happens to be one of my favorite foods of all time. I like how the chicken
s t r e t c h e s imparting juicy depth into every element of the dish.
👹🔆🫛Grocery Goblin🫶🥛🛶
The grocery store as an anthropological treasure trove. Does that sound interesting to you? Potato chips that taste like fried eggs. Does THAT sound interesting to you?? What about colorful graphics on cans of baby clams? Warehouses full of acorn fed pork collar? If so please join me on Tiktok and Instagram as I delve deep into the shelves among us.
Thank you for reading, until next time🤸