LA Raves

A little over a month ago I took a few days off to visit a friend in LA (Pasadena, to be exact) for a much-needed break, and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

The highlights:

• Blaze Pizza: $7 gets you a personal customized thin-crust pizza that’s on-par or better than CPK, at half the price. I had the margherita pizza and it was excellent. Maria Shriver is one of the founders, and there are a few locations (Pasadena and Irvine are a couple). (Credit: Wes and Nyri)
• Savoy Kitchen: delicious Hainan chicken place in Alhambra. Of course I ordered the Hainan chicken with dark meat only. (As an aside, I can’t take your food opinions seriously if you prefer white meat.) This place is pretty small and there’s always a line, but if you call ahead you can put your name on a list and skip the line when you get there. (Credit: thevalue)
• Joe’s Falafel: absolutely phenomenal chicken shwarma (dark meat, of course) with lafa bread. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it…it was truly a 5-star Yelp experience. (Credit: Wes and Nyri)
• JJ Bakery: chain of Asian bakeries in LA area that beats everything I’ve had in the bay area and rivals the bakeries in Taiwan. ‘Nuff said.
• 85 degrees Bakery: I didn’t actually get to eat here, but it’s because there was this huge long line going out the door. I’m told it’s excellent, though, and I’m making it a mission to come back here next time. (Credit: David and Jean)
• UC Irvine Men’s Volleyball: Okay, this isn’t food, but I had a great time at the game I went to. My cousin goes to Irvine, so it was a good opportunity to also meet up with him and drag him to one of my favorite things in the world. Oh, and did I mention that they are the 2012 and 2013 NCAA national champions?
• Chaba Thai Massage: this place was fabulous. I went to another Thai massage place in Pasadena, and it was a waste of time compared to Chaba. The masseuse also spoke perfect English, which kind of threw me off because these Asian massage places aren’t really known for that. I fell asleep during part of the massage, which is the best. To be clear, though, it wasn’t because there wasn’t enough pressure, because there was. 

So, there you have it. Not quite as extensive as David Chan’s reviews of all the Chinese restaurants in LA, but it’s a start. Take note LA – I will be back!