Bye bye convertible!
All good things come to an end as we embark on our last day in LA. First, we had to return the convertible. Aaron was very sad to let it go, and even contemplated purchasing one, but it doesn’t make sense to have one in Ottawa, where more than half the year consists of snow, snow and more snow! Before we dropped it off though, we had some coffee and pastries at Nespresso. The decor of the place was very impressive with its modern design and high ceilings but the coffee and food was just below average. After we returned the car, we spent some time walking around the streets of Beverly Hills with its chic restaurants and boutiques. Great place for celebrity spotting!
Quarters BBQ
For lunch, we went to Quarters BBQ for some Korean BBQ. This was pretty different than any other Korean restaurants we’ve been to. The decor is like a nice bar but food was not bar food. As soon as we sat down, our server brought over many side dishes, which reminded me of our time in Korea. So many plates were placed in front of us we did not know where to start. There were kimchi dishes, salads, kimchi pancake and even a cold cucumber soup, meant to improve your appetite. There is also a dish with various sauces and seasoning to dip your meat into. All the meat orders here come in 1/4 pound orders as per the name of the restaurant. There were also combos available if you don’t want to choose your own meat. If you ordered 5 orders or one of the combos, it came with a bunch of other side dishes as well – a stew, an egg soup, a veggie skewer and a cheese fondue! You can’t go wrong with dipping things into melted cheese! The meat arrived and the diligent servers here helped us with the cooking to make sure that the meat is taken off the heat when ready. The side dishes were all good with my favourite being the kimchi pancake and the soy bean stew. They both tasted very authentic. The meat were better than what we would get in Canada but not as good as the restaurants in South Korea where they only specialized in one type of meat (e.g. pork belly, bulgogi). We were once again stuffed and decided to just head home to get some packing and blogging done.
Barnsdall Art Park
It was Friday and Aaron found out there was an weekly event going on at the Barnsdall Art Park close to us. It was a fun picnic party with wine tasting in the park and a live DJ. We had to get tickets online ahead of time and then we were given bracelets with 4 perforated tags. We then could head over to the wine tasting area to try various wines from around the world. They had 4 wines and served them in order from white, to rose, to the reds. Those with young children could also come but would have to stay outside the fenced wine tasting area. We both felt this is such a great idea to get people together to just hangout at the park, picnic on the lawn, and enjoy the sunset. You could bring your own food or buy some from the food trucks on site; however, we had other plans. Remember the Northern Thai restaurant from last night? We knew we had to go back.
Night + Market Song
We caught a shared Lyft, which was actually pretty convenient and economical. We arrived at Night + Market Song and it was packed! We placed our name down on the list with at least 10 parties in front of us. Fortunately, the wait wasn’t too bad, as you could order drinks and just hang out at the bar/lobby at the front. The staff here are super attentive. I had apparently spilled some red wine on my top at some point during the evening and after I came back from the washroom trying to wash it off, one of the staff had given Aaron some white wine for “his lady” since “white wine is the best stain remover”. Because we only had 2 people, we only waited perhaps 20 minutes or so. We knew we had to order the khao soi, as we have been unable to find good khao soi since leaving Chiang Mai. Believe me, we’ve tried and failed. We also ordered the crispy rice salad as recommended by many on Four Square and also by the enthusiastic lady sitting next to us. We also tried their Thai iced tea, which was pretty comparable to the one we had the other day – definitely very sweet, just like the ones you get in Thailand. The crispy salad arrived first and I quite liked how spicy it was and the crunch of it. As someone who does not like cilantro and ginger, I couldn’t eat too much of it. Aaron felt it was the sour taste that prevented him from eating too much. Then, the khao soi, the reason we came here, arrived. The crunchy noodles on top wasn’t quite like the ones we had in Thailand and they fried their chicken here – which was quite an interesting twist. The curry and egg noodles, though, were very good and probably the best we’ve had since Thailand. Big thumbs up! After another short Lyft ride with a very friendly driver, who was apparently born in Canada, we were home! Today was definitely a nice chill way to end our trip.
Bowsing Nom Noms | Ottawa-Based Food and Travel Blog 