72hrs in Los Angeles (Long Weekend)
At the end of July, I went to visit my sister in Los Angeles for a long weekend (I got in Thursday night and left first thing Monday morning). This was the first time I have been to LA for a longgggg time, quite possibly since she graduated from college in 2017! Normally, when I go to LA it is for a family “thing” and we usually spend our time in The Valley seeing relatives. This trip was the first time I was able to see my sister’s version of LA and get to experience some of her favorite spots. After this trip, I really can’t wait to go back! (Although I still think the LA area is not where I would want to live BUT still enjoyed my visit).
In this post, I want to walk you though everything we did- aka what we ate- during my 72hrs in the LA area.! Hopefully this will help if you are planning a visit anytime soon!
Thursday:
On Thursday, I landed at LAX at around 8:30 pm and when my sister picked me up, we immediately drove to K-Town (Korean Town) for some Korean food! We went to Dan Sung Sa which specializes in Korean street food. The interior is funky with wooden booths lining the restaurant with a huge open grill-top in the middle of the space. This would be a great place to come with a big group, to eat and drink and have a great time.
We ordered a lot (a lot) of food and it was all delicious. We go the chicken wings, steamed mandu, cheese corn, Vienna sausage skewers, grilled pork belly, grilled rice cakes, grilled shrimp, short rib, dumb bells (vermicelli noodles wrapped in nori and fried). I would definitely come back!
Friday:
Friday morning I woke up super early and as my sister had to work for the day, I actually went to meet my parents in Newport for a quick hello/ early lunch before they flew back to the Bay Area. We walked around Newport Beach, got coffee at Dory Deli and then went over to Lido Marina Village to walk around.
For the main event, we went to Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai in Costa Mesa for quite possibly, the most delicious ramen I have ever had. The broth is full of flavor but didn’t feel super heavy and the noodles were super chewy and fresh. I got the pork belly ramen so it just came with pork belly (and a ton of it), and an egg, but I got scallions and cabbage on the side. It was so incredible!
After lunch, I went back to Venice and by that point, my sister was wrapping up work and we decided to walk Abbott Kinney, which is super close to her apartment. We stopped at Cha Cha Matcha for a drink and went shopping.
For dinner we drove over to Santa Monica and went to Blue Plate Oysterette for some seafood. It was so fun to be right off the beach and all of the action of Santa Monica! We ordered soooo much food and it was all good but the Iceberg Louie and the lobster roll really stole the show.
Saturday:
Saturday morning my sister and I woke up early (again) and walked to Blue Bottle Coffee on Abbott Kinney for coffee. We walked through the neighborhoods on our way back to her apartment. I love morning walks when the streets are super quiet!
Our real Saturday plans were driving up the coast to Malibu to eat sandwiches on the beach (as you do!). We picked up sandwiches from Malibu Kitchen & Gourmet Country Market and they were probably my favorite bites of the trip. We got a prosciutto sandwich and a tuna salad sandwich. While other girls were taking super serious beach pictures and we were trying to get the best lighting on our sandwiches.
After Malibu, we walked around Venice Beach and the the Venice canals! Definitely got out steps in!
For dinner, we went to get Taiwanese food at Little Fatty. It was sooooo delicious. we got the cucumber salad, fried quail, dan dan noodles (which was my favorite) and the pork platter. Everything was amazing and I hope to go back next time I am in the area!
Sunday:
Sunday morning I got myself a lovely flat white from Gjusta, which is seriously about 3 minutes from my sisters apartment. Gjusta is owned by the same people that have Gjelina in Venice but Gjusta is more of a casual café with amazing food and coffee.
We then drove to Monterey Park for dim sum at NBC Seafood Restaurant. It was a super fun, traditional banquet hall with push carts, but not the best dim sum I have ever had.
After dim sum we went to The Grove and drove all around West Hollywood and Beverly Hills until our dinner reservation.
For dinner we got French food at Petit Trois in Hollywood- it was super good and the highlight was definitely their wet burger called Le Mec. It was unreal. We also got French onion soup, mussels, escargot and some incredible drinks.
That wraps up my 72hrs in the LA area and everything I put in my mouth that trip. I hope this helps and/or inspires your next trip! Happy eating!