Lobster at Boiling Crab, Los Angeles

I have never been to New Orleans and although one day I would like to visit the place for all the Cajun treats, I wasn't going to wait for some really good Cajun seafood because I lived in LA.  Thank God for Boiling Crab.  This place in Koreatown, Los Angeles is packed with prople.  The wait is usually an hour and half or more but the food is worth the wait.  There is this little cafe next to it probably owned by the same owner but the wait staff will come get you if you go there to grab a beer while waiting.  This place has a lot of seafood in different levels of spicy sauces in different types of spices.  I always get the whole shebang mild with whatever seafood I'm ordering.  Everything comes in a clear plastic bag.  I mean you order shrimp, it comes in a bag.  Even a whole lobster comes in a bag with whatever the shebang.

Be prepared to get real messy!  You will be using your hands to destroy those shells and scoop the meat out yourself.  The garlic Canjun sauces will be all over the table, your fingers and maybe your face.  Not exactly a place for your first date.

I think it's cut off from the above menu but they have corn on the cob and if you order them, they will come in the sauce in a bag.  They are really sweet and delicious.  Whenever I come here, I eat a lot of seafood and drink lots of beer and get real messy.  Don't drink too much to ever pass out on your face onto the shebang.  That is painful even to imagine.

Dim Sum at Empress Pavilion, Los Angeles

Every now and then I take a dum sum run to Chinatown, Los Angeles to this place called Empress Pavilion.  It's a restaurant in this Chinese shopping mall building on Hill St. and Bernard.  I have been to a few dim sum restaurants in other areas such as Chinatown in San Francisco or Seattle and my taste buds for dim sum have been trained with some real good stuff.  Empress Pavilion does make real good dim sum and nothing they have gave me any disappointment.  The food is always hot and the ingredients are fresh and generously filled.  Like many other people, I am all about the seafood whenever I get dim sum.  I always stop the lady pushing a cart full of small steam plates and ask her to show me what she has.  It's funny how when I say no to those ladies, they almost seem somewhat heartbroken.  Whoever that carries my shrimp balls and shumai, I am her best customer.  I do see a lot of real Chinese people eating more collagen rich menu such as chicken feet or tripe.  Out of curiosity I did try the chicken feet and without any prejudice, I concluded that I like the seafood better.

If you come here during weekends, the place gets packed and the wait can be as long as an hour.  The best time to come here is during a weekday if you have a flexible lunch schedule.  Parking is free for up to an hour with validation and if you go over, it is still very affordable as they often charge you something like 50 cents for additional half hour.  But remember to bring cash because this one time, I did not have 50 cents in cash so the lady freaking made me back all the way up to the second floor parking lot so I can go use an ATM somewhere.  It can really bite you in that situation so be prepared.

If you have time, you can walk around Chinatown with your car parked at the building for the cheap parking rate maybe with a glass of boba in your hand.  They have a lot of little stores where you can find jade, bonsai trees, fans and many more fun items.