Restaurant review: Lukshon

A while back, I posted about one of my favorite restaurants, the Bazaar. Now, I want to share another LA hotspot with intriguing food and a wonderful atmosphere: Lukshon, chef Sang Yoon’s  effortlessly cool Culver City eatery that serves up inventive South-East Asian fare.

Old-school flashing sign that greets you as you approach Lukshon

Located in alleyway behind Helm’s Bakery, Lukshon oozes minimalist-cool. Although it is just a few hundred feet from Father’s Office, a popular high-end burger joint by the same chef, it seems isolated in its own Asian zen. The one-year-old resturant has already made quite a name for itself as one of Zagat’s picks for the top five new restaurants in Culver City.

Charming outdoor terrace

Ana Henton of MASS Architecture and Design won a 2011 AIA Restaurant Design Award for her design of the reaturant. She expertly establishes a minimalist interior that is effortlessly chic. Guests can enjoy the view from the beatiful fireside patio, observe the chefs in action from the bar seats, dine at surprisingly elegant communal tables, or snuggle into cozy booths. The low-key furnishings allow the reinvented street food to take center stage.

From Daily Candy

Yoon applies his European culinary training to create mouthwatering combinations of seasonal vegetables, fresh seafood (there’s meat too, but I’m a pescatarian, so I can’t vouch for its quality) and exotic spices. Here are my list of recommendations for when you visit.

 

Chinese black mushrooms

Green papaya salad

Tea leaf salad

Crispy coconut rice cakes

Butterfish

• Crispy Coconut Rice Cakes with pandan and shallot chile jam
• Chinese Eggplant with fennel raita, tomato sambal, and eggplant “fries”
• Hawaiian Butterfish with pickled watermelon radish, daikon, nahm jim, and rau ram
• Chinese Black Mushrooms with maitake, woodear, chanterelles, and mustard greens
• Prince Edward Island Black Mussels with green chile rempah, coconut, tapioca, thai basil, and lime

If you’re a tea lover like me, make sure to order a pot of one of their delicious teas too! They serve them in beautiful Asian teapots with the cutest little teacups.

Free desserts!

Instead of pestering guests with baskets of free bread that causes people to fill up before the actual food arrives, Lukshon serves people freebees that they actually want: house-made sparkling water and a trio of desserts that varies from night to night.

 

Bohemian Rhapsody in Culver City

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I had lunch with my mom and two of my sisters, checked out an eccentric art exhibition, shopped in a few quirky boutiques, and loaded up on produce at the farmer’s market… and I did all this within a ten-block section of Culver City.

First we had lunch at Royal T, a zany cafe/store/gallery where elegant furnishings contrasted with the utilitarian space.

I ordered a delicious Tuna Tataki salad and a pot of yuzu green tea.

After lunch we walked around the art space where the current display showed a mishmash of recycled objects used in unconventional ways.

Before leaving Royal T, we looked around the store that is continually restocked by various curators. The various unnecessary, but wonderful nicknacks made me chuckle.

As we walked through Culver City, we passed a variety of beautiful, historic buildings including the Culver Hotel, the Citizen Publishing and Printing Company, and Ashaka Restaurant.

Next we shopped around a great gift boutique called Lundeen’s where they had a great assortment of cards, toys, and house wares.

Last, but certainly not least, we shopped around Culver City’s weekly farmer’s market that happens every Tuesday from 3-7. There were about two dozen vendors selling everything from crafts to prepared food to organic produce. I bought a hand carved “Namaste” sign, korean kimchee, winter citrus, and a variety of vegetables to make homemade vegetable broth later this week. 

I had a wonderful adventure in Culver City yesterday afternoon and I highly recommend that any of my readers who live near LA make sure to check out the many shops, restaurants, and markets that the city has to offer!