Danbi needs to vary the hearts of Koreatown with trendy Korean meals

Koreatown has a brand new upscale vacation spot from Alex Park, Patrick Liu, John Kim and Yohan Park, the crew behind Liu's Cafe and the now-shuttered Tokki. Danbi, which interprets to “candy rain” in Korean, is now open within the former Tokki house in Chapman Market. The identify refers to a spot that’s meant to be refreshing and never too sophisticated.

Chef Lareine Ko, who will oversee the kitchen, started her profession in Taiwan earlier than breaking into the world of omakase at Rowland Heights' Sushi Yuen beneath the tutelage of Ryan Kwak. Since then, he has labored as a non-public omakase chef. Ko first related with the Danbi crew when he consulted for Liu's Cafe, creating menu objects that mirrored traditional choices in Taiwanese and Hong Kong cafes.

His present function as government chef at Danbi is the primary time he has run a kitchen of this kind, with an à la carte menu and an 80-seat eating room. Though hesitant at first, she says it's been a fantastic studying expertise. Ko developed a slim menu for Danbi with solely eight principal dishes divided into pork, beef, fish and vegetable sections, plus honey butter chips and crudité beneath a separate anju part. Amongst these are a fragile however tasty pork broth soup, which is served with slices of tender pork gourd and rice; a yukhoe, or finely chopped minced beef, which comes with bone marrow and a uncooked egg on high; and a uni bibimbap. A scallop fritter topped with bite-sized bay scallops is supposed to be shared, whereas a charcoal-grilled wagyu zabuton comes on a mattress of candy caramelized onions. The refreshing crudo of crimson fish on the menu is impressed by the hoe, or thinly sliced uncooked fish.

A sun drenched bar with a white counter against a white brick wall. — Bar and Danbi.

From Liu's Cafe additionally comes pastry chef Isabell Manibusan, who manages the pastry program on the cafe, and the desserts right here at Danbi. Earlier than Danbi, Manibusan held pastry roles at Maude Michelin star and Mr. Holmes Bakehouse. Assembling the dessert menu at Danbi was a problem for her, as dessert isn’t usually served in Korean eating places. Manibusan determined to succeed in into his personal upbringing as a Korean American to reinterpret acquainted flavors in dessert dishes.

Their present spring dessert menu options three dishes – sujeongwa granité, a banana milk cloud and Mont Halla. Manibusan feels particularly related to the cloud of banana milk, which was impressed by journeys to South Korea as a baby. She remembers assembly the household in Korea and feeling disconnected due to the cultural variations and never with the ability to converse the language. Searching for a connection, Manibusan's household provided her banana milk and she or he noticed his face mild up. At Danbi, banana milk is reinterpreted as an English cream that serves as a base for a torched meringue, and sliced banana is positioned on high. For Mont Halla, which is known as after the best mountain in South Korea, Manubisan wished to make a tackle the traditional French dessert Mont Blanc, however with the flavors of songpyeon, a stuffed Korean rice cake historically served throughout Chuseok. The bottom of the dessert is a pavlova to that are added roasted soybeans, brown rice pudding and mugwort cream.

Danbi's cocktail choices are led by bar supervisor John Yi who has put six soju-based cocktails on the menu, together with Korean choices resembling soju, makgeolli, yakju, and extra. Cocktails embrace the boozy Barley Soju, which is soju infused with barley and served on the rocks; the spicy Kimchi Mule with white kimchi; and the Candy Rain with soju, raspberry and elderberry.

Danbi's opening is a part of a latest wave of eating places in Koreatown reinterpreting classics into trendy menus. Like Tokki earlier than it, in addition to consuming spot Jilli, Danbi roots its expertise in familiarity and custom whereas advancing what Korean food and drinks will be.

Danbi is situated at 3465 W. Sixth Road, Suite 90-100, Los Angeles, CA 90020. The restaurant is open for dinner from 6am to 10pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and from 6am to 11pm on Friday and Saturday. Reservations can be found by means of I misplaced.