KyungBokKung was such a fantastic Korean dining experience.

We had 7pm reservations here on a Thursday for 3 people to celebrate a homie's birthday. KyungBokKung is reservation only BTW and I heard they will turn you away if you show up without reservations. However, we were 30 minutes late to reservation but they were happy to take us.

You can order food a la carte or you can choose one of their set menu choices. We were interested in either the BBQ Grill option or the Traditional option. After talking to their knowledgable staff we decided on the $89 BBQ grill option. It included the following and its description:

Porridge- This was really good and the portion was small. It was a great starter item.

Salad and cold soup- The salad had a sweet light dressing. The cold soup was refreshing. Both were great start items.

Pan Fried Sliced Beef- It was served with some greens and raw onions. It was pretty good but I could have skipped this dish.

Japchae- The glass noodles were done and seasoned just right here. They were pretty good.

Tartare- This was my absolute favorite thing all night. I've never had tartare that was so well seasoned and delicious. We all loved it.

Scallops & shrimp- They came out in the scallop shell and was a nice presentation. It was refreshing, light, and delicious. It was also one of our favorites.

Platter of 9 delicacies- This was a house made wrap with 8 items for you to wrap. It was served with the most delicious honey mustard tasting sauce. I'm glad we tried it but I think next time I can do without it. It was just so filling and we hadn't even gotten to our meats yet.

Meats- For meats we went with their beef short rib and rib eye. Both were really good and the nice waitress cooked our meats perfectly for us. They served it with some salt, pickled greens, and some mushrooms. We really enjoyed the meats.

Soup- There was a filling soup that came out that we all didn't care for. It tasted like a mix of grits and baby food. We probably could have done without it.

Grilled eel- This was also one of my favorites. We each got two fat pieces of eel. It was fatty and delicious. No regrets.

Fried fish- These were also really good. I think she said it was mackerel but I am unsure. It was a flaky white fish that was enjoyable.

3 types of Pancakes- included spinah, original flavor, and spicy flavor. I only had the spicy pancakes and thought it was okay. We were just so full at that point.

Cold noodles- It was made with nice buckwheat noodles, egg, and some cucumbers. It was simple yet delicious with more vinegar.

Spicy Cold Noodles- This was also pretty good. Just make sure to mix and cut with the scissors provided.

Stew- It had a taste of light stinky tofu, which I actually liked. But like I mentioned before, we were just so full to eat more of it. It definitely was well done and delicious though

Make sure to ask for their house made kim chi to eat with all your food. They were pretty good. Also, at the end we had some mochi and a sweet drink. The waitress felt bad for rushing us since their kitchen closed at 8pm so she hooked us up with some free ice cream macarons. The macarons were pistachio and the ice cream part was a light coconut ice cream. Yum!

The service was excellent although we felt rushed. I thought 8pm for a kitchen closing was a tad early. We also ordered a lot of alcohol which were all good. Our meal was about $100-$150 per person. It's definitely a place to splurge. KyungBokKung is a great spot for celebrating with Korean food. The inside is really nice but has a chill vibe. I like that each sitting area felt pretty private. I highly recommend if you are looking for a spot to celebrate and love Korean food. Parking is easy since they have their own lot.

Series A Coffee is easily one of my favorite drink spots in LA.

Not only is it a dope place to hang out at but their drinks are honestly heavenly. They use one of the best ingredients compare to other spots. My go to drink is their Strawberry Matcha with added cold foam. I love that they use house made strawberry preserves, organic milk, and ceremonial grade japanese matcha. And the drinks aren't too sweet. They are perfection. I also enjoy their Peanut Cream drink which is an expresso drink with salted peanut cream and topped with some crushed peanuts and chocolate. And I want to come back and try their popular black sesame and corn latte.

They just make drinks that are different than other places. They are so yummy. And if you come early enough they have great pastries as well. The last time I came was around 2 and they were sold out of most of their pastries.

The staff here are really nice people and they make your drinks super quick. There is plenty of tables, chairs, and sofas to hang out at. They even have a gaming area which is cool. Oh and parking is easy since they have free 60 minute parking in the lot. I highly recommend if you are looking for a drink.

I am surprised this cute little cookie spot isn't more popular.

The Very Best Cookie offers all types of cookies and gelato. Each cookie is about $5-6 and I would say they are pretty standard size. They had over 6 different flavors of cookies and even gluten free options. Besides cookies and gelato, I saw rice crispies and brownies as well.

When I came in that Saturday it wasn't busy at all. I ended up getting a whoopie pie, a snickerdoodle, and a chocolate chip cookie. I paid $17.50 for those 3 items. I thought that was a little pricey but the cookies were satisfying and good. The whoopie pie was made with their Goatmilk cookie which did not include raisins. I enjoyed it. My absolute favorit though was the simple snickerdoodle cookie. Yum! All cookies definitely ran on the more sweet side.

I only came in because it was on the way for us. I'm not sure if I would make the drive from OC for them though. They were good cookies but definitely not the best I've had. But a good spot to check out if you are in the area and craving a cookie.

Sampa is fine Filipino cuisine reimagined.

I walked in here with one other person for lunch. We came on a Saturday around 1pm and there was no wait. There were a few groups dining but not super busy. It was both our first time and I was immediate impressed by the stylish interior. They have a beautiful bar when you walk in. As you keep walking is their dining area. It's perfect for intimate dates or larger groups.

For lunch, they only had 7 items on their menu. The waiter explained that all their foods were tapa style and were meant to be shared. We ended up sharing the wings ($19), oxtail tamales ($18), and pork belly fried rice ($30). I was really glad we got the wings because they were really good. They tasted like soy korean fried chicken but a little better. They were sweet and had a spicy calamansi glaze. I recommend it. The tamales were also good and a dish was two tamales. The oxtail in it was good. There was a peanut sauce it came with and was okay. The pork belly fried rice dish was also cool. It came with a poached egg on top. The pork wasn't very crispy but the flavor of everything was nice. I probably should of went with the duck instead but we were pretty satisfied.

Sampa is also known for their cocktail drinks. Their ube sour is one of their most popular drinks. Cocktails are about $20 each. I thought pricing here was pretty fair. As for service, they were very attentive and knowledgable. Food also came out pretty quick. Parking can be really bad since there is limited street parking. It is also next to Urth so it gets busy. The outside is the restaurant says KAVIAR because that is who is hosting Sampa.

Overall, Sampa was a great experience and I recommend if you would like to check out a nice Filipino fusion spot.