City eats guide: Los Angeles

April 21, 2019

During my grad school years at Caltech, I lived in Los Angeles for five years. As a transplant from New York, I was initially skeptical of a city with few sidewalks where cars are king. But LA really surprised me in ways I did not expect, and it opened my eyes to the richness of cuisines of which I previously had no real understanding (I also have Jonathan Gold, the LA Times food critic, to thank for that). While I love living in NYC, it’s hard to beat LA’s Koreatown, San Gabriel Valley or plethora of regional Mexican restaurants.

On a recent trip, I revisited some of my old haunts and tried some new spots. Here’s a list of some of my favourites, in no particular order:

El huarache azteca (Highland Park) - Amazing Mexican specializing in huaraches
Guerilla taco (Downtown) - Creative and delicious tacos and tostadas
Soot Bull Jeep (Koreatown) - One of the best Koreatown BBQ spots
Chosun Galbi (Koreatown) - Another great Korean BBQ spot
Park's (Koreatown) - Another great Korean BBQ spot
Han il Kwan (Koreatown) - Unassuming spot for bibimbap (be sure to try their fish roe version, or albap)
Jae Bu Do (Koreatown) - Great for seafood BBQ, especially clams, and fun to go with a group. Gold’s review of this place is one of my favourite reviews ever.

Jun Won (Koreatown) - Homestyle cooking with a great eundagu jorim (black cod casserole)
Settebello (multiple locations) - Settebello serves some of the best Neapolitan-style pizzas I have tasted in the U.S. (and it pains me deeply to write this as a New Yorker)
Sushi Nishiya (Glendale) - Owned by an unassuming husband and wife team in a strip mall, this place has some of the best sushi in LA. No California rolls or other such frills served here.
The Bazaar by Jose Andres (mid-Wilshire) - Inside the SLS hotel, this is a great special occasion place, with tasty tapas and fun cocktails (try the liquid nitrogen caipirinha)
Wassada (Koreatown) - The place to go in LA for live octopus (if you like your food to fight back)
Malan noodles (Hacienda Heights) - A bit farther afield, but if you are in the area, get the spicy beef noodles.
Din Tai Fung (multiple locations) - The initial location of this Taiwanese chain was in Arcadia, and the xiao long bao (soup dumplings) there are hard to beat. Other locations can be hit or miss.
Quality Seafoods (Redondo beach) - The freshest seafood in town. Located on the Redondo beach pier, come here to satisfy your fresh sea urchin, oyster, crab and fish cravings.
Animal (West Hollywood) - Great meat-focused restaurant with offal specialties. The foie gras and beef dish is a must.
The Nomad (Downtown) - The second location of the eponymous NYC hotel, LA’s version is NYC inspired with a twist of Mediterranean. The restaurant features a delicious set of small plates, and the cocktails and pool on the rooftop are refreshing and fun.
Maruhide Uni Club (Torrance) - If you’re an uni lover, this place will feel like heaven. Featuring uni served in a myriad different ways, it’s hard to go wrong. Highlights included the Ensui Uni Zen (stored in salt water, imparting a sweeter and richer taste) and the lightly grilled scallop and uni appetizer.
Gjelina (Venice) - A farm to table restaurant with great pastas that’s here to stay
Fishing with Dynamite (Manhattan Beach) - Fresh seafood in one of the nicest beach towns in LA with some of the best clam chowder and fun decor
Sugarfish (multiple locations) - Pretty good bang for your buck sushi
Son of a Gun (Mid-Wilshire) - Great southern influenced seafood, and they often have an uni dish to boot!
Jitlada (Silverlake) - Specialising in Southern Thai dishes, Jitlada is as authentic as you will get. The spice levels are real, and you will leave feeling like a fire-breathing dragon.
L&E Oyster (Silverlake) - Good oysters in Silverlake
Cafe Stella (Silverlake) - Great French brunch and dinner - be sure to try the escargots and the truffle fries, or the Moroccan eggs for brunch
Messob (Mid-Wilshire) - In the area known as Little Ethiopia on Fairfax Ave. Another good spot to try is Meals by Genet.
Daisy Mint (Pasadena) - Surprisingly good Thai fusion.
Diddy Reese (Westwood) - Go for their ice cream sandwich. The cookies themselves are great, the ice cream so-so, but the price ($3 or so) is unbeatable. There is often a line as it’s right next to UCLA.
Salt & Straw (multiple locations) - Some of the best ice cream around, including a delicious mint chip made with actual mint (a rarity these days) from Seely’s mint farm in Oregon

Aruba: wrecks, beaches and kites

April 20, 2019

Aruba isn’t the kind of place that would normally be at the top of my list, as it’s heavily frequented by cruise ships and package tourists. But its small size belies a vibrant culture and history.

During World War II, the SS Antilla, a German cargo ship built for trade with the Caribbean, found refuge in neutral Aruba. Her German crew scuttled the ship to avoid capture by the Dutch in 1940 when their country invaded the Netherlands, and it remains one of the largest wrecks in the Caribbean. Today, numerous fish, sea turtles, corals and eels have made the ship their home, to the delight of groups of divers who visit daily. The water temperature is unexpectedly cold, at 23C in January, so bring your thickest wetsuit! I went diving with Happy Divers in conjunction with a second dive at the beautifully preserved Arashi reef, but all dive shops on the island offer only 2-3mm shorties, so it’s best to arrive with your own gear.

Above water, Aruba offers numerous pretty stretches of sand, though they can get quite crowded and noisy on the weekends or when one of the larger cruise ships docks in port. My favourite is the more low-key Druif Beach along which lies the low-rise Divi Dutch Village Beach Resort. Worth a stop are Divi Beach and Arashi Beach, and we enjoyed watching the kitesurfers cruise along the shoreline at Boca Grandi. Due to the rocky shoreline, the western side of the island is quieter and much less crowded. Skippable is Baby Beach, which was full of unloadings from the cruise ships and unfriendly touts charging upwards of $100 for a bit of shade. Should you want to brush up or try out your kitesurfing skills, the Aruba kitesurfing school on the east side of the island is a good choice. The calmer winds are great for beginners.

Scenes from Atardi

The longer Palm beach, along which lie the island’s high-rise hotels as well as one of Aruba’s best restaurants, the beachfront Atardi, is also worth a stroll. Atardi is surprisingly one of the few restaurants on the island at which you can eat with your feet in the sand. Particularly delicious and creative are their preparations of octopus, burrata, and macadamia-crusted grouper. We also enjoyed our dinner at the Italian-influenced Faro Blanco, though the views certainly outshine the food. Matthew’s is another spot near the beach great for brunch, and the Dutch Pancakehouse is deservedly popular for its namesake dish. For a quick bite to eat, Pastechi House is a good choice, and the frozen coffee at Juan Valdez is a great morning or afternoon pick-me-up.

We stayed at a wonderful Airbnb in the capital, Oranjestad, run by our host Marlene and her husband Sylvester that we would happily stay at again. You will definitely want to rent a car, as public transit on the island is relatively limited. With all of the available activities, Aruba is a perfect long weekend or even weeklong getaway.

Where to eat

Atardi (one of the best restaurants on the island, right on the sand on Palm Beach)
Faro Blanco, north of Arashi beach
Matthew’s for brunch
Dutch Pancakehouse for breakfast or lunch
Pastechi House for the local snack of the same name
Screaming Eagle for a nice sit-down dinner and high-end wine list, including its cult namesake

¡República Dominicana!

January 23, 2019

To limit the Dominican Republic to the popular all-inclusive resorts of Punta Cana would be to miss the country’s spectacular northern coast, full of miles of unspoilt, lush green vegetation, white-sand beaches, and perfectly curving palm trees. Welcome to Samaná, the Dominican Republic’s northeastern peninsula! Here, from January to March, you can often catch glimpses of humpback whales just offshore. Or enjoy the quirky mix of locals and foreigners who fell in love with the area and now call it their home. You can have entire beaches practically to yourself (though beware of strong currents in some places) - it’s the ideal hideaway to write that book you’ve been putting off, or just spend quality time with the family.

Prices throughout the Dominican Republic are very reasonable (on average, we spent $70 to stay at well maintained B&Bs that typically also included breakfast). After stopping for a quick meal just east of the airport, complete with jugo de chinola (passionfruit juice) at Puerco Rosado in Boca Chica, we headed north to Las Galeras, a small village in the northeast corner of the Samaná peninsula. We stayed at a beautiful but hard to reach B&B, El Monte Azul, led by a charming French couple, Vanina and Pierre. The views from the infinity pool and restaurant (open only at lunch, as the owners recently opened La Joia in town for dinner) are spectacular, though the last few steep, uphill curves along the unpaved road to reach the house were difficult for our underpowered car. After relaxing in the pool, we enjoyed some sunset cocktails at the pretty but somewhat run-down El Cabito and a tasty, Thai-inspired dinner at La Joia.

The following day, we lingered at Playa Rincon, exploring a few different local BBQ spots, finally settling at the open-air Bar y Grill Minin, at the far eastern end of the beach, for a couple of different freshly caught fish and delicious piña coladas served directly in the pineapple. We then drove southwest to the public pier next to the Gran Bahia Principe hotel just east of the town of Samaná and negotiated a private boat ride to nearby Cayo Levantado, a popular island getaway for both locals and tourists alike. The ride takes approximately 15 minutes, and the island features a beautiful white sand beach, complete with a number of stands selling small tourist souvenirs and drinks. The other half of the island is privately owned by the hotel and is inaccessible to visitors. While it was certainly a more popular place than Playa Rincon, it didn’t feel overly touristy, and the water was great for swimming or just taking a dip.

We drove onwards to Las Terrenas, a slightly larger town with more low-rise hotels and restaurants, where we had a delicious beachside dinner and drinks in gorgeously designed surroundings at Porto while watching the sunset change the colours of the sea and sand. We stayed at La Casa de Sergio y Cristina, a short drive away, which featured spacious rooms, a pair of friendly dogs, and a filling breakfast (the best we had on the trip, including omelettes as well as nutella souffles). Our stomachs full, we took a long stroll on Playa Cosón, encountering a total of just five other people on the most beautiful beach of the trip. Contemplating it, you wonder when its time will come, and whether one day this place, too, will look like modern-day Cancun. In the meantime, we were free to enjoy the wide, solitary expanses of sand, chirping tropical birds, and crashing of waves.

From Las Terrenas, we headed northwest, stopping en route at Laguna El Dudu for some snorkeling and a jump off a zipline in the beautiful cenotes. The water was cool but a refreshing contrast to the relative afternoon heat. Afterwards, we enjoyed a late afternoon lunch at the high-end Amanera resort (reservations required) at the far western end of Playa Grande (worth a stop on its own) before enjoying an evening with locals at Playa Caleton.

The following day, we continued on to the kitesurfing capital of Cabarete. While the weather did not cooperate, we enjoyed a breakfast at the Cabarate Coffee Company, which donates a percentage of sales to benefit a local organization dedicated to girls’ education. We also stopped at Sosúa, which felt too touristy for our preferences, and so we drove onward to Playa El Chaparral. Flanked by a couple of resorts, the middle section of the beach is relatively non trafficked, but it did not compare to the wild, vast expanses of beaches in the Samaná province. We followed the severely pockmarked road up to the Parque Nacional Isabel De Torres in Puerto Plata to get a nice panorama of the surrounding coast as well as a walk through the local flora. We enjoyed some light bites and drinks at Kaffe in town, as we planned to wake up early the following morning to experience the 27 waterfalls at Damajaguas.

A 45 min drive from Puerto Plata, Damajaguas did not disappoint. Arrive early in the morning when they open to beat the cruise ship groups, and you may get lucky and have the waterfalls largely to yourself. Be sure to wear a pair of water shoes (they are required; if you don’t have your own, you can rent a pair on location) and something comfortable to slide down natural rock slides. It’s an unforgettable experience.

While we didn’t have time to linger in Santiago Los Caballeros, we did stop for brunch at Camp David, with a spectacular vista over the surrounding area. The brunch menu featured a number of delicious options, including Nutella french toast, with elevated but still reasonable prices. Finally, we made our way to Santo Domingo, where we primarily focused on the vibrant Zona Colonial. Highlights included stumbling upon a local watering hole just off the Plaza Pellerano Castro, meandering the narrow, picturesque streets, and sampling tapas at Lulu Tasting Bar (50% off if you pay with an Amex card before 9pm). Also worth checking out (if you speak Spanish) is the Microteatro, which shows 20 minute long plays every 30 minutes (best to come in advance to purchase your ticket, as it does fill up). Finally, be sure to sample some local handmade chocolate (some good brands include Cacaoteca and Xocolat), which can be purchased in most larger supermarkets.

República Dominicana, I plan to be back, even if just for the chocolate.

Map of our route: https://goo.gl/maps/KU7ZabeYMXn

A few notes about renting a car in the Dominican Republic: Beware of scams run by car rental agencies outside of the top tier. In our case, we had booked a car with a credit card guarantee with Ace (which seems to do business primarily as Nelly in the country). After picking us up at the airport and driving us to their nearby location, they informed us they did not have any cars available. After some negotiation, a car materialised, but it was not a 4WD, as we had booked. Additional fees that the agent insisted were mandatory (despite us having our own insurance) resulted in a price nearly 3 times what we had reserved. My tip is to book with a reputable international company, such as Hertz or Avis, to avoid issues on the ground.

Despite a number of online posts to the contrary, driving in the Dominican Republic is relatively straightforward, minus a few hiccups. You will encounter potholes and speed bumps without warning, as well as locals casually crossing the road. In addition, Google Maps is sometimes incorrect, and we learned to use the satellite view to ensure that the app’s directions led us along actual roads. But once you adjust, and enter a more relaxed vacation mode, it’s really no different than driving everywhere else. During our 6-day, 5 night trip, in which we stayed at a different location each night, we encountered no issues; in fact, locals once stopped us to ensure we were on the correct road to reach our destination. One further tip: ensure you carry a good amount of Dominican pesos (we spent over 1500 during our trip), as there are tolls, and they only accept cash in the local currency.

Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica: the Seventh Continent

December 23, 2018

I had dreamed of going to Antarctica for years, and I had heard from fellow travellers that the highlight of their experience was often South Georgia. So earlier this year, I blocked off nearly 3 weeks on my calendar and made the dream a reality last month, travelling to the Falklands and South Georgia en route to Antarctica. We flew into Ushuaia in Argentina, spending a couple of nights there before meeting our ship at the port. It’s important to choose your ship wisely—don’t go for a cheap one, as you truly do get what you pay for. On the higher end, smaller ships will offer more flexibility and enable you to spend more time on land. I would personally recommend travelling on the National Geographic Orion via Lindblad Expeditions—it’s a beautiful ship and a first class experience.

Ushuaia

Lago Escondido

El Viejo Marino

La Sirena y El Capitan

In Ushuaia, don’t miss the centolla (local king crab) at El Viejo Marino - it was so delicious, we went twice for the whole crab experience. You can also order just the crab meat if you’re in a hurry. Also recommended for a high end experience is Kaupe, with views overlooking the city and harbour. For breakfast or a snack with reliable free wifi, check out Tante Sara on the main street in town. If you have at least a full day, I recommend renting a car to check out the beautiful surrounds. Tierra del Fuego National Park was pleasant enough, but much more spectacular was the road east of Ushuaia. We stopped for lunch at La Sirena y El Capitan (cash only) in Puerto Almanza, where the scallops and crab empanadas were some of the best we’ve had. The setting, overlooking the Beagle Channel, with Chile in the distance, is equally spectacular. We drove onwards through the mountains to vistas of Lago Escondido and the enormous Lago Fagnano before heading back to Ushuaia. If you have more time, the shipwreck of the Desdemona, which ran aground in Cabo San Pablo, is worth a visit.

After setting sail from Ushuaia the following afternoon, we had over a day at sea before reaching our first destination, Carcass Island in the Falklands. Known for its population of Magellanic and gentoo penguins, the island features several beautiful yellow sand beaches reaching into light green-blue waters. After sitting on the beach watching the penguins diving in and out of the water, we hiked up to to the island’s highest point for a spectacular view of the surrounding islands and our ship in the distance. From Carcass Island, we sailed to West Point Island, inhabited by a couple who are the island’s caretakers and serve pastries and tea to visitors in their lush garden. The island is also home to several thousand breeding pairs of rockhopper penguins and light-mantled albatrosses. To reach them, we hiked across and the island and through some 2-metre high clumps of tussock grass. We were rewarded by seeing the birds sitting on their eggs, with albatrosses frequently swooping just inches above our heads.

A rockhopper penguin guarding its egg, Falkland Islands

Following two more days at sea (bring your dramamine!), we passed Shag Rocks, a towering, craggy set of formations that is home to thousands of shags (cormorants) before finally reaching South Georgia, perhaps one of the most beautiful places on earth. Our first stop was Salisbury Plain, home to the island’s second largest king penguin colony, with over 500,000 individuals. Baby penguins covered in fluffy brown down mixed together with brightly hued yellow, white and black adults. They approached us curiously but cautiously, making for an unforgettable experience. Fur seals and elephant seals rounded out any available empty space, and the black sand beach made for a memorable backdrop.

A penguin among penguins in Salisbury Plain

We also visited the main settlement on South Georgia, Grytviken, which was formerly a whaling station. Remnants of the station (and others like it) litter the South Georgia coast, a sombre memorial to humans’ mass slaughtering of wild animals. Four staff members live here during the high season (November-March), manning the post office and gift shop as ships arrive nearly daily with visitors. Ernest Shackleton’s grave is also found here, and we drank a shot of whiskey in his honour.

The biggest highlight of South Georgia, however, was St Andrew’s Bay, which we visited on our third day on the island. It is home to the island’s largest king penguin colony, and the view over the raucous, colourful colony is one I will never forget. Penguins in all stages of life—babies, those moulting, and adults—abound against the stunning backdrop of glacier-covered mountains, small ponds and rocky beach. We were also rewarded with a spectacular display of lenticular clouds as we motored away towards the southern stretches of South Georgia. We stopped briefly at Cooper Bay to see macaroni and chinstrap penguins, followed by a cruise of the stunning Drygalski fjord.

King penguins and lenticular clouds at St Andrew’s Bay

Our first stop in the Antarctic was Laurie Island in the South Orkneys, where a small group of us went mountaineering (complete with ropes and crampons) in fresh powder. We were accompanied by a couple of Argentines from the nearby Orcadas base and learned they live on the base year-round, subsisting on shipments brought in by ship once a year. What do they miss the most? Fresh vegetables!

A gin & tonic with Antarctic glacial ice

We made landfall on the Antarctic mainland at Brown Bluff, a stunning set of rocks from which the area gets its name and home to a sizeable colony of Adelie penguins. We again went mountaineering, admiring the views of the icebergs dotted with penguins and bay packed with sea ice. Later, we kayaked through the ice, admiring the quiet that was interrupted only by the sounds of calving glaciers. We collected some of the ice to add to our gin & tonics later on the ship. At Mikkelsen Harbour, as snow and hail pelted us, we visited a colony of gentoo penguins, admiring their strength in the face of the elements. Many of them walked to the end of the island and back to gather rocks for their nests, huddling together as they built up the areas that would house their eggs. At Half Moon Island, we were privileged to witness a colony of chinstrap penguins, oblivious to our existence as we skirted around to allow them to freely pass between us. The surrounding icescape was dotted with rocky pillars, a contrast to the white glacier. We truly felt small.

One afternoon, we were offered the opportunity to do a polar plunge—that’s right, we willingly jumped into 1°C water. It was shockingly cold, and we warmed ourselves with shots of vodka and time in the on-board sauna afterwards. The staff prepared a spectacular Antarctic barbecue on the outer deck, and we bid goodbye to the icey, otherworldly panorama of icebergs, glaciers, frolicking penguins and seals, and deep hues of blue and white as we sailed northwards, back to Ushuaia. It truly felt like the end of the world, and the feeling of setting foot where very few others have is an unforgettable one.

Packing list

Sunscreen (the sun is very strong in the Antarctic)
Dramamine or other motion sickness medicine
Bathing suit
Waterproof pants (make sure they are actually waterproof by hosing yourself down before you go)
Wool/base layers (layering is key to dressing for the weather, as it changes very rapidly - depending on the day, I wore both t-shirts as as well multiple layers and and outer shell)
Comfortable shoes to wear on the ship
Hand warmers
Two sets of gloves
Camera & lenses
Extra SD cards (I ended up taking nearly 7k photos)
Lotion (the air can get very dry)
Books, cards, and games for days at sea

Where to eat & drink

El Viejo Marino

Kaupe

Tante Sara

La Sirena y El Capitan

Marine and other pleasures in Bonaire

November 12, 2018

When I told friends I was going to Bonaire, I was typically met with blank stares. This small, 112 square mile island, located just north of Venezuela and just east of its better known sisters, Aruba and Curaçao, is remarkably under the radar, though it’s been a magnet for the scuba diving community for years. The big draw here for divers is that most sites are accessible directly from shore, eliminating the need for scheduled boat trips. The area around the island has been protected since 1979 thanks to the efforts of one Captain Don, an American seafarer with a passion for scuba diving who was shipwrecked off the island in 1962. The island’s coral reefs contain most every Caribbean species of hard and soft coral, and the condition of the reefs, with little algae or bleaching, is hard to beat.

Getting to Bonaire from NYC requires a stopover in Curaçao (JetBlue has regular flights from JFK), which is worth a visit on its own, too. From Curaçao, we flew Insel Air (not recommended, as they cancelled our return flight back—a better option is Win Air). Once on Bonaire, we rented a pickup truck from AB car rentals, which provides a 10% discount on tanks and dive gear rental. Be sure to reserve your truck ahead of time, as they do get fully booked up.

The drive to our Airbnb took us through town and up the Sabadeco hill, to a beautiful gated house owned by Louise and Simon (and their two dalmatians, Eva and Mia). They were all there to greet us when we arrived, and Eva and Mia promptly corralled us into belly rubs on the pool terrace. The orange and purple hues of golden hour were settling in across the sky, and the northern reaches of the island stretched into view from the house.

Every dive shop on the island will require you do a check-out dive with them and pay the park fee of $25 before they rent you any tanks or gear to ensure you understand the marine park rules and won’t damage the coral. After that, you’re free to go on your own, and I did a couple of days of diving with our Airbnb host Simon, who doubles as a divemaster. He knows the best sites on the island, including ones where you will be the only divers - a truly unique experience. Some of the most spectacular highlights included a baitball so thick with fish that it blocked out the sun above us, and a group of 13 Caribbean reef squid hovering together in shallow water. There were beautiful gardens of staghorn corals, resting feather stars and curious boxfish.

And the food on Bonaire is excellent. One of our best meals was burgers and fries from the King Kong food truck on the southwestern shore, featuring daily specials like 3-cheese or truffled burgers. On the other end of the spectrum, the cod with risotto and chorizo or the beef tartare with crunchy bulgur at Brass Boer would not be out of place in a restaurant in New York, and we enjoyed every bite. For cocktails, check out The Pier, where Jay expertly pours well-balanced, citrus-based libations. On Thursdays, the great value all-you-can-eat BBQ at Jibe City is a good reason to check out the eastern side of the island. Splash around in the shallows afterwards, and you may be lucky enough to see the water around you explode in bioluminescent bright blues.

Cactus and flamingos in the distance in Washington Slagbaai National Park

No visit to Bonaire is complete without a drive through the Washington Slagbaai National Park. Alien landscapes of thousands of enormous cactuses and multi-layered volcanic rock abound, and we stopped to admire imprints of brain coral and other organisms in the ground beneath us. A lighthouse marks the northern tip of the island, and Wayaka 2 is perhaps the best snorkeling spot we encountered, featuring an easy, sandy entrance and fish that swam right up to us. There are some interesting overhangs leading to caves to explore, too, and you’ll encounter flamingos in numerous spots. Ideally budget a full day to linger at your leisure, or make a promise to come back.