Last week en route to San Diego on my way to the Golden Door Spa (stay tuned for my write-up) I made a quick stop in Los Angeles for less than 24 hours. As I have many times over the past year I booked at The Maybourne in Beverly Hills because I love the location (you can read a review of one of my stays here). I’m not sure whether it was because the Grammy’s were in town and the hotel was overwhelmed or what, but I encountered some frustrating issues upon check-in, specifically I was literally assigned the saddest and most underwhelming room in the hotel.
After checking-in which was accompanied by some friendly chit-chat I was sent up to my room with my key, dragging along my own bags and opened the door to a stuffy King Room where it seemed as though everything in the room that could be was askew- the doors of the cabinets didn’t close, the pictures on the wall were crooked, and I was overlooking the parking area. I quickly exited and returned to reception where I questioned their choice of rooms. They apologized and said they were sorry, they were full. I countered with “I am sorry, but I need a different room”, as a frequent guest it was very disappointing that they even thought that room was acceptable.
Note- I had requested a Deluxe King because the visit was so short and I was on my own, but the room I received was really a dud. Eventually the woman at the desk found a Terrace King, pictured below, which to be honest was better, but still pretty sad. Long story short, I think I will be booking at a different hotel next time.
One bright spot was the Patron giveaway happening in the lobby which scored me these sample sized bottles as well as a small box of Tequila filled chocolates, perfect to stash away in case of emergency at the spa.
The main event of the quick trip to LA was dinner with friends as well as my son and his girlfriend at Super Peach, David Chang‘s newest restaurant in the Century City Mall. The best part of the meal was that we were actually dining with David Chang and his wife Grace which made it an unforgettable (and delicious) experience.
Before we met for dinner my son and I wandered through the (truly amazing) mall, and I made him stop at the Pop Mart Labubu store. Sadly he put a damper on my enthusiasm by pronouncing Labubu’s totally over. The store was pretty crowded so clearly not everyone has gotten the memo, but I used all my self control and walked out without making a purchase.
And then on to the main event…Super Peach is a casual Korean-inspired super buzzy restaurant that was packed at 8:00 pm last Saturday night, so much so that when we arrived we had to wait quite a while for our table, no special concessions for the Changs!
When we finally were seated we ordered a couple of snacks to be immediately brought to the table while we perused the menu.
Super Peach is known for their Duke’s style Martini, but we decided to bring a special something to elevate it just a bit, if you like your Martini dirty (or filthy!) the addition of La Saum Olive Brine will raise your drink to the next level.
Once we settled in with our drinks and placed our very extensive order the dishes started coming. The Kimbap (like Korean Sushi) was delicious, we even got to try Maitake Kimbap which is not yet on the menu and happened to be my favorite.
Next up was the green salad liberally dressed with addictive kimchi vinaigrette as well as Korean Fried Chicken Wings which looked to be peppery and extra crispy.
While I was sort of full from all the starters the rest of the table was just getting going, It was time for the carnivores to really go to town.
All the mains came with banchan (amazing kimchi and sesame greens) , rice, sauces and lettuce (ssam). I stuck with the banchan (incredibly garlicky and fantastic) while the rest of the group did an amazing job on the bountiful spread. In addition to all the meats above we also ordered Jjajangmyeon (noodles with sweet & sour pork, and black bean).
All in all the food was outstanding, the vibe electric and the service impeccable (which may or may not have been because the boss was in the house). If you are a fan of Korean food and happen to be in LA you need to give Super Peach a try. Let me know what you think, I am confident you will love it too.
The desserts, which were incredible were not Korean, but I would try to save room. The Basque Cheesecake as well as the chocolate cake were well worth the splurge.
My time in LA passed quickly, but the memories of our special dinner with the Changs will live on in my memory bank. Stay tuned for my dispatch from The Golden Door!