A DAY IN LOS ANGELES

Last Saturday, Bob and I met Andrew in Los Angeles for a day of fun.  After picking him up at his apartment, we drove to the Little Tokyo Shopping Center on 333 South Alameda Street.  I love this mall--it is like walking into a shopping mall in Tokyo itself.

Ceiling decorations in mall entry

The Japanese have an obsession with cream puffs. I never
thought of them as being crunchy, healthy and delicious!

We had plans to eat at Shojin, a vegan Japanese restaurant on the third floor of the mall.  We got there a few minutes before it opened, so we went back down to the main floor to browse through the awesome Asian grocery store there:

Photos taken from this website

After spending some time and some $75 (we had a cooler in the car, something we try to remember to bring when visiting Andrew as our meetings usually involve some kind of food), we made our way back up to the third floor to Shojin.  The restaurant's website says:    

"In a tasteful Little Tokyo setting, this alternative Japanese offers modestly priced Buddhist vegan cuisine that speaks to both Zen principles and 21st-century dietary concerns; among its organically sourced dishes are options such as soybean (rather than crab) cakes and tomato (rather than tuna) tartar, as well as dairy-free, naturally sweetened desserts."

We started with an appetizer of stuffed shiitake mushrooms, followed by a Dynamite Sushi Roll:

and  then a "Pirates of the Crunchy" Sushi Roll:

Photo from restaurant website

Bob had ramen:

. . . and Andrew and I had salads:

The food was delicious. While a bit expensive, Shojin is definitely a place we will return to.

We always look forward to our forays into Los Angeles with Andrew.  He never disappoints.  He continues to broaden our palate and our education in wonderful ways.