A sandwich board advertises Little Tokyo’s best brunch.
Metro Regional Connector project and plumbing issues be damned. Chef Bryant Ng and wife Kim have overcome several challenges and are forging ahead with Saturday brunch at The Spice Table, which runs the spectrum from America to Asia and deserves destination status.
This is the first time that daylight has struck The Spice Table diners since October, when the couple’s pan Asian restaurant in L.A.’s Little Tokyo stopped lunch service. Now the sun streams into the warm space, which has brick walls, a grill-centric counter, and a dining room with decorative bird cages. Any actual birds don’t stand a chance in the restaurant.
Every brunch should include donuts, especially Kaya Doughnuts ($3) with a delectable coconut, pandan and cinnamon glaze and sea salt sprinkling.
Biscuits & Lamb Bacon Gravy ($10) featured hefty biscuits and a funky lamb bacon gravy cascade. The photogenic plate also hosted sunny side up eggs, skin-on breakfast potatoes tossed with sage, and a toast sidecar with butter and coconut pineapple preserves.
Crab Wonton Noodle Soup ($11) featured firm noodles, rosy slices of pork belly char siu, thin-skinned wontons cradling crab meat and fish roe, and a recommended side of pungent chile oil fortified with preserved vegetables.
Tiny English Muffins ($2) were chewy and slathered with butter.
French Toast ($9) featured a Kaffir custard base and tiny metal pitcher of dark, gritty palm sugar.
Chef Ng sent out complimentary wood-grilled Breakfast sausage ($4) probably because he drooling while sitting before the almond wood and coal fueled grates. Juicy pork links incorporated sage, garlic and globs of melting pork fat.
At brunch, The Spice Table also serves the congee that was so amazing at Ceviche Nights, an event I co-produced in December. It’s great to see the dish have a lasting impact. And considering the brunch’s quality, hopefully the meal continues after The Spice Table moves.
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