Spoon by H
Cold Brew Coffee
Mandu-guk – Pork Belly Dumplings, Korean Rice Cakes, Noodles, Broccoli, Bok Choy, Carrots
Salted Caramel Snow – Mochi, Salted Caramel Popcorn, Salted Caramel Ice Cream
Loved by celebrity Chef David Chang, Spoon by H was thrust into the spotlight unexpectedly, and with praise from LA Times critic Bill Addison soon to follow the Korean Restaurant on Beverly Boulevard has maintained a continuous buzz despite terse service and a kitchen whose attention to detail is somewhat in question.
Standing at address 7158 in a nondescript shopping center since late-2012, technically not Korea Town but actually Fairfax, Spoon By H features the work of Yoonjin Hwang and up until 2018 flew mostly under the radar, but in one simple tweet a Dessert Café became much more and Yoon’s place went from cozy Korean kitchen to lines suddenly out the door.
Family owned and offering free parking, a rarity that cannot be overstated anywhere in LA, it is after passing a pair of patio tables that guests find themselves inside a space suited for two-dozen, temperatures a bit high around 5:00pm but plenty of seats available just prior to a dinner-time rush.
Parading fresh production of everything on-site, a Menu of homestyle dishes laminated back-to-back with Coffee, Tea and Sweets, guests are instructed to order and pay prior to seating, Hwang’s most famous item in reality “off-menu” and something fairly recent from a woman whose kitchen skills are entirely self-trained.
Arriving in the United States on a music scholarship, and something of an “American Dream” story as told by fans, Spoon by H’s signature goes by the title “Manduguk” or Pork Belly Dumplings, the soft pieces of flesh on this day found alongside Udon instead of Mung Bean Noodles with Onions, Vegetables and Rice Cakes also found amidst a generous bowl of Broth.
Looking around at an entirely Asian clientele, most speaking English to friendly Food runners, it was without a word that Cold Brew and shaved Ice arrived just three minutes after Soup, the Salted Caramel Cream light and amicable to sweet Syrup but served without menu-listed Mochi and Salted Caramel Popcorn that had certainly been paid for.
www.spoonbyh.com
