BROKEN MOUTH | Lee's Homestyle

Yelp’s #1 in 2023 and 4.8 rating by 2000+ raters couldn’t be more convincing. Nonetheless, the long-line and long-wait comments were terrifying. Good thing, I figured that online pre-order’s available and pickup time could also be preset, TOTAL WIN! Occupying a space in this fully air-conditioned food-court alike space in downtown, it’s pretty convenient dining area. Besides, weekend lunch time wasn’t as insanely crowded as I imagined (not sure if it’s just coincidence). The attendant was super kind and attentive, making the experience seamless. I got their beef as protein, served with your choice of sides, which I went for the purple rice and Korean greens. The beef was juicy and tender, surprisingly more on the sweet side (I expected it to be savory), but it’s such delectable astonishment. Besides, the tangy savory dipping sauce balanced it flawlessly. Portion wise OMG certainly worth the bucks. Tons of carbs and proteins, and for me this could easily go into 2 servings. Not to forget, even the sides were so good; the rice somewhat reminded me of sticky rice and the Korean Greens seasoning was my highlight! Should you wanna splurge like me, go for extra grilled sausages. My guesstimate they’re pork. Flavorful and came as extra delicacy!

This spot is an absolute gem. Went for the first time today, the owner was super kind and helpful. I got the shrimp plate, cucumber kimchi, and a spam musubi. Maybe three different people I passed by with the bag commented on how good it smelled? It tasted even better. Perfectly crunchy and flavorful shrimps, amazing cucumbers, and the spam musubi was so so good. Purple rice is where it’s at. I think you generally are supposed to order online ahead of time, but the service was great and the food was to die for.

This spot is so awesome Timothy Lee the chef/ owner is one the kindest and coolest dudes around with a tremendous love and passion for food and culture I ordered the meat plate with Mac salad and for $30 you get a HUGE portion. I was able to split this into 3 meals and probably could’ve gone to 4 even. The rice is excellent, the Mac salad is insanely good and one of the best and most unique versions I’ve had, and that beef - WOW. Tender, juicy, flavorful, coated in fluffy egg batter. This is the best version of home cooking and comfort food there is

The eatery is located on the outskirts of Little Tokyo in Downtown LA. Anticipate a difficult time finding parking. We found street parking that was $6/hr. This place is located in a small food court that features a few other eateries as well. Not too crowded when we came around 2 PM on a Friday but I can imagine it would get crowded during regular meal times. The building overall gives a very modern grunge vibe. Not my typical cup of tea but that’s LA for ya. The food itself was excellent. We got the local breakfast, galbi plate, and 1 spam musubi. Everything came with purple rice which I LOVE. The cashier (maybe manager or owner??) threw in some free drinks and a free spam musubi on the house which brought the amount of food we got versus how much we paid (~$60 pre tip) up to par with my expectations. Super grateful to him for hooking it up. So overall, food is excellent, location is not. But if you can see past that, would definitely warrant at least one visit.

A dear friend has shown me this place in DT LA known for being ranked the top in the nation by Yelp in 2023. This place was ranked #1 for a reason! WOW! I hope the place would grow in good, blessed ways for the sake of the whole community as well. I got the tofu plate and was blown away by the light, crispy exterior and well balanced sauces. The two sides I got were the rice and salad. The rice was incredible as well - it made me realize that I don’t get to come across this kind of rice as often outside of home. I love purple rice. The salad reminded me of the Korean salads that I would get at KBBQ restaurants except for a twist and well proportioned greens that made the whole plate a wonderful, strengthening meal! Drinks were offered to us on the house an I got the guava juice. There are three different kinds of guava juice to choose from so if you are a guava juice fan - the world is your oyster. I appreciated the organization of making online orders to pick up later. Everything is streamlined well - I get that this is done so to focus more on the quality of food. If you go around early afternoon on a weekend there’s actually not that many people which I consider the golden hour hahaha. I pray for there to be renovations to the entire place though. The bathrooms were falling apart, which was a bit of a disappointment. However, this place is indeed a hidden gem. There’s something in this food that I hunger to see more of in the whole DT LA community. God bless you all.