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Food Los Angeles

{oh joy eats} hinoki & the bird…

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

Living in a great food city with new restaurants popping up weekly, it can be tough to keep up with what's hot and new here in Los Angeles. While I'd love to visit a new place every weekend, life takes over and it's just not possible. I've been wanting to have dinner at David Myer's new restaurant, Hinoki & the Bird, since it opened earlier this year but reservations aren't easy to get or the only reservations times available are just not doable (dinner at 10pm—no thanks!). My solution is to go at lunch instead—it's less busy, a great sampling of the dinner menu, and so much easier to get in!

So Bonnie and I went to have lunch at Hinoki & the Bird to see what all the buzz was about. My favorite dishes of the meal included these two appetizers (above)—a lobster roll with green curry and Thai basil and the chili crab toast with spicy cucumber and coriander. Each bite was full of Asian-inspired flavors, yet light and savory.

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

We moved onto a green papaya salad and a chilled ramen salad with ginger braised short rib and spiced english peas. While these were takes on traditional Thai and Japanese dishes, they still felt like they were their own version with made with super fresh and light ingredients.

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

While I try not to stuff myself during lunch (in fear of falling asleep at my desk!), I had to see their take on dessert. I love mochi and was thrilled to try the miso mochi with butterscotch and togarashi, chocolate mochi with curry caramel, and dulce de leche mochi with toffee and cajeta. They were like small clouds of sweetness topped with unexpected kicks of spice.

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

Hinoki and the Bird | Photo by Bonnie Tsang

It was definitely a fancy lunch—one that I wouldn't be able to have every day, but that made it feel extra special and a fun, mid-week treat. The space is airy, cozy, and beautiful. I loved the outdoor area which is filled with amazing light and makes for a wonderful spot to enjoy a mid-day break with a good friend…

Hinoki & the Bird | 10 Century Drive | Los Angeles, CA 90067 | 310.552.1200

{Photos by Bonnie Tsang for Oh Joy}

12 comments

  1. Wow looks like a lovely place. Love the pictures of the food. I hope it tasted as good as it looks? I love Los Angeles for all the cool restaurants they have, but nothing beats the food scene in NYC 🙂
    Glad to see you enjoyed your lunch!! What’s that drink you had? It looks refreshing!

  2. this is a fancy pants lunch. Love it! I agree it is nice to do one of these lunches every once in awhile – I happen to be having one of these lunches next week with a girlfriend (it is just the best pick me up in the middle of the work week)

  3. Everything looks SO delicious, Joy!
    Also, I wanted to let you know – I’m not sure if I’m the only one that’s experiencing this, but I’ve been finding that for the past couple of weeks, you can’t click on any links/text boxes on your blog through Bloglovin. Going straight to your URL solves the problem though! Thought you might want to know!

  4. god i love these posts. i also live in LA, but never hear about these food spots! thank goodness i follow your blog. my husband and i would love this place. can’t wait to check it out!

  5. This place looks delicious! My husband and I loved all of the neat restaurants in LA, we want to live there just to try out all the cool places ha ha! Thank you for sharing!! You should go try more restaurants, you could make it a date night once a week with your man?

  6. This looks delicious! Have you ever tried TOI? I was in LA 6 or 7 years ago on vacation and we went there several times, it was so good! The decor is a little goofy because it’s hard-rock themed, but I still remember that pad si ew! I definitely recommend it!

  7. I’ve noticed this, too. I can’t watch any embedded videos or click any links when I’m viewing through Bloglovin. Once I exit Bloglovin and just look at your regular page, it works fine.

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