14 Jan Dinner at Majordomo in Chinatown

Majordomo has been on my list for almost two years. New York Chef David Chang of Momofuku fame opened his first Los Angeles restaurant in January 2018. Located on the edge of Chinatown, the first issue was getting a reservation. The second issue was getting across the city to the restaurant. Sure, I drive downtown from West LA all of the time, but Majordomo is located just a bit further which made it a bit off-putting on a week night. The last issue was that I was traveling so much that I just kept putting it off. I finally went and it was worth the wait! Located in an isolated warehouse district, just off Spring Street where it crosses the LA River, Majordomo is a beautiful space. Glass walls separate the inside and the outside dining areas. Ceilings are very high. The decor is minimalistic. Majordomo offers a menu of Asian fusion with Chinese, Korean and Japanese flavors. To compliment the food, there is a full cocktail program and wine program. The wine list has a lot of very very expensive wines, with more than a couple over $300. However, there are good selections in the $60 range and we enjoyed a bottle of Antoine Petitprez Jacquère Brise de Pente 2017 from Savoie. Jacquère is a low alcohol French grape and the wine was high acid and mineral driven, perfect to pair with a variety of dishes. Bing, the Chinese flatbread, looks like a large pancake. There are different toppings to select and we chose the spicy lamb topping as well as the cultured butter and honey. From the Raw & Appetizers, we ordered the Stuffed Peppers with Benton’s sack sausage. The stuffed peppers were tempura battered and fried and served with a buttermilk ranch dipping sauce. From the Market section, the Fried Cauliflower is very flavorful with a fish sauce vinaigrette, red onion and cilantro. From the Noodles Section, we opted for the Macaroni & Chickpea with hozon and black pepper. It was a rich and creamy pasty dish, an elevated mac-n-cheese. The other pasta I wanted to try was the Tapioca Lo Mein with gai lan, garlic and krill so I will have to find another time to trek to Majordomo. From the Meat & Seafood section, the Marinated Black Cod was exquisite. It was so tender that it literally melted in the mouth and was served with hozon, bok choy and pear. The Crispy Pork Belly were meaty slices of pork belly with very very crispy skin, which I loved. It is served with lettuce, kohlrabi and Domojang and you can make your own wrap. I liked the dish but it was the least flavorful compared to the other dishes we had. Next time I would splurge on the Boneless Chuck Short Rib braised with Asian pear and daikon, served with rice cakes, sweet potato and melted racheltte for $81. Or, for $150, there is the Whole Plate Short Rib with smoked bone-in APL-style ribs and served with beef rice, shiso, rice paper, samjang and condiments. While it took me over an hour to get to Majordomo, it was worth the traffic and I am happy I finally made it. And it was all the better than it only took me 17 minutes to get home. Majordomo 1725 Naud St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 (323) 545-4880