There will forever be a special place in my heart for Korea Town; it's the first neighborhood I lived in upon arriving to L.A. ten years ago. What can appear to be an incongruous expanse of urban sprawl to anyone simply driving through the area on their way downtown, is in actuality a culturally rich wonderland that is best explored on foot.
Earlier this week I took a long overdue field trip to my erstwhile hood to rediscover some of the things I once knew and still love; along the way I happened upon an infinite number of new sights and discoveries and was reminded once again why Korea Town is, and always will be, my kind of town.
I used to love frequenting the Korean shopping malls near Olympic and Western, so I decided to begin my journey at a location I'd often passed by (in my car) but had yet to visit; City Center on 6th.
Enjoy the rest of my photo journal below the jump!
I adore a good Korean grocery store, so I was thrilled to discover ZionMarket - and like, a kids in a candy store, took the exotic, well-stocked isles by storm...
Holly Kimchi heaven!
Blue crab by bulk.
Colorful selection of baked treats at Cake House.
The food court at the City Center was kind of amazing. Ultimately I went with Veggie Bibimbop (w/ all the accouterments) from Corean B.B.Q. a bargain at $6.25.
Golden fish sweet bun from Lee's Ho and Bung at Zion Market. I had the cheese-filled one; a perfect savory desert.
Like so many other malls today that have fallen victim to an unsound economy and increasing online retail competition, City Center on 6th has a fair amount of vacant space; the top floor (pictured above ) is largely unoccupied. But with a bountiful food court and a handful of other businesses peddling edible offerings, this spacious Korea town mall is worth a visit - if for no other reason that to fuel up during the walking tour of nearby historical sites that will be covered in my next post.
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