Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
There's something about Lukshon that keeps me coming back for more. I'll blame it on the explosive flavors that they somehow inject into all of their food; lusty, exotic ingredients that lurk behind nondescript foreign words I stumble over on every other line of their menu. It's kind of fun to order something with rempah in it while not having the slightest idea of what rempah could possibly be. Anyhow, Lukshon brings Southeast Asian cuisine to the upscale dining scene, and it does a downright smashing job of it.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Last time, I came for lunch and had an amazing chicken rendang with crispy coconut rice cakes that I still lust after every so often. It's only on the lunch menu, but I returned for dinner with a bigger group to try more of the menu. Unfortunately, the few bites that our poor college bunch could afford were not quite filling enough, though everyone said that these mesmerizing little tastes seemed to have the reverse effect on our appetites, making us all hungrier than when we began.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Hawaiian butterfish - pickled watermelon radish, daikon, nahm jim, rau ram
It does not say that it is sashimi on the menu, but anyway it was as smooth and buttery as its namesake, with exotic garnishes to boot. Nahm jim is a Thai chili sauce, rau ram is Vietnamese coriander- kind of looks like cilantro.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Lamb belly roti canai - chana dal, cumin, mint, raita, pickled cauliflower
Pieces of tender, gamey lamb belly laid atop a crisp rectangular roti pancake. I was looking most forward to this, and it did not disappoint! We also claimed their last one!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Baby monterey squid - chiang mai pork sausage, candlenut, mint, rau ram
This dish was confusing to me. I didn't know where the squid was, but saw fried legs poking out from between huge nubby sausages. Maybe the squid was stuffed in the sausage too, but as it is with all sausages- they taste the same generally. Not amazed, though the waiter highly recommended it.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Spicy chicken pops - Shelton Farms' drumettes, garlic, kecap manis, spicy sichuan salt
So very delicate, fingerlickin', and addicting.
Kepap Manis is a thick, sweet Indonesian sauce flavored with garlic and/or star anise and palm sugar.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Unlike with wings, I could pop these pops one after the next, no problem.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Yu choy - Shaoxing wine, garlic, aged ham
I didn't see any aged ham, or maybe it's because other people at my table had some. There seemed to be some chili flakes and other ingredients though.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Short rib rendang - Malay spices, red chile lemongrass rempah, coconut cream
Rempah is a savory-sweet Malaysian spice paste consisting of shallots, garlic, and some or all of lemon grass, coriander, cumin, tumeric, candlenut, cinnamon, ginger, galangal, chiles, peppercorns, sugar and salt. <--That would explain the sheer ecstasy packed in that pool of reddish sauce.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Only got a little cube of it, what a tease!!! The short rib simply melted in my mouth, along with all 54839 of those rempah spices.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Chinese eggplant - fennel raita, tomato sambal, eggplant "fries"
This was one of the most memorable dishes, to be honest. The tomato paste and yogurt flavors married surprisingly well, complete with all sorts of sweet, exotic Southeast Asian concubines on the side. Caught in a bad romance.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Garlic pork belly - do ban jian, rice cakes, cabbage, garlic chives
This definitely tasted very Chinese, which meant that it was the least interesting of everything (because I am Chinese/Taiwanese). My mom uses dou ban jian- a black bean sauce, and unfailingly dumps garlic and chives into every homecooked meat dish. Not that this wasn't delicious, it just didn't zing me like the others did.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Okay, one interesting thing about the pork belly dish was the gumdrop-sized crunchy rice cakes. They were texturally interesting, balancing out the small, juicy chunks of pork belly and the crispness of the cabbage.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Chiang Mai curry noodles - chile, tumeric, lemongrass, chicken, prawn, yu choy, rice noodles
It's a Northern Thai dish also known as "kao soi." Lukshon played up this typical Thai noodle dish by adding prawns and these massive decorative chips, but the original also comes with the crispy fried egg noodles on top.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Rice noodles under all of that were soft and full-bodied. Soaked up the sweet soup well.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Lukshon always gives complimentary dessert, whether you're there for lunch or dinner. This is customary of many Asian banquet-style restaurants; you get a small bowl of hot dessert soup or a snack on the house. Thanks, Lukshon for taking this cultural practice up a notch! Check out these super gourmet desserts...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Coconut cake and lemongrass cream with a passion gelee
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Beijing yogurt panna cotta with mandarin gelee and poached pineapples
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.![]()
Palm sugar caramel custard
Despite its simplicity compared to the other two, this one was my favorite. It tasted just like flan, but with the texture of creme brulee, grounded upon a sweet pool of liquid sugar. I made everyone cough up a little of their panna cotta when I accidentally said, "It totally squirted when I put it in!!" Referring to the dainty silver spoons that came with the platter, of course.
Now, my goal is to try all of these dishes in their traditional, down-to-earth form. Lukshon has spoiled me, but I will not forgo the roots!
Lukshon
3239 Helms Ave
Culver City, CA
Clik here to view.
There's something about Lukshon that keeps me coming back for more. I'll blame it on the explosive flavors that they somehow inject into all of their food; lusty, exotic ingredients that lurk behind nondescript foreign words I stumble over on every other line of their menu. It's kind of fun to order something with rempah in it while not having the slightest idea of what rempah could possibly be. Anyhow, Lukshon brings Southeast Asian cuisine to the upscale dining scene, and it does a downright smashing job of it.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Last time, I came for lunch and had an amazing chicken rendang with crispy coconut rice cakes that I still lust after every so often. It's only on the lunch menu, but I returned for dinner with a bigger group to try more of the menu. Unfortunately, the few bites that our poor college bunch could afford were not quite filling enough, though everyone said that these mesmerizing little tastes seemed to have the reverse effect on our appetites, making us all hungrier than when we began.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Hawaiian butterfish - pickled watermelon radish, daikon, nahm jim, rau ram
It does not say that it is sashimi on the menu, but anyway it was as smooth and buttery as its namesake, with exotic garnishes to boot. Nahm jim is a Thai chili sauce, rau ram is Vietnamese coriander- kind of looks like cilantro.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Lamb belly roti canai - chana dal, cumin, mint, raita, pickled cauliflower
Pieces of tender, gamey lamb belly laid atop a crisp rectangular roti pancake. I was looking most forward to this, and it did not disappoint! We also claimed their last one!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Baby monterey squid - chiang mai pork sausage, candlenut, mint, rau ram
This dish was confusing to me. I didn't know where the squid was, but saw fried legs poking out from between huge nubby sausages. Maybe the squid was stuffed in the sausage too, but as it is with all sausages- they taste the same generally. Not amazed, though the waiter highly recommended it.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Spicy chicken pops - Shelton Farms' drumettes, garlic, kecap manis, spicy sichuan salt
So very delicate, fingerlickin', and addicting.
Kepap Manis is a thick, sweet Indonesian sauce flavored with garlic and/or star anise and palm sugar.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Unlike with wings, I could pop these pops one after the next, no problem.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Yu choy - Shaoxing wine, garlic, aged ham
I didn't see any aged ham, or maybe it's because other people at my table had some. There seemed to be some chili flakes and other ingredients though.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Short rib rendang - Malay spices, red chile lemongrass rempah, coconut cream
Rempah is a savory-sweet Malaysian spice paste consisting of shallots, garlic, and some or all of lemon grass, coriander, cumin, tumeric, candlenut, cinnamon, ginger, galangal, chiles, peppercorns, sugar and salt. <--That would explain the sheer ecstasy packed in that pool of reddish sauce.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Only got a little cube of it, what a tease!!! The short rib simply melted in my mouth, along with all 54839 of those rempah spices.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Chinese eggplant - fennel raita, tomato sambal, eggplant "fries"
This was one of the most memorable dishes, to be honest. The tomato paste and yogurt flavors married surprisingly well, complete with all sorts of sweet, exotic Southeast Asian concubines on the side. Caught in a bad romance.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Garlic pork belly - do ban jian, rice cakes, cabbage, garlic chives
This definitely tasted very Chinese, which meant that it was the least interesting of everything (because I am Chinese/Taiwanese). My mom uses dou ban jian- a black bean sauce, and unfailingly dumps garlic and chives into every homecooked meat dish. Not that this wasn't delicious, it just didn't zing me like the others did.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Okay, one interesting thing about the pork belly dish was the gumdrop-sized crunchy rice cakes. They were texturally interesting, balancing out the small, juicy chunks of pork belly and the crispness of the cabbage.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Chiang Mai curry noodles - chile, tumeric, lemongrass, chicken, prawn, yu choy, rice noodles
It's a Northern Thai dish also known as "kao soi." Lukshon played up this typical Thai noodle dish by adding prawns and these massive decorative chips, but the original also comes with the crispy fried egg noodles on top.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Rice noodles under all of that were soft and full-bodied. Soaked up the sweet soup well.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Lukshon always gives complimentary dessert, whether you're there for lunch or dinner. This is customary of many Asian banquet-style restaurants; you get a small bowl of hot dessert soup or a snack on the house. Thanks, Lukshon for taking this cultural practice up a notch! Check out these super gourmet desserts...
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Coconut cake and lemongrass cream with a passion gelee
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Beijing yogurt panna cotta with mandarin gelee and poached pineapples
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Palm sugar caramel custard
Despite its simplicity compared to the other two, this one was my favorite. It tasted just like flan, but with the texture of creme brulee, grounded upon a sweet pool of liquid sugar. I made everyone cough up a little of their panna cotta when I accidentally said, "It totally squirted when I put it in!!" Referring to the dainty silver spoons that came with the platter, of course.
Now, my goal is to try all of these dishes in their traditional, down-to-earth form. Lukshon has spoiled me, but I will not forgo the roots!
Lukshon
3239 Helms Ave
Culver City, CA