Lukshon

Lukshon serves Asian-​inspired dishes that incorporate novel ingredient combinations. I initially saw it on a list of the best restaurants in LA, which immediately garnered my attention.
Portions are flavorful but minuscule. With individual items being on the pricey side despite their size, coming with a small group seems restrictive; however, coming with more people – I came as a group of 4 – still ends up with you having only a bite and a half or so of everything.
Regardless, we followed the advice of the waitress and ordered 8 items to share between the four of us, ending up with:
Hawaiian Butterfish (⁴⁄₅) — This was among the best dishes we ordered. The raw fish goes will with the herbs and coconut cubes, and ends up tasting like a tropical, sweet ceviche.
What the Phở? (³⁄₅) — Delicious, but the smallest bowl of phở I’ve ever seen. As I said, we were a group of 4, but curiously there were only 3 soup dumplings, making for an awkward sharing situation. You couldn’t have just given us a forth tiny dumpling? Seriously, what the phở?
Not Chinese Chicken Salad (³⁄₅) — Lukshon’s attempt at humor, because it in fact is a Chinese chicken salad, only with kale. Tastes only average, unfortunately.
Chicken Rendang (³⁄₅) — Tastes like Thai chicken curry, but subdued.
Steak Bao (⁴⁄₅) — Good meat, and an interesting flavor combination. My single $ 4 bite was good while it lasted.
Steamed Fish (³⁄₅) — Finally, something with substance! – I thought, as they brought the huge bowl over. Then I saw it was 95% bowl and 5% fish. Very delicate, with a nice, spicy kick, but my enthusiasm deflated as I realized that my one small bite was $ 5.
Chiang Mai Curry Noodles (²⁄₅) — Not particularly memorable. And small.
Heirloom Black Rice (⁴⁄₅) — This was my favorite among what we ordered. The rice is a beautiful onyx color, and I felt the flavors deliciously complemented each other. Making black rice this enjoyable is a challenge, so props for that. This was the only dish capable of denting our appetites, and for that reason alone I’d call it essential.
Complimentary dessert of Yuzu Gummy Bears and Dark Chocolate Coconut Rocks (Forgettable/​5) — Not memorable or good enough to have tantalized me into wanting a full dessert.
While the average rating of each dish comes out closer to 3, I’m compelled to deduct a star from most of them due to the lack of value. Halfway through the meal, we discussed whether Lukshon was indeed a restaurant or a tapas bar. After a nearly $ 100 bill for lunch, all four of us left very hungry, grumbly, and semi-​indignant. Two stars seems apt.

I tried Lukshon for lunch a couple of days ago while working in Culver City. Lukshon is located in the Helms Bakery District next to the more popular Father’s Office. At lunch time I managed to get street parking with any issues but I understand that there is Valet parking available for the dinner service. At the peak lunch hour on a normal work day it was about half full. I decided to take a seat on the outside patio. Lukshon is your typical small plates place with dishes that are described as Asian Fusion. The lunch menu had about 20 items from which I decided to get the Tea Leaf Salad ($ 9) and Chiang Mai curry noodles ($ 8) and washed it down with the Blood Orange Papaya ($ 3) soda.
Service was fast and I had the Tea Leaf Salad in about 5 minutes. One look and what was certain is that this was nothing like the original Burmese specialty made with fermented green tea leaves. This was more of a cabbage based salad with a generous amount of crispy channa dal (fried split chickpeas) that had a sprinkling of tea. The channa dal added a great crunch to the salad but I felt that the flavor of tea was pretty mild. However the entire salad came together pretty well and I liked what I ate. I guess that’s what Asian fusion means taking ideas from the original and then translating those to modern American cuisine. It worked just fine.
Next up were the Chiang Mai curry noodles. The original version of this is basically Khao Soi which today is available in every mom and pop Thai restaurant in LA. Lokshon’s version was again nothing like the original but was good in its own right. I thought that it has a tad bit too much of lemongrass which gave it a distinct acidic tang. What I really liked was that they did not tone down the taste but kept the heat from chilies intact. This is one the biggest issue I have with Khao Soi which tends to be too sweet for my palate. All said I liked Lukshon’s take on the Khao Soi. For lunch I was pretty full with just two plates so I decided not to order a third.
Service was very good. My server really took pains to explain their overall concept and provided recommendations without any attitude and kept the food coming at an even pace. Price wise I found it a tad cheaper when compared to other small plates restaurants (where the price point is around $ 15/​plate). Overall I kind of liked what I ate so I may return periodically to change things up. I’d rate this place as a 3.5 stars that I’m rounding up to 4.

Over all had a great experience. Loved the place and the food. Having the wide open kitchen was a great view.
The Thai clam chowder was by far the best appetizer, if u like coconut. Nice twist to an American Classic
Chinese chicken salad, done with kale was okay, I probably wouldn’t order it again
Scallops were also just okay, the texture was slightly off. I think they didn’t get the sear right and it needed more salt to draw out the flavor.
Beef and broccoli was amazing!!! Hanger steak on top of Chinese broccoli was really nice combination! Sauce that went with it was amazing.
There coconut chocolate dipped ice cream dessert was amazing and a must get
So was there donuts!!!
Like I said over all great experience will go again!

Met a friend here for the first time… And I loved this whole area!!! Valet for free!!! What a great start to the day!
Then take a stroll down the lighted street lined with cute storefronts and restaurants!
The server suggested ordering several plates to share… So we did and I am so glad we did! The food was all amazing and the green tea was the perfect compliment!!!