Chinatown L.A.’s new culinary destination

Saiba Ulrich, left, and Chad Finlay dig into Chego’s pan-Asian rice bowls.  (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Lunch customers line up to make orders at Chego in Chinatown.  (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Some old favorites are still around in Chinatown, including specialty Chinese store Wing Hop Fung at the Far East Plaza.  (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

The sign above the new Pok Pok Phat Thai in Chinatown.  (Amy Scattergood / Los Angeles Times)

The staff at the new Pok Pok Phat Thai in Chinatown.  (Amy Scattergood / Los Angeles Times)

Baker Manuel Diaz applies frosting decorations to the top of one of the the strawberry cakes at the Phoenix Bakery.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The strawberry cakes at the Phoenix Bakery in Chinatown (in the rear refrigerator cases) have made the family-run business famous.  (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

A Bruce Lee statue stands before the old Grand Star Jazz Club, where Starry Kitchen is now located in Chinatown.  (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

Nguyen Tran and his wife, chef Thi Tran, with a dish of their Singaporean chili crab, a cult favorite.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Starry Kitchen, known for its Vietnamese-style banh mi, has opened a semi-permanent pop-up in the GrandStar Jazz Club. Shown here is its Vietnamese minced beef with fried egg.  (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times)

Grace Fung, left, of Los Angeles, and Nichelle Wileman, of Culver City, eat at the Starry Kitchen pop-up restaurant.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Another newcomer to the Far East Plaza is ice cream shop Scoops, with flavors including brown bread horchata and mandarin passion fruit.  (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

The original Scoops ice cream shop on Heliotrope Drive was founded by Tai Kim.  (Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Catfe, L.A.’s first cat cafe, had a test run in Chinatown.  (Mark Ralston / AFP/ Getty Images)

People play with cats during the opening of the Catfe in Chinatown.  (Mark Ralston / AFP/ Getty Images)

The chefs make a plate of kariage chicken at the new Ramen Champ.  (Amy Scattergood / Los Angeles Times)

Ramen Champ celebrates the art scene in Chinatown with black-and-white murals by New York artist Mike Houston, whose ramen art has appeared in David Chang’s Lucky Peach magazine.  (Amy Scattergood / Los Angeles Times)

The noodle bar at Ramen Champ in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza.   (Amy Scattergood / Los Angeles Times)

Celebrity chef Roy Choi may have started the culinary upswing in Chinatown with his restaurant Chego in the Far East Plaza.   (Cheryl A. Guerrero / Los Angeles Times)