Unit 120

Heard about this talented Filipino chefs in Instagram. Been following them and finally I was able to get a spot for dinner tonight. I took my foodie friend with me.
It’s located in the heart of Chinatown, Downtown LA. The food was amazing.
First course: Winter Citrus– whipped kesong puro with salty pili mutants radicchio. (Fresh ingredients and fresh taste to it).
Second course: Pancit egg noodle with bagoong, radish and calamansi. Yummy and cooked to perfection.
Third course: crispy duck arroz caldo with brown rice, ginger broth and pea tendrils!
Our favorite dish of the nights
Desert: pear and Kamote Hinayana… Excellent blending of flavors
Will definitely go back as will recommend them!

Alvin did it again! Had such a delicious and healthy lunch. All the best ingredients and simply delicious. Yum.

Chef Alvin Cailan of Egg Slut brings us this experimental test kitchen opening next week.
The first planned 6-​month residency at Unit 120 is Chef Chad and Chase Valencia’s LASA (meaning «taste» in Tagalog) preparing market driven modern Filipino cuisine.
If you’re wondering where Chef Chad trained. He is a Le Gordon Beu culinary school grad, and has cooked at Contigo in San Francisco, Canelè, and Sqirl (part of the opening team that developed the menu). His brother Chase, who manages the front of house, was a manager at Wolfgang Puck Catering.
Also, part of the team is sous chef, Nico de Leon, who relocated back to Los Angeles, after stints at Chiaroscuro, Commonwealth, and Blue Plate in San Francisco.
Course 1
Winter Citrus and Radicchio Salad
whipped kesong puti, sweet and salty pili nuts, sugar cane vin
(my favorite of the tasting menu)
Course 2
Pancit
bagoong xo, radish, chives, calamansi
Course 3
Crispy Duck Arroz Caldo
California brown rice, leek and ginger broth, pea tendrils, garlic chips
Course 4
Pear & Kamote Ginataan
coconut milk, pandan syrup, Philippine sea salt
Tonight’s $ 48 four-​course Lasa menu featured modern Filipino cuisine. The non-​traditional salad was a refreshing dish that opened my palate. I loved the addition of creamy, whipped white cheese and pili nuts, a nut native to the Philippines. The arroz caldo typically with chicken was served with crispy duck. The ginataan was not the traditional kind. It had the flavor of ginataan, but the look of a dish served at a fine dining restaurant. The pancit had more «umami» in this modern style including a Lasa twist adding bagoong (shrimp paste).
It’s strange that Filipino cuisine has not caught on the way Thai or Vietnamese food has, with Los Angeles having one of the largest communities of Filipinos in the United States. In New York City and Austin, I feel that Filipino food has already taken off with Maharlika and Jeepney in NYC, and Qui in Austin. I’m hoping this venue will provide the team with an even wider audience.
The Valencia brothers’ family is from Pampanga, the food capital of the Philippines (what Bologna is to Italy and what Lyon is to France), so you can say that knowing good food is in their blood.
What you’re getting is not traditional Filipino food at Lasa x Unit 120, elevated Filipino-​inspired farm-​to-​table cuisine. Exciting it may be, but long overdue for Los Angeles. I just hope Angelenos embrace the flavors of the Philippines at Lasa so we can finally get these guys their own brick and mortar to showcase their talents.
Once they start taking reservations, I recommend booking soon since their Lasa pop-​ups usually sell out within 10 minutes.