Broke da mouth is Hawaiian Pidgin for something so delicious it broke your mouth. With a restaurant named Broken Mouth, I immediately took notice. For a Hawaiian restaurant, it is located in an unusual location; the fashion district in downtown LA.
Broken Mouth is the brainchild of local Hawai’i boy, Tim Lee. Born on the island of Oahu, Lee describes himself as “Korean by blood and Hawaiian at heart. His restaurant was recently featured in Yelp’s Top 100 List and covered by our local ABC affiliate.
Unlike most Hawaiian places that use less expensive cuts of meat, Lee uses chicken breast for their Chicken Plate Lunch. The chicken is coated in mochiko, a sweet rice flour, and lightly fried. Their specialty hot sauce is liberally applied to it. The result is impressive and the taste of the hot sauce is reminiscent of Korean Gochujang.
The Beef Plate Lunch deviates slightly from traditional teriyaki beef. Instead, Korean Mean Jun is featured. This beef dish is made using thinly sliced marinated ribeye beef that is dipped into an egg batter and lightly fried. Because it is thinly sliced, it is saturated with the flavor of the marinade and is very tender.
Shrimp are prepared with a liberal amount of seasoning to the shrimp with the shells intact. Many chefs elect to leave the shells on to retain the moistness of the shrimp. If you are shell adverse, you can suck the seasoning from the shells and peel them. Otherwise, go for it with the shells intact for the true experience.
Broken Mouth serves Purple Rice instead of traditional white rice. This is a Korean version made with Korean sweet black sweet rice mixed with short-grain white rice. To amp up the seasoning, they sprinkle the top with Japanese furikake rice seasoning.
Some of their vegan options include Avocado Toast made with goat cheese and chili flakes, a Tofu Plate Lunch featuring their house made chili sauce, and an interesting pickled carrots side dish made with red onions and cranberries.
Broken Mouth is in the heart of LA’s fashion district. As a result, street parking is limited. They are presently open for takeout and delivery.
Broken Mouth, 231 E 9th St, Los Angeles, CA 90015; 213.418.9588
eatbrokenmouth.com