I met up with my colleague and friend Mona for a lovely dinner at Camphor back in March. Behind the stoves at this contemporary bistro in Downtown Los Angeles are chefs Max Boonthanakit and Lijo George. The duo met while working at Michelin-starred Blue by Alain Ducasse in Bangkok and opened Camphor in the former Nightshade space earlier this year.
Camphor’s cooking is as technically precise as one would expect from two fine dining chefs, while the flavors lean toward South Asian and French in equal measure. To start, a small complimentary bite reminiscent of pani puri.
Mona said that the bread ($10) served with époisses butter was a must-order and of course, she was right. Époisses can be too strong for me at times, so the addition of butter to smooth out its funk was welcomed. The warm, thickly sliced bread made for a fine accompaniment.
The chile-forward fried baby shrimp dusted with “gunpowder” seasoning ($12) followed next.
One of my favorite dishes was the classically executed beef tartare ($20) served with battered and fried leafy herbs. The crunch of the light tempura was fantastic.
I also adored the mackerel ($25) in all its oily, fishy glory. The mustard dressing was unexpected and paired so well with the sashimi.
The Dungeness crab-stuffed barbajuan ($22) served with pickled peppers and a sauce that now escapes me transitioned our palates from cool to warm. Our server likened this dish to a crab rangoon and he wasn’t incorrect.
Rounding out our savories was the impeccably executed roasted chicken ($40). Table-side saucing will never go out of style.
The contorted chicken consisted of a golden skin casing, followed by a layer of moist breast meat, and a piping of thigh mousse spiced with Kerala masala and truffled mushroom puree. Though the preparation was totally fussy, it yielded a pretty damn good chicken.
The kitchen kindly sent out some warm rolls for us to sop up every last bit of the garlic- and thyme-infused chicken jus.
Mona and I were both looking forward to dessert given chef Boonthanakit’s impressive track record when it comes to sweets. This chocolate hazelnut meringue was the bee’s knees ($19).
Also great and highly ‘grammable was the icy kiwi disc with mint ($18).
Two petite macarons arrived with our check.
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Camphor
923 East 3rd Street, Suite 109
Los Angeles, CA 90013
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