Simbal :: A Southeast Asian Restaurant in Little Tokyo

Simbal :: Photography by Wonho Frank Lee

Former Top Chef contestant Shawn Pham returns home to Los Angeles with the opening of Simbal, a new Southeast Asian restaurant in the heart of Little Tokyo. On the menu, Chef Pham offers chili jam mussels with tamarind and fried Chinese donut, to a redolent banh mi panzanella salad. Barman Brandyn Tepper creates an appropriate cocktail list infusing Southeast Asian flavors, plus fortified wines, craft beers, and fermented spirits. Here’s a peek inside.