Koreatown after dark

A lot of Los Angeles goes to bed early. Restaurants close sooner than visitors expect, and by late evening many neighbourhoods are just parked cars and the glow of televisions behind curtains. Koreatown is the exception. It seems to come alive at precisely the moment the rest of the city switches off.

It is one of the densest parts of the city, full of apartment blocks, office towers and mini-malls stacked two or three storeys high. By day it can look a little ordinary. After dark the signs light up in red, blue and pink, the car parks fill up and the pavements get busy with people heading to dinner, karaoke or a late dessert.

Eating with friends

The great thing about eating here is that it is almost always social. Barbecue is the obvious example: a grill in the middle of the table, plates of meat and vegetables coming and going, a dozen little side dishes refilled without asking. Nobody eats alone at a barbecue table, and nobody leaves without smelling faintly of charcoal.

But it is not all grilling. There are places that do one thing, like a soft tofu stew or a cold noodle dish in summer, and do it with real devotion. There are bakeries with pastries I didn't know existed until I moved here, and cafés that stay open late enough to be a proper alternative to a bar. And because this is Los Angeles, there is plenty more in the mix: Oaxacan food, Salvadoran pupusas, Bangladeshi sweets, all within a few blocks.

My one firm rule: if there is a queue of people who look like they come every week, join it.

Walking it off

After dinner I like to walk, even if it is only around a few blocks. The old buildings are worth a look: there are some grand pre-war apartment towers and a handful of lovely Art Deco facades hidden among the newer glass. In winter the evenings are cool and clear, and the neon reflects off every damp surface after the rare rain.

There are karaoke rooms tucked into almost every building, and walking past you hear muffled ballads drifting out through the walls. I have been talked into singing more than once. I'm not good. Nobody seems to mind.

Getting there and back

Parking can be a genuine headache, especially on weekend evenings, and many lots are tiny. The subway has stations along the main boulevard, which makes it one of the easier neighbourhoods to reach without a car. Late at night I usually just share a ride home with whoever I'm with.

If someone asks me where to go for a first evening in Los Angeles, I often send them here. It is not the city of postcards. It is the city as people actually live it: crowded, delicious, noisy and wide awake.