The Divine Dish

Dinner at WP24, Ritz Carlton, LA Live

Posted on Aug 17, 2011 under Archives | No Comment

I recently visited WP24 at the Ritz Carlton at LA Live for stories for the Metropolitan News and travelhoppers.com.   Wolfgang Puck’s latest LA venture is located on the 24th floor of the Ritz Carlton downtown and houses a huge lounge and adjacent restaurant featuring high-end Asian fusion cuisine.

Diners enter through the very large lounge and bar area, perfect for pre or post Laker game drinks.  After passing through the lounge the bar scene fades into the formal dining room, set above the neon freeways with vast  panoramic views of downtown LA.  The muted shades and big comfy leather chairs lend a relaxing atmosphere to the modern room.  Here is a sampling of Chef de Cuisine’s Sara Johannes remarkable food that we enjoyed:

We started with the spicy hot and sour soup which included sweet prawn wontons, fresh peas,micro basil and fried ginger.  Next came a variety of amuse bouches, including lobster spring rolls, prawn toast, foie gras bac buns and seafood turnovers.

All were amazing, we liked the foie gras buns the best.  Next came a nice sampling of the dim sum plate, which changes daily.  Ours included a chive crystal dumpling, dan dan dumpling, tiny dimpling, scallop sui mai, and suckling pig with quince apple puree.

Our main courses started with a stunner – the live Maine “Angry Lobster.”  True to its name, the lobster was spicy thanks to the addition of Szechuan chiles and also was flavored with fried garlic and black bean dust.  This lovely dish was served with a side of Lop Cheung sausage fried rice which we loved.

Next came another stellar dish, the famous whole roasted duckling.  Yep, a whole duck roasted Peking style with stir fried fall mushrooms, snap peas and scallions.  Our server  presented the whole duck to our table, a definite wow factor if you are bringing a date, and then took it away to carve it and brought back our servings.

The duck comes with steamed fresh buns and an assortment of condiments to make tasty little sandwiches.

Next came a nice lychee yuzu sorbet to cleanse our palette before dessert.

Although stuffed, we had to try Pastry Chef Sally Camacho’s famous marjolasian dessert, which resembled a Twix bar on steroids, and is the best dessert I have had in any LA restaurant for quite a while.   No wonder Chef Camacho was chosen to compete in Top Chef Desserts on Bravo TV, which premiers tonight.

Come to WP24 for the great Asian fusion cuisine, panoramic views or just to taste the marjolasian dessert, but be sure to stop by next time you are downtown.  Reservations can be made by calling 213/743-8824, located at the Ritz Carlton, 900 W. Olympic Boulevard.