Century City: Happy Hour at Rock Sugar

After a long day of shopping, we popped into Rock Sugar for happy hour. I was delighted to find happy hour is available every day at this exotically decorated restaurant. There’s a decided zen feeling when you first pass through the doorways and hop onto a barstool. Many Buddha statues oversee the place.

 

The specialty cocktails are $6, selected beer and well drinks are $5 plus selected wine is $4 for happy hour and the food ranged from $3-6. I was a bit surprised by how affordable and reasonable these prices were. I had to order a few things to ensure the quality (of course).

I started out with the lemongrass gimlet. It was a bit sweet for me so I asked for the blood orange mojito to be less sweet. I know bartenders hate this request but they didn’t put up a fuss and it wasn’t bad. And my final sipper was the bourbon sling which was the best of the three I tried. This inspired someone to order it next to me but she later said it was too sweet. When she asked the bartender, she was told she could have requested it to be less sweet and they would have cut the Grand Marnier down.

 

My friend ordered the veggie spring rolls (eggrolls) while I sprung for the green mango and papaya salad. Unfortunately, it was mostly a carrot salad and I’m not fond of the orange root vegetable. But for $4, I’m not going to quibble about it.

 

Potstickers were recommended and who am I to turn down a dumpling? Especially since it arrived in a Staub pan. I did find the half circle a bit hard to dip into the small container but you can always douse the potstickers with soy.

 

My favorite of the appetizers turned out to be the imperial rolls. I actually don’t recall being asked if I wanted shrimp and pork or chicken but it tasted more like pork. I was glad to see the dish served with noodles, herbs and lettuce leaves to wrap around the rolls.

 

If you’re shopping at the Century City mall or if you work nearby, this would be my pick for happy hour. The restaurant even offers parking validation which is premium in this part of town.

 

Rock Sugar Pan Asian Kitchen

10250 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste 654, Los Angeles, CA 90067  — (310) 552-9988 

© The Minty 2013