West Hollywood: The All New Formosa
The Formosa
The Formosa reopened last year with new ownership. It’s now part of the 1933 Group which also has Sassafras Saloon, Highland Park Bowl among others. Each of their bars are very well-designed. With the Formosa being already iconic, the bar itself just got bigger. I love the back bar area. It’s huge! And it looks like it’s always been there.
And of course the train car remains. I usually sit at the bar (at any bar) but for our meal, we sat in the train car. It’s a little quieter.
drinks at Formosa
We got a mai tai and boulevardier to start.
These were well-made. I would like to try others but I’ll save that for when I sidle up to the bar.
squid ink xiao long bao
Anyone familiar with Little Fatty and Accomplice Bar may know the black / squid ink xiao long bao (soup dumplings) that chef David Kuo made famous. I’m always excited when I see them at food festivals. I’m glad he helped design the food menu at Formosa.
beef and broccoli
The beef from the beef and broccoli was so tender! I loved this dish. And the Chinese broccoli (these were actually broccolini) was so crunchy. Very nice.
veggie bao
I generally don’t eat bao (buns) as I am more interested in noodles or dumplings or even rice. I’m just not a bread person. But occasionally I’ll try one. This wasn’t the night when I found out it was a veggie one but my friends liked it.
Asian greens
We probably didn’t need the Asian greens since we had a ton of broccoli in the beef and broccoli dish but I still enjoyed these with a ton of fried garlic.
XO fatty
The star of the night was the XO fatty noodles though. Great flavors and I always love the rolled noodles. I’m interested in trying the rest of the menu but in particular the chile wontons, fish dumplings, pot stickers (I told you I love dumplings), kung pao chicken, Sichuan eggplant and dan dan mein.
Meet me at the Formosa.
7156 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046 — (323) 850-1009
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