Crisp samosas arrive with a glossy dipping sauce at Rasarumah.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
Historic Filipinotown—It’s Karl Marx who’s credited with observing that “History repeats itself.” (For the record, followed with, “First by tragedy, second by farce.”) If Human History arguably repeats itself, Culinary History definitely repeats itself. The hottest trend in New York dining, at the moment, is the venerable Club Sandwich – that Ladies Who Lunch triple-layer classic of chicken, bacon, lettuce, tomato and mayo, sliced diagonally and held together with toothpicks.
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And if Rasarumah in Filipinotown is a foreshadowing of an upcoming Pu Pu Panic, we can expect Crab Rangoon and coconut curry to arise again from the mountains to the sea. For this is the land where America’s much-loved Polynesian Fusion dining once thrived. Pure kitsch cuisine, which was, and at Rasarumah still is, built as much around its ornate rum and tequila beverages as around its food. Perhaps even more so.
If you’re of a certain age, you remember going for special family meals to local legends like Trader Vic’s, Don the Beachcomber, Kelbo’s, Bahooka and The Luau – much loved by the Rat Pack. This was during the South Seas Tiki Craze that popped up in the years following World War II. It was largely fueled by Trader Vic Bergeron’s Mai Tai, which he invented in 1944. And by Crab Rangoon, which his Chinese-American chef Joe Young created in 1955.
Crispy fried chicken served with rice, sambal and fresh herbs at Rasarumah.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
By the end of the century, most of the Island-Style dishes had faded into Hawaiian-shirted memory. And then, along comes Rasarumah, with a name that means “House of Flavor” in Malay, and a chef named Johnny Lee, who decided what Los Angeles needed was a place to go for sambal and samosas, along with Crab Rangoon and volcano bowls. And his time machine is jammed every night, with tables of twentysomethings wondering why Polynesian chow ever went away.
There’s a billboard over the bar wishing a Happy Birthday to Jungle Bird and Pandan Colada inebriated celebrants – recently, “Sarah, Monica, Kristina and Mattie.” The décor, campy and dim, adds to the connection to the past, with framed menus from long-forgotten destinations like Neptune’s Grotto, the Tonga Room, China Lantern and Kowloon. I wouldn’t be surprised to find the cast of Shanghai Express – Marlene Dietrich, Anna May Wong and Clive Brook – plotting over Lychee Martinis and char kway teow stir-fried rice noodles in a back booth.
A trio of skewers highlights the restaurant’s shareable Southeast Asian-inspired menu.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
The menu is brief but sufficient – lots of easy dishes for groups to share. The “Drinking Snacks” of three sambal dips with shrimp chips. The masala-spiced potato samosas. Gado gado salad with watermelon radish and wonderful fried sweet potatoes. A trio of skewers – char siu pork jowls, King Oyster mushrooms and spiced chicken meatballs, with a peanut sauce and a hot mustard.
And Crab Rangoon, of course – crab and cream cheese in crispy wontons with a chili-crab sauce. The presence of cream cheese – an ingredient much loved by grandmothers in gingham check aprons – speaks of Sunday night meals gone by. A past we may not have lived through. But can at Johnny Lee’s House of Flavor. Historic tastes in Historic Filipinotown.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
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⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beyond Sublime⭐⭐⭐ Worth Every Penny⭐⭐A Good Neighborhood Destination⭐ Might As Well Stay At HomeRasarumah3107 Beverly Blvd., Historic Filipinotown213-567-3547www.rasarumah.comDinner, every dayModerately expensive
The restaurant’s yin-and-yang style dipping sauce.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
Rasarumah’s dimly lit bar channels classic tiki lounge nostalgia in Historic Filipinotown.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
A birthday marquee adds to the playful retro energy inside Rasarumah.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
Vintage restaurant memorabilia decorates the walls at Rasarumah.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
Even the fish-shaped door handle leans into the restaurant’s vintage tropical aesthetic.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
The Rasarumah storefront blends tropical design with old-school restaurant charm.
Photo by Merrill Shindler
Merrill Shindler has spent his life eating for a living in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. His past includes many a night before the morning after spent inhaling Mai Tais and Pina Coladas, along with pupu platters at Polynesian Restaurants of the Past. It does his heart good to witness the return of Crab Rangoon.
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