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This New Restaurant Is The Chipotle Of Southeast Asian Food (Photos)
Fast casual dining is all the rage these days, with restaurateurs taking a tip from the successful Chipotle chain -- who also operates a similar concept called Shophouse -- making healthful, fresh, and customizable options available on the fly. One such restaurant just opened on Fairfax and Beverly called Kaya Street Kitchen, with its flavor profile giving nods to the hawker style of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.
Kaya Street Kitchen soft-opened yesterday, offering their eclectic, (mostly) organic take to locals as well as folks looking for a bite while they wait in the line for "The Price is Right." The price is right at Kaya too, with their Southeast Asian-inspired bowls, tacos, and lettuce wraps all costing under $10. Many of the options are vegan-friendly and gluten-free.
The experience at Kaya starts with choosing your base: either coconut lime jasmine rice, basil brown rice or lettuce for bowls, or rotis (Indonesian flatbreads, which won't be available til their official opening on December 21) or lettuce wraps for tacos.
Then you pick a protein: shrimp/pork meatballs, randang beef, chicken satay with peanut sauce, or marinated tofu, and finally a variety of salads, sauces, chilies, and toppings. They also serve Indonesian sweet jasmine tea, lovely lychee lemonade, and a fantastic house-made rendition of krupuk bawang, one of our favorite Indonesian street snacks that's basically an onion-flavored puffed rice cracker.
We popped by for their soft opening to check out the goods. You can take a peek at their wares above.
Kaya Street Kitchen is located at 109 N Fairfax Ave., (323) 879- 9288
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