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Overheard at the Orchid Restaurant

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With the large amount of liquor offered on the menu of the Orchid Restaurant & Lounge, it seems an unlikely place for a baby shower but that is where LAist found itself this weekend. Trapped upstairs in a private room (although with windows allowing people from neighboring rooms to peek in, the privacy is questionable), we found ourselves drinking OB and vodka cocktails while belting out karaoke tunes to the delight of the mother to be.

The rooms in this Korea Town hot spot feature a large multi screen karaoke machine and microphones on opposing walls. The machine grades each side of the room at the end of each song, although the winning requirements are suspect. On many songs, of which there are hundreds ranging from American pop standards to Korean, Japanese and Filipino sing along hits, it often seemed that not singing along would earn a higher score than attempting to keep up. Unless, of course, it is "Careless Whisper" by Wham! When George Michael sings, everyone must join in.

As we waited outside for Valet to return our vehicle, we overhead this exchange:

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Lady #1: When I got out of my car, a crazy lady came up to me and screamed, "I love your boots" and then made a bunch of faces.
Lady #2: Really? Because when I was walking here from my car, a guy literally jumped out of a car and started singing that Keane song in the middle of the sidewalk.
Lady #1: I love that Keane song!
Lady #2: Me too!
Lady #1: Huh, Korea Town is kind of cool.
Lady #2: I know, right? Everything is crazy here but it seems kind of right.
Lady #1: Yeah.
Lady #2: You know, that crazy lady was right. I really love your boots, too.

The Orchid Restaurant & Lounge in Korea Town, where crazy is cool.

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