Myungrang Hot Dog: Like Hot Dog On A Stick But Covered in Sugar & Bumsan Organic Milk Bar

By Jonathan Bilski

If on a quest for adventure, but not that much adventure, like your level 1 in a game, how about trying Myungrang Hot Dog? It's the Korean version of Hot Dog on A Stick covered in sugar. Now, not sure why, but this battered dip hot dogs have the option to be covered in sugar. It does make them taste much sweeter, but for someone who hasn't grown up with it, it's not really something you need added to your dog.

Myungrang Hot Dog is part of the eats of the top floor of the California Market dining area in Koreatown.

Somewhat stranger than our own stick with dogs on them is the random ASMR video of a woman eating the product non-stop in store and the some different condiments like a cheese sauce.

There's also a squid ink version or a potato batter dipped version to try if you want something other than just the plain ol' sugar covered dog, which you would think America would have invented as it sounds so unhealthy. Cheese filled versions with mozzarella or cheddar make some gooey treats you can try.

If you want a snack while in Koreatown, that's close to your usual fine dining, grab Myungrang's Korean version of the American classic.

Myungrang Hot Dog
11:00 am - 9:00 pm daily
Koreatown
Inside California Market
450 S Western Ave
Ste 313
Los Angeles, CA 90020 

Further down the road is Bumsan Organic Milk Bar. What a...what a horrible name for an ice cream shop. The name doesn't reflect the delicious ice cream and even tastier cones you can get it in.

*Now just to make sure you understand, Milk Tavern, which we featured on TTDILA before for being a cereal bar, is in no way affiliated with this ice cream shop, though they do share a parking lot.

Bumsan's ice cream comes from Korea, so forgot vanilla as a flavor. Instead they have True Milk (the favorite), Taro Milk Tea, Matcha, Chocolate & Pomeberry. It's smooth and rich ice cream, but the real draw are their cones with cereal or cookies pieces in them. Maybe even some Rice Krispies! This makes them instantly picture worthy, but darn tasty too. Even their regular cones have their corners covered in colorful sugar.

If you want a cold sweet treat to beat the heat this is worth your time in line.

*Not a lot of room for this tiny store, it's more of a place to get your ice cream and go or stand around with for a bit.

Bumsan Organic Milk Bar
12:00 pm - 11:00 pm  daily
Koreatown
534 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90020

This is MANGA – the Art of NAOKI URASAWA Visit

If you have a little free time and are in the Hollywood and Highland area you can check out the This is MANGA – the Art of NAOKI URASAWA exhibit at Japan House. It's a compact exhibit on the work of Naoki Urasawa and some of his well known manga. There's a lot of manga and original work to go through. It traces Urasawa's career and goes over much of his beautiful work. Don't forget, it's free and would take you 10-20 minutes to explore.

SoCal Retro Gaming Expo 2019 Gallery

We stopped by the SoCal Retro Gaming Expo, now easily more accessible in Pasadena, to check out some arcade action. It could keep you busy for a few hours with a number of booths selling older games, gear and some nice imports from Japan. The masses were looking through old boxes for some fair-priced or hard-to-find goodies. Our favorite part was probably the open arcade.

*The only downside, pricing. $30 in person seems kind of unfair for checking out the gaming convention. It was cheaper online to buy tickets, but a day of  Saturday pass could only be purchased at the convention, when it use to be $25 online. SoCal Retro Gaming Expo needs to announce pricing surges earlier or clarify that info.

However, once inside, arcade machines of yesteryear and old favorites get you going. The free arcade section had some titles we had never seen.

One outstanding, never-played titled was Namco's Lucky & Wild. An arcade machine that let's you drive and shoot a gun, plus a partner who can also shoot a gun. You drive around some iconic cities in America both having to shoot and dodge enemies with a friend. The game is like watching an action movie unfold, but created by the Japanese set in the early 90's. Bosses in the game can actually get away if you don't stop them in time. And as a fun bonus if you do catch the boss you"ll visit the Pink Cats Garage, with some lovely ladies in cut-off jeans and cat ears servicing your vehicle.

Taito's Landing High Japan was another unseen title. From a series out of Japan, this arcade unit continues in the series of trying the super hard attempts at landing commercial airliners. Watching a friend utterly fail at a landing was truly a joy. The game will not show a real crash, but merely stop the plane in the air and put  the word "crashed" on the screen to show your failure.

Pokémon Sword and Shield Sure Looks Plain & Katamari Magnet Ball

Pokémon Sword and Shield are coming out this year, when exactly? Not sure, but this year. This is the main game finally coming to the Switch. So, we can all Poke Battle again and enjoy the look of we guess... Pokemon's take on England.

We utterly fell in love with the The Prince and Katamari Ball Plush from Fangamer. This product should have come out well before and re-release of the game. Still, how can you know want the Prince and a Katamari Ball on your desk collecting paperclips?

Some Times It Doesn't Go On The Weekly What To Do

Eater LA has a great write-up on the The Los Angeles Beer and World Barbecue event held over the weekend. Now, we saw this event go up online and after going over it and the web-site it was attached to, we decided to not add it to the list of weekly events we put out. It was not TTDILA approved. And that's a good thing, because it was a huge mess, so bad that it's being dubbed the Fyre Festival of BBQ.

Read about the whole thing here.

Here's an excerpt:

"According to various posts on the event’s Facebook page (including plenty of video and photo evidence) and on Yelp, three-deep lines drew down the block for hours before people were even let inside. Eater has confirmed with multiple people attached to the event in various ways that the health department kept the festival from beginning for over an hour because of an issue with vendor water temperatures. That led to an initial backlog of hopeful attendees, with everyone eventually pushing inside all at once to try to score some food and drink."

Weekly What To Do: After Oscars Weekend

Digital Nature 2019
Feb. 27-March 3
Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden

301 North Baldwin Ave

Arcadia, CA 91007

$14-$16

Experience incredible works of video and sound installations at Digital Nature 2019. The garden becomes an outdoor gallery at night where you immerse yourself in amazing art that is photo perfect for Instagram.  Acclaimed contemporary artists explore themes as diverse as butterfly wings, bird songs, heavy metal, and inter-active digital wildflowers.  The evening includes a no-host bar and food will be available for purchase.  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Alita: Battle Angel, 2D-ScreenX
Screening now

CGV Cinemas

621 S. Western Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90005
$

We're not sure about the movie, but ScreenX is a fun novelty to try. It's three screesn covering your vision with a new action movie.

Drinking & Dragons - March 2019
Thu, March 28, 2019
7:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Cellador Ales
16745 Schoenborn Street
Los Angeles, CA 91343
$10

Drinking & Dragons is divided into three, 30-minute sessions. Audience members are chosen at random to join the table with our Dungeon Master Riley, while the audience weighs-in like an improv show. Just because you're not physically sitting at the table does not mean that you won't be affecting the game! Audience participation is essential to Drinking & Dragons. We've got a basketball-sized d20 for you to roll too!

The Art of the Benshi
March 1- 3
Billy Wilder Theater
10899 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024
$8-$10

*Top picks
Blood Spattered Takadanobaba 
The Sword that Slashes Human and Horse

During the silent film era in Japan, which extended into the early 1930s, film screenings were accompanied by live narrators, called benshi. In the industry’s early years, benshi functioned much in the way scientific lecturers did in early American and European cinema, providing simple explanations about the new medium and the moving images on screen. Soon, however, benshi developed into full-fledged performers in their own right, enlivening the cinema experience with expressive word, gesture and music.

First Fridays
Friday, March 1, 5:30pm
Natural History Museum
900 W Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007
$20

We kick off our March First Fridays with an awesome lineup of bands, DJs, discussions, food trucks, delicious cocktails, and more. Get ready to experience the Museum after hours. This year's First Fridays explores Forces of Nature. We'll find facts and bust myths about our four horsemen of the Golden State apocalypse: fire, flood, drought, and earthquakes. In March, we turn up the heat and take a deep look at the science behind fire. Discover the benefits, the devastations, and how we humans impact California fires.

Obvious Plant’s Museum of Toys

March 1-17

Opening reception on March 1 from 7pm-11pm. 

March 2-17, Open daily from 12pm-9pm

Start Pop Up, 2270 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 900061

$10

Check out our interview with Obvious Plant.

Obvious Plant's Museum of Toys is a pop-up exhibit that walks visitors through an alternate history of toys. In this alternate reality, real toys are recontextualized and placed alongside Obvious Plant's original toys to create a darker, more bizarre version of the past.

The museum consists of 100+ toys and games, each one unique and altered in a humorous way. Multiple photo opportunities are available. Guests can step inside a life-size action figure box to become a toy themselves! Multiple special guests and interactive toys will also be available.

ESCAPE FROM GODOT
March 1-24

The Yard Theatre

4319 Melrose Ave

Los Angeles, CA 90029

$50

You are invited to a show. But its THAT show. You know, the one they call important, the quintessence of existentialism, and a meaningless trudge between the cradle and the grave. You promised your friend youd be there. Enter the theater and find your seat. You have 60 minutes to escape.

Thought Experiments in F# Minor
Starts Friday, March 1,
10 am to 2 pm on most days
Walt Disney Concert Hall
Free-$10
ID Required

Created by acclaimed multi-media artists Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller and featuring Los Angeles Philharmonic musicians, Thought Experiments asks viewers to follow a film recorded in the past along the same route they are traversing in the present. Made using binaural microphones, which create a three-dimensional sound experience, and edited to create a sense of continuous motion, the fictional world of the film blends seamlessly with the reality of the architecture and body in motion. The perceptive confusion is deepened by Cardiff’s hypnotic voice and dream-like narrative elements.

Meow Wolf: Origin Story

Sat, Mar 2, 7:30 pm–9:30 pm

Bing Theater at LACMA

Free, Must RSVP

*Includes a post screening conversation with the filmmakers and Meow Wolf founders.

A group of artists in Santa Fe, NM become a DIY collective called Meow Wolf. Their immersive, large-scale exhibitions crack open a profitable niche in the arts industry, even as their social mission is challenged by the demands of rapid success. The group's members navigate fracture and loss for years in pursuit of their idealistic vision. When they spark the interest of George R. R. Martin and receive his support to take over an old bowling alley, Meow Wolf builds a massive exhibition with over 140 artists working at a breakneck pace.

The Auction of Many Things
Sat, Mar 2, 7pm-11pm
1121 Seward St, Los Angeles, CA 90038
Free

 Benefiting the surviving creators of Dungeons & Dragons
• Silent Art Auction
• VIP Games
• Food/Drinks.
• Curated by Carmen Acosta & Jessica Yost

Mr. Good Boy Presents: Rare Groove Record Pop-Up
Mar 2 - Mar 17

The Good Liver

705 Mateo St, Los Angeles, California 90021

Free

Mr. Good Boy invites Norio Sato of RECORD SHOP rare groove, Osaka for a 2 week long record pop-up store at The Good Liver. The Record Cart will feature a hand-picked selection of Japanese City Pop, Disco, New Age, Ambient, and more. New records added weekly!

Encore Screening: MIRAI
Saturday, March 2, 1 PM – 3 PM

The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles

5700 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 100, Los Angeles, California 90036

Free 

From acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children) and Japan’s Studio Chizu comes MIRAI, a daringly original story of love passed down through generations. When four-year-old Kun meets his new baby sister, his world is turned upside down. Named Mirai (meaning “future”), the baby quickly wins the hearts of Kun’s entire family. As his mother returns to work, and his father struggles to run the household, Kun becomes increasingly jealous of baby Mirai… until one day he storms off into the garden, where he encounters strange guests from the past and future – including his sister Mirai, as a teenager. 

5th Annual Venice Brazilian Carnival Parade

Saturday, March 2, 12 PM – 3 PM

Venice Boardwalk, CA

1512 Pacific Ave, Venice, California 90291

Free

The 5th Venice Bloco Carnavalesco – Brazilian Carnaval Parade celebrating Carnaval - Saturday March 2nd. Meeting at the public parking lot at Oceanfront Boardwalk and Rose Ave. We parade south on the boardwalk to Windward Ave. Put your costume on, face paint, bring friends and family.

Elements of Character Design for Manga & Comics

Saturday, March 2, 2:00 - 3:00 PM
JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles Salon, Level 5
$10

Illustrator/Animator MinoMiyabi will offer comic enthusiasts, emerging manga artists, and doodlers alike, fundamental tutorials on refining character design to enhance the expressiveness and storytelling value of individual characters. This workshop targeted for young adults and aspiring manga artists will help participants elevate the communicative power of their original characters, be they human, plant, animal, or machine, incorporating professional techniques to communicate expressions and feelings.

35mm THE RAID REDEMPTION
Sat, Mar 2, 2019, 11:59 PM
Vista Theatre
4473 Sunset Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90027

$11 – $54

Possibly THE greatest martial arts movie (along with Thailand’s Ong Bak) of the 21st Century. You must see this movie if you want to see an action filmmaker and martial arts star totally explode your assumptions about the limits of what is possible in an action movie.

Kevin Peterson
Wild (Main Room)
Frank Gonzales
Desert Discourse (Project Room)

Opening Reception with the Artist(s): Saturday, March 2, 2019 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Thinkspace Projects

6009 Washington Blvd.

Culver City, CA 90232

Free

Thinkspace is pleased to present new works by Houston-based artist Kevin Peterson in Wild. Peterson, a gifted hyperrealist painter, creates a fictional world in which innocence and collapse are brought into difficult proximity. On view in the Thinkspace project room is Desert Discourse, featuring new works by painter Frank Gonzales. Born in Mesa, Arizona, the artist is currently based in Phoenix and incorporates the desert botanicals and bird specimens native to the surrounding area into his vibrant and detailed paintings.

CicLAvia - Culver City Meets Mar Vista + Palms
Sunday, March 3, 9 AM until 4 PM
Culver City, Mar Vista and Palms
Free

Join us for the first CicLAvia of 2019! On March 3rd Culver City, Mar Vista and Palms will host the country’s largest open streets event! Streets will be closed to cars and open for cyclists, pedestrians, runners and skaters to use as a recreational space.

San Fernando Valley Comic Book Convention
Sunday, March 3, 10am-4pm
11128 Balboa Blvd, Granada Hills, CA 91344
$6

 This small local convention is a nice introductory to the bigger conventions that happen around LA. Don't set your hopes to high, it's like a big indoor swap meet with some cosplay.

6th Annual Stouts n Staches Brew Fest and Pig Roast

Sunday, March 3, 3-8 p.m. 

Clutch Venice, 427 Lincoln Blvd, Venice, CA 90291

$15 in advance for GA $20 week of (access to music, games, access to vendors & more)

$40 in advance  for VIP $50 week of (includes 2 drink tickets, pig roast, whiskey tastings, live music, beard trims and more. Beer and Wine available for purchase.

"Our block-party style event is hosted this year by CLUTCH Venice roadhouse bar/restaurant on Lincoln Blvd in Venice. If you haven't witnessed some of the rare classic cars and bikes that roll through there, or tasted some of their mouthwatering mexi-cali style surf and turf BBQ, never fear because while you are partying with us, they will be pig roasting and BBQ-ing all day long."