It was our first time visiting Los Angeles, and we had so much fun exploring the city! I’m currently writing this itinerary a few years later from when I went, so feel free to watch the vlog for more details!
TRANSPORTATION:
We purchased a “TAP card” at the metro to ride the subway station.
ACCOMMODATION:
We stayed at The LINE Hotel in Korea Town. It was a bit more on the pricey side, but the comfort and aesthetic was worth it for a one time experience. The food around the area was also SOOO delicious! I love how they cook the meat for you at the Korean BBQ restaurants! They don’t do that back in Toronto haha. Overall, we had a really great time and can’t wait to be back again someday!
LOS ANGELES – FOUR DAY ITINERARY: AT A GLANCE
Day 1: Halal Guys, KBBQ @ Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong, Dessert @ Snow Monster, Lacma, Beverly hills
Day 2: Lunch @ Hangari Kalguksu, City Walk, Universal Studios, Dinner @ Hae Jang Chon
Day 3: Lunch @ Cassell’s Hamburger, Lake Hollywood Park, Madame Tussauds, Drips & Swirls
Day 4: Lunch @ Bubba Gump, Santa Monica Pier, NEXON Office Tour
DAY ONE:
EAT LUNCH AT HALAL GUYS
After arriving in Los Angeles and checking into our hotel, we grabbed lunch at Halal Guys nearby! This is a really famous franchise for delicious chicken and gyro platters.
HAVE KOREAN BARBEQUE FOR DINNER @ KANG HO DONG BAEKJEONG
Since we were staying around Koreatown in Los Angeles, we ate a lot of Korean food during our stay! Korean cuisine is one of my favourites though, so I was really happy to try so many different restaurants!
GRAB DESSERT @ SNOW MONSTER
Nearby Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong was a dessert store called Snow Monster! I got an oreo cookie sandwich with red velvet ice cream which was pretty good. Their milk tea also came in these really cute light bulb bottle designs!
Note: They’ve rebranded to “Mini Monster Cafe” now.
VISIT LACMA
Once we finished grabbing food, we made our way to the famous LACMA to take some touristy photos. The lights looked beautiful at night!
DRIVE THROUGH BEVERLY HILLS
After visiting LACMA, we decided to drive through Beverly Hills just to experience what an expensive neighbourhood was like. We drove up a hill to see the different houses, and then made a stop at the top to take in the city skyline!
DAY TWO:
EAT KOREAN FOOD @ HANGARI KALGUKSU
We started the day off with some homey Korean food! This was hands-down the best Korean noodle soup I’ve ever tasted! It was my first time trying a kalguksu dish and I was super impressed. The spicy pork dish with rice was also so fresh and flavourful. I highly recommend trying this restaurant when you’re in LA!
TAKE A STROLL AROUND THE CITY WALK
After lunch, we explored an avenue of shops near Universal Studios that’s perfect for finding souvenirs!
ENJOY YOURSELF @ UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
After doing some quick souvenir shopping at the City Walk, we spent the rest of the day at Universal Studios! My favourite attraction was the Studio Tour because I’m also in the film industry and love seeing behind-the-scenes work. I find it really cool and educational! I also chased down Spongebob for a picture haha.
EAT DINNER @ HAE JANG CHON
After a long day at the amusement park, we made our way back to Koreatown for dinner. Hae Jang Choon was a highly recommended Korean restaurant online, so we decided to check it out. There was a queue when we got there, but it was worth the wait!
DAY THREE:
Lunch @ Cassell’s Hamburger
For lunch, we decided to switch it up and eat some Western food. I ordered a grilled hamburger and some fries on the side! From what I remember, it was good, but nothing super impressive haha.
Visit the Hollywood Sign at Lake Hollywood Park
If you’re in LA, you definitely have to take a picture at the iconic Hollywood sign! Griffith Observatory is recommended as the best place to view the sign. I forget why we didn’t go there (maybe it was too costly or we didn’t want to hike), but we decided to uber to Lake Hollywood Park instead!
Take Photos with Celebrities @ Madame Tussauds Hollywood
Madame Tussauds is famous for wax figures of popular celebrities! We had a lot of fun visiting this tourist attraction, and it’s also a great opportunity to take some photos with some of your favourite talents.
Eat Soft Serve Ice Cream @ Drips & Swirls
Drips & Swirls is a soft serve dessert place that my friend recommended to me because it was related to David So (a comedy YouTuber). I decided to check it out because I’m a fan of his work, and was really happy I got to try it out because apparently this store is now permanently closed. I had the charcoal-flavoured ice cream with crispy rice and enjoyed it!
TREAT YOURSELF FOR DINNER @ THE COMMISSARY
For dinner, we ate inside at a restaurant inside the Line Hotel. It was located in a greenhouse, and the experience was well worth it! I had some streak and a strawberry cheesecake!
DAY FOUR:
EAT LUNCH @ BUBBA GUMP
After watching Forrest Gump, I knew I wanted to try out the Bubba Gump restaurant! They had some delicious seafood dishes here and the environment was a joy to be in.
RELAX @ THE SANTA MONICA PIER
The Santa Monica Pier is a popular beach where you can relax and enjoy the warm weather. It’s peaceful being able to just watch the waves and slow down life.
NEXON OFFICE TOUR
After visiting the beach, we actually visited the NEXON office where the community manager of MapleStory (Arwoo) gave me an office tour. We also filmed a fun video doing a MapleStory music quiz and interview!
If you got this far, thank you so much for reading my blog post and I hope it helps you plan your next trip to LA!
