Red Hot Kitchen

Today was one of my coworkers' birthdays, and on days such as these we all usually order out. My coworker wanted to order from Red Hot Kitchen, an Asian-Mexican fusion restaurant nearby. She recommended the kalbi (Korean barbecued short ribs) chimichanga (Mexican fried burrito).

First off, holy crap! That's a lot of food! Each of those four pieces pictured were absolutely massive. I'm a big guy, and I can eat a lot, but I couldn't finish this chimichanga. I managed to eat three of the sections, and even then I overate. So now we know it's generous, but what did it taste like?

If you've had kalbi (or read my earlier parenthetical), then you know it's barbequed short ribs marinated in a sweet soy-sauce base. Short ribs have a little bit of fatty goodness, and on which Red Hot Kitchen didn't skimp. There was also white rice which was also lightly drenched with the marinade, kimchi, and some sweet refried bean mixture. This was topped with cheese, spicy mayonnaise, and hot sauce. That might seem like a strange combination, but it all worked well together. Think of it like fried mushu pork, which is similarly sweet and also wrapped with veggies inside. While it was sweet, it wasn't dessert-sweet, more like Korean barbecue sweet. And it was also decently spicy, enough so that people who have trouble with spicy foods should probably ask for the spicy mayonnaise and hot sauce on the side. It was strange how well the spicy mayo worked with everything, and how the sweetness didn't clash with the cheese.

If there was one thing I could complain about, the chimichanga was a heart-stopper. I could feel my arteries clogging and my heart working harder to keep me alive. Of course I didn't have to eat that third piece.

If the kalbi chimichanga was any indication, Red Hot Kitchen is definitely worth revisiting as their menu has plenty more offerings, all of which sound enticing. Perhaps next time I'll try their Korean BBQ burger with sweet potato fries, or their Teriyaki Torta.

Red Hot Kitchen
4625 Valley Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90032
(323) 222-6900

Some other notes about Red Hot Kitchen:
- 1 out of 7 on my mess-o-meter. Use a fork.
- 7 out of 10 on my spice-o-meter. It's pretty spicy.
- Not only was the food good, not only was the portion generous, but it's incredibly cheap. The chimichanga will only set you back about $6. You're practically robbing the place!