Chinatown has a lot of great food, but one of my favorite restaurants there is Chego. Located on the first floor of the Far East Plaza, Chego serves up rice bowls packed with flavors inspired by different Asian cuisine. The small restaurant has limited seating (about a dozen bar chairs along the perimeter of the restaurant and a few picnic tables set up outside), but they make up for their small space with a lot of character. The only options for parking are street parking (so bring quarters) or paid parking lots (so bring cash).

This time, I opted for the Chubby Pork Belly Bowl and the Ooey Gooey Fries. The Chubby Pork Belly Bowl is filled with rice, greens, cotija cheese, pickled radishes, a fried egg, and, of course, pork belly. The pork belly was perfectly cooked and overall my favorite part of both dishes.

The Ooey Gooey fries were also amazingly delicious, but seriously rich. My favorite part of the fries were the whole pickled pieces of garlic, I could eat an entire basket of just that. The fries are also covered in a sour cream, Monterey jack, cheddar cheese, and cotija cheese blend, which is what makes it so rich. The serving sizes are very generous, so it’s not a bad idea to share, or plan on bringing some home.

Chego now has a second location in Culver City.

727 North Broadway, #117

Los Angeles, CA 90012

eatchego.com