Grainivore: A Tiny Singaporean Join in Koreatown

The name Grainivore certainly doesn't sound like a Singaporean restaurant and who knows why they decided to open up in Koreatown, but there it was. Grainivore is a tiny joint (there is extra seating in a back room, which is connected by an alleyway) serving up combo Singaporean meals on paper plates.

You first choose between steamed rice, chicken rice, or coconut rice. Then, there are four protein choices: Hainan chicken, barbecue pork, shrimp paste chicken, and beef rendang. All the combos are $6.99 except beef rendang costs $2 extra.

The place closes at 8pm and when I came around 7pm they were out of the pork and Hainan chicken, so I ordered the beef rendang on coconut rice. All the combos come with a salad with peanut dressing.

The rendang was already shredded for you, which seems unusual but it does make for easier eating. The flavors of the rendang was actually quite good - better than some Indonesian restaurants - and it naturally was well complemented by the coconut rice.

We also tried the Shrimp Paste Chicken on chicken rice.

The shrimp paste flavor was pretty strong (that's a good thing!) and the chicken was appropriately all dark meat and was tender. The chicken rice came with a side of ginger sauce. I thought the rice was good but the sauce itself is not as good as Savoy or Nong's.

Though I wish they would expand their menu to include rarer items, I did enjoy the dishes we tried at Grainivore. The flavors were right on and the prices are pretty cheap, making this a good place for a quick lunch or early dinner.

Grainivore
974 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006
(323) 734-2455