I’ve been to Smorgasburg in Downtown Los Angeles a few times and have had little difficulty in finding something delicious to eat. The weekly pop up that began in New York City has found space at ROW DTLA, opening its doors every Sunday morning and closing just before evening. With a handful of food vendors, there’s a small chance that a visitor will leave disappointed. The only struggle I’ve encountered has been deciding which line to stand in. On a fairly recent visit, that struggle was eliminated prior to stepping foot on the five-acre location since I already knew where I was going to eat: Bolo.

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Founded by Tsz Chan and Joey Ngoy, the two have come together to serve Asian fried chicken and ice cream in popular sweet pineapple buns from Hong Kong known as bolo bao. Fried chicken, ice cream, and bread? Looks like this just turned into The Sound of Music because those are a few of my favorite things.

Standing in line, I didn’t need much time to figure out what I wanted to order. I decided to go with their most popular dishes. First was the Fried Chicken Sando ($11.50) followed by their Ube Bae Ice Cream Sando ($7.50). A toasted bolo bun wrapped around a moist breast of Jidori chicken that was submerged underneath their Cantonese slaw and drizzled with a garlic aioli. The meat was fresh as you would expect, but what made it so mesmerizing was the seasoning across it. The recipe that they won’t disclose for any reason is what makes the chicken so delicious. I won’t even attempt to guess what’s in it, but whatever it is, I wish they would bottle it so I could have it at home. Put it on my chicken, sprinkle it in my morning coffee, whatever I want to do I’d love to have the seasoning at home. Not to be forgotten, the juicy slaw with the creamy aioli brought the entire sandwich together underneath the soft buns that tasted unlike any other. It was delicious, but it’s important to know that it can quickly become a mess. My suggestion, grab plenty of napkins and only eat it around people you truly consider friends because they won’t be embarrassed by you.

For dessert was the ube sando. The same toasted bolo in the jidori chicken sandwich was now gently pressed against the purple ice cream with sprinkles. The sweet ice cream that has popped up throughout Los Angeles was probably most unique here at Bolo in between their signature buns. Bites of the warm and buttered buns as they enveloped the sweet ice cream with nostalgic sprinkles that make you feel like a kid was perfect. The biggest mess of all, the dessert is the second item you have to have when visiting Bolo.

The sandwich and ice cream served at Bolo are two of my favorites on their menu and are the two reasons I suggest you check them out now. I think they do a great job at taking a traditional item from Hong Kong and intensifying the deliciousness of it all. I honestly, doubt it can get any better. However if one day I happen to see them add some “crisp apple strudel” inside one of their buns, there’s a chance you just might catch me with a blonde mushroom haircut spinning in a circle on a hill.  “Is that Julie Andrews?” Nope, that’s just Danielle losing her mind over food.

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Address: Smorgasurg LA – 785 Bay Street Los Angeles, CA 90021
Phone: N/A
Hours: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Social: Website, Facebook, and Instagram.