My LA to Z: Sandra Oh

The Grey’s Anatomy alum will star in the animated film Window Horses, currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo until December 6. Here she talks Korean cold noodles, finding old Hollywood, and a hidden restaurant inside of a Travelodge

Dove’s Bodies

I have been working out with Dove for—I’m not joking—about 16 years. Most of the people in the group I work out with I’ve known for about 10 to 15 years. It’s such a loyal following. I was working on Arli$$, and Michael Boatman told me he went to this class, and I was just like, “Okay, I’ll do it!” Dove has this amazing combination of being slightly scary, like taskmaster scary, and very loving. She’s a fantastic teacher. Her classes are variations of circuit training, but she is now also a wonderful yoga teacher. We meditate in class and it’s great. It’s definitely one of my favorite places, and I try to go at least two times a week.

The Corner Place

The reason why I love going there, particularly in the summertime, is for their cold noodles. They guard their recipe. There is a classic Korean cold noodle called naeng-myun, but they do theirs in a very specific way—almost in a white milky broth. It’s delicious and a wonderful, savory thing to have. The Koreans love their savory. I started going to that place when I first moved. It has a good array of all kinds of Korean food, but they have a very specific cold noodle.

HK Market on Beverly & Western

Although there are a lot of Korean grocery stores, the reason why I like this market is because it brings up such a wonderful memory for me. It’s like the feeling of going shopping with my mom and getting a treat in the process. At the very back of this specific market there’s a stand where you can get a doughnut in the shape of a goldfish. It’s called goldfish bread. You have this sweet bean paste inside the dough. It’s a hot, bready, sweet bean bun.

The Hollywood Bowl

The last show I saw there was the Pixies, and I went with a large group of 20 or so friends. We got together and we all had a picnic across the street from the Hollywood Bowl. We got there, had such a great time, and then we all walked over and sat in the nosebleed seats. It was great. I go to the Hollywood Bowl all the time. It’s just so classic. I also remember a Wilco concert two years ago, and they were singing “California Stars” under a full moon.

Metro Café

The Metro Café is inside a Travelodge. One of my best friends, John, introduced me to it, and I only go there with him. We know the owner and we have our own table. I think part of their food has a Serbian flavor behind it. I order the same two things all the time—I like this sandwich called ćevapčići. The people who run it are very, very nice and I love that it’s this fantastic gem inside a Travelodge.

Mitsuwa Marketplace

It’s a Japanese market, but they have an amazing food court that I always go to—also with my friend John! I like doing some grocery shopping and grabbing a drink at the store and going to the food court and eating there. It’s a lively place. You can buy massagers, rice cookers, and even Asian beauty products.

Silver Lake Resevoir

It’s a wonderful walk and very, very local. This is the walk/jog/workout that many, many local residents do. It’s all flat, so it’s not challenging. Within the past couple of years they opened up one side this beautiful, small meadow. The Silver Lake Reservoir has these wonderful green spaces that are not very common in L.A. When you do find a green space and it’s set in a beautiful location, it’s precious. At the reservoir, you have a party with a group of toddlers chasing balloons, a group of people doing their marital arts training, a group of people working out, and group of kids playing with kites. You don’t really see and experience that in L.A., a place where people are coming just to chill out. I go at least once a week and it’s great at all times of the day. It’s also very, very pro dog with a giant dog park.

Hancock Park

It’s like Old Hollywood. What I mean by that is that most of these houses are ginormous, but they are old. It’s a beautiful, wonderful neighborhood with very wide streets and sidewalks on both sides. What I like doing is walking around and looking at the houses—it’s very, very calming. It’s great during the evening when I want to have a peaceful walk. I walk and think, “Oh! Look at that mansion, how lovely!”

Froma on Melrose

This is such a go-to place when I’m out and about in West Hollywood. It’s a little shop with a wonderful wine selection. They make everything fresh, and they have delicious sandwiches and salads. It’s a great place to go and pick up supplies before you got to the Hollywood Bowl because they will make a picnic for you. My favorite sandwich is the Alpine.

To support the funding of Window Horses, visit the film’s Indiegogo campaign page.

Photograph courtesy: (2) The Corner Place (3) Yelp; (5) Metro Café L.A. (6) Mitsuwa Marketplace (8) Wikipedia (9) Froma On Melrose; All other photographs courtesy facebook.com.

Source: Los Angeles Magazine