Typhoon @ Santa Monica Airport

www.typhoon-restaurant.com


Picture taken outside of the Santa Monica Airport


Wall of Mugs inside the restaurant


Taiwanese Sausages w/Raw Garlic & Cucumbers


Interesting menu choices!

After a long day of work, it was nice to be out in the city with some good company. M, S, & I decided to go to Typhoon, a trendy Asian fusion restaurant on the west side. Located in the Santa Monica Airport, it's on the second floor of an administrative building - a somewhat difficult place to find unless you knew where to drive. Luckily, I was a passenger.

A first-timer at Typhoon, I was surprised to see the crowds of people at the restaurant on a Tuesday evening. As soon as we walked in the door, the maitre d welcomed us and immediately recognized my friend S. We were seated right away at a charming little table overlooking the planes on the runway. There was a lot of chatter in the open spaced restaurant, with a couple of large parties celebrating a birthday and an eighth grade graduation. Columns were covered with pilots' licenses, a map doubled as a mirror behind the bar, and photos of planes and their pilots lined the walls.

Since we were all in our "just put the food in front of us" zone, we ordered a number of dishes to share family style:
- Taiwanese Sausages w/Raw Garlic & Cucumbers which is still with me a day later - great mix of complementary flavors and textures;
- Cha-Gio-Chay - hot deep fried Vietnamese vegetable spring rolls wrapped in cool crisp romaine lettuce with cilantro, bean sprouts, and sliced carrots (definitely my favorite of the night);
- Filipino fried squid with a pepper-garlic-vinegar sauce - not very different from the calamari I've had at other restaurants, although the sauce was unique with its Asian influence;
- Chicken Adobo; Mongolian Beef; and Stir-fried asparagus - all of which were tasty and reminiscent of home cooking.

The total bill was around $80 and included a couple of soft drinks. I was lucky that S was well-known at the restaurant, and several items were left off the bill (such as our extra large bowl of white rice and my Onikoroshi Sake). Overall, Typhoon was an epicurean delight. Great eats with great people in a great city.

Typhoon
Street: 3221 Donald Douglas Loop South @ the Santa Monica Airport
T: 310.390.6565