What is abl on Cahuenga?

A 35-seat Jamaican Chinese restaurant at 1649 N Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood, run by mother and daughter Barbara and Aja Dawson. It is the second location for a kitchen that started in Little Tokyo.

What is Jamaican Chinese food?

A tradition rather than an invented fusion. Chinese migration to Jamaica goes back to the nineteenth century, and the cooking that came out of it, soy and scotch bonnet in the same pot, developed as its own cuisine.

What should you order at abl?

The oxtail lo mein in jerk teriyaki sauce is the dish that states the thesis. The escovitch whole fried snapper is the other standout. The menu also includes jerk chicken egg rolls, jerk chen pi ji wings and a curry fried rice that reworks Jamaican rice and peas.

What are abl's hours and how do you book?

Dinner runs 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to midnight Friday. Saturday runs 11 a.m. to midnight and Sunday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with weekend brunch from 11 a.m. Closed Monday. Reservations are on Resy. Phone (213) 972-9900.

A Mother and Daughter Are Cooking Jamaican Chinese Food on Cahuenga

3 days ago

2 min read

Aja and Barbara Dawson, a mother and daughter who cook together, run abl, a 35 seat Jamaican Chinese restaurant on Cahuenga Boulevard in Hollywood. It is the second room for a kitchen that started in Little Tokyo.

Two cuisines that already share a history

Jamaican Chinese cooking is not a fusion invented for a menu. Chinese migration to Jamaica goes back to the nineteenth century, and the food that came out of it, the soy and the scotch bonnet in the same pot, is its own tradition. A restaurant built on it in Hollywood is less a mashup than a continuation.

The menu

From the restaurant's own listings:

Oxtail lo mein in a jerk teriyaki sauce
Jerk chicken filled crispy egg rolls
Escovitch whole fried snapper
Jerk chen pi ji wings
Curry fried rice, a reworking of Jamaican rice and peas

Weekend brunch

Honey jerk chicken wings with red velvet waffles
Apple rum French toast
Jerk chicken omelettes
Pineapple coconut French toast

What we have our eye on

The oxtail lo mein is the dish that states the thesis, and it is the first thing we want to order. The escovitch snapper is the second, because a whole fried fish in a 35 seat dining room is a commitment to service as much as to cooking.

Hollywood is filling back in

The blocks around Hollywood and Cahuenga have been adding rooms. Gable opened at the Hollywood Roosevelt with a live fire hearth, Savage Seas is running a tiki tasting on the Fonda Theatre roof, and La Popular brought Mexico City cooking to Ovation Hollywood.

Visiting

abl is at 1649 Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood, CA 90028, just north of Hollywood Boulevard. The phone is (213) 972-9900. Dinner runs Tuesday through Thursday from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to midnight, with weekend brunch starting at 11:00 a.m. Reservations are on Resy, and the restaurant posts updates on Instagram.