The Best Dishes Eater Editors Ate This Year in Los Angeles, 2025 | Eater LA

"Most often, getting an elegant fish maw dish might require a Cantonese banquet but Jon Yao has a pulse on presenting upscale Chinese flavors to a new audience at Kato. Yao served a tight six-course menu (for a special event announcing the inaugural North America’s 50 Best Restaurants), which ran through some of his greatest hits served in years past. This chawanmushi blended elements of yudu geng, a classic fish and crab soup topped here with a pearlescent mound of caviar. A bit of Chinese black vinegar came on the side to bring a profound tang to the otherwise savory bowl. Other dishes were delightful, including wood-roasted quail and Yao’s timeless oil-crisped rock cod. Still, I’d rather eat an entire sharing bowl of this fish maw soup. — Matthew Kang, correspondent, Eater" - Matthew Kang