"Firstborn feels like a breath of fresh air for Chinatown—ambitious but not stuffy, inventive but not over-the-top, and casual enough to pop in at the bar after a Dodger game. The nods to Chinese cuisine on the menu are rarely literal, and the best dishes treat tradition as a loose starting point: chilled mapo tofu as a base for smoky steak tartare, cumin lamb as a thick saddle cut in sichuan peppercorn jus, and savory egg custard bulked up with soft bay scallops. The green-tiled space inside Mandarin Plaza exudes a polished cool, and the impressive cocktails—like the mandarin negroni or paloma with Sichuan peppercorn—are just as creative as the food." - sylvio martins, brant cox, cathy park