Tatak Pilipino, Los Angeles

A trip to Southern California shouldn't be limited to Disneyland and Mann Chinese Theatre. Los Angeles' vast cornucopia of cultures makes it a prime place for the cultural traveler. You may spend a lot of time around yuppy LA types, but you can't -- and shouldn't -- avoid the rest of Southern California's residents who help make LA what it is. Filipinos make up its largest Asian population (as well as the United States' second largest Asian population). You'll see them everywhere, so you might as well drop into Tatak Pilipino and learn more about them. On the first floor, you'll find rattan and wooden furniture, home decor, rosaries, and clothing from its native, Spanish colonial, and American colonial eras. On the second floor, discover what is Filipino pop culture: DVDs and VCDs of exaggerated (often erotic) melodramas and comedies, Filipino tabloids and magazines such as Cosmo Philippines and FHM Philippines. As singing is a well-known Filipno past time, the store also sells the Magic Mic or Magic Sing, a portable Karaoke machine that uses microchips that can hold thousands of songs. The store is a bit out of the way, but it's close enough to Los Feliz Village (home of Griffith Park, Griffith Observatory, and the Greek Theatre) to be worth the side trip. You may also want to try Filipinotown and cities of Carson and Cerritos (20-30 miles south of downtown LA) for authentic Filipino cooking.