Jack Kerouac said that in Los Angeles “the smog was heavy, my eyes were weeping from it, the sun was hot, the air stank.” That blue eyed, hunky alcoholic wouldn't last a cigarette break in our gray city. But yeah, LA and Beijing in the dark, messy days of industrialization, you know? Whatever, let's segue into some tacos! Palms made a massive splash at their original hutong location and their on-trend Korean/Mexican by way of America hybrid food truck concept. Many accolades later, they've expanded to a space six times larger, out of the hutongs into the jungles of Sanyuanqiao. It's an impressive space, with ample outdoor seating for this already sweaty summer. The place itself is bright and airy in the daytime, and dimly lit with minimal design at night. Concrete & wood & Edison bulbs & you know the deal. Generic, unobtrusive, Instagram style photographs of, like, palm trees and people jumping on the beach are scattered throughout with bubblegum pop clamoring from the speakers. Nothing David Hockney about this LA. The bar has a neon sign in a sexy, cobalt sans serif. Its doing a bang up job trying not to offend anyone. Inclusive. <3 Alright girls, let's get a drink. <3 My personal preference is for cocktails that are downed in bitter, meaty, alcoholic glugs and Palms is absolutely the opposite spectrum. Mostly refreshing, light, sweet options. One drink has a straight up, goddamn Twizzler candy in it. Okay, okay, let's go for it... First round, I imbibed the “just nutty” (45rmb) from their new Just Soju collection. Soju, malibu, yakult and toasted coconut combine to create this saccharine, pale, suntan lotion-y vibe. I pawned it off after a few sips in to a friend in exchange for his deliciously tart and hair-on-your-chest strong tamarind margarita (45rmb). Round two included a Santa Monica (45RMB), which is basically a taller, lighter passion fruit caipirinha. Also had Palm's signature yerba mate infused vodka El Imigrante (45RMB). It's inexplicably served in a champagne flute. Refreshing, but the sour mix & Sprite overly tame that green tea-esque herbal bite. Food, to soak it all up. We surveyed the soft opening preview menu, with many of their old favorites present and a few new, mostly healthy, options. Do the family dining thing and happily snack away as a group, sharing-is-caring style. The miso hot dog (45 RMB) is a Maillard reaction explosion of caramelized onion, miso, Japanese mayo, avocado and browned sausage in a garlic roll. Damnnnnn. Umami makes other very welcome appearances in the kimchi and cheese spring rolls (32 RMB) and the Korean fried chicken (42 RMB) Scarf-able stoner food, bro. Allay the guilt of all those fried empty calories with a chicken kale salad (48rmb). This is something a 2015 secretary would tuck into along with a Coca-Cola light. Simple, delicious grilled chicken and healthy veggies with a satay-like peanut dressing. I especially enjoyed the light and healthy grilled fish tacos (42rmb) with a tangy, spicy habanero gochujang sauce. A couple of minor quibbles. Authenticity isn't everything, but the empanadas (32rmb) don't relate to any I grew up with in Miami. They had a strangely unwelcome dill flavor and were under-salted. Also found the pale, thin dulce de leche in the panqueques (30rmb) to be closer to condensed milk in flavor and texture. * The Take-Away: So, Palms. They run a tight ship. Food is hard to fault. Great service, serviceable drinks. It's what you loved at the original location, but larger and more ambitious. Totally recommended, blue skies or heavy smog. *** Palms L.A. Kitchen is at 102, Bldg D, Yuanyang Xinganxian, 66 Xiaguang Xili.