Eater Inside: La Défence

Here, with our fancy new photo gallery, is La Défence, the Euro-Asian-karaoke spot that opened in the most unlikely of places---what we affectionately call the Wilshire Twin Towers, the white structures fronted by a pigeon-filled fountain on Wilshire Boulevard, catty-corner to the Aroma Center, just a block east of the Wiltern Theatre. Why so specific: You'd never find it otherwise. There are no signs (yet), and you can't see it from the street. Located on the ground-floor of the east building, the dining room at La Défence is meant to look "French villa," but the outside-inside ambience looks more like the Vegas Strip than Koreatown. Chef Yuji Iwasa was exec chef at Koi, so far-fetched combinations like penne "carbonara" with uni cream sauce make sense; more recognizable dishes like miso black cod and sushi are on the menu, too. A high point: 17 private karaoke rooms that hold two to 25 people (and cost $30-$70 per hour, with drink minimums or bottle service). We're not sure if sounds of bad karaoking waft into the dining room, but this place is already a cacophany of ideas; it probably blends right in.