I love to eat. As soon as I know that I'm going on a trip, I start researching restaurants. After spending 10 days in southern California, it's only fitting that my first blog post about it focus on what we ate. It's also fitting that my first weekday back from the trip was spent in the gym.

My daughters and I spent the last week and a half in LA suburbs, the southern part of the Pacific Coast Highway and Anaheim. We, by no means, tried all of the top restaurants and there were specific ones that I wish had been more convenient for us to try (I'm talking about you, Republique). Our Airbnb was in Chinatown so we mainly looked for food options near it or where we were going to be each day. Here are our five favorite food experiences.

1. Din Tai Fung

I could've predicted this choice before the trip. We discovered Din Tai Fung when researching for our trip to Seattle last summer and immediately added it to our LA list when we decided we were going there for spring break. Din Tai Fung is a dumpling chain started in Taiwan and now has locations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, United Arab Emirates with eleven locations in the U.S. (all in CA and WA). They've been named one of the top 10 restaurants in the world by The New York Times and are winners of one Michelin star. Pork Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) are their specialty and with good reason. All dumplings are made by hand, on-site and to exact, almost scientific standards. They're steamed in just three minutes and delivered pipping hot to your table.

We've eaten more baskets of the pork Xiaolongbao in two visits than should be allowed for three small girls. They're not only delicious, but also beautiful and delicate like a piece of art. We've also tried the chicken Xiaolongbao (my youngest daughter's personal favorite), potstickers and steamed broccoli with garlic which are all amazing. We're looking forward to hitting all five Thailand locations of Din Tai Fung this summer.

2. Pitchoun

Pitchoun is a French bakery and restaurant located in downtown Los Angeles across the street from Pershing Square. I discovered it on Trip Advisor when looking for food options for our downtown day of sightseeing. Even though it looked good online and in reviews, Pitchoun exceeded our expectations. From the woman who took our order in a heavy French accent to the cafe tables out front, this restaurant is authentically French. Because we went in the morning, not to mention the fact that we have a sweet tooth and wanted to try everything, we ordered a Matcha pastry, raspberry beignet, Nutella beignet, Nutella crepes, chocolate croissant, fried eggs (forcing a little protein) , coffee and white peach nectar. Every single thing that we ate was perfection. I was initially skeptical of the beignets since they had been sitting out for display, but even they were as delicious as if they'd been freshly fried to order. All ingredients, including the raspberry filling were fresh and homemade. My daughters and I all rated Pitchoun in our top 3 restaurants. I was so obsessed with the food that I didn't take a single photo of the restaurant itself. Trust me when I say that it was just as charming and perfect as the food.

3. Moonshadows

My uncle served as our Malibu tour guide and had made dinner reservations for us at this upscale restaurant for 20 minutes before sunset. We sat outside on the deck in a covered booth overlooking the water. Moonshadows sits over the water's edge so you see and hear the ocean splashing beneath you while you eat. Add to that, a gorgeous sunset, delicious food and friendly, accommodating staff and you've got a meal that you'll remember for a lifetime. I ate the burrata cheese appetizer with heirloom tomatoes and balsamic reduction and the creamiest, most delicious pumpkin ravioli I've ever had while my daughters had sweet Maine lobster caesar salad and pasta with tomato sauce.

4. Little Damage

My daughter Lucy found Little Damage soft-serve ice cream on Instagram a couple of months ago and asked if could go. She had me at ice cream. Luckily, the shop is downtown and fit perfectly with our schedule. With black soft-serve ice cream and active charcoal cones, we knew it'd make for fun pictures, but weren't sure how it'd taste. As it turns out, charcoal waffle cones are REALLY, really good! We sampled all four of the daily ice cream flavors and all decided on a combination of unicorn tears (birthday cake flavor) and Nutella which actually didn't taste like Nutella. The ice cream was incredibly smooth and creamy and the cones were like a cookie themselves. The store has two neon signs which make great photo backgrounds and there's a free photo booth where you can email Little Damage-branded photos to yourself.

5. In-N-Out Burger

Shocking top five pick, right? To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything more than Burger King or Whataburger quality. I knew the history of In-N-Out Burger and know that it's a California fast food staple with locations in a handful of other states, but I've never heard anyone talk about the burgers themselves. Because it was my first time there, I felt like I should have the go-to double-double burger (two meat patties with two cheese slices). The edges of the bun were perfectly crispy, the two meat patties were an ideal thickness, the vegetables were fresh and crispy, and the special sauce mixed with everything else created a juicy perfection. I'm not especially a big burger fan, but I'd eat them more often if I had an In-N-Out nearby.

Others Worth Mentioning

Winsome

This hip, but understated restaurant was less than a mile from our house. We grabbed pastries and coffee here to go one day and went back another day for a full breakfast. The standout item for both me and my oldest daughter was the matcha concha (pictured). If I rated individual items that I ate on our trip, this pastry would be tied with the pork dumplings at Din Tai Fung (gasp!). It had some kind of delicious crunchy crust on the outside and sweet bread on the inside. I've only ever had matcha in tea and didn't think it was anything special. This one little pastry has changed my mind forever and is the only reason I gave the matcha pastry at Pichoun a try (it was great, but this one is better!).

The Ivy

If you don't already know, The Ivy is a famous LA restaurant where producers and celebrities go. My daughters and I went for breakfast on a Saturday before most celebrities wake up, so it wasn't crowded. Even without a celebrity sighting, the experience of eating here is worth the money. Every table, shelf and counter in the restaurant is laden with colorful roses from the owner's home garden. Coffee is served in mugs the size of soup bowls, they offer "free" champagne and the staff treats everyone like they're someone famous.

Sprinkles

This wasn't the first time we've had Sprinkles cupcakes, but their cupcake ATM never gets old and the cupcakes are always delicious. They now have 25 locations in 9 states. We've tried pretty much every flavor, but seem to fall back on our favorites of chocolate marshmallow and dark chocolate.

Duke's Malibu

Duke Kahanamoku is a surfing legend from the early 1900's and an Olympic swimmer. This restaurant chain bearing his name has locations in Hawaii and California. I've eaten at the Kaua'i location and my youngest daughter wants to go when we're in Hawaii next year. When my uncle mentioned Duke's in Malibu, we had to make a visit even if just for an afternoon snack of Korean sticky ribs, crab wontons, chicken fingers...and a pina colada. The decor has a Polynesian feel and the view is spectacular considering the restaurant sits near the edge of the water like most places in Malibu.