The L.A. Times details the genesis of some of Southern California's favorite Hong Kong–style coffee shops, places that serve a mish-mash of dishes: "escargot, Russian borscht, Spam-topped noodle soup, German-style pork knuckle, French toast, Chinese chow fun and a panoply of Italian-style pastas re-imagined for Asian palates."

Seems these hotspots took a long and winding march to the L.A. area. First, Russians fled to Shanghai after the Bolsheviks came to power. There, they set up cafes, which had a nice go of it till '49, when the Communists took over. They scurried to Hong Kong, where the mix of HK residents, mainland Chinese, and British spawned a unique type of establishment, one that gave many Hong Kong residents their first taste of Western food while at the same time taking on aspects of the Chinese culture at large. And then, of course, they made the jump across the Pacific. A guide to Hong Kong–style coffee shops in SoCal.

Related: The Comfort Food of Hong Kong [IHT]