Keegan Fong is the Founder of Woon, serving “homestyle Chinese food” in Los Angeles inspired by recipes from “Mama Fong.” It’s a gateway restaurant for those that have both enjoyed Chinese food growing up and for those desiring to explore in depth about Chinese cuisine. Keegan has created a comfortably modern environment minus the stuffiness plus t…

Deau and Joy are the power couple and Co-Founders behind LA's buzziest Thai restaurant, Holy Basil. Both hail from Bangkok, but boast different stories on how their paths eventually converged at the now-closed Chandara as cashier and bartender, respectively. Deau's background was in graphic design and naturally the pair launched a string of pop-ups…

Katy Noochlaor is the Co-Owner and operator of 20+ year Thai street food Tuk Tuk in Sawtelle, robust wine and casual Thai fare Same Same in Silver Lake, and the multigenerational dining institution Chao Krung in Fairfax. We speak on her newly relocated and updated Tuk Tuk as well as the importance in reclaiming Thai food. Hosted + produced by Arnol…

Eric Tjahyadi is a Co-Owner in his family owned Southeast Asian restaurant Bone Kettle in Old Town Pasadena. During the day, Eric is also the VP, Head of Global Ad Sales at Sony Music. He's also a partner in Supa Coffee, a hip-hop themed conceptual café. We touch on creating organizational structure, importance of delegating, and not giving up on w…

Vanda Asapahu is a second generation restaurant owner of Ayara Thai, a Thai institution in Westchester, LA nearing two decades of operation. Family owned and operated in every sense, we dive into the dynamics of working with family, the harmful notion of “cheap Asian food,” and what’s next for the Asapahu family. Hosted + produced by Arnold Byun. C…

Bartender-turned-ice cream shop owner Adrienne Borlongan is the Co-Founder of Wanderlust Creamery — artisanal ice cream inspired by the founders’ feelings of wanderlust, every flavor is a love letter to the places they’ve been, the places they long to visit, and childhood memories. Hosted + produced by Arnold Byun. Cover art illustration by Seohui …

Ria Dolly Barbosa is the Executive Chef and VP of Culinary at Peso Hospitality. Their first restaurant Petite Peso serves thoughtful, comforting Filipino food in DTLA. We chronicle her immigrant experience from the Philippines to running the popular Sqirl to eventually meeting her now business partners through Instagram. Hosted + produced by Arnold…

Rica Leon is the Co-Owner/CEO of Chifa in Eagle Rock, Los Angeles ― a restaurant that features Cantonese, Peruvian, and Taiwanese cooking. Truly a family owned and operated restaurant, it's inspired by Rica's mom Wendy "Popo" who emigrated from Hong Kong to Lima, Peru with her family. Eventually the family made their way stateside landing in Highla…

Justin Pichetrungsi is the second generation owner and operator of Anajak Thai Cuisine in Sherman Oaks. Anajak has been around for multiple decades and one of the first Thai restaurants in the valley. We chat about challenges of multigenerational restaurant ownership in maintaining the older clientele while attaining the new, the expression of Thai…

Lien Ta is the Co-Owner and operator of LA restaurants Here’s Looking at You and All Day Baby. In addition, she’s a Co-Founder of Regarding Her, a national non-profit driven by women restaurateurs on a mission to empower and advance all women identifying food and drink entrepreneurs. Hosted + produced by Arnold Byun. Cover art illustration by Seohu…

Leo Lee is the Co-Owner and Chef of RiceBox in DTLA. A Cantonese BBQ restaurant by definition, Leo's story is anything but orthodox. Starting as a dishwasher in his family restaurant in Mexicali to CIA to Levy Restaurants, Leo finally opened his own with his wife and business partner Lydia. We revisit the early days to surviving through COVID, havi…

Jimin and Sandy are the husband-and-wife duo behind Saikai Ramen Bar in LA’s Koreatown, serving up some of the best bowls you’ll find in the city alongside a LA-inspired rotation of yakitori and appetizers. Hosted + produced by Arnold Byun. Cover art illustration by Seohui Chi. Photography + videography by Calvin Khurniawan. Recorded at 3.1 Phillip…

Tuan Lee is the Co-Founder/CEO of Vervet, farm-to-can sparkling cocktails celebrating the global cultures of LA. Hosted + produced by Arnold Byun. Cover art illustration by Seohui Chi. Photography + videography by Calvin Khurniawan. Recorded at 3.1 Phillip Lim. Follow us on Instagram @withwarmwelcome or visit our website, withwarmwelcome.com.…

Corey Chow is the Chef de Cuisine at Per Se, a 3-Michelin starred restaurant in New York City from Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. Growing up in San Gabriel Valley, Corey spent weekends at his grandparents' where he learned the importance of food and the connection it has to culture. His original path would've had him in education, teaching childre…

Lydia is the Co-Owner of Steep in LA’s Chinatown. We converse on her concept and definition of a “modern tea room,” how they approach tea ceremonies, her trips to China to source directly, the sensation of being tea drunk, and navigating her business through COVID-19.

Jing Gao is the Founder and CEO of Fly By Jing. Gao was born in Chengdu, identifying as Chinese Canadian, has lived in and hopped around a number of countries, and now calls Los Angeles her home. We discuss Gao's reclamation of her birth name, her culinary journey throughout Asia working at P&G and Blackberry, writing for international food publica…

Johnny Lee is the Chef/Owner of Pearl River Deli. Lee is a Los Angeles native whose humble beginnings started at McDonalds to working front of house as a waiter and restaurant manager at a Chinese restaurant in Colorado. His love for the hospitality business grew from these experiences and led him back to LA at the time when food trucks were boomin…

Jenny Dorsey is a bi-coastal chef, food writer, speaker, and social entrepreneur. Dorsey owns Studio ATAO, a nonprofit community think tank that creates content and experiences at the intersection of food, art and social impact. She started her career as a management consultant in the fashion industry but discovered her true calling in culinary art…

David Kuo is Chef/Owner of Little Fatty, a Taiwanese soul food restaurant located in Mar Vista, California. A California native whose passion for cooking and food was influenced by his family's traditional cooking as well as watching Food Network & Iron Chef growing up. Kuo spent some time in real estate before following his dream of owning a resta…

Ryan Wong is Chef/Owner of Needle, a Cantonese restaurant in Silver Lake, California. He’s got a chef’s conviction to carry on his Hong Kong heritage. Formerly a substitute teacher moonlighting as a guitarist in a rock-alt band, to washing dishes at a Sheraton Hotel, to finally cooking food he has connections to.…

Keizo Shimamoto is living the ramen dream — from the first Tokyo-style shoyu ramen as a picky eater, trying over 600 bowls of ramen in a year while running his ramen blog, to becoming a first-time business owner with a viral food sensation that was the ramen burger. Keizo's had quite a career; he's paid his dues in the original Ivan Ramen and Bassa…

A story of how two Asian-American friends who sat in the back of their Calculus class birthed the idea of an Asian-American craft hard seltzer and launched in the middle of a global pandemic. Lunar is the first and only Asian-American craft hard seltzer. Born and raised in NYC, their seltzers are made from premium, authentic Asian ingredients sourc…

Matthew runs all business-related matters at Sey Coffee, a specialty coffee roaster based out in Brooklyn. Originally a dentist, Matthew has developed a newfound passion for coffee and has paved his own path in becoming involved in the most talked about coffee roasteries in the US.

Kyungmoon is a certified Master Sommelier and a CIA graduate who began his career at Jungsik, a 2-Michelin starred Korean restaurant in Seoul and NYC. Now, he aims to showcase and share the wide variety of sool (Korean alcoholic beverages) it has to offer through his own importing company. Where to find his imported K-Sool here: https://www.wooriso…

Alice is a Korean-American producing her own makgeolli in her very own brewery out in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. We touch exclusively on how she’s cultivated such an interest and admiration for makgeolli and how right now is the perfect time to introduce the beverage. Website: https://www.hanamakgeolli.com…