$3.5 Million invested and here’s the result! Following two years of renovations and a $3.5 million investment, Prime Hot Potopened on Thursday, February 8 in Tustin at the District, one of Orange County’s largest outdoor shopping centers. The 11,000-square-foot space seats up to 200 diners across the main dining room and five private areas. This is the first U.S. location of the luxury hot pot chain that originated in Sichuan, China. Arthur Zhang, the restaurateur of the ambitious Chinese restaurant Array 36 in the San Gabriel Valley, is behind the new opening. To get all the behind the scenes ..read more

Happy Lunar New Year! My annual Lunar New Year guide is up. Here’s what you need to know about the holiday and where to get the special dishes you need to ring in the new year on the right foot! The Lunar New Year — also known as Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, Tet Nguyen Dan, and Seollal — falls on February 10 this year and is celebrated by millions of people around the world, including those in China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, and here in Los Angeles. Since food is the cornerstone of Lunar New Year celebrations, we’ve rounded up some of the ..read more

Did you catch me on KCRW’s Good Food this past weekend? If you didn’t, here’s the link to listen! Click here to check it out ..read more

Hi all! I’ve been working on a series with Eater for the past few months and I’m so happy to share that it’s finally out! This is the first on its kind in depth look at the world and culture of boba. Boba is such a Asian-American cultural phenomenon so I was so excited to do a deep dive into the subject. I hope you’ll take a look! There’s a total of 5 pieces in the series ..read more

Thank you Smosh/Mythical for organizing and having me on such an amazing food and media panel reflecting on Asian identity and culture for #aapiheritagemonth! #aapi It was an honor to be amongst such great company @oliviasui, @humberto, @popowendy, @gastronomyblog, @andywangnyla, @ayaravanda, @lutherchen ..read more

A big thank you to Fairmont Hotels for inviting me to join their esteemed travel media panel alongside fellow travel experts. The discussions offered invaluable insights into the current landscape of travel and what the upcoming year may hold for the world of exploration. I got to spend some time at the Sofitel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills after the event and check out their new lounge called AYA. What a great event ..read more

Best friends Shelly Lin and Carmen Seetho met in the U.S. after immigrating from Indonesia and Singapore, respectively. Lin and Seetho, along with their families, had always wanted to open a food and drink business that could share their cultural foods and drinks. After many trips to Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, and other countries for research, the duo was inspired to bring the Asian coconut trend to the States. This has by far been my favorite opening in Los Angeles this year. Both Shelly and Carmen are the sweetest humans and their food and drinks are amazing. In addition to mak ..read more

I updated Eater LA’s annual list of Best Chinese Restaurants in LA. Click here to read it. Did your favorite make the list? Los Angeles’s tremendous Chinese food scene keeps getting better and better. In addition to the stronghold of regional offerings in the San Gabriel Valley, there are a good number of Chinese restaurants spread across the city — including Cantonese barbecue Downtown, pan-seared dumplings in Hollywood, and much more. There’s no better time to be tucking into a bowl of hand-pulled noodles or a steamy tray of soup-filled dumplings in the Southland. Here now, are 24 of the es ..read more

It’s always so much fun to be back. on KTLA! Thanks for hanging out with me! If you missed my segment, you can watch the whole thing here! Happy National Boba Day! Happy Boba Day ..read more

I was invited to get a sneak peek at Gram Cafe before they opened to the public. It was so interesting getting a behind the scenes look at all the work that goes into making the famous pancakes! Gram’s souffle pancakes are a cross between pancakes and a French souffle. They taste lighter than a traditional pancake and have a custard-like texture. The Monterey Park location currently offers the original pancake, along with flavors such as durian, matcha, and strawberry. More offerings will be added in the future. The process for making the souffle pancakes is labor-intensive. The batter is mad ..read more