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Los Angeles’ fine dining scene is being redefined by chefs blending Asian culture with Michelin-star experiences.

Los Angeles is one of the world’s most diverse food capitals and that diversity is reflected in its increase in Michelin-star restaurants, many of which are run by Asian chefs. These five Michelin star restaurants are blending cultural heritage with modern culinary craft.

Restaurant Ki is a Korean tasting-menu concept led by chef Ki Kim and is one of the newer additions to the Michelin guide. Kim pushes the boundaries of Korean fine dining and offers a chef’s tasting experience for $285 and a $190 beverage pairing worthy for any special occasion. Restaurant Ki received its first Michelin star in 2025, highlighting the beginning of global recognition for Korean cuisine in Los Angeles.

West LA’s Mori Nozomi has gained attention for its traditional Edomae technique during their exquisite $250 omakase experience. Chef Nozomi Mori serves each dish with traditional Osaka-style flair, featuring carefully sourced seafood that is flown in from Japan. Mori Nozomi earned its first Michelin star in 2025 and since then has proved itself as one of the city’s top destinations for authentic omakase dining.

Another favorite in Downtown LA is Orsa & Winston, a Japanese-Italian concept developed by Chef Josef Centeno. Orsa & Winston features a daily-changing tasting menu with wide-ranging flavors and earned its first Michelin star in 2019. From there, Centeno has maintained this status and was even named L.A. Times restaurant of the year in 2020.

Next is the omakase-style restaurant Hayato, which is run by Chef Brandon Go. Also located in Downtown Los Angeles, this intimate, seven seat kaiseki gem serves an extended tasting menu of wild seafood starting at $450 per person. Go’s precision and technique has earned Hayato its first Michelin star in 2019 and was later awarded two Michelin stars in 2022 and has held its status since.

Finally, Kato is one of the most celebrated Taiwanese-inspired restaurants in the Los Angeles Area. It first started as a small tasting-menu restaurant before relocating to Downtown LA for a bigger space. Led by Chef Jon Yao, Kato received its first one Michelin star in 2019 and continued to gain recognition from there. In 2023, the restaurant earned two Michelin stars, making it one of the highest rated Taiwanese-inspired spots in the country.

With SEC Championship in hand, the star PG has found his form just in time for Florida’s national title defense.

Senior point guard Xaivian Lee is cementing his legacy in the collegiate ranks with the defending national champion Florida Gators.  The 6’4” Toronto native has played a pivotal role for the #5 ranked team, leading them to an SEC championship.

The Gators strengthened their case for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament by finishing the regular season on an eleven-game winning streak.

This year Lee is averaging 11.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 4.2 rebounds per game.  While those numbers reflect a key contributor on a championship contender, his transition to Gainesville wasn’t without friction early.

During his first six games in a Gator uniform, Lee endured a notable shooting slump uncharacteristically taking more field goal attempts than points scored in each contest.  This stretch sparked questions about how the Ivy League standout would adjust to the physicality of the SEC, but “X” found his rhythm as conference play intensified.  He earned SEC Player of the Week honors after dominant back-to-back performances in February, which included a 22-point game in a win over rival Kentucky.

Lee’s journey to the Swamp began at Princeton, where he was a two-time First-team All-Ivy League selection.  Last season he became the first player in Tigers history to record a triple double.  His freshman campaign he was part of Princeton’s Cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen – the farthest they have advanced in over 50 years.

A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, Lee has also made his mark on the international stage.  Representing the Canadian national team at the 2023 FIBA U-19 World Cup, he led the roster with 14 points per game.

Off the court, the Korean Canadian has taken advantage of NIL opportunities.  This past offseason, he signed a $6 million brand partnership with Serious Player Only, which comes complete with a future signature shoe.

While his transfer to a high-major program hasn’t yet provided the expected boost to his NBA draft stock, the lucrative NIL deal has made the move worthwhile.  

Lee now enters the postseason with the potential to skyrocket his professional outlook by performing under the bright lights of the NCAA tournament.

Once known for his viral antics, Joji has transformed into an R&B hitmaker with four Top 5 albums.

After a four-year hiatus, in February musical artist Joji released his highly anticipated fourth studio album, Piss in the Wind.  The gritty electronica lead single “Pixelated Kisses” helped propel the album to number 5 on the US Billboard 200.

The former internet provocateur has transformed into an alternative R&B mainstay affirmed by a monthly Spotify audience of over 30 million.

Joji’ present musical rebranding was anchored with the 2018 breakout single “Slow Dancing in the Dark.”  The melancholic lo-fi track has been streamed over 2 billion times and was certified 5x Platinum.

The song served as the centerpiece for his debut studio album, BALLADS 1, propelling his rise into the global mainstream.  The project made history as the first album by an Asian-born artist to top the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

Joji followed with 2020’s Nectar, which reached number 3 on the Billboard 200. The album featured the cinematic alt rock track “Run,” and the atmospheric lead single “Sanctuary,” further cementing his signature production style.

In 2022, he achieved his highest chart position to date with the piano ballad “Glimpse of Us,” which peaked at number 8 in the U.S.  The 2x Platinum single led his third album, SMITHEREENS, which continued his streak of Top 5 debuts on the Billboard 200.

Before his transition into a serious musical powerhouse, Joji was a seminal figure in early internet culture.  Under the moniker Pink Guy, he released satirical hip-hop projects including the 2017 album Pink Season.  His YouTube origins on “The Filthy Frank Show” became legendary for shock-comedy and surrealist humor.  He is widely credited with popularizing the “Harlem Shake” trend in 2013, a viral social media moment the fundamentally changed how Billboard factored YouTube views into its charting data.

The 33-year-old was born George Kusunoki Miller in Osaka, Japan and raised in Kobe.  He is of Japanese and Australian descent and moved to the United States at age 18 to pursue his career in the arts.

Sakura Novi in Oakland County serves Asian culture and community to Michigan's fast-growing Asian population.

Most people don’t expect to find an interesting Asian district coming to life just outside of Detroit, Michigan, but a community called Sakura Novi is changing that. In Novi, Michigan, the state’s very first Asian-inspired development is bringing restaurants, retail and housing all to one walkable district influenced by iconic Asian cities.

The location itself is special, sitting in Oakland County, which ranks as the second wealthiest county in Michigan among counties with populations over 1 million. This area has been attracting development companies and professionals from different industries for years, which has helped drive an increase in the county’s Asian population. In the last decade Oakland County’s Asian demographic has grown by 2.9 percentage points and in 2025, Oakland County also had the highest Asian population in the state, reporting around 8.3%.

The clear growth of the Asian community in Michigan sparked the idea of Sakura Novi in 2016 when developers began discussing a project initially referred to as an “Asian Village”. Groundbreak finally began in 2020 after investors Phil Kim and Robert B. Aikens & Associates decided to start with 118 residential townhomes. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the development of Sakura Novi came to a pause, and didn’t pick up major construction again until October 2023.

Two years later, Sakura Novi celebrated its official opening date in October 2025. Today the district contains a plethora of dining and retail experiences along with lifestyle services like a hair salon, spa, and over 15,000 square feet of office space all surrounded by Asian-inspired gardens.

Many of the businesses that are already open are Asian concepts such as arcade destination Klawsome, all-you-can-eat Wagyu beef at Chubby Cattle, and delicious drinks at Cloud Boba with more expected to open this year.

Sakura Novi is representing a huge shift happening in the midwest as Asian communities continue to grow. Developments like this are showing exactly how culture and community can come together all in one place and what was once just an idea for an “Asian Village” is now one of the most promising districts in Michigan.

Allowing Congress to set the amount of money the government can print each year would eliminate the high cost of filing tax forms and collecting taxes while avoiding the annual budget approval melodrama.

Tom Kagy (00:01)

Now here's an idea that I had written in an essay that was published in TransPacific Magazine a few decades ago. If you are one of those people who enjoys filling out 1040s every year, if you really get off on the bookkeeping aspect of that, or if you're a small business owner that loves doing your taxes, your bookkeeping every year, or maybe if you're a bookkeeper or an accountant who profits mostly off of tax season, you'll probably hate this and you probably don't want to listen any further.

But if you're like me and you hate doing 1040s, you hate dealing with the entire tax system, then you might like the idea of a virtual tax. Now, what is a virtual tax? Rather than having the government collect a certain percentage of everybody's money, a virtual tax would be where the government simply prints the money that it needs. Of course, the more astute among you may be screaming, well, that's going to cause crazy inflation. Well, we already have crazy inflation all over the world. And it's not getting any better. Our budget deficits keep getting bigger. Nothing is being done to correct it.

One way we can correct it is by taking into account the fact that the government is necessary and that it has to spend a certain amount of money to perform its necessary functions. Once you accept that, then you accept that there will be a certain amount of inflation because the government is adding to the burden, adding to the cost of everything. It's just a necessary surcharge to the cost of existing as a safe, controlled society. It's the cost of having roads, airports, police officers. So how would a virtual tax work? Well, right now, the federal government prints money. It prints essentially whatever it needs.

Now when the government needs something and it doesn't have the cash, it gets the Federal Reserve to create it. Okay, this is a process they call, quote, monetizing the debt, where you essentially are quietly transferring purchasing power from every person in our society who holds any dollars to the government, which does the printing.

Naturally, this causes some inflation and obviously having virtual taxes will not change that.

So what are the advantages of having a virtual tax system? Well, first of all, you save probably somewhere in the order of $100 billion, maybe $150 billion a year in administering the tax system, all the different taxes that are collected by the government, income taxes, corporate taxes, inheritance taxes, tariffs.

That costs a lot of money and that effort can totally be done away with under a virtual tax system. And then of course there's an additional probably two or three hundred more billion dollars wasted in the form of bookkeepers, accountants, individuals wasting their productive time filling out tax forms, lawyers arguing about taxes.

So essentially right now we're spending, I would say somewhere around minimum of $600 billion a year just because we have a non-virtual paper tax system. Now that is what, 2 % of our GDP essentially. So we're basically just wasting 2 % of our GDP on just the process of having non-virtual taxes. And of course,

then there's the other, I would imagine probably 15 to 17 percent that is going toward various government expenditures. Okay, so and this is all currently covered by, partly by the paper tax collection system and partly by the government simply printing the additional money that it doesn't have. Now imagine if we did away with all of that and we simply settled on a figure.

that are Congress people, which is what they're elected to decide are necessary federal expenditures. They would settle on one number. And once that's done, there would be no argument about it. There wouldn't be any annual budget to the melodrama that we have every year of trying to get annual budgets approved, which in itself is very wasteful. And it actually interferes with economic activity because

A lot of people don't know what they should be doing when the government is closed or they don't know ⁓ when the government reopened. They can't do any planning. We kind of have a little bit of that going on right now. Our airports are backlogged in the security checks because TSA is not funded anymore. So a lot of these TSA agents are being asked to work for free because we simply haven't finished out the budget approval process.

And of course, a lot of them aren't going to show up. They'd rather stay home or go work on their side gigs. So we have these three hour, three and a half hour airport lines. That's just a tiny, tiny symptom of insisting on having a paper tax system in an age when we have the capability easily to have a virtual tax system. OK, now.

The annual budget drama being dispensed with is only one advantage. The other advantages are that there will be absolutely total control over inflation. Right now, we don't have total control because it's not possible to control the total amount of money that ultimately ends up getting printed to make sure our government continues functioning. But under a virtual system,

We can print a certain amount of money if we end up needing more than the amount that was approved to print. We have to take that into account in the next year and deduct that amount from the total amount of money that Congress feels should be printed the next year. The bottom line is we have a system that is frictionless. It doesn't cause disruptions. Everybody knows, everybody understands.

that society is paying for it in the form of inflation. What's also great is it's not regressive, like some aspects of our current tax system. In other words, if you're a rich guy or rich girl who is ⁓ making millions every year, well, you're going to be paying a much higher price because all of your dollars are going to be taxed more simply because

the inflation will proportionately take a bigger bite out of what you've earned. If you're a poor person who has no money, takes nothing from you. In fact, if anything, this system would probably require there to be some sort of government transfer to low-income households to help them enjoy a certain amount of ⁓ economic security, which is what we have now anyways, although it's very, very inefficient and…

Obviously, as even Donald Trump pointed out, it's open to some abuses. So anyways, that's my idea for the day. It's unconventional, but I think it's a great idea. I'm baffled that Congress didn't jump all over it when I first wrote the essay back in, I think, in 1991. So you can help the United States of America become a rational modern society.

by writing a little note, go to your congressperson's page and write a little note saying, we've got to go to a virtual system so you morons don't keep screwing over society every year with your stupid budget battles. Thank you very much. Until next time, this is Tom Kagee for unconventional wisdom on Gold Sea podcasts.

The first Asian American president of USC has unveiled an ambitious vision for the university centered on life-saving research and a "PICOF" framework for integrity.

Beong-Soo Kim was named the 13th president of the University of Southern California on February 4th, 2026, following his tenure as interim leader since July 2025.

Just days after the official announcement, Kim delivered his first State of the University address, where he laid out an ambitious vision rooted in both ethical governance and scientific breakthroughs.  Central to this plan is the Keck School of Medicine, through which USC boldly promises to develop cures for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, blindness, and cancer.  

Emphasizing a sense of urgency Kim noted during the address, “If we’re not running, we’re falling behind.”

To manage this massive initiative, Kim introduced the acronym PICOF – Partnership, Innovation, Collaboration, Operational Excellence, and Focus – as the framework for how he intends to run USC.  He has paired these traditional values with a modern focus on technology, specifically through the formation of a university-wide AI Strategy Committee designed to navigate the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence in academia.

Furthermore, Kim sees USC’s setting in Los Angeles as an engine for global branding.  He highlighted a trifecta of upcoming major events – this year’s FIFA World Cup, next year’s Super Bowl, and the 2028 Olympic Games – as catalysts for the university.

The 53-year-old’s professional background is a blend of public service and legal practice.  Before joining USC as Senior Vice President and General Counsel in 2020, Kim spent six years at Kaiser Permanente as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel and served as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California from 2005 to 2014.

His connection to the university is generational, making his appointment a full-circle moment.  Raised in Woodland Hills, he is the son of Korean immigrants who both pursued graduate studies at USC.  His mother earned a master’s in education from the school in 1970 and his father completed doctoral coursework in economics there.

Kim graduated magna cum laude from Harvard in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in social studies, earned a Political Theory master of science from the London School of Economics the following year, and received his JD from Harvard Law School in 1999.

Take a closer look at how tuition costs and enrollment fees in the United States compare with those in China.

College is one of the biggest investments young adults make, but the cost of tuition rates significantly impact who enrolls in university and where. In the United States, high tuition rates often force students to take out loans, making them a leading factor in attending, but in China, lower university fees help make higher education more accessible to more people.

In the United States, tuition varies depending on which school you pick. Data from College Board estimated the average tuition fees for the 2024-2025 academic year to be about $11,950 for in-state students and $31,880 for out-of-state students at four-year public universities. College Board also estimates tuition fees to be around $45,000 per year for students attending private nonprofit universities.

These numbers only reflect the school’s tuition and fees, but when housing and living costs are added in, the total annual price of attending college in the United States can cost $30,000 to $60,000 every year. Due to these high costs, many Americans rely on financial aid and student loans to attend college. The Federal Reserve has also reported that student loan debt in the U.S. has grown to over $1.7 trillion.

In China, the university system looks much different when it comes to the price. The annual tuition at Chinese universities ranges from ¥5,000 to ¥10,000 RMB per year, which is around $700 to $1,400 USD. China’s government policies were designed to increase access to higher education in order to grow its workforce.

While tuition is lower, admission into Chinese universities is highly competitive. Every year, millions of students take the Gaokao, a standardized test that determines if they are fit for university and exactly which institutions they qualify for.

Despite the competition, China’s overall college enrollment is massive compared to the U.S. According to the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China, over 44 million students are enrolled in universities, while the National Center for Education Statistics says 19 million students in the United States are attending college.

Both countries offer exceptional and influential higher education systems, but they certainly indicate different priorities. The U.S. offers academic pathways at a higher cost, while China is focused on lower fees, but more intense competition. These differences show how national priorities can shape the way for students around the world who are pursuing a higher education.

Priscilla Tsai turned her personal frustrations into a plant-based company that would help consumers feel more confident in their skin.

When Priscilla Tsai realized that effective skincare shouldn’t be overpriced and confusing, she created cocokind, a natural and affordable skincare brand making its way into major retailers across the U.S.

Priscilla was born and raised in Michigan with her Taiwanese American family. Throughout her childhood, her parents ran a Chinese restaurant, so Priscilla always knew how much hard work and discipline it took to run a small business. She attended The Wharton School at the University of Michigan where she graduated in 2009 with a BSE in Finance, Accounting. After graduation, Priscilla found success in the corporate world. She began working in investment banking and private equity at K2 Advisors in 2009 and at J.P. Morgan in 2011, covering food manufacturing and food retail stocks.

During this time, Priscilla was struggling with her own skincare issues and felt the industry was flooded with expensive products and hard-to-read ingredients lists, so in 2014 she decided to create her own brand. Priscilla started researching products and working closely with cosmetic chemists in order to create her very first lineup of plant-based skincare.

In 2015 she officially launched cocokind with seven products all made with formulas built around coconut oil and other “superfood” ingredients that had been experimented with while trying to fix her own skin concerns. Everything was priced under $25 and cocokind quickly gained a large following, especially amongst younger consumers.

By the late 2010s, cocokind secured deals with both Target and Ulta, placing them in thousands of locations, which completely skyrocketed the brand’s sales. Under Priscilla’s leadership, cocokind has also been recognized by Forbes and multiple products have been a part of Allure’s Best of Beauty Awards. Cocokind’s direct e-commerce store alone generated $4.1 million in online sales in 2024 and many estimates place their total annual revenue at around $14 million.

Priscilla Tsai set out on a personal mission to simplify skincare, but came back with cocokind, a multi-million dollar brand that combines affordability and conscious beauty that's making natural skincare accessible to everyone.

Brothers Andrew and David Fung won YouTube fans by depicting Asian Americans are our most awkward.

During the internet’s early days, there were very few Asian American YouTubers, but two brothers from Washington were able to become pioneers in content that blended culture and social commentary for global audiences.

This is Andrew and David Fung or better known as the Fung Bros. They were born in Kent, Washington in a Chinese American household, but after they both graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle, they decided to move to Los Angeles, settling in Koreatown. While in school, the brothers were also experimenting in video content, so heading to LA was the first step in chasing their dreams.

The Fung Bros’ YouTube channel was launched in 2013 and became a place where they posted videos about immigrant experiences, Asian culture, and growing up Asian in America. Their videos resonated with many Asian viewers because the topics the Fung Bros discussed were rarely talked about online and in real life. Some of their early viral posts focused on Asian owned restaurants and street food, introducing the world to different cuisines.

Their platform continued to grow and the brothers began making videos that highlighted Asian American stereotypes, gender differences, and just overall the influence of Asian culture in the United States. The Fung Bros are able to combine humor and education in their series’ which helps generate well-performing videos as well as a loyal YouTube audience.

Over the years, the Fung Bros’ channel has accumulated over 400 million combined views and over 2.2 million subscribers, establishing the duo as some of the earliest successful Asian American creators in the YouTube game. Beyond the platform, the Fung Bros also have collaborated with major media outlets and made appearances at cultural festivals and events that are centered around Asian American representation.

The Fung Bros are still uploading regularly to their YouTube channel and have expanded their brand into a podcast that helps shape conversations revolving around Asian American identity. Besides being entertainers, Andrew and David Fung have also become cultural commentators for the community, proving that cultural storytelling can amplify the Asian American experience.

With Sinners earning a record-breaking 16 Academy Award nods, Autumn Durald Arkapaw could become the first woman to win Best Cinematography.

Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw has solidified her status as a visual powerhouse with her work on the horror thriller Sinners.  Released in March 2025 to critical acclaim, the film has been nominated for a record setting 16 Academy Awards including Best Cinematography.  Already the first woman of color to be nominated, Durald Arkapaw now could become the first woman in the Academy’s history to win the category.

Drawn to the film’s Mississippi Delta 1930’s setting, Durald Arkapaw drew visual inspiration from childhood trips to visit her grandparents in New Orleans.  To ground the film in a visceral, period-accurate reality, she drew from Eudora Welty’s archival book of photographs to achieve the rich, shadowy textures that define the project’s visual language.  Durald Arkapaw operated the camera with director Ryan Coogler stationed right beside her – a starkly intimate contrast to the multi-camera digital environment of their first collaboration on the Black Panther sequel.

Released in 2022 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever stands as the most commercially successful project that she has captured, grossing over $859 million at the global box office.  The film featured sophisticated lighting and the introduction of a distinct, anamorphic look to the franchise.

Durald Arkapaw became a household name for her work on the first season of the 2021 TV series Loki.  Inspired by Blade Runner, Se7en, and Zodiac she crafted high-concept sci-fi visuals that earned two Emmy nominations.

In 2013, she broke through with the indie darling Palo Alto, directed by Gia Coppola.  She also partnered with Coppola on 2020’s Mainstream and 2024’s The Last Showgirl.

Her filmography extends to commercials including Nike’s “Play New” campaign and music videos for Rihanna and the Jonas Brothers.

The 46-year-old refined her style at the American Film Institute Conservatory, earning a Cinematography MFA in 2009.  In 2002 she earned a bachelor’s in art history from LMU.  The Bay area native is of Filipino descent.