Weekly Welcome

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, having a baby during these tumultuous times and how they've continued to put family and employees first and foremost.

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.

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 Lim. Follow us on Instagram @withwarmwelcome or visit our website, withwarmwelcome.com.

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. 

With Warm Welcome team members (and our favorite couple) Sean Wang and Izzy Chen join Off Menu to talk about our newsletter, aptly named Soundbites. It's a monthly newsletter, delivered to your inbox for free! Featuring the latest and greatest happenings within the Asian American culinary scene, as well as all of the cool things the With Warm Welcome team has been up to. Sign up and learn more about it at withwarmwelcome.com/soundbites.

Co-Hosts Arnold and Ben return for another episode and share their thoughts on Los Angeles opening up on June 15th and New York City opening up on July 1st respectively, along with what they've been up to in the previous two months. 

.Timestamps:

Resources: Learn more about our Co-Hosts Arnold and Ben, Arnold Byun's episode here. Ben Hon's episode here.

Founder & Host Arnold Byun chats with our in-house resident baker/Bakers Box project lead Stephanie Loo and our on-the-ground correspondent and collaborator Anna Desai about all things Bakers Box. References: Stephanie Loo's piece on ICE's blog here. More information about the Bakers Box is available on our website. Follow Stephanie Loo's baking journey at @stephanieloobakes and Anna Desai's celebration of Asian culture and eats via her Instagram @wouldyoulikesomethingtoeat.

Arnold, Ben & Esther dive into their top best meals over the last few weeks, what defines fine dining, excitement for indoor dining, vaccine cards, our upcoming and very exciting project NY Bakers Box fundraiser, and more.

On this week's episode of Off Menu, we talk about going from zero to 100 over the past two weeks of Arnold's visit to New York, how Arnold actually met Ben 7 years ago, which coast is the best coast, it's now or never, tears of love and happiness, the importance of community, and more.

The WWW trio (Ben Hon, Arnold Byun, Esther Cho) returns for hot takes on identity, their respective Asian American experiences growing up, their thoughts on the current spike of anti-Asian sentiments and rhetoric, as well as what's in plan for WWW 2.0.

For today's episode of Off Menu, we have a new guest join in on the conversation, Esther Cho (@estherbcho) WWW's Creative Director. We talk about first impressions, a controversial food discussion, call for contributors, and how we see the WWW organization evolving.