Weekly Welcome

Naemo is a Korean pop-up in LA from our Founder and Co-Host Arnold Byun and his chef-partner Ki Kim. We touch on their origin story, their insecurities of working in Japanese and other Michelin starred restaurants to what prompted them to push on with this project. Follow Naemo on Instagram at @naemo.la. Takeout only via Tock: www.exploretock.com/naemo. 

Co-Hosts Arnold Byun and Ben Hon wrap up 2020 as they recount moments and memories — from hosting pop-ups, a press trip to Australia/New Zealand early on to finding themselves in LA. 

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 children; however, a transformative time in Alan Wong's restaurant In Hawaii soon changed the course of his career. In a decade, he rose the ranks of Per Se from a Commis to Chef de Cuisine and now even as a co-author of The French Laundry, Per Se cookbook, available at the Finesse Store here. Follow Corey Chow at @coreydchow and Per Se at @perseny.

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.

We change things up as Co-Host Ben turns the tables and Arnold becomes a Guest on the show for this Off Menu episode. He answers the question he's come to dread: "Hey, How's LA?" We talk about life in LA: transitioning during the pandemic, endless errands, Arnold's upbringing, and how he became involved in restaurants.

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 publications while exploring Chinese cuisine more deeply, to filming Eddie Huang's Fresh Off the Boat and Bizzare Foods with Andrew Zimmerman. Her a-ha moment finally presented itself at a natural food expo which led to the creation of her dream CPG company. With Fly By Jing, she continues unapologetically turn biases on its head, driving exposure and understanding of the depth and breadth of Chinese cuisine and culture.

In the first-ever segment of OFF MENU; we announce our new co-host Ben Hon (@stuffbeneats). Ben is a restaurant kid at heart; worked in finance and is now a food photographer (and influencer). I hosted him before as a guest on the podcast and have since became fast friends. We decided to create a corner where we converse on industry news and happenings. Today, we check in on each other and speak on the role of a food influencer in the current state of restaurants. - Arnold 

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 booming. We fast-forward to Lee running the kitchens at Sticky Rice and Alvin Cailan's Eggslut in Grand Central Market before finally creating his own pop-up; which was so successful at the peak of the pandemic that it evolved into his brick and mortar restaurant located in the Far East Plaza in Chinatown. Lee also shares with us his dream of having a sustainable restaurant.

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 arts after taking a sabbatical to explore food interests. We dig into her backstory and discuss topics like the need to exercise creative muscle, hospitality being based off of a slave labor society, white and asian fragility, changing the food narrative, and much more.

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 restaurant, but it didn't come easy; as he refers to it as the school of hard knocks. Through these experiences he was able to glean insights into successfully running a restaurant business among other food related ventures.