Bryant Ng, the celebrated chef recognized for his impactful contributions to the culinary scene with previous establishments Cassia in Santa Monica and Spice Table in Little Tokyo, is poised to continue his family’s rich tradition of Chinese American gastronomy with the opening of his new restaurant, Jade Rabbit, this summer in Santa Monica.
From a lineage of Chinese American restaurateurs, Ng carries the legacy of his maternal grandparents, who managed the bustling Bali Hai in Culver City during the 1950s and 1960s, a time when Polynesian and Cantonese dishes were all the rage in tiki culture.
Ng’s upbringing in the restaurant world includes formative experiences working in Wok Way, the Northridge restaurant owned by his parents, where he started by washing dishes and peeling shrimp.
“I grew up in that restaurant,” Ng recalls, which has inspired his latest venture aimed at revamping Chinese American cuisine.
With the opening of Jade Rabbit, Ng is joining a vibrant surge of Chinese American eateries that are capturing the attention of diners in Los Angeles.
Restaurants such as 88 Club in Beverly Hills, Firstborn in Chinatown, and Men & Beasts in Echo Park are at the forefront of this movement.
These establishments draw from traditional Chinese dishes while blending contemporary flavors and techniques, thereby reinventing the culinary landscape that has evolved significantly over the past two centuries.
No longer confined to the past favorites like egg foo yong and chop suey, modern interpretations include creative offerings like bite-sized sweet and sour sweetbread nuggets at Firstborn and vegan Cantonese barbecued pork buns presented as monkey bread at Men & Beasts.
This contemporary Chinese American culinary scene in Los Angeles has deep historical roots.
The journey of Chinese food in the United States began nearly as soon as the country itself, with the first Chinese restaurant surfacing in 1849 in San Francisco as a result of the Gold Rush.
However, the expansion of Chinese restaurants throughout America didn’t occur until the mid-20th century, hindered by sinophobia and restrictive Chinese exclusion laws.
The significant transformations in the latter half of the 20th century, particularly post-1965, allowed for a true representation of Chinese tastes in American cuisine as immigration laws shifted to permit the arrival of Chinese immigrants from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China.
This policy contributed directly to the development of Los Angeles’s thriving regional Chinese food culture, which initially took root in Monterey Park before spreading throughout the San Gabriel Valley and beyond.
Today, this dynamic landscape is propelled largely by Asian American chefs and restaurateurs who refuse to be limited by traditional definitions of authenticity and instead embrace innovation—a concept strongly echoed in Ng’s outlook.
Ng notes, “Look at this huge history—200 years of Chinese and Chinese Americans creating this food out of necessity, hard work, and entrepreneurship, and creating something that is a type of regional Chinese cuisine.
The region that influences it is America.”
Much of this culinary evolution is made possible by an audience eager to explore and support such innovation, with the diverse population of Los Angeles forming a unique backdrop for this chapter in Chinese American culinary history.
As restaurateur Mei Lin, who launched the upscale 88 Club, remarks, “The LA diner is very curious. They’re not afraid to try something new.
I’m always willing to put something weird on the menu, whether or not it’s weird to them.”
Lin’s menu includes unexpected offerings like a cold tofu skin salad, drawing inspiration from a Michelin-recognized establishment while also featuring classic Chinese American favorites like kung pao scallops and sweet and sour fish.
This melding of the traditional with the innovative is further visible in the work of Anthony Wang at Firstborn, who openly expresses his initial fears about being categorized as ‘authentic’ before realizing the importance of storytelling through food.
His menu encompasses a blend of personal culinary memories alongside favorites from San Gabriel Valley, as Wang emphasizes creating dishes that provide a deeper narrative than typical Chinese American staples.
“We wanted to cook from a place that told a story of where we were and give our guests a feeling of time and place,” he explains, highlighting the importance of seasonal and local ingredients in his creations.
Lin, too, shares a similar journey, noting how a trip to her ancestral homeland of Taishan in southern China made her embrace her culinary roots and translate that into her restaurant at 88 Club.
Under her leadership, the focus remains on progressive interpretations of Chinese cuisine, promoting a family-style dining experience while serving dishes inspired by her upbringing.
As she explains, “I don’t call anything I do traditional.
It’s a modern Chinese restaurant located in Beverly Hills serving dishes inspired by my childhood and my upbringing.”
Furthering this narrative of innovation, Men & Beasts, which opened its doors in June, offers a largely vegan menu that reflects a modern take on traditional Chinese dishes through plant-based proteins.
Co-owned by Alex Falco and Huimin “Minty” Zhu, the couple brings their own cultural background to the menu, blending Hunan province influences with creative interpretations that resonate with contemporary diners.
Their whimsical take on familiar dishes includes “monkey buns,” combining elements of monkey bread with barbecued pork buns, alongside innovative tea pairings.
Sharing the same spirit as Ng’s Jade Rabbit, Men & Beasts aims to create an inviting and accessible environment for patrons while honoring their culinary heritage.
Ng’s vision for Jade Rabbit incorporates affordability alongside creativity, with meals priced between $12 and $20 to ensure they are approachable for everyday diners.
Despite the fast-casual setup reminiscent of chains like Panda Express, Ng emphasizes the culinary quality and innovative approaches that redefine Chinese American cuisine.
One particular dish, a beef and broccoli stir-fry, takes inspiration from Chinese Peruvian lomo saltado, incorporating ingredients like fried potatoes for a fresh twist.
In Ng’s words, “It’s an ode to our brethren’s diaspora culture in Peru.
A celebration of all the diaspora together in one dish.
What could be more American than that?”
Further bridging cultural influences, Jade Rabbit also features a kale salad, visually akin to tabbouleh but distinctly flavored to underscore its Chinese American roots.
This combination of kale, cabbage, scallions, quinoa, and roasted cashews is designed for easy sharing, emphasizing the connection between familiar western dishes and traditional Chinese flavors.
The notion of Chinese American cuisine has always revolved around adaptability and connectivity, and the new wave of restaurants in Los Angeles exemplifies this thrift and innovation.
As Ng reflects on the evolving restaurant scene, he takes pride in the emergence of chefs and restaurants that are reflective of the modern Asian American experience.
“It’s heartening to see now, in this particular moment, that we are very much taking pride in who we are and accepting—acknowledging—our cross-cultural identities,” he concludes, suggesting that the culinary landscape is not just about food but also about identity and storytelling.
image source from：la
