Our friends, Casey and Ally, from Canyon Coffee came over to hang out and chat for their Morning Rituals series. It’s always an honor to be able to work with people we admire. Casey and Ally built Canyon from the ground up and it’s been inspiring to watch them grow. They set us up with our coffee program at Woon and can’t wait to bring it back once we open for lunch again! Click below to read the interview about what drives me as a business owner, and a member of the Los Angeles business scene. All photos by our talented friend and photographer, Justin Chung.
Press
FLOYD: Lived In
FLOYD is a Detroit-based furniture brand that makes furniture for keeping. They recently sat down with us to talk design and inspiration behind Woon for their ‘Lived In’ series - stories for being at home. We’re so excited to be using their new outdoor furniture collection on our patio.
Bon Appétit Magazine
Thank you to Bon Appetit Magazine and Mariella Rudi for sharing part of our story with the world. It’s been a wild week and an even wilder past 2+ years!! Thanks to Mama Fong for opening up about her life. Check out her Woon socks in the photo 😍. Thanks to Jacob Cummings for the amazing photos as always. Lastly, thanks to our entire community and staff for the continued support to keep us kicking this long.
KCRW Good Food "In The Weeds"
Thank you to KCRW Good Food for having us on their segment “In The Weeds”. It was pretty surreal hearing Evan Kleinman’s voice on the other line. And pretty funny Mama Fong and I were talking about each other in separate rooms. It was like a free therapy session where we didn’t have to speak face to face. My mom and I have listened to Good Food for years, so it’s a real honor to be on it. If you missed today’s segment you can listen to it on their website, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your pods.
LA Clippers x Woon
We partnered with the LA Clippers and their “Write the Story” campaign which highlights the stories of small businesses in Los Angeles. For the month of May we are offering a LA Clippers Special which includes the choice of 2 mains, 2 sides and a 6 pack of Taiwan Classic beer for $50. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me. It’s available online for Pick Up & Delivery! Thanks to the Clippers for taking the time to reach out to little guys like us in such a big city like LA!!
'Our Place' Instagram Live
Mama Fong and I did an Instagram Live walk through with everyone’s favorite pan company, Our Place. We made one of my favorites, the Soy Veggie Wraps, which used to be on the menu, but are not anymore. Hopefully we can bring them back soon!
Mama's Way in LA Times
Thank you Stephanie Breijo for chatting with me about Mama’s Way and putting it in the LA Times!!! As I told her briefly, Mama Fong had us add white vinegar and chili garlic sauce to her noodles growing up. I’m still not sure why she chose white vinegar instead of red, dark or rice vinegar, but this sensation stuck with my sister and I. The acidity of white vinegar cuts through the savory noodles while balancing the spice from the chili garlic. In our pop up days we would provide squirt bottles of both on our Woon cart. Michael Chen coined it the genius “Mama’s Way” which we added to the chalkboard instructions on how to eat the noodles. Once we opened up the brick and mortar shop we also provided both squirt bottles on each table.
When COVID hit, we were running into issues of using way too many to go containers for the vinegar and chili garlic. So, we formulated a proportion and blended them together. By blending it we discovered the chopped chili’s actually intensified the spice and it created the perfect consistency to put into bottles and add to all types of foods. I go through bottles of it at home and use it every day on eggs, pizza, tamales, etc.
You can now purchase the bottles (with label artwork by the one and only Ty Williams) on our online shop at woonkitchen.com and a few retailers in the US including Wine & Eggs (Los Angeles), Sara’s Market (Los Angeles), Sight Glass (Los Angeles), Queens (San Francisco), Wellspent Market (Portland), Local Foods (Texas), and Your Other Left Ear (New York)
Our Sous Chef, Jackson, has also been experimenting with a lacto-fermented version of Mama’s Way which turned out really tasty. However, the first batch got dropped in the walk-in and exploded all over Brian Wok Legend’s eyes which resulted in me pouring coconut milk in his eye balls. So, the next batch of lacto-fermented might not be for sale for a while...
Skip The Repeat Podcast
Listen to a conversation With Kai Talim on Skip the Repeat - a podcast that explores the mindset and journey of creatives, entrepreneurs, and dreamers who reinvented themselves.
This episode begins with a reflection on what has been happening in this country in the wake of the murders in Atlanta and the sharp increase in hate crimes against Asian people.
“Recently, I’ve been lost as to what to put out into the world as a content creator. That’s why I’m grateful for today’s guest, Keegan Fong, owner of Woon in Los Angeles - we open our conversation reflecting on the murders in Atlanta and the things we’re going through as part of the Asian community. None of this is meant to be a solution to the heartbreaking racism and soul-shattering hate crimes but what mattered most to me when I thought about what I could do at this moment, was having an honest conversation with fellow Asians, holding space to safely talk about what we’re feeling, and to hear and learn about their cultures through their stories - to speak up, to show the fantastic human being behind a beloved Chinese restaurant, and to experience the humanity of his Chinese American story.” - Kai Talim
Available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube
Banks Journal • Journal Jams
We recently caught up with our friends at Japanese / Australian clothing label - Banks Journal. In addition to curating a playlist for their “Journal Jams” series we had a conversation and took them along for a day in the life of a restaurant owner. We stopped by our favorite restaurant supply shop in San Gabriel Valley, swung by the house, and then finished the day to prep some things at Woon. Click over to listen to the playlist, read an interview, and scroll through some photos taken by Jeremy Knies.
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“Music is a big part of my life and doesn’t stop playing at Woon - to the point where we are pretty sick of our ever growing playlist. I dragged over the songs that are still pretty fresh to me or that I will never get sick of. It’s a pretty good reflection of the range of music we listen to on the daily: great for waking up to, a beach day, a long drive, or making dinner at home. Hope you enjoy!!”
Portraits From A Pandemic
I wrote some words to go along with some amazing portraits by Amber Maalouf for Life & Thyme Magazine. You can view the full piece now live on Life & Thyme.
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“Six months to the day after we shut down Woon due to Covid-19, my friend Amber texted me a medium-format portrait she had then taken of me in our empty dining room. She had come by that day to pick up some of the produce I was giving away to employees and friends, in hopes of avoiding waste. We’d been planning to throw our one-year anniversary party the weekend prior—a celebration meant to be filled with free booze, tattoos, music—the whole shebang. It ended up being a very different reality.”
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“This place relies on every single person doing their respective duties. If one falls short, the entire operation follows. I’ve asked Amber to shoot a portrait series of the entire staff. Medium format film only, each individual in their environment. I hope each one of them can look back at these portraits one day and remember how fucking nuts this time was, and how awesome it has been that we’ve been able to keep the lights on, to keep serving our community as a team.”
#PlayTheChanges
Our friend and Woon regular, Richard Tranley, came by to document the effects of COVID-19 on small businesses.
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Easily one of LA's favorite newcomers, Woon in #HistoricFilipinoTown quickly grew from a popup cart serving their infamous chewy noodles, to a warm dining space where we could all share @blablablessyou's childhood favorites. With @MamaFongMakes cracking tableside jokes to pair with her Shanghainese comfort food, it was if they opened up their living room for us to enjoy the simple pleasures we took for granted. But how do you keep the family-style spirit alive without being able to sit at the same table? Owner Keegan Fong shares how he's had to adapt since Mayor Garcetti announced #SaferAtHome:
"It was literally like opening the restaurant all over again." New ideas to stay alive were implemented immediately...it was actually a pretty interesting project. A good example: one day I decided to offer private delivery service to areas that Caviar doesn't deliver to. I knew I had a big following in the Pasadena area so I sent out a newsletter and social flyer on how to order delivery to that area the next day. We had no clue what we were doing but the phone was ringing off the hook for prepaid orders, and had almost 40 orders and 1 employee to drive it everywhere. Last minute, I called my brother-in-law to come help do some drop offs. I felt like a crazy person trying to map out 40 different delivery routes and also try to manage how to cook all of it logistically. That day was close to the most stressful day of my life. It was also the same day that Eric Garcetti announced 'Safer at Home' and I got served with a lawsuit for my Handicap parking. It was just too much to manage."
With their relentless survival instincts and immense support from the community, Woon is now in better spirits & has since gone back to their roots with their iconic cart parked in front, fully equipped with the same inviting crew ready to greet eager diners as they swing by for quick catchups and contactless pickups. If you haven't yet, check them out and support small businesses as they continue to #PlayTheChanges.
Podcast • Snacky Tunes
Darin from the podcast, Snacky Tunes on Heritage Radio Network, came by and interviewed me one morning to chat about growing up in San Gabriel Valley, life as a 2nd generation Chinese American, and Corona Virus. Give it a listen on Heritage Radio Network, Spotify, Apple and wherever you listen to your pods.
Squarespace • Origin Stories
Squarespace recently had my mom and I interview each other for their new blog. Click on over to read the full interview…here’s a preview:
KF: What’s one piece of advice you’d like to pass down to me?
MF: Follow your passion, whatever it is. Sometimes take advice, and listen to your mom.
Life & Thyme • The House We Build Our Parents
Special thanks to Life & Thyme and Melanie Loon for writing such an amazing piece on Woon and it’s story. There are too many pull quotes from Melanie that really hit home as a Chinese-American. Many of the details at Woon are intentional and personal, but we can only take that experience so far for our guests. My sister and I grew up on this food, these plates, my mom’s furniture, but it’s up to our visitors to interpret all that. From time to time there will be a guest that mentions how nostalgic Woon is to them (Melanie was one of them), and that’s when it resonates with me the most. It’s those moments that remind me why we built this place. It’s not for the reviews, Yelpers, Insta posts, it’s to tell our story and welcome as many guests as we can just like @mamafongmakes did at her home. It’s up to all our guests to interpret it from there.
Read the entire article on Life & Thyme.
Special thanks to Cody James for the photography.
Interview with WestwoodWestwood
Style and culture site, WestwoodWestwood, recently came to chat about Woon’s beginnings and how our closest friends and family built this restaurant. Click here for the full feature.
