I recently let it allllll hang out on the With Warm Welcome podcast. It’s probably the greatest representation of the intentions behind Woon ~ where it came from, how it started and where I intend for it to be in the future. It’s always fun doing these and listening to them months later….it really reminds me to focus on our core values and how we got here. Give it a listen if you’re sitting in traffic…
Had a little chat with our friends at CLAE about how a guy in skate/surf apparel marketing ended up with a Chinese restaurant. I only wear really dirty and greasy boots to work, so now I’m stoked I have some nice clean shoes for my days off!
“For our latest edition of Perspectives, we sat down with Keegan Fong, who spent over a decade in the marketing world specializing in skate and fashion and has now pivoted into the restaurant industry with Woon Kitchen. From applying his marketing experience to the perfect restaurant soundtrack, Keegan takes us through his life as a restaurant owner and the key components that come together to bring his mother’s dishes to the LA food scene.”
Woon presents Sanditas Pop Up w/ florals by Ambruso Flowers and natural wines by Pinkies Up! This is going to be the pop up of the Summer on Tuesday August 30th, featuring the beautiful work of Sandy Ho and her team. She’s put together a ridiculously good looking menu which you can peek below. Also, we are stacking this special evening with unique florals (available for purchase) by Meredith Ambruso and of course, natural wines by Emily Koh of Pinkies Up. The fun all starts at 5pm and will be a dine-in only, first-come, first-served experience. Hope to see you Tuesday!
Woon Tunes Vol. 09 is a compilation of our staff’s song picks. We asked everyone to choose two songs because they're sick of Woon’s music (even Brian Wok Legend)....so here you go! Enjoy!
Sweet and salty caramel popcorn gets an umami-based upgrade thanks to Woon Sea Moss Seasoning!
Recognized as the fifth taste, umami means “essence of deliciousness” in Japanese, and is often described as the “meaty,” savory quality that deepens flavor. It might seem like an odd combination at first, but the trifecta of sweet, salty, and umami often makes a winning formula in Asian cooking. Miso paste, hoisin sauce, and some soy sauces are examples of staple pantry items that highlight the harmonious marriage of these flavors.
So, grab yourself a bottle of our Sea Moss Seasoning and pop away! Make some for your next party or gathering and become the most popular person in the room. (You’ll thank me later).
-Janine
Yield: 10-12 cups
Ingredients
2 tbsp neutral oil
⅓ cup popcorn kernels OR 10 cups popped popcorn
2 tbsp butter (or vegan butter)
2 tbsp milk (or vegan milk alternative)
¼ cup white sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp Woon Sea Moss Seasoning
Preparation:
Pop the popcorn
Preheat the oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or a silicon liner.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a medium pot over medium/high heat. The oil should generously coat the bottom of the pan.
Test a few popcorn kernels in the hot oil to start. Once they pop, add the popcorn kernels into the pot and cover.
Turn down the heat to medium and allow the popcorn to pop. Gently shake the pan during the first few minutes to avoid burning the kernels. Once the popping sound begins to slow down, take the pan off the heat until no more popping ensues.
Pour the popcorn into a large bowl.
Make the caramel
Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the salt, milk, and sugar and stir until combined.
Stirring continuously, bring the caramel mixture to a boil.
Add the baking soda and rigorously stir for 30 seconds. The bubbling and foaming effect of the baking soda will aerate the caramel to make it lighter, smoother, and easier to coat the popcorn.
Assemble
Working quickly, drizzle the caramel mixture over the popcorn, using a spoon or rubber spatula to gently fold the popcorn until all the kernels are coated.
Pour the popcorn onto the baking sheet and generously sprinkle with Woon Sea Moss Seasoning.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
As the popcorn cools, the caramel will harden and create a delicious crunch.
Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
We’re back at it again with Woon Bakery!! This time we’re offering a savory rice porridge! walk-up orders only from 10am -12pm on Sunday, August 7th. We’ll be serving Chinese baked goods & treats, milk tea and savory rice porridge (featuring soy marinated tea eggs, house-made pork floss, mustard greens & more!).
We will be offering freshly-baked goods by our dumpling and pastry queen, Janine Liu inspired by Chinese bakeries like Bolo Bao (菠蘿包), Almond Cookies (杏仁餅), Baked Chinese BBQ Pork Buns (叉燒麵包), Chinese Hot Dog Buns (腸仔包), and a new pork floss bun featuring housemade pork floss and pork belly mayo. in addition to our very own Woon Milk Tea. We are excited to expand our offering this week with savory rice porridge…something that has always been our comfort food growing up. Whether it be when we were sick, hungover or homesick it was rice porridge which brought us back to life.
Woon Bakery embraces Chinese bakeries a cultural cross-section. Whether these treats were a part of your childhood or are entirely new to you, we hope that each bite helps you connect to a collective Chinese American memory.
Woon Window Walk Ups Only
Sunday, August 7th
10am - 12pm
Some scenes from our studio dinner last week with Salamat Ceramics at Actual Studio Space. Thanks to everyone who came to this intimate dinner and made it such a special evening. Thank you to Salamat Ceramics and Actual Studio Space for having us be the first to do this, we’re honored! It was so cool to see our food on such beautiful ceramic pieces in a such a beautiful space.
Introducing two new caps for the summer. The first one is our Woon Logo Cap in Slate. The second one is the Noodle Roo Cap in black featuring artwork by Rad Dan. Both unstructured 6 panel caps with adjustable clasp.
This is a PREORDER ONLY event with Dine In & Pick Up options. Natural wines will be available by Pinkie’s Up.
Actual Studio Space presents Salamat Ceramics x Woon ~ an intimate sit down dinner on Thursday, July 28th from 7-9pm. Tickets are $180 and available at actualstudio.space. Each ticket includes an exclusive Salamat Ceramics bowl + side dish, a 5-course family style dinner by Woon, and wines + non-alcoholic beverages.
We are so excited to partner up with our great friend, Monica Galan, of Salamat Ceramics at her new studio space in Highland Park for an intimate dinner.
Proof of Vaccination required. 4 ticket limit.
Woon Presents Wavy Wines wine list takeover on Thursday, July 21st from 5-9pm. Featuring 2 wines, 2 piquettes + 1 unreleased wine by Wavy and music by Miles Michaud of Reverberation Radio. We’ll be serving food from our usual menu…make sure to come early for the fun!
We’re bringing back Lucky Nick’s Pop Up for a second time on Tuesday, July 19th from 5-9pm. Featuring a collaborative menu including salads, fried rice, baos, and of course Nick’s wood fired pizzas! Pinkie’s Up will be popping up and serving natural wines all evening to keep us happy :) We sold out of food last time Nick popped up so make sure to come early and come hungry. The evening will be dine-in and takeout only on a first-come, first-served basis.
Woon presents another week of Woon Bakery, a preorder only Brunch Pop Up on Sunday, July 10th from 10am-12pm.
Woon Bakery originated when our dumpling cook, Janine Liu, developed a recipe for Chinese bakery-style hot dog buns – Nathan’s hot dogs wrapped in fluffy milk bread and glazed in simple syrup – that sent the whole kitchen into a frenzy for more.
For those of us who spent our youth going to Chinese bakeries, pastry cases filled with a dizzying array of sweet and savory biscuits, buns, breads, and cookies are the touchstone of nostalgic memory. After weeks of recipe testing and development, we settled on a menu driven by this nostalgia we have for the treats of our childhoods. We will be offering freshly-baked goods inspired by Chinese bakeries like Bolo Bao (菠蘿包), Almond Cookies (杏仁餅), Baked Chinese BBQ Pork Buns (叉燒麵包), and Chinese Hot Dog Buns (腸仔包), in addition to our very own Woon Milk Tea. We hope to expand on this menu for future Woon Bakery Pop Ups to come ~ think congee (rice porridge) w/ house made pork floss, egg sandwiches, faun tuan (Chinese donuts wrapped in sticky rice), etc.
Woon Bakery embraces Chinese bakeries a cultural cross-section. Whether these treats were a part of your childhood or are entirely new to you, we hope that each bite helps you connect to a collective Chinese American memory.
Pre-order and Pick Ups only
Sunday, July 10th
Pick up from the Woon Window 10am - 12pm
Tea Eggs served with Woon Seamoss Seasoning and sesame seeds
Ancient legend has it that the first-ever Chinese tea egg was created by accident when an old egg seller’s grandson mistakenly hard-boiled some eggs in a pot of tea. The old man didn’t realize the pot was full of tea leaves, but when he ate the eggs, he found that they were absolutely delicious and began to sell them to the community.
Tea eggs are essentially boiled eggs infused with the flavors of Chinese tea, spices like star anise and Sichuan peppercorns, and soy sauce. My sister particularly loved them infused with chili and could eat up to four at a time, despite my mother’s protests and cries about high cholesterol. Today, variations of these eggs are sold all over China by street vendors, especially at breakfast time. They can also be found ready-to-eat at stores HMart and 99 Ranch, though we are going to show you how to make these delicious delicacies at home using our very own Woon Oolong Tea that you can find in our market.
-Janine
Yield: 6 eggs
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tablespoons Woon Oolong Tea
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 cups water (or enough so that all eggs are submerged)
Optional Aromatics (for extra deliciousness):
2 slices of ginger
3 cloves of garlic
3 star anise
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
Preparation:
Prepare a bowl of ice water.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a gentle boil and carefully lower the eggs into the water. For a jammy egg, boil for 7 minutes. For a hard egg, boil for 10 minutes.
Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water and let sit for 2 minutes. Remove eggs from the ice water and peel.
Meanwhile, add soy sauce, rice vinegar, Woon Oolong Tea, sugar, salt, water, and any optional aromatics to a pot. Bring the mixture to a simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat, set aside, and let it cool completely.
Soak the cracked eggs in the sauce base in an air-tight container for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator, though they are best enjoyed after 24 hours. Make sure all the eggs are completely submerged in the marinade, using a paper towel to help if needed.
These eggs last for 3-4 for days in the refrigerator and can be eaten in place of your regular intake of eggs. Cut them in half and add them on top of your instant ramen or avocado toast, sprinkle some Sea Moss Seasoning on them for a quick snack, or put a Chinese spin on your breakfast by having tea eggs instead of a fried egg.
Enjoy!
Join us for a Wine Wednesday takeover by our good friends from CA Vine Co. We’ll be serving their signature red, Primary Color, as the exclusive red wine for the evening. So come hang out, eat some food and chat with the makers! As usual, it will be $10 glasses + $10 off bottles all evening long.
Woon Wine Wednesday
June 29th, 5-10pm
