Feast Meets West

Lynda and Iris interview JT Vuong and George Padilla of YUJI Ramen, a restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with a mission to introduce new variations of Japanese ramen to the United States. They trace the milestones that brought ramen from its origins to its current status as a dish with a cult following, and discuss how ramen will continue to evolve in the international culinary scene.

Instead of talking about a particular dish, this week Lynda and Iris delve deep to understand one country's cuisine: The Philippines. Leah Cohen, chef/owner of Pig & Khao and former Top Chef contestant, joins them in the studio to shed some light on Filipino food, and to discuss what took so long for the cuisine to get the recognition it deserves.

This week Lynda and Iris share the pilot episode of Feast Meets West recorded at the HRN studio back in October 2016! They talk to Esther Choi, who is the Chef/Owner of Korean ramen joint mokbar. Check out this very special episode to find out why kimchi is so essential to the Korean people, its health benefits, and why non-Koreans are embracing it now.

Originating in Taiwan in the 1980's, boba or bubble tea has been an international hit, but this new beverage is still evolving. Joining Lynda and Iris in the studio is Bin Chen, co-founder of the extremely popular Boba Guys. Boba Guys opened their first store in San Francisco in 2013. Today, they have 4 locations in SF, 1 in NYC - with another opening this month in Greenwich Village. Tune in to learn the brief but interesting history of this drink, why it's so big in the West, and what people like Boba Guys are doing to make it even better.

Pho is probably the most iconic Vietnamese dish, and has steadily grown in demand in the last decade to the point that it is catching up to ramen as American foodies' favorite Asian noodle dish. This week, Lynda and Iris interview Andrea Nguyen, author of The Pho Cookbook, on the fascinating history behind the dish and why it became so popular in the West.

Taiwan may have food trends that went international like gua bao and bubble tea, but today, Josh Ku and Chef Trigg Brown of Win Son Restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn want to tell you about danzi noodles. This humble snack is widely available in Taiwan, and while it's not a household name in the States yet, it's growing in popularity amongst foodies. Tune in to learn about what it is, its history, and why you should be eating it.

Banchan may not always be the main focus of your meal when you're at a Korean restaurant, but these small dishes are an essential part of Korean cuisine. Chef Junghyun Park of Atoboy, the popular New Korean restaurant in Flatiron district, sits down with us to talk about banchan. Learn about the different varieties, what makes it so important, and how it influenced the menu at Atoboy.

These days, soy sauce is found in practically every pantry worldwide. Tune in to learn about one of the world’s oldest condiments, originating from China, and the backbone to so many Asian dishes. Josh Grinker, Co-Owner and Executive Chef of Kings County Imperial in Brooklyn, joins us to chat about their soy sauce on tap, why it tastes different from your bottle of Kikkoman, and how he uses it to make their delicious Chinese food.

Ever wonder what the pork is in your takeout BBQ pork fried rice? It's a watered down version of char siu, the most popular variety of Cantonese roast meats. Lynda and Iris talk about what it is, how it makes the perfect lunchbox in Hong Kong, and where char siu has travelled. We interview Thomas Chen, Executive Chef/Owner of Tuome on Cantonese roast meats and how he incorporates it into his contemporary American restaurant's menu.