Roy Choi Pops Up With a 'Crazy Rich Asians' Dinner

To celebrate the digital video arrival of hit film "Crazy Rich Asians," Warner Bros. Home Entertainment held "Crazy Rich Eating," a series of pop-up restaurant events featuring celebrity Asian American chefs. Held in West Hollywood in a former fast food restaurant (converted for the occasion), Roy Choi, Andrew Le and Eddie Huang cooked for guests — including stars from the film.

On the night we attended, Roy Choi was the chef, while guests included Jimmy O. Yang, Harry Shum Jr., and Awkwafina. Here's what we dined on, based on items from Choi's Chego restaurant:

"The $12 Salad": baby spinach, mizen and goat cheese, w/ cranberries, candied pecans, seasonal pickles, miso and fried shallots

"Ooey Gooey Fries": beer-battered, w/ sour cream sambal, monterey jack and cheddar cheese, cotija, chillies, cilantro and pickled garlic

Fried egg (this came out separately and no one told us to save it to put on top of the other dishes)

"Chubby Pork Belly": kochujang-lacquered Kurabuta pork belly rice bowl w/ fried egg, pickled radishes, water spinach, Chinese broccoli, cotija and peanuts

"Leafy T": fried chili garlic tofu rice w/ fried egg, Thai basil, water spinach, Chinese broccoli and fried shallots

"Sour Cream Hen House": marinated grilled chicken rice bowl w/ fried egg, Chinese broccoli, sour cream sambal, Thai basil, toasted sesame and red chillies

"Chocolate Très Leches": devil's food cake soaked in cayenne-cinnamon infused leeches w/ tapioca milk pudding and spiced peanut brittle

Stuffed. 

Roy Choi and Anthony Bourdain on Tackling L.A.'s Biggest Stereotypes

Earlier this fall, CNN held a luncheon at Roy Choi's Koreatown eatery POT to unveil the network's new interactive series Street Food with Roy Choi. On the show, Choi meets up with influencers and trendsetters on the streets of LA, including YouTube star Michelle Phan, filmmaker Jon Favreau (whose movie "Chef" included Choi as a consultant) and DJ Tokimonsta. Superstar chef Anthony Bourdain, who executive produces "Street Food" with Choi, also appears.

At the CNN event, I asked Bourdain and Choi to reflect on what they think are the biggest misconceptions and stereotypes that persist about L.A. Here's what they had to say:

Bourdain: That it's Hollywood. Roy said the single most informative thing anyone has ever said to me about LA, and it totally changed my perspective. I was wondering why LA doesn't have the fine dining scene that New York has, as many Michelin restaurants and French guides.

I asked, "Are you not paying chefs enough, what is it?" And he said, "Look, the culinary spine of New York is European. That's not true here at all. The whole cultural culinary spine of LA has always been Asian and Latino." It's also LA's greatest strength. What I want to do when I come out here is eat Mexican and Central American food. I go to K-town. I just want wallow in delicious Korean food as long as I can because we don't have it as strong [in New York].

One of the satisfying things of shooting a show here is we thought it might be a challenge to do a show in LA that never shows the Hollywood sign. We didn't want to show any white people at all. We wanted to shoot an entire episode and never leave Koreatown. I've barely scratched the surface. Jesus, can you imagine Jonathan Gold's Rolodex? How long it would take to go through all of those restaurants? That is endlessly fascinating to me.

Choi: I'm from here, and I have a little bit of a guard dog's watch on this city when people talk shit about it. I try to really make people feel our city. Sometimes it's not through words. A lot of times the residents of our city don't have the chance to fight back because English is not their first language. What I try to do as a bridge is represent the people of this city and the strength of our city. Through that I am able to find a flavor that once people taste it, it changes their lives.

That's how LA is. A lot of people find a new life for themselves in LA. We have a lot of New Yorkers on this show, looking at how they came here and never left. There are a lot of misconceptions about this city because it's so new and there's a lot of flashy things, that it's all paper thin. But we're not what you want us to be. Why people can't get us is they try to fit us into something that relates to something else. This is fresh out here.

Bourdain: But you are really shitty drivers out here. That part is true.

Choi: You're always fascinated by the left turns out here.

Bourdain: Merge, people, just merge. It's not that hard, just decide who's going first! I'm obsessed with the cliches though to. I'm obsessed with old Hollywood. Right now I have a mania for the Garden of Allah, this long gone hotel on Sunset. I have historical obsessions here that I'm looking to incorporate into my show somehow.

It was a great conversation... but the reason to visit POT is the food, of course! Here's a sampling of what we ate that day:

Kush Salad (Asian greens, radish, fruit, pine nut mustard dressing); Kat Man Doo (steamed dumplings); Potato Pancakes; BBQ Veggies; BBQ Spicy Pork; Kimchi Fried Rice; Old School Hot Pot (marinated rib eye bulgogi, noodles, kimchi, scallion, sesame); Cabbage Hot Pot (soy bean paste, veggies, tofu, squash, potatoes)

More pics:

Rate-A-Restaurant #319: Chego

Restaurant: Chego

Location: 727 N Broadway Unit 117 (Chinatown)

Type of restaurant: Asian Fusion

We stipulated: We happened to be near Chinatown for dinner, and had a jones for Kogi Taco man Roy Choi's first sit-down, brick and mortar restaurant.



They stipulated: "Taking a short break from the streets to chill and cheer from the sidelines, this happy, humble little LA-in-a-rice bowl restaurant full win and the color orange set out to reinvigorate the rice bowl. Slow roasted prime rib with creamed horseradish? Check. Sticky-sweet slabs of Berkshire pork belly over hot rice and fried egg? Done. A jukebox of feelings and L.A. youth piped in through the speakers? It’s been Chego Man approved."



What we ordered: Kimchi Spam Bowl (w/ butter-fried kimchi, Spam, scrambled eggs and baby bok choy w/ a touch of toasted sesame, $8); Sour Cream Hen House (marinated grilled chicken rice bowl w/ fried egg, Chinese broccoli, sour cream sambal, Thai basil, toasted sesame and red jalapeño, $9); Chubby Pork Belly (kochujang-lacquered Kurobuta rice bowl w/ fried egg, pickled radishes, water spinach, Chinese broccoli, cotija and peanuts, $9); Ooey Gooey Fries (beer-battered, w/ sour cream sambal, monterey jack and cheddar cheese, cotija, chillies, cilantro and pickled garlic, $6)



High point:  I liked the spice to the bowls, and the inventiveness of the various offerings.

Low point: A limited number of seats (mostly outdoor), which means you may be waiting for others to leave. Also: If there was Spam in our Spam bowl, we sure couldn't find it. The meat is chopped a little too thin, perhaps (that, or they forgot to put Spam in our dish).



Overall impression: I liked Chego, but there may be such a thing as too much of a good thing. The bowls are so loaded with a variety of things that it's hard to eat.



Will we return: Perhaps, but I might want to try Roy Choi's new spot in Koreatown instead.