‘I’m not ashamed’: the US restaurant proud to serve Chinese-American food
At Jade Rabbit in Los Angeles, Bryant Ng is creating his own style of Chinese-American food using Asian techniques and Californian produce
What is considered real Chinese food? Nuggets of fried chicken glazed in a sweet orange sauce from a steam tray at the airport? The fried egg rolls and chow mein at your favourite takeaway restaurant? My grandmother’s fried rice?
For chef Bryant Ng, it’s all of the above. And then some.
Ng and his wife Kim Luu-Ng are behind the new Jade Rabbit, a counter-service restaurant in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, that serves spring onion garlic cheese toast, orange mango chicken, beef and broccoli and Almond Roca chocolate chip cookies.
The restaurant set-up is similar to a Chipotle or Sweetgreen. Make your way down the counter and build a bowl of rice, salad or noodles with a selection of prepared proteins and vegetables.
It may seem like a bold move to those familiar with Ng’s culinary trajectory. He was the opening chef at Nancy Silverton’s pizza and pasta Mozza, then went on to run his own kitchen at the Singaporean-influenced Spice Table in downtown Los Angeles.
He was named one of Food & Wine’s best new chefs in 2012 and has been nominated for a James Beard Award multiple times. Cassia, the sprawling Santa Monica restaurant known for Ng’s syncretic style of cooking, blended influences from all over Asia and Southern California.