LUCKYRICE Los Angeles Feast Indulges DTLA in Asian Food Celebration

Fiona Chandra

A celebration of Asian food culture, the LUCKYRICE festival is entering its 7th year and now has expanded from New York to Miami, Toronto, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago and, of course, L.A. The Los Angeles Feast will be coming to the Vibiana Cathedral in Downtown L.A. on July 29.

Given the diversity of the L.A. Asian food scene, it’s only natural that LUCKYRICE’s Los Angeles Feast will touch on several aspects of food culture. Hosted by the guys from Seoul Sausage, the feast will feature over 40 of the city’s “Asia-minded” chefs and bartenders – from Thai to Japanese to Korean and more. The menu so far includes assorted hand rolls from Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill, braised pork belly ssam from Hanjip, spicy Thai larb salmon from Ayara Thai Cuisine, braised oxtail and tendon dumpling with fermented chili from Little Sister and short ribs from Parks BBQ. Other participating restaurants are Ramen Tatsunoya, Starry Kitchen, Pok Pok LA, Jinya Ramen Bar and Hinoki & the Bird. Desserts will also be Asian-inspired with Filipino mini pavlova with coconut meringue, ube custard, graham cracker, greek yogurt crumble from Crème Caramel LA and coconut fluff with lychee jelly from Fluff Ice.

A number of cocktails from Bombay Sapphire East (the presenting sponsor), will be featured and created by bartenders from the bars and restaurants such as Upstairs Bar at Ace Hotel, The Misfit and Birch. Bombay Sapphire East itself will be serving the Silk Journey made with gin, fresh lime juice, pomegranate syrup, oolong and mandarin tea. There will also be a cocktail from Kikori Whiskey and other participating bars include General Lee’s and Sassafras Saloon. If cocktails aren’t your thing, Asahi will be serving up beers as an alternative.

For $88, guests can purchase a general admission ticket with doors opening at 8 p.m. VIP admission starts an hour earlier and tickets are $150 per person. If you are an American Express cardholder, you can purchase one of the American Express Membership Experiences package, which is the same price but grants you speedy line entry and access to the member lounge offering dumplings and specialty cocktails, an American Express photo booth and a special gift. Those who order the new LUCKYRICE cookbook can receive a $20 discount code for the event.

LUCKYRICE Los Angeles Feast will be on July 29 at the Vibiana. Tickets can be purchased using this link.