firstborn

Firstborn Straddles Old and New in a Rapidly Changing Chinatown | Eater LA

"Set in the former Pok Pok space in Chinatown’s Mandarin Plaza, this modern Chinese American restaurant from chef Anthony Wang channels his parents’ history in Beijing, summer trips across China, and a childhood in Georgia and Miami into dishes like chile-flecked Chongqing fried chicken with a sturdy crust that chile oil clings to—flavorful but not all that spicy—and barbecue cabbage cooked twice (first whole to cook it through, then again to achieve a deeply charred top), dressed with soy sauce and black vinegar in a shallow pool of leek vinaigrette. Ripe heirloom tomatoes make the most of Los Angeles’s produce, dotted with fig leaves and nectarines, with semi-transparent blocks of jasmine jelly adding a light floral burst, while a cold mapo tartare nods to Wang’s line-cook days in Boston. Bar director Kenzo Han (an alum of Steep After Dark) puts a twist on classics with tea-infused cocktails, from a Negroni with baijiu and pu’erh tea to an osmanthus and fermented rice sour; a smaller bar-only menu features a miniature version of the barbecue cabbage, a duck fat scallion pancake, and “just a little” fried chicken with two pieces for $12 (the full menu is also available). Best for a photogenic group dinner in a changing Chinatown or a solo bar stop for fried chicken and a martini, the restaurant reflects a younger generation keeping the neighborhood’s history alive while bringing it into the future, and its name nods to Wang being the first in his family born in the U.S." - Rebecca Roland