Pearl River Deli

When chomping into the Macau pork-chop bun at Pearl River Deli, the first sensation that rolls over your taste buds is obvious: meat. Breaded, fried, appealingly nubbly meat. It takes about eight seconds before more intricate flavors start to sing

, hang from the front entryway at Pearl River Deli; right, a marinated cucumber side dish. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times) Advertisement Maybe each diner should order their own. The pork bao is among the most perfectly engineered sandwich-type

cutlet on a domed homemade milk bread bun with a vegetable relish and pickled cucumber. Compare it to the one chef Johnny Lee is making at his brand-new Pearl River Deli in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza. Lee makes a pineapple bao, a sugared bun so named

on television). Pork chop on a pineapple bao at Pearl River Deli. (Bill Addison / Los Angeles Times) It’s a staple on the Pearl River Deli’s short, mercurial menu. Lee took over the space recently vacated by Eddie Huang’s Baohaus, which sits next to

cheese. It’s creamy, cheesy and heavy on the black pepper; all the things you want from a good bowl of cacio e pepe pasta, on a chicken wing. Char siu ribs at Pearl River Deli A selection of dishes from Pearl River Deli, from left, pork chop bun, char siu

ribs, fried chicken and sliced char siu over noodles. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times) The thin paper napkins at Pearl River Deli are no match for the char siu ribs. You can grab as many as you like, stacked at the self-service station inside chef

at Melody Wine Bar in East Hollywood, Brain Dead Studios on Fairfax and on nights at Pearl River Deli in Chinatown when the restaurant is otherwise closed. By day, Ma is a manager at Pine & Crane and Joy, and Sesar is a director at an art gallery. The

he was in L.A., and he was giving me a rundown of his eating itinerary. “I had to try the Hainan chicken at Pearl River Deli’s new location,” Man continued. “And then [Pearl River Deli chef-owner] Johnny Lee mentioned Kim Ky, his favorite comfort-food

early March 2020. A story I wrote around then discussing the local evolution of Cantonese cuisine, which also touched on Johnny Lee’s first iteration of Pearl River Deli in Far East Plaza and now-closed Chef Tony in Pasadena, was among the last pieces I

reason: It vacated the space in a 1930s-era building now occupied by Johnny Lee’s Pearl River Deli, the radical Cantonese restaurant I reviewed this week. I’d walk underneath the red lanterns that float over the ceiling now and then, and I’d be

that he started in the alley next to the restaurant while indoor dining was on hold. It blossomed into a phenomenon as he brought in chefs like Johnny Lee of Pearl River Deli, Charles Namba of Tsubaki and Ototo and Sheldon Simeon of Maui’s Tin Roof

At Pearl River Deli, Johnny Lee’s tiny Cantonese restaurant in Chinatown’s Far East Plaza, weekends bring revolving specials that expand his short staple menu of char siu, silky scrambles and sandwiches. Come Saturdays there may be Hainan chicken

Canton). Along with poon choi, Johnny Lee’s Lunar New Year specials at Pearl River Deli will include a Tray of Togetherness, featuring lotus root chips with haw powder, Ovaltine fudge, peanut sesame brittle and candied ginger. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles

-find natural wines. The uncanny talent scouts behind Chinatown’s Far East Plaza struck paydirt again in early 2020 when they installed Johnny Lee in the space formerly occupied by Baohaus. Pearl River Deli is his love letter to Cantonese cooking: His