When Shirley Chung isn’t running the kitchen at Ms Chi Café, her progressive Chinese American restaurant in Culver City, you might find her hiking to a waterfall in Eaton Canyon. Or exploring the sides streets in the Arts District. Or paddleboarding in Newport Beach. Or perhaps getting behind the wheel and driving up the coast, sampling every delicious bite she can find along the way.
Chung’s passion was on vivid display during season 11 of Bravo’s Top Chef, and it’s also evident in her questionnaire answers below. We asked her to share her Golden State favorites and she over-delivered, big time.
Where do you live? Los Angeles.
Why there? My family and also my restaurant, Ms Chi Café, are here.
Who or what is your greatest California love? California is where five generations of the Chung family have called home. It’s filled with Chinese American history, my family’s history. My great-grandmother Nellie Yee’s family came to America in the 1870s. My great-grandfather Yik Hong Chung was an herbalist; he emigrated from China in 1900 during the Chinese Exclusion Act. He opened his first clinic near today’s L.A. Chinatown.
What is the biggest misperception about Californians? That California is warm all over and you can wear shorts and flip-flops all the time. Not true—well, 50 percent true. When the temperature dips below 65 degrees, we all rush to put on our puffer jackers over our t-shirts to wear with shorts and flip-flops.
What is the stereotype that most holds true? That we love avocados. We do! California produces 95 percent of the avocados in America and our love started way before avocado toast became trendy.
What is your favorite Golden State splurge? Season tickets for the Los Angeles Lakers!
Time for a road trip—where are you going? With a couple black sesame lattes from my restaurant Ms Chi and a few breakfast burritos from our neighbors Cervateca for the road, we’ll head north on 101 to Pebble Beach. On the way up, a stop at Harry’s Berries in Oxnard is a must before continuing on to downtown Santa Barbara, where we’ll feast on fresh sea urchin on the half shell, red abalones, and rock crab at the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company on Stearns Wharf.
Next, we hop on Highway 154 for the 25-mile drive to Cachuma Lake, where we’ll keep our eyes peeled for bald eagles before tasting some wine in the Santa Ynez Valley. From there, just 12 miles down the road we’ll pull into the cutest Danish community—Solvang—and take pictures with giant wood clogs and windmills before hitting the Olsen’s Danish Village Bakery for Danish waffles and cheese puff pastries. In neighboring Los Olivos, we’ll visit Los Olivos Tasting Room, and then tuck into a paella feast at Bar Le Côte. Post-meal, we’ll cover the 90 miles to the Paso Robles wine region, arriving just as the sun is setting and visit Sensorio, one of California’s largest immersive art exhibitions. One hundred miles later, we’ll arrive at our final destination, Pebble Beach’s 17-Mile Drive.
If you could decree an official state culinary experience, what would it be? Our California-style tacos—any cuisine and any style of protein on tortillas. Korean bulgogi, char siu (Cantonese-style barbequed pork), Indian butter chicken, smoked briskets, Thai fried chicken, hamachi, sashimi, spicy tuna… we even have chocolate tacos.
What is your favorite way to play in California? My favorite way to play in California is to fully enjoy California outdoor living. Early-morning hikes with my doggie to the waterfall in Eaton Canyon; shopping at Santa Monica Farmers Market blocks away from the ocean; biking through the redwoods; eating fish tacos in Big Sur; driving across the Golden Gate Bridge in the fog; playing golf in Pebble Beach; late-night crabbing at Pacifica Municipal Pier; paddleboarding in Newport Beach; sunset hiking at Runyon Canyon with the Hollywood Sign in the background and Los Angeles as the view.
Where would you go for the ultimate shopping spree in California? I have been coming to L.A. to shop on Melrose since I was in college.
Best California song? “Doin’ Time,” the Lana Del Rey version. (I love the original Sublime version as well.) The beat is very chill, very California. The song feels like Southern California’s air—a little laid-back, a little complicated, a little bad, a lot of good—all melting together.
How would your California dream day unfold? I would start with an early-morning hike to the Eaton Canyon waterfall with my doggie Baxter. I would have dumplings, milk tea, and a Chinese savory donut in the San Gabriel Valley for breakfast. Next, I would go to the Antelope Valley to see poppies and other wildflowers. Then I would come back to Mid City for day-drinking, French pastries, and simple California fare at République. Then I would roam around Mid City and the Arts District looking for street art, graffiti, and Kobe Bryant murals. I would hit a few taco spots: Mariscos Jalisco for fried shrimp crispy tacos; El Flamin’ Taco for al pastor; King Taco for lengua and carne asada. I would end the day by watching a concert at the Forum, followed by late-night eating and drinking in K-town.