CHEW THE SCENE IS BACK AND BIGGER THAN EVER!

THE SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL BRINGS TOGETHER LOCAL RESTAURANTS TO REPRESENT ASIAN AMERICAN CUISINE AT CHEW THE SCENE 2018

 

20 of San Diego’s local chefs, restaurateurs and bartenders have come together at Chew The Scene to envision Asian American cuisine and explore new culinary concepts, ideas and creations.

 

Participating chefs, restaurateurs and bartenders have been challenged with creating dishes that are off-menu, representative of Asian American food today and inspired by their own experiences and stories.

 

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – September 27, 2018 The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF), presented by Pacific Arts Movement (Pac Arts), announced today the 5th Annual Chew The Scene, the official launch party for SDAFF. The film and food event, presented by Pacific Arts Movement in partnership with Wawanesa Insurance, features 20 San Diego chefs, restaurateurs and bars, and will be held on October 9 at the San Diego Natural History Museum. Pac Arts’ most recent film and food event, Ulam: Film & Feast—held earlier this spring—sold out just four hours after tickets went on sale.

In partnership with these local restaurateurs and chefs, Pac Arts challenged Chew The Scene participants to come up with food that represents Asian American food and what it looks like today. Participants’ dishes need to be off-menu and connect to stories, flavors, and experiences of Asian American and Asian immigrant communities. Participants’ dishes include: Tang Yuan with durian & almond filling (Camellia Road); Pho Xiao Long Bao (Crab Hut); Bibimbap Lettuce Cups (Cross Street Chicken & Beer); Pork Shawarma Bao (Kettner Exchange); Filly Bistek Sandwich (Sandwich Emporium); Lu Rou Fan (Zen Modern Bistro); and much more.

“We are excited to collaborate with this talented community of local chefs and restaurants as they share their stories through food,” remarks Pac Arts Executive Director Kent Lee. “Chew the Scene perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the upcoming festival, where communities will come together to celebrate and support stories by and about Asian communities around the world.”

“The last year has seen the emergence of exciting new culinary concepts in San Diego, bringing together Filipino and Mexican sensibilities, or Vietnamese and Korean flavors,” says Pac Arts Artistic Director Brian Hu. “This year’s Chew the Scene gives those trailblazing menus a home under the umbrella of Asian American cuisine, and challenges San Diego’s burgeoning and veteran chefs to tell their own hybrid, bastardized, or idiosyncratic Asian American food stories with dishes that are not on their usual menus. Individually these chefs are innovators; collectively, they are a movement.”

Participating Chefs & Restaurateurs Include:

Arterra (Evan Cruz)

Camellia Road (Darwin Wu & Ricky Lau)

Common Theory (Cris Liang & Joon Lee)

Crab Hut (Ky Phan)

Cross Street Chicken & Beer (Grace Chi)

George’s at the Cove (Jonathan Bautista)

Hunter’s Home Kitchen (Spencer Hunter)

IC Monster (Jenna Hu)

JSix (Ashley Kato)

Kettner Exchange (Brian Redzikowski)

Mostra Coffee (Mike Arquines & Jelynn Malone)

PoPo Bros (Wesley Quach & Kenny Tran)

Sandwich Emporium (Peter & John Le)

Snoice (Jayrell Ringpis)

Soi 30th (Khwanta Osanai)

Filipino Desserts Plus (Loreal Cui)

Zen Modern Asian Bistro  (Ethan & Jonathan Yang)

 

Participating Bars & Bartenders Include:

David Tye of Crab Hut

Steven Tuttle of The Grass Skirt

Sam Peters of George’s At the Cove

Chris Lee of Realm of the 52 Remedies

 

PRESS CREDENTIALS

All press must be credentialed prior to Chew The Scene. Press request credentials by contacting sabrina@sdaff.org.

SPONSORS

Chew The Scene, presented by Pacific Arts Movement in partnership with Wawanesa Insurance, is supported by Crab Hut Restaurant, Procopio, Malahat Spirits Co., Ming River Baijiu, and Stella Artois.

 

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ABOUT THE SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL

The 19th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival takes place from November 8-17, 2018. In 2017, the 10-day festival showcased over 150 independent and foreign films from more than 20 countries at six different venues across San Diego county. Over 15,000 people attended the star-studded red carpet awards night, screenings, Q&As, and panel discussions. The annual festival receives national and regional attention for its awards and premieres.

ABOUT PACIFIC ARTS MOVEMENT

Pac Arts launched in 2000 when it debuted the San Diego Asian Film Festival, a showcase of Asian American and Asian international cinema. Rooted in the love of film and the arts, global citizenship, and Asian culture and communities, Pac Arts became an official nonprofit media arts organization in 2002, and is now one of the most significant exhibitions of Asian cinema in North America. Pac Arts presents two major annual events: the Spring Showcase (April) and the San Diego Asian Film Festival (November), which bring awareness to, and educate the public about, Pan Asian cinema and media issues throughout the year.