There’s now a tasty new way to celebrate Massachusetts’ Asian heritage without leaving the Boston area. More than 80 restaurants are participating in the first-ever Boston Asian Restaurant Week, which begins Friday, May 3. Moonshine 152 in South Boston is just one of the participating locations. Chef Asia Mei is sending over a childhood favorite as part of the discounted menu. It’s her mom’s fried rice – but with a twist. “Instead, I add chopped and seared duck liver, which is what makes our fried rice dirty…dirty,” she explained. “It takes what was a perfect dish to the next level.” The path to becoming a restaurant owner wasn’t always in the cards, says Mei. “I personally didn’t know how to cook anything,” she said. Originally from California, Mei came to Boston to study biology and economics. But over the past year, she discovered her true passion. “I skipped my graduation ceremony in BC to walk into Boston’s only four-star French restaurant at the time, Hamersley’s Bistro, with a blank resume,” she recalled. But that resume didn’t stay blank for long. Mei opened her own home nine years ago. “I take the New England classics but give it a twist with different cultures and comfort foods,” she said. Boston Asian Restaurant Week features featured dishes from Greater Boston restaurants and enters diners into a drawing for prizes. “It’s about bringing people together, whether you’re Asian, from Boston, or not from Boston,” said Harris Zhao, president of the Boston Chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals. “This is an easy opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Asian food.” For Asia Mei, this restaurant week is another chance to share her life story—on a plate. “I love having a bond with my product, I love producing something that people can enjoy,” she said. The event is timed to coincide with Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which is celebrated in May.
There’s now a tasty new way to celebrate Massachusetts’ Asian heritage without leaving the Boston area.
More than 80 restaurants are participating in the first-ever Boston Asian Restaurant Week, which begins Friday, May 3.
Moonshine 152 in South Boston is just one of the participating locations. Chef Asia Mei is sending over a childhood favorite as part of the discounted menu. It’s her mom’s fried rice – but with a twist.
“Instead, I add chopped and seared duck liver, which is what makes our fried rice dirty…dirty,” she explained. “It takes what was a perfect dish to the next level.”
The path to becoming a restaurant owner wasn’t always in the cards, says Mei.
“I personally didn’t know how to cook anything,” she said.
Originally from California, Mei came to Boston to study biology and economics. But over the past year, she discovered her true passion.
“I skipped my graduation ceremony in BC to walk into Boston’s only four-star French restaurant at the time, Hamersley’s Bistro, with a blank résumé,” she recalled.
But that resume didn’t stay blank for long. Mei opened her own place nine years ago.
“I take the New England classics but give it a twist with different cultures and comfort foods,” she said.
Boston Asian Restaurant Week features featured dishes from Greater Boston restaurants and enters diners into a drawing for prizes.
“It’s about bringing people together, whether you’re Asian, from Boston, or not from Boston,” said Harris Zhao, president of the Boston Chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals. “This is an easy opportunity to discover the hidden gems of Asian food.”
For Asia Mei, this restaurant week is another opportunity to share her life story – on a plate.
“I love having a connection with my product, I love producing something that people can enjoy,” she said.
The event is timed to coincide with Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which is celebrated in May.
