“Have you eaten?”
It’s a simple yes or no question, but as Mama Sun (Michelle Yeoh) demonstrates in The Brothers Sun, food is a love language in many Asian cultures. Creators Byron Wu and Brad Falchuk’s series follows a Taiwanese matriarch and her sons Charles (Justin Chien) and Bruce (Sam Song Li), who lead a not-so-normal life in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley. Despite their differences, the family usually finds time to share a meal together — in between all the dangerous gang affairs they’re embroiled in.
“You can’t tell an Asian story without food being involved, especially with family. There’s just no way to separate the two,” Wu told Netflix.
As Charles arrives from Taiwan and reacquaints himself with his family, food becomes that bridge. “They haven’t seen each other in such a long time, but over the meals it seems like that closeness that they’ve lost is being fed in a way,” he continued.
Li, who grew up in the San Gabriel Valley (SGV), described the region as a “melting pot of Asian cultures,” adding, “it’s a very authentic Chinese community, and without a doubt, you’ll find some of the best Chinese food in the country in the San Gabriel Valley.” He even recalled the cast having dim sum and going out for dinner at the 626 Night Market together.
That’s why it was important for executive producer and director Kevin Tancharoen to feature as many local restaurants and bakeries as possible. “We often said in production meetings that the San Gabriel Valley should be a character like Albuquerque was in Breaking Bad,” he said. “It’s a sense of place. You can feel it, you can smell it, you can feel the heat.” About his experience dining at SGV’s countless strip malls, he added: “It’s just part of the culture I grew up in. We wanted to make sure those landmarks were included in the show, and you’ll notice there’s a lot of strip malls in the show. The dim sum restaurants there, the bakeries there.”
Even Falchuk admits to driving out to SGV with his wife just for dim sum. “We live on the west side of LA. The week between Christmas and New Year’s, we’re usually home and there’s nobody around. We take a day and we drive out there and usually have at least one dim sum visit during that time,” he told Netflix.
Unfortunately, you won’t be able to dine at the infamous #1 Seafood Restaurant like the Suns, but you can check out its Chinatown filming location among all the other restaurants featured in The Brothers Sun (most of which, but not all, are located in SGV). Whether you’re looking for your next Sunday morning dim sum joint or a Chinese bakery to satisfy your sweet tooth, keep scrolling for the full list to add to your food tour.
Nighttime strip mall bakery
Kee Wah Bakery
729 W. Garvey Avenue at N. Atlantic Boulevard
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Mah-jongg club
Newport Seafood Restaurant
518 W. Las Tunas Drive
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Xiao Long Kan
Xiaolongkan Hot Pot
46 W. Valley Boulevard at S. 2nd Street
Alhambra, CA 91801
#1 Seafood Restaurant
Golden Dragon Restaurant
960 N. Broadway at Bamboo Lane
Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA 90012
Korean BBQ restaurant
Dan Sung Sa
3317 W. 6th Street at S. Berendo Street
Los Angeles (Koreatown), CA 90020
Taco stand
Villas Tacos
5455 N. Figueroa Street
Los Angeles (Highland Park), CA 90042
Costco
Pacific Coast Food
10703 Vanowen Street at N. Clybourn Avenue
Los Angeles (North Hollywood), CA 91605
Fancy Taiwanese restaurant
Great Wall Restaurant (closed)
18331 Sherman Way at Darby Ave
Los Angeles (Reseda), CA 91335
Taipei restaurant
Sage Blossom Restaurant
451 Gin Ling Way at Sun Mun Way
Los Angeles (Chinatown), CA 90012
Dim Sum Palace
Golden Soup Restaurant Gold World Plaza
1039 E. Valley Boulevard at Walnut Grove Avenue
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Xiao Pang Pang Bakery
Patticakes (closed)
1900 Allen Avenue at New York Drive
Altadena, CA 91001
The Brothers Sun is now streaming on Netflix.
