New friends eating dinner together at the house in Mid-Wilshire
(
Ron Ben
/
Courtesy of Friend of a Friend
)
Topline:
This L.A.-based duo is putting a friendlier twist on fine dining by launching a curated experience at home.
The backstory: Fiona Zhang and Jerry Zheng, both 26 years old, met through a mutual friend a few years ago — and connected over food and a shared ambition to launch something a little different in the L.A. restaurant scene. The two launched the supper club, Friend of a Friend, in May.
What to expect: Friend of a Friend is their way to imagine what Asian American cooking in the West Coast could mean — as flavors, styles and cultures quintessential to L.A. are blended together, with Asian tastes leading the charge.
How to join: Friend of a Friend's Instagram is the best way to follow along with RSVP details and upcoming events.
“What’s for dinner?” is a question that rings throughout many homes across the city. But to Fiona Zhang and Jerry Zheng, the question that launched their new dining venture is, "Who’s coming for dinner.”
Meet Friend of a Friend, a new supper club serving blended Asian flavors over a dining table at a 1930s French and Spanish style house in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood.
Zhang and Zheng, both 26 years old, met through a mutual friend a few years ago — and connected over food and a shared ambition to launch something a little different in the L.A. restaurant scene.
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Meet your a friend (of a friend) at a new supper club in Mid-Wilshire
“We realized that ‘friends of friends’ is just such a great way to connect with new people… who might have similar interests, or are just like-minded,” Zhang said.
The two friends opened the doors to Friend of a Friend this past May. And it’s been a two-person crew since — from prep, creating the menu, to actually cooking the dishes. It’s been a fun and creative process that’s guided by that simple question: what’s for dinner?
“A lot of times we're just like, well, ‘What would we want to eat? What do we think sounds good?' And incorporating seasonality whenever we can, that's something that's been fun for us too,” Zhang said.
Zheng (left) and Zhang (right) in the kitchen on the night of a Saturday dinner.
(
Ron Ben
/
Courtesy of Friend of a Friend
)
Inspirations
Zheng,who is Chinese American, is the venture’s head chef, who used the pandemic to further refine his self-taught cooking skills at a time when DIY supper clubs proliferated. And Korean-Chinese American Zhang works with influencers and brands by day, and serves as the supper club’s pastry chef, hostess, and marketer.
Friend of a Friend is their way to imagine what Asian American cooking in the West Coast could mean — as flavors, styles and cultures quintessential to L.A. are blended together, with Asian tastes leading the charge.
That’s why at Friend of a Friend, the highball is Suntory and HojiCha. Their cockles are basted in a tosazu beurre blanc. Their branzino is coated with a soy ginger glaze. And the bread on their table is bing.
Sourcing their ingredients have taken the pair all around L.A. From natural wine from shops on the Westside, mom and pops in the San Gabriel Valley, farmer’s markets for the freshest produce, to Asian supermarkets in Rowland Heights and Koreatown.
That creativity is matched by the presentation which to them, is all part of a curated ambiance.
“We do it all family style. We really like a more intimate, family style of affair, reminiscent of these smaller wine bars you’d find in Paris, mom and pop shops you can find in like the San Gabriel Valley, or back in Asia,” said Zhang.
How to join
As word gets out about Friend of a Friend, the supper club is getting booked up. The next installment is on Nov. 2. You can shoot an RSVP by going to their Instagram to join. The size of gathering typically ranges from 8 to 18 seats. The dinner, which includes wine, is priced between $65 and $85 per person.
Dinner starts at 6:30 p.m., and typically ends by 10 p.m.
“We want people to be most comfortable to experience the feeling of abundance; an abundance of food coming out and being all in front of you, having an abundance of new people to connect with… timing that whole experience all together is something that we really try to curate for our guests,” Zhang said.
Everyone gets their name handwritten on the top of their printed menu to achieve an intimate dining experience.
