After years of independently operating one notable Southern California restaurant after another, former Pearl River Deli chef Johnny Lee can take a slight breather at his new restaurant, Rasarumah . Lee, along with the founders of Last Word Hospitality, will debut their new Historic Filipinotown restaurant on Sunday, November 24. Rasarumah is where Lee can display his decades-long obsession with foods that explore the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia, in a restaurant name that translates to “flavor house” in Malay.
Lee partnered with Last Word’s Holly Fox and Adam Weisblatt ( Barra Santos , Queen St. , Found Oyster , Shins ) and is happy to finally work with established operators. Though he was pleased with the response to his popular shuttered Cantonese spot in Chinatown, being without other business partners became a heavy burden for a chef-owner.
“At Pearl River Deli, I did everything on my own. I learned that growing pains can be very debilitating to your business,” says Lee. While running Pearl River Deli, Lee began ruminating about Rasarumah during travels to Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia and Singapore.
The Dutch, Portuguese, and English have colonized the region. Malaysia also borders Singapore, and Lee found that the Malaysian population could often speak three or four languages, even Lee’s native Cantonese. “I was interested in seeing what Cantonese diaspora food looked like outside of China, especially in places like America,” explains Lee.